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Beschreibung

Present like a pro, with the top-selling PowerPoint book on the market

Since 1999, PowerPoint For Dummies has been giving readers a jargon-free way to compose compelling presentations. This update covers the latest release of Office and Office 365. Learn the basics of creating a slide deck in PowerPoint, then discover the dynamic features you can use to give your slides a bit of pizazz. Import data from other applications, collaborate in the cloud, and incorporate charts, graphics, and videos into your presentations. Plus, learn how to use Microsoft's new Copilot AI tool—integrated right into the application. Consider this book your first step to making a splash with PowerPoint!

  • Create your first PowerPoint slide deck and add presentation notes
  • Improve the design of your slides with templates and best-practice tips
  • Add animations, change your font style, and insert images and drawings
  • Share your presentation with audiences in a virtual setting

New and not-so-new PowerPoint users who need a guide to the basics of building a successful presentation will love this up-to-date, beginner-friendly book.

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Microsoft® 365 PowerPoint® For Dummies®

To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Microsoft 365 PowerPoint For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

Part 1: Getting Started with PowerPoint

Chapter 1: Welcome to PowerPoint

What in the Sam Hill Is PowerPoint?

Getting PowerPoint

Introducing PowerPoint Presentations

Understanding Presentation Files

What’s in a Slide?

Starting PowerPoint

Creating a Blank Presentation

Navigating the PowerPoint Interface

Unraveling the Ribbon

The View from Here Is Great

Editing Text

Making It Pretty

Adding a New Slide

Moving from Slide to Slide

Displaying Your Presentation

Saving Your Work

Closing a Presentation

Getting Help

Exiting PowerPoint

Chapter 2: Taking the Backstage Tour

Welcome to Backstage View

Considering Themes and Templates

Saving Your Presentation

Opening a Presentation

Pinning a Presentation for Easy Access

Chapter 3: Editing Slides

Moving from Slide to Slide

Working with Objects

Editing a Text Object

Selecting Text

Using Cut, Copy, and Paste

Duplicating an Object

Using the Clipboard Task Pane

Oops! I Didn’t Mean It (The Marvelous Undo Command)

Working with Slide Layouts

Deleting a Slide

Duplicating a Slide

Finding Text

Replacing Text

Rearranging Your Slides in Slide Sorter View

Chapter 4: Working in Outline View

Calling Up the Outline

Selecting and Editing an Entire Slide

Selecting and Editing One Paragraph

Promoting and Demoting Paragraphs

Adding a New Paragraph

Adding a New Slide

Moving Text Up and Down

Collapsing and Expanding the Outline

Chapter 5: Proofing Your Presentations

Checking Spelling as You Go

Spell-Checking After the Fact

Using the Thesaurus

Capitalizing Correctly

Using the AutoCorrect Feature

Chapter 6: Don’t Forget Your Notes!

Understanding Notes

Adding Notes to a Slide

Adding an Extra Notes Page for a Slide

Adding a New Slide from Notes Page View

Printing Notes Pages

Displaying Notes on a Separate Monitor

Chapter 7: Show Time!

The Quick Way to Print

Printing from Backstage View

Setting Up a Slide Show

Starting a Slide Show

Working in Presenter View

Controlling Your Presentation with the Keyboard and Mouse

Using Presentation Tools

Rehearsing Your Slide Timings

Using Custom Shows

Part 2: Creating with Copilot

Chapter 8: Getting Started with Copilot

What Is Microsoft Copilot?

Choosing Between the Free and Paid Versions of Copilot

Using the Free Version of Copilot

Accessing the Free Version of Copilot

Refining Copilot’s Response

Getting Copilot’s Content into PowerPoint

Creating a Picture with Copilot

Chapter 9: Using Copilot in PowerPoint

Creating a Presentation with Copilot

Using the Copilot Sidebar

Using the Copilot Sidebar to Change a Picture

Chapter 10: Perfecting Your Prompts

Stating the Goal

Being Specific

Providing Context

Laying Out Your Expectations

Keeping Copilot Honest

Structuring Your Prompts

Prompting Etiquette

Keep Trying!

Part 3: Creating Great-Looking Slides

Chapter 11: All about Fonts and Text Formatting

Changing the Look of Your Text

Big Picture Text Formatting

Creating Fancy Text with WordArt

Chapter 12: Designing Your Slides

Looking at the Design Tab

Working with Themes

Changing the Slide Size

Applying Background Styles

Using the Designer to Improve Your Slides

Chapter 13: Animating Your Slides

Using the Transitions Tab

Using the Animations Tab

Chapter 14: Masters of the Universe Meet the Templates of Doom

Working with Masters

Using Masters

Using Headers and Footers

Yes, You Can Serve Two Masters

Restoring Lost Placeholders

Working with Templates

Working with Presentation Sections

Part 4: Embellishing Your Slides

Chapter 15: Inserting Pictures

Exploring the Many Types of Pictures

Inserting Pictures in Your Presentation

Moving, Sizing, Stretching, and Cropping Pictures

Adding Style to Your Pictures

Correcting Sharpness, Brightness, Contrast, and Color

Compressing Your Pictures

Working with 3D Models

Chapter 16: Drawing on Your Slides

Some General Drawing Tips

Drawing Simple Objects

Creating Other Shapes

Styling Your Shapes

Flipping and Rotating Objects

Drawing a Complicated Picture

Chapter 17: Charting for Fun and Profit

Understanding Charts

Adding a Chart to Your Presentation

Changing the Chart Type

Working with Chart Data

Changing the Chart Layout

Changing the Chart Style

Embellishing Your Chart

Using Treemap and Sunburst Charts

Using Map Charts

Chapter 18: Working with SmartArt

Understanding SmartArt

Creating a SmartArt Diagram

Tweaking a SmartArt Diagram

Editing the SmartArt Text

Working with Organization Charts

Chapter 19: Lights! Camera! Action! (Adding Sound and Video)

Adding Sound to a Slide

Adding Video to Your Slides

Compressing Media

Chapter 20: Adding Tables to Your Slides

Creating a Table in a Content Placeholder

Inserting a Table on a Slide

Drawing a Table

Adding Style to a Table

Working with the Layout Tab

Part 5: Working with Others

Chapter 21: Collaborating on Presentations

Understanding Collaboration

Working with OneDrive

Working with Teams

Collaborating in Real Time

Using Comments

Chapter 22: Exporting Your Presentation to Other Formats

Creating a PDF File

Crafting a Video

Using the Record Tab

Recording a Slide Show

Part 6: The Part of Tens

Chapter 23: Ten PowerPoint Commandments

I. Thou Shalt Frequently Savest Thy Work

II. Thou Shalt Storeth Each Presentation in Its Proper Folder

III. Thou Shalt Not Abuseth Thy Program’s Formatting Features

IV. Thou Shalt Not Stealeth Copyrighted Materials

V. Thou Shalt Abideth by Thine Color Scheme, Auto-Layout, and Template

VI. Thou Shalt Not Abuse Thine Audience with an Endless Array of Cute Animations or Funny Sounds

VII. Keep Thy Computer Gurus Happy

VIII. Thou Shalt Backeth Up Thy Files Day by Day

IX. Thou Shalt Fear No Evil, for Ctrl+Z Is Always with Thee

X. Thou Shalt Not Panic

Chapter 24: Ten (or So) Tips for Creating Readable Slides

Try Reading the Slide from the Back of the Room

Avoid Small Text

No More Than Five Bullets, Please

Avoid Excessive Verbiage Lending to Excessively Lengthy Text That Is Not Only Redundant But Also Repetitive and Reiterative

Use Consistent Wording

Avoid Unsightly Color Combinations

Watch the Line Endings

Keep the Background Simple

Use Only Two Levels of Bullets

Avoid Bullets Altogether If You Can

Keep Charts and Diagrams Simple

Chapter 25: Ten Ways to Keep Your Audience Awake

Don’t Forget Your Purpose

Don’t Become a Slave to Your Slides

Don’t Overwhelm Your Audience with Unnecessary Detail

Don’t Neglect Your Opening

Be Relevant

Don’t Forget the Call to Action

Practice, Practice, Practice

Relax!

Expect the Unexpected

Don’t Be Boring

Index

About the Author

Advertisement Page

Connect with Dummies

End User License Agreement

List of Tables

Chapter 1

TABLE 1-1 The Basic Tabs on the Ribbon

TABLE 1-2 The View Buttons

Chapter 3

TABLE 3-1 PowerPoint’s Slide Layouts

Chapter 7

TABLE 7-1 Keyboard Tricks for Your Slide Show

TABLE 7-2 Mouse Tricks for Your Slide Show

Chapter 11

TABLE 11-1 Character-Formatting Commands

TABLE 11-2 Paragraph Alignment Commands

TABLE 11-3 Buttons on the WordArt Shape Format Tab

TABLE 11-4 Formatting Options on the Text Effects Menu

Chapter 15

TABLE 15-1 PowerPoint’s Bitmap Picture File Formats

TABLE 15-2 PowerPoint’s Vector File Formats

Chapter 18

TABLE 18-1 Types of Diagrams You Can Create

Chapter 20

TABLE 20-1 The Layout Tab

List of Illustrations

Chapter 1

FIGURE 1-1: PowerPoint’s opening screen.

FIGURE 1-2: PowerPoint’s main screen is a tad cluttered.

FIGURE 1-3: The Ribbon with the Insert tab selected.

FIGURE 1-4: The completed title slide for the Thumb War presentation.

FIGURE 1-5: The Thumb Wars presentation with the purple Ion theme.

FIGURE 1-6: A new slide.

FIGURE 1-7: The completed second slide of the Thumb War presentation.

FIGURE 1-8: When you start the slide show, the title slide fills the screen.

FIGURE 1-9: Help!

Chapter 2

FIGURE 2-1: Backstage view is displayed when you launch PowerPoint.

FIGURE 2-2: Backstage view with a presentation open.

FIGURE 2-3: A theme can dramatically change the appearance of a slide.

FIGURE 2-4: Creating a presentation from a theme or template.

FIGURE 2-5: Searching for a theme.

FIGURE 2-6: Selecting a theme.

FIGURE 2-7: Save a Copy in Backstage view.

FIGURE 2-8: The Save As dialog box.

FIGURE 2-9: Saving a presentation to OneDrive.

FIGURE 2-10: Opening a file in Backstage view.

FIGURE 2-11: The Open dialog box.

FIGURE 2-12: Your pinned presentations.

Chapter 3

FIGURE 3-1: You can resize this object by taking hold of its love handles.

FIGURE 3-2: The Clipboard task pane.

FIGURE 3-3: Picking the layout for a new slide.

FIGURE 3-4: The Find dialog box.

FIGURE 3-5: The Replace dialog box.

FIGURE 3-6: Slide Sorter view lets you see the big picture.

Chapter 4

FIGURE 4-1: Viewing the outline.

Chapter 5

FIGURE 5-1: Look at all the spelling mistakes PowerPoint found in this text box...

FIGURE 5-2: The PowerPoint spellchecker points out a boo-boo.

FIGURE 5-3: The thesaurus appears in the Research task pane.

FIGURE 5-4: The AutoCorrect dialog box.

FIGURE 5-5: The AutoFormat As You Type options.

Chapter 6

FIGURE 6-1: Notes Page view lets you see your notes.

FIGURE 6-2: A slide with notes.

FIGURE 6-3: Presenter view shows you your notes during a slide show.

Chapter 7

FIGURE 7-1: Behold the Print screen.

FIGURE 7-2: The Set Up Show dialog box.

FIGURE 7-3: Presenter view.

FIGURE 7-4: Using the laser pointer.

FIGURE 7-5: Using the Pen tool.

FIGURE 7-6: The rehearsal timer.

FIGURE 7-7: The Presentation Coach critiques your performance.

FIGURE 7-8: Defining a custom show.

Chapter 8

FIGURE 8-1: The Copilot app in Windows 11.

FIGURE 8-2: Copilot responds to a prompt.

FIGURE 8-3: Copilot in Bing.

FIGURE 8-4: Copilot in Bing responds to a prompt.

FIGURE 8-5: A response shown in the Edge sidebar.

FIGURE 8-6: A PowerPoint slide created from a Copilot response.

FIGURE 8-7: Using Copilot to create an image.

FIGURE 8-8: A finished slide explaining the rules of pickleball, all generated ...

Chapter 9

FIGURE 9-1: Creating a presentation with Copilot.

FIGURE 9-2: Copilot proposes an outline for the presentation.

FIGURE 9-3: Copilot creates a presentation from the proposed outline.

FIGURE 9-4: The Copilot sidebar.

FIGURE 9-5: Using text generated by Copilot on a slide’s speaker notes page.

FIGURE 9-6: Using the Copilot sidebar to find alternate images.

Chapter 11

FIGURE 11-1: The Font group on the Home tab on the Ribbon.

FIGURE 11-2: The Font dialog box.

FIGURE 11-3: The Paragraph group on the Home tab on the Ribbon.

FIGURE 11-4: The Bullets and Numbering dialog box.

FIGURE 11-5: Using a picture bullet.

FIGURE 11-6: More ways to format numbers.

FIGURE 11-7: Change the line spacing.

FIGURE 11-8: You, too, can create fancy text effects like this using WordArt.

FIGURE 11-9: The WordArt Styles group on the Shape Format tab.

FIGURE 11-10: The WordArt Quick Styles gallery.

Chapter 12

FIGURE 12-1: The Design tab.

FIGURE 12-2: The Theme gallery.

FIGURE 12-3: Choosing a color variant.

FIGURE 12-4: Creating new theme colors.

FIGURE 12-5: Changing a color.

FIGURE 12-6: A wonderful world of color.

FIGURE 12-7: PowerPoint offers 16 million colors from which you can choose.

FIGURE 12-8: Changing theme fonts.

FIGURE 12-9: Changing theme effects.

FIGURE 12-10: The Slide Size dialog box.

FIGURE 12-11: Changing the background style.

FIGURE 12-12: Using a gradient fill to create an interesting background.

FIGURE 12-13: The Format Background pane with gradient controls.

FIGURE 12-14: Applying a textured background.

FIGURE 12-15: Using the Designer feature.

Chapter 13

FIGURE 13-1: The Transitions tab.

FIGURE 13-2: The Transitions gallery.

FIGURE 13-3: Using the Morph transition effect.

FIGURE 13-4: The Animations tab.

FIGURE 13-5: The Animation gallery.

FIGURE 13-6: The Animation pane.

FIGURE 13-7: The Animation pane after an animation has been added.

FIGURE 13-8: Text paragraphs can be listed separately in the Animation pane.

FIGURE 13-9: Choosing effect options.

FIGURE 13-10: Using the animation settings dialog box.

FIGURE 13-11: Animating text.

FIGURE 13-12: An animated puzzle.

FIGURE 13-13: Three shapes that fit snugly to create the self-assembling puzzle...

FIGURE 13-14: Establishing the timing settings.

Chapter 14

FIGURE 14-1: Slide Master view.

FIGURE 14-2: The Slide Master tab.

FIGURE 14-3: The handout master.

FIGURE 14-4: The notes master.

FIGURE 14-5: The Header and Footer dialog box.

FIGURE 14-6: Creating a new slide master.

FIGURE 14-7: Choosing a layout.

FIGURE 14-8: The Master Layout dialog box.

FIGURE 14-9: Creating a new presentation.

FIGURE 14-10: Giving your new section a name.

FIGURE 14-11: The new section is added.

Chapter 15

FIGURE 15-1: The Online Pictures dialog box.

FIGURE 15-2: Bing finds lots of images of Shakespeare.

FIGURE 15-3: PowerPoint inserts the picture on the slide.

FIGURE 15-4: The Insert Picture dialog box.

FIGURE 15-5: Nice ride!

FIGURE 15-6: Inserting a stock image.

FIGURE 15-7: The image is inserted on the slide.

FIGURE 15-8: A picture that has been cropped.

FIGURE 15-9: Pictures with style.

FIGURE 15-10: The Picture Style gallery.

FIGURE 15-11: Artistic effects can dramatically change the appearance of a pict...

FIGURE 15-12: A corgi with the background removed.

FIGURE 15-13: The Background Removal tab.

FIGURE 15-14: PowerPoint’s initial attempt at removing the background.

FIGURE 15-15: Background removal after marking areas to keep and remove.

FIGURE 15-16: Setting the Picture Corrections options.

FIGURE 15-17: Setting the Color options for a picture.

FIGURE 15-18: Compressing pictures.

FIGURE 15-19: Locating a 3D model for your presentation.

FIGURE 15-20: A 3D Model on a PowerPoint slide.

FIGURE 15-21: A 3D model in various rotations.

FIGURE 15-22: Morphing a 3D model is an effective presentation technique.

FIGURE 15-23: The dinosaur and the hamburger.

Chapter 16

FIGURE 16-1: PowerPoint with the rulers, gridlines, and guides on.

FIGURE 16-2: The Shapes gallery.

FIGURE 16-3: The Shape Format tab on the Ribbon.

FIGURE 16-4: Use a star shape to make your presentation look like a late-night ...

FIGURE 16-5: You can create interesting variations by grabbing the extra handle...

FIGURE 16-6: Three free-form shapes.

FIGURE 16-7: Examples of curved lines and shapes.

FIGURE 16-8: Formatting the line style.

FIGURE 16-9: The rotate handle lets you rotate an object to any arbitrary angle...

FIGURE 16-10: The Grid and Guides dialog box.

Chapter 17

FIGURE 17-1: A slide with a Content placeholder.

FIGURE 17-2: The Insert Chart dialog box.

FIGURE 17-3: A chart after it has been inserted into PowerPoint.

FIGURE 17-4: A finished chart.

FIGURE 17-5: The Chart Design tab.

FIGURE 17-6: A chart with the rows and columns switched.

FIGURE 17-7: The Select Data Source dialog box.

FIGURE 17-8: The Quick Layout Gallery for column charts.

FIGURE 17-9: Changing the layout changes the appearance of a chart.

FIGURE 17-10: The Chart Style gallery for column charts.

FIGURE 17-11: The Band Sales chart in a different style.

FIGURE 17-12: Adding elements to a chart.

FIGURE 17-13: The Format Data Labels pane.

FIGURE 17-14: The Format Legend pane.

FIGURE 17-15: A Treemap chart.

FIGURE 17-16: A Sunburst chart.

FIGURE 17-17: A Map chart.

FIGURE 17-18: Editing a map chart’s Series Options.

Chapter 18

FIGURE 18-1: A simple SmartArt diagram.

FIGURE 18-2: How second-level text is displayed in an Increasing Arrows Process...

FIGURE 18-3: Converting text to SmartArt.

FIGURE 18-4: The Choose a SmartArt Graphic dialog box.

FIGURE 18-5: The SmartArt style gallery for Pyramid diagrams.

FIGURE 18-6: The SmartArt Design tab.

FIGURE 18-7: Editing SmartArt bullet text.

FIGURE 18-8: A finished organization chart.

FIGURE 18-9: An organization chart that uses all four layout types.

Chapter 19

FIGURE 19-1: The Insert Audio dialog box.

FIGURE 19-2: A sound inserted into a slide.

FIGURE 19-3: Recording an audio clip.

FIGURE 19-4: The Playback tab.

FIGURE 19-5: The Trim Audio dialog box.

FIGURE 19-6: The Insert Video dialog box.

FIGURE 19-7: A movie inserted on a slide.

FIGURE 19-8: The Playback tab.

FIGURE 19-9: The Trim Video dialog box.

FIGURE 19-10: Using a bookmark to trigger an animation effect.

Chapter 20

FIGURE 20-1: The Insert Table dialog box.

FIGURE 20-2: An empty table, waiting for data.

FIGURE 20-3: A finished table.

FIGURE 20-4: Inserting a table.

FIGURE 20-5: Drawing a table.

FIGURE 20-6: A finished table.

FIGURE 20-7: The Table Styles gallery.

FIGURE 20-8: The Table Layout tab on the Ribbon.

Chapter 21

FIGURE 21-1: Viewing OneDrive in Windows Explorer.

FIGURE 21-2: Saving a presentation to OneDrive.

FIGURE 21-3: Navigating to a OneDrive folder.

FIGURE 21-4: Using the traditional Save As dialog box with OneDrive.

FIGURE 21-5: Managing OneDrive via the web.

FIGURE 21-6: Editing a PowerPoint presentation in online view.

FIGURE 21-7: OneDrive settings.

FIGURE 21-8: Sharing a presentation.

FIGURE 21-9: Adjusting link settings.

FIGURE 21-10: An invitation to a shared PowerPoint presentation.

FIGURE 21-11: The web version of Teams.

FIGURE 21-12: The desktop version of Teams.

FIGURE 21-13: A team with two channels.

FIGURE 21-14: The Files tab in the Presentations channel.

FIGURE 21-15: Two users simultaneously editing a PowerPoint presentation.

FIGURE 21-16: Creating a comment.

Chapter 22

FIGURE 22-1: PowerPoint provides several options for exporting presentations.

FIGURE 22-2: Creating a PDF document.

FIGURE 22-3: Setting PDF options.

FIGURE 22-4: The Record tab.

FIGURE 22-5: Recording a slideshow in Presenter view.

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Begin Reading

Index

About the Author

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Microsoft® 365 PowerPoint® For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

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ISBN 978-1-394-29236-3 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-394-29238-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-394-29237-0 (ebk)

Introduction

Welcome to Microsoft 365 PowerPoint For Dummies, 2nd Edition, the book written especially for people who are lucky enough to use the latest and greatest version of PowerPoint and want to find out just enough to finish that presentation that was due yesterday.

Did you give up on PowerPoint a long time ago because all your presentations looked like they’d been recycled from the ’90s? Have you often wished that you could create presentations that drive home your point with simple and concise illustrations that don’t look silly, cheesy, or just plain awful? Do you find PowerPoint too difficult to use? Do you long for the good old days of flip charts and dry-erase markers?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re holding the perfect book right here in your formerly Magic Marker–stained hands. Help is here, within these humble pages.

This book talks about PowerPoint in everyday — and often irreverent — terms. No lofty prose here. I have no Pulitzer expectations for this book. My goal is to make an otherwise dull and lifeless subject at least tolerable — and maybe even kind of fun.

About This Book

This isn’t the kind of book that you pick up and read from start to finish as though it were a cheap novel. If I ever see you reading it at the beach, I’ll kick sand in your face. This book is more like a reference — the kind of book you can pick up, turn to just about any page, and start reading. It has 25 chapters, each covering a specific aspect of using PowerPoint — such as printing, animating your slides, or using clip art.

You don’t have to memorize anything in this book. It’s a need-to-know book: You pick it up when you need to know something. Need to know how to create an organization chart? Pick up the book. Need to know how to override the slide master? Pick up the book. After you find what you’re looking for, put it down and get on with your life.

Within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and you want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you’ve got it easy — just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

Foolish Assumptions

I make only three assumptions about you:

You use a computer.

It’s a Windows computer, not a Mac. PowerPoint requires at least Windows 10. (PowerPoint works on Macs as well, and it works almost the same. But this book is designed primarily for Windows users.)

You use or are thinking about using PowerPoint.

Nothing else. I don’t assume that you’re a computer guru who knows how to change a controller card or configure memory for optimal use. These types of computer chores are best handled by people who like computers. My hope is that you’re on speaking terms with such a person. Do your best to stay there.

Icons Used in This Book

As you’re reading all this wonderful prose, you occasionally see icons in the margins. They draw your attention to important information, and here’s what they mean:

Pay special attention to this icon — it tells you that some particularly useful tidbit is at hand (perhaps a shortcut or a way of using a command that you may not have considered).

Danger! Danger! Danger! Stand back, Will Robinson! You won’t cause death or destruction to anyone with PowerPoint, but this icon warns you of anything that could cause you to lose work or otherwise want to tear your hair out.

Did I tell you about the memory course I took? Paragraphs marked with this icon simply point out details that are worth committing to memory.

Watch out! Some technical drivel is just around the corner. Read it only if you have your pocket protector firmly attached.

Beyond the Book

In addition to what you’re reading right now, this product also comes with a free access-anywhere Cheat Sheet that includes a variety of shortcuts for everything from formatting and editing to slide shows and more. To get this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and type PowerPoint For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.

Where to Go from Here

Yes, you can get there from here. With this book in hand, you’re ready to charge full speed ahead into the strange and wonderful world of desktop presentations. Browse the table of contents and decide where you want to start. Be bold! Be courageous! Be adventurous! Above all else, have fun!

Part 1

Getting Started with PowerPoint

IN THIS PART …

Get a bird’s-eye view of PowerPoint and what you can do with it.

Open and save files.

Edit the content on PowerPoint slides, from the text itself to text objects to other types of objects, such as clip art or drawn shapes.

Work in Outline view so you can focus on your presentation’s main points and subpoints without worrying about appearance.

Proof your presentation with PowerPoint and avoid embarrassing mistakes.

Create speaker notes to help you get through your presentation.

Finish the final preparations by printing copies of your slides, notes, and handouts; setting up a projector; and actually delivering your presentation.

Chapter 1

Welcome to PowerPoint

IN THIS CHAPTER

Discovering PowerPoint

Firing up PowerPoint

Making sense of the PowerPoint screen and the Ribbon

Creating a new presentation

Saving and closing your work

Getting help

Getting out of PowerPoint

This chapter is a grand and gala welcoming ceremony for PowerPoint, Microsoft’s popular slide-presentation program.

This chapter is sort of like the opening ceremony of the Olympics, in which all the athletes parade around the stadium and people make speeches in French. In much the same way, this chapter marches PowerPoint around the stadium so you can get a bird’s-eye view of what the program is and what you can do with it. I make a few speeches but not in French (unless, of course, you’re reading the French edition of this book).

What in the Sam Hill Is PowerPoint?

PowerPoint is a program that comes with Microsoft 365, which includes Word, Excel, and Outlook, too.

You know what Word is — it’s the world’s most-loved and most-hated word-processing program, and it’s perfect for concocting letters, term papers, and great American novels. I’m thinking of writing one as soon as I finish this book. Excel is a spreadsheet program used by bean counters the world over. Outlook is that program you use to read your email. But what the heck is PowerPoint? Does anybody know or care? (And as long as I’m asking questions, who in Sam Hill was Sam Hill? If you really want to know, check out the sidebar “Who in the Sam Hill was Sam Hill?”)

PowerPoint is a presentation program, and it’s one of the coolest programs I know. It’s designed to work with a big-screen TV or a projector to display presentations that will bedazzle your audience members and instantly sway them to your point of view, even if you’re selling real estate on Mars, season tickets for the Las Vegas Raiders, or a new tax increase in an election year. If you’ve ever flipped a flip chart, you’re going to love PowerPoint.

Here are some of the many uses of PowerPoint:

Business presentations:

PowerPoint is a great timesaver for anyone who makes business presentations, whether you’ve been asked to speak in front of hundreds of people at a shareholders’ convention, a group of sales reps at a sales conference, or your own staff or coworkers at a business meeting.

Sales presentations:

If you’re an insurance salesperson, you can use PowerPoint to create a presentation about the perils of not owning life insurance and then use your laptop or tablet computer to show it to hapless clients at your local Cheesecake Factory.

Lectures:

PowerPoint is useful for teachers or conference speakers who want to reinforce the key points in their lectures with slides.

Homework:

PowerPoint is a great program to use for certain types of homework projects, like those big history reports that count for half your grade.

Church:

People use PowerPoint in churches to display song lyrics on big screens so everyone can sing along or to display sermon outlines so everyone can take notes. If your church still uses hymnals or prints the outline in the bulletin, tell the minister to join the 21st century.

Information stations:

You can use PowerPoint to set up a computerized information kiosk that people can walk up to and use. For example, you can create a museum exhibit about the history of your town or set up a trade-show presentation to provide information about your company and products.

Online presentations:

PowerPoint can even help you set up a presentation that you can share in an online meeting or videoconference so people can join in on the fun without having to leave the comfort of their own homes or offices.

WHO IN THE SAM HILL WAS SAM HILL?

Copilot can easily help you with research and answer questions for you, including questions like “Who in the Sam Hill was Sam Hill?”

I’ve always loved the term Sam Hill because it seems so quaint. But I’ve never understood the origins of the phrase. So, I decided to ask Copilot. Specifically, I put in the question “Who in the Sam Hill was Sam Hill?” and here’s how Copilot replied:

Sam Hill is an American English slang phrase that serves as a euphemism or minced oath for “the devil” or “hell” personified. You might hear it used in expressions like, “What in the Sam Hill is that?” The exact origin of this phrase is a bit mysterious, but here are some possibilities:Euphemism for the Devil: Some believe it comes from Samiel, the name of the Devil in Der Freischütz, an opera by Carl Maria von Weber performed in New York City in 1825.Store Owner in Arizona: There was a mercantile store owner named Sam Hill in Arizona. People used the phrase to describe odd or unusual things, much like the diverse inventory found in his store. The original Sam Hill Mercantile building still stands in Prescott, Arizona.Politician in Connecticut: An article from 1889 mentioned a Mr. Sam Hill who represented Guilford, Connecticut, in the legislature. This might be the source of the popular Connecticut adjuration to “Give ’em Sam Hill.”

Surveyor in Michigan: Samuel W. Hill, a surveyor associated with the Keweenaw Peninsula area, could be another origin. His foul language led to his name becoming a euphemism for swear words.

So, in summary, Sam Hill remains a colorful and enigmatic figure in linguistic history!

Now you know who Sam Hill was or at least might have been!

For more information about using Copilot to help you craft your PowerPoint presentations, turn to Chapter 8.

Getting PowerPoint

There are several ways you can gain access to PowerPoint:

Subscribe to Microsoft 365.

Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based subscription service that lets you use various products that are part of the Microsoft 365 suite. The main advantages of subscribing to Microsoft 365 are that you pay a low monthly or yearly fee (as low as $6.99 per month), you always get the latest updates for free, and you can install the software on all your devices and sign in to Microsoft 365 on as many as five of them at the same time.

Buy a copy of Office 2024.

You can buy Office 2024 for about twice the price of an annual subscription. The advantage is that you own the software outright; the disadvantage is that you don’t get free updates.

Use the free online version of PowerPoint.

The free online version of PowerPoint has limited features. I don’t recommend this option because a subscription to PowerPoint isn’t very expensive. But if you want to check it out, go to

www.microsoft.com/en-us/Microsoft-365/free-office-online-for-the-web

.

My preferred method, and the one Microsoft recommends, is to subscribe to Microsoft 365. If you opt to go the subscription route, you’ll find that there are several plans to choose from:

Home:

Intended for home or personal use. This is the option usually chosen by families or students. There are two Home subscription options:

Personal:

Can be used by just one user

Family:

Can be used by up to six users

Business:

Intended for small businesses. Technically, you can support up to 300 users with a Business subscription, but most businesses with more than 50 employees should use an Enterprise subscription instead. There are three Business subscription options:

Basic:

The Basic edition does not include the desktop version of PowerPoint or the other Microsoft 365 applications. It only includes an online version that provides most, but not all, of the features of the desktop version.

Standard:

The Standard edition provides both the online and desktop versions of PowerPoint and the other Microsoft 365 applications.

Premium:

The Premium edition provides advanced security features.

Enterprise:

Designed for businesses of any size. The two most popular Enterprise subscription plans that include PowerPoint are

E3:

Includes both online and desktop versions of Microsoft 365 applications (including PowerPoint, of course), as well as email hosting.

E5:

Includes more security features than E3.

You may find yourself confused about the name Microsoft 365. For decades, PowerPoint has been part of a suite called Microsoft Office. When Office became part of a cloud suite, the name became Office 365. Office 365 still exists and is part of Microsoft 365. But the official new name of the entire suite is Microsoft 365, sometimes abbreviated to just M365. Throughout this book, I use the newer name, Microsoft 365, but you can call it Office 365 if you want. That’s what I still call it when Microsoft isn’t listening.

Introducing PowerPoint Presentations

PowerPoint is similar to a word-processing program such as Word, except that it’s geared toward creating presentations rather than documents. A presentation is kind of like those Kodak Carousel slide projector trays that your grandpa filled with 35mm slides from the time he took the family to the Grand Canyon. The main difference is that, with PowerPoint, you don’t have to worry about dumping all the slides out of the tray and figuring out how to get them back into the right order.

If you have no idea what a Kodak Carousel slide projector is, look it up. It was one of the coolest inventions of the 1960s. Just about everyone’s dad had one or wanted one.

Word documents consist of one or more pages; PowerPoint presentations consist of one or more slides. Each slide can contain text, graphics, animations, videos, and other information. You can easily rearrange the slides in a presentation, delete slides that you don’t need, add new slides, or modify the contents of existing slides.

Unlike in Word, content on a slide in PowerPoint does not flow from one slide to the next. Each slide is self-contained. If you put too much text on a slide, PowerPoint doesn’t spill the text onto the next slide. Instead, it automatically makes the text small so that it will fit on the slide.

You can use PowerPoint both to create your presentations and to actually present them.

You can use several different types of media to actually show your presentations:

Computer screen:

Your computer screen is a suitable way to display your presentation when you’re showing it to just one or two other people.

Big-screen TV:

If you have a big-screen TV that can accommodate computer input, it’s ideal for showing presentations to medium-size audiences — say, 10 to 12 people in a small conference room.

Computer projector:

A computer projector projects an image of your computer monitor onto a screen so that large audiences can view it.

Online meeting screen share:

You can easily show your presentation by using the screen-sharing feature of your favorite videoconferencing platform. That way, all of your audience doesn’t have to be in the same place at the same time.

Printed or PDF pages:

You can distribute a printed copy of your entire presentation to each member of your audience. Or, you can save the slides as a single PDF file and distribute the PDF file to your audience. (When you print your presentation, you can print one slide per page, or you can print several slides per page to save paper.)

Understanding Presentation Files

A presentation is to PowerPoint what a document is to Word or a workbook is to Excel. In other words, a presentation is a file that you create with PowerPoint. Each presentation that you create is saved on your computer’s hard drive as a separate file.

PowerPoint presentations have the special extension .pptx added to the ends of their filenames. For example, Sales Conference.pptx and History Day.pptx are both valid PowerPoint filenames. When you type the filename for a new PowerPoint file, you don't have to type the .pptx extension — PowerPoint automatically adds the extension for you. Windows may hide the .pptx extension, in which case a presentation file named Conference.pptx often appears as just Conference.

Versions of PowerPoint prior to 2007 saved presentations with the extension .ppt instead of .pptx. The x at the end of the newer file extension denotes that the new file format is based on an Office Open XML standard data format that makes it easier to exchange files among different programs. Although you can still save files in the old .ppt format, I don't recommend it — you’ll lose many of the newer capabilities of PowerPoint if you do.

PowerPoint is set up initially to save your presentation files in the Documents folder, but you can store PowerPoint files in any folder on your OneDrive or any local or network-accessible disk location.

What’s in a Slide?

PowerPoint presentations comprise one or more slides. Each slide can contain text, graphics, and other elements. A number of PowerPoint features work together to help you easily format attractive slides:

Slide layouts:

Every slide has a slide layout that controls how information is arranged on the slide. A slide layout is simply a collection of one or more placeholders, which set aside an area of the slide to hold information. Depending on the layout that you choose for a slide, the placeholders can hold text, graphics, clip art, sound or video files, tables, charts, graphs, diagrams, or other types of content.

Background:

Every slide has a background, which provides a backdrop for the slide’s content. The background can be a solid color; a blend of two colors; a subtle texture, such as marble or parchment; a pattern, such as diagonal lines, bricks, or tiles; or an image. Each slide can have a different background, but you usually want to use the same background for every slide in your presentation in order to provide a consistent look.

Transitions:

Transitions control the visual effect that is employed when moving from one slide to the next. The norm is to have the next slide instantly replace the previous slide with no splashy effects. But if you want, you can have one slide dissolve into the next, or new slides can push slides out of the way, or you can make it look like the wind has blown away the old slide to reveal the next slide. In all, there are nearly 50 transition effects you can choose from.

Themes:

Themes are combinations of design elements, such as color schemes and fonts, that make it easy to create attractive slides that don’t look ridiculous. You can stray from the themes if you want, but you should do so only if you have a better eye than the design gurus who work for Microsoft.

Slide masters:

Slide masters are special slides that control the basic design and formatting options for slides in your presentation. Slide masters are closely related to layouts — in fact, each layout has its own slide master that determines the position and size of basic title and text placeholders; the background and color scheme used for the presentation; and font settings, such as typefaces, colors, and sizes. In addition, slide masters can contain graphic and text objects that you want to appear on every slide. You can edit the slide masters to change the appearance of all the slides in your presentation at once. This helps to ensure that the slides have a consistent appearance.

All the features described in the preceding list work together to control the appearance of your slides in much the same way that style sheets and templates control the appearance of Word documents. You can customize the appearance of individual slides by adding any of the following elements:

Title and body text:

Most slide layouts include placeholders for title and body text. You can type any text that you want into these placeholders. By default, PowerPoint formats the text according to the slide master, but you can easily override this formatting to use any font, size, style (like bold or italic), or text color that you want.

Text boxes:

You can add text anywhere on a slide by drawing a text box and then typing text. Text boxes enable you to add text that doesn’t fit conveniently in the title or body text placeholders.

Shapes:

You can use PowerPoint’s drawing tools to add a variety of shapes to your slides. You can use predefined AutoShapes, such as rectangles, circles, stars, arrows, and flowchart symbols. Alternatively, you can create your own shapes by using basic line, polygon, and freehand drawing tools.

Illustrations:

You can illustrate your slides by inserting clip art, photographs, and other graphic elements. PowerPoint comes with a large collection of clip art pictures you can use, and Microsoft provides an even larger collection of clip art images online. And, of course, you can insert photographs from your own picture library.

Charts and diagrams:

PowerPoint includes a slick diagramming feature called

SmartArt

that enables you to create several common types of diagrams, including organization charts, cycle diagrams, and others. In addition, you can insert pie charts, line charts, bar charts, and many other chart types.

Video and sound:

You can add sound clips or videos to your slides. You can also add background music or a custom narration.

Animations:

Animations put the various elements on an individual slide into motion. One common use of animation is to make text appear on the slide with movement to capture your audience’s attention. But you can apply animation to any element on a slide.

Starting PowerPoint

Here’s the procedure for starting PowerPoint:

Get ready.

Light some votive candles. Take two Tylenol. Put on a pot of coffee. Play The Tortured Poets Department on low in the background.

Press the Windows key on your keyboard.

The Windows key is the one that has the fancy Windows flag printed on it. On most keyboards, it’s located between the Alt and Tab keys. When you press this button, the Start page appears; here, you see a list of your commonly used applications in large tiles.

Click the PowerPoint tile (shown in the margin).

That’s all there is to it — PowerPoint starts up in a flash.

If you hate clicking through menus but don’t mind typing, another way to start PowerPoint is to press your keyboard’s Windows key (usually found between the Ctrl and Alt keys), type the word PowerPoint, and press Enter.

Creating a Blank Presentation

When you start PowerPoint, it greets you with the screen shown in Figure 1-1. This screen lets you create a blank presentation, create a presentation based on one of several templates supplied by PowerPoint, or open an existing presentation.

FIGURE 1-1: PowerPoint’s opening screen.

For the purposes of this chapter, double-click Blank Presentation to get started with a new presentation, as shown in Figure 1-2.

FIGURE 1-2: PowerPoint’s main screen is a tad cluttered.

Throughout the rest of this chapter, I introduce you to some simple techniques for turning a blank presentation into an actual presentation with real content. I recommend following along with the numbered steps in later sections of this chapter so you can get a feel for how to create a simple presentation in PowerPoint.

Navigating the PowerPoint Interface

Refer to Figure 1-2 to see the basic PowerPoint screen in all its cluttered glory. The following list points out the more important parts of this screen:

Ribbon: Across the top of the screen, just below the Microsoft PowerPoint title, is PowerPoint’s main user-interface gadget, called the Ribbon. The deepest and darkest secrets of PowerPoint are hidden on the Ribbon. Wear a helmet when exploring it.

The exact appearance of the Ribbon varies a bit depending on the size of your monitor. On smaller monitors, PowerPoint may compress the Ribbon a bit by using smaller buttons and arranging them differently (for example, stacking them on top of one another instead of placing them side by side).

For more information about working with the Ribbon, see the section “Unraveling the Ribbon,” later in this chapter.

File tab:

The first tab on the Ribbon is called the File tab, which switches PowerPoint into Backstage view where you can perform various functions such as opening and saving files, creating new presentations, printing, and other similar chores. For more information about using the File tab, turn to

Chapter 2

.

Quick Access Toolbar: Just above the Ribbon is the Quick Access Toolbar, or QAT for short. Its sole purpose is to provide a convenient resting place for the PowerPoint commands you use most often.

Initially, the QAT contains just three commands: Save, Undo, and Redo. However, you can add more commands if you want. To add any button to the QAT, right-click the command and choose Add to Quick Access Toolbar. You can also find a pull-down menu at the end of the QAT that lists several frequently used commands. You can use this menu to add these common commands to the QAT.

Current slide:

Smack dab in the middle of the screen is where your current slide appears. (Note that on a tablet, the Title section of this slide may read “Tap to Add Title” rather than “Click to Add Title.”)

Slides pane:

To the left of the slide is an area that shows thumbnail icons of your slides. You can use this area to easily navigate to other slides in your presentation.

Task pane:

To the right of the slide is an area called the

task pane.

The task pane is designed to help you complete common tasks quickly. In

Figure 1-2

, the task pane contains the Design Ideas feature, which suggests some design possibilities for your blank presentation. The Design Ideas task pane always appears when you create a new presentation. For more information about using it, please refer to

Chapter 12

.

Status bar: At the very bottom of the screen is the status bar, which tells you the slide that’s currently displayed (for example, Slide 1 of 1). You’ll also find buttons that let you switch to different view modes. Figure 1-2 shows PowerPoint in its standard mode, which is called Normal.

You can configure the status bar by right-clicking anywhere on it; you see a list of options that you can select or deselect to determine which elements appear on the status bar.

Zoom control:

PowerPoint automatically adjusts its zoom factor so that you can zoom in or out to see your slides in their entirety or close up. You can change the size of your slide by using the zoom control slider that appears at the lower right of the window.

You’ll never get anything done if you feel you have to understand every pixel of the PowerPoint screen before you can do anything. Don’t worry about the stuff you don’t understand. Just concentrate on what you need to know to get the job done, and worry about the bells and whistles later.

Unraveling the Ribbon

The Ribbon is Microsoft’s primary user-interface gadget. Across the top of the Ribbon is a series of tabs. You can click one of these tabs to reveal a set of controls specific to that tab. For example, Figure 1-2 (earlier in this chapter) shows the Ribbon with the Home tab selected. Figure 1-3 shows the Ribbon with the Insert tab selected.

FIGURE 1-3: The Ribbon with the Insert tab selected.

Initially, the Ribbon displays the tabs described in Table 1-1.

In addition to these basic tabs, additional tabs appear from time to time. For example, if you select a picture, a Picture Tools tab appears with commands that let you manipulate the picture.

The commands on a Ribbon tab are organized into groups. Within each group, most of the commands are simple buttons that are similar to toolbar buttons in earlier versions of PowerPoint.

TABLE 1-1 The Basic Tabs on the Ribbon

Tab

Actions You Can Perform

File

Open, close, print, and share presentations.

Home

Create and format slides.

Insert

Insert various types of objects on slides.

Draw

Doodle on your slides using various types of pens or markers.

Design

Tweak the layout of a slide.

Transitions

Change the transition effects that are applied when you switch from one slide to the next.

Animations

Add animation effects to your slides.

Slide Show

Present your slide show.

Record

Create a recording of a presentation.

Review

Proof and add comments to your presentation.

View

Change the view.

Help

Get help, training, and support information.

The View from Here Is Great

Near the right edge of the status bar is a series of four View buttons. These buttons enable you to switch among the various views, or ways of looking at your presentation. Table 1-2 summarizes what each View button does.

TABLE 1-2 The View Buttons

Button

What It Does

Switches to Normal view, which shows your slide, outline, and notes all at once. This is the default view for PowerPoint.

Switches to Slide Sorter view, which enables you to easily rearrange slides and add slide transitions and other special effects.

Switches to Reading view, which displays your slide show within a window.

Switches to Slide Show view, which displays your slides in full-screen mode. This is the view you use when you’re actually giving your presentation.

Editing Text