Basic Concepts of Microsoft Power Point

1. Microsoft PowerPoint
PowerPoint is a presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is
included in the standard Office suite along with Microsoft Word and Excel.
 Advantages of PowerPoint:
i) Easy to present and maintain eye contact with a large audience by simply
advancing the slides with a keystroke, eliminating the need for handouts to
follow the message.
ii) Content can be presented better using graphics, charts, animation or
multimedia.
iii) Instructor needs a way to highlight key points when discussing a complex
topic.
iv) Instructor needs a way to make connections between related topics.
v) Instructor needs a way to create a framework for content.
 Disadvantages of PowerPoint:
i) Too small fonts: In an attempt to get as much information onto their slides as
possible, presenters end up cramming their text and labels into smaller and
smaller spaces, testing the eye sight and patience of their audience.
ii) Too much text: Nothing kills the mood of an audience quicker than the
presenter reading content from their slides and the slides contain too much text.
iii) Too complex: In an attempt to look professional presenters frequently over
complicate their graphics and content. The effect is confusing and ends up
making those members of your audience who are prepared to make an effort.
iv) Too many slides: There is no definitive number of slides as it is so
dependent of the quality and content of the visuals. As a general rule less is
always more.
v) Too many bullet points: The bullet point is there simply to remind the
presenter what comes next. It is not designed in any way to help the audience
get the message.
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2.  Elements of PowerPoint Window:
Element Description
Title Bar Displays the application and file name
Close Button The Close Button on the title bar will close the application
Minimize Button
The Minimize Button on the title bar will minimize the
application
Maximize Button
The Maximize Button on the title bar will maximise the
application window
Standard Toolbar
The Standard Toolbar is made up of common window commands
(i.e. save, print etc.)
Formatting Toolbar
The Formatting Toolbar is made up of common formatting
commands (i.e. Bold, Italic etc.)
Close File Button
The Close File button will close the current file but leave the
application open
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3. Outline Tab
The Outline Tab is used to view the text of the presentation as
well as edit it
Slide Tab
The Slide Tab is used in normal view to navigate from one slide
to another
Normal View
The most commonly used view to create, edit or modify your
PowerPoint presentation
Slide Sorter View
The Slide Sorter View is commonly used to delete slides,
rearrange slides, cut, copy or paste slides
Slide Show
This view is used to display each slide full screen the way your
audience will see it
Notes Area A place that you add notes to each slide’s content
Drawing Toolbar
This toolbar has the most frequently used drawing commands (i.e.
text box, arrow, clip art)
Task Pane A window that displays the most commonly used commands
(layout task pane, colour scheme task pane, animation task pane)
 Creating New Presentation
A new presentation is created in several ways.
i) Using Blank Presentation: We can use this method if we want to create a
presentation containing entirely user’s format and content.
ii) Using design template: A presentation is started by selecting a design
template that determines the presentations design but does not include content.
iii) Using Auto Content Wizard: This wizard gets started by providing ideas
and organisation for presentation. It contains sample presentations for a wide
variety of topics.
Creating a presentation using Blank Presentations:
Step1: On the File menu, click New, and then click on the General tab in the
New Presentation dialog.
Step2: Double click on the Blank Presentation icon, to display the New Slide
dialog. Choose an Auto-Layout to create the title slide of your presentation.
Step 3: Type the title.
Step 4: To create the next slide, click New slide on the Common Tasks toolbar
and select a layout for the next slide.
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4. Step 5: Add the content we want, and then repeat step4 and step5 for each new
slide.
Step 6: When we finish creating all the slides that we need for presentation,
click Save on the File menu.
Step 7: Give a file name to the presentation, and then click on Save button.
Step 8: Click on the Slide Show button at the lower left of the power point
window to see how the slide show will look.
Creating a presentation using Design Templates:
Step 1: Click New on the File menu, and then on the Presentation Designs tab.
Step 2: Scroll to see the design templates. Each template is represented by an
icon. Click the one you want to create your presentation.
The design template that we select automatically becomes the default template
for all your slides in the current presentation.
Step 3: Type the title any other content we want on the title slide.
Step 4: To add another slide, on the common task toolbar, click New Slide.
Step 5: Add content you want, and then repeat Step 4 and Step 5for each new
slide.
Step 6: When you finish, click Save on the File menu.
Step 7: Give a Filename to your presentation, and then click Save.
Step 8: Click on the Slide Show button at the lower left of the power point
window to see how the slide show will look. To get out of the slideshow press
Esc Button.
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