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Microsoft Powerpoint is a useful tool for presenting data to a live audience. This can be done either using projectors or by printed handouts. An advantage of compiling your information in this program is that it steers you towards a clear, uncluttered presentation with a consistent formatting and appearance.
Adding Excel tables or charts into PowerPoint is very easy and they can be linked so that any changes in your spreadsheet are automatically reflected in the PowerPoint presentation. If you have previously managed to avoid learning the basics of PowerPoint I will start with a very quick guide to one or two concepts.
Once a template file is associated with a presentation it provides common formatting instructions for all of the pages. It defines background colours and pictures, font names, sizes and colours. There are some very striking templates provided with the program but these are used with depressing regularity in many organisations. It is also possible to acquire many more templates via the internet.
The pages do not need to be great works of art - indeed this may distract attention from the important message you are trying to convey. It is easy to open one of the provided templates, edit it to remove unwanted colours and images and then use Save As to change the filename to your own choice - making sure that the file type is 'Design Template (*.pot)'.
Images of your own corporate or departmental logos can be inserted anywhere on the page. Footer and header messages can also be added. Note that a Design Template may consist of two pages (one for titles, one for content) and both need to be similarly edited.
It is possible to return and amend your Design Template at a later date. The updated style can then be reapplied to an existing presentation.
Having created a new presentation, select the Common Tasks toolbar button to apply your chosen Design Template. This will affect the format of all slides in the current presentation.
Each new slide can be given a layout. There are various choices of format for combinations of titles, charts, pictures and text. They might assist with your layout but don't worry too much about your choice. Tables, inserted pictures, pasted objects and text boxes can all be added quite independently of these placeholders. You can delete (but not insert) placeholders. The main benefit of using them for text is that your narrative is automatically added to the outline structure.
Part two of this tutorial demonstrates how Excel objects can simply be added to a presentation.
| file: excel-powerpoint1.htm | © meadinkent.co.uk 2006 | Last updated Sep06 |
