Creating a Presentation with PowerPoint 2003

I. Introduction
With PowerPoint 2003 you can produce professional-looking on-screen presentations and handouts. When you
create your presentation, you can use features such as built-in design templates, drawing tools, animation, and
sound. This reference guide explains the fundamentals of using PowerPoint so you can create a presentation quickly
and easily.

II. Getting Started in PowerPoint

You can access PowerPoint in any computer lab on campus. The procedures for accessing PowerPoint are generally
the same in each lab. If these procedures do not apply to the particular lab you are using, check with the lab
personnel for other instructions. Follow these steps to access PowerPoint:

Double-click the PowerPoint icon on the desktop:

OR

1. Click on the Start menu.

2. Click on Programs.
3. Click on Microsoft Office.
4. Click on Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003. A new, blank presentation will appear.

The Normal View in PowerPoint (the default setting) contains three main work areas: the Outline and Slides Tabs
on the left side, the Slide Pane in the center, and the Task Pane on the right side.

Normal View in PowerPoint

Outline and Task

Slides Tabs Slide Pane Pane

Slide Design
To use a background template for your presentation:

1. Click on the down arrow at the top of the

Task Pane and select Slide Design.

2. After the available Design Templates have loaded,

click on one of the thumbnail previews to apply the
design to your presentation.
Slide Layout
There are many slide layouts to choose from. By default, the first slide of your presentation has a Title Slide layout.
This means the slide has one text box for the title of your presentation, with another text box underneath it for your
name, the date, course name and number, etc. (For more on slide layouts, see Adding a New Slide, below.)

III. Entering text

Text is typed directly onto a slide by using what is called a Placeholder or Text Box. (On a Title Slide, the text box
on top says “Click to add title” and the lower box says “Click to add subtitle.” Other text boxes may say “Click to
add text.”) To enter text in the Slide Pane, click on the text box to select it and then enter your text. Note that when
you select a box, the dashed line changes to a gray, hatched border with handles.
To change the text appearance:
1. Select (highlight) the text that you wish to change.
2. From the Format menu, select Font.
3. At the Font window, you can select a new font, style, size, and color. You can also select effects for your text
such as underline and shadow. After you have made your changes, click on OK.

IV. Adding a new slide

To add a new slide to your presentation, go to the Insert menu and select New Slide. By default, a new slide has a
Title and Text layout with a text box for the title of your slide and another text box for a bulleted list. (When typing
a bulleted list, you can create subordinate text – i.e., text that is indented further than the text above it – by simply
pressing the Tab key.)

When you add a new slide, the Task Pane displays a variety of slide layouts. To select a different slide layout for the
current slide, click on one of the thumbnail previews in the Task Pane.

V. Adding graphics
The ClipArt feature in PowerPoint contains sounds, videos, and over 1,000 images that you can import into your
presentation. Also, you can preview and download pictures, sounds, and movie clips from the Microsoft Clip Art
and Media Home Page at http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/. Finally, you can add your own pictures and sounds to
your presentation, either from a file or, for images, by copying and pasting from the Internet.
To insert a ClipArt graphic:
1. Click on the down arrow at the top of the Task Pane and select Clip Art.
2. In the Search for: box, type in a keyword for the graphic you want, such as school, computer, or children.
3. Click the down arrow next to Results should be: and select Clip Art.
4. Click Go.
5. Click on the desired clip art image to insert it onto the current slide.
After you add a graphic, you can then resize and reposition it on the slide, as explained next.
To resize a graphic:
1. Click on the center of the graphic to select it.
2. Move the pointer over one of the corners of the graphic until the pointer turns into a double-headed arrow.
3. Then, hold down the mouse button until the double-headed arrow turns into a plus sign and move the mouse
toward the graphic to shrink it or away from the graphic to enlarge it.
To move a graphic:
1. Click on the center of the graphic to select it.
2. Hold down the mouse button until a dashed box displays around the graphic. You can then move the mouse to
reposition the graphic. After you place the graphic, release the mouse button.
To insert an image from a file:
1. From the Insert menu, select Picture and then choose From File.
2. Click on the down-arrow of the Look in box and choose the appropriate drive.
3. Locate the file you wish to insert, click on the name of the file, and then click Open.
To insert an image from the Internet:
1. Right-click the image and choose Copy.
2. Open your PowerPoint presentation.
3. Go to the slide where you want to place the image.
4. From the Edit menu, select Paste

VI. Viewing your slide

PowerPoint consists of three views that you can use to create, organize, and look at your slides: Normal View, Slide
Sorter View, and Slide Show. Each view gives you a different way of looking at your presentation and offers
different capabilities. To change the view of your presentation, you can click on the View menu and select a view, or
click on the appropriate icon on the Presentation View toolbar at the lower-left side of the window:

Normal Slide
View Slide Sorter Show
View

After you add text and a graphic to your slide, you can then check to see how your slide will look in your
presentation. To view your slide, click on the Slide Show button. Then, to return to the previous window, press the
Esc key.

VII. Saving your presentation

1. From the File menu, select Save.
2. Select the location where you wish to save your file and, in the File name box, type the filename that you wish
to assign to this file.
3. Then, click on Save.

VIII. Reorganizing your presentation

Once you have created your presentation or while you are still working on it, you can easily reorganize your
presentation by moving bullets and rearranging the order of the slides.
To delete text or an entire slide:
To delete a bullet or slide, click on the bullet icon or slide icon in the Outline tab and press the Delete key. Note that
if you delete a bullet with subordinate bullets, the subordinate text will also be deleted.
To move text:
With your presentation in Normal View, you can easily reposition text. To do this:
1. Click on the double-arrow heads in the lower-right corner of the scroll bar until the slide that you wish to edit is
displayed.
2. Click on the text that you want to move. A gray, hatched border around the text indicates that the text box is
selected.
3. Next, move the pointer over the border until two intersecting double-headed arrows appear under the pointer.
Be sure that you don't point to a handle or you could change the size of the text box.
4. Hold down the mouse button and drag the dotted rectangle, which represents the text box, to the new position
and then release the mouse button.
To move bullets:
To move a bullet, position the cursor over the bullet until the cursor changes to two intersecting double-headed
arrows, and then click and drag the bullet to the new location.
To move slides:
When you move a slide, all items on the slide move with it. To move a slide:
1. Using the Slides Tab, position the cursor over the miniature version of the slide you wish to move. Press and
hold down the mouse button and then drag the pointer. As you drag the pointer, a line will appear indicating the
current position of the slide.
2. When the line is positioned directly above the icon of the slide that you are replacing, release the mouse button.
The slide is repositioned and all the slides are renumbered accordingly.

Note that you can also move slides in the Slide Sorter View. The Slide Sorter displays miniature versions of your
slides – but not the Slide Pane – so you can see them all in order and rearrange them.
To use the slide sorter:
1. From the View menu, select Slide Sorter. You will see small versions of the slides.
2. Click on the slide that you wish to move and hold down the mouse button.
3. Drag the slide to the new position. Note that a solid black line will appear next to the slide indicating where the
slide will be placed. Then, release the mouse button to reposition the slide.

IX. Slide Transitions

Transitions are visual special effects you see when you move from one slide to the next in an on-screen slide show.
To set slide transitions:
1. Click on the down arrow at the top of the Task Pane and select Slide Transition.
2. Under Apply to selected slides, click on a slide transition. Note that the Slide Pane shows you a preview of the
selected slide transition.
3. Under Modify Transition, click the down arrow next to Speed and select Slow, Medium, or Fast.
4. Click Apply to All Slides.

X. Printing your presentation

You can print your presentation and audience handouts. Audience handouts contain small reproductions of the slides
so that your audience can review your presentation.
To print your presentation:
1. From the File menu, select Print. The Print dialog box will appear.
2. Under Print what, click on the down arrow and then choose Slides, Handouts, Notes Pages, or Outline View.
Note that the Handouts contain miniatures of your slides and you can select to print 2, 3, 4, 6, or 9 slides on
each page.
3. Finally, click on OK.

XI. Showing your presentation

1. To show your presentation, open your first slide in Slide Show View.
2. Then, click the mouse button once or press the right arrow key to proceed with each new slide. To go back a
slide, press the left arrow key. You may also click the right mouse button on a slide to make menu selections for
Next, Previous, Go (to go to a particular slide number), and other options.
3. To stop your presentation, press the Esc key.

XI. Closing your presentation

To close your presentation:
1. From the File menu, select Close.
2. At the prompt, click on Yes if you wish to save your changes, or click on No if you do not wish to save your
changes.
3. To exit PowerPoint, go to the File menu and click on Exit.
XII. Retrieving a presentation
To open an existing presentation:
1. Open PowerPoint 2003.
2. From the File menu, select Open.
3. In the Open dialog box, choose the appropriate drive.
4. Locate the file you wish to open, click on the name of the file, and then click Open.
XIII. PowerPoint tips
PowerPoint design tip:
When you are creating a presentation, it's important that you do not overuse multimedia effects. Too much sound,
animation, or video can be distracting and look unprofessional. Instead, make sure to emphasize your points, not
draw the audience's attention to special effects.
PowerPoint summary tip:
PowerPoint will create a summary slide for you by copying the title text on each slide. To create a summary slide,
first bring your presentation into Slide Sorter view. Next, go under Edit and highlight Select All. Then, click on the
Summary Slide icon on the Slide Sorter Toolbar:

Other tips:
• To undo your last action in PowerPoint 2003, click the Undo icon on the Formatting Toolbar:

• To access Microsoft Office PowerPoint Help, simply press the [F1] key on your keyboard.
• Marygrove’s Educational Technology Services offers a series of workshops on using PowerPoint 2003. These
seminars are free to all Marygrove students.