Tips for Microsoft PowerPoint

PowerPoint 2010: Slide Show Shortcuts

When running a presentation in Slide Show view, press F1 to have a message box appear that lists all of the keyboard shortcuts that work during a slide show. For instance, did you know that if you hold both the right and left mouse button down simultaneously for 2 seconds you will return to the first slide in the presentation deck?

PowerPoint 2010: Five Rules Sample Template

Even the most advanced PowerPoint designer will be impressed by the examples shown in the Five Rules Sample Template file that comes with PowerPoint 2010. This file was created by the Duarte company who is quite well known (think Al Gore and An Inconvenient Truth amongst others in the corporate arena). To access the file, Click File to expand Backstage View and then New. Select Sample Templates and then Five Rules.

PowerPoint 2010: Convert Picture to SmartArt

If you have a picture and need to convert it to a SmartArt layout quickly, you can do so by selecting it and then on the Picture Tools Format tab, in the Picture Styles group, click Picture Layout. Select a SmartArt design and the picture will convert to that type of layout. This is useful if you need to add text to surround the image or for the graphic to be used in a slide presentation for emphasis.

PowerPoint: Quickly Open a Presentation in Slide Show View

Alternate-click the PowerPoint presentation and choose Show from the shortcut menu. The presentation opens in Slide Show mode.

PowerPoint 2003: Set Right-Mouse Click To Go Back

To setup your presentation so that you can right-click to move back a slide:

1. From the Tools menu, choose Options and select the View tab.
2. Under Slide Show, uncheck the option 'show menu on right mouse click.'
3. Click OK to save your changes.

PowerPoint 2003: Put Your Company Logo on Every Slide

1. From the View menu, choose Master, Slide Master (or hold Shift & click Slide view button).
2. From the Insert menu, choose Picture, From File.
3. Locate your company logo or the picture you would like to add to the slide show.
4. Use the size handles around the picture to resize as necessary.
5. Move the logo to the desired location.
6. Click back on the Slide View button to review your slide show.
7. If the logo is covering any other object or part of the slide, go back into Slide Master View and move it to a new location.

PowerPoint: Move Graphics In Any Direction

You can use the following trick if you have a graphic object that needs to be moved-even slightly. Select the graphic and release the mouse. Press the Left, Right, Up or Down arrow keys to reposition the graphic in the specified direction.