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1. Slide - Slide Show
Each page of a PowerPoint presentation is called a slide. The default orientation of the slide is in landscape layout, which means that the slide is 11" wide by 8 1/2" tall. Text, graphics and/or pictures are added to the slide to enhance its appeal.Think back to the days of the old fashioned slide show, using a slide projector. PowerPoint is an updated version of that kind of slide show. Slide shows can be comprised of text and graphic objects or be completely covered by a single picture, as in a photo album.
2. Ribbon
The ribbon is the strip of buttons across the top of the main window, and it replaces the toolbar in earlier versions of PowerPoint. Here on the ribbon you will find access to anything the program has to offer. You no longer have to hunt endlessly through many menus and sub menus to find the command you want. Commands are located in logical places now, unlike in earlier versions of all things Microsoft.
3. Contextual Menus and Tabs
Contextual menus and tabs appear when an object is selected. These contextual menus / tabs contain information or options pertinent to that object only. For example; if you are working with photos, the contextual menus show all the options available just for working with photos.In PowerPoint 2007, these contextual tabs are very much in view, unlike earlier versions, where these commands could be difficult to locate. This feature is an updated version of the "shortcut menus" used in earlier versions.
These contextual tabs do not appear unless they are relevant to the selected object.
4. Slide Layouts - Slide Types
The terms slide type or slide layout can be used interchangeably. There are several different types of slides / slide layouts in PowerPoint. Depending on the type of presentation you are creating, you may use several different slide layouts or just keep repeating the same few.Slide types or layouts include -
- title slides
- title and content slides
- comparison slides
- picture with caption slides
- and more
Related Tutorial
Slide Layouts in PowerPoint 2007
5. Slide Views
- Normal View - is also commonly known as Slide View. It is the main working window in the presentation. The slide is shown full size on the screen.
- Outline View - shows all the text of all slides, in a list on the left of the PowerPoint screen. No graphics are shown in this view. Outline View is useful for editing purposes and can be exported out as a Word document to use as a summary handout.
- Slide Sorter View - is a window in PowerPoint that displays thumbnail versions of all your slides, arranged in horizontal rows. This view is useful to make global changes to several slides at one time. Rearranging or deleting slides is easy to do in Slide Sorter view.
- Notes Pages - shows a smaller version of a slide with an area below for notes. Each slide is created on its own notes page. The speaker can print these pages out to use as a reference while making his presentation. The notes do not show on the screen during the presentation.
Related Tutorial
Different Ways to View PowerPoint 2007 Slides
6. Design Themes
Think of a design themes as a coordinated packaged deal. When you decorate a room, you use colors and patterns that all work together. A design theme acts in much the same way. It is created so that even though different slide types can have different layouts and graphics, the whole presentation goes together as an attractive package. The background color/images and fonts are all coordinated to achieve a cohesive look.
Related Tutorial
Apply Design Themes in PowerPoint 2007
7. Slide Transition
Slide transitions are the visual movements as one slide changes to another.
Related Tutorials
Use Slide Transitions for Movement on PowerPoint 2007 Slides
5 Tips About Adding Slide Transitions
8. Animations
In Microsoft PowerPoint, animations are visual effects applied to individual items on the slide such as graphics, titles or bullet points, rather than to the slide itself.Preset visual effects can be applied to paragraphs, bulleted items and titles from a variety of animation groupings, namely Subtle, Moderate and Exciting.
Related Tutorial
Custom Animations in PowerPoint 2007
9. PowerPoint Viewer
The PowerPoint Viewer is a small add-in program from Microsoft. It allows for a PowerPoint presentation to be played on any computer, even those that do not have PowerPoint installed. It can run as a separate program on your computer and can be added to the list of files when you choose to package your presentation to a CD.
10. Slide Master
The default design template when starting a PowerPoint presentation, is a plain, white slide. This plain, white slide is the Slide Master. All slides in a presentation are created using the fonts, colors and graphics in the Slide Master. Each new slide that you create takes on these aspects.Each design theme has a number of different slide masters, unlike earlier versions, which contained only an additional Title Master. Another nice feature of slide masters in PowerPoint 2007 is that you can create your own text placeholders. This was not possible in earlier versions.
Next Tutorial in this Series - Slide Layouts in PowerPoint 2007
Complete 10 Part Tutorial Series - Beginner's Guide to PowerPoint 2007