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PowerPoint 97-2003 Tips and FAQs

PowerPoint tips, tricks and FAQs (frequently asked questions) to help you navigate through PowerPoint and to make your PowerPoint presentations for business, the classroom or just for home use, more effective.
Random PowerPoint Tips
Learn more about PowerPoint - one tip at a time. Check back daily for a new PowerPoint tip.
The Key to Creating Effective Presentations
Creating an effective presentation begins with planning. Before you start making slides, learn how to plan out your presentation.
Create a Default Presentation in PowerPoint
Create a default presentation in PowerPoint to suit your own specific needs. This will be the starting, blank template for each new PowerPoint presentation you create.
PowerPoint Presentations - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The good, bad and ugly features of PowerPoint presentations.
Add Hyperlinks to PowerPoint Presentations
Hyperlinks in PowerPoint allow you to link to another slide, another presentation file, a specific slide in another presentation, a Web site, any file on your computer or to an email address.
Portrait and Landscape Orientation Slides in the Same Presentation
Use both portrait and landscape orientations in PowerPoint slide shows.
Portrait Orientation Slides in PowerPoint Presentations
Change the slides to show them in portrait orientation in PowerPoint.
Reuse Slides from Other PowerPoint Presentations
Reuse slides from existing PowerPoint presentations. Reusing slides is a real time saver to presenters. Why reinvent the wheel?
How Can I Start Up Another Presenter's PowerPoint Seamlessly?
Create a hyperlink to open another presenter's PowerPoint presentation seamlessly.
End PowerPoint Slide Shows with a Black Slide
End your PowerPoint slide show with a black slide. This indicates to the audience, in a professional way, that the show is over.
PowerPoint Recently Used File List is Greyed Out
The recently used file list is greyed out and unavailable for change in PowerPoint.
Use Hidden Slides in PowerPoint Presentations
Use hidden slides to contain extra information in your PowerPoint presentation. These hidden slides are not shown during the slide show.
Add Rolling Credits to a PowerPoint 2003 Presentation
Rolling credits can be added easily to a PowerPoint 2003 presentation by choosing and editing one of the custom animations.
Large PowerPoint File Sizes
What do photos / clip art and PowerPoint file sizes have in common?
Dim Text In PowerPoint Presentations
Dim the text of previous bullet points as you focus on the current topic in PowerPoint presentations.
Add Slide Numbers to PowerPoint Slides
Each slide in a PowerPoint presentation can display the slide number.
Add Slide Numbers to PowerPoint Slides - Text Only
Slide numbers on PowerPoint slides can be used for reference and printout purposes.
How Do I Turn Off The Startup Task Pane in PowerPoint?
Steps to disable to the Getting Started task pane in PowerPoint.
PowerPoint File Size Too Big?
Turn off Fast Saves in PowerPoint to reduce the file size.
Use Slide Finder to Copy Frequently Used PowerPoint Slides
PowerPoint Slide Finder is a useful tool to quickly locate a specific slide. Copy the slide to another presentation or add it to your list of favorite slides to reuse over and over.
Keep Track of Favorite PowerPoint Presentations in Slide Finder
PowerPoint Slide Finder has an option to add favorite presentations that you use frequently to the List of Favorites in Slide Finder.
Add or Delete Entries in the PowerPoint Recently Used File List
The recently used files list in PowerPoint can easily be deleted or be changed to show more files in the list.
Change a PowerPoint Show File to a Working PowerPoint Presentation
PowerPoint shows have a file extension of .pps, and PowerPoint presentation files have a file extension of .ppt. Changing the file extension will allow you to edit the PowerPoint show.
How Do I Create a New Line Without a Bullet in PowerPoint?
Working with bullets in PowerPoint can often be frustrating. The default setting for a PowerPoint slide containing bullets, is that each time the ENTER key is pressed, a new bullet appears. Often this is not what you want.
All About Slide Transitions in PowerPoint
PowerPoint slide transitions are the visual movements as one slide changes to another. Learn to use PowerPoint slide transitions well to be most effective in PowerPoint Presentations.
Rehearse and Record Timings in PowerPoint
Rehearse your PowerPoint presentation by progressing through the presentation as if you were seeing it for the first time. As you click the mouse to advance the slides, you can record the timings on the slides.
How Do I Add a Password to My PowerPoint Presentation?
Protect your PowerPoint presentations with passwords. Keep others from changing or seeing sensitive PowerPoint presentations. Great option for those presentations at work that need to be secure.
Copy a PowerPoint Design Template to Another Presentation
Sometimes it is quicker to copy a design template that is applied to another presentation than to find it in the list of PowerPoint design templates. This way you can copy the complete color scheme that may have been altered from the original design template in PowerPoint
Recover Corrupt Powerpoint Files
Echo Swinford's tips on how to recover a corrupt PowerPoint file.
Animation - Copy PowerPoint Design Template Formatting
Copy an existing PowerPoint design template formatting or a modified design template color scheme to a new PowerPoint presentation.
Nudge Objects to Control Placement on PowerPoint Slides
"Nudge" objects to achieve a more precise location for your graphic object on the PowerPoint slide. Use the arrow keys on the number keypad to nudge an object left, right, up or down.
How Do I Stop the Automatic Capitalization in PowerPoint?
Make changes to PowerPoint's AutoCorrect feature to stop automatic capitalization of the first word in a line of text.
Get Rid of Annoying Short Menus in PowerPoint
Get rid of those annoying short menus in PowerPoint. Change PowerPoint options so that you can see the complete full menus at all times.
Access a Shortcut Menu of Options During a PowerPoint Presentation
PowerPoint Tip - A shortcut menu accessed during a PowerPoint presentation offers several options to the presenter such as Next or Go to Slide.
Select More Than One Slide in PowerPoint
PowerPoint Tip - How to select more than one slide so that you can apply an option such as formatting or animations to more than one slide at a time in Microsoft PowerPoint.
Select More Than One File at a Time
Select more than one file at a time to speed up the process of inserting files into PowerPoint. For example, this is a great way to add a number of picture files to a PowerPoint photo album quickly.
Using AutoCorrect in PowerPoint
The AutoCorrect feature in PowerPoint makes corrections to common misspellings and typos quickly and immediately. Use AutoCorrect as a quick way to enter repetitive, lengthy phrases.

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