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Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 QuickSteps

The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint (2nd edition)

Creating a Presentation in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 for Windows (Visual QuickProject Guide Series)

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How to Add Comments to Slides

How to Present a Slide Show

Most PowerPoint presentations are delivered in person by a live speaker, though it’s also possible to set up unattended presentations to run in kiosks or displays. In a typical slide show, the presenter will step through a series of slides, using each one as a springboard for discussion.

How to Create a Slide Show

The first step in creating a PowerPoint slide show is choosing the slide show’s main settings.

Open the presentation for which you’d like to create a slide show.
Click on the Slide Show tab in the Ribbon.
Click on the Set Up Slide Show icon in the Set Up group.
Select the settings for the slide show, such as the type of presentation, slides to include, the method for switching from slide to slide (time or manual), and the amount of time to spend on each slide.

How to Add Narration to a Slide Show

Click the Record Narration icon in the Set Up group.
Click OK in the Record Narration dialog box.
Choose the slide on which to begin recording (First Slide or Current Slide).
Once you click on either choice, the slide show will start running, and recording will begin.
To stop and save your recording, right-click on any slide during the slide show and select End Show. The slide show will now include your narration when played.

How to Rehearse a Slide Show

Always rehearse a slide show before you present it. By rehearsing, you can determine whether the timing options you’ve set (if any) will work, or test out what you’ll have to do to control the timing of each slide manually.

Click on the Rehearse Timings icon in the Set Up group of the Ribbon’s Slide Show tab.
The slide show will begin and a box will appear in which you can step through slides manually—if you don’t use the controls, the slide show will progress according to the timing settings you’ve chosen.
When finished rehearsing, click on the X in the control box or right-click on a slide and choose End Show.

How to Play a Slide Show

You can start playing a slide show in one of two ways:

From Windows Explorer, a folder, or your desktop: Right-click on the PowerPoint presentation file and choose Show from the shortcut menu. PowerPoint will open up (if not already open), and the show will start.
From within PowerPoint: Open the presentation in Normal view, select the Slide Show tab, and click on the From Beginning icon or From Current Slide icon . Once you click on either icon, the slide show will start. In addition, a row of tools will appear in the lower left corner of the screen in which you can navigate from slide to slide and choose pen and pointer options (see below).

How to Use the Pen and Mouse Pointer

You can opt to use a pen or a pointer (the standard cursor that you can move with your mouse) during a presentation. The pen changes the cursor into a drawing tool that allows you to mark up slides during the slide show. By default, the pointer appears during a slide show. To activate the pen:

Right-click on a slide while the slide show is running and choose Pointer Options, or click the Pointer icon in the row of tools in the lower left corner. A menu will appear that lets you choose a pen type and color.
Click and move the mouse to draw with the pen.
Press E to erase pen markings or Ctrl+A to return to the regular pointer.

How to End a Slide Show

There are three ways to end a slide show:

Press the Esc key.
Right-click on any slide in the slide show and choose End Show.
Click the icon in the rows of tools in the lower left corner and select End Show.