In this chapter, we will understand how to get started with PowerPoint 2010. We will understand how to start PowerPoint 2010 application in simple steps. To access PowerPoint 2010, you must have Microsoft Office 2010 installed in your PC. Only Office 2010 Home and Student, Home and Business, Standard, Professional and Professional Plus packages have PowerPoint included in them. Other packages may have a viewer, but you cannot create presentations with them.
Step 1 − Click the Start button.
Step 2 − Click All Programs option from the menu.
Step 3 − Search for Microsoft Office from the sub menu and click it.
Step 4 − Search for Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 from the submenu and click it.
This will launch the Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 application and you will see the following presentation window.
The following screenshot shows the various areas in a standard PowerPoint file. It is important to familiarize yourself with these areas as it makes learning and using PowerPoint easier.
File Tab
This tab opens the Backstage view which basically allows you to manage the file and settings in PowerPoint. You can save presentations, open existing ones and create new presentations based on blank or predefined templates. The other file related operations can also be executed from this view.
Ribbon
The ribbon contains three components −
- Tabs − They appear across the top of the Ribbon and contain groups of related commands. Home, Insert, Page Layout are examples of ribbon tabs.
- Groups − They organize related commands; each group name appears below the group on the Ribbon. For example, a group of commands related to fonts or a group of commands related to alignment, etc.
- Commands − Commands appear within each group as mentioned above.
Title Bar
This is the top section of the window. It shows the name of the file followed by the name of the program which in this case is Microsoft PowerPoint.
Slide Area
This is the area where the actual slide is created and edited. You can add, edit and delete text, images, shapes and multimedia in this section.
Help
The Help Icon can be used to get PowerPoint related help anytime you need. Clicking on the "?" opens the PowerPoint Help window where you have a list of common topics to browse from. You can also search for specific topics from the search bar at the top.
Zoom Options
The zoom control lets you zoom in for a closer look at your text. The zoom control consists of a slider that you can slide left or right to zoom in or out, you can click on the - and + buttons to increase or decrease the zoom factor. The maximum zoom supported by PowerPoint is 400% and the 100% is indicated by the mark in the middle.
Slide Views
The group of four buttons located to the left of the Zoom control, near the bottom of the screen, lets you switch between PowerPoint views.
- Normal Layout view − This displays page in normal view with the slide on the right and a list of thumbnails to the left. This view allows you to edit individual slides and also rearrange them.
- Slide Sorter view − This displays all the slides as a matrix. This view only allows you to rearrange the slides but not edit the contents of each slide.
- Reading View − This view is like a slideshow with access to the Windows task bar in case you need to switch windows. However, like the slideshow you cannot edit anything in this view.
Notes Section
This sections allows you to add notes for the presentation. These notes will not be displayed on the screen during the presentation; these are just quick reference for the presenter.
Quick Access Toolbar
The Quick Access Toolbar is located just under the ribbon. This toolbar offers a convenient place to group the most commonly used commands in PowerPoint. You can customize this toolbar to suit your needs.
Slide Tab
This section is available only in the Normal view. It displays all the slides in sequence. You can add, delete and reorder slides from this section.
In Office 2010, Microsoft replaced the traditional file menu with the new Backstage view. This view not only offers all the menu items under the file menu, but additional details which makes management of your files a lot easier.
Accessing Backstage View
You can access the Backstage view simply by clicking on the File tab. You can exit this view by clicking on any tab (including the File tab again). You can also press the 'Esc' button on the keyboard.
Organization of Backstage View
The backstage view has three sections or panes.
- First Pane − This is the commands pane which consists of all the commands you would typically find in the file menu of older versions. You also have the Options menu which lets you edit the options on the program like customizing the ribbon.
Various commands under the first pane are described in the table below −
| S.No | Command & Description |
|---|---|
| 1 |
Save
This allows you to save a new file or an existing file in standard format. If you are working on a previously saved file this will save the new changes in the same file format. If you are working on a new file, this command would be similar to the Save As command.
|
| 2 |
Save As
Allows you to specify the file name and the file type before saving the file.
|
| 3 |
Open
Allows you to open new PowerPoint files.
|
| 4 |
Close
Allows you to close an existing file.
|
| 5 |
Info
Displays the information about the current file.
|
| 6 |
Recent
Lists series of recently viewed or edited PowerPoint files.
|
| 7 |
New
Allows you to create a new file using blank or pre-defined templates.
|
| 8 |
Print
Allows you to select the printer settings and print the presentation.
|
| 9 |
Save & Send
Allows you to share your presentation with larger audience via emails, web, cloud services, etc.
|
| 10 |
Help
Provides access to PowerPoint Help.
|
| 11 |
Options
Allows you to set various options related to PowerPoint program.
|
| 12 |
Exit
Closes the presentation and exits the program.
|
- Second Pane − This is the subcommands pane. This will list all the commands related to the main command you choose in the first pane. For example, if you select Print in the first pane, you get to choose the printer and adjust the print settings in the second pane.
- Third Pane − This is the preview or file information page. Depending on the command and the subcommand you select, this pane will either display the properties of the file or give you a preview of the file.
PowerPoint offers a host of tools that will aid you in creating a presentation. These tools are organized logically into various ribbons in PowerPoint. The table below describes the various commands you can access from the different menus.
| Menu Category | Ribbon Commands |
|---|---|
| Home | Clipboard functions, manipulating slides, fonts, paragraph settings, drawing objects and editing functions. |
| Insert | Insert tables, pictures, images, shapes, charts, special texts, multimedia and symbols. |
| Design | Slide setup, slide orientation, presentation themes and background. |
| Transitions | Commands related to slide transitions. |
| Animations | Commands related to animation within the individual slides. |
| Slide Show | Commands related to slideshow set up and previews. |
| Review | Proofing content, language selection, comments and comparing presentations. |
| View | Commands related to presentation views, Master slides, color settings and window arrangements. |
Besides these depending on the objects selected in the slide, there are other menu tabs that get enabled.
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