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Introducing Presentation Software
Presentation software allows you to organize and display information
visually so it can be viewed by a group of people. In most cases, this
information, called a presentation consists of both graphics and text.
Information in a presentation is organized into separate pages in an order
the audience can follow easily. Each page is called a slide. Each
slide can contain one or more main points. Information about each main
point is organized into a list of short, easy-to-read key points.
Programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint are designed specifically to make
presentations.
Creating a New Presentation
The most common presentation
software is Microsoft PowerPoint. It allows three options for creating
a new presentation:
- AutoContent wizard
- Template
- Blank Presentation
AutoContent Wizard: A wizard is a series of dialogue boxes that
guides through a step-by-step procedure. The AutoContent Wizard
provides the steps for creating a presentation. It asks questions
about the goal and purpose of your presentation. Once its questions
are answered, the wizard creates a format for the presentation. To
complete the presentation, you enter the words and images into the wizard's
format.
Template: Work on a presentation also may begin by selecting a
template, or a pre-formatted version of a document. After choosing a
template, you type in your information. You can also change the look
and feel of the template by adjusting its settings.
Blank Template: This option starts by providing a plain blank
slide. While this option may require more work than the other choices,
it does have benefits. For instance, since many schools and businesses
use PowerPoint, the templates included in this program may be familiar to
others. You can create a new presentation from scratch to make your
work more original by selecting your own color scheme, art, fonts, and other
design elements.
Exploring Presentation Views
After you select the format for a presentation, work on the content can
begin. One of the differences between a presentation graphics program
and other application software is its ability to view a document in a
variety of ways. Each view has its own strength depending on which
version of PowerPoint you use, you may be able to choose from these views,
among others:
- Outline View
- Slide View
- Normal View
- Slide Sorter View
- Notes Page View
- Slide Show View
Outline View
To display a presentation's text in an outline, use outline view. It
is handy for improving the structure of complex presentations.
Selecting an item in the outline generally displays the slide for that item.
Text can also be edited in this view.
Slide View and Normal View
Text and graphics can be added, removed, or edited in Slide View, a basic
layout in some versions of PowerPoint, or in Normal View. (Different
versions of the program provide different views.) Normal view splits
the screen to show a Slide View and an Outline View.
Slide Sorter View
Slide Sorter View displays all of the slides in a presentation. In
this view, you will see thumbnail (miniature) versions of the slides.
This view allows you to change the order of the slides by dragging them to
different locations.
Notes Page View
Another view, known as Notes Page View, uses part of the screen to
display a slide. The rest of the screen shows a text box. You
can jot down notes in the text box to use during a presentation or to print
as handouts. Notes do not appear in the presentation that is shown to
the audience.
Slide Show View
The primary on-screen method of previewing and displaying slides during
a presentation is called Slide Show View. Slides are displayed one
after another, in order. A slide-show presentation can be set to
automatically switch slides or to wait until you switch the slides yourself. |
