PowerPoint

(Try 2) Animation Sample – It’s a Small World

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This is the 2nd posting of this sample as the post last week did not include the video of the PowerPoint slides… oops.

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These are slides from a recent presentation and the video below is the animated version of the 4 slides:

SmallWorld-1

With some creative layout and PowerPoint animation, the presenter used this animated sequence to convey the message of their expanded Social Media presence and how it has a global reach (all animated on clicks):

[KGVID]https://thepowerpointblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/unnamed-file-2.mp4[/KGVID]

– Troy @ TLC

By |2019-10-28T15:22:00-07:00November 3rd, 2014|Portfolio, PowerPoint|

The Problem with PowerPoints Selection Pane

The Selection Pane, introduced in PowerPoint 2007 is a great (and long over due) addition. But I think the dev team was not looking at the feature from a real-world use – and has not been updated yet (sigh…).

Here is my sample slide, that has many items on it. A good example of where the Selection Pane would be used.
SelectionPane_1

 

To open the Selection Pane: HOME >> EDITING >>  SELECT >> SELECTION PANE
SelectionPane_2SelectionPane_3

 

Note the on/off icon is on the right.

SelectionPane_4

 

When the Selection Pane is made a smaller width, the tools at the top (Show All, Hide All, Move up/down) wrap nicely to fit the narrower layout.

SelectionPane_5

 

When the Selection Pane is made narrower, the names do not wrap, but the on/off icon is cut off and disappears rendering that feature unusable. At the bottom is a scroller, which does allow access the on/off icon – but it requires so many additional mouse clicks and movements it is not a practical option.

SelectionPane_6

To answer the inevitable question from the MS Dev team – “why would you need to make the Selection Pane so narrow?”. In the real world, we work with different resolutions (please test the Selection Pane at 1024×768 to see how much screen real estate it needs to be functional), have several panes open side-by-side, have dozens of objects on a slide – on and off the slide area – and want to work at the largest viewable size, and many other real situations where the selection pane is in the way when so wide.

 

So what should the MS Dev team do? Simple: move the on/off icon to the left side and let the names get cut off.

SelectionPane_7

Leave a comment about your experience with the Selection Pane tool (in PPT 2007, 2010, 2013).

– Troy @ TLC

 

By |2016-08-10T09:32:03-07:00September 17th, 2014|PowerPoint, Resource/Misc|

Before & After: Bullet List to Process Diagram

Here is a quick Before-and-After slide. The original slide deck was primarily all bullet list text. TLC reviewed all content and proposed layouts that minimized the bullet list format and provided more visual layouts of the same content. For this slide, in going over the content with the client, we learned the bulleted text was really the talking points for a discovery process, which we happily converted into a process diagram layout. Same message, same content, but visual layout!

Before-After_1

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-10T09:33:20-07:00September 15th, 2014|Portfolio, PowerPoint|

Duarte Releases SlideDocs ‘Book’

If you have used PowerPoint to create a print document that was never intended to be projected as a slide show, fear not, you are not alone. TLC Creative Services has been creating lots of projects over the past few years that we internally refer to as “PowerPoint Documents.” Nancy Duarte has release a new “book” all about using PowerPoint for non-slide show documents called “SlideDocs.”

The downloaded book is a giant example of how PowerPoint is used for document design, because it is a PowerPoint file.

The core message of SlideDocs, which I agree with, is there are a range of documents. On the left are formal print design documents. On the right are slide show presentations. In the middle are print documents that are designed in PowerPoint.

I recommend everyone, especially clients, read SlideDocs if nothing else for the overview of graphic design and layout principles in the middle section. Get more info and download the free SlideDocs book and templates here.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-10T09:47:41-07:00March 20th, 2014|PowerPoint, Resource/Misc|

Using Multiple Masters To Organize

Multiple masters are usually used in relation to different templates in a single file. At TLC, we use multiple master slides for design organization as much as different templates.

This is from a recent project that was all one template, but with 4 distinct color options. The client requested a simple structure, specifically not 4 duplicate sets of master slides. So we organized the Master Slides into 3 categories:
Top row = section divider slides in each color
Middle row = all of the content slide layouts in each color
Bottom row = title slides in each color

Just another way of providing solutions for clients using the features of PowerPoint’s master slides.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-10T09:47:58-07:00March 17th, 2014|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

Creating Quote Mark Graphics in PowerPoint 2013

PowerPoint 2010 introduced the very great “Merge Shape” tools (see this post for details). With this toolset, editable vector shapes can be can be created directly in PowerPoint – something I refer to as “Illustrator 2.0.” With PowerPoint 2013, it includes the ability to convert text to vector, which is what we will use to create the stylized quote mark graphics for a complete PowerPoint workflow.

quote mark graphics 1

1. Add text in PowerPoint.

quote mark graphics 2

2. Add PPT shape, and send to back behind text.

quote mark graphics 3

3. Select text and shape. On FORMAT ribbon >> MERGE SHAPES >> INTERSECT

quote mark graphics 4

4. The text is no longer editable, as it is now shapes. Right click and select EDIT POINTS just like any shape in PPT.

quote mark graphics 5
quote mark graphics 6
quote mark graphics 7

5. Stylize with no fill, light grey outline, drop shadow effect described in this post.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-10T09:48:18-07:00March 14th, 2014|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

Dynamic Quotes with Background Fill!

Here is one of our favorite visual tricks at TLC Creative Services for making slides with a key quote stand out. Background fill!

I am doing this as a 3-post series: this one shows the end result (see above) and PowerPoint formatting, the next post will detail our development process in Adobe Illustrator, and the third will show a PowerPoint only development process for the graphics. Thanks to Amber, a TLC staff designer, for creating the sample images for this series.

Using the quote mark .emf graphics, they are not very impressive without some styling applied and a special option for their fill color. Insert the .emf graphic (download here).
1. Right click on a quote mark and select FORMAT SHAPE.

2. Go to FILL and select SLIDE BACKGROUND FILL

3. The Quote marks will disappear on the slide because they are set to be the same background color as the slide.

4. Add a shadow effect, bevel, outline, glow or other styling effects to your quote marks. For ours, we have added a subtle drop shadow.

5. Still not super dynamic, but the quote marks are looking more styled.

6. But when placed on a colorful image background – dynamic! Move the quote mark graphics to any part of the slide and their fill updates.

Note: The slide background needs to be set with the Background Fill, not an image on the slide for this effect to work.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-10T09:48:55-07:00March 10th, 2014|PowerPoint, Templates/Assets, Tutorial|

Office 2013 SP1 Released

Last Wednesday, Microsoft released the first Service Pack (SP) for Office 2013. The list of updates to PowerPoint is fairly short and deals only with stability issues – no new features or refinement of current features. If you want the details, here is the Microsoft KB article on Office 2013 SP1.

The world of MS Office is now split into two types of installs: MSO (installed from an actual installer app) and CTR (click-to-run which is a cloud based install). How you get SP1 depends on what type of install you have.

Unfortunately, there are not labels on the About Screens that tell if an install is MSO or CTR. Here is one way of identifying the install type:
Go to FILE >> ACCOUNT >> look at the info in right pane.

If there is only 1 box “About PowerPoint” – it is an MSO install.

If there are 2 boxes “About PowerPoint” and “Office Updates” – it is a CTR install.

If you have MSO (traditional installer), the update should be available through Windows Update. Or, you can go direct to Microsoft and download the SP1 installer.
32-bit Office = https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42017
64-bit Office = https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42006

If you have CTR, SP1 will automatically install when you are online.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-10T09:50:12-07:00March 3rd, 2014|PowerPoint, Resource/Misc, Tutorial|

Webinar by Troy – PowerPoint 2013, What’s New, Better, and Different

AudioSolutionz has asked me to present a live webinar on PowerPoint 2013. It will be this Wednesday, February 19 at 10am PT/1pm ET.

I have a large list of features that are new for the application, the designer, and the presenter.

Knowing where the PowerPoint 2013 new features are, how to turn them on, and how to use them can be a frustrating experience of trial and error. This is a one-stop overview the new features demonstrated and explained. Session Highlights:
• Learn what is new with video: playback, export and usable formats
• Discover 6 menus that are no longer pop-up dialogs – and have added formatting features
• Instantly apply any color on the screen to a shape or text in 2 clicks!
• Explore all the new slide transitions
• What are Smart Guides, and what is “Equidistant?” – they are both in PowerPoint 2013
• Widescreen is now the default, but it is not the same as the old widescreen
• Presenter View is now useable
• Learn how to zoom in on a slide – during a presentation
• and more, plus Q&A

Details and registration is here.
Use the promo code “Troy 20” for a $20 discount.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-10T09:51:01-07:00February 17th, 2014|PowerPoint, Resource/Misc|
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