Circles and Text (that does not fit)
I really (really) do not like it when a separate text box is placed on top of a circle, because “the text would not fit”. In transparency, this may be exactly what I dealt with while formatting a presentation – and I am solving the problem by showing how to “make the text fit” in a circle.
Here is the common situation. The circle is where it is needed, and the size needed. The text is added to the circle object, but it does not fit and wraps to two lines.
Looking at the circle and its text properties reveals the problem. The circle has an interior text margin applied, making full circle not available for the text.
If we remove the interior margin and set the Left/Right/Top/Bottom to zero, the text now has room to fit inside the circle! Same font and font size, the text just needed to be able to get closer to the edge of the circle.
Here I do not want the text to fit, I want it large and overlapping the circle. But PowerPoint is being too helpful and keeping the text inside the circle. Note: the shape margins are set to zero’s (which is great).
In this situation, turn off the text wrap. This allows the big text to stay as part of the circle, but go beyond the circle shape
Troy @ TLC
Windows Snipping Tool Has Taken Over the PRINTSCREEN Button
I have been a Techsmith Snagit user for a long time, and I use it 10-50 times each day, primarily for screen captures (design feedback where an image is easier than 2 paragraphs, or tutorials like the screen capture images in this blog post!).
Windows added the “Windows Snipping Tool” to the OS, and it is a nice screen capture tool. We use it on our rental fleet of show computers. But I cannot live without Snagit.
A recent Windows 11 update changed the behavior of my PRINT SCRN button – it made the Windows Snipping Tool activate when it was clicked. But I have purposefully set the PRINT SCRN button on my computer to launch the Snagit app. And, the Windows OS settings are different now, making it a bit more awkward to allow a different app (instead of Windows Snipping Tool app) use the PRINT SCRN button. If you found this blog post from a search, I am guessing you too want to change what app is opened when print screen is clicked. Here is the solution:
- Open the Windows Search bar
- Type “Snipping Tool”
- Select the option “Use the Print screen key to open Snipping Tool”
- This opens the Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard dialog
- Turn OFF the option telling Windows to open the Snipping Tool app when the Print Screen button is clicked
That’s it. Now the preferences in Snagit, or any other app, can be set to use the Print Screen button.
Now, here is what I am guessing you did (I did):
- Open the Snipping Tool app
- Click the 3-dot menu and select SETTINGS
- Scroll down to the SHORTCUTS section and become perplexed by the info to open Windows Settings…
- Eventually go to the Windows Settings and update as noted above.
Keep this blog post handy. I assume each major Windows 11 update will reset this setting and the Print Screen button will revert to opening Windows native screen capture app – Snipping Too.
Troy @ TLC
Slidewise Has a New Icon (Yay!!)
Neuxpower’s Slidewise PowerPoint add-in has an updated version. Version 1.10.0.0. If you have Slidewise installed, it is a free and quick install. Go to Slidewise on the PowerPoint toolbar and select CHECK FOR UPDATES, which opens the Slidewise website to the download page (or go here).
There are a few feature updates. But the update that has me excited is the app icon has changed! This is most likely only going to be exciting for those that also use Slido – which I do. Both icons are located on the HOME tab. Both are green. Both have a large letter “S”. And both (were) round. All the similarities to assure you click the wrong icon often!
I welcome the new square Slidewise icon and say THANK YOU to the Neuxpower dev team for making changes to their app to help users!
Troy @ TLC
Outlook’s New Emoji Reply to Emails
Microsoft Office apps continue to evolve. I mentioned this on The Presentation Podcast episode that was released this week – Outlook has a new “emoji” reply option.
So instead of replying with an email message we can now make our replies like a text message and “like-heart-smiley” them…
If you give an emoji reply, Outlook replies with an email like this:
Troy @ TLC
The Presentation Podcast – Whatever Happened to TED?
Technology, Entertainment, Design – TED, ideas worth spreading. TED talks provide an amazing platform for presenters. The organization has made quality presentation skills and presentation design a factor to be considered in all presentations. Our conversation today is that for the three of us, it feels as though the age of the TED Talk has diminished. We are revisiting TED talks and sharing our favorite talks, old and new, what talks we have been involved with, and where TED is today.
Office has a New Default Color Scheme!
The last post highlighted the new default font, Aptos. There is also a new default color scheme!
The revision is subtle as you can see with the side-by-side comparison. The Standard Colors remain unchanged (unchanged since 1998 I believe!). I learned much of the color decisions the Microsoft team takes into consideration are for accessibility needs – and there is a lot of documentation and reason for each color selected. The formula for the color tints remains unchanged, and not accessible to users.
Here is a larger view of the color chips
In researching the previous color schemes for a comparison, I located color schemes for Office 2007-2010, then Office 2013-2022 and the new theme that is just labelled “Office Theme”. There is not a missing color scheme. The naming is based on the version number of PowerPoint, and we had no new version of PowerPoint between 2010 and 2013!
Troy @ TLC
Office has a new default font – Aptos!
PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook officially have a new default font.
Note: As of today I am not seeing the new font used when I open a blank presentation, on both desktop app and PowerPoint online, but it is coming! The Aptos font family is available in the font list, but not used as the default font when opening new, blank documents. Because the Aptos font has officially been announced and released, I think it will be rolled out to everyone within the next few weeks – assuming they are on a Microsoft 365 subscription.
Quick history of the default font in Microsoft Office apps:
- Times New Roman – default font until 2007
- Calibri – 2007 to 2023
- Aptos – 2023 to ??
From Si Daniels, a principal program manager at Microsoft, “Aptos is a part of a broader wave of features coming to Microsoft 365. We’re pushing to make the software more expressive and inclusive,” explains Daniels. “There’s a newly designed font picker experience, along with new themes, colors, and backgrounds.” More on these over the next few posts!
Other notable information about Aptos:
- It has 24 font types
- It is designed to work equally well for high-resolution display and print, from very small to very large
- It is designed for global use, supporting all major languages
- The process began several years ago when Microsoft started the replacement to Calibri by adding five new fonts in 2021; Tenorite, Bierstadt, Skeena, Seaford, and Grandview
- Bierstadt and Aptos are the same font. In 2023 the Bierstadt font was renamed to Aptos, but the font in both names remains available
I am excited by this font. The variety of font weights and sizes means a single font can be used throughout a presentation or document and provide visual variety, hierarchy and creativity.
-Troy @ TLC