Presentations

LOAD CUSTOM LIBRARIES

You can have Painter automatically load your own custom libraries instead of the default libraries. To change default libraries, choose Edit, Preferences, General Preferences.

In the Libraries section of the General Preferences dialog box, enter the names of the libraries that you want Painter to load at start-up.

-- Adele Droblas Greenberg and Seth Greenberg, Painter 5 Studio Secrets, Copyright (c) 1999 IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

SOME GOOD ARTWORK

Reader Vernon F. asks if we will discuss how to use symbols as artwork in PowerPoint slides.

Yes, we can do that--and it can be done exactly the same way in Freelance Graphics and Corel Presentations slide shows, too.

There are a number of TrueType symbols available for use. Since you can easily size TrueType fonts (a symbol is just a character from a set of fonts), these symbols work quite well as PowerPoint pictures.

To get a look at the way we prefer to work with symbols in PowerPoint slides, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now, click Start, Programs, Accessories, Character Map (in Windows 98, click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Character Map). When Character Map opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Font list box and select the font you want (we recommend Symbol or Wingdings). In Character Map, double-click the symbol you want on your slide, then click Copy. Next move to your PowerPoint slide and press Ctrl-V to paste the symbol onto your slide.

To set the symbol's size now that it's on your slide, select it and click the Increase Font Size button in the PowerPoint toolbar (its icon is a large A). To decrease the symbol size, you can click the Decrease Font Size button. This button is located to the right of the Increase Font Size button. After you finish with Character Map, click Close.

ALLOW SOME TIME

Although you don't necessarily want long periods of silence during a presentation, it's a good idea to allow your audience some time. For example, when you switch from one slide to the next, you could pause a few seconds to allow your audience some time to absorb what they have just seen and heard. If you begin speaking as soon as the new slide appears, you can almost bet a large part of your audience will still be mulling over the last slide.

HYPERLINKS AND PICTURES

Reader Clara N. asks if it's practical to add a hyperlink to a clip art picture in a PowerPoint slide so you can click the picture and go to an Internet site.

Yes, you can add a hyperlink to a clip art picture. Let's look at an example. Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. Click a picture to select it and then click Insert.

With your clip art in place, choose File, Save As. When the Save As dialog box opens, type a name for your new presentation and click Save.

Now click the picture and choose Insert, Hyperlink. When the Insert Hyperlink dialog box opens, type the URL in the Link To File Or URL entry box. You must type the complete URL--for example,

http://www.pcworld.com

then click OK. The entire clip art picture is now the hyperlink, so clicking anywhere inside the picture sends you to the URL.

A GOOD PRESENTATION

As reader Shankar G. points out, the worst presentation of all is one that wanders all over the place. You can avoid this if you follow the basic rules for writing--you need an introduction, the body of the work, and a conclusion. Since the rules for writing a good presentation are the same as for writing anything, do an introduction, then get to the primary focus of your presentation. Finally, you should present a short conclusion.

Follow these rules and avoid the dreaded wandering presentation.

INSERTING PICTURES

Here's a PowerPoint question from reader Charlie D.:

"I have an overhead transparency that I can scan to make slides for a presentation. How do I get that scanned overhead to a slide in PowerPoint?"

You insert a scanned picture in the same way you would any other picture. Once the scanned picture is on your hard disk in the form of a file, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Picture, From File. When the Insert Picture dialog box opens, locate your scanned picture and double-click to insert it. If necessary, use the mouse to size the picture so it fits on the slide.

SLIDES ON PAPER

Here's the lowdown on PowerPoint slide printing, in response to a request from reader Norman H.:

Let's start from scratch and create a slide show with two slides as our example. Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. When the Gallery opens, select a picture and click Insert to insert the picture and close the dialog box. Now size the picture to suit yourself and press Ctrl-M to insert a new slide. When the New Slide dialog box opens, press Enter. Insert a ClipArt picture on this slide (choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt, select a picture, and click Insert).

With two slides in your new show, let's look at how to print them. First of all, if you have a color printer, you may not need to do very much but start printing. Let's suppose you want to print only the first slide. Go to the first slide (you can use the scrollbar to get there) and choose File, Print. When the Print dialog box opens, select the Current Slide radio button and click OK to close the Print dialog box and start printing.

If you prefer to print all the slides in the show, choose File, Print. When the Print dialog box opens, select the All radio button and click OK to continue printing and close the dialog box.

If you use a black-and-white printer, you should choose View, Black And White. Since you won't usually want a lot of heavy blacks, right-click your ClipArt picture and choose Black And White, Light Grayscale to lighten up the picture. Follow the printing procedures described above to print your gray-scale slides.

SHAPE CHANGING

Subscriber Celia C. sent in this PowerPoint drawing question:

"I like to use the drawing tools to place objects in my PowerPoint slides. One problem I have is that I sometimes make a bad choice when it comes to selecting a shape. Then I have to delete the shape and draw a new one. Recently, a friend told me that you could change a shape instead of having to redraw it. Could you explain how to do this?"

Your friend is correct--you can easily change an existing shape. Let's say you draw a rectangle and then decide an ellipse would work better. All you have to do is click the shape to select it, then choose Draw, Change AutoShape. Choose (in this case) Basic Shapes. Now select the ellipse from the displayed shapes.

Many users ignore this command because they believe it won't work unless you used AutoShapes to insert the original shape. This is not the case. As far as PowerPoint is concerned, ellipses and rectangles drawn using the Drawing tools are AutoShapes.

DRAW IT AND FORMAT IT

Here's a PowerPoint tip submitted by reader Mark S.:

"I recently ran across a PowerPoint feature I had never noticed before--if you click one of the Drawing tools (rectangle, ellipse), you can insert the object and open the Format AutoShape dialog box at the same time. All you have to do is click the tool you want to use, then double-click the slide. The object appears in the slide and the Format AutoShape dialog box opens. You can now select the line size, colors, and so forth, then click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings."

Thanks for the tip, Mark. Note that you can open the Format AutoShape dialog box for any shape by double-clicking that shape.

NO FILL?

Reader Joe G. needs some information on the default fill color of AutoShapes in PowerPoint slides:

"When I select one of the Drawing tools in PowerPoint and then draw an object, that object is always green. Most of the time, I don't want any fill color at all. Why did Microsoft make green the default? Why not default to no fill color?"

You can set the fill color to whatever you want for a particular PowerPoint session. To do this, double-click an AutoShape to open the Format AutoShapes dialog box. When the dialog box opens, click the Colors And Lines tab (if necessary). Now click the arrow at the right side of the Fill Color list box. When the list opens, select No Fill. Next, select the check box labeled "Default for new objects" and click OK to save your choices and close the dialog box. From this point on, all your objects draw with no fill.

When you close PowerPoint and restart it, the default fill color returns. And we have no idea why Microsoft chose green.

ON THE DESKTOP

Here's a PowerPoint tip from subscriber Walt D.:

"I present PowerPoint slide shows using a laptop computer attached to a large screen monitor. I usually separate my presentation into two or three sets of slides. To start each one at the proper time, I like to place shortcuts to each of the shows on the desktop.

"If you'd like to do this for your own slide shows, run Windows Explorer and locate your slide show data file. Use the right mouse button to drag the file's icon to the desktop. Release the mouse button and choose Create Shortcut(s) Here.

"To begin a slide show, just right-click the shortcut icon and choose Show. PowerPoint opens, displays your show, and then closes."

Thanks for the tip, Walt.

STANDARD FONTS

Here's a PowerPoint tip submitted by reader Harry F.:

"When you design a PowerPoint (or any other) slide show for use on your customers' computers, you should stick to the standard Windows 95 and 98 fonts. This way, you won't run into font substitutions that could detract from your slide show's appearance."

Thanks for the tip, Harry. However, we need to mention that you CAN embed those fonts in your PowerPoint slide shows. Let's say you use a font that probably doesn't exist on most computers. As long as you choose a TrueType font, you can embed that font into your slide show. To do this, choose File, Save As. When the File Save dialog box opens, select the Embed TrueType check box. Enter the file name and click Save.

ADD SOME BOUNCE TO YOUR SLIDES

Reader Fran S. comments that many Corel Presentations users may not have tried the Fly In And Bounce animation.

If you haven't tried Corel Presentations' Fly In And Bounce animation, you need to take a little time to see how you can use it to enhance your Corel Presentations slide shows. To check it out, run Corel Presentations and create a blank slide. Choose Insert, Graphics, ClipArt. Select a picture and drag it onto your slide. Now right-click the picture and choose Object Animation. When the dialog box opens, select Fly In And Bounce. Click OK, then choose View, Play Slide Show. Click Play to start the show. When the slide opens, press the spacebar. The animated object begins at the top of the slide and moves downward. When it reaches the bottom point of its travel, it bounces.

CUSTOM BULLETS

Reader Gail F. sent in this PowerPoint question:

"I would like to be able to use some special symbols as bullets in PowerPoint slides. Can I do this?"

Yes, you can use symbols as bullets. Let's use Wingdings for our example.

First select all the bulleted text you'd like to change, then choose Format, Bullet. When the Bullet dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Bullets From list box to expand the list. Scroll through the list and locate Symbols, or Wingdings. Select Wingdings, then click the symbol you would like to use as a bullet. Finally, click OK to add the symbol to your slide and to close the dialog box.

I NEED ANOTHER SLIDE NOW

Reader Elliot F. asked about using shortcuts to insert new slides into a slide show. Since Elliot didn't specify a program, let's take a look at shortcuts for all of them: Corel Presentations, PowerPoint, and Freelance Graphics.

To insert a new slide just like the current one in PowerPoint, press Ctrl-M and press Enter.

To insert a new slide in Corel Presentations, press Ctrl-Enter.

When you need a new slide in Freelance Graphics, press F7.

IS IT TOO CROWDED?

Reader Joan B. submitted an interesting PowerPoint tip:

"If you ever wonder whether a slide is too crowded, PowerPoint has a command that can help. The command is called Expand Slide. When you have a slide that looks a bit too crowded with text, choose View, Slide Sorter. Now choose Tools, Expand Slide. PowerPoint splits the text on your crowded slide across a group of new slides."

Thanks for the tip, Joan.

If you'd like to try this tip, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now add some text until the slide looks definitely overcrowded. Choose View, Slide Sorter as Joan suggested, then choose Tools, Expand Slide to see how PowerPoint deals with your overcrowding.

You won't necessarily want to stick with the PowerPoint expansion, so you can move portions of the slides to other slides until you reach a pleasing arrangement.

REVERSE THIS

Les S. submitted the following tip:

"Some time back, you published a tip on how to reverse the colors of an object in a Corel Presentations slide. I decided to use this as an animation effect and have been very pleased with the results.

"To create the effect, run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Graphics, ClipArt. Select one of the pictures and drag it to your slide. Click the picture to select it, then click the Reverse Colors button in the toolbar (the icon shows a small blue rectangle beside a gray rectangle).

"After you reverse the colors, press Ctrl-C to copy the reversed picture. Next click the Reverse button again to set the colors back to normal. Press Ctrl-Enter to insert a new slide. When the slide opens, press Ctrl-V to paste the reversed picture onto the new slide.

"To make the picture flash between normal and reverse colors, choose View, Slide Sorter. Right-click the first slide and choose Transition. When the Slide Properties dialog box opens, click Immediate in the Effects list. Now select the check box labeled 'Apply to all slides in slide show' and click the Display Sequence tab. Select the radio button labeled 'After a delay of' and enter 1 second. Select the 'Immediately after the slide transition' radio button. Next select the 'Apply to all slides in the slide show' check box. Finally, click OK to close the dialog box and save your selections.

"To see the slide show, choose View, Play Slide Show. When the Play Slide Show dialog box opens, select the check box labeled 'Repeat slide show until you press Esc' and then click Play.

"The picture now flashes between normal and reverse colors once every second until you press Esc."

Thanks for the tip, Les. Note that some pictures look better than others when you apply this effect. If your first attempt isn't very satisfying, try a new picture.

START WITH A BLANK SLIDE

Here is a Freelance Graphics question from reader Zhi T.:

"When you start Freelance Graphics, you always end up with some slide template. I sometimes would like to start with a completely blank white slide. Is this possible?"

Although Freelance Graphics offers a large number of templates, it is certainly possible to start with a completely blank slide. To do this, run Freelance Graphics. When the Welcome To Lotus Freelance Graphics dialog box opens, under 1. Select A Content Topic select No Content Topic. Now, under 2. Select A Look, click Blank and then click OK to close the dialog box. Freelance Graphics will now open the New Page dialog box. In this dialog box, select (Blank Page) and click OK to close the dialog box and apply your selection. Freelance Graphics now opens a completely blank white slide.

GO TO MY DATA SLIDE

Here is a PowerPoint tip reader Rene P. submitted:

"People usually ask technical questions during a slide show. To get to the pages that cover 99 percent of the likely questions, I use hyperlinks on each page. For the hyperlinks, I put small icons on each slide in the presentation. The icons are not all that noticeable to the audience, but I can quickly identify and click them to get to the slides that show all the numbers."

Let's take a look at what Rene is doing.

Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide show. Press Ctrl-M and then press Enter several times to create a few slides. Finally, put something on each slide to help you identify them all. Now go to the first slide, choose Insert, Pictures, ClipArt, and double-click a picture you think will make a good icon.

Select the icon and press Ctrl-K. When the Edit Hyperlink dialog box opens, click in the Named Location In File entry box and click Browse. Select the slide that will contain your data (in this case, let's just use slide 3). Click OK to apply the hyperlink and close the dialog box. Back in Edit Hyperlink, click OK to close the dialog box. Now select the icon and press Ctrl-C. Next, move to the second slide and press Ctrl-V to paste the icon and the hyperlink.

Now move to the last slide (number 3), choose Slide Show, Action Buttons, and select the Return button (its icon is a curved arrow). When you draw the button on your slide, PowerPoint opens the Action Settings dialog box. Select the Hyperlink To radio button, then click the arrow at the right side of the list box. When the list expands, select Last Slide Viewed and click OK to close the dialog box and save your selections.

To put it all together, choose View, Slide Sorter. Right-click the slide that is to hold your explanatory data and choose Hide Slide.

When you run the slide show, all you need to do to get to your explanatory data slide is click the hyperlink (which appears on every slide that may require it). After you finish with your data slide, click the Return button to continue your slide show.

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DO A VIGNETTE

Here is a Corel Presentations tip from subscriber Karen M.:

"We recently purchased a digital camera to photograph people and equipment for our presentations. Initially, I found the photos too busy for use in a slide show. The camera doesn't allow good close-up pictures, and as a result the backgrounds were too busy.

While looking for a way to solve the problem, I decided to try Corel Photo House (it comes with Corel WordPerfect Suite 8). In Photo House, I found I could make a vignette that would highlight a person or object and make the picture much more attractive for use in a slide."

Check your installation CD. If you have Corel Photo House, you will want to take a look at all the special effects you can add to your photographs, whether scanned or taken with a digital camera--the vignette is only one option.

Most photographs aren't perfect. Frequently they are too dark, too light, too red, too green, or have too many dust spots. You can use Photo House to enhance their appearance before importing them into a Corel Presentations slide.

DON'T SNIFF

Reader George L. asks us to mention that a presenter needs to watch out for annoying personal habits such as sniffing, clearing the throat, rubbing the nose, and so on.

George is correct, and the only way to control this type of thing is to practice before a live audience. The problem is that most people don't realize that they habitually sniff, clear the throat, cough, rub the nose, rub the eyes, or scratch the head. All these can prove distracting to an audience. During one of our presentations, several audience members calculated the average number of times per minute that one presenter sniffed (three).

NOTE THIS

Reader Sherry W. who recently began using Freelance Graphics to produce her presentations, had this question:

"I like to practice my presentations before a small, friendly audience, and I always take notes of audience comments during the practice sessions. Is it possible to write my notes using the Freelance Graphics software?"

There is an option in Freelance Graphics called Speaker Notes. To use this option during one of your practice sessions, right-click your current slide and choose Speaker Notes. When the Speaker Note dialog box opens, simply type your notes, then click OK to close the dialog box and save them.

When you want to view your notes, choose Page, Open Speaker Note. When the Speaker Note dialog box opens, you'll see the note for the current slide. To view the other notes (and slides), click the forward or back arrow in the Speaker Note dialog box. Clicking the forward arrow navigates to the next slide in the sequence, and Freelance Graphics displays both the slide and the note for that slide. To move to a previous slide, click the back arrow.

When you're finished with the Speaker Note dialog box, click OK to close it.

HYPHENATION AND SLIDE SHOWS

We have questions from two anonymous readers asking how to insert hyphens automatically into PowerPoint and Corel Presentations slides.

Please don't use hyphens in a presentation. This is a sure way to tell your audience that you've never produced a slide show before. Although hyphens can enhance a written document, hyphenated words on a slide will cause audience confusion.

When you run across a word you think needs hyphenation, try starting a new line for that word--even if it is the only word on the new line.

ANIMATED CHARTS

Reader Harold R. asks this PowerPoint animation question:

"Is it possible to animate the individual components of a chart in PowerPoint? I imported an Excel chart into a PowerPoint slide and would like to animate each bar in the chart. I have been trying to do this, and all I can animate is the entire chart."

To do this, you must first ungroup the chart.

Select the chart and choose Draw, Ungroup. Now press Ctrl-A to select all the components. Right-click one of the bars and choose Custom Animation. Click the Timing tab and select Animate. Select the components to animate and then click the Effects tab. Now select the animation effect you want for each component. After you make all your selections, click OK to close the dialog box and apply your settings.

The Ungroup step is necessary because you imported the chart. If you generate a chart in PowerPoint, you can simply right-click the chart, then click the Chart Effects tab. Now click the arrow at the right side of the Introduce Chart Elements list box and select from All At Once, By Series, By Category, By Element In Series, or By Element In Category. Select the one that best suits what you need in the way of animation and then proceed as described above.

To run the slide show, choose Slide Show, View Show.

ADD WORDS NOW

Reader and Freelance Graphics user Freddie K. sent in this spelling question:

"I use a lot of technical jargon in my presentations. I was wondering if there is any way to add a list of these words to the dictionary all at once instead of having to add words as the spelling checker tags them."

Yes, you can. Run Freelance Graphics and choose Edit, Check Spelling. When the Spell Check dialog box opens, click Edit Dictionary. Click the New Word entry box and enter your new word. Click Add to place the word into the user dictionary. If you attempt to add a word that already exists in the main dictionary, Spell Check lets you know by opening a dialog box.

Repeat the process until you run out of words or get tired. When you finish adding words, click OK to get back to the Spell Check dialog box. Click OK again to close Spell Check.

STARS ON YOUR SLIDES

Here is a request from reader Nan L.:

"Some time back, you ran a tip on how to start a Freelance Graphics slide show with blinking stars. Could you cover this again?"

The original tip discussed how to put several slides in a loop to keep the stars blinking. But if you want just a single slide of blinking stars to start off your show, you don't have to bother with the loop.

Run Freelance Graphics and open a completely blank slide. Right-click the slide and choose Page Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Color, Pattern, And Line Style tab. Now click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern list box to expand the list, and choose the Solid pattern. Expand the Pattern Color list box and choose Black. Close the Properties dialog box (click the X in the upper right corner).

Now you can get those stars going. First bring up the floating toolbar by clicking the Drawing And Text box on the left of the screen. Click the oval tool and draw a small oval or circle on the slide. With the oval still selected, right-click one of the corner boxes and choose Circle/Ellipse Properties. When the dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern box and make it black.

Now click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern Color list box and select White. Close the dialog box (click the Close box) and right-click the circle again. This time, you need to choose Change Default Properties. When the dialog box appears, informing you this will now become the default for this figure, click OK to continue.

Continue adding stars. Since you set the default to white ovals, all the ovals you draw from this point on are white. Right-click the star you just drew and choose Copy. Next press Ctrl-V to paste the copied star. The pasted star appears over the original star. Use the mouse to drag it to a new location. Continue pasting stars and dragging them to random positions on your slide.

After you finish drawing stars, press Ctrl-A to select all the stars. Right-click a star and choose Circle/Ellipse Properties. When the dialog box opens, click the Screen Show tab (the icon is a small movie projector). Select the radio button labeled Display Page First, Then Display Object. Select the After radio button and enter 0 seconds. Click the arrow at the right side of the Transition list box and select Dissolve. Close the dialog box (click Close).

To see how your blinking stars look, press Alt-F10 to run the slide show. If all is well, the stars start blinking on as soon as the show starts. The more random your stars, the better the slide looks. You may also like to place some unanimated stars on the slide. This way, an entire field of stars appears as soon as you run the slide, and then the animated stars begin blinking on.

CLIPART CROPPING

Here's a tip submitted by reader Steve M.:

"Although you have reported correctly that you can't recolor an ungrouped ClipArt picture in a PowerPoint slide, you never mentioned the fact that you can't crop an ungrouped picture either. I think people would like to know this."

Yes, we agree. What Steve says is true.

To see what happens when you ungroup a picture, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and double-click a picture to insert it into the slide. With the picture still selected, click the Crop button in the floating Picture toolbar (it's the seventh button from the left). Use the mouse to crop the picture.

Next choose Draw, Ungroup and click Yes when you get the dialog box asking if you're sure. You'll notice that your cropping disappears and you have the whole picture again. The Picture toolbar also disappears, taking the Crop option with it.

SIZE THEM ALL

Here is a Freelance Graphics tip submitted by Gary L.:

"I often place a small group of objects on a slide and then size them and set their locations with respect to each other. Once I have done all this work, I don't want to redo everything just because I decide all the objects in the group need a size change. So after I get all the placement done, I press Ctrl-A to select all the objects. Then I use the mouse to size all the objects at once.

"In case you have added some objects you don't want included in the sizing, click one of the objects to size, then hold down Shift while you click the other objects you want."

"You can also select all the objects you want to include in the group and then choose Drawing (or Collection), Group."

Thanks for the tip, Gary.

A NEW SET OF COLORS

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Bev D.:

"I often use charts in my PowerPoint presentations. I usually have to take the time to set the chart colors to something more reasonable than the PowerPoint defaults. Is there some way to change the default chart colors?"

Yes, there is. To change the default slide colors (not just the chart colors), run PowerPoint and choose Format, Slide Color Scheme. When the Color Scheme dialog box opens, click the Standard tab, where you'll find seven predefined schemes. These schemes determine the colors that apply to charts and so forth. You can choose from one of the seven, then click Apply to use it on the current slide or Apply To All to use it throughout the slide show.

If you don't care for any of the standard color schemes, click the Custom tab. On the Custom page, you can design your own color scheme. All you have to do is click on each element and choose a color. When you're finished, click Add As Standard Scheme if you want to keep your new design. In any case, you can click Apply or Apply To All to accept the scheme.

A RED SHADOW?

Here is a Corel Presentations question from reader Winnie L.:

"I have some photographs in a Corel Presentations slide show. I decided to add shadows to them and clicked the Shadow button in the Graphics toolbar. When the dialog box opened, I selected a shadow type. This worked just fine, except that there doesn't appear to be any way to change the shadow color. Have I missed something? Surely Corel Presentations will let you use something other than dull gray for shadows."

Yes, you did miss something--you missed just one little button click. When you click the Shadow button, a dialog box opens to let you pick the type of shadow you want to use. Instead of picking a shadow right now, click More. This opens the Object Properties dialog box. Select your shadow type and click Shadow Color. Now select your new color, then click OK to apply your selections and close the dialog box.

ADD A SHADOW

Here is a question from reader James G.:

"Could you explain how to add a shadow to text in PowerPoint slides?"

We sure can. While we're at it, we'll also explain how to add shadows to text in Corel Presentations and Freelance Graphics.

First, PowerPoint: Select the text and choose Format, Font. When the Font dialog box opens, select the Shadow check box and click OK to apply your selection and close the dialog box.

In Corel Presentations, select the text box that contains the text. Choose Format, Object Properties, Shadow. When the dialog box opens, choose the type of shadow you want to use and click OK to save your selections and close the dialog box.

In Freelance Graphics, select the text and choose Text, Text Properties. When the dialog box opens, click the Font, Attribute, And Color tab (its icon is AZ), then click the arrow at the right side of the Text Shadow list box to expand the list. Choose the type of shadow you want and click the Close box at the upper right corner of the dialog box to get rid of the dialog box.

KEEPING YOUR NUMBERS IN LINE

by Mark Scapicchio

Subscriber Bruce McColl writes: "I read your recent tip, 'I No Breaka You Space,' 1/8/99, for keeping words together on the same line of text. I can't seem to make it work for numbers, such as phone numbers. Am I doing something wrong?"

Sort of. The text tip helps you keep words separated by SPACES on the same line; for a phone number, you need to keep numbers separated by HYPHENS on the same line. To do this, replace your hyphens with nonbreaking hyphens--instead of just pressing a hyphen (-), press Ctrl-Shift-hyphen.

A NEW HYPERTEXT COLOR

Here is a question from subscriber Ashley T.:

"I was wondering if anyone knows how to change the color of hypertext in PowerPoint 97. Currently the unvisited links are pale blue and visited ones are light gray. This does not always work with the color scheme of some of my presentations. I know of a workaround, but I wonder if there is a more obvious way to customize the color of hypertext directly."

To set the hyperlink colors, run PowerPoint and choose Format, Slide Color Scheme. When the Color Scheme dialog box opens, click the Custom tab. Now double-click the color box to the left of Accent And Hyperlink. This opens the Color dialog box, in which you should double-click the new color you want to apply and close the dialog box. Repeat the operation on Accent And Followed Hyperlink, then click Apply To All to apply your new selections and close the Color Scheme dialog box.

AN ANIMATION TOOLBAR

Subscriber Tom S. sent in this PowerPoint question:

"I use animation very frequently in my PowerPoint slide shows. Since animation is such a valuable tool, why didn't Microsoft provide an Animation toolbar? This would be much more convenient than selecting an object, choosing Slide Show, Preset Animation, and choosing the animation effect to apply."

Microsoft did, in fact, provide an Animation toolbar, although it's often overlooked. Run PowerPoint and choose View, Toolbars, Animation Effects. Animation Effects opens as a floating toolbar. You can double-click its title bar to anchor it, if you wish.

Note that the buttons in the Animation Effects toolbar are available only when you select an animatable object.

The button on the right side of the Animation Effects toolbar opens the Custom Animation dialog box to allow you a wider choice of effects.

CHANGING A SINGLE SLIDE

Here is a question from reader Elliot P.:

"Is it possible to change the background of a single slide using Corel Presentations? It seems that every time I try this, all the slide backgrounds get changed."

Yes, you can change a single slide's background in Corel Presentations. Just go to the slide you want to change and choose Format, Background Gallery. Select your new background and make sure you deselect the check box labeled "Apply selected Background to all slides in slide show." Click OK to close the dialog box and save your selection.

Just in case some PowerPoint users have the same problem, all you have to do is navigate to the slide you want to change and choose Format, Background. When the Background dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Background Fill list box. When the list expands, select from More Colors or Fill Effects. After you make your selections, click OK to close the dialog box. Back in Background, click Apply to apply the choices only to the current slide and close the dialog box.

Freelance Graphics handles the background in a different way. Let's say you'd like to change the layout of one of your slides. Navigate to that slide and right-click a blank spot. When the menu opens, choose Page Properties. After the Properties dialog box appears, click the arrow at the right side of the Layout list box and select a new layout. To change the color, choose Presentation, Edit Backdrop. In the Editing view, right-click a blank spot and choose Backdrop Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, select your new pattern, color, and background color.

After you make all your selections, you can click the X in the upper right corner to dismiss the Properties dialog box.

SIZING PHOTOGRAPHS

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Casey P.:

"Is there a way to import a scanned image into a PowerPoint slide and make the picture the entire slide? "

If you want the picture to take up the entire slide, you can change the picture size or you can change the slide size. If you will only use the slide show on a computer, you can make the slide any size you want--all you have to do is make it match the picture. Note that you can't change the size of a single slide, though--all the slides change when you choose a new layout.

To set the slide layout, choose File, Page Setup. When the Page Setup dialog box opens, choose from one of the standard sizes, or choose your own by modifying the width and height.

If your PowerPoint slide show is set up to produce 35MM slide proportions (11.2 by 7.5 inches), then a picture that uses the standard 35MM slide aspect ratio will fit the PowerPoint slide perfectly. And if you need to insert an 8 by 10 scanned photo, you can set the slide size to 8 by 10.

If you're stuck with a specific slide size, you can crop a picture to make it fit. However, you should be very careful if you decide to resize a scanned photograph, because you can easily spoil the picture by distorting its aspect ratio.

REUSING YOUR SLIDES

You can very easily copy slides from one presentation to another. If you have a slide show that contains a slide you could use, why not use it? There is no point in spending time re-creating a slide you already have.

If you use Freelance Graphics, run the program and open your new slide show. Choose File, Copy Pages From Other Files. When the Select Presentation dialog box opens, click the file from which you want to copy, then click Open. The Copy Pages From Other Files dialog box will open and display slides from the other presentation. Click the slide (or slides) you want to use and click Add. When the Add Pages dialog box opens, click the appropriate radio button to place your copied slide in the new show and click OK. Don't worry too much about selecting the location at this point--you can always rearrange your slides later.

Back in the Copy Pages From Other Files dialog box, you can select more slides and repeat the described procedure, or click Close if you're finished.

In PowerPoint, open your new slide show and choose Insert, Slides From Files. When the Slide Finder dialog box opens, click Browse. Locate the file from which you want to copy slides and click to select it. Next click Open to open the file and close the dialog box.

In Slide Finder, click Display. Now click a slide you want to add to your new show, then click Insert. Repeat for as many slides as you need to copy, then click Close.

A GOOD BLEND

Here is a Corel Presentations tip from reader Ellen D.:

"If you have never tried blending objects in Corel Presentations, you should take a look at how this works. Blend will add as many objects as you want between two objects on your slide. You can get some great effects using Blend."

Thanks for the tip, Ellen.

Let's take a look at how to use Corel Presentations' Blend command.

Run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Graphics, ClipArt. When the Scrapbook opens, drag a picture onto the slide. Place the picture in the upper left corner of the slide. Hold Ctrl while you drag a copy of the picture to the lower right corner of the slide. Now press and hold Alt while you use the mouse to reduce the size of the copy.

Once you're satisfied with the size and location of both pictures, click one of the pictures to select it, and then press and hold Shift while you click the other picture.

Finally, with both pictures selected, choose Tools, Blend. When the Blend dialog box opens, enter the number of pictures you want to appear between your two selected pictures. For the purpose of this example, just click OK to accept the default and close the dialog box. Corel Presentations inserts the requested number of pictures between your two selections.

KEEP BALANCED

Here is a suggestion from reader Gena H.:

"Many presenters seem to be unaware how easy it is to create an unbalanced slide inadvertently. For example, suppose you create a slide with two equal-size objects--a white rectangle on the left and a black rectangle on the right. Since both objects are the same size, you may think the slide is balanced. But the dark rectangle looks heavier than the white, so the slide is unbalanced.

"When this sort of thing happens, an audience may feel that something is not quite right, without being able to point out exactly what it is. I suggest that all presenters rehearse before a small audience, and always pay attention to anyone who tells you that something is not quite right. When this happens, look for those subtly unbalanced slides."

Thanks for the tip, Gena.

MAKE IT PERMANENT

We recently published a tip on how to change the default fill color in your current PowerPoint session. In our tip, we reported that the change would apply only to the current session. Reader Jan A. responded with the following tip:

"There is a way to change the default fill color permanently. Here's the way I did it: I created an AutoShape with the default green fill and changed the fill color to blue. I then right-clicked the shape and selected Set AutoShape Defaults. As you know, this causes all the new shapes for this session to appear in blue. I then deleted the shape, leaving a blank slide. Next, I chose File, Save As and selected the type Presentation Template. Making sure I was in the Office Templates directory (it should have jumped there automatically), I clicked Blank Presentation.pot and pressed Enter to save the file."

Thanks for the tip, Jan.

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USE THE RIGHT COLOR

Reader Alison N. comments that many new presenters tend to make poor color choices when designing slides. Alison's point is that you need to choose your colors to match the objects.

An extreme example of poor color choice might be a pink anvil, or a dark brown feather. Although feathers can certainly come in dark brown, the dark color better fits a massive object. And although you may find pink anvils somewhere, don't use them in your slides.

Note that there are always exceptions to any rule. You may need to use a pink anvil in your slide show to make a point. And you may use a dark brown feather if your slide show concerns dark brown birds.

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COMPLETE CONTROL

Many people find controlling a slide show with keystrokes easier than dealing with the mouse during a presentation.

Here is a list of the keys you would use during a Freelance Graphics presentation:

To start the slide show at the first slide, press Alt-F10. To go to the next slide, press Page Down. To go to the previous slide, press Page Up. To pause, press the Spacebar. To resume a paused show, press the Spacebar again. To terminate the show, press Esc. When the Screen Show Pages dialog box opens, click Quit Screen Show. If you use PowerPoint, use the following keystrokes:

To go to the next slide, press Page Down, or the right arrow key. To go to the previous slide, press Page Up, or the left arrow key. Press S to stop the show temporarily and press S again to restart it. Press Esc to terminate the slide show. During a Corel Presentations slide show, you can use the keystrokes shown here:

Press Page Down, or the right arrow to move to the next slide. Press Page Up, or the left arrow to go to the previous slide. Press Esc to terminate the show.

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MAKE YOUR OWN DRAWINGS

Here is a tip from subscriber Tom C.:

"As much as presentation software has helped us, it has also hurt to some degree. Years ago, we used flip charts and made most of our own drawings. In many presentations, we still find this the best approach. When you don't need to present a slide show to a very formal audience, try making your own drawings. The audience will love it.

"Even if you aren't an artist, you can draw trucks, cars, stick people, and so forth. In fact, drawing simple figures is much easier when you use one of the modern presentation programs. Give this a try--you'll have fun, and so will your audiences."

Thanks for the tip, Tom.

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MAKE A WEB PAGE

If you use Freelance Graphics, PowerPoint, or Corel Presentations for your presentations, you might like to know that you can also use those programs to create a Web page. You don't need to buy any special software in order to experiment with this.

In Freelance Graphics, create a slide (or slides) and choose File, Save As. When the Save As dialog box opens, type a name and then click the arrow at the right side of the Save As Type list box to expand the list. Select World Wide Web Presentation (HTM) and click Save to save your new file and close the Save As dialog box.

In PowerPoint, create a few slides and choose File, Save As HTML. When the Save As HTML wizard opens, click Finish. In the next dialog box, click Don't Save (this is for our example only--you may later find that you do want to save a conversion setting).

To save a slide show as a Web page in Corel Presentations, choose File, Save As and save your file. Next choose Internet Publisher. When the Internet Publisher dialog box opens, click Publish To HTML. When the Publish To HTML wizard opens, click Finish. Type a name when prompted. After your page is saved, you can view it now, or click OK to close the wizard.

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ALTERNATE COLORS

Here is a suggestion from longtime presenter Marla C.:

"In the old days, when we made our presentations on flip charts, we would often alternate text colors. For example, we would use blue for the first bullet, and dark red for the second bullet. Then we would alternate these two colors throughout the entire presentation.

"Although the temptation is great to get much more elaborate when using PowerPoint or one of the other presentation packages, I have found this simple, old-fashioned approach still seems to work."

Thanks, Marla.

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MAKE A COPY

Here is a PowerPoint 97 tip from subscriber Steve N.:

"I have seen tips suggesting that you place multiple copies of an object on a PowerPoint slide by pressing Ctrl-C to make the copy, and then Ctrl-V to paste the copy. This is unnecessary work. All you have to do is hold down the Ctrl key while you drag away as many copies of an object as you need."

To see how this works, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. Select a picture and click Insert. Press and hold Ctrl while you drag a copy of the object to a new location. You can repeat this as often as needed--just keep holding down Ctrl and dragging away copies.

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CHART WITH CARE

Here is a tip from reader Bill T.:

"I recently encountered a problem others might like to avoid. We made a chart showing our projected and actual sales. We then placed the chart on a slide and used it in a presentation.

"The problem was that the way the chart was designed, it appeared that we were way off our projected sales when we were really not. This initiated an unwarranted concern on the part of some of our managers.

"My point is this: Go ahead and make those charts if they help you, but don't put them on a slide unless you're sure they convey the correct impression when people who don't have access to all the details view them."

Thanks for the tip, Bill.

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CUSTOM SHOWS

Reader Larry K. submitted this tip:

"There are times when I need to use the same basic presentation for different audiences. In the past, I simply hid all the slides I didn't need for a given audience. Now I create a custom show. All you have to do is select the custom show when you start your slide show and proceed as usual. The great part is that you never have to worry about forgetting to hide or unhide slides."

Let's run through an example of how to use Larry's technique.

Run PowerPoint and open an existing slide show, or create a new show with three or four slides. You can choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and place a ClipArt picture on each of the new slides so you can see what is happening.

In slide view, choose Slide Show, Custom Shows. When the Custom Shows dialog box opens, click New. Now type an appropriate name for your new custom show (Show 1 is OK for now).

You'll see the slides in your new show listed under Slides In Presentation. Let's say you're creating a new show using only three of your four original slides. Click Slide 1 and then hold down Shift while you click Slides 2 and 3. After you have selected the slides you want in your custom show, click Add. Now click OK to close the dialog box and apply your selections. Back in Custom Shows, click Close to close the dialog box.

Finally, let's suppose you're ready to start your custom presentation. Choose Slide Show, Custom Shows. When the Custom Shows dialog box opens, select the custom show you just created and click Show. PowerPoint now runs the slide show using only the slides you added to the custom show. When you choose Slide Show, View Show, PowerPoint displays all the slides in your original show.

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SHOWING MOVIES

Here is a question from subscriber Oren W.:

"I recently inserted one of the movies from the ClipArt Gallery into a PowerPoint slide. The only problem is that the movie doesn't start as soon as the slide opens. Is there some way to force the movie to start automatically?"

Let's set up a slide using a movie so everyone can see what Oren is trying to do.

Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. When the Clip Gallery opens, click the Videos tab. Select a video and click Insert.

Now let's get the movie to start as soon as the slide opens. Right-click the video picture and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Timing tab. Now select the Animate and Automatically radio buttons. Set the time to zero seconds (the default) and click OK to close the dialog box and record your selection.

To view the show, choose Slide Show, View Show. As soon as the slide opens, the video begins to play.

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MAKE IT PERFECT

Here is a tip from reader Diane W.:

"Some time back, you ran a tip on how to make a perfect circle or square in PowerPoint slides. I wonder if most of your readers know that you can also make an existing imperfect circle or square into a perfect one using the Format AutoShape dialog box. Would you address this in one of your tips?"

The original tip to which Diane refers is that if you hold down the Shift key while you use the mouse to draw a circle or square, you produce a perfect shape.

If you have an oval or rectangle on one of your slides and decide you need to make it a perfect circle or square, right-click the object and choose Format AutoShape. When the AutoShape dialog box opens, click the Size tab.

Let's say you have an oval with a height of 3.5 inches and a width of three inches. You would like instead to have a perfect circle with a diameter of 3 inches. Just delete the current contents of the Height spin box and type 3. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your changes. Now you have a perfect circle.

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SLIDE SHOWS AND PRESENTATIONS

Reader Nora B. sent in the following comments:

"You seem to concentrate mostly on slide shows. If designed correctly, the slide show is only part of a presentation--and in many cases, the slide show is a very small part of a presentation. For the best possible presentation, don't spend all your time worrying about a ten-minute slide show, if your total presentation lasts an hour.

"Another mistake that many new presenters make is to put almost everything they intend to say on the slides. This is a terrible mistake. Always use the slides to provide a GUIDE. Don't try to crowd in too much text. You should provide most of the material yourself. A slide show without a significant verbal presentation seems cold and mechanical."

Thanks for your suggestions, Nora.

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TURNING ON THE SOUND FOR YOUR SLIDE SHOWS

This question from PowerPoint user Sarah B. is applicable to Freelance Graphics and Corel Presentations as well:

"I recently decided to add a MIDI sound to one of my slides. As far as I can see, I did everything right, but I don't get any sound. I discovered that if I insert a WAV file the sound will work, but still I get nothing when I try to use a MIDI sound. Do you have any suggestions?"

You may not have MIDI sounds turned on in Windows 95/98. Double-click the Volume control icon at the right side of the Windows taskbar. When the Master Volume dialog box opens, see if you have a volume control for MIDI sounds. If you do, make sure the Mute check box is deselected.

If you don't have a MIDI volume control, choose Options, Properties in the Volume Control dialog box. When the Properties dialog box opens, look for MIDI in the list, select its check box, and click OK to close the dialog box and apply your selection. The MIDI volume control will now appear. Make sure the Mute check box is deselected and close the dialog box by choosing Options, Exit.

Your MIDI sounds should work now.

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USING TWO SLIDE SHOW PRESENTERS?

We recently observed a presentation given by two people. This presentation did not work well, primarily because the two presenters apparently decided to put on a comedy act. In almost all cases, a presentation is serious business. You are asking a group of people to buy your product, approve your project, or simply see what you have accomplished. A little humor is good, but don't overdo it.

Also, if you must do a two-person presentation, make sure you both address the audience. Don't fall into the trap of presenting to your fellow presenter. Watch your local television news anchors for an illustration of how two-person teams should work together to present information. They may now and then address each other but for the most part, they look into the camera and address the audience.

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ANIMATING CLIPART ON A FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDE

Here is a tip suggested by a reader:

If you would like to spruce up one or two of your Freelance Graphics slides, you can make the ClipArt look as if it's being drawn as the slide opens. To do this, run Freelance Graphics and open a blank slide. Click ClipArt and select one that you like. Now, choose Group, Ungroup.

After you ungroup the ClipArt picture, don't click anywhere else on the slide--this would deselect the picture elements. With all the picture elements still selected, choose Collection, Collection Properties (or Drawing, Drawing Properties--whichever is available on the menu). When the dialog box opens, click the Screen Show tab (its icon is a tiny movie projector). Next, select the Display Page First, Then Display Object and the After options. Leave the time box set to zero seconds (the default). The default transition is Appear. For now, leave the default selection and dismiss the dialog box by clicking the close box in the upper-right corner.

Press Alt-F10 to view the slide. As you open the slide, the ClipArt will begin to construct itself. If your ClipArt is large and contains many components (and you use a fast computer), the Appear selection may create just the effect you need. However, if the animation is too fast, you can press Ctrl-A to select all the picture elements and choose Collection, Collection Properties again. Now, click the arrow beside the Transition list box and select a new effect. It's best to look at several effects to see which is best for your slide show.

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ANIMATED CLIPART IN COREL PRESENTATIONS AND POWERPOINT

In our previous tip, we described how to animate ClipArt in Freelance Graphics slides. This time, let's look at how to do the same in Corel Presentations and PowerPoint.

In PowerPoint, choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt; select a picture; and click Insert to place it on your slide. Size the picture to suit your needs, and while the picture is still selected, choose Draw, Ungroup. When the dialog box opens asking if you are sure, click Yes. At this point, don't click anywhere because you'll deselect all the individual pieces if you do. Choose Slide Show, Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Entry Animation drop-down arrow and select Appear from the list.

Now, click the Timing tab and select the Animate and Automatically options. Set the spin box to zero seconds (the default) and click OK.

You can run the slide show now to see how your new animation looks. Simply choose Slide Show, View Show.

Note: If your object's animation is too slow, go back to the Custom Animation dialog box and select another type of animation. Peek From Bottom is a good one for small pictures with few pieces. Appear is best for large pictures with many pieces. Try some other types of animation to see which offers the best effect for your slide.

In Corel Presentations, choose Insert, Graphics, ClipArt. Drag a picture onto your slide and then close the Scrapbook. Drag the picture into position on the slide and right-click it. Choose Separate from the resulting menu. Next, with all the picture components still selected, choose Format, Object Properties, Object Animation. In the Object Properties dialog box, select the Animate Object In Place option and then select Fade from the Effects list. Now, select the Fast option and click OK to close the dialog box and save your selections. Finally, choose Format, Slide Properties, Display Sequence. In the Slide Properties dialog box, select the After A Delay Of option and keep the default zero (0) seconds. Retain the default on all the other options and click OK to close the dialog box and save your new settings.

To view the show, choose View, Play Slide Show.

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IMPORTING BMP PICTURES INTO FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDES

Here is a Freelance Graphics tip from reader Lawrence W.:

"I recently needed to place several BMP photographs into a Freelance Graphics presentation. I found that most of the photos looked rather distorted after I placed them in the slide, but they did not appear distorted when I viewed them in my photo graphics program. I told a friend who has used Freelance Graphics for some time about this problem. He said that the pictures were probably too large for the slide and that Freelance Graphics may have automatically reduced the pictures to make them fit. He said that this will cause the distortion.

"I then used the photo graphics software to reduce the picture size and re-imported them into Freelance Graphics. This time, they looked fine.

"I thought some of your readers might like to know about this solution to a distorted graphics problem."

When you import a BMP file that is much too large for the slide, Freelance Graphics will repeatedly reduce its size by 50 percent until it fits on the slide.

Thanks for the tip, Lawrence.

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BECOME FAMILIAR WITH YOUR PRESENTATION PROGRAM

Reader Julie S. asks us to point out that sometimes the presenter isn't the person who develops the slide show. In many companies, the slide show producers are specialists (artists, etc.) who develop a slide show based on information given them by the presenter. This isn't as awkward as it sounds, because the presenters usually work closely with the developers to create the show.

The potential problem, Julie says, occurs when the presenter doesn't take the time to become fully familiar with the operation of the program used to present the slides.

If you work for a company that uses a development team to get your slide shows together, make sure you run through the slide show thoroughly before you take it on the road. You must be familiar enough with the program's operation to solve any problems that arise while you are presenting at a remote site.

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BRANCHING TO MULTIPLE PRESENTATIONS IN POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOWS

If you often use relatively long slide shows and find yourself copying slides from past shows into your new shows, you might want to consider simply branching to other slide shows instead. If you use this technique, you can assemble a set of slide shows to incorporate into each of your presentations.

Let's look at a sample presentation that uses two slide shows. Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and double-click a picture to insert it. Now, press Ctrl-M and press Enter to insert a new blank slide. Insert a ClipArt picture and press Ctrl-M, then Enter again, and insert a picture on this third slide.

Save the current slide show (choose File, Save As, name the file Two, and click Save). Next, close the file by choosing File, Close. Then, click the New button in the PowerPoint toolbar to start a new slide show. Repeat the procedure described above to place some ClipArt on three slides in the new show. Go to the second slide in the new show and choose Insert, Object. When the Insert Object dialog box opens, select the Create From File option and then select the Link check box. Now, click Browse, locate the file you named Two.ppt, and double-click its icon to insert it into your slide. Click OK to close the Insert Object dialog box.

With the link in place on your slide, use the mouse to size it so it appears as a thumbnail. Move it to the bottom of the slide and then right-click it. When the menu opens, choose Action Settings to open the Action Settings dialog box. In this dialog box, select the Object Action option. If Show isn't displayed in the Object Action list box, click the arrow beside the list box and select Show. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your selection. Choose File, Save As and name this file One. Click Save to close the Save As dialog box and save the file.

To see how your branching works, choose Slide Show, View Show. Navigate to the second slide and then click the thumbnail. PowerPoint will navigate to the second show and run through all the slides in that show. When the branched show is finished, PowerPoint will return to your original show.

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ATTACHING SOUND TO A CLIPART PICTURE IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

This Freelance Graphics question is from reader Morris L.:

"I would like to attach a sound to a ClipArt picture in a Freelance Graphics slide so that the sound will play when I click the picture. Is this possible in Freelance Graphics?"

Yes, it is possible, but the method isn't especially obvious. Run Freelance Graphics and open a blank slide. Now, click ClipArt and select a picture. With the ClipArt in place, double-click the picture to open the Group Properties dialog box. Click the Screen Show tab (its icon is a movie projector). Select the Display Page First, Then Display Object option and leave the time set to the default of zero.

In the dialog box, click the Action When Object Is Clicked drop-down arrow and select Play Sound from the list. When the Play Sound dialog box opens, locate the sound you want to use and double-click its icon.

Now, you can close the dialog box (click the X in the upper-right corner) and then press Alt-F10 to view your slide. Click the ClipArt to play your sound selection.

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SOME PRESENTER TIPS FROM AN EXPERT

Here are some tips from reader and longtime presenter, Nancy R.:

"I was doing presentations long before there were any presentation programs. I have a few presenter tips for those readers who may have only recently begun giving presentations.

"The laser pointer is a fairly recent presentation tool, and it's a good tool. However, you should practice with it before you use it in front of an audience. Make sure you can hold the point on the screen steadily--it looks bad when the point shakes all over the screen. If you can't master this, don't use the laser pointer.

"Decide what you will wear for your presentation and practice making your presentation while wearing them. If you find that an article of clothing hinders your movements, switch to something else. Whatever you do, keep your choice of clothing conservative and don't wear anything gaudy, even if it is the latest style, because you are not the main attraction--the presentation is.

"One final remark: Do not wear noisy jewelry. A bracelet that rattles whenever you move your arm is a distraction. Ask your practice audience to comment on anything at all that they find distracting."

Thanks for the tips, Nancy.

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USING PICTURES AS BULLETS IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDES

Here is a tip submitted by reader Susan W.:

"A short time back, you ran a tip on how to use ClipArt pictures as bullets in Freelance Graphics slides. Although you mentioned that it is best to avoid very busy pictures, in fact it is best to avoid using color pictures at all. Very simple black and white pictures look best. You can do OK with single color pictures. For example, blue on white looks OK in a bullet. Multiple colors almost never look good as bullets."

To fill you in on what Susan is talking about, you can choose your own custom bullets in Freelance Graphics. To see how this works, run Freelance Graphics and open a blank slide. Now, add some bulleted text. Select the text and choose Text, Bullets & Numbers. When the dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right of the Style list box and then choose ClipArt from the list. When the ClipArt dialog box opens, double-click the picture you want to use to make it your new bullet.

As Susan points out, a single color is probably the best choice. In any case, a multicolored, busy picture is a poor choice.

You may also want to increase the size of your new bullet to make it more legible. To do this, click the up arrow in the Size spin box. You can view the bullet as you increase the size, so you can tell when it reaches an acceptable size.

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MAKE SURE EVERYONE CAN HEAR YOU

Here is something that we really hadn't thought about. Reader Aaron G. asks us to offer this tip:

"When you make a presentation before an audience, it is important to find out if everyone in the audience can hear you. In my experience, if you ask, 'Can everyone hear me?' you will get no response--because most people are either too polite to respond or don't want to call attention to themselves in what they may consider a negative manner. I find that I do much better if I ask, 'Should I speak a bit louder?' When I ask this question, I frequently see a few people at the back of the audience nod their heads."

Thanks for the tip, Aaron.

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HOW TO GET RID OF THE OFFICE ASSISTANT

One of our readers asks about how to eliminate the Office Assistant. Many PowerPoint users often ask this question, so here is an easy way to take care of the job.

Close any Office 97 program that is currently running. Now, run Windows Explorer and go to your Office folder. This is usually C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office. In the right pane, you'll see a folder named Actors. Use the right mouse button to drag this folder to another location--almost any location will do. When you release the mouse button, a menu will open. From this menu, choose Move.

With the Actors folder where PowerPoint (along with all of the other Office 97 programs) can't find it, you won't be bothered by Office Assistant. But you know where it is if you need it again, and all you have to do is move (or copy) it back to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office.

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IS CLIPART APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR PRESENTATION?

All three of the presentation programs that we deal with have a nice supply of ClipArt. But although the ClipArt has a lot of variety and is very convenient to use, you should always ask yourself if ClipArt is appropriate for your intended audience. Consider this: ClipArt is, for the most part, a collection of cartoons, which may not always be appropriate for your presentation. If you have any doubts, try to get some objective opinions before you add the ClipArt. If you decide you need something more sophisticated for your presentation, consider inserting photographs instead.

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ADDING A CONTROL PANEL TO FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDES

Here is a Freelance Graphics tip from reader Isaac M.:

"I have regularly added the control panel to the slides in my slide shows, but sometimes, when I found that I didn't care for the control panel in a particular slide show, I would always remove it from that show.

"I've recently discovered that I can leave the control panel off when I create the show and add one at show time, if needed. To do this, you right-click a slide (after the show has started) and choose Control Panel, then select the location where you want it to appear. If you reach a point in the show where you no longer need the control panel, right-click the slide and choose Control Panel, Hide to get rid of it."

Thanks for the tip, Isaac.

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AVOID USING "CANNED" PRESENTATIONS

Here is a tip from reader Lou A.:

"In the old days, most audiences were accustomed to slide show presentations that looked 'canned.' And that is exactly what they were. A company would have a slide show made up, and then those slides were reused as often as possible, because it was too expensive to generate a completely new slide show for each presentation.

"I have noticed that many experienced presenters still fall into the trap of adapting their old slide shows to new circumstances ('We'll just change the charts'). When you do this, you give the appearance of using the 'canned' slide shows that are now so unnecessary. Don't try to reuse your slides--you have a computer program that will let you easily make a completely new slide show."

We agree--to an extent. We see nothing wrong with reusing old slides when they fit into a new show perfectly. However, we do agree that you shouldn't make a stretch to make those old slides fit. As Lou says, you can use that program to make some new slides with much less work than was required before computer programs like Freelance Graphics, Corel Presentations, and PowerPoint were around.

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CHANGING CLIPART COLORS IN COREL PRESENTATIONS SLIDES

Here is a tip that was submitted by reader Jack D.:

"I found a ClipArt picture that would fit into my current presentation quite well. The only problem was that the background color just wasn't right. I discovered that changing colors in ClipArt is very simple.

"To change a picture's colors, all you have to do is select the picture and choose Tools, Convert To Bitmap. When the Convert To Bitmap dialog box opens, click Convert to continue.

"With the ClipArt picture converted to a bitmap, double-click the picture to open it in Edit view. Use the drawing/painting tools to modify the picture and, when finished, choose File, Close Bitmap Editor, and your newly colored picture will appear on the slide."

To see how Jack's technique works, run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Graphics, ClipArt and drag one of the pictures to your slide. You can now close the Scrapbook (click the X in the upper-right corner).

Click the picture and choose Tools, Convert To Bitmap. Click Convert to continue with the conversion. Now, as Jack described, double-click the picture.

When the picture opens in the Edit Bitmap window, select one of the coloring tools. The Foreground Fill Color tool shows a bucket in the process of pouring paint into the foreground. Click it to open a color selection dialog box and select a new color. Now, click the Flood Fill tool (its icon resembles a paint roller). Click an area that you would like to fill with the new color.

You can continue this process until you have colored any parts of the picture that you want to change. After you finish changing the colors, choose File, File, Close Bitmap Editor to return to the slide.

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TELL YOUR AUDIENCE ABOUT THE PICTURES

Here is a tip from reader Susan W.:

"I have been to many presentations where the presenter used excellent photographs as part of the slide show. Very often, when the picture flashed on the screen, the presenter would simply say, 'This is a picture taken in Hawaii' or something to that effect. Don't do this; always give your audience some detail about the picture. Why is that picture from Hawaii important to your presentation? Surely you didn't put it in just to show that Hawaii is a lovely place.

"A picture may be worth a thousand words, but if you don't explain how that picture fits into your presentation, it isn't worth anything."

Thanks for the tip, Susan.

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LOOPING SOUNDS IN POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOWS

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Jane M.:

"I use PowerPoint for my presentations. For the slide show I'm currently working on, I could use a MIDI sound that continues throughout the entire slide show. Is this practical?"

Yes, it is practical to loop sound through an entire slide show in PowerPoint. To try this, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Insert some text or ClipArt, just so you will have something to look at, and then press Ctrl-M and press Enter to insert a new slide. Insert some ClipArt on the new slide and press Ctrl-M-Enter again. Repeat until you have four or five slides in the slide show.

Now, go to your first slide and choose Insert, Movies And Sounds, Sound From File. When the Insert Sound dialog box opens, locate your sound and double-click its icon to insert it onto the slide.

Next, right-click the speaker icon that represents your sound and choose Custom Animation. The Custom Animation dialog box will open to the Play Settings page. Select the Continue Slide Show and After options. Use the spin box to enter the number of slides in your show. Next, click More Options and then select the Loop Until Stopped check box and click OK. Back in Custom Animation, click the Timing tab. Now, select the Animate and Automatically options. Click OK to close the Custom Animation dialog box and save your selections.

Now, you can choose Slide Show, View Show to see if all is working well. The sound should loop as long as the slide show runs. When the slide show ends, so will the sound.

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USING AN LCD PROJECTION PANEL FOR YOUR PRESENTATION

The following comments were sent in by reader Dan M.:

"I am sending this to you in hopes of helping someone else avoid the problems I recently ran into when using an LCD projection panel on the road.

"When I started my slide show testing (only a half-hour before presentation time), I discovered that the projector wasn't bright enough to allow me any significant room lighting. Since it is very difficult to present in a totally dark room, I felt that I was at a definite disadvantage.

"I don't know whether other LCD panels suffer from this problem. I assume that the biggest problem is the brightness of the projector. In most cases, a projector is too big an item to take along, so you must work with the one that is onsite.

"I have no particular alternative to recommend; I just wanted to warn people that they may experience a similar problem if they must use an LCD panel."

Thanks for the information, Dan.

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MAPPING A PICTURE WITH COREL PRESENTATIONS

The following tip was submitted by reader Phillip B.:

"Although I always use Corel Presentations for my slide shows, I recently ran across another use for Corel Presentations--you can use it to map images for your Web pages.

"When I was fooling around with Corel Presentations, I decided to see what some of the macros do. I tried the one named Imgemap.wcm and discovered that it would map an image. I thought others might like to give this a try."

To see how Imgemap.wcm works, run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Now, choose Tools, Macro, Play. When the Play Macro dialog box opens, double-click Imgemap.wcm. This opens the Create HTML Image Map Code dialog box. You can type the location and name of the picture file you want to use, or you can click the button at the right side of the Enter Bitmap text box to display the Open File dialog box. Locate the picture you want to use and double-click its icon to insert the picture and close the dialog box.

When the Image Map Macro dialog box opens, read the instructions and then click OK. Now, use the mouse to outline the area you want to map. Next, click Set Map, then type the URL you want to apply to the selected area and click OK. You can now use the mouse to map another area and then click Set Map and type another URL. After you have mapped all the areas you need, click Done. Corel Presentations will save your new HTML file in the folder in the last dialog box (Create Image Map Is Finished). After you see where your file is going to be stored, click OK to close this dialog box.

The HTML file will contain the coding that maps your picture. You can use this file as part of your Web page, or you can copy the code (and the picture information) to an existing Web page.

Thanks for the tip, Phillip.

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ORGANIZING A SLIDE SHOW PRESENTATION

As reader Gerri C. mentioned in a recent message, too many new presenters are overwhelmed by their presentation program's power and become so involved with adding pictures, sounds, and animations that they often lose sight of the point of the presentation.

Before you start creating slides, it is a very good idea to sit down with the people involved and make sure that you all agree about what you want your presentation to accomplish. What is its point? What do you need to do to make the point?

Once you start designing slides, you should not overdo them. Don't add so many pictures, sounds, and animations that you take a chance on losing your audience to a confusing flurry of sight and sound. Only use visuals that support your point. Never use visuals just because they look good.

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WORKING WITH CHARTS IN YOUR PRESENTATIONS

Here is a presentation tip from reader Dale J.:

"I have often seen presentations that used backward charts. By this, I mean the emphasis was placed on the wrong elements. One recent example of this was a chart that showed corporate earnings since 1990. Unfortunately, the first bar was 1998, the next was 1997, etc. This is a very poor practice, since one's first impression is that earnings are steadily dropping.

In another example, a computer manufacturer showed comparison timing charts. The fastest computer had the shortest line. This is valid and may be fine for an audience of engineers, but the first impression of a non-technical audience is that the longest line represents the best computer. New presenters should be very careful not to fall into any of these chart traps."

Thanks for the comments, Dale.

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ADDING PICTURES TO THE POWERPOINT CLIP GALLERY

In the last tip, we discussed how to add your own pictures to the Freelance Graphics ClipArt library. This time, let's take a look at how to add your own pictures to the PowerPoint Clip Gallery.

Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now, choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. When the Microsoft Clip Gallery opens, click Import Clips. This will open the Add Clip Art To Clip Gallery dialog box. Locate the file that you would like to import and double-click it.

After the importation process finishes, the Clip Properties dialog box opens. Select the category that you want your new picture to appear in and then click OK to close the dialog box and accept the addition. To view your new addition, click the Pictures tab.

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USING THE POWERPOINT SLIDE MASTER

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Mark F.:

"I'm a new PowerPoint user, and I would like to ask how you use the Slide Master. I've opened the Slide Master, and it just looks like any other slide to me."

The Slide Master is another slide, Mark, but it's a special slide. Anything you place on the Slide Master will appear on all the slides in a slide show. Suppose, for example, that you would like to place some action buttons in every slide for navigation. Let's say you would use a button for Next Slide and one for Previous Slide.

Since you want these buttons to appear on all your slides, choose View, Master, Slide Master. When the Slide Master opens, choose Slide Show, Action Buttons and select the Next button. Use the mouse to draw, place, and size your new button. When the Actions Settings dialog box opens, just click OK to close it and use the default settings. Repeat this procedure to place the Previous action button. You'll see a floating toolbar labeled Master on your screen. Click Close to return to your slide show. The two buttons you placed in the Slide Master will appear on each slide in the show, as well as any new slides that you create.

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GOO PROJECTOR SECRETS

You can have Goo randomize your keyframes for playback by Control-clicking on the Projector button.

-- Ted Alspach and Steven Frank, Official Kai's Power Tools Studio Secrets, Copyright (c) 1996 IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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USING TRANSITIONS IN YOUR PRESENTATIONS

Reader Bob D. sent in this advice on how to use transitions:

"Many new presenters fail to pay enough attention to their slide transitions. With the presentation programs that are available now, people tend to use eye-catching transitions. In most cases, you want to use subtle transitions. You don't want to have the audience pay more attention to your transitions than to your presentation. I suggest using a wipe effect for most transitions, although I often use a fade to black to indicate a passage of time or to better separate two thoughts."

Good advice, Bob. Thanks for the tip.

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ADDING SPECIAL EFFECTS TO PHOTOGRAPHS IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Here is a Corel Presentations tip submitted by reader Chester M.:

"Although you can use third-party software to manipulate photographs and other bitmapped pictures, many people aren't aware of the fact that you can do this in Corel Presentations. After you import a picture, double-click it and then choose Tools, Special Effects. Select one of the effects and then click OK to apply the effect and close the dialog box. Now, press Ctrl-F4 to return to your slide show."

Note that you can apply special effects to only a portion of the picture, if you wish. Insert the picture (choose Insert, Graphics, From File and double-click the picture you want to use). With the picture inserted, double-click it and then click the Select Area button in the toolbar (its icon is a dotted line square). Now, use the mouse to outline the area you want to work with and then choose Tools, Special Effects. Select the effect you want, and click OK to close the dialog box and apply the effect. Now, press Ctrl-F4 to return to your slide.

Thanks for the tip, Chester.

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PLACING A LOGO ON EVERY FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDE

Several readers have commented that they've tried unsuccessfully to place a logo on every slide in a show. The most likely reasons for the confusion are that the best way to place a logo on all slides is to put it in the background, and you can't place a logo in the background of a blank slide.

To place a logo in the background, run Freelance Graphics and select one of the slide layouts (anything but blank). Now, choose Presentation, Add A Logo To Every Page. You can add the logo, ClipArt, Bitmap, whatever you want. Size the logo, and place it out of the way. Don't place the logo inside the rectangle outline on the slide.

When you finish with your logo, click Done to continue. The logo will not appear on the title slide, but it will appear on all the others.

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PLACING A LOGO ON EVERY FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDE

Several readers have commented that they've tried unsuccessfully to place a logo on every slide in a show. The most likely reasons for the confusion are that the best way to place a logo on all slides is to put it in the background, and you can't place a logo in the background of a blank slide.

To place a logo in the background, run Freelance Graphics and select one of the slide layouts (anything but blank). Now, choose Presentation, Add A Logo To Every Page. You can add the logo, ClipArt, Bitmap, whatever you want. Size the logo, and place it out of the way. Don't place the logo inside the rectangle outline on the slide.

When you finish with your logo, click Done to continue. The logo will not appear on the title slide, but it will appear on all the others.

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REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE THE PRESENTER

Here is a tip from subscriber Dragan S.:

"I have been doing presentations for a long time, and I have begun to notice a bad trend since everyone started using computers. In the old days, you used a slide projector or an overhead projector as a tool to help with your presentation. The point is you were making the presentation, aided by slides or charts.

With the advent of computers and presentation programs, many presenters seem to think the computer is the presenter. If you let this happen to you, you have lost the focus of your presentation. You have to remember that the computer is a tool, just like the projector was before computers came along."

Thanks for the tip, Dragan. It is very easy to fall into this trap. The computers can do so much that we tend to lose focus.

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USING A VISUAL TIME CLUE IN POWERPOINT

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Theresa B.:

"I am looking for a way to keep track of time during a PowerPoint slide show. I would like to talk for no more than 30 seconds during a specific slide. I have tried a timer and find it distracting. Do you have any ideas?"

You could use a variation of the technique that movies have used for years. If you watch closely the next time you go to a movie, you will see a dot flash onto the screen. A short time later, another dot flashes onto the screen. These dots are there to indicate to the projectionist that it's time to switch to a new reel.

To do this in a PowerPoint slide show, open your slide show and navigate to the slide you want to work with. Now, click the Oval button in the Drawing toolbar and draw a small circle. Color and size it as you wish and move it to the lower-right corner of the slide.

Right-click the new circle and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Effects tab. Now, under Entry Animation And Sound, click the arrow at the right side of the first list box and select Flash Once, Fast from the list.

Click the Timing tab now, select the radio buttons labeled Animate and Automatically. Enter the time interval you want (30 seconds) and then click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings. Now, the circle will flash when the 30 seconds has elapsed.

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CHANGING THE ANIMATION SEQUENCE OF FREELANCE GRAPHICS OBJECTS

The following Freelance Graphics question was sent in by reader Hugh H.:

"I recently designed a slide that uses object animation. My problem is that I don't like the way Freelance Graphics decided to set the sequence of a group of ClipArt pictures. Is there a way to change the sequence, or do I have to start all over again?"

No need to start over. Since you already have the animation set up, open the slide in question and choose Presentation, Sequence Objects On Page. When the Screen Show Sequence Overview dialog box opens, use the mouse to drag object titles into the sequence you want to use. After you make all the necessary changes, click OK to close the dialog box and apply your new sequence selection.

If you don't have a slide available, but would like to see what Hugh is talking about, run Freelance Graphics and open a blank slide. Now, click ClipArt and place a few pictures onto the slide. Right-click a picture and choose Group Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, select the radio buttons labeled Display Page First, Then Display Object and After. Leave the default setting of zero and click the arrow at the right side of the Transition list box. Select a transition and then leave the dialog box open and click another ClipArt picture. Now, repeat the above procedure and then click another picture. Continue until you have selected animation for all the ClipArt pictures.

Now, still in the Properties dialog box, click Sequence to open the Screen Show Sequence Overview dialog box. Now, you can modify the sequence as described earlier, by dragging objects into different positions on the sequence list. When finished, click OK to continue, and then click the Close box to dismiss the Properties dialog box. Next, run your screen show to check it out.

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WORKING WITH A WIRELESS MICROPHONE

Here is a note from reader Gina S.:

"A few weeks ago, I was in the audience for a really nice presentation. The only problem was that the presenter was wearing a wireless microphone and sniffed a lot. Every time he sniffed, the microphone picked up the sound and amplified it. People need to watch what they do when they wear those microphones. All that sniffing ruined what was otherwise an excellent presentation."

Of course, the sniffing would probably have been distracting even without the amplification. If you must present when you have a cold and are coughing, sneezing, or sniffing, a standard microphone would prove a better choice than a wireless. At least you can move away from the microphone, or cover it, when you have a problem.

Thanks for your note, Gina.

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ASSIGNING QUICKKEYS IN COREL PRESENTATIONS SLIDE SHOWS

This Corel Presentations tip was submitted by reader Kayla J.:

"I have never seen any discussion of Corel Presentations' QuickKeys. I find this a very useful feature. For example, if you would like to use the N key to move to the next slide during a slide show, you can just make the assignment. You can then assign the P key to move back to the previous slide."

Kayla is correct; QuickKeys assignment is very easy and potentially very useful. Let's look at an example. Run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Graphics, ClipArt and drag a picture to the slide. Now, choose Insert, New Slide and insert a ClipArt picture on this second slide.

Now, right-click the slide and choose QuickKeys. When the Slide Properties dialog box opens (it will open at the QuickKeys page), click N and then select the radio button labeled Go To. Click the arrow at the right side of the Go To list box and select Next Slide from the list. Select the check box labeled Apply To All Slides In Slide Show and click OK to close the dialog box and apply your new selection. Choose View, Play Slide Show. After the first slide opens, press N to move to the next slide.

Thanks for the tip, Kayla.

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HANDLING QUESTIONS DURING A PRESENTATION

Here is a presentation trap that we have seen many presenters fall into. You start your presentation, and someone asks a question. Although it is a valid question, your slide doesn't cover it. You may then decide that the person who asked the question is attempting to make you look bad, so you answer rather gruffly.

Not only is it a mistake to give a gruff answer in the first place, you are now in a bad mood and tend to answer all questions in a gruff manner. If you allow this to happen to you, you will ruin your presentation.

Even if you're absolutely sure that some of the questioners are out for blood, stay calm and answer the question factually and pleasantly.

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COLORING PICTURE BLOCKS IN POWERPOINT

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Steven M.:

"I use PowerPoint and sometimes like to use a ClipArt picture inside a box that has a colored background. In some cases, I can place a colored rectangle behind the picture, but even this is not quite satisfactory. Do you have any suggestions?"

This is no problem at all with ClipArt. Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and double-click the picture you would like to use. Now, right-click the picture and choose Format Picture. When the Format Picture dialog box opens, click the Colors And Lines tab and then (under Fill) click the arrow at the right side of the Color list box. When the list opens, select the color you would like to use and then click OK to close the dialog box and apply your color selection.

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PASTING PICTURES (OR TEXT) INTO FREELANCE GRAPHICS CHARTS

Although we have previously discussed how to paste pictures into Freelance Graphics charts, here is a new idea from reader Larry G.:

"I had to create a slide presentation for a large audience of printers. I was looking for a way to paste some kind of impressive picture into the bars of one of my charts, when I happened to think of pasting in some text. I found that this worked quite well. To make the pasted text look better, I increased the font size of some text before copying it to the Clipboard."

As Larry points out, whatever is in the Clipboard when you do a paste is what you get. Let's look at an example. Run Freelance Graphics and open a blank slide. Now, choose Create, Chart. When the Create Chart dialog box opens, accept the default (bar) and click OK. Next, in Edit Data, enter a few numbers (1, 2, 3 will do) and click OK to close the dialog box and continue. Now, select the text you want to use in the chart bars and press Ctrl-C to copy it. You can copy the text from a Word Pro document, or from Notepad, or any text program that you want to use. You can even enter some text into a Freelance Graphics slide and copy it.

With the chart in place, right-click a bar and choose Series Properties. When the Series Properties dialog box opens, click the Pictures tab. Click Paste to paste the copied text into the bars. You can now close the Series Properties dialog box by pressing Alt-F4.

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USING WIZARDS AND TEMPLATES TO CREATE POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOWS

This PowerPoint question was sent in by reader Steve M.:

"When you create a new PowerPoint slide show, you can use a wizard or a template. Which approach is best?"

There isn't a definite answer to this question, but let's take a look at both methods.

A wizard consists of a series of dialog boxes that step you through a process by asking you what elements you want to use in your slide show. To use the wizard, run PowerPoint and select the radio button labeled AutoContent Wizard. Now, simply click Next and answer the question and then continue to click Next until you have answered all of the questions.

If PowerPoint is already running and you would like to use the wizard, choose File, New. When the New Presentation dialog box opens, click the Presentations tab. Now, double-click AutoContent Wizard to close the dialog box and start the wizard.

Templates are slide shows that have already been set up for you, but you can make whatever modifications you need to create your own show. To use a template, run PowerPoint and select the radio button labeled Template. Click OK and then choose the template that best suits your needs. If you don't see what you need in the Presentations Design area, click the Presentations tab and look through those templates too. If PowerPoint is already running, you can choose File, New. When the New Presentation dialog box opens, click the Presentation Design tab.

There is no reason to consider one method preferable to the other. Use the template when it suits you best, and the wizard when it seems to work best. Or, just start with a blank slide and develop your show from scratch.

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PRESENTING ON A LAPTOP COMPUTER

Here is a tip from reader Gerald R.:

"Although the laptop is an excellent tool for one-on-one presentations, you still need to prepare yourself before the presentation. I recently was called on by a manufacturer's rep who showed me a presentation on his laptop computer. The presentation was excellent. The problem was that he took too much time just getting started.

The rep entered my office carrying two large bags. He extracted the computer from one, then looked around for a power receptacle to plug into. He said that his batteries were probably low because he forgot to charge them the night before.

Once the computer was in place, he rummaged around in another bag looking for speakers. Then he had no place to plug in the speakers (low batteries there, too). The problem was that he had used the last open receptacle in my office for the computer. So, he asked if we could unplug my lamp.

As I said, the presentation was excellent, but his lack of preparation was distracting. If you are going to present with a laptop, you should have the batteries charged. You shouldn't have to look around for any of the components you expect to use. You should set up everything very quickly and get to the presentation."

Very good advice, Gerald.

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IMPORTING SLIDES IN POWERPOINT

Here is a comment from reader Pat R.:

"Recently you published a tip for PowerPoint whereby slides could be imported and not lose their original formatting. Every time I try to bring in someone else's slides, they take on the coloring and formatting of my master slide."

When you set the background on the Master slide, and then import a slide from another show, the imported slide takes on the new background. However, if you first open the source slide show and set the background on the slide you want to import, then it will retain its background.

To see how this works, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now, choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and insert a picture onto the slide. Next, choose Format, Background and select a background. Click Apply to close the dialog box and apply the background to the current slide. Choose File, Save As and name the file. Click Save to save the file and close the dialog box. Now, choose File, Close to close the new file.

Now, let's create another slide show--the one into which we will import the slide from the first show. Open a blank slide and repeat the procedure described above. Insert your new ClipArt picture and then choose View, Master, Slide Master. This time, select a background different from the one you chose for the other show and click Apply To All to close the dialog box and apply the background.

Let's create a second slide now. Press Ctrl-M and press Enter. The new slide will appear with the master background. Insert another ClipArt picture and save your file. Now, choose Insert, Slides From File. When the Slide Finder dialog box opens, click Browse. Locate the file you just created and double-click it to close the dialog box and select the file. Next, click Display to view the slide. Double-click the slide to insert it into your current slide show. Click Close to close the Slide Finder.

The slide will appear with its original background--not the one you assigned using the Slide Master.

PERSONALIZING YOUR PRESENTATIONS

Reader Warren C. sent in this tip:

"In my line of work, I usually use photographs of city streets. I recently decided to personalize these photos. For example, if I am presenting in Toronto, I use a photo of Toronto. If you are visiting large cities, you can usually find photos that are readily identifiable, at least by the residents of that city. When I am preparing to visit a particular city, I insert my photo of that city into the appropriate slide.

I have found this a very useful technique. The audience feels that I understand their specific needs when they are presented with photos of their own city."

This sounds like a good idea, Warren. The only potential problem we can see is that you need to make sure you don't illegally use copyrighted photographs.

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CHANGING FONT COLOR IN POWERPOINT SLIDES

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Barry W.:

"I have created my own PowerPoint templates. One new template has a dark background that requires a white font. When I click the template to insert data, the background inside the title box turns white. With white on white, you cannot see the data. How can I control the color within the box that I am typing inside?"

You can set the color to one that you can read while you're typing, then set the color back to white when you finish the entry. To do this, right-click the title box and choose Font. When the Font dialog box opens, select a new color and click OK. Enter your data, then select it and right-click the selection. Choose Font again, and this time set the color to white. Click OK to close the Font dialog box and save your selections.

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AN ANIMATION EFFECT FOR POWERPOINT SLIDES

Here is a PowerPoint animation effect from reader Serge R.:

"Someone suggested using a PowerPoint animation that had a cloud move across the screen to humorously indicate problems. I decided to take this idea a step further and add thunder and lightning. Here is what I did.

Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. When the Clip Gallery opens, select Weather. You'll find a nice, gray cloud and a bolt of lightning here. Insert them both and size them properly. Move both slightly right of center and move the lightning so it appears to come from the cloud. You may need to click the cloud and then choose Draw, Order, Bring To Front to get the right effect. Also, the lightning bolt I used has a shadow. If you don't want the shadow, you can click the lightning and choose Draw, Ungroup. Now, click away from the picture and then click the shadow and press Delete.

Now, right-click the cloud and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Effects tab and then click the arrow at the right side of the first list box under Entry Animation And sound. Select Crawl From Left and then click the Timing tab. Select the radio buttons labeled Animate and Automatically and click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings.

Now that you have animated the cloud, right-click the lightning and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Effects tab and select from the animation list Flash Once, Fast. Next, click the arrow at the right side of the Sound list box (it's right below the animation list box under Entry Animation And Sound). When the list opens, select Explosion for the sound.

Click the timing tab now, and select the radio buttons labeled Animate and Automatically. Click OK to save your settings and dismiss the dialog box. Choose View, Slide Show to see how it all works together."

Thanks for the tip, Serge.

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SELECTING A BACKGROUND COLOR

We have often discussed background colors and suggested that you choose carefully. Reader Beth G. submitted the following comments on background selection:

"I have seen several presentations by newcomers who used green backgrounds. Green is a very poor choice of background color. In the first place, many colors don't look good on green. For example, red on green is terrible, and blue and yellow don't stand out well. On top of all these problems with green, we should remember that many people can't tell the difference between green and red."

Thanks for the observation, Beth. The thing to do is always present to a practice audience before your presentation. Not only do you get the needed practice, but your audience can give you some feedback concerning your slide colors and animations.

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MOVING TO A NEW WINDOW IN POWERPOINT

Here is a PowerPoint tip from reader Walter E.:

"I often have two or three different slide shows loaded in PowerPoint. To switch between them, I choose Windows and then select the file I want to use. But I just discovered that you can move to a new window in PowerPoint by simply pressing Ctrl-Tab. I consider this a great timesaver and thought you might like to pass it along."

Walter is certainly correct--when you have more than one slide show loaded in PowerPoint, you can switch to another file by pressing Ctrl-Tab.

Those of you who use Corel Presentations or Freelance Graphics can use the same technique to switch between loaded files.

Thanks for the tip, Walter.

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USING KEYSTROKES TO INSERT A NEW SLIDE IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Here is a question from subscriber Ralph H.:

"I have seen a tip on how to insert a new slide in PowerPoint using keystrokes. Is there a set of keystrokes you can use to insert a new slide in Corel Presentations?"

Yes, there is. All you have to do is press Ctrl-Enter, and Corel Presentations inserts a new slide.

While we're on the subject, to insert a new slide in PowerPoint, press Ctrl-M, then press Enter to insert a slide just like the current one.

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RUNNING A SLIDE SHOW IN POWERPOINT AND FREELANCE WITHOUT OPENING PROGRAMS

Reader Thomas F. sent this PowerPoint question:

"I have several slide shows I would like to run without first opening PowerPoint. If I double-click the show's icon, PowerPoint opens and displays the first slide in development mode. I don't want my audience to see this. Can you suggest something?"

Try this: Run Windows Explorer and locate your slide show file. Right-click the icon and choose Show. PowerPoint opens and runs your slide show. When the show finishes, PowerPoint closes. Your audience never sees the PowerPoint working window at all.

If you don't want your audience to see Explorer running, place a shortcut to the file on your desktop. Then, when you're ready to start the show, right-click the shortcut and choose Show.

You can run a Freelance Graphics slide show in the same manner. Run Windows Explorer and go to \Lotus\Work\flg. To run your show, right-click its icon and choose Screen Show. Freelance Graphics opens and starts your slide show. After the last slide, the show closes, displaying the Freelance Graphics environment. If you don't want your audience to see this, you could add a simple slide saying "The End" and just leave it onscreen until the audience exits.

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HIDING OBJECTS IN POWERPOINT

When you have a number of animated objects in a single PowerPoint slide, you can improve the effect if you hide objects you no longer need.

Let's see how to do this. Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Picture ClipArt. When the Clip Gallery opens, double-click a picture to insert it and close the Gallery.

Now let's animate the picture. Right-click the picture and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Effects tab. Next, click the arrow at the right side of the Entry Animation list box and select Fly From Left. Click the Timing tab and select the Animate and Automatically radio buttons. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your selections.

When you run the show (choose Slide Show, View Show), your object flies onto the slide from the left. Now let's make the picture disappear with a single mouse click.

Click the Rectangle tool in the Drawing toolbar (its icon is a rectangle). Use the mouse to draw a rectangle over your animated picture. Now you need to set the rectangle color to match your background. For this example, the background is white. Click the arrow at the right side of the Fill Color button in the Drawing toolbar. When the Fill Color menu opens, select white.

Next you need to eliminate the lines that make up the rectangle. To do this, click the arrow at the right side of the Line Color button and select No Line from the menu.

Finally, right-click the rectangle and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Effects tab. Click the arrow at the right side of the Entry Animation list box and then select Appear from the list. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.

Now run the slide show by choosing Slide Show, View Show. The animated picture flies in from the left. When you are finished viewing the picture, simply click the mouse button. The figure disappears because the white rectangle you've created appears over it.

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HIDING FREELANCE GRAPHICS OBJECTS

In the last tip, we discussed a way to hide objects in a PowerPoint slide show. This time, let's look at how to do the same in Freelance Graphics presentations. Run Freelance Graphics and open a blank slide. Next click ClipArt and insert a picture.

Now let's animate the picture. Right-click the picture and choose Group Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Screen Show tab. Select the "Display page first, then display object" and After radio buttons. Click the arrow at the right side of the Transition list box and select one of the transitions. Click the X at the upper right corner of the Properties dialog box to close it.

Click Drawing & Text. Select the rectangle and use the mouse to draw your rectangle over the ClipArt picture. Right-click the rectangle's border and choose Rectangle Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Color, Pattern, And Line Style tab. Under Border, click the arrow at the right side of the Style list box. From the list, select None.

Under Interior, click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern list box. Select solid black. Next click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern color list box and select the current background color (for this example, select white).

Click the Screen Show tab now, and select the "Display page first, then display object" and After radio buttons. For the time delay, enter three seconds. Now, click the arrow at the right side of the Transition dialog box and select Appear from the list. To close the Properties dialog box, click the X in the upper right corner.

To view the slide show, press Alt-F11. Your ClipArt picture appears (using whatever animation effect you chose). Then, after three seconds, the white rectangle appears over the picture, hiding it from view.

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ANIMATING OBJECT COLOR IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Here is a Corel Presentations tip from reader Betty C.:

"I ran across an animation effect in Corel Presentations that I would like to pass along.

"If you would like to have an object slowly change color, you can make as many copies of the object as necessary, and then use the Fade animation to create a gradual color change on a single slide."

Let's take a look at what Betty is talking about. Run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Shape, Rectangle. Size the rectangle and then click the Foreground Fill Color button in the Corel Presentations toolbar (the button's icon looks like a bucket of paint pouring into a container). Select a color and press Ctrl-C to copy the rectangle. Press Ctrl-V to paste the rectangle over the existing rectangle. Click the new rectangle to select it and then select a new color as described previously.

Now press Ctrl-A to select both rectangles. Right-click the visible rectangle and choose Object Animation. When the Object Properties dialog box opens, select the "Animate object in place" radio button. >From the Effects list, select Fade, then select the Slow radio button. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your changes.

Finally, click QuickPlay (at the right side of the Corel Presentations window) to view your animation.

You can use as many colored rectangles as you wish to achieve the effect you need.

Thanks for the tip, Betty.

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USING CHARTS IN YOUR PRESENTATIONS

It is often very tempting to use fancy charts in a presentation. For example, you may decide to use a radar chart because you think it looks impressive. Or you might decide to create your own chart, using boxes to represent sales volume.

The entire purpose of a chart is to help the audience understand what you have to present. Before you use any chart, standard or nonstandard, make sure your chart is actually going to help the audience see your point.

If you use something like a radar chart for an audience of engineers, you may have no problems at all. Perhaps the radar chart is just what the engineers need. But if you expect to present the same slides to a management audience, you are probably better off using a simple column chart.

We attended a presentation a few years ago in which the presenter made heavy use of radar (and other) charts. You could see the audience pondering the charts, struggling to see the point.

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USING SPECIAL FILL EFFECTS IN POWERPOINT CHARTS

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Del K.:

"I recently ran across an ideal chart type for a PowerPoint presentation. Under Custom Types in the Chart Type dialog box, I saw one named Outdoor Bars. I selected it, and my chart bars took on the appearance of wood. This is ideal for me, since I work for a lumber company. The only problem is that I really need a column chart rather than a horizontal bar chart. Is there any way to get this wood effect in a column chart?"

Yes, there is. In fact, you can use almost any fill effect you want in a column chart. Run PowerPoint and choose Insert, Chart. When the chart appears, right-click one of the columns and choose Format Data Series. When the Format Data Series dialog box opens, click the Patterns tab (if necessary) and then click Fill Effects.

When the Fill Effect dialog box appears, click the Texture button. Now scroll down to the bottom of the texture list and you'll see several textures that resemble wood. Select one of these, then click OK to accept your selection and close the dialog box. Back in Format Data Series, click OK again to close this dialog box and save your changes.

Repeat this procedure for each series in the chart. The default chart, which we used for this example, contains three series.

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PASSING OUT WRITTEN MATERIALS

We recently attended a presentation on how to deal with stress in the workplace. The presentation was excellent, but the presenter spoiled everything by passing out copies of the entire presentation before the slide show began. The audience began reading the handouts before the slide show even started and continued to read during the entire presentation. Nobody paid the slightest attention to the presenter.

Don't make this mistake. Whenever possible, don't pass out any written material until the end of your presentation.

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KEEP YOUR SLIDES IN PERSPECTIVE

Reader Hank V. submitted this presentation tip:

"It is very important to keep perspective in mind when creating a slide. Many new slide show designers seem to think that making figures smaller is enough to create the illusion of distance. This is not so. To create an appearance of distance, you must make a figure smaller and move it up as well.

"For example, suppose you draw a stick figure at the bottom edge of a slide. Now, you want to create another stick figure that looks as though it is some distance behind the first figure. If you draw the small figure at the bottom of the slide, it like a child standing next to an adult. To create a sense of distance, you have to move the smaller figure up toward the center of the page.

"Of course, you should also use a background picture that suggests distance to make the illusion complete."

You can also allow one figure to overlap the other slightly. This further enhances the appearance of distance and depth.

Thanks for the tip, Hank.

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ANIMATED TITLES IN COREL PRESENTATIONS SLIDES

Reader Jamie A. sent us this Corel Presentations question:

"I would like to have the title of a slide show fade in after the first slide appears on the screen. However, I have not been able to find any way at all to apply animation to the title. Could you please offer some advice? I know it will turn out to be so simple that I will be embarrassed by not finding it myself."

Don't feel embarrassed--there is no way to animate a title entered into a placeholder. But you can delete the placeholder and just enter the text for your title, then animate that any way you want.

To do this, run Corel Presentations. Click the dotted line of the placeholder labeled "Double-click to add title" and press Delete. Now choose Insert, Text Line and click where you want the title to appear. With the text line still selected, choose Format, Font. When the Font Properties dialog box opens, select the font and size you want, then click OK to close the dialog box and apply your selections.

Type your title and use the mouse to position it exactly. Right-click the title and choose Object Animation. When the Object Properties dialog box appears, select the desired animation. Click OK to accept the setting and close the dialog box.

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SELECTING AN OBJECT IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Here is a Corel Presentations tip from subscriber Will H.:

"I have often had some difficulty in selecting objects drawn in Corel Presentations. I only discovered a few weeks ago that you have to click the lines. Clicking the object in the center will not select it."

You are correct, Will, but this is only true of unfilled objects. For example, if you run Corel Presentations, choose Insert, Shape, Rectangle, and draw a rectangle, that rectangle appears filled by default. In this case, you can click anywhere on the rectangle to select it.

To see what Will has run into, right-click the new rectangle and choose Object Properties. When the Object Properties dialog box opens, click the Fill tab, and then select None (the big X at the left side of the Fill Style toolbar). Click OK to close the dialog box and keep your new selection.

Now you will find that you must click the line to select the rectangle.

Note that PowerPoint and Freelance Graphics also require you to click the line to select an unfilled object.

Thanks for the tip, Will.

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DRAWING OVER A PHOTO IN POWERPOINT

Reader Ray M. sent this PowerPoint question:

"I need to use a photograph in one of my slides, and I would like to draw circles to highlight certain points in the photo during the presentation. Is this possible?"

Yes, it is possible. Let's say you have a photo on a slide. With the photo in place, choose Slide Show, Set Up Show. When the Set Up Show dialog box opens, select the check box labeled "Presented by a speaker (full screen)" and click OK to close the dialog box and record your selections.

Choose Slide Show, View Show to open your slide in full screen view. Click the button in the lower-left corner of the screen and choose Pen. Now you can use the mouse to draw on your photograph.

The default pen color is black. If this doesn't work well with your photo, you can change the pen color. Just click the button again, choose Pointer Options, Pen Color, and select a new color from the Color submenu. You can now draw using the new color.

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WATCH YOUR STANCE IN A PRESENTATION

Here is a tip from reader Shelly D.:

"When you are presenting, you need to watch your posture. You should always stand straight and keep your feet very slightly apart. If your feet are too close together, you appear stiff and formal. On the other hand, if your feet are too far apart, you may appear confrontational. Placing the feet too far apart is something more likely in men than in women. When men stand with their feet too far apart, it always makes me think of John Wayne in the midst of a gunfight."

Shelly is correct--many men habitually stand with their feet too far apart when making presentations. The audience may very well interpret this as an aggressive posture.

Thanks for the tip, Shelly.

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CREATING AN ANIMATED INTERMISSION SLIDE IN POWERPOINT

Subscriber Janice D. submitted this PowerPoint tip:

"I like to use some kind of animated slide show before the presentation begins, and then again at intermission. I have used several of the animated slides you've discussed in the past. However, I wanted to see what I could do with a single slide. I had to make a presentation at a photographic arts company, so I decided to show a few figures taking pictures on my intermission slide. If you would like to try it, this is how I created the slide.

"Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. I selected a cartoon picture of a woman. At this point, I inserted a camera image from one of my ClipArt discs. (I did not see a camera in the PowerPoint Clip Gallery.) Next I located a cartoon of the sun in the Microsoft Office Clip Gallery and placed it in front of the camera's flash unit.

"What I wanted to do was have the camera flash (along with the sound of a camera clicking), then have the flash appear to illuminate the cartoon person. To do this, I decided to make a copy of the ClipArt person and then have the figure flash lighter when the camera took a picture.

"To do this, right-click the picture and choose Copy. Press Ctrl-V to paste the copy onto the slide. When you select the copy, the floating Picture toolbar will appear. In the toolbar, click the Image Control button (it's the second button from the left side) and choose Watermark. This makes the picture appear washed out.

"Now move the copy over the original picture. Click the new picture, then press Shift and click the flash (the sun cartoon). Choose Draw, Group to group the two. Right-click the new group and choose Custom Animation. When the dialog box opens, click the Effects tab and select Flash Once, Medium from the Entry Animation list box. From the Sound list box, select Camera.

"Click the Timing tab, and select the Animate and Automatically radio buttons. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings.

"Choose Slide Show, Slide Transition. When the Slide Transition dialog box opens, select the Automatically After check box and enter two or three seconds. Click Apply to apply your selection and close the dialog box.

"Finally, choose Slide Show, Set Up Show and select the radio buttons labeled 'Browsed at a kiosk (full screen)' and 'Using timings, if present'. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings.

"Now you can choose Slide Show, View Show to start the show. The animation will repeat over and over again until you press Esc to stop it."

Thanks for the tip, Janice.

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KEEP IT SIMPLE

Here is a presentation tip from reader Ellen W.:

"I have seen people spend many hours creating nearly perfect drawings. Although these drawings look good and may well impress an audience, this is not usually the point of a presentation. I have found that very simple figures work very well in most presentations.

"If you need to show people, you can use stick figures, or figures made up of a series of ovals. Buildings can be boxes with windows and a triangle for the roof. A few rectangles and circles make an acceptable automobile.

"The goal, in my opinion, is to convey your message to the audience. I have had very good luck doing this with simple figures."

It's a good point. However, you need to be careful about mixing various types of drawings. For example, if you use very detailed ClipArt for most of your slide, a simple automobile may not fit well.

Thanks for the tip, Ellen.

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PRINTING POWERPOINT IN BLACK AND WHITE

Here is a question from reader Tom T.:

"I use PowerPoint and have only a laser printer. Is there any way to make slides print well on a black-and-white printer? Most of my slides print out very dark."

Yes, you can print your slides in gray scale. To see how this works, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and select a picture. Size and locate the picture to suit yourself. Click the picture to select it and choose View, Black And White. Right-click the picture and choose Black And White, Light Grayscale (this is the selection we have found works best for us--a different selection may work better for you).

Finally, choose File, Print. When the Print dialog box opens, click OK to continue. If the figure looks too light on your printer, right-click the picture again and try another selection under the Black And White command.

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VIEWING THE GRID LINES IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

This Corel Presentations question is from reader Steve M.:

"I know that grid lines exist in Corel Presentations slides--I can see objects snap to the grid when I move them. However, I would like to see these lines while I work. Is it possible to get Corel Presentations to display the lines?"

Many people find that visible grid lines help during the design phase of a slide show. To view the gridlines in Corel Presentations, choose View, Grid/Guides/Snap, Display Grid.

If you want to turn the lines off later, again choose View, Grid/Guides/Snap, Display Grid to toggle it off.

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USING COREL PRESENTATIONS' BLEND FEATURE

This Corel Presentations question comes from reader Tara C.:

"I have been trying to use Blend in a Corel Presentations slide. As I understand it, Blend should fill in the space between objects. A friend told me that you should select three objects, then choose Tools, Blend, but when I do this, the Blend command is grayed out. Could you explain how to use Blend properly?"

We certainly can. Your problem is that you can select only two objects. If you select more (or fewer), the Blend command won't function.

To try this, run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Graphics, ClipArt. Drag a picture to your slide and then drag another copy of the same picture to the slide. You can close the Scrapbook now (click the X in the upper right corner).

Next use the mouse to make one of the pictures significantly smaller than the other. Place the two objects at opposite sides of the slide and click one to select it. Hold down Ctrl and click the other picture. With both pictures selected, choose Tools, Blend. When the Blend dialog box opens, enter the number of objects you want to appear between the two selected pictures. Click OK to close the dialog box and continue.

Corel Presentations now creates the selected number of objects between the two pictures, sizing the new pictures progressively smaller as it moves toward the smallest of your original pictures.

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SELECTING SMALL OBJECTS IN POWERPOINT SLIDES

Here is a tip from reader Pauline D.:

"I have always had a problem when trying to select very small objects in PowerPoint slides. A few weeks ago, a friend showed me a technique she uses. If you simply press the Tab key, you select objects on the slide one at a time. Using this method, you can select even the tiniest objects."

This method does work quite well. Note that you can also use this method to select objects that are hidden behind other objects. For example, if you have a hidden object you would like to make visible, use the Tab key to select the object, then choose Draw, Order, Bring To Front.

Thanks for the tip, Pauline.

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WATCH WHAT YOU DRINK DURING A PRESENTATION

This presentation tip comes from reader Lonnie V.:

"One thing all presenters learn over the years is that you should watch what you drink before and during a presentation.

"If you have a very long presentation, you should try to hold down the amount of liquid you drink before the presentation begins. It goes without saying that alcoholic beverages are a very bad idea.

"During a lengthy presentation, you will probably suffer from a dry throat. Keep a small glass of water handy and sip only a small amount as needed. Avoid any kind of carbonated beverage. As many presenters can testify from embarrassing experience, carbonated beverages will make you burp."

Good advice, Lonnie. Thanks for the tip.

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BLANKING OUT OBJECTS IN POWERPOINT SLIDES

We recently suggested that one could create blank objects in order to hide from view objects you no longer need on a slide. Reader Don M. has a further suggestion concerning this tip.

"I translate instruction sheets created in PowerPoint, and occasionally I run into one imported from another program as a full sheet (all one object). Since I can't delete the English text and replace it with another language, I have had to follow the procedure you described in your tip to cover up the English text. I encountered one problem, however. When printing the sheet out, sometimes lines still show up around the rectangles, even though they don't show up on the screen.

"I have found that the appearance of these lines depends on the printer driver I'm using. If you run into this problem, open the Print dialog box and deselect the check box beside Black & White. This should correct the problem.

"If you want to see whether those lines will print or not, click the Black & White button, or choose View, Black & White from the menu bar. If you see a line, it will print unless you correct it as described above."

Thanks for the tip, Don.

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USING COREL PRESENTATIONS' FADE EFFECT

This Corel Presentations question is from subscriber Paul A.:

"I am new to computer presentations, but I have been doing slide presentations for years. Using two slide projectors, you can put up a new image while you fade the current one to black. Is there a way to do the same thing using Corel Presentations?"

Yes, there is. In fact, Corel Presentations does a rather good job of this, since it contains a Fade effect.

To see how the Fade effect operates, run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Graphics, Clip Art and drag your selection to the slide. Next choose Insert, New Slide to insert a new blank slide. Add the ClipArt selection of your choice to this slide.

To create the fade effect, choose View, Slide Sorter. Right-click one of the slides and choose Transition. The Slide Properties dialog box will open at the Transition tab. In the Effects list, locate and select Fade. Select the radio button labeled Slow and then click the Display Sequence tab.

Now select the "After a delay of" radio button and enter your choice of times. Finally, select the check box labeled "Apply to all slides in slide show" and click OK to close the dialog box and apply your new settings to both slides.

When you run the slide show, you should see the fade effect.

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USING UPPERCASE IN SLIDE-SHOW TEXT

Reader Wanda G. submitted this presentation tip:

"I saw a presentation a few weeks ago that the presenter completely ruined by insisting on using uppercase for all the text. New presenters need to be very careful about doing this. I assume they are attempting to emphasize the text, but this is not the best way to do it.

"When you want to emphasize certain text, you are almost always better off if you select another color or use boldface--anything but all caps."

Wanda has an excellent point--text in all caps is harder to read, and often conveys the impression that one is trying to shout at the audience.

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CREATING CUSTOM SOUNDS FOR POWERPOINT SLIDES

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Nancy G.:

"I need to record some sounds to insert into a new PowerPoint slide show. Could you discuss how to record these sounds? I have a microphone attached to the sound card, but when I try to record sounds, I get nothing but a blank WAV file."

The most likely reason for this problem is that you haven't activated the microphone input. Double-click the speaker icon at the bottom right of the Windows taskbar. When the Volume Control dialog box opens, choose Options, Properties. Scroll through the list and locate Microphone. Select the check box to its left and then click OK.

Now the Microphone volume control will appear in the Volume Control dialog box. In the Microphone area of the dialog box, deselect the check box labeled Mute and choose Options, Exit to close the dialog box. You can now run Sound Recorder (c:\Windows\sndrec32.exe). When the Sound Recorder opens, click the Record button (the button with the red dot) and speak into the microphone. Note the pattern in the scope screen. If the pattern is very small, increase the Microphone volume in the Volume Control dialog box. If the pattern is too large (flattening out), open the Volume Control dialog box and reduce the Microphone volume.

With the volume set correctly, you can run PowerPoint and open the slide to which you want to add the sound. Choose Insert, Movies And Sounds, Record Sound. When the Record Sound dialog box opens, name your new sound and click the Record button. After you finish recording the sound, click the Stop button.

You may encounter some variations in these instructions, depending on your particular sound card.

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A FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDE ANIMATION

Here is a Freelance Graphics tip from reader Suzanne F.:

"I am with a company whose primary function is to provide financial advice. I was asked to make a presentation using Freelance Graphics, and decided to see if I could create an animation on my start slide that would show an object growing slowly. I decided to use a picture of a bag of money from Freelance Graphics ClipArt. Here is how to do the animation.

"Insert your picture and reduce its size using the mouse. Click the image to select it, and drag the outline squares to size the ClipArt to your liking. Choose Group, Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Screen Show tab (its icon is a small movie projector). Next, click the arrow at the right side of the Transition list box and select Dissolve from the list. Make sure you select the After radio button and then close the dialog box (click the X in the upper right corner).

"Now hold down Ctrl and use the mouse to drag away a copy of your picture. Right-click the copy and choose Object Size, Enlarge 20%. Next, hold down Ctrl and drag away a copy of the copy. Again, right-click and choose Object Size, Enlarge 20%. Continue this procedure until you have all the increasingly larger pictures that you need.

"To set up the remainder of the animation effect, press Ctrl-A to select all the objects on the slide. Now choose Collection, Align. When the Align Objects dialog box opens, select the Center On A Point radio button. Next, select the Center On Page check box. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your selections.

"You can now press Alt-F10 to run your slide. I chose to use the Dissolve effect because it makes the picture appear to grow slowly. Initially, I tried using one of the Flash effects, but it looked more like the object was moving closer to the viewer."

Thanks for the tip, Suzanne.

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RUNNING POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOWS

We recently suggested that one can run a PowerPoint slide show without opening the PowerPoint editing view: Just right-click the slide show file and choose Show. Reader Mark A. suggests a different way to start a show without going through the editing view.

"In a previous tip, you advised a reader to locate the slide show file, right-click its icon, and then choose Show. In this way the reader could open PowerPoint shows and have them run immediately.

"I have another way to do this. By default, PowerPoint slide shows have the extension .ppt, but if you want your shows to open and run automatically, you can change the extension to .pps.

"This is especially helpful when you want to e-mail a show to a friend who isn't very familiar with PowerPoint. All they have to do is double-click the file and the show will run."

To do this, run Windows Explorer and locate your file. Right-click the icon and choose Rename. When the name highlights, press the right arrow key. Now press Backspace once and type an S. When you press Enter, you'll get a dialog box asking if you really want to change the extension. Click Yes to continue.

Thanks for the tip, Mark.

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KEEP YOUR PRESENTATIONS ON SCHEDULE

Here is a tip from reader Mark S.:

"I have noticed that many presenters tend to let their timing slide. As a frequent audience member, I would like to have a one-hour presentation not last two hours. I find it amazing how many presenters go far over their stated time.

"I suggest that we all pretend we're doing a TV show. We have a specific time allotment, and when that time ends, so does the show. If you practice your presentation, you know how long it takes. If you expect to have a period for questions, state the time period up front, and stick with it."

This is a very good tip, Mark. Many managers are upset by time overruns. If a presentation is supposed to take two hours and runs into three, the manager has to somehow cover the missing personnel. No presentation should ever run significantly over the allotted time.

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SETTING UP A BLANK LAST SCREEN IN A POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOW

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Harry M.:

"I have seen a tip somewhere on setting the last screen to black in a PowerPoint slide show. However, I don't want to set the screen to black. I would like to choose some other color to leave on the screen while the audience exits. Is this possible?"

First, let's talk about setting the screen to black at the end of a slide show. To do this, open your slide show and choose Tools, Options. When the Options dialog box opens, click the View tab. Now, select the check box labeled "End with black slide" and click OK to close the dialog box and save your selection.

If you want to end your slide show with some other color, simply create a blank slide at the end of your slide show and set its background color to whatever you want. Let's say you create a blank slide and place it at the end of your slide show. Now choose Format, Background. When the Background dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the list box and select More Colors. Select your color from the Colors dialog box and click OK to close the box. Back in Background, click Apply to apply your selection to the current slide ONLY.

When you reach your last slide, you can just leave it on the screen until your audience has departed.

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RELOCATING FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDE SHOWS

This Freelance Graphics question is from subscriber Laine B.:

"When I save Freelance Graphics slide shows, they always get saved in the c:\lotus\work\flg folder. I would much prefer to use a separate folder for my slides--something like c:\Slides. Is it possible to get Freelance Graphics to save your files to a different folder?"

Yes, it is. First create your new folder. You can do this with Windows Explorer. Just run Explorer and click C:\. Right-click the right pane and choose New, Folder. Name the folder Slides and press Enter.

Now run Freelance Graphics and choose File, User Setup, Freelance Preferences. When the dialog box opens, click File Locations. In the Presentations entry box, type c:\Slides. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your new folder selection.

Freelance Graphics will now save all your slides in c:\Slides.

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VIDEO PROBLEMS WITH COREL PRESENTATIONS SLIDE SHOWS

This Corel Presentations question comes from subscriber Jessie B.:

"I am having a problem running Corel Presentations slide shows on my computer. Everything is fine when I am laying out the slide show, but when I play it, the entire screen shifts to the left and flickers rather badly. Do you have any idea why this is happening?"

We have seen this problem before with Corel Presentations--but it isn't really a problem with Corel Presentations at all, it's just that the default for how your video plays may be incompatible with your monitor or video system. So you need to adjust these settings.

Before you start a slide show, choose Tools, Settings. When the Settings dialog box opens, double-click the Display icon. In the Display dialog box, select the "Take full advantage of video memory for smoother transitions" button, then select the "Use video memory, but do not change the screen resolution or colors" radio button. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings. Back in the Settings dialog box, click Close.

If you still have a problem, open the Settings dialog box again and double-click Display. This time, deselect the "Take full advantage of video memory for smoother transitions" button and click OK to close the dialog box and save your new selection. Click Close to dismiss the Settings dialog box.

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INSERTING PICTURES IN POWERPOINT USING A MACRO

Reader Larry B. submitted this PowerPoint tip:

"I often need to insert a ClipArt picture, copy it, and paste the copies at specific locations in my slides. Although I could create a template to do this, I decided to write a macro. This macro copies any selected picture and then places the original and the three copies at each corner of the slide."

To create Larry's macro for your own use, run PowerPoint, then press Alt-F8. Name the macro Corners and click Create. Enter the code as shown below. Choose File, Save As and name your new presentation. Click Save to continue. The macro is saved along with the slide show.

Here is Larry's macro code:

Sub Corners()

ActiveWindow.Selection.Copy ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Align msoAlignRights, True ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Align msoAlignTops, True ActiveWindow.View.Paste ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Align msoAlignLefts, True ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Align msoAlignTops, True ActiveWindow.View.Paste ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Align msoAlignRights, True ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Align msoAlignBottoms, True ActiveWindow.View.Paste ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Align msoAlignLefts, True ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Align msoAlignBottoms, True ActiveWindow.Selection.Unselect

End Sub

To use the macro, insert the ClipArt you want to place in each corner. Size the picture and press Alt-F8 to open the Macros dialog box. Select the name and click Run. Thanks for the macro, Larry.

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DOING TECHNICAL PRESENTATIONS

Here is a tip from subscriber Dean H.:

"I am a college student currently taking a course on technical presentations. My instructor believes that computer presentation programs make it so easy to do attractive graphics that many people don't pay enough attention to the speech portion of a presentation. We are allowed to use only a limited number of slides in our in-class presentations. What do you think?"

Your instructor has a good point--it is very easy to get carried away with the excellent graphics available these days. However, each presentation is different because each audience is different. A good presenter learns to judge the audience and use more or fewer slides, depending on the circumstances.

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USING FREELANCE GRAPHICS LAYOUTS

Here is a Freelance Graphics question from reader David P.:

"I have been using Freelance Graphics for only a few weeks, and I have a question about the built-in layouts. The problem is that I can't find a layout that has everything I need. I found a few that come close, but are not quite right for the job. It looks like my only choice is to start with a blank slide and place all the objects manually. If this is the case, how do I place one of the text boxes that say 'Click here to...'?"

You can add text by clicking Drawing & Text. To add ClipArt, click Clip Art. But don't give up on those layouts--you can load one that is close to what you need, then add objects to customize it.

You can also move and size objects in a layout. For example, suppose you click in one of the layout frames called "Click here to add clip art" and you select a picture. Once you insert the picture, you can use the mouse to resize the picture and move it to a new location. The same is true of titles and bulleted text lists.

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AN ANIMATION FOR POWERPOINT SLIDES

Here is an animation effect reader Louis M. sent to us:

"I work for a company that produces safety equipment for small airplanes. I was asked to create a slide show that would show a small plane plummeting to the ground. I know this might sound a little strange, but we needed the effect for our presentation.

"To create the show, I located a small plane in ClipArt and inserted it onto the slide. I set its animation to Crawl From Left. Next, I held down Ctrl and dragged away a copy of the plane. With the copy still selected, I chose Draw, Ungroup. Then I chose Draw, Group. I did this so I could rotate the plane. I set this plane's animation to Flash Once, Fast.

"Once I set the animation, I continued to drag away copies of this second plane. The idea is to drag as many away as possible to produce the smoothest motion I could. As I dragged away each new copy, I selected Rotate and rotated the plane to point more vertically.

"The technique I used turned out rather well. Although there is some jerkiness to the downward motion, most people didn't really seem to notice.

"If you drag away each copy, you don't need to set the animation for it--the copy will take on the attributes of the one before it.

"After you insert the object you want to animate, right-click it and choose Custom Animation. When the dialog box opens, click the Effects tab and choose Flash Once, Fast from the list. Now click the Timing tab and select the Animate and Automatically check boxes. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your changes."

As Louis mentions, you won't need to do this again unless you want to change the animation for one of the copies.

Thanks for the tip, Louis.

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USING NOTES DURING A PRESENTATION

Here is a presentation question from reader Mike L.:

"What about notes for a presenter? I often see presenters holding an entire legal pad containing notes. I need notes myself, but I don't like to have people think I'm reading the entire presentation.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

Unfortunately, almost any notes will be a problem if you don't use a podium. Even with a podium, it's very difficult to read your notes without anyone noticing.

We suspect the best approach is to practice, practice, practice. Make sure you only need notes to help keep you on track and on schedule. If you need very extensive notes, you haven't had enough practice.

That said, we know of one presenter who always puts the notes on a laptop computer and places it on the table next to the computer that runs the slide show. The laptop screen faces the presenter, and the notes are in very large type. The effect is that of a teleprompter.

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HIGHLIGHTING BULLETS IN COREL PRESENTATIONS SLIDES

This Corel Presentations tip comes from reader Susan W.:

"I use Corel Presentations for all my presentations. One of the features I especially like is the ability to highlight one line of text at a time. All you have to do is right-click your bulleted text and choose Object Animation. When the Bulleted List Properties dialog box opens, select the Highlight Current Bullet check box and click OK to close the dialog box and apply your selection to the current slide. If you want to apply this selection to all the slides in a show, click Apply To All instead of OK.

"Now you can choose View, Play Slide Show. The show will open with the first line of bulleted text you highlighted. To move to the next line, click the mouse or press a key. The highlighting will move down one line with each click."

Thanks for the tip, Susan.

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USING OUTLINER IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Here is a Freelance Graphics tip from reader Don C.:

"I always find it very difficult to see the text on the slides when working in Slide Sorter view. And if I view only the current slide, then of course that's all I can see.

"The best way to see all the text in your slide show so you can check for continuity is to use Outliner View. To do this, choose View, Outliner. This opens a page that resembles a yellow legal pad. The slides appear at the left side and the text appears on the pad.

"Note that only text you add using Freelance Graphics layouts will appear. If you use the Text tool to insert text onto a slide, that text will not appear.

"To return to slide view, double-click the slide to which you want to return."

Thanks for the tip, Don.

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MAKING A COUNTDOWN SLIDE SHOW IN POWERPOINT

If you have trouble getting your audience to go back to their seats after intermission, you may want to use a countdown slide show, as reader Randall suggests in this PowerPoint tip.

"Create a new presentation consisting of whatever number of slides you need to count the minutes of a break. On each slide, put the number of minutes left in the break, and count the minutes down from 10 or 15 (whatever you choose).

"On the last slide, put "The break is now over. Please take your seats." Then choose Slide Show, Rehearse Timing to make each slide last one minute.

"I have used this technique with excellent results. People seem to appreciate that the presenter is helping them stay on schedule."

Let's say that you want to have a ten-minute break. Run PowerPoint and create 11 blank slides. On the first slide, enter:

The Presentation will resume in

then add

10

and then add

Minutes.

Center all the text and press Ctrl-A to select all. Now press Ctrl-C to copy the selection. Move to the next slide and press Ctrl-V. Now click the text that displays 10, and change it to 9. Continue this procedure until you reach 1. On the last slide, place a note telling your audience that the break is over.

To set the timing, choose Slide Show, Slide Transition. When the Slide Transition dialog box opens, select the Automatically After check box and enter 60 seconds. Click Apply To All to exit the dialog box and apply your settings to all the slides in the slide show. We think this is a bit more convenient than setting the time using Rehearse Timing.

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PLACE TEXT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF A SLIDE

Reader Sandra L. submitted this presentation tip: "I have found that you need to decide whether the text on a slide is more important than the graphics. In all Western languages, people read from left to right, so text on the left side of a slide lends it more importance.

"For example, if you want to show a bulleted list next to a picture, place the text to the left of the picture. On the other hand, if the picture is the most important information on the slide, place it on the left with the text on the right.

"The same is true of titles and pictures. It's usually a bad idea to place any pictures ahead of the title. People also read from top to bottom."

We have seen some data from studies indicating that people tend to look at the upper left of a slide first--unless some large or colorful object focuses attention elsewhere.

Thanks for the tip, Sandra.

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EXTRA CLIPART IN POWERPOINT

Here is a question from reader Carlos V.:

"The Microsoft Office 97 disc contains some extra ClipArt. The only problem is that I always have to locate the disc to use the extra art. Is it possible to copy the ClipArt to the computer's hard disk and have it always available?"

Yes, it is. Insert the Microsoft Office 97 CD into the CD-ROM drive. When the Autorun screen appears, click Browse This Disc. Locate the ClipArt folder and double-click Setup. This will install your extra ClipArt onto the hard disk in the location you specify.

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USING BMP FILES IN SLIDES

Reader George B. asks why PCX and other pictures look so bad when enlarged.

The reason for this is that PCX pictures are made of a specific number of little dots. When you enlarge the picture, the dots get bigger and farther apart.

Vector graphics are made up of groups of lines--much like a TrueType font. You can size these pictures without a resolution loss. So when you need to use graphics, use ClipArt (or a similar format) whenever possible. The drawings you make yourself in PowerPoint, Freelance Graphics, and Corel Presentations are vector graphics. You can enlarge them as much as necessary with no apparent loss in resolution.

As a rule, scanned photographs will do well, as long as you don't try to enlarge them too much.

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CUSTOM CLIPART IN YOUR SLIDES

When we resize pictures (such as ClipArt) in a Freelance Graphics slide, we generally try to make sure we don't distort them. However, as reader Dennis S. points out, there are times when you can deliberately distort ClipArt (or any picture) for a special effect.

For example, if you're using a cartoon character and want it to appear thinner or heavier, you can stretch it in one direction to get the effect. Let's say you insert a cartoon person into your slide. You want the person to appear thinner, so you click the picture and use the handle at the top of the picture to drag it upward, or drag one of the side handles inward.

To make the person appear heavier, you can drag one of the side handles outward or drag the bottom handle upward.

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ADD TEXT EFFECTS TO ALL POWERPOINT SLIDES

Reader Jerry C submitted this PowerPoint tip:

"There are times when we like to have all the text in a slide show appear in the same way. I like to use the typewriter effect for most of my presentations.

"An easy way to use the same action setting for text in all your slides is to set them all at once in Slide Sorter view. To do this, choose View, Slide Sorter. When Slide Sorter opens, right-click any slide and choose Preset Text Animation. Now select the type of animation you want to use and run the slide show to view the effect."

Note that you can only animate subtitles, bullets, and so forth; you can't animate text in a text box.

Thanks for the tip, Jerry.

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ADDING OBJECTS IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Sam P. submitted the following Corel Presentations tip:

"I have never seen a tip on how to enter a new Click Here box in Corel Presentations slides. I didn't even know you could add such objects until just a few weeks ago.

"Suppose you're working with a Corel Presentations slide, and find you need another bulleted text box. All you have to do is choose Insert, Bulleted List and then draw the area with the mouse. Of course, you can also choose Insert, Text Box, or Insert, Text Line."

As an alternative, you can click the Select Layout button in the Corel Presentations toolbar. When the list opens, make your selection. This button is just to the left of the Slide Transition list box.

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SET POWERPOINT ANIMATION WITH A MACRO

Reader Barry C. sent us the following PowerPoint macro tip:

"Now that PowerPoint has macro capability, I decided to write a macro to animate all the objects on a slide and then start the slide show, so I can see how the animation looks. This macro can save time when you need all objects on a slide to have the same animation."

To do this, Barry wrote the following code:

Sub SelectAndRun()

ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange.Shapes.SelectAll ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.AnimationSettings.EntryEffect =3D ppEffectFlashOnceMedium ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.AnimationSettings.AdvanceMode =3D ppAdvanceOnTime ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.AnimationSettings.AdvanceMode =3D ppAdvanceOnTime ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.AnimationSettings.AdvanceMode =3D ppAdvanceOnTime ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.AnimationSettings.AdvanceMode =3D ppAdvanceOnTime ActiveWindow.Selection.Unselect

With ActivePresentation.SlideShowSettings .ShowType =3D ppShowTypeSpeaker .LoopUntilStopped =3D msoTrue .ShowWithNarration =3D msoTrue .ShowWithAnimation =3D msoTrue .RangeType =3D ppShowAll .AdvanceMode =3D ppSlideShowUseSlideTimings .Run End With

End Sub

If you would like to try this macro, run PowerPoint and insert a few objects onto a blank slide. Press Alt-F11 to open the Visual Basic editor and then click Modules on the left side of the VB window. Choose Insert, Module and enter the code as shown above. You need to name and save your presentation to save the macro. To run the macro, press Alt-F8 and then double-click the macro name.

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USING HANDOUTS IN YOUR PRESENTATIONS

We recently suggested that using handouts during a presentation was a bad idea. Several readers suggested some excellent reasons for using handouts; reader Durand W. sai, "If you do not put all your information on the slide, but just an outline, then you can provide handouts with two or three outline items on each page, with lines at the side for notes. This will give the audience some place to put down what is important to them.

"Of course, if everything you are going to say is on the slides, then just handing them out after you are finished may be the correct thing to do."

And we had another note from reader Lawrence A.:

"Handouts stimulate thinking in the people watching a presentation, and they cue people about upcoming parts of the presentation which may be of particular interest to them. Handouts also give the audience a place to make notes about the main points in a particularly interesting presentation.

"I teach, and have been taught, that handouts are almost always a good idea. The situation that you described in your tip suggested that the presenter placed the entire presentation on the handouts and left no room for exposition during the presentation itself; that is not a good idea because you will lose your audience for the very reason you suggested. It takes practice and a keen evaluation of the intended audience to know just how much one should put on the page, but I believe it's worth the effort. Use handouts, but do so sparingly and keep the mystique, while at the same time whetting the audience's appetite for what is to come."

Both readers are correct. The problem with the presentation we attended was that the whole thing was on the handouts--even the entire text. This is the type of thing we want to warn beginners about. But as both readers suggested, you must rely on your experience when using handouts, and you need to learn to use them properly. Thanks for the suggestions, Durand and Lawrence.

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MAKING SILHOUETTES IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Dorothy S. has a Corel Presentations question:

"I need to create a silhouette from an existing Corel Presentations ClipArt picture. In ClipArt there is a picture of a family--woman, man, and child. I would like to be able to show this as a silhouette only. Is this possible?"

Yes, you can turn a Corel Presentations ClipArt picture into a silhouette. Right-click the picture you want to convert and choose Object Properties. When the Object Properties dialog box opens, click the Fill tab. Now click Foreground and select black. If you prefer a different silhouette color, just select any of the colors--you can use any color you want.

After you make your selections, click OK to close the dialog box and continue.

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MAKE SURE YOUR PICTURES FACE THE RIGHT WAY

Here is a tip from reader Ken W.:

"This is a point I missed when I first started doing presentations: Make cartoon pictures point toward the primary object. Suppose you have a slide that shows a picture of your company's leading product and you have some cartoon character faces on the slide as well. Make sure those cartoons are looking at the product. If the other objects on your page point away from the primary object, your audience's eyes will point away as well.

"My point is that you need to watch out for everything. And you can't depend on a practice audience to notice a problem like this; they may notice that something is wrong, but they won't know what."

A very good point. Thanks for the tip, Ken.

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WORKING WITH POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS

This PowerPoint suggestion is from reader Mary Jane F.:

"I often give presentations to a few people at a time, using my trusty laptop computer. To create the illusion that I use the computer only for presentations, I create a single desktop folder and put all my presentation shortcuts in that folder. I save all of the PowerPoint files as PPS (PowerPoint Show) files.

"Then I place a shortcut to the folder in Startup and set it to maximum size, filling the entire screen. When my computer starts, the open folder appears. All I have to do is click the file I want, and the show starts."

To have your folder open to full-screen size, right-click Start. When the Start Menu window opens, double-click Programs. Now double-click StartUp. Use the right mouse button to drag your desktop presentation folder to the StartUp folder.

Now right-click the shortcut in StartUp and choose Properties. When the dialog box opens, click the Shortcut tab and then click the arrow at the right side of the Run list box. When the list expands, select Maximized and then click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings. Finally, hold down Shift and click the StartUp folder Close box. This will close all the open folders.

Thanks for the tip, Mary Jane.

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THE ART OF SPEAKING AT A PRESENTATION

Reader Herb G. suggests that presenters be very careful of how they speak during a presentation. Although no one expects you to sound like a network newscaster, make sure you speak clearly.

As Herb points out in his note, regional accents are often a problem. However, they are never a problem if you speak slowly and clearly and avoid regional idioms. In short, if you're from the South, don't comment on something at a presentation in New Jersey by saying "Shoot! That ol' dawg won't hunt." Some of your audience will have no idea what you mean.

If you present outside the United States, it's even more important to avoid using regional speech.

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SAVING PICTURES IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Here is a Corel Presentations question from reader Doris S.:

"I have some Corel Presentations slides that I would like to use to create standard graphics files I could show in any viewing program. To do this, I need to create a BMP or JPG file. Is there some way to convert a Corel Presentations slide to one of these formats?"

Yes. In fact, this feature is built into Corel Presentations. Just open the slide you want to use and choose File, Save As. When the Save As dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the File Type list box. When the list expands, you can select JPG, PCX, GIF, and so on for your file. Name your new file and click Save.

After you click Save, Corel Presentations opens the Export dialog box. Click OK to continue. Corel Presentations creates the kind of file you need for picture viewers.

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DRAGGING TEXT IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDES

Reader Karolla H. sent this Freelance Graphics question:

"I recently spent a lot of time getting some text in a Freelance Graphics slide to look just right. Then I decided to drag the text to a Click Here text box, and it reverted to the plain old ugly text I started with. What is going on here? Am I doing something wrong, or is Freelance Graphics doing something wrong? Why should it change my text font?"

When you drag text to a Click Here box, it assumes the format of the box. The way to handle this is to add the text to the Click Here box FIRST, and then format it. To do this, right-click in the box and choose Text Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Font, Attribute, And Color tab and set the font, size, color, and so forth.

After you finish formatting your text, you can click the Close box to dismiss the Properties dialog box.

Note that PowerPoint will allow you to drag text into a Click Here box with no format changes. Corel Presentations does not allow you to drag text into a Click Here box. However, you can cut a text selection and then paste it into the box. The format will adjust to the box format.

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SPACING OBJECTS ON YOUR SLIDES

This Freelance Graphics question is from reader Maury B.:

"I have been using Freelance Graphics for only a short time, and I still have a lot to learn. Right now, I need to make sure all of the objects on a slide are evenly spaced. Is there a way to get Freelance Graphics to do the spacing for me? I have looked through the commands without finding anything."

For the type of spacing you're talking about, what you need is the ruler. Open your slide and choose View, Show Ruler. Now let's say that you want all your objects one inch apart. Grab the first one and move it so the top edge of the vertical ruler cursor is at 1 and the left edge of the horizontal ruler cursor is at 1. Now grab the second object and move it so the top vertical cursor is still at 1, but the left horizontal cursor is one inch beyond the first one. Just repeat this procedure for all of your objects.

You can do the same in PowerPoint and Corel Presentations. In PowerPoint and Corel Presentations, choose View, Ruler to display the ruler.

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NAVIGATING A POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOW

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Ken M.:

"I am just getting started with PowerPoint presentations. Is there is any way to move directly to a specific slide once a presentation has started? As an example, at a recent presentation, my manager asked me for some data that I had prepared on a slide that would appear later in the presentation. It would have been helpful if I could have gone directly to that slide without stopping the slide show. Do you have any suggestions?"

You can go directly to any slide during your slide show, as long as you know which slide has the data you're seeking. The best way to do this is to make sure you know what material is associated with each slide's title.

To move to another slide during a presentation, right-click the screen and choose Go, By Title, YourTitle. PowerPoint immediately goes to the slide you requested. To return to the slide show, choose Go, By Title again and select your original slide.

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DELAYED SOUND IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDES

Subscriber Rich H. submitted the following tip:

"I needed to have a sound begin on a Freelance Graphics slide four seconds after an object appeared. First I drew a small rectangle on the slide and made it match the background. Then I set this object to appear four seconds after the slide opened, and I attached the sound to the invisible object."

If you would like to test this for yourself, run Freelance Graphics and open a blank slide. Insert a ClipArt picture and click Drawing & Text. Select a rectangle or oval and draw the object. Now right-click the ClipArt object and choose Group Properties. When the dialog box opens, click the Screen Show tab (its icon is a movie projector). Select the Display Object With Page radio button. With the Properties dialog box still open, click your new drawing object to select it. Select the radio button labeled Display Page First, Then Display Object and then select the radio button labeled After. Set the time to four seconds and then click the arrow at the right side of the Sound list box. When the list opens, select the sound you want to use.

Finally, in the Properties dialog box, click the Color, Pattern, And Line Style tab. Click the arrow at the right side of the Color list box and select white. Press Alt-F4 to close the dialog box.

Press Alt-F10 to run your slide show. The sound should now start four seconds after the slide opens.

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MAKING YOUR OWN FREELANCE GRAPHICS SMARTMASTER

Here is a Freelance Graphics question from reader Evelyn H.:

"I have started working on a new slide presentation that will become a minor standard around here. Is it practical to create a SmartMaster I can use with future presentations?"

Yes, you can create your own SmartMaster. Since a SmartMaster is basically a slide saved in SmartMaster format, what you do is start off with a blank slide. Next, choose Presentation, Edit Backdrop. Add all of your necessary objects and choose File, Save As. When the Save As dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Save As Type list box and select Lotus Freelance Graphics SmartMaster Look (MAS). Go to C:\lotus\smasters\flg and click Save.

The next time you want to use your new SmartMaster, run Freelance Graphics and choose File, New Presentation. Select your SmartMaster from the list.

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DELAYING SOUND IN POWERPOINT SLIDES

In the last tip, a reader showed a way to delay a sound in Freelance Graphics slides. This time, let's look at how to do the same thing in a PowerPoint slide.

Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and double-click a picture to insert it. Now right-click the picture and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Effects tab. Next, under Entry Animation And Sound, click the top list box to expand the list. Select an animation and click the Timing tab. Select the radio buttons labeled Animate and Automatically. In the spin box, enter the time delay you need. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your new selection.

Now it's time to create your invisible object. Click the Rectangle tool and draw a small object. Right-click the new object and choose Custom Animation. Click the Effects tab and select the Appear effect. Click the arrow at the right side of the sound list box under Entry Animation And Sound (it's the second list box). Choose your sound, then click the Timing tab and select Animate and Automatically. Set the time to whatever delay you want and click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings.

Now click the rectangle to select it, then click the arrow at the right side of the Fill Color button (its icon is a bucket of paint). Select No Fill and then click the arrow at the right side of the Line Color button (it's just to the right of the Color Fill button) and again choose No Fill. Now your rectangle won't appear to the audience and you will get the delayed sound effect you were after.

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USE A WIRELESS MICROPHONE

Here is a presentation suggestion from reader Lea T.:

"As far as I'm concerned, the wireless microphone is the best thing that has come along for presenters in recent years. I recommend that anyone who makes a lot of presentations rush out and get a wireless microphone as soon as possible.

"With the wireless on, you are free to stand straight and look right at your audience. You don't have to worry about the annoying variations in sound you get when you change the distance between you and the microphone. And you don't have to worry about a cord. The only thing you have to worry about at all is remembering to turn off the microphone when you're not using it.

"And don't wear your microphone to the restroom!"

Thanks for the tip, Lea.

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WORKING WITH BACKGROUND COLORS

Reader Richard O. submitted the following comments:

"I have noticed that you usually suggest staying away from dark backgrounds. I would like to say that there are many times when I find dark backgrounds useful.

"I often use a dark blue background with white text. This is very effective, easy to read, and doesn't assault the audience with bright lights. I use this type of slide as my opener simply because of the bright light factor."

Thanks for the tip, Richard.

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DON'T FORGET THE SCREENSAVER

Reader Dragan M. submitted this tip:

"My tip is this--don't forget to turn off the screen saver. Here is what happened to me recently.

"I had to give a presentation at a company in the United States. There was no computer in the room where we had the presentation, so someone brought in the computer from his desk. I loaded the slide show and all went well. But at the end of the slide show during the question period, the screen saver came on. This particular screen saver was one that should not have been shown in mixed company. Perhaps this particular screen saver should never have been shown at all. Perhaps it shouldn't even exist. It was very embarrassing.

"The point is, although the screen saver wasn't mine, it was my responsibility to either disable it or turn off the computer at the end of the show. Since many presenters like to leave the last slide on the screen, it's probably best to disable the screen saver."

Thanks for the tip, Dragan. What was that screensaver?

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WORKING WITH A BLANK SLIDE IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Here is a Corel Presentations question from reader David N.:

"Help! I just started using Corel Presentations, and I can't find a way to get to a completely blank slide: a white slide with nothing at all on it. Is this possible in Corel Presentations?"

It certainly is possible. It's just a little difficult to figure out how at first. Run Corel Presentations and open a new slide show. Now choose Format, Layout Gallery. When the Slide Properties dialog box opens, click the Appearance tab if necessary. Next, under Layouts, click the blank slide. Move down to Backgrounds and select the blank slide again. Finally, click OK to close the dialog box and apply your selection.

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USING RED ON BLACK

We have mentioned using bright colors on a black background before. Reader Pat W. says she likes to use red on black along with blue on black. When Pat alternates blue and red text on a black screen, the red appears to pop out in front of the screen. While this effect does occur, you should be aware that the effect is much more pronounced on your screen--when you're seated only a short distance away--than it is when viewers are sitting at the back of a room during a large-screen slide show.

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USING THE POWERPOINT SLIDE METER

Here is a PowerPoint tip from reader Sara M.:

"I have not seen the PowerPoint Slide Meter mentioned very often. I find this an invaluable tool for my rehearsals. First I decide how long a presentation should last, then I set up the slides to match the desired amount of time. Then I run the Slide Meter while I rehearse. This helps me get the timing very close."

If you would like to use the PowerPoint Slide Meter to rehearse, just open your slide show and choose View, Slide Sorter. Right-click the first slide and choose Slide Transition. Select the Automatically After check box, then enter the period of time that you want this slide to remain onscreen. We suggest you enter a longer duration than you expect to use in the presentation. Click Apply to close the dialog box and record your selection. Repeat this procedure for each slide in your show.

With your first guess at presentation times in place, choose Slide Show, View Show. Now right-click the first slide and choose Slide Meter. As you rehearse the show, click to get to the next slide. The Slide Meter shows how the time compares to your original estimate.

Once you've rehearsed your presentation several times, go back and set the slide duration to improve your presentation speed.

Thanks for the tip, Sara.

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MAKE SURE YOUR TEXT IS LARGE ENOUGH

When you design a slide show, you work with your small computer screen of 15, 17, or 19 inches, and you size all your text to look right to you. But you need to consider the screen you will be using during your presentation. If the room is large, you may need to make the text on your slides a bit larger so those at the back of the room can read it with ease.

If the system you will use for the presentation is available, run your slide show in automatic while you stand at the back of the room. If you have difficulty with reading any of the text, make it larger.

If the system is not available for your development use, or it's at a remote site, it's a good idea to make all the text larger than you think is necessary. It's far better to err in the direction of too large than too small.

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USING TRACE IN COREL PRESENTATIONS SLIDES

Reader Uta H. submitted this Corel Presentations tip:

"I was looking for a special effect for some ClipArt in one of my Corel Presentations slides. As I was fooling around with different effects, I ran across Trace. This turned out to be the perfect effect for my slide. I wanted to suggest to other readers that they give it a try."

If you'd like to examine Corel Presentations' Trace effect, open a blank slide and insert a ClipArt picture. Select the picture and choose Tools, Convert To Bitmap (you can't use Trace on ClipArt). Next, select the picture and choose Tools, Trace Bitmap.

The Trace effect works much better on some pictures than others. The coffee machine worked out fine, but the dog looked mangy after the trace.

Thanks for the tip, Uta.

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ADDING SOUNDS TO POWERPOINT TRANSITIONS

Reader Gunnar V. has a question about sounds for PowerPoint slide transitions:

"I am a new PowerPoint user; my presentation needs to have a sound when each slide opens. But I don't want to add any visual transitions. I have been told that one must have visual transitions in order to add sounds. Can you help me?"

You have been told wrong, Gunnar. You can add transitional sounds to PowerPoint slides whether you use visual transitions or not.

Try this: Open your slide show and choose View, Slide Sorter. Right-click a slide and choose Slide Transition. When the Slide Transition dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Sounds list box. Now select a sound from the list, or select Other Sound (the bottom of the list) and choose a custom sound.

After you select a sound, click Apply To All if you want to use the same sound for all your slides, or just click Apply to use the sound in the current slide.

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DRAMA OR JUST THE FACTS?

When you make a presentation about the results of a study or experiment, you can choose one of two approaches: Create drama by building up to the result slowly, or present the conclusion first and then discuss the procedure used to arrive at your conclusion.

The method you choose depends on your audience. If your audience is primarily management, we would present the conclusion first, with only the necessary amount of background material. This gives top management people a chance to make a note to give you a promotion and then go back to their work.

If you are presenting to both managers and coworkers, you can use the more dramatic approach and provide all the background before you present your conclusions. In our opinion, this makes for a more interesting presentation, but remember that top management people usually want to hear only the bottom line.

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ON THE ROAD WITH FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Jean S. has a Freelance Graphics question:

"Is it possible to set up a Freelance Graphics slide show so you can take the show to a customer site and run it without installing Freelance Graphics on the customer's computer?"

Yes, you don't need to have Freelance Graphics installed on a computer to run a show. Try this: Run Freelance Graphics and open a slide show (or create a short one). Insert a blank, formatted disk into drive A: and then choose File, Save And Go.

When the Save And Go wizard opens, click Next. Now select the check box labeled Current Presentation and click Next. Select the radio button labeled Drive A and click Next. Select the check box labeled Include Mobile Screen Show Player and click Next. This wizard page lists all the actions you have instructed it to take. Click Finish to continue.

A dialog box appears, prompting you for a floppy disk. Since you've already inserted a disk, click OK. Freelance Graphics copies all the necessary files to the floppy disk in drive A:.

When you reach the remote site, you insert the floppy disk in drive A: and double-click sngsetup.exe to set up the player on the remote computer. Since many companies are now very touchy about who loads what on their computers, we suggest that you check with your contacts before you install the program. Some companies insist that one of its own people install all software.

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TAKING A COREL PRESENTATIONS SLIDE SHOW ON THE ROAD

In the last tip, we discussed how to present a Freelance Graphics slide show on a computer that is not loaded with Freelance Graphics. This time, let's look at how to set up a portable Corel Presentations slide show.

First, slide a floppy disk into drive A:. Open your Corel Presentations slide show and choose File, Show On The Go. When the Show On The Go dialog box opens, click Change. Now select the radio button labeled Drive A and click Next. Select the radio button labeled On Windows 95/NT if you're sure the computer at the other end uses Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0. Otherwise, select the On Windows 3.x and Windows 95/NT radio button. In either case, click Next to continue.

Now you need to decide what kind of display you will use. Since you probably can't be sure, select the radio button labeled Any Windows Display and click Finish. Finally, click Create to create your slide show and copy it to the blank floppy disk you just inserted into drive A:.

Corel Presentations creates a stand-alone executable file and copies it to drive A:. All you have to do is insert the floppy into a computer and open drive A:. Double-click the YourSlideShowName.exe file to start the show.

We suggest making a spare copy of the floppy disk just to be safe.

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PRESENTING STATISTICS

When you make a presentation that consists largely of statistical information, try to present the numbers in a way that prevents massive audience headache. Unless you're presenting to an audience of scientists and engineers, go a little easy on exact numbers. For example, if you need to discuss the number 3,425.2768, just say "about 3400." If you are talking percentages, use "almost 50 percent" in place of 48.9994 percent.

When you need to discuss a correlation with a nontechnical audience, just show the chart and say that the data was a good fit. Don't talk about percent confidence limits and extraneous points.

On the hand, if you are talking to an audience of techies, let fly with the exact numbers. If you don't, they'll wonder what's wrong with your data.

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USING THE FAST SAVE OPTION IN POWERPOINT

This PowerPoint question is from reader Ralph F.:

"I primarily use PowerPoint. I was recently told all my files would save much faster if I chose the Fast Save option. I did, and now my files are huge--much larger than before. This doesn't make sense to me. Is something wrong with my PowerPoint installation? Or have I made a mistake in how I set up the Fast Save option? I chose Tools, Options and clicked the Save tab. Then I selected the Allow Fast Save check box."

Your installation is fine, and you didn't make a mistake. Problem is, when you select Fast Save, PowerPoint (along with the other Office 97 programs) speeds up saves by appending the most recent data to the existing file. This is much faster, but as you've observed, it creates larger files.

If the file size presents a problem, choose Tools, Options and click the Save tab. Deselect the check box labeled Allow Fast Saves, then click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

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HANDLING A QUESTION PERIOD

We attended a technical presentation recently. The presenter did an excellent job, but in the question-and-answer period, some of the questions obviously disturbed him. After the first few questions, he folded his arms over his chest. Later, he began tapping his foot and glaring at the audience.

No matter how angry you become with any questioner, don't let it show. Make up your mind before you start that you will remain calm no matter what happens. You will probably find that acting calm helps you remain calm.

This may seem like a small point, but it's very important. You can blow the entire presentation if you allow your emotions to get out of control.

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WORKING WITH SOUNDS IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

This Freelance Graphics question comes from reader Duane L.:

"I have been using Freelance Graphics only a short time, so my question is probably very basic. I need to have Freelance Graphics play a different sound each time a new slide appears. I found a way to make all slides play the same sound, but no way to assign a different sound to each one."

To see how Freelance Graphics handles this, let's use a simple example. Open a blank slide in Freelance Graphics and add a ClipArt picture. Now click New Page to create a new slide, then add a ClipArt picture to this slide as well.

With the pictures in place, choose View, Page Sorter. In the Page Sorter view, right-click the first slide and choose Page Properties. In the Properties dialog box, click the Screen Show tab (its icon is a movie projector). Select the transition you want to use, then click the arrow at the right side of the Sound list box. Select a sound from the list, then select the Trigger Automatically After radio button and set the time to whatever you want.

Leave the Properties dialog box open and click the second slide. Choose a transition and a new sound, then select Trigger Automatically After and set a time. You can now close the Properties dialog box (click the Close box) and press Alt-F10 to play the slide show. You should hear your assigned sound when each slide opens.

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PRINTING POWERPOINT SLIDES IN BLACK AND WHITE

Reader Steve M. has a PowerPoint printing question:

"I often need to print slides on a black-and-white laser printer; the problem is that they don't look very good. The last time I did this, I chose Pure Black & White in the Print dialog box. The drawings printed with no fill color at all. Is there a way to get a decent printout of PowerPoint slides?"

To see the fill colors, you have to select the Black And White check box in the Print dialog box. As you discovered, Pure Black & White won't print the fills.

You can modify ClipArt and other objects individually to make them look better on a black-and-white printer. To do this, open your slide show and choose View, Black And White. This will cause all of your slides to display in gray scale.

Let's say that some of your ClipArt pictures don't print well. Click a picture to open the Picture toolbar. Next, click the More Contrast, Less Contrast, More Brightness, and Less Brightness buttons to get a better-looking gray-scale picture. You can locate these buttons on the Picture toolbar by holding your mouse pointer over a button until the Tool tip appears (they are the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth buttons from the left).

Note that these changes also affect the color version of the picture, so after you print your slides, you may want to reset your modified pictures to look better in color. To get back to the color version, choose View, Black And White again; this deselects the black-and-white printing option.

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MAKE YOUR HANDOUTS READABLE

When you use handouts, make sure they are all self-explanatory. Many presenters pass out handouts that make no sense without the presentation. Although this is an easy trap to fall into, it's also an easy one to avoid. When you design your handouts, write them as though intended for people who would never see or hear your presentation.

You should strive to make your handouts so good that audience members will want to put them in a binder for later reference. It isn't always easy to write excellent handouts, but it is always worthwhile.

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ORGANIZATION CHARTS IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Verlene S. submitted this Corel Presentations tip:

"I have never seen a tip about using the organization chart in Corel Presentations. Although I have used PowerPoint and I like the way its organization chart works, I think Corel Presentations is easier to work with.

"To insert an organization chart, choose Insert, Organization Chart. When the Layout dialog box opens, all you have to do is click the type of chart you want to use.

"Once the chart is in place, you simply right-click one of the boxes and choose Edit Text to insert your text. When you're ready to move to another level, just right-click it and choose Edit Text again.

"You can make some very attractive and easy-to-follow organization charts in Corel Presentations. Right-click any box and choose Box Properties to change its type, color, and size."

You are right--Corel Presentations can create excellent organization charts. Thanks for the tip, Verlene.

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AN INTERESTING FREELANCE GRAPHICS TRANSITION

Reader Steve M. submitted this Freelance Graphics tip:

"While working on a presentation, I ran across the transition effect called Rain. I had seen it before, but never tried it. I used the Rain effect to make ClipArt people appear as though Scotty of Star Trek transferred them in."

To check out the Rain effect, run Freelance Graphics and open a blank slide. Click ClipArt and select a picture. Double-click the picture to open the Properties dialog box. When it opens, click the Screen Show tab (its icon is a movie projector). Select the radio buttons labeled Display Page First, Then Display Object and After. Leave the time set to zero seconds and click the arrow at the right side of the Transition list box to expand the list. Select Rain and close the Properties dialog box by clicking the X in the upper right corner.

To run the slide show and observe the Rain effect, press Alt-F10.

Thanks for the tip, Steve.

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BEAMING IN YOUR COREL PRESENTATIONS PICTURES

In the last tip, we discussed using the Rain effect in Freelance Graphics to simulate a "Beam me up, Scotty" appearance. This time, let's look at how to achieve a similar effect in Corel Presentations.

Open a blank slide and insert a ClipArt picture. Right-click the picture and choose Object Animation. When the Object Properties dialog box opens, select the radio button labeled Animate Object In Place. Now select Mosaic Wave from the Effects list. Under Direction, select Bottom To Top. Next, select the Fast radio button and click OK to close the dialog box and save your selections.

Of the two programs, Freelance Graphics and Corel Presentations, the latter offers the better effect.

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JUDGE YOUR AUDIENCE

Reader Betty N. has some advice for new presenters:

"No matter what your topic, you need to judge your audience. If you're making a presentation at your office, you know who will attend, and you know whether they are sympathetic or hostile to your topic.

"When you present to strangers, you have to judge your audience in the first few minutes of your presentation, and you have to judge them without their knowledge. After you get three or four minutes into the presentation, do a large number of the people in the audience look bored? Do they look interested, even enthusiastic? Do any of them appear openly hostile? Of course, you can't always make an accurate judgement, but it's always worth the effort.

"If you're presenting at another company, how does your contact feel about the audience? If your contact believes they are enthusiastic about your product, they probably are. If your contact tells you your product isn't the first choice of most of the audience, you know you have a much harder sale.

"You develop a feeling for these things after you've made a number of presentations. But even if you're about to make your first presentation, think about your audience's reactions and try to correct any misgivings or problems."

This is excellent advice, but difficult to explain to a new presenter.

Thanks for the tip, Betty.

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REGROUPING OBJECTS IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Here is a Corel Presentations question from reader Kerry R.:

"I started using Corel Presentations only a few weeks ago, and have encountered a problem. I have no trouble when I insert a ClipArt picture and choose Graphics, Separate Objects. But if I then select all the separated objects and choose Graphics, Combine, all the colors disappear and the picture turns into an outline. If I then choose Graphics, Separate Objects again, the colors return. Am I doing something wrong, or is there a problem with my Corel Presentations installation?"

We tried this and got the same effect. When you want to regroup an object you've separated, you should select all the separated objects by pressing Ctrl-A. Next, choose Graphics, Group. This will group all the separated objects and will not affect the colors.

This is a bit confusing in Corel Presentations, because we tend to think of combining as the opposite of separating.

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MOVING AROUND DURING A PRESENTATION

Reader John M. has a suggestion to pass along:

"I have noticed that you tend to advise presenters to stand still during a presentation. I find that I seem to hold the audience better if I move around. For example, if I see someone drifting off, I move toward that person. If there is a table nearby, I sometimes walk slowly to the table and sit on the edge. My feeling is that the audience is more comfortable with you if you seem comfortable with them.

"I don't suggest pacing around, or waving your arms, but a little movement seems to give the audience the impression that you're talking with them rather than at them."

It's a good point, John. Thanks for the suggestion.

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ADDING TEXT TO A FREELANCE GRAPHICS PICTURE

Reader Joan B. has a Freelance Graphics question:

"In Freelance Graphics there is a ClipArt picture that is just perfect for one of my presentations. This particular graphic depicts a person writing on a whiteboard. I have two questions about this ClipArt: How do I enter text, and how do I make the whiteboard into a blackboard? Although the current text in the picture says Type Text, I don't see a way to add text. When I click on the board, all it does is select the picture. If I double-click the picture, it opens the Properties dialog box."

Let's take the questions one at a time. First, to enter text, click the picture to select it. Then click the board area once. You can now enter your text.

If you prefer a blackboard, leave the text for later. Click the picture to select it and choose Group, Ungroup. Now click away from the picture to deselect it. Right-click the board and choose Clear (this deletes the text box).

Right-click the board again and choose Polygon/Shape Properties from the pop-up menu. When the dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern Color list box and choose black from the list. You can now close the dialog box by clicking the X in the upper right corner (the Close box). To regroup your picture, press Ctrl-A to select all the objects on the slide and choose Collection, Group.

Now that your blackboard is really black, you can add some text. Click the Text tool in the floating Tools toolbar and draw your text area over the blackboard. Type your text and click away from the picture. Next, right-click the text box and choose Text Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Font, Attribute, And Color tab (it's the first one from the left). You can now set your font, font size, text color, and so forth. When you're finished, click the Close box to dismiss Properties.

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USING COLORS

Here is a note from reader Rick S.:

"This concerns a recent Presentations tip about using red text on a black background in presentations: Although this might be useful for limited special effects, use it with caution. To some people with a color vision deficiency, red appears very dark and difficult to read on a black background. Use this technique, like most special effects, sparingly, and avoid it on slides essential to the main points of the presentation."

A very good point, Rick: A rather large minority of males has trouble with color vision. It's probably best to save those special color effects for small groups of your coworkers.

Thanks for the suggestion, Rick.

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EASY DUPLICATION OF POWERPOINT SLIDES

Here is a PowerPoint tip from reader Al F.:

"I have noticed that you always suggest copying a slide and then pasting it to a new one when working with a series of slides for an animation. There is a much easier way to get the same result. Once you create a slide with an object you want to appear in the next slide, simply choose Insert, Duplicate Slide. This inserts an exact copy of the slide immediately following the current location.

"Once you've copied the slide, you can make necessary changes to your moving object and choose Insert, Duplicate Slide again."

Thanks for the tip, Al.

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WORKING WITH MICROPHONES

Here are some comments from reader Elaine M.:

"A month or so ago you mentioned some of the possible problems associated with using wireless microphones. I recently had to use a handheld microphone at a remote site, and I will never again forget to take my wireless along. You have to keep the handheld at just the right distance from your mouth. If you get too close and use a word that begins with a P, it makes a pop. A word beginning with S makes a sound like a snake.

"No matter what problems a wireless microphone may cause, it has to be better than the alternative."

You have a very good point, Elaine. And we agree--the only problem with a wireless is forgetting to turn it off at the necessary times.

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SPECIAL CHARTS IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Here is a Freelance Graphics question from reader Simon B.:

"I am working on a pie chart in a Freelance Graphics presentation. I need to move one of the slices out of the chart and rotate it. I have all the pieces in place on the first slide, then I intend to move a slice out over the next few slides. Finally, I want to rotate the slice on the last slide. My problem is that the pie slices only move straight out from the pie. I see no apparent way to rotate it. Do you have any suggestions?"

You can ungroup a chart just as you would a ClipArt picture. Once you ungroup the chart, you can manipulate the individual objects. To try this, run Freelance Graphics and open a blank slide. Now choose Create, Chart. When the Create Chart dialog box opens, click Pie and then click OK. This opens the Edit Data dialog box, where you can add a few numbers so you'll have something to chart. After you add the numbers, click OK to close the dialog box and add your chart to the slide.

Now select the chart and choose Chart, Ungroup. You will get a warning dialog box informing you that your chart will lose any links it may have been using. Click OK to continue. Click away from the chart area to deselect all its components.

Now you can move a slice out and away from the pie. Note that the border is separate from the slice. You can select the border and delete it, or you can move it over the slice and group the two together. Since the slice is now just a drawing object, you can choose Drawing, Rotate to rotate it.

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MAKING POWERPOINT SLIDES FROM A WORD OUTLINE

Reader Marcella C. submitted the following PowerPoint tip:

"I find it very convenient to write all my presentation outlines in Word. This makes them very easy to evaluate and print. Then, after I complete a Word outline, I simply import it into PowerPoint to begin my slide show development.

"To import a Word outline into PowerPoint, just run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Slides From Outline. When the Insert Outline dialog box appears, locate your Word file and double-click it. Each Heading 1 title will become the title of a separate slide. All you have to do now is add the graphics and any other text you might need."

Thanks for the tip, Marcella.

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CLOSING A PRESENTATION

Here are some comments and suggestions from reader Tom H.:

"Closing a presentation is somewhat like closing a game of chess: It does little good if you start out strong and finish weak in chess or in presentations. Above all, you always want to leave an audience with a positive feeling.

"Whatever you do, don't allow yourself to wind down slowly. You started on a positive note, and you should finish the same way. Even if you get some tough questions, stay positive.

"Another technique many presenters use is leaving the audience with something extra to think about. Something like this: 'We've covered a lot of material today, but there's more. Consider this...'"

These are good points. Some presenters begin to slow down or appear worn down as they near the end of a presentation. You must avoid this trap no matter what.

Thanks for the tip, Tom.

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POINTING OUT THE PLUSES IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Lynn V. submitted this Freelance Graphics tip:

"I recently used an animation in a presentation, and I thought it might interest others. I placed several objects on a slide, then I used basically the same slide for most of the presentation. When I changed from one slide to the next, I had an arrow move from one of the sides and point at the object under discussion. This is a very effective technique (my listeners have told me), and it's very easy to accomplish."

Let's give this a test run. Open a blank slide and place a few ClipArt pictures on it. Press Ctrl-A to select all the objects, then press Ctrl-C to copy them. Now click New Page to insert a new slide. After you insert the new slide, press Ctrl-V to paste your copied objects onto it.

OK, you're ready to work on one of the objects now. So click the Drawing & Text button, then choose one of the arrows under Connectors. Then use the mouse to draw it on your slide.

To place the arrow properly, you can select the arrow and choose Connector, Rotate. Make sure the arrow points directly at the object you want to discuss.

To add the animation, double-click the arrow. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Screen Show tab (its icon is a movie projector). Select the radio buttons labeled "Display page first, then display object" and "After". Leave the timing set to the default of zero and click the arrow at the right side of the Transition list box. Select the transition you want to use and then click the Close box to dismiss Properties.

You can now press Alt-F10 to play the screen show and check out your animation effect.

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MORE CLIPART FOR COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Marian D. has a Corel Presentations question:

"I am always having to look for my setup disc when I need to use some ClipArt. Is it possible to load all the Corel Presentations ClipArt onto the hard disk? I have two 13.1GB drives, so there's plenty of room."

Using up a lot of disk space is the only potential downside to having your ClipArt handy. If you copy all the ClipArt to the current Corel Presentations ClipArt folder, you will never need to use the CD again.

Put the Corel Presentations (WordPerfect) CD into the CD-ROM drive. When the Setup dialog box opens, click Exit. Now run Windows Explorer and navigate to \Corel\Graphics.

Next, go to D:\corel\suite8\graphics, where D: is your CD-ROM drive (since you have two hard disks, yours is most likely drive E:). Press Ctrl-A to select all the folders in Explorer's right pane. Use the right mouse button to drag all the folders to \Corel\Graphics. When you release the mouse button, select Copy Here from the menu. Sit back and relax--this will take a while.

The next time you run Corel Presentations, you can access all the graphics without the setup disc.

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DISPLAYING POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOWS IN MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER

Reader Harry M. has a useful PowerPoint tip:

"Before I need to go on the road with a PowerPoint presentation, I save the presentation in HTML format. This way, I can run the slide show without having to take anything along but the HTML show.

"Your slide show will look different depending on whether you run it in Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape, but you can iron out all the bugs before you go on the road.

"One problem with using other presentation methods is that you often have to install software on the customer's computer. Since I started using Explorer for my slide shows, I can very easily copy the files to the customer's computer and then delete them all when I'm finished."

Make sure you check ahead to see what kind of browser you'll be working with at a customer's site. And if you want to tailor your shows to run in either Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 or Netscape, you need to have both browsers available to test your slide show.

Thanks for the tip, Harry.

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SEPARATING CLIPART OBJECTS IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Paul A. has a Corel Presentations tip:

"I am a past Freelance Graphics user and started using Corel Presentations about two months ago. I am still experimenting with this very versatile program.

"One Corel Presentations feature I recently discovered is that you can delete portions of a ClipArt picture without going through the Ungroup stage. For example, let's say you choose Insert, ClipArt and insert a picture. Suppose you would like to delete a small portion of the picture to make it fit your subject better. All you have to do is double-click the picture and click the part you don't want. When you've selected the right portion of the picture, just press Delete.

"Some pictures have numerous layers, so you may need to delete several items to get the effect you're after."

Thanks for the tip, Paul.

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A BLANK SLIDE IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Ren M. has a Freelance Graphics question:

"When I start off with a particular slide layout in Freelance Graphics, I sometimes find I need a blank white background for one slide only. Is there a way to change the background for just the one slide without affecting the others?"

Yes, you can make one slide blank. Go to the slide you want to change and choose Page, Page Layout. When the dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Layout list box. From the list, select [Blank page] (the last entry in the list). Now, click the Color, Pattern, And Line Style tab. Click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern Color list box and select white.

This will have no effect on other slides in the show.

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A FREELANCE GRAPHICS CLIPART SPECIAL

Reader Wanda V. has a Freelance Graphics tip:

"I have often run across ClipArt that would do just fine in a slide if only it faced the other direction. This is really no problem in Freelance Graphics, because you can flip the ClipArt picture. All you have to do is click the picture and choose Group, Flip, Left-Right. Just make sure there are no letters or numbers in the picture, because these get flipped, too."

Another technique you can use to get a ClipArt picture just right is to rotate it. To do this, right-click the picture and choose Rotate. The cursor changes to a curved double arrow. Grab the picture by a corner and rotate it to its new position.

Thanks for the tip, Wanda.

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A POWERPOINT CLOCK

Reader Jack G. has a PowerPoint animation tip for us:

"I was looking for a way to put an animated clock on the screen to do a countdown until show time. I was about to create a series of slides when I saw a tip on animating objects on a slide using Custom Animation. This was just what I needed, since I would prefer to have the clock on only one slide to cut down on the file size.

"I found a clock in one of the Screen Bean pictures and inserted it into the slide. I ungrouped the picture and deleted the Screen Bean picture, leaving only the clock. I then ungrouped the clock and deleted one of the hands. I placed the numbers 0 to 10 evenly around the clock, with 0 at the top. Then I pressed Ctrl-A to select all the clock elements and Ctrl-C to copy the clock to the Clipboard. Next, I pasted 9 copies of the clock, for a total of 10 (press Ctrl-V).

"The first clock appears when the slide starts. I set its hand to 10, using the Rotate tool. Then I grouped the clock again. Next, I moved to another clock and set it to 9. I then grouped this clock and dragged it over the first clock. I right-clicked this clock and chose Custom Animation. I chose to have the clock appear. I clicked the Timing tab and set the clock to appear after 60 seconds.

"I went through the same procedure with each clock, dragging its hand into position pointing at the next number. I set each to appear after 60 seconds.

"This has proven to be a very effective way of providing an unobtrusive countdown to start time. When the hand reaches 9, almost everyone scrambles for a seat. The first slide of my show always starts with music, and this gets the remainder of the audience seated before I dim the lights."

Thanks for the tip, Jack.

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Here is a Corel Presentations tip from reader Moishe G.:

"I have created many presentations using Corel Presentations. Only recently did I notice a macro to add headers and footers to the slides. What you do is choose Tools, Macro, Play. When the Play Macro dialog box opens, double-click headfoot.wcm. When the Headers/Footers dialog box opens, select the appropriate radio button, either Header or Footer, and click OK.

"The Create Header (or Footer) dialog box opens. Select what you want to use and click either Apply To All to apply the same headers to all slides in the show, or click Apply to apply your selections to the current slide only."

Thanks for the tip, Moishe.

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ALWAYS KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS

Here is a tip from reader Elliot F.:

"I am often amazed at how poorly prepared many presenters are. Watching a person fall apart under a bit of light questioning isn't a pretty sight. I suggest we work to make sure we know all the answers to any question an audience might ask. Also make sure you can support every bit of your data. There is little worse than being asked for supporting evidence when you can't supply it.

"All this boils down to proper preparation. Far too many presenters spend all their time making pretty slides, then shortchange themselves in preparation for the actual presentation."

You have a very good point, Elliot--one that we all need to keep in mind.

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Reader Harry M. has a PowerPoint animation question:

"I am trying to get an object to fly quickly from one point to another. I created a series of slides to do the animation. On each slide, the object moves a bit more to the right. This works OK, except that the motion is too slow and jerky. Do you have any suggestions about how to get faster motion? I already have the slide transitions set to zero."

Often the best way to handle a fast motion is to use only two slides--one with the object in its original position and a second with the object in its new position. The eye will interpret this as a very fast motion.

To try this, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and select a picture. Move the picture to the bottom center of the slide and press Ctrl-A to select the picture. Press Ctrl-C to copy your picture, then press Ctrl-M-Enter to insert a new slide. Press Ctrl-V to copy the picture to the new slide. Now use the mouse to move the picture to the right side of the slide.

Run the slide show and see how your animation looks. You may need to adjust the transition times to get it just right. Choose Slide Show, Slide Transition and set your timing. Click Apply to close the dialog box and save your settings.

---------------------------------------------- CENTERING A SINGLE OBJECT IN POWERPOINT

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Georg L.:

"I started using PowerPoint about two months ago, and I really enjoy it. I have one question, though. Is it possible to center a single ClipArt picture? When I select the picture and choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, all the commands are grayed out."

Try this: Choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, Relative To Slide. Now choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, Align Center. Finally, choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, Align Middle.

Your ClipArt object should now appear in the center of the slide.

----------------------------------------------

COLOR GRADIENTS IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Nick V. has a Freelance Graphics question:

"I noticed that Freelance Graphics has some backgrounds that use color gradients. For example, one background starts out light blue at the top of the slide and gradually turns dark blue by the end of the slide. Is it possible to produce a drawing figure with a color gradient?"

Yes, there is a very easy way to apply a color gradient to a drawing object. To see how this works, open a blank slide from Drawing & Text. Select the Rectangles tool and draw the figure. Now right-click the rectangle and choose Rectangle Properties. When the box opens, click the Color, Pattern, And Line Style tab (its icon is several black lines and a multicolor line).

Under Interior, click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern list box and select one of the gradient patterns (these patterns will look much better in color). Next, click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern Color list box and select a color. Now click the arrow at the right side of the Background list box and select another color.

After you have selected two colors you like in combination, click the close box to dismiss the dialog box.

----------------------------------------------

CREATING ANIMATED HTML PAGES WITH POWERPOINT

Reader Shelly S. asks the following PowerPoint question:

"I would like to create a slide show that will run in Microsoft Internet Explorer. The only problem is that I would like to use some PowerPoint animations. Is it possible to get PowerPoint animations to run in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4?"

It is possible to run the PowerPoint animations. However, this could pose a problem if you intend to publish a Web page on the Internet. The problem is that anyone who views the page will have to download the animation software from Microsoft. If you want to use the animations in an Explorer-based slide show, then there's no problem at all.

To see how the animations work, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Note that the first time you run the show, you may be prompted to download the Microsoft PowerPoint Animation Player for ActiveX from the Microsoft Web site.

Choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and select a picture. Right-click the picture and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Effects tab and select the animation you want to use. Click the Timing tab now and select the radio buttons labeled Animate and Automatically. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your animation settings.

Now choose File, Save As and name your new file. Click Save to continue. Next. choose File, Save As HTML. This opens the Save As HTML wizard. To get started, click Next. In the next page, select the New Layout radio button and click Next. Select the Standard radio button and click Next. Now select the PowerPoint Animation radio button and click Next. In this page, select your screen resolution and click Next. Finally, you can click Finish. When prompted to save the layout settings you created, click Don't Save to continue. PowerPoint saves your HTML presentation in a folder named Test. Close out your original PowerPoint slide, then locate your new Temp file through Windows Explorer. Double-click index.htm to view the slide show in your Explorer browser.

----------------------------------------------

DRAWING LINES IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Lars Y. has a Freelance Graphics question:

"I have been working on some custom drawings for a Freelance Graphics presentation. I am no artist, and things are not going all that well. Is there a way to draw a perfect line at a 45-degree angle?"

Yes, there is. Open a blank slide for experimentation and click Drawing & Text. When the floating toolbar appears, click the Line Tool button. Now hold down Shift and move the pointer around. You'll find that you can draw perfect horizontal, vertical, and 45-degree lines.

Note that the same method works in Corel Presentations. In PowerPoint, holding down Shift while you draw a line allows you to draw lines at angles of 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 degrees.

---------------------------------------------- FADE TO BLACK WITH COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Gena P. has a cool Corel Presentations tip:

"I use Corel Presentations and have found that a very effective way to end a slide show is with a slow fade to black. Corel Presentations' very effective Fade makes this easy to implement. Just move to the last slide and choose Insert, New Slide. When the New Slide dialog box opens, click the blank slide, then click OK.

"You should have a completely blank white slide. Right-click it and choose Page Setup. When the Page Setup dialog box appears, click the Page Color tab. Click Foreground and select black. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your new color to the slide.

"Now right-click the slide again, this time choosing Transition. From the Effects list, choose Fade, then select the Slow radio button. Next, click the Display Sequence tab and select the After A Delay Of radio button, then set the time to whatever you want. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.

"Move back to the previous slide. Right-click it and choose Transition. Once again, select Fade and the Slow radio button. Click the Display Sequence tab and set your timing for this slide. Click OK to close the dialog box.

"Finally, choose View, Play Slide Show to see how your fade-to-black effect looks onscreen."

Thanks for the tip, Gena.

---------------------------------------------- FINDING THE RIGHT WORD IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Erin D. asks us to point out that you need never be at a loss for words when creating Corel Presentations slide shows, because Corel Presentations has a thesaurus.

Let's say you use the word "test" in one of your bullets. Is there a better word? Select "test" and choose Tools, Thesaurus. When the Writing Tools dialog box opens (it will open to the Thesaurus tab), look through the list and see if there is a word you like better--perhaps "analysis" or "examination". If you find a new word you would rather use, click it, then click Replace. This replaces the word and closes the dialog box. If you decide to stick with your original word, click Close to dismiss the dialog box.

Thanks for the tip, Erin.

----------------------------------------------

GOING BACK TO A PREVIOUS SLIDE

Reader Sandra S. has a presentation tip.

"I just recently got caught up in this error, so I thought I would pass this suggestion on to others. I was making a presentation that used 26 slides and moved toward a logical final slide. At about the tenth slide, someone asked to see a chart somewhere between 1 and 9. I had to flip back through all the slides to find it.

"My suggestion is this: If you have any idea that a particular slide will prompt questions about an earlier slide, place a button on the current slide to take you back there immediately. Also put a button on that slide so you can go back to where you left off immediately. You can save yourself a lot of embarrassment."

Thanks for the tip, Sandra.

---------------------------------------------- HOW MUCH DOES YOUR PRESENTATION COST?

Reader Richard W. has a suggestion about presentation costs:

"When you make a sales presentation at a customer's site, keep in mind the cost to the customer. You can bet that some accountant is figuring it out.

"Suppose you make a sales presentation to 12 members of the customer's management group. It's very likely that their hourly cost is large, because companies count the salary plus benefits and so forth as an hourly charge for its employees.

"My point is this--keep your presentations as close as possible to your predetermined time schedule. If you are to start at 8 a.m., start at 8 a.m. And if the finish time is noon, make sure you finish at noon."

Richard, this is a very good suggestion. Most managers set their schedules to accommodate the presentation, and they do not appreciate having it run overtime.

----------------------------------------------

LOOPING POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOWS

Reader Vlasy I. has a PowerPoint question:

"I need to put a monitor in my shop window to show a PowerPoint slide show all day. I don't want mouse pointers and buttons showing onscreen. How can I get a slide show to run all the time with just the slides appearing?"

PowerPoint's Kiosk mode is probably the best choice for a continuously running slide show. Run PowerPoint and load your slide show. Now choose Slide Show, Set Up Show. When the Set Up Show dialog box opens, select the "Browsed at a kiosk (full screen)" radio button and click OK to close the dialog box and continue.

To set up timing, choose Slide Show, Slide Transition. If you don't need any special transitions, select the Automatically After check box and set the time you want between slides. Click Apply To All to set all the slides' times to the same value, then close the dialog box.

If you do need different timings, you can choose View, Slide Sorter. Right-click a slide and choose Slide Transition. Set the timing for the slide and click Apply to apply the settings only to the current slide. After you make your selections, move to the next slide, right-click it, and choose Slide Transitions. Repeat with each slide in the presentation.

You can now choose Slide Show, View Slide show to start the presentation. The only extra item on the screen is the mouse pointer. If you move it all the way to the right side of the screen, no one will see it.

The show will run until you press Esc to stop it.

---------------------------------------------- MAKING 35MM SLIDES FROM YOUR PRESENTATION

Here is a question from subscriber Terry M:

"I have just recently started using PowerPoint to create slide shows. I would prefer to make color slides from the PowerPoint slides. How does one go about doing this?"

A number of companies can make slides from PowerPoint, Freelance Graphics, and Corel Presentations slide shows. Take a look at these sites:

Colorslide.com at http://www.colorslide.com

Fogle Color Imaging Lab http://www.color-imaging.com

Graphicsland http://www.graphicsland.com.

4 Slides.com http://www.4slides.com.

Note that we haven't used the services of any of these companies, and we aren't recommending them--we're only informing you of their existence.

There are many, many others. Just look around the Internet or call a few photo shops around town--many of them can make slides from files these days.

----------------------------------------------

MAKING PRODUCT COMPARISONS

Reader Pete K. has a tip about product comparisons:

"TV advertising often shows or discusses competitive products. The ad then tells you how superior the advertised product is compared to the competitor's product. This may work very well for TV ads, but I consider it a very poor technique to use in a sales presentation.

"If you must mention competing products at all, just refer to them as 'our competitors'. Don't give your competitors free advertising."

Thanks for the tip, Pete.

----------------------------------------------

OBJECT PLACEMENT IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Here is a Freelance Graphics question from reader Steven M.:

"I have been working on an animation in Freelance Graphics that depends on objects, each larger than the preceding one, appearing at the correct times. The animation part works just fine, but I can't quite get all the objects lined up exactly on top of each other. Can you suggest a way to achieve perfect alignment?"

To locate all objects at one point, press Ctrl-A to select all the objects on the slide. Now choose Collection, Align. When the Align Objects dialog box opens, select the Center On A Point radio button. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply the alignment.

---------------------------------------------- PLACING COREL PRESENTATIONS OBJECTS WITH PRECISION

Reader Lloyd P. has a Corel Presentations question:

"I am having trouble getting Corel Presentations ClipArt objects in exactly the correct position. Is there some method that can help with this? When I drag the objects with the mouse, they always seem to jump to one side or the other from where I want them."

Here's a technique you can try. Click your object to select it. Make sure you have the mouse pointer set to drag objects (it should look like a four-way arrow), then hold down the Spacebar while you use the Up, Down, Right, and Left keys to move the object. This allows you to move an object one pixel at a time.

You can do the same thing in PowerPoint and Freelance Graphics, by simply selecting the object and then moving it with the arrow keys.

---------------------------------------------- PLACING OBJECTS IN POWERPOINT AND COREL PRESENTATIONS

In the last tip, we discussed how to place a group of objects all in the same spot. This time, we'll look at how to place objects in one spot in PowerPoint and Corel Presentations.

In PowerPoint, select all the objects (press Ctrl-A), then go to the toolbar and choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, Relative To Slide. Now choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, Align Center. Leave the objects selected and choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, Align Middle.

In Corel Presentations, press Ctrl-A to select all the objects and choose Graphics, Align Objects, Center Both.

---------------------------------------------- POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS ON A CD

Reader Joan B. has a PowerPoint question:

"Since my new computer has a CD-RW drive, I was wondering if it is practical to put several slide shows on a rewritable CD for use at a remote location. Everyone has a CD-ROM drive these days, so there would always be a computer available for use. What do you think?"

It sounds like a good idea, but there are a few potential problems. The biggest problem is that most CD-ROM drives won't read the rewritable discs. You may also have some problems if you use software that allows you to copy files to a recordable disc. Many drives won't read these discs.

We suggest that you burn your files onto a standard recordable CD using your CD manufacturer's software. This should produce a disc most drives can read.

----------------------------------------------

PREPARING FOR A REMOTE PRESENTATION

Reader Angela P. has a very good suggestion about making presentations at a remote site:

"One problem I encountered when I first began giving presentations at customer sites was telephones. I'd be placed in a nice large conference room with a coffee machine, plenty of light, good air circulation, good acoustics--and in the middle of my presentation a phone would ring.

"I learned my lesson. Now I check out the room before the audience arrives and I ask the manager in charge of the presentation if we can disconnect the telephone or have it forwarded. This leads to another point: In recent years, the cell phone has thwarted these precautions, so I ask the managers to request that audience members leave their cell phones behind or turn them off."

Good suggestions, Angela; we appreciate your passing them along.

----------------------------------------------

SCROLLING CREDITS IN POWERPOINT

Reader Meg C. has a PowerPoint request:

"I recall seeing a tip or article on how to create scrolling credits on a PowerPoint slide. I would like to have the credits appear at the bottom and scroll up and out of sight as most movies do."

You can do this in PowerPoint 97. Let's create an example slide.

Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now click the Text Box button in the Drawing toolbar and use the mouse to draw the box. Enter your name list (press Enter after each name).

After you enter all the names, right-click the text box (on an edge) and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Effects tab. Click the arrow at the right side of the top Entry Animation And Sound list box and choose Crawl From Bottom. Next, click the arrow at the right side of the Introduce Text list box and select All At Once. Now click the Timing tab and select the radio buttons labeled Animate and Automatically. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.

Choose Slide Show, View Show to view your screen credits.

----------------------------------------------

SETTING THE MICROPHONE GAIN

Here is a tip from reader Julie F.:

"I am constantly amazed at the number of presenters who fail to set the volume right on their microphones. There is no excuse for preventing some audience members from hearing the presentation.

"Several presenters have told me they try to set the volume before the audience appears. They don't want to change the volume after the audience is in place. I do just the opposite. I always wait until everyone is seated and then I ask if everyone can hear clearly. If not, we adjust the volume. There is nothing at all wrong with making sure the audience can hear your presentation. I have found most people appreciate my setting the volume just right."

Too loud is almost as bad as not loud enough. People don't want to endure a sonic assault to attend your presentation. So you might also ask the audience if anyone finds the sound too loud.

Thanks for the tip, Julie.

----------------------------------------------

SLIDE COLORS

Here is a note from reader Evelyn B.:

"A few weeks ago, I saw a poster that really got my attention. The color combinations were weird, but they worked. So naturally, I decided to try the same colors in a slide. Ugh! The combination was awful. It's amazing how much difference there is between colors on a page and colors on a screen.

"My only reason for writing is to let new presenters know that they won't always get what they expect when they go from the printed page to a computer screen. Even if you do a good job at matching the colors, everything looks different onscreen."

Thanks for the comment, Evelyn.

---------------------------------------------- STARTING YOUR PRESENTATION

Kim D. has a suggestion about how to begin a presentation:

"A technique I often use to begin a presentation is challenging the audience with a question--one I expect to answer for them, of course. For example, I might say, 'If we make no changes in the way we manufacture Globs, how long do you think it will take us to get a 20 percent market share?' After asking a question of this type, the audience will expect you to tell them specifically what changes in manufacturing are needed and how to accomplish them."

Thanks for the tip, Kim.

----------------------------------------------

TURNING OFF THE FREELANCE GRAPHICS WELCOME SCREEN

Reader Jim F. has a Freelance Graphics question:

"Some time back I read a tip on how to turn off the Word Pro Welcome screen and go straight to a new blank document. Is it possible to get Freelance Graphics to open with just a completely blank slide, and no Welcome screen?"

Yes, there is a way. Run Freelance Graphics and choose File, User Setup, Freelance Preferences. When the Freelance Graphics Preferences dialog box opens, select the check box labeled "Skip the startup dialogs and bring up a blank". Now click OK to close the dialog box and apply your changes.

Choose File, Exit Freelance Graphics to close the program. Run Freelance Graphics again and it will open with a completely blank slide.

----------------------------------------------

USE LEGAL CLIPART

Almost every time we mention ClipArt downloads, or ClipArt on a CD, we get mail from ClipArt artists who complain that we are encouraging people to use ClipArt illegally. So we will say again, as we have said many times before, that you must always investigate the copyright status of any ClipArt you use for a commercial purpose and only use it LEGALLY. Making a sales presentation is definitely commercial use.

To those who put ClipArt on a Web site and then say users can download the ClipArt free, make it clear to people that your ClipArt is copyrighted and for noncommercial use only. Also let people know how to get your permission to use your ClipArt.

---------------------------------------------- USING A TEXTURED BACKGROUND IN POWERPOINT SLIDES

Reader Frank B. has a PowerPoint tip:

"I like to use an unobtrusive textured background for some of my slides. Fortunately, PowerPoint makes using a textured background a snap.

"To apply a textured background to a PowerPoint slide, choose Format, Background. When the Background dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the list box under Background Fill. When the list expands, choose Fill Effects. In the Fill Effects dialog box, click Texture. Now you can select from a number of pleasing textures. I am especially fond of Woven Mat.

"After you select your texture, click OK to close the dialog box. Back in the Background dialog box, click Apply to apply the texture to the current slide, or click Apply To All to apply it to all the slides in your slide show."

Thanks for the tip, Frank.

---------------------------------------------- USING PHOTOGRAPHS IN POWERPOINT SLIDES

Reader Tom G. has a PowerPoint question, one that we see very often--probably because there is no single answer.

"Is it possible to insert a scanned photograph into a PowerPoint slide so it covers the entire slide? I have a 5 by 7 color photo I need to use in a slide. I have already scanned the picture and tried placing it in the slide. The problem is that I always end up with a large white border around the picture."

The problem is that you must take one of two courses of action--make the slide fit the picture or make the picture fit the slide. If you can crop the picture without losing too much information, crop it to fit your standard slide size. However, if you can't crop the picture, you will have to set the slide size.

To crop the picture, insert it into the slide (choose Insert, Picture, >From File) and choose View, Toolbars, Picture. When the floating Picture toolbar opens, click the cropping tool (seventh from the left) and crop the picture to fit.

Of course, you can also resize the picture--and you'll probably need to do so after you crop. Be careful as you resize the picture not to destroy the aspect ratio. If you mess with the picture's proportions, it will appear distorted.

If you have no alternative, you have to set the slide size to the picture size. Choose File, Page Setup. When the dialog box opens, select Custom from the Slide Sized For list box, set the height and width sizes to 5 by 7, and click OK.

----------------------------------------------

VIEWING THE KEYSTROKES IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Here is a Corel Presentations question from reader Dan I.:

"I have noticed that most menus show you what keystrokes you can use to perform a menu operation. For example, if you choose File, Open, you see Ctrl-O to the right of Open. For some reason, Corel Presentations has nothing like this in the menus. Is there a way to get Corel Presentations to show the keystrokes?"

Yes, there is. Choose Tools, Settings. When the Settings dialog box opens, double-click Display. Now select the Shortcut Keys check box. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes. Back in Settings, click Close.

The keystroke equivalents appear in your Corel Presentations menus.

---------------------------------------------- WATCH YOUR PHRASING

Here is a suggestion from reader Jan H.:

"A few weeks ago I attended an excellent presentation--excellent, except for one flaw: The speaker constantly used the word 'incidentally'. This type of mistake is a problem for beginners as well as for experienced presenters. We are usually not aware of how often we rely on particular words and phrases, but often we can irritate members of an audience with our repetitive phrases.

"I suggest that all presenters, beginners or not, ask a test audience to write down any cliches and repetitive words or phrases they hear during your practice sessions."

Thanks for the great suggestion, Jan.

----------------------------------------------

WATCH YOUR WORDS

Reader Kyle B. has a tip on how to write a good presentation:

"There are few excuses for speaking in literary English during a presentation. I don't mean you shouldn't use the specialized words everyone in your field understands, but you should avoid using long words as much as possible. Talking like William F. Buckley might impress some audiences, but you are much less likely to make your point if you use this approach.

"When you write your presentation, keep it simple. Don't use 'obfuscate' when 'confuse' will do just fine. If you mean 'next to last', don't use 'penultimate'."

Thanks for the tips, Kyle.

----------------------------------------------

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT

Reader Will H. has a suggestion about telling viewers what is important on your slide:

"When I first started giving presentations, back in the days when a 35MM slide show was the standard, I learned that you should always make sure the most important object on a slide is what the audience sees first.

"To make the most important object stand out, I have several people preview my slide show. I ask them to write down the first thing they see on each slide. If the first thing the majority of the audience sees is not the most important object on the slide, I redesign the slide.

"You really need to get a test audience of people who are unfamiliar with your presentation. There is no way you can make this judgement yourself."

A very good idea, Will--thanks for the tip.

---------------------------------------------- WIDE VIEWS IN POWERPOINT

Reader Julia N. has a PowerPoint question:

"I have three photos I carefully took so they would create a panoramic view. I would like to use these in a PowerPoint slide. If I can place them side by side horizontally, they would work quite well. Do you have any suggestions on how I might do this?"

We would suggest that you change the aspect ratio of the slide. Choose File, Page Setup. When the Page Setup dialog box appears, leave the width as it is and change the height to 4 inches (just to try it). Now choose Insert, Picture, From File and insert the first picture. Repeat for the remaining two pictures. Size and place the pictures until you get the effect you want.

This slide will appear on the screen looking much like the letterbox movies you see on TV--with horizontal black space above and below the picture.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHAT TO WEAR TO A PRESENTATION

Reader Bob L. has some comments about how to dress for your presentation:

"When I first started in my present position, I was advised to always dress up for a presentation. I still consider that good advice, but I have also decided that I should be comfortable. I tend to wear suits that have seen some use. These suits look fine, understand, but they aren't too stiff.

"I also make a point of wearing comfortable shirts and shoes. Again, the shoes should look nice and be well polished, but they need not be full dress shoes. I often wear rubber-soled wing tips. Very few people notice and these shoes are very comfortable. I am not trying to encourage people to dress down. All I'm saying is that you should dress nicely but comfortably."

A good idea. If you are not comfortable, you won't do as good a job. Of course, some of this also depends on your audience.

Thanks for the comments, Bob.

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WHAT TO WEAR

In September we published a reader tip on how to dress for a presentation. Subscriber Charles R. has some added suggestions:

"Regarding your tip 'What to Wear to a Presentation,' I agree with most of what you said. However, the presenter must be aware of his or her audience. A rule of thumb I teach my students in a 'Techniques of Presentation' class is that you should be as well dressed as your audience (or one step up). You are the one in charge and, since you are the presenter, your dress must show this. I agree that you must wear comfortable clothes, but you still need to be dressed as well as your audience."

Thanks for the tip, Charles.

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WATERMARKS IN POWERPOINT SLIDES

Reader Frank B. has a PowerPoint question:

"I have looked all over for a way to turn a ClipArt picture into a watermark in PowerPoint. I know how to make a watermark in Word, but PowerPoint eludes me. Is it possible?"

Yes, it is possible. Run PowerPoint and choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. Double-click a picture to insert it. At this point, the floating Picture toolbar should appear. If it doesn't, choose View, Toolbars, Picture to enable it. Now click the Image Control button in the Picture toolbar (second from the left) and choose Watermark.

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VIEWING THE PRINTABLE AREA IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Fred B. has a Freelance Graphics tip for us:

"I don't always print the slides from a Freelance Graphics slide show--but I found that when I did, some of the graphics would fall outside the printer's print area. I decided to find out exactly what the printer's acceptable area was, then draw a light border around each slide that I could later remove. What I discovered was that Freelance Graphics already has a printable area guide and all I had to do was use it.

"To make sure you don't go outside the printable area in Freelance Graphics, choose View, Set View Preferences. When the dialog box opens, select the radio button labeled Printable Area and click OK to close the dialog box and save your setting.

"This is all you have to do. Freelance Graphics will place a dotted line border around each slide showing you the printable area."

Thanks for the tip, Fred.

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VIDEOTAPING REHEARSALS

Reader Betty S. has some rehearsal suggestions:

"I started taping my rehearsal sessions a few years ago. What I did was set up the camera on a tripod and start it. Then I would just stand in front of the camera and go through my presentation.

"Although this method is better than nothing, I soon found it didn't really do what I needed. I like to move around a bit during a presentation, so staring at the camera forced me to rehearse in a manner different from how I intended to do the presentation.

"One of my coworkers is quite good with a video camera, so I asked her to tape me as I went through a dress rehearsal. This makes a fantastic difference. She follows me with the camera as I meander around. This way, I get to see exactly how I'm doing during the rehearsal.

"If you have someone who can use the camera well, I suggest that you give this method a try. It's much better than just talking into a fixed camera."

Thanks for the suggestion, Betty.

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USING TRANSPARENT LABELS IN POWERPOINT

Reader Lyle B. submitted the following PowerPoint tip:

"If you would like to use some cool-looking labels in your PowerPoint slides, try semitransparent ones. To create a semitransparent label, click the Rectangle tool in the Drawing toolbar and draw a small rectangle. Double-click the rectangle to open the Format AutoShape dialog box. When the dialog box opens, click the Color And Lines tab. Under Fill, click the arrow at the right side of the Color list box. Select the color you'd like to use and then select the check box labeled Semitransparent. Click OK to close the dialog box and continue working on your label.

"Right-click your new label again and choose Add Text. Type the text you want to use, and you're all set to place your label anywhere on the slide."

Thanks for the tip, Lyle.

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USING THE RULER IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Here is a Corel Presentations tip from reader Charles C.:

"I know many people who don't use Corel Presentations' ruler. To activate the ruler, just choose View, Ruler. This is a toggle command, so clicking it the first time turns the ruler on and clicking it again turns the ruler off.

"Leaving the ruler on makes it much easier to line up your objects as you place them on the slide. Corel Presentations places red markers on the vertical and horizontal rulers so you can see exactly where you're placing an object. For example, if you want the bottom corner of an object placed at five inches vertically and two inches horizontally, you would just drag the object until the red mark appears at five inches on the vertical scale and two inches on the horizontal scale."

The location of the markers depends on where you grab the object to drag it. If you drag from the top left, then the marker will show the location of the object's top left corner.

Thanks for the tip, Charles.

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USING PHOTOGRAPHS IN SLIDE SHOWS

Reader Gil B. has a tip about photos in slide shows:

"I saw an excellent slide presentation recently--excellent, except for the photographs. All the photographs were of people only. The problem was, they looked very green (taken under fluorescent lights) and the backgrounds were muddy.

"Here is my suggestion. When you need to use pictures of people in a presentation, place the people before a plain background--preferably a dark cloth. If you don't have any photo flood lamps, pay a visit to the local camera store and get some. Make sure the lamps you get are the correct color temperature for the film you are using. The clerk can help you with this.

"When you set up for your photo session, get a few people to use as test subjects and take some pictures during your slide show development period. Try to use people with different skin colors to make sure the background will work for everyone.

"Make sure you work out any shadowing problems during these test sessions. You don't want to get your film back at the last minute and then have to accept whatever you get.

"Regarding digital cameras, many people think they don't have to worry about lighting with digital cameras. This is not so. Provide the best lighting you can when you take the photos. Although your photo program can handle some color adjustment quite well, an adjusted picture is never as good as one that needs very little adjustment.

"Finally, never take flash pictures with a simple built-in flash camera. These pictures invariably make the face wash out. If your presentation is important to you, use good photographs. It's not all that difficult or expensive, and it really pays off."

Thanks for the suggestions, Gil.

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USING MUSIC IN PRESENTATIONS

Reader Lane D. asks if we recommend using music in presentations.

Music can certainly add to a presentation. However, unless you need a specific type of music to make a point, we suggest that you stick with quiet orchestral music--and keep the volume down. Any other kind of music will almost certainly offend some portion of an audience.

If you want to get fancy, follow the way movies use music. If you watch a few mainstream movies with this idea in mind, you'll find that they use specific kinds of music for certain scenes. The overall background music tends to be very quiet and inoffensive.

If other readers would like to express an opinion on using music, please write to us.

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USING GRAPHICS IN A SLIDE SHOW

Reader Georgeline D. has a slide show suggestion:

"I have noticed that almost all new presenters pay little attention to what kinds of graphics they use. It's only natural to try to find the picture that best fits the topic. The problem is that those pictures are often BMP files. BMP pictures might look good on your computer screen, but they will almost certainly not look so good on a large screen.

"Since little dots compose BMP files, the resolution of BMP art suffers when you enlarge it. To make sure your slides look as good as you expect, stick with the vectored graphics of ClipArt. The vectored graphics pictures still look the same when enlarged.

If you aren't sure about a picture you import onto a slide, try enlarging it to see how it looks. If the picture starts breaking up into small lines and dots, it will do the same on a large screen."

Thanks for the tip, Georgeline.

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USING GRAPHICS IN A PRESENTATION

Reader Gary M. submitted the following tip:

"When you use any graphic in a presentation, the graphic should have a purpose. That is, it should help the viewer remember or better understand the information presented. As the author or designer, it is your task to visualize your information. How can you make your ideas concrete for the learner?

"As an example, I recently completed a presentation where I introduced the concept of reverse engineering information for instruction. How does one represent reverse engineering so the audience will remember the term as used in a new context, and focus on the task? After some thought, I added a train engine (with an engineer) that backed across the bottom of the slide.

"We can help our viewers by anchoring our ideas with concrete images rather than randomly selecting pictures."

An excellent suggestion, Gary.

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USING FRAMES IN SLIDES

Reader Doreene L. has a tip for better presentations:

"Many slide-show developers tend to put too many frames into a slide. Let's say you have a pie chart in a frame. Then you put the data into another frame and some background information in yet another frame. This is too many frames--in this particular case, it is TWO frames too many. Place all the necessary information in one frame.

"I think this multiple-frame trend is an Internet influence. A good presentation and a good Web site are not the same."

Thanks for your comments, Doreene.

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USING FLOW CHARTS IN A PRESENTATION

Reader A. C. M. has some presentation advice about flow charts:

"When you need to show how a project is proceeding, use flow charts. Since many flow charts are too large to place on a single slide, you can continue over several slides. Just make sure you explain the steps in each slide before you move to the next one.

"One big mistake I have seen people make with flow charts is to add statistics to them. A flow chart is designed to show a logical progression. This is no place for numbers. Dates are the only numbers that should appear in a flow chart."

Thanks for the tip, A. C. M.

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USING COARSE OBJECTS IN A POWERPOINT SLIDE

In the last tip, reader Terry M. suggested using a coarse background to set off sharp pictures in slides. Reader Pam T. suggests using coarse figures over a sharp background.

"I use PowerPoint's screen beans frequently. For some slides, I like to use a solid background and then use a textured fill pattern for the screen beans.

"Since you can't change the color of the screen bean directly, click the object and choose Draw, Ungroup. After you ungroup the screen bean, you can group it again. Just choose Draw, Group.

"Now click the screen bean and click the arrow at the right side of the Fill Color button in the Drawing toolbar. When the menu opens, choose Fill Effects. When the Fill Effects dialog box opens, click the Texture tab. Select a text (Woven Mat is the one I like) and click OK to close the dialog box and save your Fill selection.

"If you need a line around the screen bean, click the arrow at the right side of the Line Color button (to the right of the Fill Color button) and select a line color.

"The effect is much better if you use a plain dark background."

Thanks for the tip, Pam.

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USING COARSE BACKGROUNDS FOR EFFECT

Subscriber Terry M. has a slide tip:

"It's very effective to use a coarse background on a slide that contains a very sharp picture--if you don't overdo it. I often use a burlap type of background with a very sharp picture such as a photograph.

"This is not a technique you should use for every slide in a show--but for those sharp photos you want to use, the coarse background gives the appearance of a nice matting."

Thanks for the tip, Terry.

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USING BRIGHT COLORS

Reader Julia D. has some comments about using colors in slide shows.

"I just wanted to let you know that I may be the exception that proves the rule--I almost always use bright (even gaudy) colors in all my slide shows. I don't do this just to be contrary--I work for a company that manufactures swimming accessories. Therefore, all my slides feature brightly colored beach balls, towels, and so on.

"I have found that it is better to avoid very bright red, green, and blue together. If possible, it's best to break the colors up with white or yellow. You also have to be very careful about the text. Placing text over a multicolored object presents an almost insurmountable problem of illegibility. So I just avoid it.

"If you do need to use bright colors, as I do, you need to be very careful with the number of objects on a single slide. Don't make it too busy. I often use a beach scene as a background, but I keep this background somewhat muted so the objects I sell stand out."

It's true that there are no hard and fast rules that everyone should follow--other than doing whatever makes your presentation as clear as possible. Thanks for the comments, Julia.

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USING BLACK SCREENS IN POWERPOINT

We recently mentioned that you can turn the screen black during a PowerPoint slide show by simply pressing B. We then stated that you could return to your slide show by pressing the spacebar.

Several readers pointed out the following:

You can press B to get back to the current slide. To go to the next slide from the black screen, press the spacebar. If you prefer a blank white screen, press W. Press W again to return to the current slide. Press the spacebar to go to the next slide. Thanks to those who sent in these clarifications.

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USING ANIMATION IN HTML POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOWS

Reader Carl J. has a PowerPoint question:

"I would like to create a slide show in PowerPoint for viewing in Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.01. I will be using this on one computer in our conference room. I know how to save the files as HTML, but how do I get the animation to work?"

You need the Microsoft Animation Player. To download this file, go to

http://support.microsoft.com/support/downloads/DP2039.ASP

Close Microsoft Internet Explorer and double-click the download file to install it.

We discussed a similar question a few months back when a reader wanted to use animation on a Web page. This is a little different, since you don't have to ask your viewers to download software.

In PowerPoint, load the slide show you want to run in Explorer and choose File, Save As HTML. When the Save As HTML wizard opens, click Next. Since this is a new layout, select the New Layout button and click Next. In the next page, select the Standard radio button and click Next. In this page, select the radio button labeled PowerPoint Animation and click Next.

Now set your screen size and the width you want for your graphics and click Next again. Click Next in this page (you don't really need anything here at this point). Click Next again. Select the button you want to use and click Next. Now select the button placement and again click Next. Select a folder for your HTML files and click Next. Finally, you can click Finish to create your HTML presentation.

You can now use animation in your HTML slide show. Please note--we have found that not all animation works as expected. You'll need to experiment with this feature.

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USING AN AUTOMATIC INTRO IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

In the last tip, reader Gerald R. discussed how he created an automatic introduction for a PowerPoint slide show. If you use Corel Presentations, you can do the same thing quite easily. To see how it works, run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide.

Now choose Insert, Sound. When the Slide Properties dialog box opens (it will open to the Sound tab), click the arrow at the right side of the Wave list box and select a sound. If you don't already have a sound file prepared, you can click Record and create the new sound to insert. In either case, click OK to close the dialog box and insert the sound.

With the sound in place, choose View, Play Slide Show, and the sound will play when the slide opens.

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USING A JAGGED LINE IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Here is a tip from reader Vera L.:

"Although this isn't something you would want to use regularly, I have found that dividing a slide into two parts using two contrasting colors, separated by a curve or jagged line, is sometimes a good way to express two differing ideas. I usually decide on the jagged line.

"In Corel Presentations, I first draw a rectangle that fills a little more than half the slide. Next, I draw a polygon. This requires a little practice to get the effect you're after. Draw the polygon so it fills about half of the slide, making it overlap the rectangle. Part of the effect is the contrasting colors, so you'll need to change the fill color of both the rectangle and the polygon.

"To set the rectangle color, click it and then click the Foreground Fill Color button (its icon is a bucket pouring paint--there are two and this is the one on the left). Click a fill color to select it. Click the polygon now and set its fill color to something that contrasts the rectangle fill color. I usually try to fit my text in slightly above and below the jagged and make the text (using TextArt) follow the line pattern."

Thanks for the tip, Vera.

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USE ESTABLISHED SYMBOLS

Here is a tip from reader Mike J.:

"When you need to use symbols for common objects and conditions, it's best to use the internationally accepted symbols. For example, a picture of a flame means the same thing to everyone. And a drawing of anything enclosed in a circle with a bar across it means 'Don't do it.'

"I have seen too many presentations in which someone made up symbols so obscure that few in the audience could figure them out. A tiny map of the world means something. A blank circle means nothing unless you explain it. Stick to the common symbols everyone understands."

Good advice. Thanks for the tip, Mike.

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USE A GOOD TITLE

Reader Susan W. has a presentation tip.

"We all tend to devote very little time to titles. Titles are very important, and we really should spend more time coming up with good, attention-grabbing ones.

"I like to first get my slide show together without titles--I just put in some marker text. Then I go through my slide show and start working on coming up with titles that really match my presentation well.

"Another approach I often use is to ask a trial audience to comment on my titles. Often someone more detached from the presentation will have some excellent title suggestions."

Thanks for the tip, Susan.

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UNUSUAL DRAWINGS IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Here is a Freelance Graphics tip from reader Ben D.:

"When you need to make drawings in Freelance Graphics, don't overlook Connectors, where you'll find a number of unusual shapes to enhance your slide shows."

A good point, Ben. To see what Ben is talking about, run Freelance Graphics and click Drawing & Text. When the Tools toolbar opens, select one of the choices in Connectors at the bottom of the toolbar and draw it on the slide. We especially like the bolt of lighting, and have used it in many slide shows.

Thanks for the tip, Ben.

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TURNING ON THE COREL PRESENTATIONS MASTER GALLERY

Here is a Corel Presentations question from reader Kerri P.:

"I somehow turned off the Corel Presentations opening dialog box that displays the Masters for selection. I would like to have it back--but since I don't know how I turned it off, I can't turn it back on. Could you please help?"

We sure can. Run Corel Presentations and choose Tools, Options. When the Settings toolbar opens, double-click the Environment icon. When the Environment dialog box opens, click the Startup tab (if necessary). Now select the check box labeled Automatically Display The Master Gallery When Creating A New Slide Show. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings. Back in Settings, click Close.

The next time you run Corel Presentations, the Master Gallery will appear. To turn it off again, select the Do Not Show This Dialog Box When Beginning A New Slide Show check box.

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TRANSPARENT CLIPART IN POWERPOINT

Reader Dwayne L. has a PowerPoint question:

"I would like to show part of a background drawing through a semitransparent frame. I even found a ClipArt frame I would like to use. The problem is this: I select the frame (picture) and choose Format, Picture. In the Format Picture dialog box, you can't set No Fill to semitransparent, so I set the color to white and then select the Semitransparent check box. I click OK to apply the selection.

"What happens now is that I don't quite get the effect I'm after: Now I have a semitransparent border outside the frame border. This spoils the effect and is of no use to me. Is there a way to make the area inside the frame semitransparent without the semitransparent border?"

When you set the fill to any color, you are setting the entire drawing to that color. You can use at least two approaches: You can ungroup the picture and make only the glass semitransparent, or you can draw a rectangle to place over the picture and make that rectangle semitransparent. Let's look at the latter approach.

Click the Rectangle tool and draw a rectangle of approximately the correct size over the frame. Let the rectangle slightly overlap the frame to make sure the glass area is completely covered. Right-click the rectangle and choose Format, AutoShape. Under Fill, click the arrow at the right side of the Color list box and choose white from the list. Select the Semitransparent checkbox and click OK to close the dialog box and continue.

Finally, click the frame to select it and choose Draw, Order, Bring To Front. This will hide the edges of your rectangle and provide the effect you're after.

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TRANSLATING YOUR PRESENTATION TEXT

Here is a presentation tip from reader Myron A.:

"I have been doing presentations in three different countries for a number of years. I work in English, German, and Italian. One thing I have noticed over the years is that most Western languages require more space than English does. For instance, when I have translated slide content into Italian or German for coworkers, invariably the slides needed some reworking because the text was too long for the slide. On several other occasions, when I translated German into English, there was space left over.

"What I am getting at is this: If you know you'll be translating your presentation into another language, you should try to leave some space in the slide design. Although this may not prove true with all languages, finding out how much translation space you'll need is worth checking in advance."

Thanks for the tip, Myron.

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TIMING IN POWERPOINT

Reader Karen S. has a PowerPoint question:

"How can I make sure the timing for my PowerPoint slide show is exact every time I run it? It hesitates between slides at random depending on whether I show it on the computer that created it or on a laptop, and whether I use Pack And Go."

To check the timing, try this: Create a blank slide show with six slides (you can open the first slide, then choose Insert, Duplicate Slide five times). Go to the first slide and insert some ClipArt--an item that shows the slide change. Repeat on the remaining five slides with a different picture on each one.

Now choose View, Slide Sorter. Right-click any slide and choose Slide Transition. Select the check box labeled Automatically After and enter 60 seconds. Click the arrow at the right side of the Sound list box and select a sound. Camera works well for this example slide show. Click Apply To All. Next, right-click the first slide and choose Slide Transition. Select the check box labeled On Mouse Click and click Apply to apply the change to slide 1 only.

Choose Slide Show, View Show. The first slide will remain onscreen until you click the mouse button. There should be a minute between slides. You can use a clock or a watch with a second hand to time the slides. Just wait until the second hand is pointing to 12 and click the mouse button. You should hear the camera sound each minute thereafter for the remainder of the slide show.

We found the time was off no more than a few seconds at the end of the entire slide show. The accuracy does very much depend on your computer, of course. We suggest that you stop any other programs, including screen savers, when you run a slide show.

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THE TROUBLE WITH TRIANGLES IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Jimmy V. has a Freelance Graphics drawing tip:

"Drawing triangles in Freelance Graphics can be a pain because you have to use the Polygon tool. It's very easy to end up with overrun lines or too-short lines.

"The best way to draw a perfect triangle in Freelance Graphics is to click the Polygon tool and draw the first line of your triangle. Move to the point where you want the remaining two lines to meet. Double-click, and Freelance Graphics will add the final two sides for you--matching all the corners perfectly."

Thanks for the tip, Jimmy.

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THE RIGHT INTRODUCTION

Reader Allan M. has a presentation suggestion:

"I often give presentations to unknown audiences--people who travel to our location for these presentations. Their business is very important to us, so I want to do the best possible job.

"My suggestion is this: Always make a point of having someone in your organization introduce you. The higher the level of the introducer, the better. This introduction should tell the audience why you are the right person to give this presentation. The audience needs to know what you do that makes you the best qualified person to explain the product to it.

"If you can get the president of the company to introduce you, go for it. You'd better first fill in the president about where you work and what you do, though."

A good suggestion. Thanks for the tip, Allan.

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THE POWERPOINT SLIDE METER

Here is a PowerPoint tip from reader Lou S.: "Although most people ignore the PowerPoint Slide Meter, I personally find it an indispensable tool. When you develop a slide show, you usually know how much time you have to use. If you set up the slides to match the time required, then you can use the Slide Meter to rehearse your presentation. This will help you adjust the slide duration and your presentation to fit in the allotted time period.

"To use the PowerPoint Slide Meter, open your slide show and choose View, Slide Sorter. Right-click the first slide and choose Slide Transition. Select the Automatically After check box and enter the time period for this slide to remain on screen. I usually enter a longer time than I really expect to use. Click Apply to close the dialog box and apply your selection. You'll need to repeat this procedure for each slide in the show.

"Now right-click the first slide and choose Slide Meter. As you rehearse the show, click to navigate to the next slide. The Slide Meter will show how your time compares to your original estimate. After you've run through your presentation several times using the Slide Meter, you can set the slide durations to match your presentation speed."

Thanks for the tip, Lou.

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STYLING WORDART IN POWERPOINT

Reader Johnna P. submitted the following PowerPoint tip:

"Until a few weeks ago, I thought I was stuck with whatever style I chose for a WordArt entry in PowerPoint. As I discovered, you can change the style of WordArt any time you like. All you have to do is click the WordArt text to select it. This opens a floating WordArt toolbar. In the toolbar, click WordArt Gallery (it's just to the right of Edit Text). Now you can select a new style and click OK to apply it."

You can change even more than the style. If you right-click your WordArt and choose Format WordArt, you can change the colors, lines, size, and position of your WordArt. When you finish making your changes, click OK to close the dialog box and save your new settings.

Thanks for the tip, Johnna.

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STORING A POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOW ON CD

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Susan R.:

"I just bought a new computer with a HP CD-ROM recorder. It seems to me this would be an ideal way to carry a slide show to a remote location, since CDs are more reliable than floppy disks and all computers now come equipped with a CD-ROM drive. Do you see any problem with recording a slide show to a CD to take to another location for a presentation?"

We have tried this and see no problems. As you say, a CD is safer than a floppy. We suggest that you use CD-R disks (recordable discs) rather than CD-RWs (rewritable discs). Many CD-ROM drives can't read rewritable discs.

We also suggest that you take some backup floppy disks with you, since some of the older CD-ROM drives won't read the recorded discs. You probably won't encounter this problem, but a backup is always a good idea.

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STICK TO THE POINT

Here is some slide development advice from reader Walter E.:

"When you create a slide, you need to make sure everyone recognizes the objects of interest. Although you may have several peripheral objects on a slide, keep the primary objects separate. For example, you would usually place the primary objects near the center of the slide. This is where people expect to see them. Any support objects should appear on the sides or in the background. When you place other objects in the background, make sure it's clearly a background--by making these objects smaller and/or less colorful than the primary objects."

Thanks for the tip, Walter.

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STARTING YOUR PRESENTATION

Reader Larry G. has some comments about presenting:

"It seems to me I am always hearing about starting off a presentation with a joke. If I read a book on presenting, I see this comment there as well. I never start with a joke. I'm an engineer, not a comedian.

"In my opinion, the best way to start a presentation is to just say hello, I'm Larry and I'm here to discuss....I have been on both sides of the fence, and I'm not interested in hearing presentations filled with jokes. If I want jokes, I'll go to a comedy club. Sorry if this looks like a tirade. I simply believe that getting down to business is the best way to get started."

You have a point, Larry. We have heard people start off with jokes or stories that went quite well. We have also heard people start with tasteless, unfunny jokes that all but ruined the presentation. If in doubt, leave it out.

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STARTING WITH A BLANK SLIDE IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Halley S. has a Corel Presentations question:

"I would like to open Corel Presentations with a completely blank, white slide. As it is, I have to open to a green slide and then change it to white. Is there a way to make a blank white slide the default?"

Here's an easy, though probably not approved, method of opening with a white blank. Run Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\Corel\Programs\Masters\Business. Right-click Explorer's right pane and choose New, Text Document. When the new document opens, name it A.MST and press Enter. Windows will ask if you really want to change the extension. Click Yes to continue.

Now run Corel Presentations and choose Format, Master Gallery. When the Master Gallery opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Category list box and choose Business. Click the new blank spot that appears first in the list (we named the file A.MST so it would appear in first place). Click Save As Default, then click OK. A dialog box will open informing you that the file you have selected is not a master file. Click OK and then choose File, Exit to close Corel Presentations.

Run Windows Explorer again (if you closed it) and navigate to C:\Corel\Programs\Masters\Business. Click A.MST and then press Delete. You don't need the file any longer.

The next time you start Corel Presentations, it will open with a white blank because you don't have any master selected.

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START WITH A BLANK PAGE IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Sharon C. has a Freelance Graphics question:

"I always start with a blank page in Freelance Graphics, but to do this I must first choose No Content Topic, then choose Blank and click OK. Next, I have to choose Blank Page and click OK. Is there any way to simply tell Freelance Graphics to open with a blank page?"

If you prefer--and it sounds like you do--you can get Freelance Graphics to open with a blank page, no questions asked. But first, you'll have to open it the old way just one more time (although it doesn't matter what you choose this time).

With Freelance Graphics open, choose File, User Setup, Freelance Graphics Preferences. When the Freelance Graphics Preferences dialog box opens, select the check box labeled Skip The Startup Dialogs And Bring Up A Blank. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your new settings. Now choose File, Exit Freelance Graphics to close the program.

The next time you run Freelance Graphics, you will see no annoying dialog boxes.

Jim Pile is an instrumentation engineer and author who lives in Kentucky with his wife Sue, their dog Lily (also known as Spaz), and their cats Max, Calamity, Kate, and Allie. Jim has written extensively about everything from Microsoft Basic, Visual Basic, Windows, OS/2, and Pascal to MS Office, Lotus SmartSuite, and Internet Explorer. Jim is currently learning to play the dulcimer.

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SPECIAL PIE CHART ANIMATION IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Cheri T. submitted this Freelance Graphics tip:

"I spent hours trying to figure out how to make a slice from a pie chart move out of the chart and rotate clockwise. I finally gave up on the idea of keeping the animation confined to a single slide and decided to use two slides.

"Create your pie chart (choose Create, Chart, Pie, click OK, add some sample numbers, and click OK). Now select the chart and choose Chart, Ungroup. You'll get a dialog box warning that you will no longer have a link to your data. Click OK to close the dialog box and continue.

"Click away from the chart to deselect it, then press Ctrl-A to select all the individual chart components. Press Ctrl-C to copy all the objects to the Clipboard. Next, click New Page and press Enter. In the new slide, press Ctrl-V to paste all of the objects from the first slide.

"Click to deselect all the objects. Now use the mouse to drag one of the slices out away from the chart. Choose Drawing, Rotate and rotate the slice to its new position. If you have a text label for the slice, move it out and place it next to the extracted slice. Make the text horizontal so it's easy to read. When you run the slide show, the slice will pop out and take its new position as soon as you move to the second slide."

Thanks for the tip, Cheri.

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SPACING OBJECTS IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Dale N. has a suggestion about accurately spacing objects on a Freelance Graphics slide:

"I always had problems getting objects on a Freelance Graphics slide spaced accurately, until I discovered that you don't have to spend time tweaking those objects to get them spaced correctly--Freelance Graphics has a command that will do it for you.

"If you have three or more objects on a slide and you want the same spacing between all of them, just click one, then hold down Shift while you click the others. With all the objects selected, choose Collection, Space. When the Space dialog box opens, select the check box you need for your slide. If you want the objects spaced horizontally, select the Space Horizontally check box. If you want them spaced vertically, select the Space Vertically check box.

"You may find that you need to space objects both vertically and horizontally. In this case, just select both check boxes. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your settings."

Thanks for the tip, Dale.

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SOUNDS IN PRESENTATIONS

Subscriber Elliot O. has a general presentation question:

"What do you think of using music in slide shows? I was thinking of adding some nice music to one of my slide shows as a background."

There's nothing wrong with adding music to a slide show--just don't use any that may irritate a portion of your audience. And consider the sound system. If you design a slide show using great-sounding music on your own system, then end up having to use a pair of those little $5 speakers that come with some computers, that will ruin the effect.

If you decide to use sound, find out what kind of sound capabilities you will have at a remote site.

We also suggest that you invest in some good-quality external speakers if you want to take sound on the road with your notebook computer.

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SORTING SLIDES IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Ethan W. has a Freelance Graphics tip:

"If you're working with a new slide show and decide that slide 20 would probably do better as slide 17, don't worry--you can change the location very easily. Choose View, Page Sorter. Now use the mouse to grab slide 20 and drag it to the left edge of slide 17. Slide 20 will become slide 17. Freelance renumbers all the slides after 17 to accommodate the new placement."

You can also move multiple slides at once if need be. Just click the first slide you want to move, then hold down Shift while you click other slides to select them. Now you can drag the whole selection to a new location. Thanks for the tip, Ethan.

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SOME FREE CLIPART FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS

If you're looking around the Internet for some clip art to use in presentations, try

http://38.144.87.25/Free_Graphics/

You'll find links to clip art, photos, icons, and buttons.

As always, never assume anything comes absolutely free. If you download some of these pictures or photos, read the information provided at the originator's site to find out how you can legally use the artwork.

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SOFT SHADOWS IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

In the last tip, we discussed a technique for adding soft shadows to PowerPoint drawing objects. You can use the same technique in Corel Presentations.

Run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Shape, Circle and draw the circle. Hold down Ctrl and use the mouse to drag away a copy of the circle. Now right-click the copy and choose Object Properties. When the Object Properties dialog box opens, click the Fill tab and then click the Gradient button (third from the left under Fill Style). Choose one of the patterns with a gradient from the center outward, then click the Line tab. Click the Style list box and select X (for none). Click OK to close the dialog box and save your selections.

Size the new circle to make it at least a little larger than the original one, then right-click it and choose To Back. Now move the two circles together to create the desired effect.

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SOFT SHADOWS FOR POWERPOINT OBJECTS

Here is a PowerPoint tip from reader John E.:

"I have found that soft shadows often enhance a drawing in PowerPoint. Here is how to create a soft shadow effect in PowerPoint.

"Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Click the Oval tool in the Drawing toolbar and draw a circle. Hold down Ctrl and use the mouse to drag away a copy of the circle. Right-click the circle copy and choose Format AutoShape. When the Format AutoShape dialog box opens, click to select the Colors And Lines tab (if necessary). Under Line, click the arrow at the right side of the Color list box and choose No Line. Next, under Fill, click the arrow at the right side of the Color list box and choose Fill Effects. Click the Gradient tab, then select the Two Colors radio button. Click the arrow at the right side of the Color 1 list box to expand the list. Choose the color that matches your original circle (the default green, unless you changed it).

"Now expand the Color 2 list box and choose white (the default slide background color). Select the radio button labeled From Center and then click OK to close the dialog box. Back in Format AutoShape, click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings.

"Click the original circle and choose Draw, Order, Bring To Front. Size the new circle and move it over the original circle until you get the correct shadow effect."

Thanks for the tip, John.

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SLIDE VIEW IN POWERPOINT 2000

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Sherry L.:

"I have been using PowerPoint in Office 97 for a long time and recently upgraded to Office 2000. Everything works OK, but I don't like the view PowerPoint 2000 offers. You always have the outline area to the left of the slide. I would like to have only the slide view present while I work. Is there a way to get PowerPoint 2000 to default to slide view only?"

Once you open PowerPoint 2000, you can click the Slide View button at the bottom left of the PowerPoint window right above the Draw menu (it's the center button).

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SLIDE SHOWS FROM WEB PAGES

Reader Betty P. says that looking at good Web page designs can benefit our presentations:

"There is so much good Web page design around these days. I think we could all produce better slide shows if we used some of the techniques Web designers use. If you look at some of the better pages on the Internet, you'll find clean, uncluttered designs that would look good in a slide show."

Thanks for the comments, Betty.

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SIZING OBJECTS IN POWERPOINT

In the last tip, we discussed how to make ClipArt pictures the same size in Freelance Graphics. In that tip, we pointed out that you can equalize the size of ClipArt or drawings, but not both at the same time.

If you use PowerPoint, you can set the sizes of a mixture of drawings and ClipArt--even though the method for doing so isn't immediately apparent. To see how this works, open a blank slide and choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. Double-click a picture to insert it onto the slide. Now click the Rectangle tool in the Drawing toolbar and draw a small rectangle.

To make the two objects the same size, press Ctrl-A to select them and then choose Format, Object. When the Format Object dialog box opens, click the Size tab. Now make sure the Lock Aspect Ratio check box is selected and set the height to 1 inch. Click OK to apply your size setting and continue.

The two objects should now be the same size. You may need to set the object spacing again, as this procedure will change it.

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SIZING OBJECTS IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Ray McC. has a Freelance Graphics tip:

"In Freelance Graphics, you can size objects any way you want. As an example, I recently needed to distort an image by increasing its width. I found this surprisingly difficult because you can't always see the sizing handles in Freelance Graphics.

"Let's say you want to drag the right edge of a drawing to the right. To locate the handle, you need to move the mouse pointer along the right edge of the object. At some point (in about the center of the side), your point turns into a double (right-left) arrow. When this happens, you can drag the edge."

Ray is correct; you can't see those handles. The only thing you can be sure of is that they'll show up at the center of the edge--so start your search there and save some time.

Thanks for the tip, Ray.

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SIMPLEST IS OFTEN BEST

Reader Ralph D. has some comments and suggestion about typefaces:

"I just came from a presentation given by a sales team that wants our business. The presentation was excellent, the presenters were polished, the graphics were fantastic, but the presentation fell flat. Only one thing was wrong--for some reason, the presenters or the slide designers decided to use some Gothic-looking typeface throughout the show.

"Such ornate typefaces are difficult to read and distracting to an audience. Please stick with plain typefaces. I tend to use Helvetica, but any plain, easy-to-read typeface will work."

Thanks for the tip, Ralph.

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SHOW THE PASSAGE OF TIME

Here is a tip from reader Wilfred G.:

"One thing that I notice at many presentations is that neither the slide show nor the presenter give an indication of the passage of time. For example, if you are using slides to explain an experiment, don't suddenly switch from the experiment to the results. You need to give the audience a feel for the time between the beginning of the experiment and the final results.

"One way to deal with time is to pause and let the audience absorb the final slide showing an experiment before you go to the result slide. You should also consider doing a slow fade into that result slide."

It's a good point, Wilfred. In the movies, you will usually notice a fade out and fade in when some time has passed between scenes.

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SHORTCUT KEYS IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Here is a tip from reader Pat W.:

"A few shortcut keys help me considerably when I am designing a new slide show in Freelance Graphics. I decided to send the list to you on the theory that others will also find them useful.

Select all: F4 New page (new slide): F7 Send selected object back one layer: F8 Send selected object forward one layer: Shift-F8 Duplicate selected object: Ctrl-F3 "Using these keys is much quicker than using the mouse."

Thanks for the tip, Pat.

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SHAPES FOR FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDE SHOWS

Reader Steve M. has a Freelance Graphics tip:

"When you're creating a slide show and need some drawings, don't overlook the Flowchart symbols and the Connectors. Although primarily designed for flowcharts, many of these are a big help when you're doing your own artwork in Freelance Graphics. I often use the Cartouche symbol (the first one in the second row) for labels."

Thanks for the tip, Steve.

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SHADOWED TEXT IN POWERPOINT

Reader Linda S. has a PowerPoint question:

"I saw a slide show that used shadowed text, and its appearance impressed me. I spoke with the presenter at lunch and found out she uses Corel Presentations. She said PowerPoint doesn't allow shadowed text unless you use WordArt. Is she correct? Is there any way other than WordArt to create shadowed text in PowerPoint?"

She is definitely wrong. Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Click the text box and add some text. Now select the text and choose Format, Font. When the Font dialog box opens, select the check box labeled Shadow and click OK.

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SETTING THE VOLUME

Here is a sound tip from reader Paul A.:

"To me, there is nothing more disturbing than a presentation given with maladjusted sound equipment. Personally, if the room isn't too large, I prefer a presentation without a sound system. I realize, though, that an amplifier is sometimes necessary.

"The most common problem isn't that the sound isn't loud enough. The problem is that the sound is too loud. Before you start your presentation, get a few people together in the room and set the volume properly. Make sure the sound level is adequate throughout the room (this will depend largely on speaker placement).

"Adequate volume is the key. Whatever you do, don't turn the amplifier up until you get a squeal and then back it off slightly. Not only is this way too loud, you will introduce some distortion as well. Unless you're presenting to a group of teenage rock fans, keep that volume down."

Thanks for the suggestions, Paul.

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SELECTING AN OBJECT IN POWERPOINT

Reader Bill T. has a PowerPoint question:

"I am a relatively new PowerPoint user, and I have enjoyed working with this program. However, I am bothered by the fact that you can't select an object after you have drawn it and set it to No Fill. Here's an example of what happens.

When I open a blank slide, I click the Rectangle tool and draw the rectangle. Then, while the object is still selected, I click the arrow at the right side of the Fill Color button and choose No Fill. Next, I click anywhere away from the rectangle to deselect it. The problem is, you can click in the rectangle all you want at this point, and you can't select it. I have to press Ctrl-A to select it. Surely there is a way around this problem. Can you suggest something?"

The problem is that without any fill color, the only way to select the object is to click a line. As far as PowerPoint is concerned, without a fill color, only the lines exist. As you move the mouse pointer over an edge of the object, the pointer turns to a four-way arrow. At this time, you can click to select the object.

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SELECTING A TYPEFACE

Reader Rhonda D. has a slide show suggestion for us:

"When you select a typeface to use in your slides, try to avoid serif typefaces. Serifs are the small decorative scrollwork you see in typefaces such as Times New Roman. For people viewing the slide at a distance, such typefaces can look blurred. An excellent sans serif (without serifs) typeface that everyone has is Arial. Most people find Arial easy to read, even at a distance."

Thanks for the tip, Rhonda.

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SCROLLING THROUGH A FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDE SHOW

Here is a question from reader Morgan F.:

"I have just started using Freelance Graphics recently, and one simple problem has me stumped--how do I scroll through a slide show? The scrollbar on the right side of the window appears to just scroll vertically through slide 1. I can choose View, Page Sorter and double-click a slide to open it in full-screen view, but surely there's a better way."

There is indeed a better way. You can use the Page Up and Page Down keys. At the bottom right side of the Freelance Graphics window, you'll see a left and a right arrow. Between these two arrows, you should see information such as Page 2 Of 7. Click the left arrow to move back to the previous slide and the right arrow to move forward.

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SAVING COREL PRESENTATIONS SLIDES AS PICTURES

Here is a question from reader Ron G.:

"I saw a tip recently about how to save a PowerPoint slide as a picture file. Is there an equivalent in Corel Presentations?"

Yes, there is a way. In fact, Corel Presentations offers more options than does PowerPoint. To see how this works, run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Graphics, Clipart. When the Scrapbook opens, drag a picture to your slide and then click the Close box to dismiss the Scrapbook.

Next, select the picture and choose File, Save As. When the Save dialog box opens, you can select either the radio button labeled Entire File or the one labeled Selected Items. If you want to save the entire slide as a picture, select the Entire File radio button and click OK. This will open the Save As dialog box. Give your new file a name and then click the arrow at the right side of the File Type list box. Let's say you want to save the file as a BMP, so choose Windows Bitmap (*.bmp) from the list and click Save.

Now Corel Presentations will open the Export BMP dialog box. Select the parameters you want to use, then click OK to close the dialog box and save the file using your selections.

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RESIZING PICTURES FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS

Readers often ask us about resizing pictures to insert into slides. Although this process always leads to some distortion, we have run across a freeware program that does a very nice job of making large pictures into small ones. The program is called AsquareImage, and you'll find it at

http://www.trivista.com

AsquareImage, as you might expect, creates square images of the desired size from your original photos or other pictures. If you prefer to control the aspect ratio of your pictures, you can get A Smaller Image 2.0 at the same site. This one isn't free, but you can register it for $15.

These programs aren't perfect--we haven't seen any that are--but they both do an excellent job of resizing pictures.

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REMOTE PRESENTATIONS IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

In the last tip, we discussed how to create a stand-alone presentation in PowerPoint so computers that do not have PowerPoint installed can still run a slide show. Now let's look at how to create portable shows with Corel Presentations.

To see how it works, let's create a short slide show. Open a blank slide in Corel Presentations and choose Insert, Graphics, Clip Art. Drag a selection to your slide, then close the Clip Art dialog box. Choose Insert, New Slide and place a Clip Art picture onto this new slide. With the two slides in place, choose File, Save As and name the new file. Click Save to save your file and close the dialog box.

To create your portable show, insert a blank formatted floppy disk into drive A: and then choose File, Show On The Go. When the Show On The Go dialog box opens, click Change. Select the Drive A radio button and click Next. Now select the radio button labeled On Windows 95/NT (you don't run across Windows 3.x much these days) and click Next. Select the Any Windows Display radio button, unless you know the remote computer's display matches yours exactly. Click Finish to continue, and click Create to create your portable slide show on the floppy in drive A:.

At the remote site, your show may run better if you copy the EXE file to the hard disk and run it from there.

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RECOLORING CLIPART IN POWERPOINT SLIDES

Reader June C. has a PowerPoint question:

"I am new to PowerPoint and have just started working on a presentation. I am using quite a bit of ClipArt, and I was wondering if there is any way to change the colors in some of the pictures."

Yes, you can recolor your ClipArt in PowerPoint. Try this: Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and double-click a picture to insert it and close the Clip Gallery. Let's suppose you choose a picture of a person wearing a green shirt, but you would rather show that person with a yellow shirt.

At this point, the Picture floating toolbar should appear in the PowerPoint window. If it doesn't appear, choose View, Toolbars, Picture. Now click the Recolor button in the toolbar (it's the fourth button from the right side of the toolbar). When the Recolor Picture dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the list box associated with the green color you want to change and select More Colors. Select the color you want and click OK. Back in the Recolor picture dialog box, you can click OK again if you don't need to change any more colors now.

The figure will now appear in the new color.

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PRONOUNCING FOREIGN WORDS

Here is a note from reader Linda O.:

"A few months back, I had to give a presentation to an audience that included several people from Japan. I needed to use several Japanese words in the presentation, and learned afterward (from a Japanese-American coworker) that I had butchered these words rather badly. The thing that made me feel so bad about the mispronunciations is that I work with several Japanese-Americans who would have cheerfully helped if I had asked.

"When you must use some words that are foreign to you, don't hesitate to ask for help. If you don't know anyone who can help you, at least go to the library and check out a book on the language in question. I have also located some very inexpensive language-study CDs that help with pronunciation."

Those CDs are a very good idea. Thanks for the tip, Linda.

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PRODUCING A REMOTE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

Here is a PowerPoint question from subscriber Barbara O.:

"I am trying to send a PowerPoint presentation on a floppy disk to someone who does not have the program. How can he open the presentation? Will the sound go with it?"

This is a job for Pack And Go. Since you want to put the presentation on a floppy disk, place a formatted blank floppy disk into drive A:. Also put your Office installation disc into your CD-ROM drive--you'll need it later. If your presentation is very long, you should format two or three floppies. Pack And Go will prompt you for a new disk when one fills up.

Open your presentation in PowerPoint and choose File, Pack And Go. When the Pack And Go wizard opens, click Next. Since you want to save the current presentation, make sure the Active Presentation check box is selected and click Next again.

Now select the radio button labeled A: Drive and click Next. Click Next again, then select the radio button labeled Viewer For Windows 95 Or NT and click Next. Click Finish Now to create your Pack And Go disk.

When your friend receives the disk, he should put the floppy disk into drive A: and double-click the Pngsetup.exe icon. This installs the slide show and the viewer on his computer.

He can now play the show even though he doesn't have PowerPoint. The sound will also work.

Note: We have had problems with losing the correct timing on single slides that loop continuously using custom animation.

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PRINTING POWERPOINT SLIDES AND NOTES

Reader and new PowerPoint user Aaron G. has a printing question:

"I have just recently started using PowerPoint to create slide shows for presentations. I would like to pass out printouts of the slides and notes to an audience later. Is there a way to get PowerPoint to print a slide and its notes on the same page?"

Yes, there is. To print the slides along with the notes, just choose File, Print. When the Print dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Print What list box and select Notes Pages. Click OK to close the dialog box and continue printing.

This method prints one slide per page along with the associated notes.

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PRINTING FREELANCE GRAPHICS (AND POWERPOINT) SLIDES

Reader Sue M. submitted the following Freelance Graphics tip:

"I sometimes need to print only certain slides from a slide show. Initially, I was printing them one at a time. I have since discovered an easier way--I just choose View, Page Sorter. I can then click the first slide I want to print and hold down Shift while I click the remaining slides that I wish to print.

"Once you've selected your slides, you can choose File, Print. When the Print dialog opens, select the radio button labeled Pages Selected In Sorter and click OK to begin printing."

You can use the same method to print PowerPoint slides. Just choose View, Slide Sorter. Click the first slide, then hold down Shift while you select other slides. After you have made your selection, choose File, Print. When the Print dialog box opens, select the radio button labeled Selection and click OK.

Thanks for the tip, Sue.

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PRESENTATION COLORS

Reader Forrest L. submitted the following color suggestions:

"Too many new presenters go wild with color. Just because you have 16 million or so colors available doesn't mean you have to use them all. I use the following list as my color guide.

Take care with colors--when you use too many, you lessen the impact of each one. Be aware of the positive and negative connotations of colors and the emotional responses certain colors invoke. As an example, for many people, red indicates deficits and financial failure. Red backgrounds heighten the emotions of the audience. Blue backgrounds tend to indicate a conservative approach. Black backgrounds are good for financial presentations because black represents what happened in the past. Since it's all in the past, you can't change it. Green stimulates audience interaction." Thanks for the tip, Forrest.

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POSING PHOTOGRAPHS

Reader Julia M. has a photography tip to pass along:

"When you need to take photographs for a slide show, be careful how you pose people for the camera. Don't photograph them either in full profile or in full face. Neither view is very flattering to the subject.

Also, make sure the person isn't in any way obscuring the object you're showing. For example, if you show a person at a computer keyboard, make sure most of the computer is visible. I like to take such shots at about a 45-degree angle, with the person looking at the screen. Another thing: Don't show people grinning as if this is the happiest they have ever been. This looks very artificial and is best left to TV advertising."

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PASTING SCREEN CAPTURES INTO FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDES

Reader Fred B. is having a problem with Freelance Graphics:

"I would like to press Print Screen to capture my desktop to the Clipboard and then paste it into a Freelance Graphics slide--but when I try this, I get the following message: 'Freelance Graphics does not support this bitmap format. Note: The reason for this error could be that you tried to paste a bitmap in High or True color video.' Surely there is some way to paste a decent-looking screen capture into Freelance Graphics."

You can use Paint. Press Print Screen to capture your screen, then click Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint. In Paint, choose Edit, Paste to paste in the copied True (or High) color video. Choose File, Save As to save the new file. Next, choose Edit, Select All. Then press Ctrl-C to copy the picture. You can now paste this picture into your Freelance Graphics slide.

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OFF THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE IN POWERPOINT

Reader Sean F. has a PowerPoint question:

"Is there a way to have an object display off the bottom of a PowerPoint slide? I have a Clip Art picture of a man wearing a long tie. I would like the tie to look like it's falling over the edge of the slide. When I try this, the whole slide shifts, causing a disturbing effect--and you still can't see the bottom of the tie."

The only way we can see for doing this is to simulate a smaller slide. If you draw a rectangle at the bottom of the screen and color it black, you can then position your Clip Art so the tie falls into the black area.

You will probably need to click the picture and choose Draw, Order, Bring To Front to get the figure to appear over the black rectangle.

This technique will work in Freelance Graphics and Corel Presentations as well as in PowerPoint.

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NUMBERED TEXT IN POWERPOINT

Reader Jerry S. submitted the following PowerPoint tip:

"How many times have you wished you could use a numbered list rather than bullets in PowerPoint slides? There is a way to create numbered lists. Just go to

http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloadDetails/bullets.htm

and download bullets.exe. After the file downloads, double-click its icon to install it in your \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office folder. Run PowerPoint and choose Tools, Add-Ins. When the Add-Ins dialog box opens, click Add New. Locate your Office folder and double-click the file named numblts.ppa. This will install the Numbered Bullets toolbar.

"Numbered bullets will open as a floating toolbar when you run PowerPoint."

Thanks for the tip, Jerry.

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NEW USES FOR FREELANCE GRAPHICS ORG CHART

Here is a Freelance Graphics tip from reader John M.:

"When working on a project design recently, I decided to try using Freelance Graphics Organization charts. As it turned out, this works quite well. The Org chart can show individual project steps, as well as those steps that occur simultaneously.

"All you have to do is run Freelance Graphics and open a blank slide. Choose Create, Organization Chart. When the Organization Chart Gallery opens, select the type of chart you want to use and click OK. Now just start filling in the steps. You can use Freelance Graphics to create useful and attractive project charts."

Thanks for the tip, John.

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MUSICAL POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOWS

Reader Joey U. has a PowerPoint question:

"My students are creating yearbooks using PowerPoint and want to insert music that continues as the slide presentation runs. We have no problem inserting sound files for each slide, but some of the students want to run continuous music on their yearbook slides. Can you tell me how to do this?"

You can start the sound on the first slide (or any slide) and have it continue through the remainder of the slide show. To see how this works, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Picture, Clip Art and place a picture or two on the slide. Press Ctrl-M, then press Enter to create a new slide. Place some pictures or text on the new slide and create another new slide. Create at least five or six slides this way.

Now go back to the first slide and choose Insert, Movies And Sounds, Sound From File. Select the sound file you would like to use for your show and click OK.

Move the sound icon out of the way on your screen. Right-click the sound icon and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Timing tab and select the Animate and Automatically radio buttons. Leave the time set at 0 seconds and click the Play Settings tab. Select the Continue Slide Show and After radio buttons. Set the number of slides to the maximum number of slides in your show.

Next, click More Options. When the Play Options dialog box opens, select the check box labeled Loop Until Stopped and click OK. Back in Custom Animation, click OK to close the dialog box and apply your settings.

The music should now play all through the slide show. Choose Slide Show, View Show to start up the show.

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MOVING AN OBJECT ACROSS A COREL PRESENTATIONS SLIDE

Reader Jeremy S. has a Corel Presentations question:

"I would like to have an object (a ClipArt airplane) move across a slide from left to right in a Corel Presentations slide. I know that having it move from left to right is no great problem, but I need it to keep moving off the right edge of the slide. I thought all I had to do was move the object off the right side, but I tried and that didn't work at all. Is there a way to move an object off the slide?"

You're on the right track, but it sounds like you may have moved the object too far off the slide.

Insert the Clip Art picture into your slide. Right-click the picture and choose Object Animation. When the Object Properties dialog box opens, select the radio button labeled Animate Object Across Screen. In the Effects list, select Fly In; from the Direction list, select Left To Right. Select one of the Speed radio buttons, then click OK to close the dialog box and save your selections.

Grab the object with the mouse and drag it to the right edge of the slide. Leave the three handles just visible at the margin of the slide. The margin is the dotted vertical line down the right side of the slide. Don't move the object any further to the right than this.

We once used a variation of this technique--we made a Clip Art cow bounce in from the left and then disappear off the right side of the slide. This left the audience wondering just what had happened. We suppose they were unaccustomed to bouncing cattle.

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MOVING A SELECTED POWERPOINT OBJECT

Reader Harris R. has a PowerPoint question:

"Here is a problem I seem to run into frequently. As I develop a slide show, I end up with a small object over a large object. I can select the smaller object, but every time I try to drag it away using the mouse, I end up dragging the larger object instead. Do you have any suggestions about how to move the smaller, selected object when this happens? It does happen to others, doesn't it?"

It happens to everyone. After you select the smaller object, use the arrow keys to move it away from the larger object.

Also, if you can't select a smaller object or an object hidden behind a larger object, try pressing the Tab key until you see the selection handles around the object. Of course, you need to have a good idea where the hidden object should appear.

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MOVE TO THE BEGINNING IN POWERPOINT

Reader Ed P. has a PowerPoint tip:

"When working with a lengthy slide show, I was in the habit of

scrolling back and forth through the slides, using the mouse. Only a

few days ago, I learned that you can move to the first or last slide

very quickly. All you have to do is press Ctrl-Home to navigate to the

first slide in the show, or press Ctrl-End to go to the last slide.

"You can also navigate through a slide show using the Page Up and Page

Down keys."

Thanks for the tip, Ed.

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MOVE AND HIDE IN POWERPOINT

Here is a PowerPoint question from reader Cassie B:

"I would like to have an object appear at the left side of a PowerPoint slide and then move slowly to the right side. When it reaches the right side of the slide, I want it to disappear. Is this possible?"

It certainly is possible--and easy. Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and double-click a picture to insert it into the slide. Move the picture to the right side (its final destination). Next, right-click the picture and choose Custom Animation.

When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Effects tab, then click the arrow at the right side of the first list box under Entry Animation And Sound. From the list, choose Crawl From Left. Now click the arrow at the right side of the After Animation list box and choose Hide After Animation.

Now click the Timing tab, then select the radio buttons labeled Animate and Automatically. Leave the time at 0 and click OK to apply your animation settings and close the dialog box.

To see how the animation works out, choose Slide Show, View Show.

Jim Pile is an instrumentation engineer and author who lives in Kentucky with his wife Sue, their dog Lily (also known as Spaz), and their cats Max, Calamity, Kate, and Allie. Jim has written extensively about everything from Microsoft Basic, Visual Basic, Windows, OS/2, and Pascal to MS Office, Lotus SmartSuite, and Internet Explorer. Jim is currently learning to play the dulcimer.

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MAKING PRESENTATIONS FOR WEB BROWSERS

Here is a question from reader Kyle P.:

"I have just started my own consulting business, and I don't want to invest money in presentation software right now. Could you please explain how I would go about creating an HTML presentation that will run in any Web browser? My system is a Pentium III 500MHz running Windows 98 SE."

We can't explain all the steps in detail. Since you're running Windows 98, you have FrontPage Express on your computer. We suggest that you start with FrontPage Express and use copy and paste to enter pictures and so on.

To make sure any browser can work with your files, don't use special commands that work only with Microsoft Internet Explorer. One way to make sure your file will work is to download a copy of Netscape, then test your files in both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape.

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MAKING AN ANIMATED STOPLIGHT IN POWERPOINT

Subscriber Don F. has a PowerPoint request: "I work for a company that produces lighting for various industries. I would like to add a slide that shows a traffic light as an opening and intermission slide. The light would be green while people are entering the presentation room, getting coffee and soft drinks, and so forth. Then, about 10 minutes before the show starts, I'd like to display a yellow light. After another 2 minutes, I'd like to display a red light for 1 minute and then have the slide show start. Can you suggest an approach?"

There is a traffic light in PowerPoint's Clip Art Gallery. Look in Transportation. You may need to insert your Office 97 CD if you haven't installed the extra Clip Art.

Select the traffic light and choose Draw, Ungroup. Click away from the picture to deselect all. Now click one of the lights and choose Draw, Ungroup. Repeat this until you separate each light from the rest of the traffic light picture. Click one of the lights to select it and then press and hold Shift while you click the remaining two lights. Press Ctrl and use the mouse to drag away a copy of all three lights.

Double-click the original green light. When the Format AutoShape dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Color list box and choose More Colors. Select a brighter green and click OK. Back in Format AutoShape, click OK to close the dialog box and apply your new selection. Next, use the same technique to copy the red and yellow lights and make the originals darker. After you make the yellow light darker, press Ctrl and drag away a copy--you'll need it later.

Now drag the dark-green and bright-yellow lights into position over the original lights. Select both and group them. Right-click the group and choose Custom Animation. When the dialog box opens, click the Effects tab and select Appear from the Entry Animation list box. Click the Timing tab and select the Animate and Automatically radio buttons. Set the time to 600 seconds (10 minutes) and click OK.

Repeat this procedure with the red and yellow lights. Set the time to 120 seconds (2 minutes) and click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.

Now choose Slide Show, Slide Transition. When the dialog box opens, select the check box labeled Automatically After and set the time to 780 (13 minutes--the total time to show the slide) and click Apply.

Here is how it works. When you start the slide, the green light is bright and the yellow and red are dark. After 10 minutes, the green light becomes dark and the yellow becomes bright (remember, they are grouped together). After 2 more minutes, the bright-red and dark-yellow lights appear. After one more minute, the show moves to the next slide.

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MAKE AN OBJECT FADE OUT IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Bob J. has a Corel Presentations question:

"I am preparing a Corel Presentations show. What I need to do is have an object fade out. I know how to make an object fade in, but this doesn't help. Do you have any suggestions?"

Corel Presentations does a very nice fade--much better than either PowerPoint or Freelance Graphics. An easy way to get an object to fade out is to have the next slide fade in. Try this: Run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Graphics, ClipArt and select a picture. Now choose Insert, New Slide and leave the new slide blank. Right-click the new slide and choose Transition. Next, under Effects, select Fade. Let's say you want a slow fade--select the Slow radio button.

Click the Display Sequence tab and select the radio button labeled After A Delay Of. Leave the time set to the default of 0. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your selection.

Go back to the first slide now. Right-click the slide and choose Transition. From the Effects list, select Immediate and click the Display Sequence tab. Select the After A Delay Of radio button and set the time in the spin box to 5 seconds. Next, select the radio button labeled Immediately After The Slide Transition. Finally, choose View, Play Slide Show. Click Play to continue. Your object should stay on the screen for 5 seconds, then slowly fade out as the new slide fades in.

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MAKE ALL FREELANCE GRAPHICS OBJECTS THE SAME SIZE

Reader Pete K. has a comment about a recent tip:

"A few months ago, you published a tip that said you could set all objects in a Freelance Graphics slide to the same size. I recently needed to use that tip and found that it does not work. I started with a blank slide and clicked Clip Art. I placed several ClipArt pictures onto the slide. Next, I used the Rectangle tool to draw several rectangles on the slide. Then I pressed Ctrl-A to select all the objects. Then I tried to follow the tip's instructions and choose Collection (or Drawing), Object Size, Equal. What happened was that the Equal command appeared grayed out. The tip simply doesn't work as advertised."

In that tip, we noted that the described method does not work with a mixture of ClipArt and drawings. You can use the Equal command for a group of ClipArt pictures, and you can use it with a group of drawings, but you can't do a mixture of the two.

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MAINTAINING SMALL POWERPOINT FILES

Reader Pete M. submitted this PowerPoint tip:

"File size is sometimes a problem for those of us who go on the road with our presentations. I have found that the best way to keep PowerPoint file size down is to avoid BMP files for my graphics. These files take a lot of space. When possible, I use JPG files."

Pete is correct; JPG files are usually highly compressed, and no one will ever notice any degradation of image quality when they're shown onscreen. In fact, it's very difficult to tell the difference between a JPG and a BMP file printed at an image size of 4 by 6 inches (the standard drugstore photo size). Of course, the same rule applies to Corel Presentations and Freelance Graphics.

Thanks for the tip, Pete.

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LEARNING HOW TO PRESENT

Subscriber Gladys P. submitted the following suggestion:

"When I was learning to design presentations, I made it a point to get myself invited to every presentation available to me--even if I had no comprehension of the subject. If you work for a large company and have the opportunity to do this, it really helps.

"As you listen to the presentation, make notes about the slides, the way the presenter talks, stands, and so forth. Note anything you would change if you were making the presentation.

"Even if you don't understand the topic, you will soon begin to recognize which presentations are best. You will eventually end up mixing your own ideas with those of others. I think this helps make you the best presenter you can be."

Thanks for the good advice, Gladys.

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LABELING PRESENTATION CHARTS

Reader Belinda K. has a chart suggestion:

"When you use charts in a presentation, label chart components carefully. You need to either use labels the audience can read, or not use labels at all. I sometimes just tag chart elements A, B, C, and so forth, then explain them during the presentation.

"Another point about labels: Always use horizontal labels in a presentation. Vertical labels are distracting and very difficult to read."

Thanks for the tip, Belinda.

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LABELING CHARTS IN POWERPOINT

Reader Emily H. submitted a PowerPoint tip:

"When I use charts in PowerPoint, I like to make sure the labels are completely visible to the entire audience. What I do is delete all the standard labels from the chart. Then I click AutoShapes, Callouts and choose one of the callouts. I place the callout so it points to the chart element of interest, then I enter the appropriate text. I make the text large enough for all to see, since it doesn't matter where I place it at this point.

"Next, I choose Insert, Duplicate Slide. On the new slide, I change the callout text and place the callout so it points to the element I want to discuss.

"When I use this method, each time a new slide appears, the chart stays the same, but a new callout appears. The effect is that only the callouts change and not the slide and its chart. Since the callouts don't all appear at the same time, I can make them large enough for people to see."

Thanks for the tip, Emily.

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KNOWING ALL THE ANSWERS

We recently published comments from a reader who said a presenter should always go into a presentation knowing all the answers to all the questions the audience might ask. A number of readers protested this statement because, they argue, no one can possibly know all the answers.

We disagree. Assuming that your presentation covers only one topic--and one with which you are very familiar--you can try to make sure you have answers to all the legitimate questions. This means having data and information ready for a detailed discussion.

We once attended a presentation in which a vice president asked a presenter this question at the end of a technical slide show: "What color is the inside of the department elevator?" The stunned presenter had no idea what to say.

You can't be ready for all possible questions, but we think you can be ready for the valid ones.

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KEEP ON SMILING

Reader Ken F. has some comments for us:

"When I first started giving presentations, the person who taught me said I should always keep a smile on my face. I made a point of doing just that for the first year or so of my presentation apprenticeship. The company that I work for decided to make a video tape to show at the next board meeting. Part of what they taped was a portion of one of my presentations. When I saw the tape later, I was floored. I was smiling like a fool. No matter what I said, or how serious it was, I was grinning. Needless to say, I soon changed my method of presenting.

"The point of all this is--don't overdo it. No matter what it is. Believe me, it is possible to smile too much. Consider this the voice of experience."

Thanks for the tip, Ken.

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INSTALLING ALL THE POWERPOINT CLIP ART

Reader Jim D. asks about installing all that extra Clip Art from the Office 97 CD for use in PowerPoint:

"I would like to add all the Clip Art on my Office 97 CD to my hard disk since I recently installed a new, very large hard disk. The only problem is that I have no idea how to tell PowerPoint where to look for the files. I went through this once before, and someone showed me how to edit the Registry to tell PowerPoint where to look. I would rather not poke around in Windows, but I was hoping you might know of an easier way to handle this."

Actually, you don't need to tell PowerPoint (and other Office 97 programs) where to look. All you have to do is install the extra Clip Art properly and PowerPoint will know where to find it.

To install Clip Art, insert the Office 97 CD into your CD-ROM drive. If you have AutoStart enabled, the Office 97 window will open. Click Browse, then find the Clip Art folder and double-click it. In the Clip Art folder, double-click the Setup icon. Follow through with Setup, selecting the files you want to install.

After Setup finishes (it may take a while), all the Clip Art you elected to install on the hard disk is available to all your Office 97 programs.

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INSERTING THE DATE IN A COREL PRESENTATIONS SLIDE

Reader Al K. has a Corel Presentations question:

"I would like to insert the date into a Corel Presentations slide. When I choose Insert, I find that the Date/Time command is grayed out. Do I need to install some element I missed?"

It sounds like you are trying to insert the date onto a blank slide (or a blank spot on the slide). Try this: Run Corel Presentations and choose Insert, Text Box. Use the mouse to draw the text box and then choose Insert, Date/Time. (but not always) destructive to data. Trojans do not replicate. A specific example of a Trojan would be a so-called backdoor pro.

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HAVE A BACKUP PLAN

Here is some good advice from reader Diana F.:

"Always have a paper backup of presentations. About six months ago, I traveled 2000 miles for an important presentation. When I got there, the only computer I could use for the presentation had failed. The technicians worked on it for about 30 minutes, and then the department head declared that we couldn't spend any more time on the computer and suggested that I go ahead using the whiteboard. Since that time, I have always prepared,and rehearsed two presentations--one with the computer and one without.

"I know that getting up two presentations might seem extreme just to prepare for an unlikely event. But if the presentation is very important to you, the extra work may well prove worthwhile."

Computers do go down, so Diana's suggestion is a good one.

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HANDLING AN AUDIENCE

Here are some tips from reader Steve A. about how to work with an audience during a question-and-answer period:

"For most presenters, the question-and-answer period is the most difficult part. Here are a few points I always try to keep in mind as I'm going into a question-and-answer period.

"Make sure you answer all questions as directly and simply as possible. Don't allow one questioner to tie up the entire time period. Suggest that you meet after the presentation for a more detailed discussion, if necessary.

"Always try to tie your answers to major points in your presentation. This helps to reinforce what you've said.

"Never lose your temper. If a question is openly hostile, remain friendly and calm. If you join a battle of sarcasm and putdowns, you are inevitably the loser.

"Finally, never lie about anything. No matter how weak your current position, always tell the truth. Even a slight bending of the truth will come back to haunt you later.

"Watch your physical position. Remain as relaxed as you were during the presentation. Never put your hands on your hips or stare at the questioner--people always interpret these actions as confrontational."

Thanks for the suggestions, Steve.

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GROWING CHARTS IN POWERPOINT

Subscriber Tomas D. submitted the following PowerPoint tip:

"I needed to create a slide that showed the columns of a chart growing from 0 to their final value. Initially, I tried using multiple slides, but the result wasn't very satisfactory. I finally decided to use the Crawl From Bottom animation and just cover up the bottom portion of the moving column. Here is what I did.

"Insert the chart (choose Insert, Chart to use the example chart). Select the chart and choose Draw, Ungroup. With all the elements ungrouped, select each element of each column you want to animate and choose Draw, Group. This leaves the columns in one piece, but separate from each other and the rest of the chart.

"Next, select and copy (press Ctrl-C) the labels at the bottom of the chart. Click the Rectangle tool and draw a rectangle from the bottom of the chart to the bottom of the slide. Press Ctrl-V to paste the copied labels onto the rectangle.

"Click the rectangle to select it, then click the arrow beside Fill Color in the Drawing toolbar. Select white. Next, click the arrow at the right of the Line Color button (just to the right of the Fill Color button) and set the line to white.

"Right-click the first column and choose Custom Animation. When the dialog box opens, click the Effects tab, then click the arrow next to the top list box, under Entry Animation And Sound, to expand the list. Select Crawl From Bottom, then click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings. Choose Slide Show, View Show to see how the animation looks. If all is well, repeat the procedure with the remaining columns."

Thanks for the tip, Tomas.

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GOOD GESTURES

Reader Sherry M. has some presentation tips:

"I have noticed that many presenters are too stiff during a presentation. Although you need to maintain eye contact with your audience, you should not stand perfectly still. Move around. Make gestures that show how enthusiastic you are about your topic. In the long run, your enthusiasm can have more to do with a sale than all the facts you can muster."

Good advice. Thanks Sherry.

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GO EASY ON UPPERCASE TEXT IN SLIDE SHOWS

Reader Harlan F. sent in this tip:

"I attended a recent presentation in which all the text was uppercase. I suspect this was due to the fact that the presenter was very experienced in making presentations using flip charts and he probably printed all the text in uppercase to make it more legible.

"Whatever the reason for using all caps, it isn't good in a slide show. One of the first things new presenters should learn is that text in all uppercase characters is very unattractive to an audience."

This isn't the first time we've seen comments on this topic. Harlan is correct--avoid using all caps. If you must make a line stand out from the others, use a different color or italics--anything but all caps.

Thanks for the tip, Harlan.

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GETTING PICTURES INTO POWERPOINT SLIDES

Here is a note from reader Amy Z.:

"I have a CD-ROM of JPG pictures I would like to make into a slide show in PowerPoint. Is there a way I can insert all the pictures at once instead of adding a slide and inserting pictures one at a time?"

You can do this with a macro. The following is a simple macro that will import all the JPGs in a folder. You will have to modify it for use, since it doesn't have any code to set the photo's aspect ratio properly. If all your photos are the same size (ours were 640 by 480), you can simply set the height and width to match them and you'll have no problems with distortion.

To enter the code, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Press Alt-F11 to open the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) editor. Choose Insert, Module and enter the following code (or paste it in from this text). Make sure you substitute the correct paths for your system.

Sub GetPictures() Dim myPhotos, myPath As String

myPath = "d:\photos\" myPhotos = Dir(myPath + "*.jpg") Call PlacePicture(myPath, myPhotos)

Do Until myPhotos = "" myPhotos = Dir If myPhotos <> "" Then ActiveWindow.View.GotoSlide Index:=ActivePresentation.Slides.Add(Index:=1, Layout:=ppLayoutBlank).SlideIndex Call PlacePicture(myPath, myPhotos) End If Loop End Sub

Sub PlacePicture(myPath, myPhotos) ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange.Shapes.AddPicture(FileName:=myPath + myPhotos, LinkToFile:=msoFalse, SaveWithDocument:=msoTrue, Left:=72, Top:=78, Width:=640, Height:=480).Select ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Align msoAlignCenters, True ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Align msoAlignMiddles, True End Sub

After you enter or paste in the code, press Ctrl-S to save your presentation. Next, press Ctrl-Q to get back to your slide, then press Alt-F8 to open the Macro dialog box. Double-click your new macro to run it.

We have tested this macro with as many 250 pictures in the \Photos folder and had no problems.

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FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDES IN LEGAL PAGE FORMAT

Reader Ward A. submitted the following Freelance Graphics tip:

"I had a few initial problems with the fact that Freelance Graphics (97) offers no way to change the page size to Legal. It appears that Freelance Graphics simply uses the printer driver's setup. So if you set the printer to legal size, Freelance Graphics will print in legal size.

"To check this out for yourself, open a blank slide in Freelance Graphics and choose File, Page Setup. When the dialog box opens, you'll find no trace of any way to set the slide size to Legal. Close this dialog box and choose File, Print. When the Print dialog box opens, click Properties. This opens the Printer Properties dialog box. Now click Advanced, then click the arrow at the right of the Paper Size list box and select Legal. Click OK to close the dialog box. Click OK again to close the printer properties, then click Close to get back to Freelance Graphics without printing anything. Your slide will now have the dimensions of legal-size paper."

Note that this procedure may not work with all printers, and the instructions will certainly vary from one printer to another. Also, you are changing your default printer setting, so you'll want to change it back so other applications don't print on legal-size paper.

Thanks for the tip, Ward.

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ENHANCING FREELANCE GRAPHICS CHARTS

Here is a Freelance Graphics tip from reader Ron G.:

"It's easy to add pictures to bar charts in 1-2-3, but some users aren't aware of the fact that you can also add pictures to Freelance Graphics charts simply by choosing Chart, Series."

To check this out for yourself, open a blank slide in Freelance Graphics and choose Create, Chart. When the Create Chart dialog box opens, select Bar and click OK. Add some numbers to column A (1, 2, 3) will do) and click OK.

Now click ClipArt and insert a picture. Select the picture and press Ctrl-X to cut the picture and send it to the Clipboard. Click the chart to select it and choose Chart, Series.

In the Properties dialog box, click the Pictures tab and choose Paste Picture. You will notice that you now have three radio buttons in the dialog box that represent placement options for your picture. Click each radio button to see how it affects your picture, then select the radio button that best fits your needs.

Click the X in the upper right corner of the dialog box to dismiss the box.

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EDITING POINTS IN POWERPOINT

Here is a PowerPoint question from subscriber Del M.:

"In some presentations programs, you can edit a Clip Art picture by dragging individual points with the mouse. I would find this feature useful in PowerPoint. Is there any way to work with individual lines in a PowerPoint Clip Art picture?"

Yes, there is. Actually, it's called Edit Points, just as in some of the other presentation programs. The catch is that you'll never see the command unless you elect to ungroup the Clip Art picture first.

To see how this works, open a blank slide and choose Insert, Picture, Clip Art. Double-click a picture to insert it. Select the picture and choose Draw, Ungroup. Click the slide somewhere away from the picture to deselect it. Next, click somewhere in the picture to select one of the ungrouped parts. Choose Draw, Edit Points, and you can start working with the lines in the selected portion of the picture.

If you select all the components of the picture and group it again, the Edit Points command no longer appears in the Draw menu.

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EDITING CLIPART IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Steve A. submitted the following Corel Presentations tip:

"When editing ClipArt in a Corel Presentations slide, I always used to right-click the picture and choose Separate Objects. Then I would click each picture object I wanted to move, delete, or resize. A week or so ago, I accidentally discovered that to edit out or modify picture parts, all you really have to do is double-click the picture. This puts the picture into a selected frame. You can now do whatever you want with individual picture elements.

"When you finish editing a picture, just click anywhere on the slide away from the picture and you're back to normal."

Thanks for the tip, Steve.

Jim Pile is an instrumentation engineer and author who lives in Kentucky with his wife Sue, their dog Lily (also known as Spaz), and their cats Max, Calamity, Kate, and Allie. Jim has written extensively about everything from Microsoft Basic, Visual Basic, Windows, OS/2, and Pascal to MS Office, Lotus SmartSuite, and Internet Explorer. Jim is currently learning to play the dulcimer.

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DRAWING TRIANGLES IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Georgia W. has a Corel Presentations drawing question:

"How do you draw a triangle in Corel Presentations? I have looked all over the Insert, Shape menu and see every shape but triangles."

Open a blank slide and choose Insert, Shape, Polygon. Use the mouse to draw a three-sided polygon. If you want a regular-shaped (equilateral) triangle, choose Insert, Shape, Regular Polygon. When the Regular Polygon dialog box opens, use the Number Of Sides spin box to enter 3 sides. Click the Close box (the X in the upper right corner) to close the dialog box. Now use the mouse to draw your triangle.

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DRAWING NETWORKS IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Kyle V. has a Freelance Graphics tip for us:

"When I needed to make a presentation describing our small office network, I thought I was in for a lot of drawing, and I am not very good at drawing. Much to my surprise, I discovered that Freelance Graphics already has some drawings that will do very well. All you have to do is ungroup them and move the individual pieces around to represent your own network system.

"To access these drawings, open a blank slide in Freelance Graphics and click Clip Art. When the dialog box opens, select the Diagram radio button (under View). Click the arrow at the right side of the Category list box and select Network from the list. You can now choose from three network drawings. I suggest that you try each one to see which best fits your needs.

"Right-click your new drawing and choose Ungroup. Now click away from the drawing to deselect all the objects. Use the mouse to move the components into place to make up your own network. To use an object more than once, just hold down Ctrl while you drag the object with the mouse. This drags away a copy of the object. Select any objects you don't need and press Delete to get rid of them.

"Finally, enter whatever text labels you need and press Ctrl-A to select all the points. Choose Collection, Group to turn the drawing into a unit."

Thanks for the tip, Kyle.

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DRAWING DETAILS

Reader (and drawing instructor) Fran D. has some suggestions about drawing human faces:

"When I start with a new drawing class, I always demonstrate how little detail is actually required to create a human face--even the face of a famous person. As an example, I draw hair, bushy eyebrows, and a sort of bow-tie-shaped moustache on the board. Everyone immediately recognizes Groucho Marx. If you draw bushy hair all around a nonexistent head, then draw a pair of eyes and a bushy, unkempt moustache, most people will recognize Albert Einstein.

"My point is that you can draw faces much more easily than you might think. Just draw the necessary features--don't worry about detail."

Thanks for the advice, Fran.

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DRAWING CLOSED OBJECTS IN POWERPOINT

Here is a PowerPoint drawing question from reader Susan P.:

"I am trying to draw something that looks like mountains on a PowerPoint slide. I would like to draw a series of mountains, one set behind another, to create a mountain range. I would then like to fill each set of mountains with a different color to give the appearance of increasing distance. The problem with this whole project is that you can't change the fill color inside a series of lines even though you have connected all the ends together. Can you suggest a way to draw a jagged object and apply a fill color?"

Use the Freeform tool. To find it, choose AutoShapes, Lines. Freeform is the closed object in the center of the bottom row of tools. This tool requires a bit of practice to use properly, but it should let you create your mountain range.

Jim Pile is an instrumentation engineer and author who lives in Kentucky with his wife Sue, their dog Lily (also known as Spaz), and their cats Max, Calamity, Kate, and Allie. Jim has written extensively about everything from Microsoft Basic, Visual Basic, Windows, OS/2, and Pascal to MS Office, Lotus SmartSuite, and Internet Explorer. Jim is currently learning to play the dulcimer.

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DON'T USE TOO MUCH ANIMATION

Reader Suzanne K. has a suggestion for new presenters:

"New presenters tend to use far too much animation. Although it is true that animation can enhance a slide show, I believe a very little bit goes a long way.

"Another point about animation is this: If a particular animation looks less than perfectly smooth, don't use it. There is nothing worse than jerky animation. And make sure (if possible) that your animations will look good on the computer you plan to use during your presentation."

Thanks for the tip, Suzanne.

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DISTRIBUTING OBJECTS IN POWERPOINT

Here is a PowerPoint question from subscriber Marty L. "I would like to have a row of small circles evenly distributed across a slide. It's difficult, if not impossible, to get the circles spaced evenly. I tried selecting all the circles and using Draw, Align Or Distribute. But all the menu items were grayed out. Can you explain what my problem might be?"

What you need to do is place one of the circles at the left side of the slide and one at the right side. This will supply PowerPoint with information on which points you want to distribute between.

Now press Ctrl-A to select all the objects and choose Draw, Align or Distribute, Relative To Slide. Next, choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, Align Middle. Finally, choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, Distribute Horizontally.

This should do the trick.

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DESIGNING SLIDE SHOWS

Reader Beryl A. has some slide show design tips for new presenters:

"I realize the current trend is toward more graphics, but it's a mistake to substitute graphics for words. The idea that a picture is worth a thousand words doesn't always apply.

"Your slides should provide a framework for your presentation, not act as your ENTIRE presentation. I suggest keeping the graphics to a minimum and making sure you explain each graphic in your presentation.

"Don't place entire sentences on your slides. If you do, you'll find yourself reading them to the audience. If you limit the text on your slides to key phrases, you can then develop and explain your ideas to the audience as they view the slides.

"Just in case someone thinks I would rather go back to the old days before computers, this is not the case. I use PowerPoint for my presentations and I would hate to do without it. All I'm really suggesting is that you take care not to put too much emphasis on fancy graphics when a simple sentence or two from you would work much better."

Thanks for the tip, Beryl.

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DECIDE ON YOUR PURPOSE

Here is some presentation advice from reader Hugh H.:

"When you start working on a new presentation, decide on the purpose of the presentation before you start working. I know this might sound strange, but many presenters don't seem to know what the purpose really is, and some seem to have no purpose at all. To decide on a purpose, keep in mind that all presentations will fit one of three primary purposes--to inform, to persuade, or to entertain. For most of us, the purpose will be either to inform or to persuade.

"This isn't quite as clear-cut as it sounds. You need to decide on one of the two. I strongly suggest that you not mix the two. I realize that you may want to inform a group of what you've been doing and then persuade them to let you keep doing it. This would fall into the 'persuade' group because that is really your primary purpose.

"If you really want to inform, then your approach is different than if you want to persuade. Think about this. Once you decide which group your presentation falls into, you can begin to think about how to make the most effective presentation."

Thanks for the suggestion, Hugh.

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CUSTOM FREELANCE GRAPHICS BULLETS

As you probably know, you can use Clip Art bullets in Freelance Graphics. You can even use custom artwork as bullets. All you have to do is create the art in Freelance Graphics.

Let's start from the beginning and look at how to add Clip Art bullets. Open a blank slide and add some text. Now right-click the text and choose Text Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Bullets tab (third from the left). Click the arrow at the right side of the Style list box, then click Clip Art. Now you can select from any of the Clip Art. If you click Browse, you can select from the file list.

To create your own custom Clip Art, make a drawing in Freelance Graphics--any drawing. A simple arrow is fine for testing purposes. Now choose File, Save As. Name your new file and click the arrow at the right side of the Save As Type list box. Select Lotus Freelance Clip Art (SYM), then locate Lotus\smasters\flg. Click Save to save the file in the Lotus\smasters\flg folder.

Add some text to a Freelance Graphics slide and right-click it. Choose Text Properties and click the Bullets tab. Now open the Style list and click Clip Art. When the Choose Clip Art For Bullet dialog box opens, click Browse. Double-click your new file to make it the bullet for the selected text.

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CREATING STAND-ALONE DRAWINGS IN POWERPOINT AND FREELANCE GRAPHICS

In the last tip, we discussed how to create a JPG file from a single Corel Presentations drawing. If you use Freelance Graphics or PowerPoint, you can't save a single drawing as an image file, but you CAN save an entire slide in an image format.

To do this in Freelance Graphics, open your slide and choose File, Save As. When the Save As dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Save As Type list box. Freelance Graphics doesn't offer the JPG format, but you can select Windows/PM Bitmap to save your slide as a BMP file. Name your file and click Save.

PowerPoint uses basically the same procedure. Open your slide and choose File, Save As. When the Save As dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Save As Type list box and select JPEG File Interchange Format (*.jpg) from the list. Now just name the file and click Save to close the dialog box and save your new file.

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CREATING STAND-ALONE DRAWINGS IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Lo C. has a Corel Presentations question:

"I have created several drawings in Corel Presentations that I would like to use in other programs. Some of these drawings appear on a single slide. Is there a way to extract a single drawing and save it as a JPG file? I know I could copy and paste, but I would really rather have the drawings in JPG format."

You can quite easily save drawings in JPG format using Corel Presentations. Open the slide that contains your drawing. Select the drawing you want to save as a JPG file and choose File, Save As. When the Save dialog box opens, select the radio button labeled Selected Items and click OK. The Save As dialog box will open, and you can enter a name and select a location for your new file.

Next, click the arrow at the right side of the File Type list box and select 'oint Photographic Experts Group (*.jpg) from the list. Finally, click Save to save your file and close the dialog box.

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CREATING POWERPOINT TEMPLATES

Here is a PowerPoint tip from reader Sam J.:

"I have discovered that I use several basic PowerPoint designs over and over. If you do the same, the easiest way to handle this is to create templates.

"To create a template, put all the basic stuff you want on a slide--background and all--and then choose File, Save As. When the Save As dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Save As Type list box and select Presentation Template. Your folder should now change to \Templates. Type a name for the template and click Save.

"The next time you need to use one of your saved templates, choose File, New. When the New Presentation dialog box opens, you'll see your new templates in the list."

Thanks for the tip, Sam.

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COREL PRESENTATIONS THEMES

Here is a Corel Presentations tip from reader Don C.:

"Although I have been using Corel Presentations for several months, I just recently happened on to the themes. I found a great riverboat scene there that I used in my last presentation.

"If you'd like to see what is available in Theme, run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Choose Format, Master Gallery. When the Master Gallery opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Category list box. Choose Theme from the list and Corel Presentations will present you with all the available themes."

If you find a theme you would like to use all or most of the time, select it and click Save As Default. Thanks for the tip, Don.

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COREL PRESENTATIONS OPENING TRANSITION

Reader Gary F. has a Corel Presentations question:

"I am a new Corel Presentations user. I really like the program, but I have one question (for now, anyway)--why does a Corel Presentations slide show always start by sweeping from left to right? No matter what I do, the first slide always starts this way."

Corel Presentations opens with the default Sweep From Left setting. However, you can change this transition. Just right-click the first slide and choose Transition. When the Slide Properties dialog box opens, look in the Effects list and select another transition. If you don't want a transition, select Immediate from the list. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your transition setting.

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COPYING SLIDES INTO FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Zach N. has a Freelance Graphics question:

"I have several slide shows with slides I could use in a new show. I was told that the only way to get these slides into a new show is to copy and paste them one at a time. Is this the case? If not, could you explain another way?"

Open your new slide show and choose File, Copy Pages From Other Files. When the dialog box opens, click the file, then double-click the file from which you want to copy slides. Next, select the check box associated with each slide you want to copy. After you make all your selections, click Add and decide where you want to new slides to appear. Now you can click Close to dismiss the dialog box.

If you need to sort the slides, choose View, Page Sorter and move the slides into the desired position. Choose File, Save to save your slide show.

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COPYING OBJECTS IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Darren W. submitted this Freelance Graphics tip:

"I have noticed that many people in my office take the long way around when they want to copy objects in Freelance Graphics. Usually they select the object, then press Ctrl-C to copy it. Then they move to a new location and press Ctrl-V to paste it.

"The easy way to copy objects in Freelance Graphics is to hold down the Ctrl key while you use the mouse to drag the object to a new location. This drags a copy of the object to the new location, leaving the original right where it started. You can make as many copies as you like. You can even copy the copies."

The same trick works in PowerPoint and Corel Presentations. Thanks for the tip, Darren.

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COPYING FROM SLIDE SHOWS IN POWERPOINT

In the last tip, we discussed how to copy slides from one Freelance Graphics slide show to another. This time, let's look at how to copy slides between two PowerPoint slide shows.

To set up a demonstration, open a blank slide and choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. Double-click a picture to insert it and then press Ctrl-M to create a new slide. When the dialog box opens, press Enter. Insert some ClipArt onto the new slide and choose File, Save As. Name the file D1 and click Save. Choose File, Close to close the current slide show.

Next, click the New button (at the far left of the PowerPoint toolbar) to create a new slide show. Insert some ClipArt onto two or three slides and then save the file as D2. Choose File, Close to close file D2.

Now, choose File, Open and double-click file D1 to open it. Choose Insert, Slides From Files. When the Slide Finder dialog box opens, click Browse. Double-click D2 and then click Display. At this point, you should see preview pictures for all the slides in D2.

To insert a single slide, click the preview to select the slide, then click Insert. If you need to insert more than one slide, click the first one and then hold down the Shift key while you click the other slides you want to use. After you select all the slides you want to copy into D1, click Insert. If you want to insert all the slides in a slide show to your current slide show, click Insert All.

When you finish copying slides, click Close to close the Slide Finder and continue working on your current slide show.

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COPYING FILL ATTRIBUTES IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Norman D. submitted the following Freelance Graphics drawing tip:

"I often spend a lot of time getting a single drawing object to look just the way I want it. Then, when I draw another object, I sometimes like to use the same colors, gradients, and so forth for the second object. Rather than set all the attributes all over again for the second object, simply right-click the first one and choose Fast Format, Pick Up Attributes. Now right-click the second object and choose Fast Format, Apply Attributes. The second object then perfectly matches the first."

Thanks for the tip, Norman.

Jim Pile is an instrumentation engineer and author who lives in Kentucky with his wife Sue, their dog Lily (also known as Spaz), and their cats Max, Calamity, Kate, and Allie. Jim has written extensively about everything from Microsoft Basic, Visual Basic, Windows, OS/2, and Pascal to MS Office, Lotus SmartSuite, and Internet Explorer. Jim is currently learning to play the dulcimer.

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COPING WITH THE BLANK SPOTS

Reader Stan B. has a presentation suggestion:

"It happens to all of us--when we're just about to make a point, the brain goes blank. I have learned to prepare (to an extent, anyway) for these blank moments. What I suggest is that you move to another point if possible. When you do this, most of the audience will never know what happened. If the blank space becomes a little too long to cover with something you can think of, simply comment, 'I'm sorry, I seem to have gone blank for a few seconds.' Your audience will understand because they have all had the same experience--even if only in a personal conversation."

We agree, but we prefer the apology method. It's usually too risky to try to cover up because a blank spot interferes with the rhythm of your presentation and the audience usually notices.

Thanks for the tip, Stan.

Jim Pile is an instrumentation engineer and author who lives in Kentucky with his wife Sue, their dog Lily (also known as Spaz), and their cats Max, Calamity, Kate, and Allie. Jim has written extensively about everything from Microsoft Basic, Visual Basic, Windows, OS/2, and Pascal to MS Office, Lotus SmartSuite, and Internet Explorer. Jim is currently learning to play the dulcimer.

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COPING WITH QUESTIONS

Here is a suggestion from subscriber Ted B.:

"I attended an excellent presentation this summer--at least, it was excellent until we got to the questions. In response to the first question, the presenter said, 'That is a great question.' I thought that was an excellent move on the presenter's part. But when he responded in almost exactly the same way to every question people asked, I decided it was a poor idea on his part.

"The problem with this is that you can sound sincere if you compliment a few questioners in this way. But when you complement all questioners, you sound like the world's biggest liar. Don't do this. You will ruin your presentation and annoy your audience."

Thanks for the suggestion, Ted.

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CONSISTENCY IS KEY

Here is a presentation tip from reader and long-time presenter Charlotte V.:

"I have seen numerous presentations made less effective simply because the presenter failed to stick to a single heading type in a slide show. For example, if your first slide heading is Gatherings, don't use Group on the next slide. It would be far better to use Groupings and stay with a consistent type of heading. I realize this may not always be possible, but it is a goal worth striving for. Consistent headings give the impression that the presenter is a careful, thorough person--and first impressions do count."

Thanks for the tip, Charlotte.

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CONNECTING FREELANCE GRAPHICS LINES

Reader Nan H. has a Freelance Graphics drawing tip for us:

"It seems to me that I am endlessly drawing lines that should connect but don't. I found this doesn't have to be a great problem in Freelance Graphics. All you have to do is click one of the lines to select it, then press and hold Shift while you click the other line. Finally, choose Drawing, Connect Lines to connect the two lines."

Thanks for the tip, Nan.

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COLOR GRADIENTS IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Warren C. has a Freelance Graphics question:

"I used to use Microsoft PowerPoint to create slide shows. Now I use Freelance Graphics. In PowerPoint, I could assign two colors to a figure containing text to create a color gradient effect. Is there a way to do the same in Freelance Graphics?"

Yes, there is. To check it out, open a blank slide and click Drawing & Text. Now select an option in Shapes With Text and draw it using the mouse. Right-click the new shape and choose Text Shape Properties. When the dialog box opens, click the Pattern list box and select one of the gradient patterns near the bottom of the Patterns list box.

After you choose a gradient, click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern Color list box and select a color. Expand the Background list box and select a background color.

By juggling the background color and the pattern color, you can achieve the desired effect.

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CHANGING YOUR WORK FOLDER

Reader Mary Q. asks this Freelance Graphics question:

"I use Freelance Graphics to create slide shows. What I would like to do is have Freelance Graphics save all my files in a folder named Presentations. Is there a way to get Freelance Graphics to save the files somewhere besides its default folder?"

There certainly is. Run Freelance Graphics and open a slide show. Now choose File, User Setup, Freelance Preferences. When the Freelance Graphics Preferences dialog box appears, click File Locations. When the File Locations dialog box opens, click in the Presentations entry box and delete the current contents. Next, type c:\Presentations and click OK to close the dialog box and record your new folder location. In Freelance Graphics Preferences, click OK again to close the dialog box.

Unless you decide to change it again, Freelance Graphics will now save to, and look for, all your files in c:\Presentations.

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CHANGING THE LIGHT IN POWERPOINT

Reader Lew A. has a PowerPoint question:

"I use PowerPoint to create slide shows for presentations that others give. For an upcoming project, I want to show a scene that progresses from darkness to daylight. The catch is, I really need to do it on a single slide rather than creating the animation with a number of slides. Can you think of a way?"

We tried this. The only thing we could come up with was to make multiple copies of the picture and then place them all at the same spot. For each picture, we increased the contrast and brightness. Let's go through the steps.

Open a blank slide and choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. Double-click the picture you'd like to use to insert it. Now select the picture and choose Ctrl-C to copy it. Press Ctrl-V to paste the copy. Select the copy, then click the Less Contrast button in the Picture toolbar (it's fourth from the left). Also, you may want to click the Less Brightness button (sixth from the left).

Now press Ctrl-C again (the picture is already selected at this point). Press Ctrl-V to paste the picture. Reduce the contrast and brightness again as described above. Follow this procedure until you have enough gradations in brightness and contrast.

Press Ctrl-A to select all the pictures and then choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, Relative To Slide. Next, choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, Align Center. Finally, choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, Align Middle.

With all the pictures still selected, choose Slide Show, Custom Animation. When the dialog box opens, click the Effects tab. Select Appear form the list and click the Timing tab. Select the Animate and Automatically radio buttons. Enter the time you need and click OK.

Note that you may need to go back to the Custom Animation dialog box later (click Effects) and arrange the animation order to achieve the right look. To do this, click the object you want to move, then click the up or down arrow to place the object in the correct position.

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CHANGING BULLET SIZE IN POWERPOINT

In the last tip, we talked about how to change the bullet size in a Corel Presentations bulleted list. If you need to change the bullet size in a PowerPoint list, the method is much the same. However, PowerPoint will allow you to set the bullet size to 400 percent of the text size.

To do this, right-click the bulleted list and choose Bullets And Numbering. When the Bullets And Numbering dialog box opens, use the Size spin box to set the bullet size relative to the font size. When you finish, click OK to close the dialog box and apply your changes.

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CHANGING BULLET SIZE IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Here is a Corel Presentations question from reader Thera S.:

"I am learning Corel Presentations. I need larger bullets in a particular list than the ones Corel Presentations makes. Is there any way to increase the bullet size, or am I stuck with the size built in to Corel Presentations?"

By default, Corel Presentations bullets are the same size as the font you are using. However, you can change this. Right-click your bulleted list and choose Bulleted List Properties. When the dialog box opens, click the Bullets tab. Use the Relative Size spin box to set the bullet size relative to the font size. Since you want to increase the size, enter a number greater than 100. You can increase the bullet size to a maximum of 150 percent of the font size.

After you make your selection, click OK to close the dialog box and apply the new setting.

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CENTERING TEXT IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Stephen M. has a Freelance Graphics question for us: "I would like to center text in a text box both horizontally and vertically. Is this possible?"

Yes, it is. The method just isn't quite as intuitive as it could be. Open a blank slide and click Drawing & Text. When the toolbar opens, click the text tool (ABC) and type your text. Click OK to continue, then right-click the text and choose Text Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Alignment tab (it's the second tab from the left). Under Alignment, locate Horizontal and Vertical. Each has three buttons that represent top, center, and bottom. Click the center button in each to center the text horizontally and vertically.

When you're finished with the dialog box, you can click the Close box (the X in the upper right corner) to dismiss it.

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CAREFUL WITH YOUR COLOR SCHEMES

Here is a tip from reader Joel T.:

"At a recent series of meetings, I witnessed some presentations obviously designed to take advantage of high-color graphics--but the projector in the room could display only 256 colors, which nearly ruined the show. Some colors showed up as patterns and tended to obscure text.

"When developing a presentation, if you don't know the properties of the presentation projector, it is always best to stick with simpler color schemes. As long as you're not using photos in a slide show, you can design a perfectly good show using 256 colors."

Thanks for the tip, Joel.

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BLURRED BACKGROUNDS IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Here is a Corel Presentations tip from reader Sharon P.:

"I use Corel Presentations and have run across an option that enhances my slide shows significantly. You can blur the background in Clip Art drawings using special effects available to bitmapped pictures. With a sharply focused foreground picture in front of the blurred background picture, you get the effect you see in many photographs.

"The trick is to first convert your Clip Art picture to a bitmapped picture. To do this, select the picture and choose Tools, Convert To Bitmap. If a dialog box opens at this point, click Convert.

"Now double-click the converted picture and choose Tools, Special Effects. When the Special Effects dialog box opens, select Blur and select the High radio button. Click OK to close the dialog box and continue. Now that you've blurred the background picture, place your foreground picture in front of it."

Thanks for the tip, Sharon.

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BITMAP EDITING IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Alan D. submitted the following Corel Presentations tip:

"I often use the Corel Presentations Bitmap editor to modify imported pictures. I discovered that you can very easily exchange your selected foreground and background colors by simply pressing the Ctrl key. I thought other readers might like to try this."

"If you would like to check this out, run Corel Presentations and choose Insert, Graphics, From File. When the Insert File dialog box opens, select a picture and double-click its name to insert it.

"To enter the Bitmap editor, double-click your picture. Now you can set the foreground and background colors. Look in the toolbar for the two adjacent icons that resemble paint pouring from a container. The one on the left is Foreground. Click Foreground and select a color--let's use blue. Click the Background button and choose red.

"Now that you have selected blue and red, press Ctrl. You'll notice that the foreground icon turns red and the background turns blue.

"If you want to reverse the colors permanently, you can click the Reverse Colors button, which you'll find immediately to the right of the Background button."

Thanks for the tip, Alan.

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AUTOMATIC SLIDE SHOWS

Here is some advice from reader Jerry K.:

"Don't use automatic slide shows. If you're making a presentation, you owe your audience your full attention. To stand by and make comments as a slide show runs itself insults your audience. It leaves no time at all for interaction. The slide show moves on and you're its prisoner.

"The only reason I can see to use an automatic slide show is in a kiosk-type arrangement, where the show loops forever."

Thanks for the tip, Jerry.

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ANOTHER VIEW IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

Reader Fran C. submitted the following Freelance Graphics tip:

"I work with Freelance Graphics extensively, and one feature that saves me time and energy is Outliner View. This is by far the best way to get an overall look at your presentation--text and all.

"Choose View, Outliner to open the Outliner view. The Outliner page resembles a yellow legal pad. The slides all appear at the left side of the page and the text in the middle portion."

Note that the Outliner View shows only text added using Freelance Graphics layouts. If you insert text using the Text tool, it won't appear in Outliner view.

Thanks for the tip, Fran.

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ANIMATION IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Luis DeV. has a Corel Presentations question:

"I use Corel Presentations 8 and need to have an object appear onscreen and then move around while that slide is on display. Do you know of a way to do this?"

Unfortunately, Corel Presentations doesn't allow you to create multiple animations on the same object. However, you could use several slides with the same object in different positions. As an example, let's set up a slide show with three slides.

Run Corel Presentations and choose Insert, Graphics, ClipArt. Drag a picture to your slide and position it as you want. Next, select the object by clicking it and then press Ctrl-C to copy the object. Choose Insert, New Slide and press Enter. Now press Ctrl-V to paste the picture to the new slide. Drag the picture into a new position and then choose Insert, New Slide again and press Enter. Press Ctrl-V to paste the object onto this slide, then move the object to a new position.

Right-click a slide and choose Transition. When the Slide Properties dialog box opens, from the Effects list select Immediate. Select the check box labeled Apply To All Slides In The Slide Show, then click the Display Sequence tab. Now select the radio button labeled After A Delay Of and use the spin box to set the time to 2 seconds. Next, select the Immediately After The Slide Transition radio button and select the labeled Apply To All Slides In The Slide Show check box. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your settings.

To play the slide show, choose View, Play Slide Show and press Enter when the Play Slide Show dialog box opens. You should now see your object move around the screen.

You can make this sequence a part of your main slide show. Use as many slides as you need, and apply the timing only to those slides that make up the animation--not to all the slides in the show, as this simple example describes.

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ANIMATING TITLES IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Bernie V. has a Corel Presentations question:

"I am trying to animate a slide title in Corel Presentations with no luck. Animation doesn't appear to be an option for text. If you have any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it."

You can animate text in Corel Presentations--you just can't animate text inside a placeholder. A placeholder is the box that appears on most slides with the notation Double-Click To Add Title. So get rid of the placeholder by clicking it, then pressing Delete.

With no placeholder to worry about, choose Insert, Text Box and use the mouse to outline your text box. Now enter your text and click once somewhere away from the text box to deselect the text. The text box is still selected at this point.

Choose Format, Object Properties, Object Animation. When the Object Properties dialog box opens, select the type of animation you want to use. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.

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ANIMATING TEXT IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Ann B. has a Corel Presentations question:

"I use Corel Presentations and would like to have some text appear one letter at a time. I can't get this to work for me. Could you discuss text animation in one of your tips?"

Animating text in Corel Presentations may appear a bit tricky, but it isn't difficult. Note that you can't animate titles or bulleted lists one character at a time. To see how one-character-at-a-time text animation works, open a blank slide and choose Insert, Text Box. Type some text and click away from the text to deselect it. At this point, your text is deselected, but your text box is selected. Choose Tools, Macro, Play. When the Play Macro dialog box opens, double-click textanim.wcm. Now, select the type of animation you want to use and click OK to close the dialog box and continue.

To see how your selection looks, choose View, Play Slide Show. When the dialog box opens, click Play to continue.

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ANIMATING LETTERS IN POWERPOINT

Here is a request from reader Carl J.:

"Several years ago, I saw a tip on how to get a WordArt sentence to appear one letter at a time in a PowerPoint slide show. I have tried to reproduce this technique with no luck. Could you cover this topic again?"

The secret is to create the WordArt sentence as individual letters. Though a little labor intensive, this is possible. Choose Insert, Picture, WordArt and choose the style you want. When the Edit WordArt Text dialog box appears, enter only the first letter of the sentence. Click OK and repeat the procedure for each letter of the sentence, one letter at a time.

To make the letters appear on the same line, press Ctrl-A to select them all. Now choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, Align Bottom. Next, choose Draw, Align Or Distribute, Distribute Horizontally. You should have a sentence with equal spacing between all letters and all with the same vertical alignment.

Now all you have to do is set the animation for each letter. Press Ctrl-A to select them all, then choose Slide Show, Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Effects tab. Click the arrow at the right of the Entry Animation list box to expand the list. Select the effect you want to use, then click the Timing tab.

Select the Animate and Automatically radio buttons. Enter the time you want to use (we suggest 0) and click OK.

You're ready to test your slide animation now. To do so, just choose Slide Show, View Show.

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ANIMATING AN OBJECT IN POWERPOINT

In the last tip we discussed a way to animate an object in Corel Presentations using multiple slides. If you use PowerPoint, you can achieve this effect on a single slide.

To do this, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and double-click a picture to place it on the slide. Size the picture as you wish and then press Ctrl while you drag away several copies of the picture.

Press Ctrl-A to select all the pictures, then right-click a picture and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Timing tab. Select the radio buttons labeled Animate and Automatically. Leave the timing set to 0 and click the Effects tab. Select Flash Once Medium and click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings.

To see the effect, choose Slide Show, View Show.

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ANIMATING A PASTED CHART IN POWERPOINT

Reader Steve M. has a PowerPoint-Excel question:

"I pasted an Excel chart into a PowerPoint slide. I would like to animate the elements of the chart, but find that I can't. I don't want to have to rebuild the chart in PowerPoint. Is there a way to animate the chart I pasted in?"

You can ungroup the chart first, then animate the individual elements. To see how this works, paste a simple pie chart into a PowerPoint slide. With the chart still selected, click Draw, Ungroup. When you see a dialog box that says you might be doing a bad thing, click Yes.

Click somewhere away from the chart to deselect all its components. Next, press Ctrl-A to select all the components, then press and hold Shift while you click the individual components you want to animate. Choose Draw, Group to group all the nonanimated portions of the chart. Next, choose Draw, Order, Send To Back to make your chart elements visible again.

Now you can animate each pie slice. Right-click a slice, choose Custom Animation, and make your animation selections.

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AN OLD HIGHLIGHTING METHOD

Reader Doris R. has a PowerPoint tip that also applies to Corel Presentations and Freelance Graphics:

"Years ago, I used to do overheads for my presentations. A common technique in those days was to place a piece of cardboard over the slide, then move it down to display the current topic only.

"I decided it might be fun to create the same effect in a PowerPoint slide. What I did was create the slide with five lines of text. I then chose Insert, Duplicate slide four times to create a slide for each line.

"On the first slide, I drew a black rectangle to cover all but the first line. On the second slide, the black rectangle covered all but the first two lines. I did this for each slide, uncovering the next topic. Finally, the fifth slide contained no rectangle at all.

The audience greatly enjoyed this technique--most of them remembered the old-style overhead slide shows."

Thanks for the tip, Doris.

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AN AUTOMATIC POWERPOINT INTRODUCTION

Here is an interesting PowerPoint tip from reader Gerald R.:

"I decided to do something different for my most recent PowerPoint presentation--I let PowerPoint introduce me. What I did was have a friend record the words 'And now, here's Gerald.' Then I inserted that sound into the second slide and set it to start automatically.

"The first slide displayed the presentation title and a start time. I had a friend positioned near the controls to move to the next slide at the correct time as I waited outside the door. Yes, we did synchronize our watches. At the agreed-upon time, my friend sent PowerPoint to the second slide and, with the intro sounds still playing, I strode into the room. By the way, I kept my face turned completely toward the audience as I walked in--Jack Benny style.

"This worked well for me on a onetime basis, but I have a feeling that people would be less impressed the second and third time. I really don't recommend doing this before strangers--you have to know your audience. It was fun, though."

We agree--this one would age quickly. Have you thought about using the drum roll WAV file that comes with PowerPoint?

Thanks for the tip, Gerald.

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ALIGNING TEXT IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

"Is there a way in Freelance Graphics to center text vertically in a text box?" asks reader Don C.

Yes, there is--although the method isn't especially obvious when you create the text. Try this: After you create the text, right-click it and choose Text Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Alignment tab (second from the left). Under Alignment, you'll see Vertical, with three alignment buttons representing top, center, and bottom. Click the center button to center the text vertically.

Click the Close box to dismiss the Properties dialog box.

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ALIGNING FREELANCE GRAPHICS OBJECTS

Reader Agnes B. has a Freelance Graphics question:

"I have experience as an artist, but no experience at all with Freelance Graphics. I have just created a drawing that consists of several parts that must all have a common center point. I found that it was easier to make the drawings separately, and I thought I could drag them all together when I finished, but I could never get all the objects placed accurately enough. Is there an easy way to place objects on a common center in Freelance Graphics?"

Yes, there is a very easy way. To align all of your objects around a common center, press Ctrl-A to select all the objects. Next, choose Collection, Align. When the Align Objects dialog box opens, select the Center On A Point radio button. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply the alignment.

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ADJUSTING THE MICROPHONE

Reader Tod McL. has a presentation tip.

"I realize this might sound too obvious to even mention, but I am always surprised at how many presenters forget to turn off the microphone before adjusting it. You don't want to subject the audience to the pops and cracks that adjusting the microphone produces."

You're right, all too many people forget to do this. Thanks for the suggestion, Tod.

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ADDING TO THE FREELANCE GRAPHICS CLIP ART LIBRARY

Reader Nica E. has a Freelance Graphics question:

"I just changed jobs recently. At my old place, I used PowerPoint, but here I use Freelance Graphics. In PowerPoint it's easy to add custom pictures to the Clip Art Gallery. I don't see a way to do this with Freelance Graphics. I do much of my own artwork, and would like to have it readily available in the Clip Art library. Is this possible?"

It sure is. You can add any kind of custom artwork to the Clip Art library--you can even add photographs. To add to the library, run Freelance Graphics and open a blank slide. Click Drawing & Text and draw a simple figure (just for test purposes). After you make the drawing, set its size and color to what you need, then click it to make sure it's selected.

Now choose Create, Add To Library, Clip Art Library. When the Add To Clip Art Library dialog box opens, select a category (cartoons, computers, arrows, and so forth), then click Open to close the dialog box and insert your new drawing.

If you want to add an existing drawing or photo to the library, run Freelance Graphics and choose Create, Add Bitmap. Select the picture file you want to use. This inserts the picture into the Freelance Graphics slide. Just follow the procedure described above to insert the picture into the library.

Note: You can only insert BMP, PCX, and TIF files using this method. However, you can paste a picture onto a Freelance Graphics slide and then add it to the Clip Art Library.

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ADDING TEXT TO SHAPES IN POWERPOINT

Reader Wally C. has a PowerPoint question:

"I was under the impression that if you put text in an AutoShape, the text would stay with the shape. However, I used AutoShape to draw an arrow, then I clicked the Text Box button and added some text. I dragged the text over the arrow, but they don't stay together. I am a new PowerPoint user and very confused. Can you tell me how to get the text to stay with the AutoShape figure?"

The best way to add text to an AutoShape is to right-click the shape and choose Add Text. The text you add will become part of the shape and will remain in place no matter where you move the shape.

If for some reason you need to add text in a text box, move the text into position over the shape, then hold down Shift while you click the shape. Choose Draw, Group to group the text and the shape together.

Either way will work, but the first method is better and easier.

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ADDING PICTURES TO POWERPOINT

Reader Carole C. submitted the following PowerPoint macro tip:

"I wanted to place a collection of photos I took with my digital camera into a slide show. Inserting over 200 photos manually was such a daunting task that I decided to write a macro to automate the job.

"Since all my photos were 640 by 480, I didn't have any sizing problems. I'm not sure what would happen if you tried to use photos of varying sizes."

Here is Carole's PowerPoint macro. Note that the drive and folder shown in the macro are the ones she used. You must substitute your own drive and path. Also, you don't have to use JPG files--you can use any file type PowerPoint will accept. If you have an option, we suggest JPG since the files are much smaller than BMP files.

To create the macro, run PowerPoint and press Alt-F11. When the editor opens, click VBAProject and choose Insert, Module. When the Module window opens, enter the following as shown here:

Sub AddPictures() 'Carole C. April 12, 2000

Dim Index As Integer Dim MyFile As String, FilePath As String

FilePath = "d:\photo\" MyFile = Dir(FilePath + "*.jpg") 'Insert first picture ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange.Shapes.AddPicture _ (FilePath + MyFile, LinkToFile:=msoFalse, _ SaveWithDocument:=msoTrue, Left:=1, Top:=1, _ Width:=640, Height:=480).Select

Do 'Insert remaining pictures MyFile = Dir Index = Index + 1 If MyFile <> "" And MyFile <> "." And MyFile <> ".." Then ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange.Shapes.AddPicture _ (FilePath + MyFile, LinkToFile:=msoFalse, _ SaveWithDocument:=msoTrue, Left:=1, Top:=1, _ Width:=640, Height:=480).Select ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Align msoAlignCenters, True ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Align msoAlignMiddles, True ActiveWindow.View.GotoSlide Index:= _ ActivePresentation.Slides.Add(Index:=Index, _ Layout:=ppLayoutBlank).SlideIndex End If

Loop Until MyFile = ""

ActiveWindow.View.GotoSlide Index:=1 'Go to first slide ActivePresentation.Save 'Save presentation

End Sub

After you enter all the code, press Ctrl-S to save the presentation and the macro. Next, press Ctrl-Q to get back to your slide view. To use the macro, press Alt-F8 and double-click the macro name.

Thanks for the macro, Carole.

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ADDING COREL PRESENTATIONS SLIDES

Here is a Corel Presentations question from reader Angie M.:

"I know how to add a new slide in Corel Presentations--choose Insert, New Slide, then select a slide format and click. However, I have seen tips describing keystrokes to use for creating a new PowerPoint slide, so I wonder if there are some keystrokes for Corel Presentations."

Yes, there are some keystrokes for Corel Presentations. You press Ctrl-Enter. This will add a default slide with three placeholders.

If you want to have the option of choosing a particular slide format, you'll still have to choose Insert, New Slide. But you could use keystrokes for this if you prefer. Just type, in sequence, Alt, I, N to open the New Slide dialog box. Select your format and click OK.

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ADDING BULLETS TO EXISTING FREELANCE GRAPHICS TEXT

Reader Lawrence K. has a Freelance Graphics question:

"I just finished a Freelance Graphics slide show I created from scratch using completely blank slides. Now I have decided that some of the text needs bullets. Do I have to go through all the slides that need bullets and start over, or is there a way to add bullets to existing text?"

You can add bullets to the existing text. Just right-click the text and choose Text Properties. When the dialog box opens, click the Bullets tab (third from the left). Now click the arrow at the right side of the Style list box (under Bullet Attributes) and select the bullet you want to use.

While the Properties dialog box is open, you can click other text in the slide to add more bullets. When you finish adding bullets, close the dialog box by clicking the Close box.

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A SPECIAL BACKGROUND IN POWERPOINT

Reader Will F. has a PowerPoint animation question:

"I have a nice background picture of a straight road going from the foreground to the distant background in the mountains. I would like to have a ClipArt car appear in the foreground and then move off down the highway and disappear into the background.

"I decided to place increasingly smaller pictures of the car onto the highway, then animate each to flash once and disappear. I have this working quite well on a blank slide. But when I add in the background, I encounter a serious problem: I can't work with the car images because the background image gets in the way. If I try to move a car image into place, I end up moving the background. I know I could insert the background ClipArt into the slide master, but I don't want the same background on all the slides in the show.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

What you need to do is use a background picture rather than ClipArt. Since you already have a ClipArt picture you want to use, convert it to a JPEG file first, then place it in the slide background.

To do this, insert your ClipArt background picture and size it to fill the slide. Choose File, Save As and, when the Save As dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Save As Type list box and select JPEG File Interchange Format (*.jpg). Enter a name and select a folder in which to save your new file, then click Save. When PowerPoint asks if you want to export every slide in the presentation, click No.

Now you can click the background ClipArt in your original slide and press Delete to get rid of it. Next, choose Format, Background. When the Background dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Background Fill list box and select Fill Effects from the list.

When the Fill Effects dialog box opens, click the Picture tab. Now click Select Picture and locate your new JPEG file. Double-click the file to insert it into the picture preview box. If all looks well, click OK to close the dialog box. Back in the Background dialog box, click Apply to apply the new background to the current slide and close the dialog box.

Now you can work with any added objects without interference from the background.

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A SLICE OF THE COOKIE IN POWERPOINT

Here is a PowerPoint tip from reader Bob F.:

"I work for a company that produces cookies (the kind you eat, not the kind you get on your computer). When I needed to make a PowerPoint presentation recently, I found a ClipArt picture of a chocolate chip cookie in the PowerPoint Gallery (I have the whole gallery loaded on the hard disk). I decided to use the cookie to make up a realistic pie chart. Since I couldn't ungroup the cookie in any useful way, I took another approach.

"To use my method, insert the ClipArt picture onto a slide. Size the picture and position it, then choose Insert, Duplicate Slide four times. This will insert four additional slides (for four slices). Now draw a rectangle to cover one-fourth of the cookie. Select the rectangle and click the arrow at the right side of the Fill Color button. Choose White and then click the arrow at the right side of the Line Color button. Choose No Line.

"At this point, three-fourths of your cookie is visible. Hold down the Ctrl key and use the mouse to drag a copy of the rectangle over this remaining portion. Select one rectangle and hold down the Shift key while you select the others. Press Ctrl-C to copy the rectangles to the Clipboard. Move to each of the next three slides (leave the last slide as is) and press Ctrl-V in each one to copy the rectangles.

"Go back to slide 2 now and click one of the rectangles. Press Delete to delete it. Move to the next slide and delete the adjacent rectangle. Continue this until you have deleted all but the last rectangle.

"When you view the slide show, the first slide shows none of the cookie, the second slide shows one slice, the third slide two slices, the fourth slide three slices, and the fifth slide shows the entire cookie.

"Although I did this in PowerPoint, it should work in Freelance Graphics and Corel Presentations as well."

Thanks for the tip, Bob.

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A POWERPOINT VISUAL EFFECT

PowerPoint user Cole L. sends a tip for creating visual effects that use gradients throughout your ClipArt. It is difficult to describe this effect. Each element of the picture appears in the gradient colors. As Cole says, showing is much better than telling, so here's what you do:

"Run PowerPoint and open a completely blank slide. Choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and select a scenery type of picture (although any picture will do). Click the picture to select it and size it to fill the entire slide (that's what I like about the scenery pictures-a little aspect distortion doesn't usually hurt them). Next, choose Draw, Ungroup and then, leaving all the picture elements selected, choose Draw, Group. Now right-click the picture and choose Format Object. Click the Colors And Lines tab when the Format Object dialog box opens. Under Fill, click the arrow at the right side of the Color list box and choose Fill Effects.

"In the Fill Effects dialog box, click the Gradient tab and then select the Two Colors radio button. Select two light colors for Color 1 and Color 2. I usually use white as one of the colors. After you make the color selection, click OK to close the dialog box and apply the color selection. Back in Format Object, click OK to close the dialog box.

"I have found that white and a light gray are very effective. Also light blue and white work well. You need to experiment with the two colors to get the effect that suits your needs for a slide show."

Although we agree that light colors are best, we found that even black and white, or black and light red, are very effective applied to some pictures.

Thanks for the tip, Cole.

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A MULTICOLORED POWERPOINT BACKGROUND

Reader Carl J. has a PowerPoint question:

"I am sure I once saw a tip about how to create a rainbow effect for a PowerPoint slide background. Could you talk about this in a tip?"

PowerPoint does offer a rainbow effect you can use as a background. We assume this is what you want. To apply the rainbow effect, open a blank slide (to use as an example) and choose Format, Background. When the Background dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the lone (but unnamed) list box. Now choose Fill Effects. When the Fill Effects dialog box opens, click the Gradient tab. Select the Preset radio button.

Next, click the arrow at the right side of the Preset Colors list box and select Rainbow (or Rainbow II) from the list. Click OK to close the dialog box. Back in Background, click Apply to apply your selection to the current slide, or Apply To All to apply the choice to all the slides in the slide show.

A word of style advice--use this very loud background sparingly.

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A FREELANCE GRAPHICS VISUAL EFFECT

The last tip from reader Cole L. described how to create a striking visual effect by applying gradients to PowerPoint ClipArt. This time, let's look at how you can do the same thing in Freelance Graphics.

To apply a gradient to Freelance Graphics ClipArt, run the program and open a blank slide. Click ClipArt and insert a picture--any will do. Now right-click the ClipArt picture and choose Group Properties. When the dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern list box and select a gradient pattern from the list. This will leave you with a color picture shaded according to the pattern you selected.

If you would like to turn the picture into a one- or two-color picture, click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern Color list box and select a color. For a second color, expand the Background list box and select a new color for the background. This will produce a two-color picture.

If you want a black-and-white picture, choose Black for either the background or as the pattern color.

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A FREELANCE GRAPHICS ANIMATION

Reader Sherry L. submitted the following tip:

"As I was looking around for some ideas for a new Freelance Graphics presentation, I happened across the ClipArt picture of a file folder. I decided to organize my slide show using folders as title boxes for each new topic. This is how I set up my slides.

"Open a blank slide and click ClipArt. Choose the file folder picture under the Offobjct category and double-click it. Now use the mouse to drag the folder to the upper left side of the slide. Click the folder to select it and press Ctrl-F3 to replicate it. Press Ctrl-F3 as many times as you need to create the number of folders you want to use. I used 20 in my presentation.

"When you press Ctrl-F3 to replicate an object, the copy always appears down and slightly to the right of the original. This allows you to create a nice collection of folders without having to rearrange them later.

"Press Ctrl-A to select all the objects on the slide. Let's suppose you want to use a folder to display the name of the next topic. Click New Page to create a new slide, then move to the new slide and press Ctrl-V to paste the folders. Use the mouse to pull one of the folders straight up as though someone was pulling it up in a filing cabinet. Click Drawing & Text, then click the Text tool (its icon is ABC). Click in the raised folder and type your topic.

"With the text box still selected, hold down Shift and click the folder. Choose Collection, Group to group the folder and the text together permanently. With the folder selected, press F8 until the folders before it move to the front.

"To create more of these title slides, repeat the above procedure for each one. You can now move the folder slides into their correct positions in a slide show. Just choose View, Page Sorter and drag the slides into position."

Thanks for the tip, Sherry.

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A DUAL PRESENTATION

Here is a presentation question from reader Sharon D.:

"A coworker and I are currently working on a rather long presentation. Although I was originally supposed to present the show, what do you think of a two-person presentation?"

In our opinion, a two-person presentation is difficult to do. The only way we would agree to do one is to have the second person take over to discuss an area of expertise. Two presenters working together is often more difficult for the audience, as well as the presenters.

It can be done, and we have seen it done well. But, it's like playing a musical instrument--if you play alone, you can use your own timing. If you play with someone else, you both have to agree on a common timing.

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A COREL PRESENTATIONS SPECIAL EFFECT

Reader Wilfred G. has a Corel Presentations special effects tip he'd like to pass along:

"Choose Insert, Graphics, ClipArt and select a picture. Choose Insert, Shape, Circle and draw a small circle. Hold down the Ctrl key and drag copies of the circle to the picture, using the circles to outline the picture. Make sure you get the circles inside the lines of the picture. Otherwise, they will be visible when they shouldn't be.

"With all the circles in place, press Ctrl-A to select all the objects on the slide, then choose Format, Object Properties, Object Animation. When the Object Properties dialog box opens, select the Animate Object In Place radio button and then select Fade from the Effects list. Next, select the Fast radio button and click OK to close the dialog box and store your settings.

"When you run the slide show, the dots will fade into view and show the outline of your picture. Then the picture itself will fade into view, covering the dots."

Thanks for the tip, Wilfred.

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A CLOSE ICON FOR POWERPOINT 2000

Reader Wayne T. has a PowerPoint 2000 question:

"I just started using PowerPoint 2000 after using Freelance Graphics for several years. I was wondering if it is possible to change the Open and Save icons in the PowerPoint toolbar to folders, with an arrow pointing outward for Open and an arrow pointing inward for Save."

It is possible--especially if you're good at drawing icons. Run PowerPoint and choose View, Toolbars, Customize. When the Customize dialog box opens, right-click the Save icon and choose Edit Button Image. If you can draw the icon you need, click Clear and draw your icon. Then right-click the Open icon and follow the same procedure.

If you would prefer to use an available icon, right-click Open and choose Change Button Image. You'll see a floppy disk with an arrow pointing outward. Select this icon for Open. Now right-click Save and choose Change Button Image. This time, select the floppy disk with the arrow pointing inward. After you make your selections, click Close to close the dialog box.

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A 3-D EFFECT IN POWERPOINT SLIDES

This tip from reader Clara N. is somewhat similar to our last tip:

"Here is an effect I like to use in PowerPoint slides. I see no reason why it should fail to work in Corel Presentations or Freelance Graphics, since it doesn't use any special techniques.

"First make the slide background black. To do this, choose Format, Background, click the arrow at the right side of the Background Fill list box and select black. Now click AutoShapes, Basic Shapes, Parallelogram. Draw the parallelogram, then place a Clip Art picture on it so the figure extends upward into the black background.

"This creates a surprisingly striking 3-D effect."

Thanks for the tip, Clara.

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USE FILL COLORS WITH FREESTYLE FREELANCE GRAPHICS OBJECTS

In the last tip, we discussed a PowerPoint fill color question. This time, we have a very similar question about Freelance Graphics from reader Walt T.: "I realize this might sound like an odd question, but is there a way to apply an interior fill color to a freestyle Freelance Graphics drawing? When I draw a freestyle object and select it, I can choose Drawing, Line/Curve Properties, but I don't see any way to add a fill color."

You have to convert the drawing to polygons first. This doesn't really change your object's shape, though. Select the drawing and choose Drawing, Convert, To Polygons. This will create a completely closed object. That is, if your lines didn't meet to make a closed object, the conversion will close it for you.

Now you can select the object and choose Drawing, Polygon/Shape Properties. In the Properties dialog box, you will see an area for the interior color. Just select the type of fill and the color you want, then click the Close box in the upper-right corner to close the dialog box.

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SOME FREELANCE GRAPHICS KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Reader Wayne H. sent in the following list of Freelance Graphics shortcut keystrokes for you:

Insert: Arrange, Edit Points, Add Point Delete: Arrange, Edit Points, Delete Point Shift-F6: Arrange, Points Mode Alt-F9: Toggle Black and White or Color F8: Arrange, Priority, Fall Back One Shift-F8: Arrange, Priority, Send Forward One F5: Go To F6: Import Data Ctrl-F6: Next Window F7: Page, New F9: View, Redraw Ctrl-F2: Tools, Spelling Checker

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ON THE ROAD WITH A LAPTOP

Here is a suggestion from reader Thomas M.: "I do all my presentations on a laptop. I am a manufacturer's rep, so I travel to various customer sites and use the laptop to make a presentation for one or two people at a time. Since such presentations are far less formal than those given before large audiences, I usually just place the laptop on the customer's lap while I sit off to the side. Since I'm very familiar with the show's contents, I find that I don't really need a perfect view of the screen.

"I change the slides using a modified mouse. I removed the ball from the mouse so I don't get any cursor movement, but can still click the button to advance the slide. I thought others might like to try the same trick with the mouse."

Thanks for the tip, Thomas.

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DRAW CLOSED OBJECTS IN POWERPOINT

Here is a PowerPoint drawing question from reader Jeremy L.:

"You recently published a tip on how to draw something that looks like mountains on a PowerPoint slide. I tried this, but when I try to change the fill color, the entire slide takes on the color selection. Why should this happen?"

It sounds like you have a leak. When you use the Freeform tool to draw your object, you must make sure you draw a completely closed object. If you leave an opening, the fill operation won't work properly. You can tell when you've completely closed an object because PowerPoint will use the default fill color for the closed object. If your object doesn't have a fill color, then you haven't closed it.

Why not practice with a small circle? Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose AutoShapes, Lines and click the Freeform tool. Now draw a rough circle and see if it takes on a fill color.

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A GOOD INTRODUCTION

Many new presenters tend to either run quickly through an introduction or leave it out altogether. Don't make this mistake--a good introduction is important to a successful presentation. Your audience needs to understand immediately what you're about to present.

We recommend spending plenty of time on the introduction, because this may well be the most important part of the presentation. It lays the groundwork for what follows.

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MAKE POWERPOINT SLIDES FROM AN OUTLINE

"You can create a PowerPoint slide show from a Word outline. Just create your outline using a standard outline format. Then run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Slides From Outline. When the Insert Outline dialog box appears, find your Word file and double-click it. Each Heading 1 title becomes the title of a slide.

"With the slides created, you can now supply the graphics and any additional text you require."

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HIDE FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDES

"On a few occasions, I have needed to hide one or two Freelance Graphics slides during a presentation. This usually occurs when I need to give basically the same presentation to an engineering audience and to a management audience. The management team doesn't need to see the more technical slides.

"To hide slides, simply open your slide show and click the Page Sorter tab. Now click the slide you want to hide and choose Page, Page Properties. When the dialog box opens, click the Screen Show tab (its icon resembles a tiny movie projector). Select the check box labeled Do Not Display This Page During Screen Show.

"If you want to hide more than one slide, leave the dialog box open and click another slide. Select the check box again. After you've hidden all the slides you need to hide, click the Close box to dismiss the dialog box."

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ANIMATE YOUR PIE CHARTS IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

"I have found it very effective to move out the slice of a pie chart I'm discussing. To see how this works, run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Chart. When Data Chart Gallery opens, select Pie. Corel Presentations furnishes sample data, so you won't need to enter any.

"Double-click to select the chart. Click one of the slices to select the pie, then right-click a slice and choose Series Properties. When the dialog box opens, click the Fill tab. Click Foreground and select a gray for the slice color. Click OK to continue. Repeat with the remaining slices, making them all shades of gray.

"Click away from the slide, then press Ctrl-A to select the entire slide. Press Ctrl-C to copy the slide contents. Next, choose Insert, New Slide and choose a blank slide. Press Ctrl-V to paste the original slide onto the second slide. Follow the procedure described above to set one slice to a bright color. Use the mouse to move the target slice away from the pie. Repeat for all slices you want to discuss."

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WHAT TO WEAR, WHAT TO WEAR

We recently published a reader tip concerning proper dress for a presentation. We have received several messages concerning this tip. "Although some people seem to think you should try to dress the same as your audience, I don't agree. A suit for a male or female presenter is never out of place. And don't wear running shoes with your suit.

"Even if your audience is dressed in jeans, you are not likely to offend them because you're wearing a suit. Most audiences expect that a salesperson or consultant will dress more formally."

We agree--you can't really go wrong with a conservative suit.

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SUPPORT YOUR PRESENTATION WITH DATA

"One thing new presenters need to keep in mind is that one should always have data to support any assertion. Never say something is true unless you can prove it.

"This sounds simple, but what often happens is that people will make a statement they believe is common knowledge. This is acceptable only if you're absolutely sure every audience member understands the statement and agrees it is true. If you can't be sure of that, be prepared to prove your statement."

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RAINBOW TEXT IN POWERPOINT

"Have you tried the rainbow fill color in PowerPoint WordArt? I have found this very effective in some slide shows."

To do this, choose Insert, Pictures, WordArt, and look through the selections, you'll see one that uses a rainbow color scheme. Double-click the rainbow sample to insert it into your slide.

You aren't limited to the rainbow selection offered in the WordArt Gallery--you can use a rainbow fill with any WordArt selection. To check this out, choose Insert, Pictures, WordArt and choose the first selection in the dialog box--black and white only. Now choose Format, WordArt. When the dialog box opens, click the Colors And Lines tab.

Now click the arrow at the right of the Color list box to expand the list. Choose Fill Effects and then click the Gradient tab. Select the radio button labeled Preset and click the arrow at the right side of the Preset Colors list box. Select either Rainbow or Rainbow II (whichever you prefer), then click OK. When you get back to the Format WordArt dialog box, click OK again.

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CONNECT THE LINES IN FREELANCE GRAPHICS

If you've drawn some lines that don't connect in a Freelance slide, and now you want to connect them, you don't have to redraw anything. Click one of the lines to select it. Now hold down Shift while you select the other line. Next, choose Drawing, Connect Lines. Like magic, Freelance will connect the two lines.

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BLANK THE SCREEN DURING A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

"At times I need to pause my slide show during a presentation. I don't like to just leave the slide sitting on screen, because the audience looks at the slide and pays little attention to what I have to say. Is there a way to blank the screen when I want to pause a slide show?"

Yes. If you simply press B (the case doesn't matter), PowerPoint will display a completely black screen. To display the slide again, press any key.

You can use the same method to pause Freelance Graphics slide shows--just press B.

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ADD VARIETY TO SLIDE SHOWS

"Once you create a very successful slide show, take care to avoid making all your slide shows too much like that successful one. If you present a lot before the same audience, people will begin to notice that all your slide shows are very similar. A neat trick that worked well the first time gets boring after a while. Keep looking for new ideas and avoid falling into a rut."

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ADD A NEW SLIDE IN COREL PRESENTATIONS "I was a PowerPoint user until a few weeks ago. Now I use Corel Presentations. It was very easy to insert a new slide in PowerPoint--you would press Ctrl-M, then Enter. Is there a way to do the same thing in Corel Presentations?"

In Corel Presentations, the easiest way to add a new slide is to press Ctrl-Enter.

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STICK TO THE POINT

"Why do so many presenters try to present what sounds like a subject's entire body of knowledge in a single presentation? As a rule, a presentation isn't an all-day event. Stick to a single topic. If you ramble all over the place, you only confuse the audience."

Stick to the point and you won't go wrong.

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SPECIAL EFFECTS IN COREL SLIDE SHOWS

"Some time back, you ran a tip on reversing the colors in a Corel Presentations picture. I don't understand how to do this. Could you cover this topic again?"

Sure can. Open a blank slide and choose Insert, Graphics, ClipArt. Select one of the black-and-white drawings and drag the picture to your slide. Now click the picture to select it, then click the Reverse Colors button in the toolbar (the icon shows a small blue rectangle beside a gray rectangle).

To put the object back in its original form, click the Reverse Colors button again.

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MOVE TO A NEW WINDOW IN POWERPOINT

"I often have two or three different slide shows loaded in PowerPoint. To switch between them, I choose Windows and then select the file I want to use. But I just discovered that you can move to a new window in PowerPoint by simply pressing Ctrl-Tab. I consider this a great timesaver and thought you might like to pass it along."

Walter is certainly correct--when you have more than one slide show loaded in PowerPoint, you can switch to another file by pressing Ctrl-Tab.

Those of you who use Corel Presentations or Freelance Graphics can use the same technique to switch between loaded files.

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FIND YOUR CENTER IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Reader Rudy V. has a Corel Presentations question: "I know how to draw a perfect circle in Corel Presentations (hold down Shift while you draw the circle). Now I need to place a dot at the exact center of the circle. Any suggestions?"

First, make sure the Tools Palette is available. Choose View, Toolbars and select Tools Palette. Now click the Circle tool (it looks like a circle) and draw a circle. Click the Circle tool again and draw a very small circle inside the first circle. Press Ctrl-A to select both circles. Next, click the Graphics button (at the top of the Tools Palette) and choose Align Objects, Center Both.

The small circle will appear in the center of the large circle.

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USE KEYSTROKES TO INSERT A NEW SLIDE IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

"Is there a set of keystrokes you can use to insert a new slide in Corel Presentations?"

Yes, there is. All you have to do is press Ctrl-Enter, and Corel Presentations inserts a new slide.

While we're on the subject, to insert a new slide in PowerPoint, press Ctrl-M, then press Enter to insert a slide just like the current one.

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RUN A SLIDE SHOW IN POWERPOINT AND FREELANCE WITHOUT OPENING PROGRAMS

"I have several slide shows I would like to run without first opening PowerPoint. If I double-click the show's icon, PowerPoint opens and displays the first slide in development mode. I don't want my audience to see this. Can you suggest something?"

Try this: Run Windows Explorer and locate your slide show file. Right-click the icon and choose Show. PowerPoint opens and runs your slide show. When the show finishes, PowerPoint closes. Your audience never sees the PowerPoint working window at all.

If you don't want your audience to see Explorer running, place a shortcut to the file on your desktop. Then, when you're ready to start the show, right-click the shortcut and choose Show.

You can run a Freelance Graphics slide show in the same manner. Run Windows Explorer and go to \Lotus\Work\flg. To run your show, right-click its icon and choose Screen Show. Freelance Graphics opens and starts your slide show. After the last slide, the show closes, displaying the Freelance Graphics environment. If you don't want your audience to see this, you could add a simple slide saying "The End" and just leave it onscreen until the audience exits.

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HIDE OBJECTS IN POWERPOINT

When you have a number of animated objects in a single PowerPoint slide, you can improve the effect if you hide objects you no longer need.

Let's see how to do this. Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Picture ClipArt. When the Clip Gallery opens, double-click a picture to insert it and close the Gallery.

Now let's animate the picture. Right-click the picture and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Effects tab. Next, click the arrow at the right side of the Entry Animation list box and select Fly From Left. Click the Timing tab and select the Animate and Automatically radio buttons. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your selections.

When you run the show (choose Slide Show, View Show), your object flies onto the slide from the left. Now let's make the picture disappear with a single click.

Click the Rectangle tool in the Drawing toolbar (its icon is a rectangle). Use the mouse to draw a rectangle over your animated picture. Now you need to set the rectangle color to match your background. For this example, the background is white. Click the arrow at the right side of the Fill Color button in the Drawing toolbar. When the Fill Color menu opens, select white.

Next you need to eliminate the lines that make up the rectangle. To do this, click the arrow at the right side of the Line Color button and select No Line from the menu.

Finally, right-click the rectangle and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Effects tab. Click the arrow at the right side of the Entry Animation list box, then select Appear from the list. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.

Now run the slide show by choosing Slide Show, View Show. The animated picture flies in from the left. When you are finished viewing the picture, simply click the mouse button. The figure disappears because the white rectangle you've created appears over it.

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HIDE FREELANCE GRAPHICS OBJECTS

Let's look at how to hide objects in Freelance Graphics presentations. Run Freelance Graphics and open a blank slide. Next click ClipArt and insert a picture.

Now let's animate the picture. Right-click the picture and choose Group Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Screen Show tab. Select the Display Page First, Then Display Object and After radio buttons. Click the arrow at the right side of the Transition list box and select one of the transitions. Click the X at the upper right corner of the Properties dialog box to close it.

Click Drawing & Text. Select the rectangle and use the mouse to draw your rectangle over the ClipArt picture. Right-click the rectangle's border and choose Rectangle Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Color, Pattern, And Line Style tab. Under Border, click the arrow at the right side of the Style list box. From the list, select None.

Under Interior, click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern list box. Select solid black. Next click the arrow at the right side of the Pattern Color list box and select the current background color (for this example, select white).

Click the Screen Show tab now, and select the Display Page First, Then Display Object and After radio buttons. For the time delay, enter 3 seconds. Now click the arrow at the right side of the Transition dialog box and select Appear from the list. To close the Properties dialog box, click the X in the upper right corner.

To view the slide show, press Alt-F11. Your ClipArt picture appears (using whatever animation effect you chose). Then, after 3 seconds, the white rectangle appears over the picture, hiding it from view.

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ANIMATE OBJECT COLOR IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

"I ran across an animation effect in Corel Presentations that I would like to pass along.

"If you would like to have an object slowly change color, you can make as many copies of the object as necessary, and then use the Fade animation to create a gradual color change on a single slide."

Let's take a look at what Betty is talking about. Run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Shape, Rectangle. Size the rectangle and then click the Foreground Fill Color button in the Corel Presentations toolbar (the button's icon looks like a bucket of paint pouring into a container). Select a color and press Ctrl-C to copy the rectangle. Press Ctrl-V to paste the rectangle over the existing rectangle. Click the new rectangle to select it and then select a new color as described previously.

Now press Ctrl-A to select both rectangles. Right-click the visible rectangle and choose Object Animation. When the Object Properties dialog box opens, select the Animate Object In Place radio button. From the Effects list, select Fade, then select the Slow radio button. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your changes.

Finally, click QuickPlay (at the right side of the Corel Presentations window) to view your animation.

You can use as many colored rectangles as you wish to achieve the effect you need.

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WATCH YOUR STANCE IN A PRESENTATION

"When you are presenting, you need to watch your posture. You should always stand straight and keep your feet very slightly apart. If your feet are too close together, you appear stiff and formal. On the other hand, if your feet are too far apart, you may appear confrontational. Placing the feet too far apart is something more likely in men than in women. When men stand with their feet too far apart, it always makes me think of John Wayne in the midst of a gunfight."

Shelly is correct--many men habitually stand with their feet too far apart when making presentations. The audience may very well interpret this as an aggressive posture.

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USE SPECIAL FILL EFFECTS IN POWERPOINT CHARTS

"I recently ran across an ideal chart type for a PowerPoint presentation. Under Custom Types in the Chart Type dialog box, I saw one named Outdoor Bars. I selected it, and my chart bars took on the appearance of wood. This is ideal for me, since I work for a lumber company. The only problem is that I really need a column chart rather than a horizontal bar chart. Is there any way to get this wood effect in a column chart?"

Yes, there is. In fact, you can use almost any fill effect you want in a column chart. Run PowerPoint and choose Insert, Chart. When the chart appears, right-click one of the columns and choose Format Data Series. When the Format Data Series dialog box opens, click the Patterns tab (if necessary), then click Fill Effects.

When the Fill Effects dialog box appears, click the Texture button. Now scroll down to the bottom of the texture list and you'll see several textures that resemble wood. Select one of these, then click OK to accept your selection and close the dialog box. Back in Format Data Series, click OK again to close this dialog box and save your changes.

Repeat this procedure for each series in the chart. The default chart, which we used for this example, contains three series.

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SELECT AN OBJECT IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

"I have often had some difficulty in selecting objects drawn in Corel Presentations. I discovered a few weeks ago that you have to click the lines. Clicking the object in the center will not select it."

You are correct, Will, but this is only true of unfilled objects. For example, if you run Corel Presentations, choose Insert, Shape, Rectangle, and draw a rectangle, that rectangle appears filled by default. In this case, you can click anywhere in the rectangle to select it.

To see what Will has run into, right-click the new rectangle and choose Object Properties. When the Object Properties dialog box opens, click the Fill tab, then select None (the big X at the left side of the Fill Style toolbar). Click OK to close the dialog box and keep your new selection.

Now you will find that you must click the line to select the rectangle.

Note that PowerPoint and Freelance Graphics also require you to click the line to select an unfilled object.

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PASS OUT WRITTEN MATERIALS AT THE END

We recently attended a presentation on how to deal with stress in the workplace. The presentation was excellent, but the presenter spoiled everything by passing out copies of the entire presentation before the slide show began. The audience began reading the handouts before the slide show even started and continued to read during the entire presentation. Nobody paid the slightest attention to the presenter.

Don't make this mistake. Whenever possible, don't pass out any written material until the end of your presentation.

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KEEP YOUR SLIDES IN PERSPECTIVE

"It is very important to keep perspective in mind when creating a slide. Many new slide-show designers seem to think that making figures smaller is enough to create the illusion of distance. This is not so. To create an appearance of distance, you must make a figure smaller and move it up as well.

"For example, suppose you draw a stick figure at the bottom edge of a slide. Then you want to create another stick figure that looks as though it is some distance behind the first figure. If you draw the small figure at the bottom of the slide, it looks like a child standing next to an adult. To create a sense of distance, you have to move the smaller figure up toward the center of the page.

"Of course, you should also use a background picture that suggests distance to make the illusion complete."

You can also allow one figure to overlap the other slightly. This further enhances the appearance of distance and depth.

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KEEP IT SIMPLE

"I have seen people spend many hours creating nearly perfect drawings. Although these drawings look good and may well impress an audience, this is not usually the point of a presentation. I have found that very simple figures work very well in most presentations.

"If you need to show people, you can use stick figures, or figures made up of a series of ovals. Buildings can be boxes with windows and a triangle for the roof. A few rectangles and circles make an acceptable automobile.

"The goal, in my opinion, is to convey your message to the audience. I have had very good luck doing this with simple figures."

It's a good point. However, you need to be careful about mixing various types of drawings. For example, if you use very detailed ClipArt for most of your slide, a simple automobile may not fit in well.

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HOW TO USE CHARTS IN YOUR PRESENTATIONS

It is often very tempting to use fancy charts in a presentation. For example, you may decide to use a radar chart because you think it looks impressive. Or you might decide to create your own chart, using boxes to represent sales volume.

The entire purpose of a chart is to help the audience understand what you have to present. Before you use any chart, standard or nonstandard, make sure it will actually help the audience see your point.

If you use something like a radar chart for an audience of engineers, you may have no problems at all. Perhaps it's just what the engineers need. But if you expect to present the same slides to a management audience, you are probably better off using a simple column chart.

We attended a presentation a few years ago in which the presenter made heavy use of radar (and other) charts. You could see the audience pondering the charts, struggling to see the point.

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DRAW OVER A PHOTO IN POWERPOINT

"I need to use a photograph in one of my slides, and I would like to draw circles to highlight certain points in the photo during the presentation. Is this possible?"

Yes, it is possible. Let's say you have a photo on a slide. With the photo in place, choose Slide Show, Set Up Show. When the Set Up Show dialog box opens, select the check box labeled Presented By A Speaker (Full Screen), then click OK to close the dialog box and record your selections.

Choose Slide Show, View Show to open your slide in full-screen view. Click the button in the lower-left corner of the screen and choose Pen. Now you can use the mouse to draw on your photograph.

The default pen color is black. If this doesn't work well with your photo, you can change the color. Just click the button again, choose Pointer Options, Pen Color, and select a new color from the Color submenu. You can now draw using the new color.

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CREATE AN ANIMATED INTERMISSION SLIDE IN POWERPOINT

"I like to use some kind of animated slide show before the presentation begins, and then again at intermission. I have used several of the animated slides you've discussed in the past. However, I wanted to see what I could do with a single slide. I had to make a presentation at a photographic arts company, so I decided to show a few figures taking pictures on my intermission slide. If you would like to try it, this is how I created the slide.

"Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. I selected a cartoon picture of a woman. At this point, I inserted a camera image from one of my ClipArt discs. (I did not see a camera in the PowerPoint Clip Gallery.) Next I located a cartoon of the sun in the Microsoft Office Clip Gallery and placed it in front of the camera's flash unit.

"What I wanted to do was have the camera flash (along with the sound of a camera clicking), then have the flash appear to illuminate the cartoon person. To do this, I decided to make a copy of the ClipArt person and then have the figure flash lighter when the camera took a picture.

"To do this, right-click the picture and choose Copy. Press Ctrl-V to paste the copy onto the slide. When you select the copy, the floating Picture toolbar will appear. In the toolbar, click the Image Control button (the second button from the left side) and choose Watermark. This makes the picture appear washed out.

"Now move the copy over the original picture. Click the new picture, then press Shift and click the flash (the sun cartoon). Choose Draw, Group to group the two. Right-click the new group and choose Custom Animation. When the dialog box opens, click the Effects tab and select Flash Once, Medium from the Entry Animation list box. From the Sound list box, select Camera.

"Click the Timing tab, and select the Animate and Automatically radio buttons. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings.

"Choose Slide Show, Slide Transition. When the Slide Transition dialog box opens, select the Automatically After check box and enter 2 or 3 seconds. Click Apply to apply your selection and close the dialog box.

"Finally, choose Slide Show, Set Up Show and select the radio buttons labeled Browsed At A Kiosk (Full Screen) and Using Timings, If Present. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your settings.

"Now you can choose Slide Show, View Show to start the show. The animation will repeat over and over again until you press Esc to stop it."

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ANIMATE TITLES IN COREL PRESENTATIONS SLIDES

"I would like to have the title of a slide show fade in after the first slide appears onscreen. However, I have not found any way at all to apply animation to the title. Could you please offer some advice? I know it will turn out to be so simple that I will be embarrassed about not finding it myself."

Don't feel embarrassed--there is no way to animate a title entered into a placeholder. But you can delete the placeholder and just enter the text for your title, then animate that any way you want.

To do this, run Corel Presentations. Click the dotted line of the placeholder labeled Double-Click To Add Title and press Delete. Now choose Insert, Text Line and click where you want the title to appear. With the text line still selected, choose Format, Font. When the Font Properties dialog box opens, select the font and size you want, then click OK to close the dialog box and apply your selections.

Type your title and use the mouse to position it exactly. Right-click the title and choose Object Animation. When the Object Properties dialog box appears, select the desired animation. Click OK to accept the setting and close the dialog box.

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WATCH WHAT YOU DRINK DURING A PRESENTATION

"One thing all presenters learn over the years is that you should watch what you drink before and during a presentation.

"If you have a very long presentation, you should try to hold down the amount of liquid you drink before the presentation begins. It goes without saying that alcoholic beverages are a very bad idea.

"During a lengthy presentation, you will probably suffer from a dry throat. Keep a small glass of water handy and sip only a small amount as needed. Avoid any kind of carbonated beverage. As many presenters can testify from embarrassing experience, carbonated beverages will make you burp."

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VIEW GRID LINES IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

"I know that grid lines exist in Corel Presentations slides--I can see objects snap to the grid when I move them. However, I would like to see these lines while I work. Is it possible to get Corel Presentations to display the lines?"

Many people find that visible grid lines help during the design phase of a slide show. To view the grid lines in Corel Presentations, choose View, Grid/Guides/Snap, Display Grid.

If you want to turn the lines off later, again choose View, Grid/Guides/Snap, Display Grid to toggle it off.

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USE UPPERCASE WITH CAUTION IN SLIDE-SHOW TEXT

Be very careful of how much you use capitalization in your slide presentations. We saw a presentation a few weeks ago that was ruined because the presenter used uppercase for all the text.

Text placed in all caps is harder to read and often conveys the impression that one is trying to shout at the audience. When you want to emphasize certain text, you are almost always better off if you select another color or use boldface--anything but all caps.

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USE BLEND FEATURE IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

"I have been trying to use Blend in a Corel Presentations slide. As I understand it, Blend should fill in the space between objects. A friend told me you should select three objects, then choose Tools, Blend, but when I do this, the Blend command is grayed out. Could you explain how to use Blend properly?"

We certainly can. Your problem is that you can select only two objects. If you select more (or fewer), the Blend command won't function.

To try this, run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Graphics, ClipArt. Drag a picture to your slide and then drag another copy of the same picture to the slide. You can close the Scrapbook now (click the X in the upper-right corner).

Next use the mouse to make one of the pictures significantly smaller than the other. Place the two objects at opposite sides of the slide and click one to select it. Hold down Ctrl and click the other picture. With both pictures selected, choose Tools, Blend. When the Blend dialog box opens, enter the number of objects you want to appear between the two selected pictures. Click OK to close the dialog box and continue.

Corel Presentations now creates the selected number of objects between the two pictures, sizing the new pictures progressively smaller as it moves toward the smallest of your original pictures.

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SELECT SMALL OBJECTS IN POWERPOINT SLIDES

"I have always had a problem when trying to select very small objects in PowerPoint slides. A few weeks ago, a friend showed me a technique she uses. Simply press the Tab key to select objects on the slide one at a time. Using this method, you can select even the tiniest objects."

This method does work quite well. Note that you can also use this method to select objects hidden behind other objects. For example, if you have a hidden object you would like to make visible, use the Tab key to select the object, then choose Draw, Order, Bring To Front.

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PRINT POWERPOINT SLIDES IN BLACK AND WHITE

"I use PowerPoint and have only a laser printer. Is there any way to make slides print well on a black-and-white printer? Most of my slides print out very dark."

Yes, you can print your slides in gray scale. To see how this works, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and select a picture. Size and position the picture to suit yourself. Click the picture to select it and choose View, Black And White. Right-click the picture and choose Black And White, Light Grayscale (this selection works best for us--you may prefer a different selection).

Finally, choose File, Print. When the Print dialog box opens, click OK to continue. If the figure looks too light on your printer, right-click the picture again and try another selection under the Black And White command.

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PRINT BLANKED-OUT OBJECTS IN POWERPOINT SLIDES

You can create blank objects in a PowerPoint slide to hide from view objects you no longer need on the slide. When printing the sheet out, though, sometimes lines still show up around the rectangles, even though they don't show up on the screen.

We find that the appearance of these lines depends on the printer driver you're using. If you run into this problem, open the Print dialog box and deselect the check box beside Black & White. This should correct the problem.

If you want to see whether those lines will print, click the Black & White button, or choose View, Black & White from the menu bar. If you see a line, it will print unless you correct it as described above.

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FADE EFFECT IN COREL PRESENTATIONS

Corel Presentations' Fade effect does a good job of letting you fade out one slide in your presentation as you're bringing up another.

To see how the Fade effect operates, run Corel Presentations and open a blank slide. Now choose Insert, Graphics, Clip Art and drag your selection to the slide. Next choose Insert, New Slide to insert a new blank slide. Add the ClipArt selection of your choice to this slide.

To create the fade effect, choose View, Slide Sorter. Right-click one of the slides and choose Transition. The Slide Properties dialog box will open at the Transition tab. In the Effects list, locate and select Fade. Select the radio button labeled Slow and then click the Display Sequence tab.

Now select the After A Delay Of radio button and enter your choice of times. Finally, select the check box labeled Apply To All Slides In Slide Show, then click OK to close the dialog box and apply your new settings to both slides.

When you run the slide show, you should see the fade effect.

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CREATE CUSTOM SOUNDS FOR POWERPOINT SLIDES

Have you run into problems while trying to record sounds to insert into a new PowerPoint slide show? Say you have a microphone attached to the sound card, but when you try to record sounds, you get nothing but a blank WAV file.

The most likely reason for this problem is that you haven't activated the microphone input. Double-click the speaker icon at the bottom right of the Windows taskbar. When the Volume Control dialog box opens, choose Options, Properties. Scroll through the list and locate Microphone. Select the check box to its left and then click OK.

Now the Microphone volume control will appear in the Volume Control dialog box. In the Microphone area of the dialog box, deselect the check box labeled Mute and choose Options, Exit to close the dialog box. You can now run Sound Recorder (c:\Windows\sndrec32.exe). When the Sound Recorder opens, click the Record button (the button with the red dot) and speak into the microphone. Note the pattern in the scope screen. If the pattern is very small, increase the Microphone volume in the Volume Control dialog box. If the pattern is too large (flattening out), open the Volume Control dialog box and reduce the Microphone volume.

With the volume set correctly, you can run PowerPoint and open the slide to which you want to add the sound. Choose Insert, Movies And Sounds, Record Sound. When the Record Sound dialog box opens, name your new sound and click the Record button. After you finish recording the sound, click the Stop button.

You may encounter some variations in these instructions, depending on your particular sound card.

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A FREELANCE GRAPHICS SLIDE ANIMATION

Here's an interesting animation to place on your start slide that shows an object growing slowly. Let's use a picture of a bag of money from Freelance Graphics ClipArt to illustrate the animation.

Insert your picture and reduce its size using the mouse. Click the image to select it, and drag the outline squares to size the ClipArt to your liking. Choose Group, Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Screen Show tab (its icon is a small movie projector). Next, click the arrow at the right side of the Transition list box and select Dissolve from the list. Make sure you select the After radio button and then close the dialog box (click the X in the upper right corner).

Now hold down Ctrl and use the mouse to drag away a copy of your picture. Right-click the copy and choose Object Size, Enlarge 20%. Next, hold down Ctrl and drag away a copy of the copy. Again, right-click and choose Object Size, Enlarge 20%. Continue this procedure until you have all the increasingly larger pictures you need.

To set up the remainder of the animation effect, press Ctrl-A to select all the objects on the slide. Now choose Collection, Align. When the Align Objects dialog box opens, select the Center On A Point radio button. Next, select the Center On Page check box. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your selections.

You can now press Alt-F10 to run your slide. I chose the Dissolve effect because it makes the picture appear to grow slowly. Initially, I tried using one of the Flash effects, but it looked more like the object was moving closer to the viewer.

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TWO WAYS TO RUN POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOWS

You can run a PowerPoint slide show without opening the PowerPoint editing view: Just locate the slide show file, right-click its icon, and then choose Show. Here's a different way to start a show without going through the editing view:

By default, PowerPoint slide shows have the extension .ppt, but if you want your shows to open and run automatically, you can change the extension to .pps. This is especially helpful, for example. when you want to e-mail a show to someone who isn't very familiar with PowerPoint. All they have to do is double-click the file and the show will run.

To do this, run Windows Explorer and locate your file. Right-click the icon and choose Rename. When the name highlights, just press Backspace once at the end of the name and type

s

where the last letter was, changing the extension to .pps. When you press Enter, you'll get a dialog box asking if you really want to change the extension. Click Yes to continue.

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KEEP YOUR PRESENTATIONS ON SCHEDULE

We've noticed that many presenters tend to let their timing slide. Frequent audience members can become quite frustrated when a one-hour presentation lasts two hours.

We suggest that you approach your presentation as if you're doing a TV show. You have a specific time allotment, and when that time ends, so does the show. Practice your presentation so you know how long it takes. If you expect to have a question period, state the time limit up front and stick with it.

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