PowerPoint Lesson 1: Part 1 (Launching PowerPoint & PowerPoint Interface)
Microsoft PowerPoint is a software package that is used to create and edit presentation slides. It is the dominant application around the world for such tasks. It is a component of the Microsoft Office Suite, alongside other famous applications like Word, Excel, and Access amongst others. In this document we will introduce you to the PowerPoint interface, its key features and how to locate and launch it.
Please note that the way in which the primary interface is arranged may vary slightly depending on the actual version of PowerPoint you have installed on your computer. It is assumed that you already have some version of PowerPoint installed.
Launching PowerPoint
PowerPoint can be launched by simply clicking the icon on your Task Bar (bottom of screen):
OR by searching for it from the menu search bar (bottom of screen):
Type “PowerPoint” into the search box and you will see:
AssignmentTutorOnline
Click here.
In either case, PowerPoint will be launched and you should now see:
Select the first option – Blank Presentation – which will open up a new presentation. In this document we will merely familiarize ourselves with the key features of the PowerPoint interface. Creating, editing, saving, and printing presentations plus many other issues, will be covered in detail in subsequent sessions. So, let’s get started.
The PowerPoint Interface
The first default, blank slide.
The ‘Design Ideas’ on the right-hand side will not be covered here and so you can click the cross and get rid of these, to leave the following blank slide…
You type text into these boxes.
We will now showcase the key features of PowerPoint that you need to know about. We will not attempt to describe all or even most of the menu options – just those you need to get up-and-running.
The HOME menu is where you start by default when you open PowerPoint:
To add more slides and pick a specific layout, click either the ‘New Slide’ or ‘Layout’ options…
The INSERT menu is where you can add whole sides, text, equations, tables, images, animations, shapes etc. to your slides at any time. The sub-menu items are self-explanatory, and we will be using them in later sessions.
The DESIGN menu allows you to select a pre-configured design from a wide range of options.
The TRANSITIONS menu allows you to closely control how each slide appears in the presentation after the previous one. In later sessions you will play around with these to make your slides more eye-catching and interesting.
The ANIMATIONS menu does what it says- it allows you to slot in animated objects. More on this in later sessions.
The SLIDE SHOW menu is very important because it allows you organize the flow of the presentation, specify start and stop points and to run the presentation as a show and see how it will look to your audience. You can also add narration and ‘talk over’ your slides.
The REVIEW menu allows you to check spelling and add comments amongst other things.
The VIEW menu allows you to look at the slides from different perspectives:
You can also add rules, grid patterns, zoom in and out, look at associated handout formats and lots more. You will cover many of these in later sessions.
The HELP menu does what it says it does. Explore at your leisure.
The FILE menu is the one you need to save, print out or start a fresh presentation.
Practice Tasks
Locate PowerPoint on your computer.
Launch PowerPoint.
Play around and explore the various menu options and their sub-menus.
No need to save anything yet – just shut down PowerPoint when you are done.
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