A typical data file that consists of slides and equipped with text, audio, graphics, video and such other elements is known as a presentation.


Microsoft Office Power Point is a Windows based presentation software that allows the user to create exciting data presentation that can contain text, audio, graphics, video etc.


Components of MS PowerPoint:

Components of MS Power Point are as follows: -


1. Title Bar – uppermost bar showing presentation name and contains Minimise, Maximise, and Close buttons.


2. Quick Access Toolbar – a small bar adjoining left to title bar containing Save, Undo and Repeat buttons.


3. File Tab – it contains various options such as New, Open, Save, Save As, Print etc.


4. Ribbon – it is located just below the Title Bar. It contains various tabs such as:


a) Home Tab – it contains general editing related to Font, Paragraph, Drawing, Editing, Slides, and Clipboard.


b) Insert Tab – using insert tab you can enter and manage various elements such as images, illustrations, links, comments, text, symbols, media (audio, video, screen recording), tables and slides.


c) Design Tab – it provides various background themes, variants and customisation options for the presentation or each slide.


d) Transitions Tab – it provides various transition options for the slides and the option to set timing for the same.


e) Animations Tab – it provides various animation options for the enhancement of the presentation and also the option to set timings for the same. Animation means operating style of the slides while the presentation is running. Fade, Dissolve, Wipe, Wedge etc. are some of the commonly used animations


f) Slide Show – this tab provides options for slideshow like:

  1. From Beginning.
  2. From Current Slide.
  3. Custom Side Show.
  4. Present Online.

and options to set up slide show according to your requirements.


g) Review Tab – this tab provides various language related operations like translate, spelling check, thesaurus, adding and deleting comments, compare etc.


h) View Tab – this tab provides presentation views, master views, zoom options, colour/grayscale options, window related options and macros.


5. Work Area – the area of the slide in which a user is able to enter the data. It consists of text boxes. By default, there are two text boxes in a slide (Title Text Box and Subtitle Text Box).


6. Slides/Thumbnails Tab – it is located at the left of the work area, showing information about the presentation or the particular slide you are working on.


7. Status Bar – it is located at the bottom of the presentation showing current slide number, different view options (normal, reading, slide show), and zoom options.


8. Notes Tab – located in the status bar, it allows users to add notes related to any slide in the presentation.


Features of MS PowerPoint:

Features of MS PowerPoint are as follows: -


1. Slide Layout –

Multiple options and layouts are available based on which a presentation can be created.

This option is available under the “Home” section and one can select from multiple layout options provided.


Steps to Select a Layout include: -

  1. Click the “Home” Tab on the ribbon.
  2. Click the “Layout” button in the “Slides” group.
  3. The Layout gallery appears.
  4. Select the Layout you want to use.
  5. The new layout is applied to the slide.


2. Insert – ClipArt, Video, Audio etc. –

Under the Insert Tab, multiple options are available where one can choose what feature they want to insert in their presentation.

This may include images, audio, video, header, footer, symbols, shapes etc.


3. Slide Design –

MS PowerPoint has various themes using which background colour and design or texture can be added to a slide.

This makes the presentation more colourful and attractive. 


4. Animations –

During the slide show, the slide appears on the screen one after the other.

Various animation styles available in PowerPoint are Fly In, Float In, Wipe, None etc.


Creating a New Presentation:

Steps to create a new presentation include: -

  1. Click the file tab on the ribbon.
  2. Select “New”.
  3. Click on “Blank Presentation” option or any theme/template of your choice.


Alternatively,

Press <Ctrl>+<N>.


Opening a Presentation:

Steps to open an existing presentation include: -

  1. Click the File Tab.
  2. Select Open.
  3. Choose from the recently opened files or locate the file you want to open using “Browse” option.


Alternatively,

Press <Ctrl>+<O>, and follow the (ii) and (iii) step.


Printing a Presentation:

  1. Click the File Tab.
  2. Select Print.
  3. Specify printing options like number pf copies, colour etc.
  4. Click Print.


Alternatively,

Press <Ctrl>+<P>, and follow the (iii) and (iv) step.


Inserting Slides:

Steps to insert a slide include: -

  1. Select Home Tab on the Ribbon.
  2. Click New Slide button in the Slides Group.

A new slide is added to the presentation.

You can also choose from different types of slides by opening “Drop-down” from the New Slides option in the Slides group.


Alternatively,

Press <Ctrl>+<M>. A new slide is added to the presentation.


Deleting a Slide:

Steps to delete a slide include: -

  1. Go to the Slides Tab.
  2. Right-Click the slide you want to delete.
  3. Press Delete.

The slide is deleted.


Editing the Text:

Select the text you want to edit. Go to the Font Group in the Home Tab. There are various options such as –

  1. Font style
  2. Font colour
  3. Font size
  4. Bold, Italic, Underline, Text Shadow, Strikethrough
  5. Character Spacing
  6. Type of Case (Upper Case, Lower Case etc.)

Edit the text as per your requirements.


Inserting Objects:

MS Power Point offers a variety of objects to make the presentation more attractive.

Steps to insert various objects are as follows: -


1. Table –

  1. Go to Insert Tab.
  2. Click on Table in the Tables Group.
  3. Select the number of rows and columns.

The table is inserted accordingly.


2. Picture –

  1. Go to Insert Tab.
  2. Click on Pictures in the Images Group.
  3. Insert Picture Dialog Box appears.
  4. Select the file/picture you want to insert.
  5. Click on Insert.

The picture is inserted.


3. Clip Art –

  1. Go to Insert Tab.
  2. Click on Online Pictures in the Images Tab. A window or pane will appear.
  3. Type a word or phrase describing the clipart you're looking for (e.g., "dog," "computer") and press Enter. 
  4. Choose the image you want and click the insert button.


4. Word Art –

  1. Go to Insert Tab.
  2. Click on Word Art in the Text Group.
  3. Choose your Style.
  4. Enter Text.


5. Photo Album –

  1. Go to Insert Tab.
  2. Click on Photo Album in the Images Group.
  3. Photo Album Dialog Box appears.
  4. Click on “Insert Picture from: File/Disk”
  5. Select pictures.
  6. Click on Create.

Photo Album is created.


6. Shapes –

  1. Go to the Insert Tab.
  2. Click on Shapes in the Illustrations Group.
  3. Drop-down list appears.
  4. Select any shape.
  5. Draw it using cursor.


7. Smart Art –

A SmartArt graphic is a visual representation of your information and ideas. You create one by choosing a layout that fits your message. Some layouts (such as organization charts and Venn diagrams) portray specific kinds of information, while others simply enhance the appearance of a bulleted list.

Combined with other features such as themes, SmartArt graphics help you create designer-quality illustrations with only a few clicks of your mouse.

Steps: -

  1. Go to Insert Tab.
  2. Click on Smart Art in the Illustrations Group.
  3. Smart Art Dialog Box appears.
  4. Select your Style.
  5. Enter Text.


8. Chart –

A chart is better at presenting information than numbers in a table.

  1. Go to Insert Tab.
  2. Click on Chart in the Illustrations Group.
  3. Insert Chart Dialog Box appears.
  4. Select Style.
  5. Press OK.
  6. MS Excel Window showing default data will appear.
  7. Make required changes.
  8. Changes are applied accordingly.
  9. Chart is Inserted.


9. Date and Time –

  1. Go to Insert Tab.
  2. Click on Date & Time in the Text Group.
  3. Header and Footer Dialog Box appears.
  4. Click on the check box for Date and Time.
  5. Do the changes, if required.
  6. Press Apply/Apply to All as per your requirements.


10. Header and Footer –


For Header:

  1. Go to Insert Tab.
  2. Click on Header and Footer in the Text Group.
  3. Header and Footer Dialog Box appears.
  4. Click on Notes and Handouts.
  5. Select Header.
  6. Enter Text.
  7. Press OK.

Header is inserted.


For Footer:

  1. Go to Insert Tab.
  2. Click on Header and Footer in the Text Group.
  3. Header and Footer Dialog Box appears.
  4. Select Footer.
  5. Enter Text.
  6. Press OK.

Footer is inserted.


11. Audio –

  1. To use audio files saved on your computer, following are the steps: -
  2. Click on Insert Tab.
  3. Click the Audio button list arrow in the media group.
  4. A list of option appears.
  5. Select Audio from File option.
  6. The Insert Audio Dialog Box appears.
  7. Navigate to the file you want to insert.
  8. Select the file and click inset.
  9. An audio icon appears in the middle of the slide. You can move the icon to a less noticeable location.


Placeholder in MS Power Point:

Every slide has one or more areas called “Placeholder”, where we can insert text.

Placeholders are hard to miss since they are labelled “Click to Add Title” or “Click to Add Subtitle” and are extremely easy to work with.

Placeholders grow and shrink to accommodate any text that the user enters.


Steps to insert placeholders include: -

  1. Click the View tab on the PowerPoint ribbon.
  2. Select Slide Master.
  3. Select a Slide Layout. In the left thumbnail pane, click on the specific slide layout where you want to add the placeholder.
  4. On the Slide Master tab, find and click the Insert Placeholder button.
  5. From the dropdown menu, select the type of placeholder you need, such as Text, Picture, or Chart.
  6. Your cursor will change to a crosshair. Click on the layout and drag to create the desired size and shape for your placeholder.
  7. Click the Close Master View button on the Slide Master tab to return to your normal presentation view. 


Views in MS Power Point:

Different types of views in MS Power Point are as follows: -


1. Normal View – it is the default view in MS Power Point.


2. Slide Sorter – displays all the slides of the presentation in the thumbnail form.it is used to rearrange slides.


3. Reading View – displays your presentation within the application window, rather than full screen, allowing you to access other applications and navigate your slides using on-screen controls or a pop-up menu in the lower-right corner.


4. Slide Show – displays the presentation as a proper full-screen slide show.


5. Notes Page – displays a small version of the currents slide and any notes that the user may have noted down, below the slide window.


Transition Effect in MS Power Point:

A transition is an animation that occurs when presentation advances from one slide to the next during a slide show.


Steps to add transition in a presentation are as follows: -

  1. Click the slide to which you want to add a transition effect.
  2. Click the Transition Tab on the Ribbon and Click the More button in the transition group.
  3. Select a transition effect from the gallery.


Animation in MS PowerPoint:

An animation effect is a pre-set visual effect that can be applied to the text or objects in a slide.


Steps to add an animation include: -

  1. Select the text or object you want to animate.
  2. Click the Animation Tab on the Ribbon and Click the More button in the Animation Group.
  3. The Animation Gallery appears.
  4. Select an animation effect from the list.


Extension for MS PowerPoint:

  1. Default Extension - .pptx
  2. Before 2007, extension was - .ppt
  3. Extension for PowerPoint slide show files - .pps


Short-Cut Keys:

Here are some short-cut keys, helping users use PowerPoint more conveniently and with ease:

  1. To open a new presentation – Ctrl+O
  2. To create a new presentation – Ctrl+N
  3. To save a new presentation – Ctrl+S
  4. To print the presentation – Ctrl+P
  5. To toggle Bold font formatting – Ctrl+B
  6. To toggle Italic font formatting – Ctrl+I
  7. To copy the selected text or object – Ctrl+C
  8. To paste the selected text or object – Ctrl+V
  9. To move to the first slide of the presentation – Ctrl+Home
  10. To move to the last slide of the presentation – Ctrl+End
  11. To insert a new slide – Ctrl+M
  12. Undo – Ctrl+Z
  13. Redo – Ctrl+Y
  14. To repeat a command – F4
  15. To open spelling dialog box – F7