Stepping up Your Productivity


No discussion of advanced features would be complete without a few helpful parting productivity tips. These will help you save some time and effort.

Create a Master Slide

Master slides help set the overall look and feel of your presentation. They can also save time by putting commonly repeated objects on a "master" slide that functions as a basic slide template for the whole presentation. All slides display what is on the master slide. Common information on a master slide might be a company name, a corporate logo, or a copyright notice.

Make changes to the master slide by clicking the View tab on the main Impress toolbar, followed by the Master menu item, and finally Slide Master. You can then insert text, graphics, and so on into the slide using the various tools and insert menus. Remember that whatever you put on the master slide shows up on all the other slides, so it may take a little jockeying to get everything in the right spot.

Add a Background Image

Using a background color, pattern, or image on your slides can make them more appealing and professional. It can also help set the theme for your entire slide show. While you can set a background for just one slide, you also have the choice of applying a selected background to the whole presentation.

To do this, select Format > Page on the main toolbar. You can then click the Background tab to make changes. Your choices include filling a background with a color, a gradient, a crosshatch, or a bitmap image. Try a few of the backgrounds to get a feel for what they look like in your slides. To undo a background, select Edit > Undo on the main toolbar.

Choosing a background color.

If you'd like to add a custom background, such as a picture or graphical image, insert the image on your master slide. Select View > Master > Master Slide to get to the edit screen. Select Insert > Picture > From File to get a list of pictures. Use the arrow keys to move to the folder that contains your desired image.

The menu for choosing a background image.

Double-click the image to insert it into your slide. Highlight the image and drag its edge to the desired size. Keep in mind that a vivid, complicated scene may make reading the text on the slide difficult. You might want to use images that are very light or have been "washed out" so that you can see the information contained on your slides.

Hard-to-read text.

Back up Your Slides with Transparencies

Sometimes, bad things happen to laptops, projectors, and slide show presentations. A good way to be prepared in case of disaster is to print your entire slide show on transparent film for use with an overhead projector. Just load transparent film into your color printer and use the Print button under the File tab on the main toolbar.




Point & Click OpenOffice. org.
Point & Click OpenOffice.org
ISBN: 0131879928
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 143
Authors: Robin Miller

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