Customizing Menu Commands


By default, PowerPoint menus tailor themselves to the way you work. Initially, only the most commonly used commands appear on the menus (see Figure 21.16). If you click the double arrows at the bottom of the menu or wait a few seconds, the menu expands to include other commands you have used rarely or not at all (see Figure 21.17). If you begin to use a command regularly, PowerPoint then adds that command as a regular menu item.

Figure 21.16. By default, PowerPoint shows only the most common menu commands along with recently used commands.

graphics/21fig16.jpg

Figure 21.17. Clicking the arrows at the bottom of a menu reveals all of its commands.

graphics/21fig17.gif

NOTE

Although customizing menus is activated by default in PowerPoint, this option can be turned off on the Options tab of the Customize dialog box (View, Toolbars , Customize).


You can further customize how menus work by changing menu options, adding or deleting menu commands, and even adding entirely new menu categories.

Changing Menu Options

You customize menu options using the same dialog box you use for customizing toolbars. Open the Customize dialog box by right-clicking the menu bar and choosing Customize. Then click the Options tab, which has the following options (see Figure 21.18):

  • Show Standard and Formatting Toolbars on Two Rows Select this option to display these two frequently used toolbars on separate rows; to save screen space, deselect this option to display both toolbars on one row. On high-resolution screens, you might be able to see all the buttons from both toolbars. On other screens, however, the toolbars are collapsed and you must click the More Buttons button to see and use the entire list of buttons.

  • Always Show Full Menus Select this check box to always show the full menu.

  • Show Full Menus After a Short Delay This option enables the full menu to appear after a few seconds. Otherwise , you must click the Expand button (the double arrows) at the bottom of the menu to see the entire menu.

  • Reset Menu and Toolbar Usage Data Suppose that you use a command quite often for a specific project, but don't otherwise use it very much. You can click this button to reset the history of your use of PowerPoint's commands so that only the default menu commands appear. You then begin establishing once again a history of commands as you use them.

  • Large Icons This option displays the buttons about four times larger than usual. You probably won't use this option unless you are visually impaired or you have a very high-resolution screen and have the room required for large buttons.

    TIP

    Although the Large Icons option takes up a lot of space, you can create a custom toolbar with a minimal set of buttons that fit on a single row. (See "Creating a New Toolbar" earlier in this chapter.)


  • List Font Names in Their Font PowerPoint displays font names in the toolbar font list using the actual fonts (see Figure 21.19). This might cause the list to appear slowly, especially on older, slower computers. To list them in a standard Windows font, deselect this option.

    Figure 21.19. Display font lists using the fonts themselves or a standard Windows font.

    graphics/21fig19.gif

  • Show ScreenTips on Toolbars When you point at a toolbar button, PowerPoint displays the button's name in a small colored box. This helps you identify the button if its icon doesn't give you enough of a clue. If you want to turn off this option, deselect this check box.

  • Show Shortcut Keys in ScreenTips If you prefer to use the keyboard whenever possible, but don't always know what keystroke to press for a particular function, select this check box. Then, whenever a toolbar button has an equivalent keystroke, the keystroke appears in the ScreenTip.

    TIP

    Although using the mouse might make it easier to find features and commands you don't often use, you can usually access commands more quickly by using keyboard equivalents. For example, if you're already typing, pressing Ctrl+S to save the presentation is faster than moving your hand to the mouse, and then finding and clicking the Save button on the toolbar. Use toolbar button ScreenTips to learn keystrokes that can save you time.


  • Menu Animations Use this drop-down list to control how menus appear. Choose Unfold to make menus slide out from the top left, Slide to make them slide out from the top, Fade to make them quickly fade in, or Random to randomly use any of these animations. You can also choose System Default to apply the default Windows setting for how menus appear.

Figure 21.18. Set menu options on the Options tab.

graphics/21fig18.gif

NOTE

All Microsoft Office programs share the settings in this dialog box. When you change a setting, you change it for all Office programs.


Creating a New Menu on the Menu Bar

If you find using menus easier than using toolbars, you can create and add your own menus to the menu bar. Suppose, for example, that you want your own Quick Stuff menu, using the letter Q as the hotkey. On that menu, you intend to add items from the Formatting toolbar because you plan not to display that toolbar.

NOTE

The menu bar functions and is modified in exactly the same way as toolbars. That is, not only can you add menu items to toolbars, but you can add commands to the menu bar as well. Information in preceding sections about modifying toolbars also applies to customizing menu bars.


To create a new menu and to add items to that menu, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Customize dialog box by right-clicking the menu and choosing Customize.

  2. Click the Commands tab in the Customize dialog box.

  3. Scroll to the bottom of the Categories list and click New Menu.

  4. Drag the New Menu button from the Commands list (see Figure 21.20) to the menu bar. You can place the button anywhere on the menu bar.

    Figure 21.20. Create new menu items and place them anywhere on a menu or toolbar.

    graphics/21fig20.gif

  5. Click the Modify Selection button. PowerPoint displays the Modify Selection menu (see Figure 21.21).

    Figure 21.21. The Modify Selection menu lets you customize new menus.

    graphics/21fig21.gif

  6. Choose Name and edit the text to change the name from "New Menu" to something more descriptive of the menu's purpose (for example, "My Menu"). If you want to make M the hotkey, place an ampersand (&) before the letter M . Press Enter or click anywhere outside the menu to close it.

  7. Next, locate the first button you want to add to the custom menu (for example, Format, Bold).

  8. Drag the command button to the new menu (for example, My Menu) and wait until a menu drops down. The first time you do this, the menu consists of nothing more than a blank gray square (see Figure 21.22).

    Figure 21.22. Drag and drop commands to the blank square beneath a new menu entry.

    graphics/21fig22.jpg

  9. Drop the command on the drop-down menu (or blank square). As you drag the button up and down the menu, a horizontal line indicates where you will drop the button.

  10. Repeat steps 79 until you have added the menu commands you want.

To remove a new menu or menu command, drag it off the menu bar when the Customize dialog box is open.



Special Edition Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
Special Edition Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
ISBN: 0789729571
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 261

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