Creating Your First Title Slide

It might seem obvious, but before you can create your first slide, you have to start up PowerPoint. You can do so in a variety of ways: from the Start menu, from a desktop icon, or from the Taskbar.

PowerPoint starts in Normal view, with a blank title slide staring at you. All you have to do is click where it says to click and type the text you want to include. For example, to add information to the title slide, follow these steps:

1. Move the mouse pointer to the title placeholder the area that says "Click to add title" and click. PowerPoint opens a text edit box, surrounded by hash marks (see Figure 2.1), and displays a blinking insertion point (the vertical blinking line that appears to show you where the text you type is to be inserted).

   Figure 2.1. A box surrounded by hash marks means you're able to add or edit text in the placeholder box.

   

   Note

   

   If you can't seem to find the PowerPoint icon anywhere, try selecting Start, Programs (or Start, All Programs in Windows XP). If the Word or Excel icons appear, but the PowerPoint icon does not, you might have a special edition of Office for example, the Small Business Edition that does not include PowerPoint. In that case, you need to upgrade your version of Office 2003 or purchase PowerPoint separately.

2. Type the title (for example, I Want You to Know). Use uppercase or lowercase characters as you want them to appear in the title.

3. Click the subtitle placeholder the area that says "Click to add subtitle."

4. In the subtitle box, type your name.

5. Click anywhere on the slide outside both placeholders.

You now have your first title slide (see Figure 2.2).

Figure 2.2. Clicking anywhere on the slide outside the placeholder boxes deselects the boxes and shows your text nearly as it will appear when you play the slide show.