Section 2.5. ACTIVATION, VERSIONS, AND CORRUPTION

2.4. SLIDES, TEMPLATES, AND OTHER RELATED DEFAULTS

2.4.1. Specify a Default Template

THE ANNOYANCE: How can I make our corporate template my default template?

THE FIX: Simply rename the corporate template Blank.pot (PowerPoint 2002 or 2003) or Blank Presentation.pot (PowerPoint 2000 or 97). The location of your templates depends on which version of Office and Windows you're using. Open the corporate template, select File Save As and type blank in the "File name box. Choose "Design Template (*.pot)" from the "Save as type" drop-down menu (see Figure 2-12). The "Save in" box will automatically change to the location where templates you create are stored.

Figure 2-12. You can specify your own default template for new presentations.

In PowerPoint 2003, you have another option. In the Slide Design task pane, click the drop-down arrow to the right of your corporate template and choose "Use for All New Presentations" (see Figure 2-13).

Figure 2-13. PowerPoint 2003 makes it easy to specify a default template for new presentations.

2.4.2. Specify a Default Slide Layout

THE ANNOYANCE: When I press Ctrl+M to insert a new slide, I don't necessarily want a bulleted slide. How can I change the default slide layout?

THE FIX: Download the Set Default Slide Layout add-in from Microsoft PowerPoint MVP Chirag Dalal (http://officeone.mvps.org/sdsl/sdsl.html).

Before you install this or any other add-in, you must open PowerPoint, select Tools Macro Security, and choose Medium security level (see Figure 2-14). Close PowerPoint and then double-click the Set Default Slide Layout add-in to install it.

Figure 2-14. You must temporarily change your macro settings to medium or low before you can install PowerPoint add-ins. After installing an add-in, you can change the macro security setting back to high if you wish.

Once installed, open PowerPoint and choose Tools Set Default Slide Layout. In the Set Default Slide Layout dialog box, select your desired default layout and check the "Use this layout for all new slides too box (see Figure 2-15).

Figure 2-15. You can use the free Set Default Slide Layout add-in to force new slides to use a default layout different than PowerPoint's usual "Title and Text" layout.

2.4.3. Create a Default Chart Style

THE ANNOYANCE: I'm making a template for a bunch of corporate users, but there's no way to specify a default chart. I can't expect these people to format each chart by hand.

THE FIX: Unfortunately, you can't really set a default chart style.

One option is to create a few sample charts on some slides in your template. Teach users to open the template file (instead of applying it to a file), copy the slide with the chart, and change the data in the graphs as appropriate.

You can also create user-defined graphs, but be aware that these are machine-specificnot template-specificsettings. To create a user-defined graph, do the following:

1. Format a chart the way you want it.

2. Right-click and choose Chart Type.

3. Click the Custom Types tab and choose the User-defined option (see Figure 2-16).

4. Click the Add button.

   Figure 2-16. To create a custom chart style, select Custom Types in the Chart Type dialog box. Be aware that custom chart styles do not travel with a PowerPoint templatethey're only available on the computer where you create them.

   

5. Enter a name (required) and description (optional) for your chart and click OK.

6. Click the button to Set as Default Chart and choose Yes when asked, "Are you sure?"

PowerPoint saves these settings in a file named Grusrgal.gra. This file is usually located in C:\Documents and Settings\[YourUserName]\Application Data\Microsoft\Graph. If you want to share your custom graphs with the world, you can copy and send this file to other users; however, start with a small group to make sure it works properly. You should also warn people that if they overwrite their own Grusrgal.gra file with yours, they will lose any customizations they made to their own chart styles.

2.4.4. Add a Placeholder to the Slide Layout

THE ANNOYANCE: I need to add a subtitle placeholder and another text placeholder to the slide layout. How do I do this?

THE FIX: Unfortunately, you can't. Time to send another thank you letter to the folks in Redmond.

2.4.5. Find a Template on the Task Pane

THE ANNOYANCE: I've been staring at this stupid task pane for 10 minutes. How in the world is the list of templates organized? Can I specify the way I want them sorted?

THE FIX: In PowerPoint 2002, the task pane lists templates alphabetically. In PowerPoint 2003, it sorts them by background color. You can't change these settings.

If you have PowerPoint 2003 alongside another version of PowerPoint on your computer, you will see the first half of the templatesthe PowerPoint 2003 templatessorted by color, followed by the second half of the templatesfrom the other version of PowerPointlisted alphabetically.

2.4.6. File New Doesnt Do Anything

THE ANNOYANCE: I hit File New to start a new presentation, but PowerPoint doesnt do anything.

THE FIX: In PowerPoint 2002 and 2003, File New actually opens the New Presentation task pane, where you can choose to start a new blank presentation, one based on a design template or the AutoContent Wizard, or open an existing presentation or template (see Figure 2-17). If you already have the New Presentation task pane open, you will notice a quick flash at the top of the task pane prompting you to choose an option. You can also press Ctrl+N in all versions of PowerPoint to open a new, blank presentation.

Figure 2-17. You can choose from a variety of options in the New Presentation task pane.

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Note: In PowerPoint 2002 and 2003, many commands (such as Format Slide Layout and Insert Picture Clip Art) simply open task panes. You then have to look in the task pane to find your desired tool or command.

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To Grid. If you cant see your Drawing toolbar, select View Toolbars Drawing.

Once you turn off the grid, your arrows will nudge objects .01" at a time if you're viewing the slide at 100% zoom. If you zoom in more, your arrows nudge objects in even smaller incrementsfor example, .005" per nudge when you're viewing at 200% zoom.

In PowerPoint 2002 and 2003, you can not only turn off the grid, but also define your own grid spacing. Select Draw Grid and Guides, or View Grid and Guides, and uncheck the "Snap objects to grid box or change the Grid settings (see Figure 2-18).

Figure 2-18. Use Draw Grid and Guides, or View Grid and Guides, to control PowerPoints grid settings.

Alternatively, you can override Snap to Grid by holding the Alt button while you nudge the object with the arrow keys.

In what may be a related feature, PowerPoint often tries to snap objects to the edge of your slide. Holding down the Alt key may help then, too, but sometimes zooming in is the best solution when you need very fine control. If you have a mouse with a wheel, you can hold down the Ctrl button while rolling the mouse wheel to zoom in and out on your slide. Otherwise, use the zoom box on the Standard toolbar or View Zoom on the menu.

2.4.8. Make PowerPoint Rulers Show Centimeters

THE ANNOYANCE: PowerPoint is so U.S.-centric. I can't believe there's no way to change the ruler to show centimeters.

THE FIX: To change PowerPoint's measurement system, open the Windows Control Panel and choose Regional and Language Options. Click the Customize button on the Regional Options tab and select Metric from the "Measurement system" drop-down menu (see Figure 2-19). Be aware that changing this setting may affect the way other applications behave.

Figure 2-19. Change PowerPoint's measurement system in your Windows Control Panel.