Chapter 4. Importing

3.2. FORMATTING

3.2.1. Move Slide Layouts

THE ANNOYANCE: I use the chart slide layout a lot. I'd like to move it up in the task pane so I can reach it more easily.

THE FIX: Unfortunately, they can't be moved. You can use a "content" layout, though. Simply apply a content layout to your slide and click the graph icon on the slide to add a chart (see Figure 3-26).

Figure 3-26. Content layouts let you click the appropriate icon on the slide to add an object such as a graph, a diagram, or clip art.

What Exactly Can You Change on a Master Slide?

Well, let's see. You can change design templates, color schemes, font colors and sizes, bullets for each level of text, text indents (View Rulers), and background colors, as well as the placement and size of placeholders. You can add elements like pictures, drawings, logos, and text boxes if you want text to appear on every slide. You can even add slide transitions and placeholder animations to the slide masters, but if you do, youll lose some control over those options in normal editing mode.

On the flip side, you can neither specify the text case (sentence case, title case, all caps, etc.) in placeholder text, nor add placeholders. You also can't change the text that says "Click to add text" or "Click to add title."

3.2.2. Reapply a Slide Layout

THE ANNOYANCE: Sometimes when I reapply the slide layout, it doesn't "take." What do I have to do to get my slide to reset?

THE FIX: Depending on the changes you made to the slide, sometimes you have to apply the slide layout twice. Select Format Slide Layout, hover over the layout in the Slide Layout task pane until you see the drop-down arrow, and choose Apply to Selected Slides. Hover again, but this time choose Reapply Layout.

If the slide layout in question has already been applied to the slide, select Format Slide Layout, hover over the layout, and choose Reapply Slide Layout twice.

3.2.3. Set Default Font

THE ANNOYANCE: My slide master works fine: the placeholder text uses our corporate font. What do I have to do to get the other text boxes to use this font?

THE FIX: You must create a text box, format the font to your specifications, choose Format Font, and check the "Default for new objects box (see Figure 3-27).

Figure 3-27. Set the default font for manual text boxes in the Font dialog box.

3.2.4. Set Default Text Box and AutoShape Settings

THE ANNOYANCE: Whenever I add a text box to a slide, it has a stupid bullet point in it. How do I turn it off permanently?

THE FIX: Setting text box defaults isn't intuitive at all. Format a text box the way you want it to look, and then right-click and choose "Set AutoShape Defaults" (see Figure 3-28). Why Microsoft didn't add a "Set Text Box Defaults" option, I don't know. I suppose you can think of text boxes as rectangle AutoShapes, basically a subset of the AutoShape family.

Figure 3-28. Right-click and choose Set AutoShape Defaults to set the default text box style.

The Set AutoShape Defaults command will not pick up any fill color and line color or size you add to the text box. It will, however, pick up font color and size; line spacing attributes; text box attributes (select Format Text Box and click the Text Box tab); alignment; bullet character, color, and size; and indent specifications (select View Ruler).

Note that adding a fill color and line colors or sizes to a text box before selecting Set AutoShape Defaults will affect your actual AutoShapes defaults. To see this in action, apply a fill color and a line to a text box, and set the default text box as described above. Then draw an oval on the slide. The color and line attributes you set on the default text box have become the default settings for AutoShapes (see Figure 3-29).

Figure 3-29. The oval drawn on the bottom of this slide picked up the purple fill and black, 6-pt line settings from the top text box, which was used to specify the text box defaults. The middle text box, created just after setting text box defaults, shows that default text box settings don't include fill and line colors.

If you don't apply fill and line colors to the text box before you set it as the default, the next time you draw a line or AutoShape, it may not be visible on your slide! To rectify the situation, simply format the AutoShape with appropriate line and fill colors, right-click it, and choose Set AutoShape Defaults once again. This applies the line and fill attributes to AutoShapes, but it will not affect the existing text box default settings.

If you type in an AutoShape, both your AutoShape defaults and your text box defaults will apply, so if you need filled text boxes, use AutoShapes instead. Simply add one to the slide, make sure it's selected, and start typing.

Whew! Got all that? Let's recap: To apply default settings to text boxes and AutoShapes, first format a text box and format an AutoShape. Right-click the text box and choose Set AutoShape Defaults. Then right-click the AutoShape and choose Set AutoShape Defaults.

3.2.5. When You Draw a Line or a Rectangle, Nothing Shows Up

THE ANNOYANCE: When I draw a line or a rectangle, nothing shows up on my slide. Something's really screwy.

THE FIX: This could be an issue with your AutoShape default settings. Format a rectangle the way you want the default to look, right-click it, and select Set AutoShape Defaults. See "Set Default Text Box and AutoShape Settings" for more information.

This could also be an issue with your video drivers. Turning down hardware acceleration may take care of it (see "Presentation Keeps Locking Up" in Chapter 1).

3.2.6. Not All Slides Appear After You Paste

THE ANNOYANCE: I select slides in existing presentations, copy them, and paste them into new presentations. Once in a while, only one slide copies over. Why?

THE FIX: If you copy from Slide Sorter view or from the slide thumbnail pane to Slide Sorter view or the slide thumbnail pane, this shouldn't happen. But if you copy from one of these areas and paste onto the one slide in the main editing area of Normal view, you'll get just one slide when you paste.

If you use Insert Slides From Files instead of copy-paste, you wont have to worry what view you're copying from or pasting to.

3.2.7. Changing Font Locks PowerPoint

THE ANNOYANCE: PowerPoint keeps locking up every time I try to change a font or type in some text.

THE FIX: PowerPoint really, really, really likes local printer drivers. If you install a printer and set it as the default printer, PowerPoint will be much happier. You don't have to actually have a printer hooked up to your computer, and you never have to print to this printer, you just need to have the drivers for one installed. A basic printer driver like the HP LaserJet III is a good bet.

If you do have a printer installed, the drivers are probably on a network somewhere, and you're seeing this happen when you're not connected to the network.

To install printer drivers, choose Start Control Panel Printers and Faxes, and then select File Add Printer. When prompted, specify youre installing a local printer, and do not use "Automatically detect and install my plug-and-play printer," if offered. Choose HP in the manufacturers area, and scroll down in the printers area until you find HP LaserJet III. Click Next until you complete the wizard. Say "No" when asked if you want to print a test page.

3.2.8. Group Objects

THE ANNOYANCE: I selected a bunch of stuff, but I can't group itthe Group command is grayed out on the Draw menu.

THE FIX: You probably selected a text or title placeholder along with the other objects, and these placeholders can't be grouped. If everything's still selected, press the Shift key and click the placeholder to deselect it. You should be able to group the remaining objects.

If you must group the placeholder for some reason, copy it, and then delete the original placeholder or drag it off the edge of the slide if you need to keep it (so you can see its text in the outline area, for example). You'll be able to group the copy of the placeholder with other objects.

Chart placeholders can be grouped with other objects in PowerPoint 2000, 2002, and 2003.

3.2.9. Align Objects

THE ANNOYANCE: The align tools are all grayed out. What's the problem?

THE FIX: You must have more than one object selected for the align tools to work.

Alternatively, you can select Draw Align or Distribute Relative to Slide, and the various alignment options will be available, even if you have only one item selected.

3.2.10. Make Grid Visible

THE ANNOYANCE: I want to be able to see the grid when I use Snap to Grid. How do I do that?

THE FIX: You can't see or set the grid in PowerPoint 97 or 2000. You can select Draw Grid and Guides to set the grid options in PowerPoint 2002 and 2003 (see Figure 3-30). In these versions, you can bypass the Grid and Guides dialog by pressing Shift+F9 to toggle the grid on and off and Alt+F9 to toggle the guides.

Figure 3-30. The Grid and Guides dialog box lets you control the grid visibility and other settings.

3.2.11. Change the Grid Setting in PowerPoint 97 and 2000

THE ANNOYANCE: I need a smaller grid to help align stuff on my slide in PowerPoint 2000, but I can't figure out how to change the grid setting.

THE FIX: There's no way to change the grid setting in PowerPoint 2000 or 97; Microsoft introduced this functionality in PowerPoint 2002.

Some users find it helpful to create additional guides, which can act as sort of a grid. Press Ctrl+G to show the guides. Press the Ctrl button while you click a guide and drag your mouse to create another guide (see Figure 3-31). You can have a total of eight horizontal guides and eight vertical guides on the slide. To get rid of a guide, drag it off the edge of the slide.

Figure 3-31. Press Ctrl while you click and drag on the guides to create more guides.

Another workaround is to use the Line tool on the Drawing toolbar to draw lines. Next, select the lines, choose Draw Align or Distribute, and use the Relative to Slide, Distribute Horizontally, and Distribute Vertically commands to place them in a grid. Paste the grid onto your slide master and delete it when youre finished creating the presentation.

3.2.12. Arrow Keys Jump by Leaps and Bounds

THE ANNOYANCE: I'm using the arrow keys on my keyboard to nudge some objects on the slide, but they're jumping in huge bounds. How can I get more control over these arrows?

THE FIX: Turn off Snap to Grid, and you'll have more control over your arrow key nudges. To do so, choose Draw Grid and Guides (PowerPoint 2002 and 2003) or Draw Snap To Grid (PowerPoint 2000 and 97), and uncheck the Snap to Grid box. If you prefer to leave Snap to Grid on, you can press the Ctrl key while nudging with the arrows to override the snap.

3.2.13. Text Ends Up in Placeholder

THE ANNOYANCE: I pasted some text onto a slide, and as I was dragging it around, it ended up being sucked up by the placeholder. What happened?

THE FIX: If you drag a text box and then let go of it when you're on top of the word "Click" in the placeholder (where it says, "Click to add text"), it drops the text into the placeholder in PowerPoint 97 and 2000.

This feature can be a prime annoyance or a great blessing. It's incredibly useful for quick slide reformatting, but it's a royal pain if you don't want it to happen. There's no way to turn it off in PowerPoint 97 and 2000, but Microsoft changed this behavior in PowerPoint 2002 and 2003.

If you took advantage of this behavior when formatting slides, it gives you a good excuse to keep PowerPoint 2000 around.

3.2.14. Change Text Case

THE ANNOYANCE: I have a client who sends me slides with the titles typed in all capital letters. It's soooo tedious to retype them. Is there an easier way?

THE FIX: Select the text and press Shift+F3 to toggle the case. If you've selected text in a title placeholder, this key combination toggles between lowercase, title case, and uppercase. If you've selected text in a text placeholder, this key combination toggles between lowercase, sentence case, and uppercase.

You can also select Format Change Case and choose from a list of options (see Figure 3-32).

Figure 3-32. The Change Case dialog box gives you all the text case options in one place. This tool is handy for changing text typed in all caps to something easier to read.

3.2.15. Change Text Case Adds Strange Capitalization

THE ANNOYANCE: When I press Shift+F3 to toggle text in a title placeholder, even small words (of, and, the) end up starting with capital letters. What was Microsoft thinking?

THE FIX: Microsoft clearly wasn't thinking, because this problem didn't exist in PowerPoint 97 and 2000. This annoyance is a great excuse for keeping a copy of PowerPoint 2000 around.

The only workaround, and it isn't much of one, is to select only individual words before pressing Shift+F3 to toggle the case. Or change the case of a single word and then press F4, which works as a repeat key. It's a little faster to work your way through a presentation using F4 than Shift+F3.

3.2.16. Go from Word to PowerPoint

THE ANNOYANCE: I have a client who sends me slides as a long Word document. Copying and pasting from Word to PowerPoint takes too much time. Is there an easier way?

THE FIX: Select File Send to Microsoft PowerPoint. PowerPoint automatically starts if its not already running, creates a new presentation, and enters the text on the slides.

If you spend some time adding styles in Word before sending the file to PowerPoint, it will make your life a bit easier. All text with Word Heading 1 style will come into PowerPoint as a slide title. Text with Heading 2 style will end up as a primary bullet, Heading 3 entries turn into secondary bullets, and so on. Anything set to the Normal text style will not show up in PowerPoint.

Graphics will still have to be copied and pasted. As an alternative, save the Word file as a web page (File Save as Web Page), which creates a folder full of graphic images and other files supporting the "web page." Select Insert Picture From File to get the graphic images into PowerPoint.

You can even do this with Notepad, but use tabs instead of styles. No tab equals slide title text. One tab equals primary bulleted text. Two tabs equal secondary bulleted text, and so on. Select File Save As to save the file. In PowerPoint select File Open, choose All Outlines (*.txt, etc.) from the "Files of type drop-down menu, and navigate to the file you created in Notepad (see Figure 3-33).

Figure 3-33. To open a text file, select File Open and choose All Outlines from the "Files of type drop-down menu.

3.2.17. Set Hanging Indents on Bulleted Text

THE ANNOYANCE: My bulleted text doesn't do a proper hanging indent, so the text doesn't align. I end up putting in about a million manual line breaks, and that messes up the line spacing between the bullets. And it's a nightmare if I have to change the font size later. How can I keep my text aligned without all the hassle?

THE FIX: Select View Ruler to turn on the horizontal ruler. Drag the indent carats to place the bullets and hanging indents where you want them. Do this on your master slide (View Master Slide Master) if you want the indent settings to apply automatically to all text slides.

Each indent marker has three parts: the top caret, the middle caret, and the bottom caret. The caret on the top aligns the leftmost edge of the bullet itself (see Figure 3-34). If you want to place this caret directly over one of the other carets, press the Ctrl key while you drag the caret. This gives you more control over the placement of the carets.

Figure 3-34. Press the Ctrl key while dragging the indent markers on the ruler to gain more control over their placement.

The middle caret sets the placement of the text itself and determines where the hanging indent will occur. If the hanging indent overlaps the bullet on the left, the top and middle indent carets are probably too close. Move the middle caret a bit to the right to correct the hanging indent.

The bottom caret moves the set of indent markers together.

3.2.18. Using Bulleted and Non-Bulleted Text Together

THE ANNOYANCE: My first point is two lines of text. It doesn't have a bullet. The rest of the text has bullets. I don't want the first point to have a hanging indent. Is there a way to do this besides creating a separate text box with no bullet?

THE FIX: You have to be kind of sneaky to make this one work. Select the first level of text and select Format Bullets and Numbering and choose the None option. This removes the bullet but leaves a hanging indent (see Figure 3-35).

Figure 3-35. This is what happens when you remove the bullet from text that spans more than one line.

Move both indent carets all the way to the left to fix the hanging indent on the first level of text. This will cause the lower level of bullet points to temporarily look bad (see Figure 3-36).

Figure 3-36. If you move the indent caret to the left to fix the first bullet point, the other bullet points look bad.

Select the lower level bullet points and click the Increase Indent icon to demote them. Select Format Bullets and Numbering and choose an appropriate bullet character to match the primary bullets in the rest of the presentation. Finally, press the Ctrl key while you drag the top-level bullet all the way to the left on the ruler so it will overlap with the other indent carets. Place the middle caret an appropriate distance from the top caret (see Figure 3-37).

Figure 3-37. Use the Increase Indent tool to demote the lower bullet points, format them to look like the original primary bullet points, and drag the indent markers to the left to realign the secondary bullets.

3.2.19. Create Small Caps

THE ANNOYANCE: Where do I set text attributes like small caps and strikethrough? I've looked everywhere!

THE FIX: Unfortunately, PowerPoint doesn't have as many text options as Word. For things like small caps and strikethrough, you'll have to create that text in Word, copy it, and choose Edit Paste Special Microsoft Office Word Document Object to paste the text into PowerPoint.

The RnR PPTools Starter Set, a free add-in, has a small caps tool (http://www.rdpslides.com/pptools/starterset/index.html). Simply download and install the PPTools Starter Set add-in, select the text, and click the Small Caps icon (see Figure 3-38).

Figure 3-38. The RnR PPTools Starter Set, a free add-in, has a small caps tool.

3.2.20. Line Spacing Cuts Off Text

THE ANNOYANCE: I really like the AutoFit Body Text to Placeholder option because it shrinks my text automatically as I type it. If I get too long-winded, though, it cuts off the bottoms of some letters. Is there any way to keep that from happening?

THE FIX: Unfortunately, AutoFit Body Text to Placeholder works with a combination of decreasing the font size and shrinking the line spacing assigned to the text box. The problem is that once the line spacing goes below about .7 lines, it tends to cut off the ascenders and descenders on the letters. The only workaround is to stop typing earlier or turn off AutoFit Body Text to Placeholder and manually resize the text when you finish typing.

In PowerPoint 2002 and 2003, select Tools AutoCorrect Options, click the AutoFormat As You Type tab, and uncheck the "AutoFit Body Text to Placeholder box. In PowerPoint 97 and 2000, select Tools Options, click the Edit tab, and uncheck the "Auto-fit text to text placeholder box.

3.2.21. Set Font Size Increments

THE ANNOYANCE: Sometimes I need to resize the font on a bulleted slide, but the font size jumps too much. It's a pain to go back and manually change each level of text by just a point or two. Is there a way I can set the amount the font increases or decreases when I use the Increase and Decrease Font Size tools?

THE FIX: There's no way to change this in PowerPoint, but the free RnR PPTools Starter Set add-in (http://www.rdpslides.com/pptools/starterset/index.html) has a set of one-point font increment tools that will solve this problem for you.

PowerPoint's font increase and decrease increments are tied to the sizes in the font size drop-down menu. So the size increment will be one, two, or four points, depending on the size of the text you're working with. The Shrink and Enlarge tools on the RnR PPTools Starter Set always change the font size in one-point increments, making it very easy to experiment with text sizes in multilevel bulleted text boxes.

3.2.22. Set Tabs on a Slide

THE ANNOYANCE: I've been all over the Format and Insert menus, and I still can't figure out how to set a tab in my text box. Doesn't PowerPoint do tabs?

THE FIX: Sure, PowerPoint does tabs. Choose View Ruler to turn on the ruler, select the text to which you want to apply the tab setting, and click on the ruler to add the tab (see Figure 3-39). Click in the box on the left to move through the tabs you can use in PowerPoint: left-aligned, center-aligned, right-aligned, and decimal-aligned. If you place the tab in the wrong spot on the ruler, simply drag it to the right spot or drag it off the ruler altogether to delete it.

Figure 3-39. Select View Ruler to make the ruler visible, choose the type of tab you want, and then click on the ruler to add a tab.

PowerPoint tabs aren't as powerful as those in Word. If you need dot leaders or features of that nature, create your tabbed text in Word, copy it, and choose Edit Paste Special Microsoft Office Word Document Object to paste it onto your slide.