Section 86. Use an Impress Template


86. Use an Impress Template

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

81 Create a New Presentation

84 Run a Presentation


SEE ALSO

90 Format Presentation Text


When you use a template as a model for a presentation, you have to do less work because the template already has the backgrounds and slide information arranged for the initial presentation. Impress does not come fully loaded with lots of presentation templates. Actually, Impress only comes loaded with two templatesone named Introducing a New Product and another named Recommendation of a Strategy . Surprisingly, these are extremely limited, but they do get you started with templates you can use for your own presentations.

Creating a presentation using templates requires little more than selecting a few options using the Presentation Wizard when you first start Impress.

NOTE

If you want to create your own Impress template, create the presentation skeleton to use as your template and save the file by choosing File, Save As and then selecting OpenDocument Presentation Template (.otp) as the file type. All Impress templates use the filename extension .otp (with the exception of Impress templates from earlier versions of OpenOffice.org, which use the filename extension .sti but still can be used in OpenOffice.org 2.0).


86. Use an Impress Template


1.
Select a Template

Select OpenOffice.org Impress from the OpenOffice.org program group on your Windows Start menu to start the Presentation Wizard. Click to select the From template option. When you do, Impress lists the Impress templates available to you. As long as you've checked the Preview option, a preview image of the template appears in AutoPilot's preview area.

Select the template you want to use as the basis for your presentation and click Next to move to the next page in the Presentation Wizard.

2.
Select Your Background

Select from the available backgrounds. Choose a background that will not overwhelm your audience. (With only two backgrounds available for your initial Impress installation, you don't have a lot to choose from.) Click to select the background you desire , and you can see that background's effect in the preview area. Click Next to move to the next page in the Presentation Wizard to continue selecting items from the template's available collection.

NOTE

If you're preparing a presentation for overhead slides, paper only, a computer screen (as opposed to an overhead projector), or to be placed on 35mm slides, select the appropriate option from the section titled Select an output medium . Often, these media produce the same presentation anyway, so you might want to start with the default Original option and change it if needed.

3.
Set Up the Transition and Type

Select the kind of transition effect you want to apply to your slides as they change throughout your presentation and the speed at which you want the change to occur when one slide changes to another. If you want to create an automatic presentation, select the Automatic option and set the page duration and length of pause between presentations. 101 Make an Automatic Presentation explains how to create and present an automated presentation. If you're giving the presentation, leave the Default option selected. Click Next to move to the next page.

4.
Add the Overall Details

In the fourth screen of the Presentation Wizard, Impress requests that you enter information that Impress will place throughout your presentation. You'll enter your company name , the subject of your presentation, and some additional ideas that you want to cover in the presentation. Impress scatters these details at appropriate places in the presentation it generates, based on the template's design. Click Next to move to the final page.

5.
Add the Final Details

In the final page of the Presentation Wizard, Impress offers a list of details that you may or may not want in your presentation. The list changes depending on which of the two templates you chose when you first started the presentation. The new product details relate to the introduction of a new product, and the strategy template details relate to introducing a new strategy into your company plans.

Click the plus sign next to each group to see the details in that group. For example, you would click the plus sign next to Fulfilling Customer Needs to see the two lines that will appear at that point in the presentation. Although the details are general, you'll be able to change them to your company's specific details once Impress generates your initial presentation.

Initially, all groups are selected (indicated by a check mark), but you can click to uncheck any group that you don't want to appear in your presentation. For instance, you may not want to discuss cost analysis in this presentation; if not, uncheck the group labeled Cost Analysis so that Impress won't include that group in this presentation.

6.
Complete the Presentation

Click the Create button to generate the presentation based on the information you supplied as you went through the screens in the Presentation Wizard. Once Impress generates the presentation, you can change the general details to those that match your specific company needs. For example, you would replace the template-produced text that reads Compare quality and price with those of the competition with your own specifics in that area. You can also add and remove slides throughout the presentation, depending on your specific needs. The template did its job by designing a general presentation that you now can make specific.

NOTE

The first slide that Impress generates from the template will show your company name, presentation subject, and further ideas to be presented based on your answers in the fourth Presentation Wizard step.




OpenOffice.org 2, Firefox, and Thunderbird for Windows All in One
Sams Teach Yourself OpenOffice.org 2, Firefox and Thunderbird for Windows All in One
ISBN: 0672328089
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 232
Authors: Greg Perry

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