Starting with the End in Mind: Setting Up the Show

PowerPoint is so flexible that you can give your presentation in a variety of different ways. So the first question you should ask when you start a new presentation is: How will my presentation be delivered?

The answer to this question will affect the size of the presentation you create. You enter your choice in the Page Setup dialog box (which you display by choosing Page Setup from the File menu), shown in Figure 10-2.

Figure 10-2: You use the Page Setup dialog box to tell PowerPoint how to gauge the size of the slides you want to create.

Choose your preferences for the way your presentation is set up by displaying the Page Setup dialog box (choose Page Setup from the File menu), and making the following choices:

1. Click the Slides Sized For down arrow to display the list of available options. On- Screen Show is the default setting, but you can also choose from a number of paper sizes, 35mm Slides, Overhead, Banner, and Custom.

2. If you want to change the width and height of the slides, click in the Width and Height boxes, respectively, and change those values, either by clicking the up and down arrows, or by typing a new value.

3. Enter the number you want PowerPoint to use as the first page number in the Number Slides From box.

4. By default, the Slides orientation is set to Landscape (horizontal, 11 — 8 1/2-inch mode). For most purposes, you should be able to leave this setting as is. The Notes, Handouts And Outline orientation setting is Portrait (vertical, 8 1/2 — 11-inch mode). This is a traditional orientation for the printed page, so this, too, should be fine as it appears.

5. Click OK to save your settings. You re now ready to begin creating your presentation.

Aha! ”More Room, Please

Before you start working on the presentation, close the task pane, if it s still visible, by clicking the close box in the upper right corner of the pane. This gives you more room to work with your slide on the screen.