PowerPoint Enhancements

Many PowerPoint additions in Office 2003 have been discussed earlier. PowerPoint's additions include the Research task pane (already covered in this chapter), which enables you to find out more about a subject or phrase used in your presentation; the Shared Workspace (Chapter 3) allows you and other team members to work collaboratively on a presentation using SharePoint Team Services. Smart tag functionality (Chapter 6) appears for the first time in PowerPoint 2003.

This section introduces you to new features in PowerPoint 2003 not covered elsewhere in the book. These items include the new Package To CD option, slide show annotations, enhanced integration with Microsoft Windows Media Player, and the option of showing full-screen movie clips during a presentation rather than limiting them to a small display box.

Tip 

In addition to the Research task pane shared with other Office 2003 applications, PowerPoint has its own Thesaurus Dialog option (in the Tools menu). To do a quick check on a word, highlight the word and press Shift+F7. PowerPoint does a quick lookup and displays alternate words in the Thesaurus section of the Research task pane.

Packaging Presentations

Specific changes to the program include the replacement of the Pack and Go Wizard with the Package to CD option. This feature enables you to prepare your presentation and burn it to a CD that can be run on another user's system, even if that user doesn't have PowerPoint. The Package for CD dialog box enables you to name the CD and add files as needed. (See Figure 8-9, on the next page.) When you click the Copy to CD button, PowerPoint copies the files quickly to the CD and then ejects it and asks whether you want to copy the same presentation files to another CD.

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Figure 8-9: The Package for CD option allows you to copy your presentation easily to a CD and include all necessary files.

Tip 

When you are packaging the presentation, you can click Options to specify how you want the CD to play the presentations. You can also password-protect the presentation.

Slide Show Annotations

New ink support in PowerPoint 2003 enables presenters to add handwritten notes on slides during the presentation or save annotations to slides for later display. An improved presentation toolbar gives you a new way to display pen options. (See Figure 8-10.) Now you can choose your tool (arrow, ballpoint pen, felt tip pen, or highlighter), select an ink color, and you're good to go.


Figure 8-10: You can choose a tool to make annotations during a presentation.

Improved Navigation Tools

The slide show toolbar has been improved in other ways, as well. The Slide Navigator has been replaced with a button that displays only navigation-related options. You can move easily to a specific slide by choosing it from the Go To Slide submenu; you can pause the presentation and go to a black or white screen while you have a discussion. You can still display the Speaker Notes dialog box to add specific comments, questions, or items you want to look up later. (See Figure 8-11.)


Figure 8-11: The improved navigation controls are easier to use and make more options available to you while you're presenting.

A new option in the Screen submenu, Switch Programs, displays the Windows Taskbar so that you can easily display another program you might have waiting in the wings. For example, suppose that you are giving a presentation that introduces a new product to your regional sales managers. Before the presentation, you opened an Excel worksheet showing sales projections for the product, but you minimized it so that you can use it only if you need to. When one of the regional managers asks a question about sales projections, you can choose Switch Programs, click the Excel icon in the Taskbar, and display and discuss the projections before returning to your presentation.

Full-Screen Movie Playback

In previous versions of PowerPoint, movie objects played in a small rectangular area on the presentation slide. In PowerPoint 2003, you have the option of maximizing the movie so that it plays in full-screen view. This allows you to launch a short video of a new product or an interview with the product designer, run it full-screen, and then return seamlessly to the presentation. The option for playing a movie in full-screen view is available in the Movie Options dialog box. (See Figure 8-12.)


Figure 8-12: PowerPoint 2003 enables you to play a movie clip in full screen view.




First Look Microsoft Office 2003
First Look Microsoft Office 2003
ISBN: 0735619514
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 101

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