Slide Masters
Why spend a lot of money paying for fancy presentations, or spend hours looking for the right one, when you can make your own MS PowerPoint templates? You can change all the default settings in a template, from the fonts and lines, to the background.
How? Simply make a permanent change to the template, and then save it under a new name, as your very own PowerPoint template (*.pot file).
It is easiest if you do not start from scratch. First, look for a PowerPoint presentation that would be perfect - if only... The if only could be, if it had different font, different color lines, different background. Just be sure that you do like most of it. Once you become more expert at customizing a template and saving it as your own, you will soon figure out how to make a template from scratch.
You should save the edited template under a new name, so that you always have the original for reference.
So Let's Get Started!
- In the PowerPoint file, open the Slide or Title "Master".
- On the View menu, click Master > Slide Master or Master > Title Master.
- If the Title Master is not there, you can make one. Simply open the Slide Master and then click Insert > New Title Master.
NOTE: The Slide Master is used to make default changes to the main slides of a presentation. The Title Master is used to make default changes to the title slide of the presentation.
Set the Default Options
Step 1: Change the Slide Color SchemeNote: PowerPoint does have its quirks: In the following instructions, when you right-click, make sure that the cursor is NOT resting on a picture, in or over a text box, or any other object. The best way is to right-click outside the margins.
- Do one of the following:
- In Word 2000: Right-click on the slide background and select Slide Color Scheme. The Color Scheme dialog box appears.
- In Word 2003: (Refer to the picture in the right sidebar) Right-click on the slide background (1) and select Slide Design. In the Task Pane, select Color Schemes (2). Finally, click Edit Color Scheme to open the Color Scheme dialog box (3).
- In the Color Scheme dialog box, click the Custom tab.
This is where you change the background, text and lines, default shadow color (it also relates to the shadow applied to a font), title text color, fills for drawing objects, etc.
You can apply your changes to only one slide or to all slides in the presentation. Thus, you can have a completely different color scheme for the Title Master or Slide Master.
Play with this until you get the desired appearance.
Step 2: Change the Slide Background
This option is lots of fun, and limited only by your imagination. You can have your own photos in the background, or draw something with the drawing tools.
Step 3: Change the Default Fonts, Font Colors, and More
You can change the default fonts, font colors, line spacing, and more while in the Slide and Title Masters. Changes made using different Format options are attached to the master.
You can follow these steps for a single presentation, of course, but if you are going to use these settings a lot, then be sure to save your file as a *.pot file so you can always access your own custom settings in other presentations.
The main thing is to try. Don't be afraid to play and make all the changes you want. But if you still feel clueless about the whole thing, there are plenty of free resources on the Internet.
Or, contact me to provide a price quote to help you develop a presentation, or provide training (group or individual) in PowerPoint.
for a price quote.
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