The location of the Templates folder varies in different versions of Windows, so here is a quick way to access it even if you don’t know where it is:

1. Click the Start button or open the Run… box:
2. Type:  %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates
3. Your Templates folder will open in Windows Explorer.

The folder contains the normal template used in Word, any custom or downloaded PowerPoint templates, and custom Excel, Outlook, and Publisher templates.

Protected View is a new safety feature in Office 2010 that lets you view a document, but prevents it from running macros that might contain malware.  By default, it opens any document downloaded from the Internet in Protected View.  The same is true for any document attached to an email message, or any document in your browser cache.

You can turn off Protected View for any of these options by clicking File / Options / Trust Center / Trust Center Settings… / Protected View.

To crop a picture to a shape in PowerPoint 2010:

1. Select the picture.
2. Click the Format tab on the Picture Tools ribbon.
3. Select Crop to Shape from the Crop drop-down list.
4. Select the shape you want.

Example:

To view a how-to video on this topic from Microsoft:

Crop a Picture to a Shape in PowerPoint 2010

To create a slide from a bullet in PowerPoint:

1. Go to Outline View and select the bulleted item.
2. Press SHIFT + TAB to promote the bullet to a slide title.
3. PowerPoint will create a new slide with the bulleted item as the title.

To view a how-to video on this topic from Microsoft:

Creating a Slide from a Bullet in PowerPoint

All Office 2010 applications now include a screen capture utility to help you quickly capture any area of the desktop screen.

The tool will automatically take screenshots of all open applications on your desktop (that are not minimized), and let you insert them directly into your document.

Inserting a Full Screen Screenshot

To insert a full screen screenshot:

1. Click Screenshot in the Illustrations group on the Insert tab of the Ribbon.
2. Word will display thumbnails of all open applications that are not minimized.



3. Click the thumbnail you want to insert the screenshot in your document at the insertion point.

PowerPoint 2003 comes with several design templates that you can use to add an artistic design to your slides. If you want a wider variety of designs from which to choose, consider downloading additional design templates from Microsoft’s web site.

If you want a more unique design for your presentation, or if you need to include your company colors and logo on each slide, consider creating your own design template. (This is more of a mini-lesson than a quick tip, but it’s well worth the time and effort.)

Using the Slide Master

To create your own design template, you need to know how to use the PowerPoint slide master. If you’ve never used this feature before, you can access it by selecting View | Master | Slide Master. The slide master is the template on which your presentation is based. It contains background graphics, formatting for titles, bulleted lists, header/footer contents, etc.

You can use the Slide Master to make global changes in your presentation. For example, suppose the design template you selected formats all slide titles in white text, and you want all titles to be blue. You can make this change by opening the slide master and selecting blue as the font color for the title placeholder. When you close the slide master and return to your presentation, all titles will be blue.

Who Cares about the Slide Master?

You do, if you plan to create your own design template. That’s where you tell PowerPoint which background graphic to use, as well as how to format titles, bulleted lists, graphical objects, etc.

Let’s Create a Design Template

Let’s say you need to create a design template for your company. It must include the company logo, the company’s colors as a gradient background on all slides, and it must appear in the Slide Design Task Pane so that you can apply it to any new presentation you might create.

Here’s how:

1. Create a new blank presentation.
2. Select View | Master | Slide Master to view the slide master. (PowerPoint will also open the Slide Master View toolbar, which you can use to close Slide Master View.)



3. Change the background by selecting Format | Background. Use this to select a background color, a blend of two colors (gradient), a texture, or a picture.
4. Add the company logo by selecting Insert | Picture | From file…
5. Drag the logo to place it on the slide and size it appropriately.
6. Select View | Header and Footer to add the date and/or slide number to each slide.
7. Close Master Slide View.
8. Save the presentation as a design template (*.pot).



9. PowerPoint will automatically save the template in C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates. Do not save the template in a different location; it needs to be in this folder in order for it to show up in the Slide Design Task Pane.
10. Close the presentation.

Using Your New Design Template

1. Create a new presentation, or open an existing one.
2. Select Format | Slide Design to open the Slide Design Task Pane.
3. Scroll through the design templates to find the one you created. (If you don’t see it, close PowerPoint and re-open it.)
4. Apply your design template to the active presentation by clicking on it.
5. You can also use the drop-down menu to apply the design to one slide, all slides, or to use it as the default design for all new presentations.

1. Select a background for your presentation based on the room’s lighting:
• In a dark room, select light text on a dark background.
• In a light room, select dark text on a light background.

2. Don’t put too much text on a slide. Use these general guidelines:
• The 6 X 6 Rule:

No more than six bulleted items per slide

No more than six words in each bulleted item

• Don’t put whole paragraphs of text on a slide; break up paragraphs into bulleted items
• Don’t use font sizes smaller than 24 points

Have you ever needed to emphasize a word or phrase during a presentation? You can do so in the middle of a presentation with PowerPoint’s virtual annotation “pen.”

To use the annotation pen during a slide show:

1. Open the presentation in Slide Show view.
2. Right-click on the slide, and select Pointer Options | Ballpoint Pen, Felt Tip Pen or Highliter.
3. When you are done using the pen, press ESC. (PowerPoint will prompt you to keep or discard your annotations.)

To change the ink color of the pen, right-click during a Slide Show, select Pointer Options | Ink color, and then select the color you want.

To change the default pen color, select Slide Show | Set Up Slide Show, and select the pen color you want in the Show options section.

Keyboard Shortcuts

You can also access the annotation pen by pressing CTRL + P during a presentation, and return to the arrow (normal mouse pointer) by pressing CTRL + A.

Have you ever wanted to use PowerPoint to show a collection of pictures? PowerPoint contains a Photo Album feature exactly for this purpose. There’s no need to insert the pictures one slide at a time. PowerPoint will even take the pictures directly from your digital camera!

Here’s how:

1. If you want to create the Photo Album from pictures on your computer, start by copying all the pictures you want to include into one folder. It will be easier to select them later.
2. Create a new blank presentation.
3. In PowerPoint 2003, select Insert | Picture | New Photo Album.
   In PowerPoint 2007/2010, click the Photo Album button in the Illustrations grouping on the Insert tab of the ribbon and select New Photo Album…
4. PowerPoint will display the Photo Album dialog box:

1. Select File/Disk if the pictures are in a folder on your computer. (Select Scanner/Camera if the pictures are on your digital camera.)
2. Navigate to the folder containing your pictures, hold down the CRTL key, and click on each picture you want to include. If you’re including all the pictures in the folder, press CTRL + A to select them all.
3. Click the Insert button.
4. In the Album Layout section of the dialog box, you can make each picture fill the slide by selecting Fit to Slide. You also have the option to put 1, 2, or 4 pictures on a slide, with or without titles. If you choose to add titles, you will have to go into each slide and type the titles.
5. If you select 1, 2, or 4 pictures per slide, you can also select the Frame Shape that will border each picture and a
   Design Template for the slide background.
6. Click Create.
7. PowerPoint will create the presentation with the options you selected.
8. Navigate to the first slide and edit the title and subtitle, if you wish.

If you want to pause during a PowerPoint presentation for a break or for a discussion, you can black out the screen by pressing the B key. Press it again to return to the presentation.

In a light room, you can white out the screen by pressing the W key. Press it again to resume the presentation.