PowerPoint Introduction Training Course

Templates and Layouts 

When you first open PowerPoint, you can select from the default templates, or you can start with a blank slide. The templates are all created using the tools in PowerPoint, so you are not missing anything by not using them.  

When adding a new slide, you can choose from all the theme templates. These can help with layout and spacing. You can also click ‘Layout’ to change the template of the current slide. You can even re-use a slide from a completely different PowerPoint file. 

Picture Tools and Adjustments 

You can format the background of a slide and add a picture there. This is beneficial as it stops the picture being an element on the page, so you won't accidentally move it.  

You can remove the background from a picture directly from the ‘Picture Format’ tab on the ribbon. Select ‘Mark Areas to Keep’ or ‘Remove’. Then draw straight lines through the relevant areas.  

You can format a shape and add a picture as a fill option. This allows you to place a picture exactly where you need it on your slide more easily. You can use a fill crop to ensure that it is positioned properly within the shape.  

If you select multiple pictures, then you can use the size tools to make them all the same size easily. 

Working with Videos and Slide Zooms 

You can insert a video file directly into your presentation. Most of the settings will be identical to the picture settings, but you also get playback controls that allow you to change whether it will play automatically in a presentation, loop after finishing or play full screen.  

Always be aware that videos will dramatically increase your filesize. You can also add an online video directly from any video service such as YouTube or SharePoint. As the video is hosted online, this does not affect the size of the file. Though your playback options will be more limited.  

You can link to other slides in your file by inserting a ‘Slide Zoom’. Select the slides you want and arrange them on the page. When in presentation mode, you can click on the slide to go directly to it. 

Presenting with Confidence 

You can start presenting your document by going to ‘Slide Show’ on the ribbon and clicking on either ‘From Beginning’ or ‘From Current Slide’. These are also ‘F5’ and ‘Shift + F5’. You can also present directly in a Teams meeting.  

If you have multiple monitors, you will have access to presenter view. The audience will still only see the presentation, but you will have access to a screen that will show you the next slide or animation, as well as any notes added to that slide. The buttons at the bottom of this screen give you more options like being able to jump to a different slide, draw on your slides, turn on subtitles or do real time language translation.