Introduction

Before you begin creating presentations in PowerPoint, you may want to set up your PowerPoint environment and become familiar with a few key tasks, such as how to minimize and maximize the Ribbon, configure the Quick Access Toolbar, switch views, and access your PowerPoint options.

The PowerPoint environment

Exploring the PowerPoint window

When you open PowerPoint, a new presentation is created, and a blank slide appears in the PowerPoint window. The slide has placeholders for you to add a title and subtitle.

The tabbed Ribbon menu system is how you access the various PowerPoint commands. If you've used previous versions of PowerPoint, the Ribbon system replaces the traditional menus. Above the Ribbon in the upper-left corner is the Microsoft Office button. From here, you can access important options such as New, Save, Save As, and Print. By default, the Quick Access Toolbar is pinned next to the Microsoft Office button and includes commands like Undo and Redo.

On the left side of the window, you will see a task pane with slides and outline tabs, which appears by default. On the bottom-right of the screen, you'll find view commands (Normal, Slide Sorter, and Slide Show), as well as the zoom tool.

To zoom in and out:

• Locate the zoom bar in the bottom-right corner.
• Click the slider and drag it to the right to zoom in and to the left to zoom out.

To change views:

• Locate the View options in the bottom-right corner. The view options are Normal, Slide Sorter, and Slide Show.
• Click an option to select it.

The default is Normal view.

The Quick Access Toolbar and Ribbon

The Quick Access Toolbar

The Save, Undo, and Redo commands appear by default on the Quick Access Toolbar. You may want to add other commands to make using specific PowerPoint features more convenient for you.

To add commands to the Quick Access Toolbar:

• Click the arrow to the right of the Quick Access Toolbar.
• Select the command you want to add from the drop-down list. It will appear in the Quick Access Toolbar.

OR

• Select More Commands from the menu, and a dialog box appears.
• Select the command you want to add.
• Click the Add button.
• Click OK.

The Ribbon

The new tabbed Ribbon system replaces traditional menus in PowerPoint 2007. It is designed to be easy to use and responsive to your current task; however, you can choose to minimize the Ribbon if you would prefer to use different menus or keyboard shortcuts.

To minimize and maximize the Ribbon:

• Click the drop-down arrow next to the Quick Access Toolbar.
• Select Minimize Ribbon from the list. The Ribbon disappears.
• To maximize the Ribbon, click the arrow again and select Minimize the Ribbon to toggle the feature off.

You can also minimize and maximize the Ribbon by right-clicking anywhere in the Ribbon and selecting Minimize the Ribbon in the menu that appears.

The Microsoft Office button menu

The Microsoft Office button appears at the top of the PowerPoint window. When you click the button, a menu appears. From this menu, you can create a new presentation, open existing files, save files in a variety of ways, and print. You can also add security features and send, publish, and close files.

To change the default PowerPoint options:

• Click the PowerPoint Options button. A dialog box will appear.
• Select a category on the left to access different PowerPoint options.
• Modify any of the default settings. For example, if you want to change the color scheme of the PowerPoint window, click the color scheme drop-down menu in the Popular section and choose an option. In this example, we'll choose Black.

• Click OK, and the changes will be applied. In this example, the PowerPoint window color scheme is now black.

As you learn more about PowerPoint and become proficient at using it, you may want to modify some of the settings. As a beginning user, it is usually best to leave the default settings.

Challenge!

• Open PowerPoint.
• Practice using the Zoom tool.
• Minimize and maximize the Ribbon.
• Click the Microsoft Office button, and review the menu options.
• Add two commands to the Quick Access Toolbar.
• Continue to explore the PowerPoint environment.

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