The PowerPoint® Blog Archives - Page 208 of 239

Download or View PDF?

This is a browser add-in that I recently was told about and I like it. The frustration is when you click on a link to a PDF it is up to your browser settings whether it opens the PDF or downloads it (and Adobe’s default setting is to open it).

If I know I want to download the PDF there are three choices:
1. Right-click the link and choose ‘save file as’
2. Click the link, have it open, then click the save icon
3. Install the “PDF Download” add-in

With ‘PDF Download’ installed, every time a PDF link is clicked a dialog asks if it should be opened or saved – brilliant!

– Troy @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2016-11-17T16:30:04-08:00October 8th, 2007|Software/Add-Ins|

Rotate Pictures in Windows Explorer

If you have bunch of images to insert into a presentation, but some are rotated (ie. taken in vertical layout with a digital camera) they can easily be rotated BEFORE inserting into the presentation.

1. Open Windows Explorer
2. Set View to thumbnail or filmstrip
3. Select image(s) to rotate
4. Right-click and choose the rotation (clockwise or counter clockwise) needed

– Troy @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2016-11-17T16:29:23-08:00October 5th, 2007|Tutorial|

Image Resizer

This free application from Microsoft has some great uses. Basically it does exactly what the name implies, it adds the ability to resize images. But this one is accessible from a right-click on any image.

It is a limited use application, in that it offers only four preset image sizes. If you click the ‘Advanced’ button it also offers the ability to set a custom size. Another nice feature is you can select multiple image files and convert all to a new size as a batch process.

You can get more info and download from here.

– Troy @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2016-11-17T16:28:35-08:00October 3rd, 2007|Software/Add-Ins|

Favorite Shortcuts and Apps

I have mentioned before, but one of the wonderful aspects of my projects is always working with different people and interacting with a diversity of talented people. Recently a group of us started talking about favorite applications, add-ins and shortcuts. Everyone seemed to have something that none of the others (all highly experienced graphic designers) had not heard of before.

Taking my cue from that group discussion I have put together a series on some of my favorite Windows short-cuts and applications. Some may be useful, others not so much. And if you have one that goes with one of posts – send me an email – so this series may grow and help us all.

– Troy @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2016-11-17T16:28:05-08:00October 1st, 2007|Personal, Resource/Misc|

Room With a View

Okay, to tie this in with the theme of the blog, PowerPoint, this occurred while traveling to review presentation content with my client.

I recently stayed in downtown Toronto which along with fantastic restaurants (I HIGHLY recommend the ribs at Baton Rouge) it has the SkyDome ball field. Over the course of three nights I enjoyed baseball games – without leaving my room. Click here to view a quick movie that explains all.

– Troy @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2016-11-17T16:27:39-08:00September 28th, 2007|Personal|

Stupid Options

I am setting up a new Dell laptop and making sure I like its performance before purchasing a number of them for shows. Well I just ‘discovered’ one of the worst (ie. stupidest) factory settings/features.

Turns out that Dell has a power save feature, set as the default, that disables the network port (NIC). Worse, it does not notify you of it being disabled – it’s just not there! Needless to say I discovered this gem while I was without a power supply and needed to connect the internet. Add one more to my list of factory settings to change.

– Troy @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2016-11-17T16:27:15-08:00September 26th, 2007|Personal|

Inflight MP3 Player

International flights are great. Larger planes and more amenities. Earlier this week I took this photo of the multimedia player that was on the seatbacks.

I was able to select from a large library of music, or could have watched one of the 30 movies. Still a long time to sit on an airplane, but tech novelties make it a bit more enjoyable. Also, note the USB port on the left.

– Troy @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2016-11-17T16:26:50-08:00September 24th, 2007|Personal|

Office 2003 SP3 Release

Yesterday Microsoft released the largest Office Service Pack ever (SP3). It covers security, improvements, Vista compatability and interoperability with Ofifce 2007.

Here is some of the facts Microsoft sent me:
• Over 6000 fixes.
• Over 70% focused on security.
• Includes 600+ new hotfixes (including fixes to Watson crashes).
• Includes 50 public updates/security bulletins.
• Includes SP1 and SP2.
• Total of 77 languages and 398 distinct patches.

Easiest way to download is from Microsoft Office Update.

– Troy @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2016-11-17T16:26:29-08:00September 19th, 2007|Software/Add-Ins|

PowerPoint 2007 for Dummies

As mentioned, I have been entrenched in two large projects that are being developed in PowerPoint 2007. There are tons of great features in the version – and there are tons of old-and-new annoyances, bugs, etc.

I could either fumble through many of the new features, or I could use some of the great resources that are available to all. Over the past few weeks I have referred to “Cutting Edge PowerPoint 2007” from the “For Dummies” series many times.

This great book is written by fellow PowerPoint MVP Geetesh Bajaj. Not really advocating this book over any other, but I am saying everyone – myself included – has some great resources available.

– Troy @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2016-11-17T16:26:06-08:00September 17th, 2007|Resource/Misc, Software/Add-Ins|

NXPowerlite Soon for Office 2007

Over the past few days I have been testing a beta version of the next NXPowerlite. Tommy over at Neuxpower Solutions contacted me at a perfect time, as I have been working exclusively in PPT 2007 for two large projects and have plenty of test subjects.

NXPowerlite is compression software for PowerPoint, Word and Excel files. I have been using this software for at least 3 years, so it has a proven track record with me. Version 3.5.1(beta) works with the new .xml format of Office 2007 files (ie. pptx, docx, etc.). The results have been great. One file produced an error, but they are still working out the kinks of embedded objects. The rest of my files did as promised – they got small, without visible quality loss. As example:

File 1: lots of large images and several charts created within Powerpoint. Original 20.8MB, after compression (at the ‘excellent’ level) 12MB.

File 2: LOTS of large images. Original 146MB, after compression 44MB!

When I hear the new product is available I will let you know. In the mean time, you can get the details about NXPowerlite here.

– Troy @ TLC

By TLC Creative Services, Inc.|2016-11-17T16:25:39-08:00September 12th, 2007|Software/Add-Ins|