Tutorial

PowerPoint Text Box Cell Padding (Margins)

One great feature of PowerPoint is knowing that every text box is basically a mini Word document which means adjusting the cell padding can be done quickly and easily.

Cell padding-1

By default, all text is inset a small amount in each text box. Here is an example from the Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 default template. There is .1″ all the way around.

Cell padding-2

The cell padding, or inset, is easily customized. Select a text box, right-click and select Format Shape.

Cell padding-3

In the Formatting text pane, click the Text Options.

Cell padding-4

Click the text box icon.

Cell padding-5

Adjust the Left/Right/Top/Bottom margins exactly as needed.

Cell padding-6

Here is the same text box with a 0″ margin all the way around so the text is right next to the placeholder now.

Cell padding-7

And here is a callout bar with the text set to start 1″ in from the left edge.

Cell padding-8

Just some formatting ideas for your next presentation. Otherwise, you are stuck wondering why the text in a shape is not in the position it should be.

 

– Troy@TLC

 

By |2016-08-10T08:25:42-07:00April 6th, 2016|Tutorial|

2-Up PDF Printout of PowerPoint Slides

Printing slides is a common need. But the Microsoft presets are not optimal. For example, let’s look at “2-up” printouts directly from PowerPoint and then we’ll look at my preferred option which is using Adobe Acrobat to create the 2-up PDF printout.

Using Microsoft’s PowerPoint preset:

1. Go to File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document

2-up PDF printout Export_Image1

2. In the PUBLISH OPTIONS section, change the drop down menu to HANDOUTS. Slides per page = 2. Keep HORIZONTAL setting. A print preview of the pages will be on the right.

2-up PDF printout PPT_Image2

Select OK and your PDF will be created.

2-up PDF printout PPT_Image3

 

But, these can be larger images of each slide if we do not use the PowerPoint preset.

 

To create 2-up printout using Adobe Acrobat (Note: This is a multi-step process, but the result is great):

1. Go to File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document. This time don’t worry about the options, just create PDF with 1 slide per page (the default print setup).

2upBlog_1upPDF_Image4

2. Now we are going to print the PDF again. From the PDF of the slides, Go to File >Print

2-up PDF printout PDF_Image5

3. Select ADOBE PDF as your printer.

4. In the Page Sizing and Handling select MULTIPLE.

5. In Pages Per Sheet select Custom.

6. Set to 1 by 2, the small print preview should look like the below example.

7. PRINT.

2upBlog_PrintPDFoptions_Image6

As you can see, side-by-side, the Adobe Acrobat 2-up PDF printout on the left has larger slide images than the PowerPoint 2-up printout, the Adobe Acrobat 2-up takes up the page significantly more than PowerPoint does.

2upBlog_2upPDF_Image72upBlog_2upPPT_Image3

Just a simple option to provide better printouts. It also works for 3-4-6-8-up printouts!

-Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-10T08:27:31-07:00April 4th, 2016|Tutorial|

Where is PowerPoint’s Ruler?

This is a very common question that we’ve encountered on many occasions.  By default, the Ruler is not visible when PowerPoint is launched.

Ruler image_02v2

To see the Rulers, go to the View tab, Show section and turn on Ruler.

img2

That’s it! Now the rulers will be visible automatically when PowerPoint is used.

 

-Troy @ TLC

 

 

By |2016-08-10T08:28:41-07:00April 1st, 2016|Tutorial|

HD, 2k,4k, 8k Resolution Guide

Living in the digital era isn’t always easy. It is difficult to keep up with aspect ratio and resolution for PowerPoint Presentations. Here is a quick reference beyond this modern marvel of technology:

Resolution-6

 

Why is it called 2K-4K-8K?

An easy way to know what to call a resolution is to look only at the horizontal pixel count. 2K, 4K, 8K, etc. all refer to the horizontal resolution – approximately that number.

Note: For this post, all resolutions referenced are for 16×9 aspect ratio displays (with the exception of 2K).

HD (1920×1080)

HD, or High Definition, is used for two resolutions 1280×720 or 1920×1080.  These are commonly referred to as 720p or 1080p (see this post that explains “P” and “I”). I am going to refer to 1080p as HD.

Resolution-1

2K

HD, or High Definition, almost 2K, but not quite. 2K resolution is 2048×1080. It is a long story why computer displays did not just go with 2K, we’ll save that for another post. But needless to say, true 2K resolution is not used a lot in an HD world.

Resolution-2

4K

Like HD, 4K is actually 2 different resolutions depending on the context. The resolution we use for PowerPoint resolution and 4K monitors is called UHDTV 4K @ 3840 x 2160 pixels. The film industry will use 4096 x 2160 pixels, but this is not a 16×9 aspect ratio so it is not a part of this discussion and something you will most likely never use.

Resolution-3

8K

Yes, I am skipping 6K (noted below), because 8K is the next industry standard, also called UHDTV 8K @ 7680 x 4320 pixels. This is a lot of pixels and yes we design presentations for beyond 8K projection!

Resolution-4

 

6K, 10K, 12K and beyond are all resolutions, but they are not industry standards. Here is a quick list of resolutions, that includes them for reference.

HD = 1920×1080

2K = 2048×1080

4K = 3840×2160

5K = 5120×2880

6K = 6144×3160

8K = 7680×4320

10K = 10328×7760

Yes, PowerPoint can handle any of these resolutions. It is not so much a question of can PowerPoint handle a high resolution as it is can the computer and monitor/projector handle the high resolution. In addition, many stage events we develop presentations for use an array of side-by-side projectors to create a custom resolution. Usually, it is an array of HD, 1920×1080, projectors, so (and I am simplifying the details) a 4 projector wide setup will create an 8K wide by HD height image. TLC then creates a custom PowerPoint for the 7680 x 1080 pixel resolution, which we generically refer to as “Ultrawide Presentations.”

Industry Standard Resolutions in 1 Chart

Resolution-5

 

-Troy @ TLC

 

 

 

By |2016-08-10T08:31:00-07:00March 25th, 2016|Resource/Misc, Tutorial|

Use The PowerPoint Video Playback Bar

Inserting video into Powerpoint is an easy task. Using the video playback bar also makes controlling the video playback easy.

playback bar 1

The playback bar is available in slide edit view – when a video is selected, it appears. The playback bar can be used to preview the video, click-and-scrub through a video, pause a video, and see a live time code.

 

During a presentation, when the mouse is moved over the video, a simplified semi-transparent playback bar will pop up. Most of the same functions are available; time code and incremental incremental jumps are not on the playback bar in slideshow.

5-2B

The playback bar position cannot be moved (although this functionality is definitely on my wish list for the Microsoft Dev team). When the cursor is moved off the video, the playback bar hides almost immediately (and reappears with any mouse movement over the video).

Slideshow playback control options:

  1. Play / Pause Button.
  2. Timeline bar (click anywhere on timeline and jump video to that position, click-and-drag and “scrub” through the video forward and back).
  3. Volume Control (very helpful for muting a video during a presentation).

 

7

 

The semi-transparent playback bar is not overly distracting because it’s nicely designed. Here are a few examples over different color videos. In addition, these two videos are on the same slide, side-by-side. See demo video of this slide below.

9-1B

Here is a video demo of interacting with videos during a slide show.

[KGVID]https://thepowerpointblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/unnamed-file.mp4[/KGVID]

-Troy @ TLC

 

 

 

By |2019-10-28T09:58:50-07:00March 23rd, 2016|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

Download Streaming Videos using Keepvid.com

 

Keepvid.com allows you to download streaming videos from of a variety of websites, including YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and more. The process is quick, easy and very convenient.

A video version of this process is below.

1

To get started, you must first make sure that Java is enabled. According to keepvid.com/help, Java is sometimes required to fetch download links.

 

keepvid.com 1

2

Find the video that you want to download, copy the link – URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to your video and paste it in the field to the left of the Download button.

 

url

 
2

3

A list of links to your video file will appear on the bottom of the page in various sizes and formats.

Formats to select from include Video formats: MP4, FLV, 3GP, WebM and Audio Formats: M4A, MP3.

 
 
3

Click on the actual link for your specific format and size to simply save the video file.

 
4

4

You now have the video (in the format of your choice) downloaded onto your computer!

2016-03-17_11-34-36

 

– Troy @ TLC


Video Demonstration.

[KGVID]https://thepowerpointblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/unnamed-file-3.mp4[/KGVID]

(Note: This an updated post. Original post 05/07/2014)

I’m sure you’re aware of the legalities over Copyright Infringement. Download videos that are not yours at your own risk.

 

By |2019-10-28T10:00:53-07:00March 18th, 2016|Resource/Misc, Tutorial|

Recolor Content with Powerpoint Tools

In PowerPoint, you can place content on top of a video background to create a dynamic and dimensional design.

Find a great example we created here:

[KGVID]https://thepowerpointblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/unnamed-file-7.mp4[/KGVID]

Here’s how to create a similar effect to your video

1

Insert  (1) Video onto your Canvas , click (2) Video and select your Video.

2016-03-01_11-02-20

 

2

To recolor your video, click on (1) Format Tab, select (2) Color tool in the drop down, you get Recolor options.You can add custom colors by Selecting the (3) More Variations or using the (4) Eyedropper tool.

1_ Recolor Content Over Video

 

3

Once you are satisfied with the styling of the video, select your (1) video on the Canvas, select (2) Playback, set the video to (3) Start Automatically and Loop until Stopped.

2016-03-01_11-35-523

4

Next, add stylized text and graphics directly on top of the video and animate as desired. The end result is a slide with content that animates directly on top of the video background.

 

2016-03-01_11-54-45

 

-Michelle @ TLC

By |2019-11-12T11:50:22-08:00March 2nd, 2016|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

Create a Picture Frame Using a Video

Here’s how we created a Video Picture Frame in PowerPoint

My example is a standard 4×3 slide. The goal was to create a picture frame that was full slide size and for the picture frame to have motion. By layering a video under the photo and sizing it to the same aspect ratio as the photo, the result is a dynamic motion picture frame. The steps to make it happen are pretty easy.

Step 1

Add the photo to the slide (we prepped this image in Photoshop by making it semi-transparent and saving out as a .png).

Video Picture image 01

Step 2

Add the video to the slide, send to back, resize and crop to proportionally be a bit larger than the photo.

Video Picture Frame-centered

 

Step 3

Fine tune position of video and photo. Select both and use the ARRANGE > ALIGN > ALIGN CENTER and ALIGN MIDDLE to make them exactly centered on each other.

Video Picture image 03

Step 4

Set video animation. Select the video, remove the current trigger animation, add a new PLAY animation set to WITH PREVIOUS.

VideoFrame Animation

Step 5

Set video to loop. Select video, go to PLAYBACK > VIDEO OPTIONS > LOOP UNTIL STOPPED.

Powerpoint Video Picture Frame 6

Step 6

Stylize video with an outline and drop shadow. Stylize photo with an outline and inner shadow.

Video Picture Frame with Shadow

Step 7

View in slide show!

[KGVID]https://thepowerpointblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/unnamed-file-1.mp4[/KGVID]

-Troy @ TLC

 

 

By |2019-11-15T09:42:16-08:00February 22nd, 2016|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

How to Prevent Resize Slide From Erasing Formatting (part 3)

The solution we use at TLC Creative Services is to remove the variant. The simple answer is to save the presentation as a PowerPoint template (.potx) which creates a file with no variants. Here is a quick step-by-step process:

1. Go to File>> Save As >> POTX from drop down list

  • Save to the desktop (this is a temporary file you will delete)
  • Use a file name that is applicable to the template
  • Note 1: The file name will be seen in the file properties
  • Note 2: A .potx is a PowerPoint template and it cannot contain slides, so doing this is going to DELETE all slides (which will be added back in a few steps)

SlideResize-8

2. Open the new .potx file and look at the file properties

  • Creating a .POTX removes the Default Theme ID
  • The TEMPLATE property will now list the .POTX file name
  • Note: When you open a .potx, it automatically creates a .pptx presentation file.

SlideResize-12

3. Go to FILE > SAVE AS > POWERPOINT PRESENTATION (.pptx) from the drop down list

  • Opening a .potx automatically creates a .pptx presentation file
  • Open file is most likely named “Presentation1.pptx”
  • Save presentation with a new file name – Best Practice: Name same as original file name + version # (eg. _v2)

4. Go to DESIGN tab > VARIANTS section

  • The presentation now has no VARIANTS

SlideResize-13

7. Add slides from original presentation to the new, no variant, presentation and save file

8. Delete the temporary .potx and the original presentation

9. Use the Resize option without losing template formatting!

 

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-10T09:00:17-07:00August 19th, 2015|Tutorial|

Why Resize Slide Erases All Formatting (part 2)

The previous post showed how template formatting is often stripped out of a presentation when it is resized.

SlideResize-1      SlideResize-9

So here is my simple, non-tech description of what is happening inside PowerPoint (Note: If you really want details on templates and themes, I highly recommend Echo Swinford and Julie Terberg’s excellent book: Building PowerPoint Templates Step by Step with the Experts).

The resize “bug by design” will only happen with presentations and templates developed in PowerPoint 2013 and above.  Files created in PPT 2007 and 2010, even if edited in 2013, do not have the resize issue because those versions of PowerPoint do not have the troublemaking feature. With PowerPoint 2013, a new option for templates was added, VARIANTS. Variants will eventually be a great feature, but currently they are not really used and the “Super Theme Templates” they open the door to create are so difficult to develop, I only know a few designers in the world who really understand them and are willing to tackle them (and I am not one of them).

Variants, which you see in the Ribbon on the Design Tab, are basically template styling options.

SlideResize-5

When resizing slides, PowerPoint needs to use a variant. If there is not a custom variant already there from a Theme, PowerPoint reapplies the Microsoft Default Theme. The default theme, called “Office Theme,” is what you get when opening a new blank presentation (boring, white, no stylized formatting).

SlideResize-10

When the default theme, and its variants, are applied, all formatting to the master slide and layouts are replaced with this “default” setup. What this means is nicely designed slides lose their existing template styling attributes. See the previous post for a downloadable sample slide you can test and see formatting stripped.

Here are 2 ways I do a quick check to see if a provided file is going to have an issue if it needs to be resized:

1. Go to FILE > PROPERTIES > expand to see all properties > TEMPLATE

– If the TEMPLATE property is BLANK or has “OFFICE THEME,” I know it is almost 100% certain to have formatting issues if resized

SlideResize-6

2. Or I look at the DESGIN tab >> VARIANTS section and see what variants are available (Note: If there are no variant thumbnails, that is covered in part 3, and it is okay)

SlideResize-11

The next post, part 3, is a step-by-step solution to avoid PowerPoint adversely affecting slides when resized.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-06-16T14:07:02-07:00August 17th, 2015|Tutorial|
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