Tutorial

Baseline Shift/Offset Any Text, Any Amount

If you need a custom super-script registration mark, or special text layout, using the OFFSET option can be the solution. Select text to adjust, open font dialog, and customize the Offset box.

Here is the standard super-scripted registration mark and a customized registration:

Another use of the text offset can be custom layouts such as this:

Note: I am not saying this is a good layout idea, just that it is possible all within one text box.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T10:32:10-07:00January 25th, 2011|Personal, Tutorial|

Baseline Shift = “Offset”

When a super-script or sub-script is applied, there is actually an automated adjustment to PowerPoint’s OFFSET function. To access, highlight text and click the arrow on the bottom right of the FONT group to launch the FONT DIALOG BOX.

Super-script text is a 30% baseline shift/offset and sub-script text is a -30% baseline shift/offset.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T10:32:59-07:00January 21st, 2011|Personal, Tutorial|

What is Baseline Shift?

Baseline shift = “To move a selected character up or down relative to the baseline/level of the surrounding text.“

Baseline shift is an essential typography fine tuning function. The most common use of it in PowerPoint is when a super-script or sub-script is applied to text. For example, here is my sample text:

After applying the super-script function, the number 1 is raised up higher than the text next to it – the baseline has been shifted.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T10:36:01-07:00January 19th, 2011|Personal, Tutorial|

Collapse the Ribbon

Sometimes having a bigger work area makes designing slides easier. A larger monitor or higher resolution monitor is an option, or just temporarily removing the ribbon is an easier option.

Standard ribbon (taking up screen realestate)

Collapsed ribbon (with more screen realestate for the design work)

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T10:36:28-07:00January 16th, 2011|Personal, Tutorial|

Using BackGround Removal and Blur Tools (by Ric Bretschneider)

PowerPoint MVP Ric Bretschneider added a great tutorial to his personal blog this week called “The PowerPoint Blur Trick”.

The image effects are done by combining the Background removal tool, duplicate images, and the Blur tool – all really good ways to achieve ‘Photoshop’ images direct in PowerPoint.

Check out the full tutorial here.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T10:39:09-07:00January 13th, 2011|Tutorial|

Animation Using Super Wide Panoramic Photo

Using the panoramic image from the previous post, here is a sample animation. Actually the audience sees a continuous animation, but from the designer view is a series of slides that use Slide Transitions for the animation effect.

1. Insert panoramic image (it is almost 5Xs the width of a slide)

2. Position it by using the Align tools. (1) Align left. (2) Align Middle.

3.Duplicate the slide. Right-click the image >> Format Picture >> Position (left pane) >> set Horizontal to -10.5″ (right pane)

4. Duplicate the slide and repeat process to set horizontal another 10.5″ to the left (-21″)

5. Duplicate the slide and repeat process to set horizontal another 10.5″ to the left (-31.5″)

6. Because the image is not exactly another 10.5″ wide, go to HOME tab >> ARANGE >> ALIGN >> ALIGN RIGHT

7. Select all 5 slides and set the slide transition to WIPE

8. With all 5 slides still selected adjust the slide transition – TRANSITIONS tab >> EFFECT OPTIONS >> FROM RIGHT, so the slide transitions visually act as the on-click animations.

The result is a slide show that lets you pan through image from left to right. Download this presntation here.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T10:39:33-07:00January 11th, 2011|Personal, Tutorial|

Create a Panoramic Image in Photoshop

Sometimes presentations need specialty images that are beyond the capabilities of PowerPoint. Here is my process for creating panoramic images:

1. Take a series of photos, aligning as close as possible. Here are my sample images – 4 photos taken from the 11,000′ elevation peak at BrianHead ski resort in Utah.

2. Open PhotoShop and import all images as separate layers. Be sure the layers are in order of what will be the side-by-side order.

3. With all 4 layers selected go to EDIT >> AUTO-ALIGN LAYERS.

4. In the Auto-Align Layers dialog there are a number of options, for this one I am going to use AUTO.

5. The result is (1) a super wide image, that is (2) made up of the layers, each repositioned side-by-side.

6. Then use the cropping tool to remove excess areas and create a clean rectangle.

7. Because my images have slightly different exposures, the individual images can still be seen. First I quickly apply an AUTO TONE, AUTO CONTRAST, AUTO COLOR to each layer. Then I use the eraser tool to blend the edges – which is easy because the AUTO ALIGN tool overlaps the images.

8. Now with the edges blended I have a super wide panoramic image ready to be saved as a .jpg and inserted into a presentation.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T10:39:49-07:00January 9th, 2011|Tutorial|

Windows 7 Explorer Previews – See Without Opening!

Windows 7 is without a doubt the best operating system Microsoft has released to date. I find it stable, easy to use, powerful and full of useful features. The core usability of any operating system is how it organizes and allows you to find files. I did a curiousity check and at almost half a million files on my main production computer, and over 3 million files on the main archive server, finding and identifying files easily is a big task!

Here is the standard Windows File Explorer in Windows 7.

This icon in the upper right, opens the very powerful, and very useful, Preview Pane.

Click the Preview Pane icon and Windows Explorer adds an additional information pane on the right.

Select a PowerPoint file and the slides are previewed without opening the full application! The vertical scroll bar on the right takes you through each slide, including transitions and animations!

Select a PDF file and the full PDF, page-by-page is shown in the preview pane. The PDF preview adds navigation buttons in addition to the scroll bar on the right.

Select a movie file, which can be a .wmv, .avi, or quicktime/.mov (if running the 32-bit operating system) are previewed with an active timeline bar and vital stats about it in the bottom bar, such as file size and pixel size.

Select any Microsoft Office document – Word, Excel, Onenote, PowerPoint, and all show up in the preview pane.

Select an image (.jpg, .gif, .png, but not .eps, .psd, .ai) for a preview and the bottom bar with all the vital stats, such as file size and dimensiions.

When looking through dozens, or thousands, of files the Windows Explorer Preview Pane in Windows 7 is GREAT!

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T10:41:16-07:00January 5th, 2011|Tutorial|

Creating the “Happy New Year” Text in PPT 2010

2011 started with a “Happy New Year” graphic and message. Creating the graphic was easy in PPT 2010.

1. Type text and size

2. Add style formatting (fill color and 3-D bevel)

3. Duplicate orginal black text slide and apply a custom 3-D bevel

4. Then customize the Surface Material and Lighting

5. Copy the colored text to the 3D perspective text slide and adjust size of each to match

6. I added the TLC company logo, then size/positioned to take place of the dot in the explanation point

The completed slide can be downloaded here.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T10:41:43-07:00January 3rd, 2011|Tutorial|

Recolor .png Images in PPT

I am continously reflecting on how much more I can do inside PPT 2010 vs. going out to an external application such as Photoshop when developing slides. Here is an example from a recent project that was done in PPT in a matter of seconds vs. opening image in Photoshop, adjusting, saving, importing new version of image.

Here is my highly stylized trend line (used on a slide to show the economy is making progress, without showing any detailed numbers or facts). It is a .png image I prepared in Photoshop and inserted into the presentation.

Here is the same image, now full screen and on the presentation template backgound – it does not have enough contrast against the background.

By selecting the image and then going to FORMAT >> CORRECTIONS I used the presets (all based on the template color scheme) to recolor the trendline image to a color with more contrast.

Done. Move on to next slide.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T10:51:13-07:00November 3rd, 2010|Tutorial|
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