Tutorial

#10 – Animation Painter

Okay, this one is great! Actually, I have enjoyed this function since PPT XP thanks to the PPTXtreme Edit add-in. The Animation Painter makes my top 10 because it is that much of a needed feature and will be used by everyone.

Here are my sample shapes that I want to animate:

I setup the first image (square) with a complex animation that involves 3 animations all set WITH PREVIOUS for a dynamic entrance.

The Animation Painter works like the Format Painter. Select an object with an animation, click the Animation Painter, and apply that animation to any other object – on any slide.

I want the same animated entrance for the circle, but do not need to spend the time applying the 3 animations and setting their attributes. Now I:
1. select the square
2. select the Animation Painter
3. Select the circle
4. click the animation painter again and all of the animations are set!

As a side note: You know you are running pre-beta software when the buttons do not have icons, but a generic dot….

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-09-16T09:19:02-07:00November 22nd, 2009|Resource/Misc, Tutorial|

#8 – Video Styles

There are so many great things when working with inserted video files in PPT 2010 this can only be an overview of some of the new tools and ways to work with them.

Here is my sample video, an abstract motion background loop:

With the movie selected the FORMAT tab offers all of the custom settings:

Videos are no longer contrained to rectangles! Any autoshape can contain a movie, just select the one you want:

Here is my sample movie set to playback in some custom shapes:

In addition the CROP TOOL works on videos now! So the next time you have a CNN news ticker running along the bottom of a video, just use the crop tool to remove it!

Almost any style options for shapes and images can be applied to videos. As example here is the RECOLOR pallet (note the pallet gives a live preview of the video in the thumbnails):

Here is the video changed to a blue from its original pink – just 3 clicks!

Here is the sample video with a lot of style settings applied:
– Drop shadow
– Gradient outline
– 3D perspective
– Reflection (that plays in synce with video!)

And the video played perfect, even with all of the custom styles applied.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-09-16T09:20:04-07:00November 18th, 2009|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

#7 – Image Crop Tool

When doing a PPT Training seminar I am always amazed that people are not aware of the image crop tool and how to use it. For PPT 2010 this simple, useful tool gets a lot better!

Here is my sample photo:

With the image selected I go to FORMAT >> CROP (okay, in reality I have added this to my QAT for faster access):

Now the image has the familiar black-dash handles for cropping – but it also has the standard dot handles…

When cropping an image the non-visible (cropped) portion of the image is still visible with a dark mask:

Here is the cropped image when I click off of it (deselect it). Only the cropped image is visible:

The cropping can be adjusted at any time, by selecting the image and crop tool. But the really great function is the ability to move the crop window to any position of the image! Think about setting up one image as a style guide cropped to a specific size. Duplicate the image, replace the image and move crop window to best crop the new image – but have the exact same size (visible) image.
Move Image within Crop Window

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-09-16T09:20:56-07:00November 16th, 2009|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

#6 – Video and Audio Options

The Microsoft development team has added some really, really great usability options for working with video and audio files!

First, when a video or audio file is inserted it can easily be previewed from the edit view with full playback controls:

A. Play/Pause
B. Playback duration, which is draggable
C. Step forward/back (approx. 1/4 second per click)
D. Timecode
E. Volume control

In slideshow a pop-up playback bar can be activated – just move the mouse to view it (note: the pop-up playback bar can also be disabled during a slideshow (my preference)) that has play/pause, playback duration indicator (also draggable) and volume control.

When a video is inserted it by default shows the 1st frame of the video (often black) which is called the “Poster Frame”. In PPT 2010 the Poster Frame can easily be set to any frame in the video or an external image!

Here is the new Ribbon tab to Edit video files:

It makes many of the current options easy to find and set. It also adds some new features, like the “Trim Video” button.

The Trim Video button opens a new dialog box that most of the time replaces the need for video editing software!

A. Playback preview
B. The orange left bar can be moved to any point and the video begins playback from there (called ‘trim’).
C. The red right bar can be moved/slide to any point, but not past the begin/orange bar, and the video ends there
D. Shows the timecode position of the begin/orange bar
E. Shows the timecode position of the end/red bar

There are even more fine tuning options for both videos and audio files. PPT 2010 really opens PowerPoint to the power of multimedia integration!

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-09-16T09:21:21-07:00November 14th, 2009|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

#5 – Thumbnail Zoom to 200%

Okay, this one will probably be overlooked by most, but to me it ranks in the top 5 new features! Looking at slide sorter view is great for storyboarding and quickly finding a specific slide – if you can read the content. Note: All screen captures are same monitor resolution and PPT window, only the zoom level changes.

Here is my sample deck viewed in Thumbnail, or slide sorter, at 40%. Very difficult to identify content on the slides.

If your monitor is stuck at 1024×768 thumbnails viewed at 100% are discernable. But view those same thumbnails on a 1900×2000 (HD) monitor and they are small blobs of color and squiggly lines where the text is.

Here is the sample deck viewed at 100%, the current maximum. Large content may be legible, but the small stuff is still illegible.

But zoom in 150% or 200% and everything is legible! The zoom bar in the lower right now goes past 100% up to 200% which is great!

Here is the sample deck viewed as thumbnails, zoomed to the new maximum of 200%. Everything on the slide can be read and identified.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-09-16T09:22:03-07:00November 12th, 2009|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

#4 – Slide Transitions

Transitions also benefit from #1 – Performance. In my pre-beta version there are a number of new transitions that are really exciting!

– Pan (my new animation favorite!)
– Gallery
– Flip
– Ripple
– And the full application will have more new transitions than just these!
New Transitions Sample Video is converted to low-res .gif “movie”. Note on the PAN transitions the background stays in place while the content moves/transitions!

Plus the legacy transitions also get some fantastic updating. As example the WIPE, CLOCK, RANDOM BARS, transitions leads with a soft gradient edge. The DISSOLVE and CHECKERBOARD transitions are screens full of soft edged squares (that I might use again after ignoring since 2004).

The interface has been updated too. First, Transtions now have their own tab (no longer shared with Animations).

Almost all of the adjustments are controlled directly in the Ribbon (vs. opening a separate dialog):

We now have precise control over animation duration, ranging from a full minute:

To a very quick 1/25th of a second:

The updated interface also limits the list of transitions by adding any transition options in the new EFFECT OPTIONS menu. Here I have WIPE selected and I can choose the direction from the drop down menu.

Just another GREAT feature that adds new features and improves the existing.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-09-16T09:22:30-07:00November 10th, 2009|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

#3 – Insert and EMBED Virtually ANY Audio File

Just like the videos, PPT 2010 supports a whole host of audio formats and embeds them all! Take a look at the audio formats supported (Yes, all flavors of quicktime, .mp3 and more are supported!):

PowerPoints backoffice also recognizes when audio files have been inserted and offers conversion and optimization options.

– Optimize Media Compatability: converts audio files to Microsoft’s preferred/native format, .wma.
– Reduce The Size of Media Files: will convert (same as above) and also offer a range of compression levels.
In this sample I inserted a 7.5MB .m4a and converted to a .wma at the highest quality (presentation) to have a 100k audio file embedded – without any noticeable quality difference.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-09-16T09:22:50-07:00November 8th, 2009|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

#2 – Insert ANY Movie Type and EMBED

PPT 2007 brought the new .pptx file format. PPT 2010 starts taking full advantage of the new file format with the ability to truly embed video files!

Just look at the INSERT >> VIDEO >> VIDEO FROM FILE options listed (Yes, that is Quicktime, .mp4, and mpeg2!).

In the presentation info section is details about the EMBEDDED video.

– Optimize Compatability: I inserted a quicktime video (which plays no problem). But Microsoft really wants its own format (.wmv) and this feature will convert all embedded videos to .wmv (which it does very well, maintaining quality and producing small file sizes).
– Reduce The Size of Media Files: .wmv files can be compressed in 3 quality levels, choose the level needed here (note: you can go directly to this feature, skipping “optimize compatability”). It also has an ‘undo’ option. I have been optimizing videos, reviewing in slideshow and deciding if the quality was maintained, if not I just ‘undo’. For this sample I inserted a 21MB .mov and it was compressed to a 1.5MB .wmv with no visible quality difference.

The embed video functionality (and the video options detailed later) will revolutionize the use of video in presentations. Microsoft has eliminated linking issues, forgotten files (Yes, Mr. Client you need to have both the presentation and the video files on your computer – in the same folder) and format issues (no, Mr. Client, I am sorry but Microsoft and Apple do not play together when it comes to using Quicktime videos in a presntation).

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-09-16T09:23:27-07:00November 6th, 2009|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

Slideshow vs. Reader Views

In yesterday’s post I captured my sample online slideshow in PowerPoint’s new “Reader View” – which is somewhere between the traditional edit view and a full slide show. My reason was simple, it made it clear the presentation was running on the web.

There are 3 view options with the PPT Web App.

1. Edit

2. Slideshow

3. Reader

The “Reader” view is in all the MS Webb Apps and in the upcoming Office 2010. Click “view” presentation and this is the default view. To see as a full screen slideshow click the “slideshow” button from this view.

The reader view default shows animations, slide notes, the web browser window is resizable and relies on SilverLight for best performance.

The control bar at the bottom the reader view is used to advance through slides and animations. Unlike the preview animation feature in PowerPoint, the reader view maintains animation timings and pauses for each on-click animation – just like running the slideshow.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-09-16T09:25:36-07:00October 30th, 2009|Tutorial|

PowerPoint Web App – Use It Today!

Everyone is eagerly awaiting the release of Office 2010 and the new PowerPoint (or they should be – it is the best release/improvement since PowerPoint XP!). With the new version Microsoft offers a new set of tools with its Office Web Applications for PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and OneNote. For a limited time anyone can start using the public beta (up to the first 50k or so users).

– You need a Microsoft email account (hotmail, live.com, etc.)

– If you have not setup a Sky Drive (virtual hard drive) you will need to do so

– Go to your Sky Drive documents folder and drag a .pptx file there

* The first one uploaded will be recognized as a Microsoft document and then offer you the opportunity to participate in the Office Web Apps public beta – accept and you are all set!

I have a few more posts set to review the use and features, but here is my personal opinion of the PowerPoint Web App as of today. Microsoft has pulled together a major amount of code development in a short amount of time. The functionality is very limited.

But I can clearly see how it will rapidly improve and become a mainstay in presentation use. It lives in the ‘cloud’ and updates do not have to wait for the standard upgrade time of services pack or new versions. I think the web apps will have the quickest development within Microsoft over the next several years – one we will directly benefit from.

I view the PowerPoint Web Apps as 2 sided:
1. Sharing a presentation online (which is very easy and very well done). Microsoft has this use incredibly far down the developement cycle. It works.

2. Creating or editing a presentation online. This is definitely a 1.0 release and the feature set is limited, a bit frustrating, and will definitely get better and more usable.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-09-16T09:26:17-07:00October 27th, 2009|Tutorial|
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