I would like to say “I don’t know who needs to hear this.” But, I do know. It is everyone that uses PowerPoint and makes the assumption that the slides look good, so there is no problem with their presentation slide deck.

Let’s start with noting I am not picking on anyone specific, and this is not based on just one bad presentation. It is based on 100s of presentations from 100s of people!

Slides can be beautiful, and crash the computer. Slides can be beautiful and need 45 minutes to complete the edits that would take 10 minutes on a well maintained slide deck. What this series is about is highlighting 10 far too common behind-the-scenes issues that people are not aware are an issue or do not know to look for to fix the issue.

With that, join me for the next 10 blog posts showcasing PowerPoint file issues that everyone should fix if they are present!

Troy @ TLC

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Using the .png image created in the previous post, which literally took longer to create the post screen captures than actually remove the background, here is our slide with original image.

And the .png image with no background added to the slide.

Size and position the inserted .png over the original image.

Delete the original image and add the doll image for a great, quick to create, slide!

Troy @ TLC

PowerPoint has a remove background feature. For this complex image, it is not going to work (well). So we are opening the image in Photoshop and using the amazing Generative Fill tool.

The only thing needed is to click the SELECT SUBJET button.

The accuracy is literally amazing to me on the selection made!

With the subject selected, click the LAYER MASK icon to remove the background.

Isolated image!

TIP: do not export this image as the .png for the slide, it has lots of unneeded pixels. Go to IMAGE > TRIM

With these settings, click OK and the canvas is cropped to the visible pixels (Trim is a feature that has been in Photoshop for a long time, and it is amazing!)

Export this image as .png that is now ready to use on a slide.

Troy @ TLC

PowerPoint is a robust image editor, something that is taken for granted by those that have not endured the app evolution over the past years. But one humble feature that has seemingly always been there is the ability to rotate, or flip an object, or image. As a presentation designer, visual continuity is something I always am aware of, and revising slides where possible. As example:

Here is an iconic image from the recent Barbie movie, inserted onto a slide.

For this slide, the image was first moved to the right to setup the layout for a side-by-side comparison.

And the iconic Barbie that inspired the movie scene added.

Note, the doll photo shoot has Barbie facing to her right. The opposite of the movie scene. Continuity not ideal. But the doll has nothing indicating direction, or “backwards” so the image update can be accomplished direct in PowerPoint. Select the image > PICTURE FORMAT or HOME tab > ARRANGE > ROTATE > FLIP HORIZONTAL (note: for TLC we have the rotate and flip icons on the QAT as we use them often!).

And with a few clicks that slide images now align, facing the same direction, and visual continuity achieved

Troy @ TLC