book

Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances

Name: Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
Author: Echo Swinford
ISBN: 9780596100049

by Echo Swinford

February 2006

Intermediate to advanced

326 pages

9h 16m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
Copyright
Introduction
Do You Need This Book?What’s Covered in This Book?“You Haven’t Covered My Pet Annoyance”Conventions Used in This BookSafari®EnabledAcknowledgments
1. Presenting Your Presentation
1.1. SETTING UP YOUR EQUIPMENT1.1.1. The Slides Look Crooked1.1.2. The Slides Look All Skinny on the Bottom1.1.3. I Can’t Hear the Sound1.1.4. Slides Won’t Move Forward1.1.5. Silence Is Golden1.1.6. Image Doesn’t Show on Projector1.2. VIEWING YOUR PRESENTATION1.2.1. Presentation Keeps Locking Up1.2.2. Video Doesn’t Show on Projector1.2.3. PowerPoint Opens Minimized1.2.4. Use White Backgrounds for Acetates1.2.5. Use Contrasting Text and Backgrounds1.2.6. Learn How to Navigate Your Presentation1.2.7. Navigating to Hidden Slides1.2.8. Back Up During the Presentation1.2.9. Get Rid of Slide Show Starting Screen1.2.10. Get Rid of End of Slide Show Screen1.2.11. Hide the Arrow1.2.12. Draw Straight Lines with the Pen1.2.13. Access Files from Your Presentation1.2.14. Avoid the Hyperlinked Files Message1.3. THINGS THAT DRIVE PRESENTERS CRAZY1.3.1. Change Note Size in Presenter View1.3.2. Practice with Only One Monitor1.3.3. Start Slide Show from the Current Slide1.3.4. Create a Self-Running Presentation1.3.5. Kiosk Mode Is Broken1.3.6. Loop Your Presentation Continuously1.3.7. Show a Range of Slides1.3.8. Add Current Date and Time
2. Dumb Defaults
2.1. STUFF KEEPS MOVING AROUND2.1.1. Turn Off AutoFit Body Text to Placeholder2.1.2. Inserted Pictures Change the Layout2.1.3. Reverse Flipped Images2.1.4. Prevent Text from Moving Around2.1.5. Force Complete Menus2.1.6. Make Toolbar Icons Stay in One Place2.2. CUSTOMIZE POWER POINT TO SUIT YOUR NEEDS2.2.1. Restore Missing Images and Charts2.2.2. Restore Grayed-Out Commands2.2.3. Restore New Animations2.2.4. Bring Back Color Views2.2.5. Make Sure You Have a Qualifying Product2.2.6. Change the Username in Comments2.2.7. Avoid Saving in Notes Page View2.2.8. Add Save as HTML to the Menu2.2.9. Outline View Icon Gone2.3. WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THESE FILE SIZES?2.3.1. Turn Off Fast Saves Feature2.3.2. Choose the Correct “Save as type” Option2.3.3. Ungroup Your Excel Charts After Pasting2.4. SLIDES, TEMPLATES, AND OTHER RELATED DEFAULTS2.4.1. Specify a Default Template2.4.2. Specify a Default Slide Layout2.4.3. Create a Default Chart Style2.4.4. Add a Placeholder to the Slide Layout2.4.5. Find a Template on the Task Pane2.4.6. File → New Doesn’t Do Anything2.4.7. Turn Off Snap to Grid2.4.8. Make PowerPoint Rulers Show Centimeters2.5. ACTIVATION, VERSIONS, AND CORRUPTION2.5.1. Transfer Your Settings to a New Computer2.5.2. Office Tells Me to Reactivate2.5.3. Edit PPS Files2.5.4. Help Files Only Available Online2.5.5. Understand the Background Printing Setting2.5.6. Dealing with Different Versions of PowerPoint2.5.7. Password-Protect Your Presentations2.5.8. My Presentation Is Corrupt
3. Formatting and Editing
3.1. TEMPLATES AND MASTERS3.1.1. Locate Your Templates3.1.2. Force Templates to Show in the Task Pane3.1.3. Find More Templates3.1.4. Create a Template3.1.5. Add a Title Master3.1.6. Slide Thumbnail View Disappears3.1.7. Create Multiple Masters3.1.8. Distinguish One Master from Another3.1.9. Apply a Template to Only a Few Slides3.1.10. Masters Disappear from the Presentation3.1.11. Deleting Slide Masters3.1.12. Font Size Changes on Title Master3.1.13. Add Placeholders to the Masters3.1.14. Add a Color Scheme to a Template3.1.15. Add Color Schemes Without Applying Color Schemes3.1.16. Apply Multiple Masters in a Presentation3.1.17. Determine Which Master Will Apply3.1.18. Can’t See Text When You Type3.1.19. The Automatic Contrast Is Ugly3.1.20. Set a New Default Template3.1.21. Set a New Default Master Slide3.1.22. Set Default Graphs and Org Charts3.1.23. Determine Default Colors for Charts3.1.24. Add Filename to Every Slide3.1.25. Number Slides XX of YY3.1.26. Numbers Still Show on Title Slide3.1.27. Add Slide Numbers3.2. FORMATTING3.2.1. Move Slide Layouts3.2.2. Reapply a Slide Layout3.2.3. Set Default Font3.2.4. Set Default Text Box and AutoShape Settings3.2.5. When You Draw a Line or a Rectangle, Nothing Shows Up3.2.6. Not All Slides Appear After You Paste3.2.7. Changing Font Locks PowerPoint3.2.8. Group Objects3.2.9. Align Objects3.2.10. Make Grid Visible3.2.11. Change the Grid Setting in PowerPoint 97 and 20003.2.12. Arrow Keys Jump by Leaps and Bounds3.2.13. Text Ends Up in Placeholder3.2.14. Change Text Case3.2.15. Change Text Case Adds Strange Capitalization3.2.16. Go from Word to PowerPoint3.2.17. Set Hanging Indents on Bulleted Text3.2.18. Using Bulleted and Non-Bulleted Text Together3.2.19. Create Small Caps3.2.20. Line Spacing Cuts Off Text3.2.21. Set Font Size Increments3.2.22. Set Tabs on a Slide
4. Importing
4.1. GRAPHICS4.1.1. Don’t Drag and Drop or Paste Graphics4.1.2. My Presentation Tries to Connect to the Internet4.1.3. Inserted Pictures Are Really Big4.1.4. Can’t Make Part of a Picture Transparent4.1.5. Too Much of the Picture Is Transparent4.1.6. Transparent Parts Turn Black4.1.7. Rotate Images4.1.8. Batch Import Images4.1.9. Crop Images Before Insertion4.1.10. Add Pictures to a Photo Album4.1.11. Flippin’ Graphics Flip4.2. EXCEL4.2.1. Excel Data Cut Off4.2.2. Colored Text Turns Black4.2.3. Get Rid of Gridlines4.2.4. Extract Data from an Embedded Excel Chart4.2.5. Paste the Whole Workbook with the Chart4.2.6. Font Size Goes Wacky When I Resize4.2.7. Create Separate Chartsheets4.2.8. Fonts on Chart Not Visible4.2.9. Excel Headers and Footers Don’t Transfer4.3. CLIP ART4.3.1. Clip Art Task Pane Doesn’t Show Clips4.3.2. Clips Take Forever to Load4.3.3. Recolor a Clip4.3.4. Search Just Black and White Clips4.3.5. Inserted Clips Look Fuzzy4.3.6. Nothing Happens When I Click Properties in an basket, or see the properties of the clip. Online Clip4.4. WORD, PDFS, AND STUFF FROM THE WEB4.4.1. Change the Default Paste Action4.4.2. Use Animations from the Web4.4.3. What Does the Little Blue Circle with a Question Mark Mean?4.4.4. Pasted Buttons Don’t Work4.4.5. Use Animated GIFs4.4.6. Import a Word Outline4.4.7. Insert a Gantt Chart from Microsoft Project4.4.8. Import PDFs into PowerPoint
5. Organization Charts, Diagrams, and Drawing Tools
5.1. ORGANIZATION CHARTS5.1.1. Edit Existing Org Charts5.1.2. Out-of-Memory Errors5.1.3. Add More Lines to a Box in an Org Chart5.1.4. Add Another Head Honcho5.1.5. Organization Chart Exceeds Limit5.2. DIAGRAMS5.2.1. Change Fonts and Other Formatting5.2.2. Ungroup Objects in Your Diagram5.2.3. Diagram Change Erases Customizations5.2.4. Move Text Boxes in a Diagram5.2.5. Add Arrows to the Cycle Diagram5.3. OTHER DRAWING TOOLS5.3.1. Connect Connectors5.3.2. Make Selected Tool “Sticky”5.3.3. Draw a Half-Circle5.3.4. Edit Points Refines Drawings5.3.5. Edit Points Not Available5.3.6. Alignment Tools Are Grayed Out5.3.7. Use Alignment Tools to Distribute Objects5.3.8. Rotate Objects with Precision5.3.9. Rotate Objects on the Fly5.3.10. Format One Object in a Group5.3.11. Spellcheck WordArt Objects5.3.12. Where Are Outlined Fonts?5.3.13. Create Mirrored Text5.3.14. Word Wrap Around an AutoShape5.3.15. Change the Color of a Shadow5.3.16. Give a Photo Soft Edges5.3.17. Add a Watermark to a Slide5.3.18. Create a 3D Object5.3.19. Fill an AutoShape with the Slide Background5.3.20. Save Drawings for Later5.3.21. Make Overlapping Pieces Transparent
6. Charts and Graphs
6.1. TEXT ISSUES6.1.1. Y-Axis Titles Truncated6.1.2. Control Axis Label Line Breaks6.1.3. Axis Labels Missing6.1.4. Align Axis Labels6.1.5. Fonts Appear Distorted I6.1.6. Fonts Appear Distorted II6.1.7. Keep Chart Font Sizes the Same6.1.8. Pie Charts Appear Jagged6.1.9. Fonts Appear Jagged6.1.10. Change the Datasheet Font6.1.11. Font Changes on a Pasted Excel Chart6.1.12. Default Chart Font Is Wrong6.2. CREATING AND FORMATTING CHARTS6.2.1. Use Dates on the X-Axis6.2.2. Create a Combination Chart6.2.3. Create a Secondary Axis6.2.4. Add Error Bars to Data Points6.2.5. Create an Axis Break6.2.6. Remove Percent Markers from Y-Axis6.2.7. Add Percent Markers to the Y-Axis6.2.8. Reverse Order of Categories6.2.9. Insert Picture Fills6.2.10. Change Chart Colors6.2.11. Create a Default Chart6.2.12. Reset the Default Chart Style6.2.13. Charts Recolor When Pasted into Presentations6.2.14. Change Settings for Printing in Black and White6.2.15. Charts Appear Flipped6.2.16. Charts Resize When Opened6.3. DATA6.3.1. Pie Chart Totals Less Than 100%6.3.2. Change Data Plot from Rows to Columns6.3.3. Hide Data on Your Datasheet6.3.4. Interpolate Lines with Missing Data6.3.5. The Datasheet Is Just a Datasheet6.4. EXCEL CHARTS6.4.1. Import Excel Charts6.4.2. Pasted Charts Cause File Size Increase6.4.3. Update Links Automatically6.4.4. Prevent Linked Charts from Updating
7. Animations, Action Settings, and Hyperlinks
7.1. ANIMATIONS AND TRANSITIONS7.1.1. Animation Plays Differently in Different Versions7.1.2. Animate Individual Bullet Points7.1.3. Make the First Bullet Visible7.1.4. Apply Options to Animation Effects7.1.5. Animate Text by Levels7.1.6. Apply More Than One Animation to an Object7.1.7. Objects with Motion Paths Animate Twice7.1.8. Edit Motion Paths7.1.9. Object Jumps Before Starting Motion Path Animation7.1.10. Unlock a Motion Path7.1.11. Find the End of a Motion Path7.1.12. Animate a Chart by Series or Category7.1.13. Limits to Credit Animations7.1.14. Exit Objects in PowerPoint 97 and 20007.1.15. Animate Two Objects at Once7.1.16. Reapply Animations7.1.17. Dealing with Way Too Many Objects on a Slide7.1.18. Determine Which Objects Are Animated7.1.19. Input a Custom Spin Angle7.1.20. Change the Fulcrum of a Spin7.1.21. Animate One Word in a Text Box7.1.22. Show a Formula During a Presentation7.1.23. Repeat a Sequence of Animations7.1.24. Go from Animation to Transition7.1.25. Keep Slide on Screen After Animation7.1.26. Slide Transitions Don’t Work Right7.1.27. Show Advanced Animation Timeline7.1.28. Change After Previous to With Previous7.1.29. Honey, I Shrunk the Pictures7.1.30. Zoom In on an Area7.2. ACTION SETTINGS AND HYPERLINKS7.2.1. Remove Underline from Hyperlinked Text7.2.2. Hyperlinked Text Changes Color7.2.3. Slides Don’t Animate on Return7.2.4. Slides Don’t Appear When Linking7.2.5. Hyperlinks Stop Working7.2.6. Absolute Versus Relative Links7.2.7. Hyperlinks Don’t Work in PowerPoint Viewer 977.2.8. Hyperlinks Don’t Work in PowerPoint Viewer 20037.2.9. Force Navigation Via Buttons7.2.10. Kiosk Mode Doesn’t Reset

8. Sound and Video
8.1. SOUND8.1.1. Hide the Sound Icon8.1.2. CD Track Doesn’t Play8.1.3. CD Track No Longer Plays8.1.4. Sound Disappears When I Email My Presentation8.1.5. WAV File Not Embedded8.1.6. Shrink Your WAV File8.1.7. Add Sound from iTunes8.1.8. Add Sound from Clip Organizer8.1.9. Add Background Music8.1.10. Use CD Tracks for Background Music8.1.11. Start Sound Partway Through8.1.12. Background Sound Won’t Play in PowerPoint Viewer 20038.1.13. Sound Starts Over When Slides Advance8.1.14. Change the Sound Volume8.1.15. Synchronizing Sound8.1.16. Extract Sound from PowerPoint Files8.2. WEB PAGES AND FLASH8.2.1. Sound Doesn’t Play on the Web8.2.2. Show a Web Page on a Slide8.2.3. Play Flash SWF Files in PowerPoint8.2.4. Make Flash SWF Files Rewind8.2.5. Sounds and Videos Play Only Once8.2.6. Links to Sound and Video Break When I Move a Presentation8.2.7. Path Length Is Too Long8.3. VIDEO8.3.1. My Old Video Won’t Play on My New Computer8.3.2. Put Text on Top of Movies8.3.3. Use Video in the Background8.3.4. Controls for Video Show on Slide8.3.5. Click to Pause Movie8.3.6. Play Movie Across Multiple Slides8.3.7. Mouse Dies When Playing MPEGs8.3.8. Play MPEG-2 Files in PowerPoint8.3.9. Insert Video from a Digital Camera8.3.10. White Box Shows Instead of Video8.3.11. Play QuickTime Files8.4. VIDEO AND PROJECTORS8.4.1. Video Jumps to Full Screen When Projected8.4.2. Video Doesn’t Play When Projected8.5. OTHER VIDEO STUFF8.5.1. Play a DVD in PowerPoint8.5.2. Turn PowerPoint into Video8.5.3. Turn PowerPoint into Flash
9. Printing and Distribution
9.1. PRINTING9.1.1. Print Button Grayed Out in PowerPoint 2002 and 20039.1.2. Print Password-Protected Files9.1.3. Pictures Print Twice9.1.4. Landscape File Prints Portrait9.1.5. Margin Prints Around Slides9.1.6. Print Slides in the Center of the Page9.1.7. Print Slides on Notes Pages9.1.8. Stubborn Slide Refuses to Print9.1.9. Gradient Transparency Won’t Print9.1.10. Print Spool Becomes Huge9.1.11. Turn Off Background Printing9.1.12. Print from PowerPoint Viewer9.1.13. Print Posters from PowerPoint9.1.14. Specify Global Print Settings9.1.15. Pattern Fills Don’t Print9.1.16. Print Slides Plus Notes9.1.17. Update Page Numbers9.1.18. Number Slides on Printouts9.1.19. Omit Objects from Slides When Printing9.1.20. Print Animated Objects9.1.21. Line Prints on Filled Text Box9.1.22. Send Black and White Slide Thumbnails to Word9.1.23. Create PDFs from PowerPoint9.2. IMAGES9.2.1. Extract Images from a PowerPoint File9.2.2. Increase the Resolution of Exported Slide Images9.2.3. Create Black and White Slide Images9.2.4. Create EPS Images9.3. VIDEO, DVDS, AND FLASH9.3.1. Convert PowerPoint File to Video File9.3.2. Record Presentation to VHS9.3.3. Create a DVD9.4. WEB PAGES9.4.1. Save as HTML9.4.2. Get Rid of Slide List9.4.3. Get Rid of Frames9.4.4. Put Your PowerPoint File on the Web9.4.5. Make PowerPoint Open in PowerPoint9.4.6. Slide Titles Missing in Navigation Pane9.4.7. Charts Look Awful When Saved as Web Page9.4.8. Add Video to Slides on the Web9.5. PACK AND GO9.5.1. Open PPZ Files9.6. CDS9.6.1. Package for CD Uses Incorrect Drive9.6.2. Make an Autorun CD9.6.2.1. PowerPoint 20039.6.2.2. PowerPoint 97 and 2000 with PowerPoint Viewer 979.6.2.3. PowerPoint 2002 with PowerPoint Viewer 20039.6.3. Make an EXE File
About the Author
About the Author
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Content preview from Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances

Chapter 6. Charts and Graphs

If you use PowerPoint for any length of time, sooner or later you’ll come face to face with Microsoft Graph, PowerPoint’s charting engine. Microsoft Graph is a scaled-down subset of Excel that charts based on data in a datasheet. Graph does not do calculations, nor can it handle formulas. It just charts the data as is. If you need something more robust, you can always create your charts in Excel and import those charts into your presentation.

This chapter tackles some of the more annoying issues you may run into when working with charts in PowerPoint, whether they’re created in Microsoft Graph or Excel. We’ll deal with some of the bizarre text and formatting issues Microsoft’s graphing programs bring your way. You’ll also learn how to resize your charts without distorting the fonts, create user-defined charts, and solve other tricky issues.

TEXT ISSUES

Y-Axis Titles Truncated

THE ANNOYANCE: The last letter of my Y-axis title text is cut off. I tried making the font smaller, but it didn’t help. How can I make PowerPoint show the whole title?

THE FIX: Unfortunately, you can’t resize the Y-axis title box on the chart. You can, however, replace the Y-axis title with a regular text box.

You can also try adding two spaces followed by a period to the Y-axis title box to extend it. Format the period as the background color so it won’t print.

This is a sporadic issue possibly related to video drivers and display settings. The truncated Y-axis title on the chart will ...

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Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances

by Echo Swinford

Chapter 6. Charts and Graphs