Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2010 Bible

Chapter 8. Correcting and Improving Text

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Finding and replacing text

• Correcting your spelling

• Setting the editing language

• Using AutoCorrect to fix common problems

• Using AutoFormat as you type

• Using smart tags

• Using the research tools

PowerPoint contains many tools that can help you avoid embarrassing mistakes in your presentation's text, and this chapter takes a look at some of them. You'll learn how to replace one text string with another, perform a spelling check, set up PowerPoint to correct your most common errors automatically, and use the research tools in PowerPoint, including encyclopedias, translation guides, and thesauruses.

Finding and Replacing Text

Like all Microsoft applications, PowerPoint has a built-in Find tool, which lets you search for — and, optionally, replace — a string of text anywhere in your presentation. This feature works in all views except for slide show, in which it isn't applicable. However, in Slide Sorter view, it finds and replaces all instances only; you cannot interactively confirm each instance.

We will first take a look at the Find function. For example, let's say that Bob Smith was fired this morning. (Poor Bob.) Now you need to go through your presentation and see whether Bob's name is mentioned so that you can take out any lines that refer to him. Follow these steps to find a text string (such as Bob Smith):

1. Click Find on the Home tab, or press Ctrl+F. The Find dialog box appears.

2. Type what you want to find in the Find What text box, ...