Key Points

You can enter and edit text both on the Outline tab or directly on a slide, depending on which is most efficient at any particular time. Text in placeholders provides consistency across an entire presentation. But you are not limited to using placeholders. You can place text wherever you want it on a slide by using text boxes. PowerPoint provides assistance by correcting common spelling errors and adjusting the size of text so that it fits optimally on a slide. You can take...

Working with Text Written in a Foreign Language

In the interest of cosmopolitanism, PowerPoint gives you the opportunity to construct presentations in foreign languages or include foreign-language text in a presentation otherwise composed in English, and still be able to spell check your work. To enter and edit text in a foreign language, you start by installing proofing tools for the language. With the tools installed, you tell PowerPoint where in your presentation a foreign language is used. After that, you can spell check any...

Fine-tuning the spell checker

Especially if you deal in jargon and foreign languages, you owe it to yourself to fine-tune the spell checker. It can help you proofread foreign languages and make sure that your jargon, no matter how arcane, gets used correctly in slide presentations. These pages explain the nuances of the spell checker. Choosing how to handle uppercase words, numbers In spell checks, PowerPoint ignores the following: Words in uppercase letters, which are considered acronyms and not worth ...

Correcting Your Spelling Errors

PowerPoint keeps a dictionary in its hip pocket, which is a good thing for you. Spelling errors really stand out in PowerPoint presentation because the text is so big. PowerPoint consults the dictionary as you enter text and draws lines in red underneath words that are misspelled and words that were entered twice in a row. To correct misspellings, you can either address them one at a time or start the spell checker and proof many slides or an entire presentation simultaneously. You...

Formatting with WordArt

Standard formatting options, such as bold, italic, and underline, are all available on the Home tab. WordArt, however, is just as useful in formatting even though it is typically used sparingly in presentations. WordArt Styles You can find WordArt text effects in the Text group on the Insert tab. When you apply a WordArt text effect, PowerPoint 2007 displays the Format contextual tab under Drawing Tools. Using the Quick Style gallery in the WordArt Styles group, you can choose to...

Using Headers and Footers

PowerPoint 2007 slides by default do not contain headers, just footers. You can certainly add headers to any slide by moving a footer to the header position. As you follow the steps in this section, it might be a little disconcerting to see the Header And Footer dialog box, shown in Figure, when in reality, you can add headers only to notes or handout pages through this dialog box. Just remember that the dialog box is referring to notes and handouts only, not slides, when ...

Adding Punch to Your Bulleted Lists

In most PowerPoint 2007 presentations, you will see at least one slide with a bulleted list. Some presentations go overboard and include multiple slides with bulleted lists. Although these lists are easier for audiences to understand and follow at a glance, using several within one presentation can make a viewer’s eyes glaze over. The next time you add a bulleted list to your presentation, consider converting the text to a SmartArt graphic. This gives your information a...

Creating and Saving Customized Theme Fonts

A handy new feature in PowerPoint 2007 lets you customize headers and body fonts together to create your own theme font. The next time you use a theme font (click Fonts in the Theme group on the Design tab, not on the Home tab), you can select the one you have created and apply it to your entire presentation with a single click. Here is how to create a theme font: Click Fonts in the Themes group on the Design tab and then click Create New Theme Fonts. Select a heading font and...

Writing on Slides During a Presentation

Another way to add text to your PowerPoint 2007 presentation is to use the pointer options as you present your slides. This is handy because often, when speaking to an audience, you want to make sure all eyes are pointed at the same spot on a slide. To circle items, underline words, draw arrows, or make similar marks in order to grab audience attention, you must be in Slide Show view. Then follow these steps: Right-click the slide on which you want to write and then click Pointer...

Finding and Replacing Words or Phrases

If you need to quickly find every occurrence of a certain word or phrase within your presentation or on even just one slide, you will find the commands you need on the Home tab. By typing the word or phrase you want to find, you can have PowerPoint 2007 search the entire presentation and highlight every occurrence of the word or phrase it finds. You can easily quit the process by clicking the Close button whenever you want. You can locate and change specific text in a presentation...