PowerPoint Basics:
Normal View - Slide Pane

Title: Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101

Did you want: Working with Presentations: PowerPoint 2007,2010,2013,2016 or español



The Normal View is where you will do most of your work.  The Normal view usually shows three panes: Navigation, Slide, and Notes.

Navigation Pane Notes Pane Slide Pane Panes: Normal view - Navigation, Slide, Notes

Let's take a closer look at the Slide Pane.


Where you are:
JegsWorks > Lessons > Presentations

Before you start...

Project 1: PowerPoint Basics
    Getting StartedTo subtopics
    Interface Arrow to Subtopics
      Views Arrow to Subtopics
        Icon: Step-by-StepSlide Pane
        Icon: Step-by-StepSlides Thumbnails
        Icon: Step-by-StepOutline
        Icon: Step-by-StepNotes
        Icon: Step-by-StepSlide Sorter
        Icon: Step-by-StepSlide Show
        Icon: Step-by-StepPrint Preview
        Icon: Step-by-StepMasters
      Toolbars
      Task Pane
      Smart Tags
    CreateTo subtopics
    PrintingTo subtopics
    Summary
    Quiz
    ExercisesTo subtopics

Project 2: PowerPoint FormattingTo subtopics

Project 3: Advanced PowerPoint To subtopics


    Search
    Glossary
    Appendix



Slide Pane

A large version of the selected slide appears in the Slide Pane. You will do most of your editing and format changes directly on the slide.

What's On A Slide?

Most slides have placeholders to hold your text. A placeholder is a special kind of textbox. Only text that is in a placeholder will show up in the outline in the Navigation Pane. PowerPoint creates placeholders when you apply a slide layout or a design template to a slide.

Example Slide Layouts with Placeholders:

Layout: Title and subtitleTitle Slide:
Placeholders for the title and subtitle of the whole presentation

Layout: Title and TextTitle & Text layout:
Placeholders for slide title and bullet list
(the default layout for a new slide)

Placeholder: Main Title and Subtitle for whole presentation

Placeholders: Slide Title and Bullet List

What can you do directly on a slide?

  • Enter and edit text.
  • Insert a picture, chart, table, textbox, or other object.
  • Resize or move an object or placeholder.
  • Add an AutoShape, with or without its own text.

Icon Step-by-Step 

Step-by-Step: Slide Pane

 Icon Step-by-Step

What you will learn:

to select, resize, and move placeholders
to edit text
to save with Save As

Start with:Icon: Class disk, socialissues.ppt from your Class disk

Slide Pane: Title Placeholder

AutoFit will change the size of the Title only by 1 size as you resize the placeholder, from 44 pts. to 40 pts. If the text won't fit in the placeholder, it will lay outside the placeholder. An odd effect!

  1. If necessary, open the presentation socialissues.ppt from the Recent Files list.

    socialissues.ppt open in PowerPoint

  2. Placeholder with handlesSelect placeholder:
    • Click on the title, "Social Issues in Computing". The placeholder border is displayed with handles at the corners and centers of the sides for resizing.

      What kind of border do you see?

      Placeholder selected = dotted border for moving or resizingPlaceholder selected = diagonal border for editing textBorder with diagonals = edit the text

      Border with dots = move or resize placeholder

    • Click the border of the placeholder. The border changes to dots. Now the placeholder is ready for you to move or resize it.
       
  3. Resize placeholder:
    • Move your mouse pointer over one of the handles on the left side of the placeholder. The pointer shape changes to one of the Resize shapes  Pointer: Resize verticalPointer: Resize horizontalPointer: Resize diagonalPointer: Resize diagonal.
    • Drag inward to make the placeholder smaller. Notice how the text wrapping and text size change as the placeholder's shape and size change. The text can go down only 1 step, from 44 pt. to 40 pt.,  since this is a Title placeholder. As the placeholder gets smaller, the text will actually be outside the placeholder!
    • Drag in various directions with different handles and observe the changes.
       
  4. Move placeholder:
    Move
    your mouse pointer over the placeholder's border. The pointer changes to the Move shapePointer: Move Shape. Drag to change the position of the placeholder.
     
  5. Undo all your changes by clicking the Undo button until it is grayed out.
     
     Icon: TroubleCan't Undo enough steps: If you set the number of Undo steps to remember too low (Tools | Options | Edit), you may not be able to get back to where you started! For this lesson, close the presentation and re-open it.

Slide Pane: Text Placeholder

AutoFit will change the text size to make it fit in the placeholder.

  1. Drag middle handleClick in the subtitle text to make the borders of its placeholder appear.
     
  2. Move your mouse pointer over the middle handle on the left side of the placeholder. The pointer turns into a double-headed Resize arrow.
     
  3. Placeholder smallerDrag to the right. As you drag, a dashed line shows where the border will be if you drop.
     
  4. When the new size is very small, drop.
    The text size is changed so that all the text still shows in the placeholder at its new small size.
     
  5. Undo your change.

Slide Pane: Edit Text

It is quite easy to enter and edit text.

  1. Click in the title placeholder. The border turns back to diagonals, ready for your editing.
     
  2. Title editedDelete the word Social.
     

Save As

  1. Icon: Class diskFrom the File menu select Save As. (Be sure your Class disk is still in the drive.)
     
  2. Change the name of the presentation to issues.ppt and Save to your Class disk.


Icon: TroubleProblem: Deleted Placeholder
You deleted a placeholder from a slide and now you want it back but it is too late to use Undo.

Solution 1- if you want outline text:
Create a replacement slide with the same slide layout that the slide had originally and then copy and paste any objects or images to the new slide. Delete the mangled slide once your new one is complete.

Solution 2- if you do not want outline text:
If you do not need the text to be in the outline, add a plain textbox to your slide with the Textbox button on the Drawing bar.