PowerPoint Basics:
Notes

Title: Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101

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



 

You can add notes to your slides that don't show when the presentation is played.

What Good Are Notes?

  • Help for you (the speaker):
    Print and use as cue cards for your speech.
  • Help for the audience:
    Print and give to the audience. They can add their own notes during your speech. Include complex charts or graphs for audience to study up close or detailed info that won't fit on a slide, like bibliography references.

TipIn front of an audience: If the computer that you are using to show your presentation can support two monitors at once, you can project a slide onto the screen while you are looking at the slide with its notes on the computer's own monitor. No more fumbling with index cards or sheets of notes for your speech!


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



Point of Confusion- Notes Pane or Notes Page?

Two ways to enter and view your notes!

 View: Notes Pane

The Notes Pane is part of the Normal View.
You can type in notes in a short pane.

View: Notes Page

The Notes Page View allows you to type in notes
while seeing how those notes will print.


Opening Notes Page View

Menu: View | Notes PageYou can switch to Notes Page View with the menu:  View  |  Notes Page .
 


What can you do in Notes Page View

  • Type text in the Notes placeholder below the slide.
  • Resize or move the slide on the page.
  • Resize or move the Notes placeholder.
  • View: Notes Page with chartInsert a picture or table or chart onto the Notes page, that does not show on the slide. 
  • Switch back to Normal view to edit your slide by double-clicking the slide in the Notes Page view.

What can't you do in Notes Page View?
    (Use Normal view instead.)

  • You cannot edit the slide contents in this view.

TipThe Notes Page is a great way to include complex data in a printed version of the presentation. The audience can see the details that won't show well on a slide and can study them afterwards. You will learn how to insert to this kind of material later.
 


Icon Step-by-Step 

Step-by-Step:Notes

 Icon Step-by-Step

What you will learn:

to view notes in Notes Pane
to resize the Notes Pane
to edit notes in Notes Pane
to open Notes Page view
to switch back to Normal view
to change Zoom size to Fit
to change slides in Notes Page view with scrollbar
to add notes in Notes Page view

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

Notes Pane

  • If necessary, open issues.ppt from your Class disk with the Slides thumbnails showing.
     
  • The slide Unethical: Spam has notes showing in the Notes Pane at the bottom.Display the slide Unethical: Spam in the Slide Pane. The Notes Pane at the bottom has some text, but the pane is so small it is hard to tell how much is there.
     
  • Scroll arrows at the right of the default Notes PaneScroll the text in the Notes Pane, using the scroll arrows at the right.
     
    Hmmm. Not very satisfactory! This pane is just too tiny for more than one line.
     
  • A gray bar shows on the vertical ruler and on the slide as you drag the top edge of the Notes Pane upwards.Move your mouse pointer over the top edge of the Notes Pane until it turns into Pointer: Resize pane vertically the resize shape.
     
  • Drag upwards. A gray bar shows on the slide and on the vertical ruler at the left, if the ruler is showing. This marks where the top of the pane will be if you drop.
    Command to show/hide the ruler:  View  |  Ruler .
     
  • The Notes Pane has been enlarged by dragging its top edge upward.When the gray bar is about at the 1 on the vertical ruler, drop. Now all of the text in the Notes Pane shows.
     
    The image of the slide is made much smaller since there is less room for the Slide Pane now.
     
    TipYou cannot use Undo for changes to the interface, like dragging the edge of a pane.

     
    Dialog: Options | View - default view set to 'The view saved in the file'TipPowerPoint normally remembers your arrangement of panes for the next time you open this presentation. You can change that in the Options dialog on the View tab. Tools | Options

Switch to Notes Page View

The Notes Page view gives you a lot more room to work with than the Notes Pane. However, you cannot edit the slide itself in Notes Page view.

  1. Select on the menu  View  |  Notes Page . Your view changes from Normal to Notes Page.
     
  2. Button: Zoom - To FitIf necessary, adjust the Zoom by selecting Fit, using the Zoom control on the toolbar. Now you can see the whole page, showing both the slide image and the notes.

Notes Page View of slide Unethical:Spam, after adding text

 


Notes Page: Edit

You can use the usual word processing methods for entering, deleting, and editing text in the Notes Page view as well as in the Notes Pane. The new text is highlighted in the illustration but will NOT be highlighted in your pane.

  1. If necessary, change the Zoom percentage so that you can read the notes easily.
     
  2. Notes text with new text highlightedClick in front of the first line and type Discussion questions: and then press Enter. You have a new first line.
     
  3. Click after the word spam and type the word email. Be sure there is a space between words.
     
  4. Click at the end of the line and Backspace to delete the period. Type a question mark.
     
  5. At the end of the next line of notes, add a question mark.
     
  6. At the end of the line "Do you keep chain letters...", add the sentence How can you check their truthfulness?

Notes Page View: Add Notes

With so much space to work with, it is easy to enter notes in Notes Page View.

  1. Notes Page for Security slideWhile still in Notes Page View, scroll up to the slide Security. There are no notes for this slide yet. An opportunity for you!
     
  2. Change the Zoom to 66% or whatever size makes it easy for you to read what you are going to type.

     
  3. Click in the Notes placeholder for the slide Security, and type the following text:
     

    Discussion questions:

    Have you ever used pirated software?

    Have you ever downloaded music without permission of the copyright owner?

    Have you ever used your work computer for personal tasks?

    Have you ever had damage from a computer virus or trojan?

    Have you ever experienced identity theft?

     

Notes Page for Security slide, with notes


Switch Back to Normal View

  1. Double-click the image of the slide on the Notes Page. The view switches back to Normal view, with that slide showing.
     
    Alternate methods: Menu  View | Normal  or the Normal view button Button: Normal on the Views bar.
     
    The Notes Pane is still enlarged. You need to restore the original size.
     
  2. Normal view of Slide: Security, after returning Notes Pane to its usual sizeDrag the top edge of the Notes Pane back down to where it was before, tall enough to show one line.
     

Save

  1. Icon: Class diskClick Button: Save the Save button on the toolbar to save the presentation with the same name and the same location. [issues.ppt] (Be sure your Class disk is still in the drive.)

    Full floppy disk How to handle a full Class disk