Jan's PowerPoint Formatting: Content Template

Step-by-Step:Content Template

What you will learn:

to use the AutoContent Wizard
to delete a slide in Slide Sorter view
to delete multiple slides in Slide Sorter view
to replace temporary text
to duplicate slides

Start with: (PowerPoint open to a blank document)

The Story behind this presentation:

World Travel Inc. is a fictional travel agency in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As part of an anniversary celebration, they offered some of their best customers some special trips.

What you will create:

An on-screen presentation to summarize the results of the special offer and to offer recommendations for the future.

You will use the AutoContent Wizard to get you started on a presentation for World Travel Inc. that is similar to the one you created earlier from blank slides. Two approaches to the same problem.

AutoContent Wizard

Close any open presentations.
In the New Presentation task pane in the New section, click on From AutoContent Wizard.

The wizard opens, listing its 3 steps at the left. These items are not links, however. You must use the buttons at the bottom.
Click on the Next button to advance to the first step in the wizard.
Click on the All button and scroll the list of presentations available. Quite a choice!
Select Project Post-Mortem. This presentation analyzes how a project turned out - good parts, bad parts, recommendations for the future.
Click on the Next button. The next step appears - Presentation style.
Select On-screen presentation. Your choice of output type here affects the dimensions of the slides. Make you choice based on the primary use for the presentation.
Click on the Next button. The next wizard step appears - Presentation options.
For the Presentation title type Anniversary Trips Offer and then click the Finish button. The new presentation opens, ready for your editing.

Wow! This presentation is a lot prettier than your previous plain-text one. You will learn later how to use design templates to add formatting to your existing presentations.

The subtitle is the User from the Options dialog: Tools | Options | General . Changing the User information in this dialog changes it for all Office programs. To change the User name for just this presentation, use File | Properties | Summary and change the Author. Since the wizard is already finished, the subtitle will not change.
If necessary, edit the subtitle to show your own name.
View all of the slides and read what is on them, the suggestions about what should go on the slide.

Delete Slide

You don't need all of the topics that the wizard put into the presentation. You need to delete many of the suggested slides. The Slide Sorter view is great for this, if you can read the titles.

Click the Slide Sorter button in the Views bar at the bottom of the Navigation pane. The view switches from Normal view to Slide Sorter view.

If the Slide Sorter thumbnails are too small to read, increase the Zoom percentage with the toolbar's Zoom control.
Scroll the thumbnails. There are 20 slides. Far too many for your purpose.
Click on Slide #3: Performance against Schedule to select it.

The thumbnail of a selected slide has a dark blue border.
Press the Delete key on your keyboard. A confirmation message box appears. Click on OK. TaDa! The slide is removed and the remaining slides are re-numbered.

Delete Multiple Slides

You can use the same key combos to manage slides that you use to manage files.

To select neighboring slides: Click on the first slide. Hold the SHIFT key down and click on the last slide. All in between are also selected.
To select non-adjacent slides: Click the first slide. Hold the CTRL key down and click on each of the other slides that you want to select.

Once you have multiple slides selected, you can move, delete, or copy them all at once.

While still in Slide Sorter view, click on what is now Slide #3, Performance against Quality.
Hold the SHIFT key down and click on Slide #14: Sales. (You may need to scroll to see Slide #14. A good time to use a key combo instead of dragging to select!).

All of the slides between the two you clicked are selected.
Press the DELETE key. All of the selected cells vanish. No confirmation box!

Slide Sorter view with only 7 slides remaining

Change Temporary Text

The AutoContent Wizard has included temporary text on the slides. You don't want to show that to your audience! You must replace it all.

Double-click on Slide #2: Performance against Goals to open it in Normal view so you can edit the slide.

This suggested slide states a goal and the actual result.
Edit the slide to read:

Goal:
- Offer to 200 frequent/high volume customers

Actual:
- Sent offers to 150 previous customers

You need three more slides about Goals. You can duplicate this one and then edit the text. Super!

Duplicate Slide: Performance Against Goals

You will need duplicates of the Performance Against Goals slide so you can put one goal and result on each slide.

This action will work not only in Slide Sorter view, but also in the Outline and Slide thumbnails.

Click on the thumbnail of the current slide.
On the keyboard, hold the CTRL key down and press the C key. The selected slide is copied to the Windows Clipboard.
On the keyboard, hold the CTRL key down again and press the V key. A copy of the selected slide appears beside the selected slide.
Repeat twice. You now have 4 identical slides titled Performance Against Goals.

Slide Sorter view - 4 identical slides

Edit Text: Performance Against Goals

Change the text on the duplicate slides as follows:

Slide #3:	Goal: -Schedule 100 people on trips Actual: -Scheduled 124 people
Slide #4:	Goal: -Schedule 40 other trips as a direct result of offer Actual: -Scheduled 6 other trips
Slide #5:	Goal: -Total sales of $250,000 Actual: -Total sales were $269,000

Duplicate Slide: What Went Right

You need two slides about what went right with the project. It's a good thing that slides are so easy to copy!

Select the thumbnail of Slide #7: What Went Right.
Copy and paste it without changing the selection. Slide #8 is now selected.

Edit Text: What Went Right

Click on the thumbnail of Slide #7: What Went Right to select it.
Edit Slide #7: What Went Right to read:

Good response to personal contact

- 25% of phone follow-ups resulted in bookings

- 15% more are in planning stage for a future trip
Select Slide #8: What Went Right (that still has the temporary text).
Edit the text to read:

Organized client lists

-Database can now sort on multiple criteria

-Future benefits
Select Slide #9: What Went Wrong
Edit the text to read:

Ship construction delayed

- Forced rebooking on another line

Lost focus

- Difficult to work on two contests at the same time

- Bonuses for Anniversary contest vague
Select Slide #10: Recommendations.
Edit the text to read:

Clear criteria for clearly explained bonuses to travel agents

Add older client bookings to database

Create list of potential convention customers

Develop full service convention planning

Save

Click the Save button . The Save As dialog appears since this presentation has not been saved before. Use the name Anniversary Trips Offer.ppt and save it to your Class disk.

How to handle a full Class disk