PowerPoint 2000: The PowerPoint Window

Lesson 1: The PowerPoint Window

Introduction

Microsoft PowerPoint 2000, part of the Office 2000 suite, is a presentation graphics application. A presentation is a collection of slides, handouts, speaker's notes, and outlines all in one file. You can add text, graphics, photos, clip art, and even sound and video to any slide. PowerPoint can help you present a topic at work, home, or school.

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

Name the parts of the PowerPoint window

Parts of the PowerPoint window

Most windows in Microsoft Office applications look the same. Any Office application window has the following elements:

Title bar
Menu bar
Standard toolbar
Formatting toolbar
Status bar

However, be aware that the different applications each have special functions. Therefore, some of the buttons in the various toolbars are different. If you need to review the common parts of an Office application window, see our Office 2000 tutorial.

View buttons

In addition to toolbars, PowerPoint has other tools to help you design a presentation to meet your needs. These tools are called view buttons.

PowerPoint Window View buttons

View buttons, located at the bottom-left corner of the presentation window, control the way presentations are displayed on the screen.

PP View buttons

The five PowerPoint views

The view buttons in PowerPoint allow you to see your presentation using five views:

Normal view: This view, which is different in PowerPoint 2000, contains the Outline pane, Slide pane, and Notes pane. The Outline pane shows the text of your presentation for easy editing. The Slide pane shows text and graphics of the slide you're working on. The Notes pane displays a place where you can add notes. This view allows you to work on three parts of your presentation in one place.

Normal View

Slide view: One side appears on the screen. This view is useful for editing slides.

Slide View

The five PowerPoint views

Outline view: This view is ideal for working only with the text of a presentation.

Outline View

Slide Sorter view: This view lets you see all of the slides you have created in a miniature view. You can delete, copy, move, and duplicate slides in this view.

Slide Sorter View

The five PowerPoint views

Slide Show view: This view lets you see your presentation electronically as it will appear to an audience.

Slide Show View

PowerPoint's toolbars

The toolbars appear when you start PowerPoint. They feature commonly used commands. As you repeatedly use these toolbars to make presentations, you may notice that they change in appearance. This is because the 2000 version of PowerPoint automatically alters the toolbars to show the icons you use the most.

The Standard toolbar

The Standard toolbar allows you access to the Spelling, Format Painter, Insert Hyperlink, and other commands.

Standard Toolbar

The Formatting toolbar

Use the Formatting toolbar to change the look of your PowerPoint presentation. Buttons on the toolbar include font size, text shadow, and bullets.

Formatting Toolbar

The Drawing toolbar

Use the Drawing toolbar to add shapes, text boxes, font color, and line color to your presentation. Buttons on the toolbar include Draw, AutoShapes, and Insert Clip Art.

Drawing Toolbar

Challenge!

Review and become familiar with the five PowerPoint views presented in this lesson: Normal, Outline, Slide Sorter, Slide, and Slide Show.
Pay close attention to the best use of each view.