Formatting and Themes
A presentation is always more effective when it’s attractively designed and formatted. Think about it: people
would rather buy expensive name-brand cereals in flashy boxes than much more affordable cereals in plain,
generic boxes—even though they are really the same cereal!
This chapter explains how to format your presentations to give them more impact and make sure your
message is delivered effectively. You will learn how to apply and modify a document theme or background,
as well as how to adjust page setup, how to insert headers and footers, and how to use templates to format
your presentations.
Using Exercise Files
Exercise files are provided so users can practice the topic(s) covered in each lesson. There are two ways you
may use the exercise files:
· Open the exercise file for a chapter and perform the lesson exercise. Close the exercise file.
· Open the exercise file for a chapter and perform the lesson exercise. Keep the file open and perform the
exercise for the following lesson and so on for the remainder of the chapter.
The exercises are written so that you may “build upon them”, meaning the exercises in a chapter can be
performed in succession from the first lesson to the last.
Format Text
You can use the Font group to change the way the text in your presentation appears by changing the font
type, size, color, and style.
Change the Font
Select the text you want to
change.
Click the Font list arrow.
Tip: Preview a font by hovering
over it in the menu.
Select a new font.
Shortcut: Use the Font list
arrow on the Mini Toolbar that
appears near the mouse when
you have selected text.
Tip: To adjust the way the text
is capitalized just click the
Change Case button.
Change Font Size
Select the text you want to
change.
Click the Font Size list arrow.
Tip: Preview a font size by
hovering over it in the menu.
Select a font size.
Shortcut: Use the Font Size list
arrow on the Mini Toolbar.
Change Font Color
Select the text you want to
change.
Click Font Color list arrow.
The colors that appear at the
top coordinate with your
current presentation theme.
Tip: Preview a font color by
hovering over it in the menu.
Select a new color.
Shortcut: Use the Font Color
list arrow on the Mini Toolbar.
Tip: The Font Color button
always displays the color that
was used most recently. To
quickly apply this color to other
text, simply click the Font Color
button instead of the list arrow.
Change Font Style
Select the text you want to
change.
Select a font style like Bold,
Italic, or Underline.
Tip: To remove a font style,
simply click the style button
again. Or use the Clear All
Formatting button.
Shortcuts:
· To bold, Ctrl + B.
· To italicize, Ctrl + I.
· To underline, Ctrl + U.
Bulleted and Numbered Lists
Most slide layouts contain a bulleted list placeholder, but you can also turn regular text into a bulleted or
numbered list in just a few easy steps.
Create a Bulleted or Numbered List
Select the paragraphs that you
want to bullet or number.
Click the Bullets or Numbering
button in the Paragraph group.
Tip: To remove bullets and
numbering, select the list, and
click the Bullets or Numbering
button again.
Tip: To adjust where the
numbering starts, click the
Bullets or Numbering button
list arrow, click Bullets and
Numbering, and adjust the
Start at field on the Numbered
tab.
Change the Bullet or Number Style
You can change the way the bullets or numbering looks on an existing list.
Select the list.
Click the Bullets or Numbering
button list arrow in the
Paragraph group.
The Style gallery appears.
Select a new style.
Tip: To create a custom
bulleted or numbered list, click
the Bullets or Numbering
button list arrow, click Bullets
and Numbering, and select
Customize.
Formatting Paragraphs
Use the Paragraph group to control how your text appears inside text boxes and in relation to other text.
Paragraph Alignment
Select the text you want to
change.
Click an alignment option in the
Paragraph group.
Shortcuts:
· To align left, Ctrl + L.
· To align right, Ctrl + R.
· To center, Ctrl + E.
· To justify, Ctrl + J.
Align Text Vertically
Just like you align paragraphs horizontally, you can also align them vertically within the textbox.
Select the paragraph you want
to align.
Click the Align Text button on
the Home tab.
Select an alignment option.
Line Spacing
The amount of space between lines of text can be easily adjusted using the line spacing feature.
Click in the paragraph.
Click the Line Spacing button
on the Home tab.
Select the spacing you want to
use.
Paragraph Spacing
You can also increase or decrease the space between paragraphs to make the most out of the space on your
slide.
Click in the paragraph.
Click the dialog box launcher in
the Paragraph group.
Adjust the paragraph spacing in
the dialog box.
Click OK.
Copy Formatting
If you find yourself applying the same formatting over and over again, then you should familiarize yourself
with the Format Painter tool. The Format Painter copies how text or objects are formatted and lets you apply
that formatting elsewhere.
Select a formatted item.
Click the Format Painter
button.
The formatting is copied to the
painter tool. The cursor
changes to a paintbrush to
show that it is now in Format
Painter mode.
Tip: To apply the formatting to
more than one selection,
double-click the Format Painter
button. Click the Format
Painter button again to turn it
off.
Select the item that you want
to “paint” the formatting from
your first selection to.
The formatting is applied.
Tip: You can also use the
Format Painter to copy the
formatting of objects, such as
shapes, and apply that
formatting to other objects.
Slide Size
One of the cool new features in PowerPoint 2016 is the change to widescreen compatible slides. But if you're
not going to be presenting on a big fancy screen, you can switch between widescreen and the standard slide
size.
Click the Design tab.
Click the Customize group
button.
Click the Slide Size button.
Tip: To change the slide
orientation, click the Slide Size
button and select Custom Slide
Size. Change the slide settings
and click OK.
Select Widescreen or Standard.
· Widescreen: 16:9 ratio is
much wider than it is tall and
works well for wide high
definition screens.
· Standard: 4:3 ratio is only
slightly wider than it is tall
and works best for
traditional screens.
Select Maximize or Ensure Fit.
· Maximize: Crops your
content and fills all the
available space on the slide.
· Ensure Fit: Scales content
down and leaves additional
space at the top and bottom
of the slide.
The entire presentation is
resized to fit the new format.
Slide Background
If you don’t like the slide background that comes with your current theme, you can easily change it.
Click the Design tab.
Click the Customize group
button.
Click the Format Background
button.
The Format Background pane
opens. From here, you can
adjust the slide's existing
background or create one from
a picture or pattern.
Make changes to the slide
background.
The available options depend
on the current theme section,
but you will usually have the
following options:
· Solid Fill
· Gradient Fill
· Picture or Texture Fill
· Pattern Fill
· Hide Background Graphics
(Optional) Click Apply to All to
use the new background on all
slides in the presentation.
Click Close.
Themes
A theme is a set of unified design elements that you can apply to a presentation to give it a consistent look
and feel. Changing the theme changes the slide background, the font colors and styles, the slide layouts, and
the effects on graphics.
Apply a Theme
Click the Design tab.
Click the More button in the
Themes group.
Select a theme.
Tip: Preview a theme by
hovering over it in the menu.
Select a Variant
Every theme comes with several different pre-made variations, called variants.
Click the Variants button on the
Design tab.
Select a variant of the theme.
Customize Themes
There are a lot of wonderful themes built into PowerPoint. But if you're feeling creative, you can create your
own custom theme.
Modify a Theme
Click the Design tab on the
Ribbon.
Click the Variants button.
Click the More button.
Hover over the element you’d
like to change.
· Colors
· Fonts
· Effects
· Background Styles
Select a new option from the
menu.
Save a Custom Theme
Once you’ve modified a theme, it is easy to save it for future use.
Click the Design tab on the
Ribbon.
Click the More button in the
Themes group.
Select Save Current Theme.
Enter a name for the Theme
and click Save.
Now when you open the
Themes menu your custom
theme will be listed alongside
the rest of the Office themes.
Templates
Creating a presentation from scratch can be a little intimidating and time consuming. Luckily, there are
plenty of templates you can use to get started.
Use a Template
Click the File tab.
Click the New button.
Search for a type of template or
use the categories to browse.
Select a template.
Click Create.
Now all you have to do is add
content and then save your
new presentation.
Create a Custom Template
If you have an existing presentation that you find yourself modifying regularly, you can save it as a template.
Open the presentation.
Click the File tab.
Click Save As.
Navigate to where you want to
save your presentation.
Click the Save as type list
arrow.
Select PowerPoint Template.
Type your template name and
click the Save button.
Enable Custom Templates
Before you can use custom templates, you need to create a spot in your File menu to find them. You just
need to tell PowerPoint where you store the templates you make. Don't worry, you'll only need to do this
once.
Click the File tab on the Ribbon.
Click Options.
Select Save.
Under Save Presentations, in
the Default personal templates
location box, enter: C:\Program
Files\Microsoft
Office\Templates\
Click OK.
Now when you click the New
tab, the Custom group appears
beneath the Search bar.