Weekly Computer Tip # 117
2 July 2005

Change the slide layout (Microsoft PowerPoint)

Last week I was working on a PowerPoint presentation with somebody I'm currently developing a training program with. We're both Microsoft Office trainers and know our way around PowerPoint, so it was a great way of seeing different ways of doing something. The favourite trick I picked up from him was definitely changing the layout of a slide. (Thanks, Manish!) I found this particularly useful when you "inherit" somebody else's slides and they didn't use the standard "title placeholder" to add a title to a slide. This means you don't see any title in the "Outline pane" on the left hand side of your window. (Cannot cope!) And it also throws the trick of automatically creating a new slide from titles of other slides, as described in tip # 83 (http://www.roem.co.uk/tip_83.html).

So if you want to change the layout you (or your colleague) chose for a certain slide, no need to delete or recreate the existing slide. Simply change the slide layout.

Here's how:

1. Select the slide you want to change.
2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Common Tasks, and then click Slide Layout. (Or select the Format, Slide Layout command.)
3. Click the layout you want, and then click Apply.

And now dig out tip # 83 and create a summary slide from the titles of your other slides.

On another note ...

If you haven't already taken advantage of the double discount for one of the next hands off seminars (MS Access on 29/9 or MS Excel on 20/10) ... there are still places left. Pay just GBP197 - the self study seminar handout alone is worth GBP65! But hurry - offer ends 15 July. (See http://www.roem.co.uk/handsoff_access.html or http://www.roem.co.uk/handsoff_excel.html for further details including a booking form.)

Until next week.

PS I’m committed to sharing the best of what I know with others so please don’t keep me a secret. If you enjoyed today’s tip, please forward it to anyone you feel may benefit. Alternatively, feel free to reprint it (with full copyright and subscription information) in your newsletters and message boards.

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