Clever Clogs tip # 728
1 May 2023


Drum roll please (Microsoft PowerPoint) *

Welcome to the tip of the month May! (I still have to get used to the fact that I nowadays only do these monthly, rather than weekly. Are you following me over on LinkedIn? If not, you might be missing out!)

I know it's a Bank Holiday Monday and that I'll probably get lots and lots of out of office messages as soon as I hit "Send", but there are so many different holidays in different countries in May that I thought that today would be as good as any.

This month's tip is inspired by a recent one-to-one PowerPoint training session I did with a Senior Financial Controller. (Have I told you I offer one-to-one training? :)

We looked at how we could add visual interest that would hold her colleagues' attention, trying to make it interesting for both number crunchers and "picture people". We agreed to keep it simple, but if you know your audience you can add a bit of fun by adding, say, a drum roll if the information is about sales going up.

Here's how:

  1. Select the image, shape or text you want to use as a prompt to play a sound clip when you click it or hover over it when you do you presentation. If you're having issues to "grab" the object, press TAB until it's selected.
  2. On the Insert tab, in the Links group, click the Action button.
  3. Click the Mouse Over tab, tick the Play sound checkbox and select Drum Roll (or something similarly suitable such as Cash Register or Applause :) from the drop-down list.

I'm personally always slightly worried I might accidentally click the text, image or shape when I deliver my presentation, which is why I would recommend to select Mouse Over rather than Mouse Click in step 3. When you deliver the presentation (F5, anyone?) and you want the drum roll, simply point at the object. And if the vibes aren't right, just don't do it.

Speaking of drum rolls ... The Admin wrap recently revealed a list of handpicked training partners and I'm one of them. Check out https://www.theadminwrap.com/recommendedtraining. Or better still, sign up for their regular newsletter for all the latest news and events from the admin world.

Related tips

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  3. Top ten Microsoft PowerPoint shortcuts : tip_540.php

From the tip archive

  1. Reduce irrelevant search results in Outlook: tip_376.php (updated version with bonus tip online)

Recent CleverClogsTipTime on LinkedIn

  1. How did you do that?!
  2. Find text or shapes that are hidden, stacked, or behind other objects
  3. Does anyone use F10?

K.

PS Got a topic you'd love me to talk more about? Let me know. In the meantime, I'll be back with more updates in June!


* Unless stated otherwise this tip is written for Microsoft 365 desktop apps and Windows 10 users, but might also be useful in Office 2010, 2013 and 2016.