Lesson 3: Placeholders, Design Template, and Opening a Presentation

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Introduction

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

  • Add text to placeholders
  • Use a design template
  • Open a presentation

Adding text to placeholders

You learned about the blank presentation option in the previous lesson. You can easily add text to a blank presentation by working with dotted boxes called placeholders.

Placeholders identify where the text will appear in a slide. There are also placeholders for objects such as clip art and charts.

To add text to placeholders in a blank presentation:

  • Open PowerPoint.
  • The PowerPoint dialog box appears.
  • Choose Blank presentation.
  • The New Slide dialog box appears.
  • Choose Title Slide.
  • Click Click to add title in the placeholder and type a title.
  • Click Click to add subtitle in the other placeholder and type a subtitle.

Title Slide with Placeholders

Using design templates

Design templates in PowerPoint are slides with the background and colorful designs already formatted. Simply add the text and layout to the slide. Once you select a template, every slide in your presentation will have the same look.

To use the design template option:

  • Open PowerPoint.
  • The PowerPoint dialog box appears.
  • Click OK.
  • Choose Design Template.
  • Click on the template name to see a preview in the small box to the right.
  • Once you have chosen the design you want, click OK.

New Presentation Dialog Box with Blends Template Selected

  • When the New Slide dialog box appears, choose an AutoLayout for your first slide.

Important PointIt's a good idea to start with a design template and then create your presentation. If you have already created a blank presentation, you can easily apply a design template to that presentation. Open your presentation, choose FormatactionApply Design Template, choose a design, and click Apply. All of the slides will have the same design.

Opening an existing presentation

After you have created a presentation, you'll need to know how to open it.

To open an existing presentation:

  • Start PowerPoint.
  • The PowerPoint dialog box appears.
  • Choose Open an Existing Presentation.
  • Choose the presentation you want.
  • Click OK.

OR

If the PowerPoint application is already open:

  • Choose FileactionOpen.
  • Choose the presentation you want.
  • Click OK.

Challenge!

  • Open My First Presentation, which is the presentation you created in the previous lesson.
  • Type My First Presentation in the title placeholder.
  • Type Using the Computer in the subtitle placeholder.
  • Apply a design template by choosing FormatactionApply Design Template.
  • Save your changes.

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