A presentation tool (like MS PowerPoint, Google Slides or LibreOffice Impress) makes slide shows — a series of slides to support a talk. This chapter covers building one (CBSE 165, Unit 3).
1Slides, layouts & views
A presentation is a set of slides shown one after another. A slide layout is a ready-made arrangement of placeholders (e.g. Title slide, Title and Content, Blank).
Slide views
| View | Use it to |
|---|---|
| Normal view | Edit one slide in detail |
| Slide Sorter view | See all slides as thumbnails — reorder/add/delete |
| Handouts | Print several slides per page for the audience |
Create a new presentation, add slides, and Save (Ctrl+S). Run the show with Slide Show (often F5).
- A presentation is a series of slides; a slide layout arranges placeholders (title, content).
- Views: Normal (edit one slide), Slide Sorter (all slides as thumbnails), Handouts (print for audience).
- Save with Ctrl+S; run the slide show (often F5).
2Editing & customising slides
On each slide you can add and format content:
- Titles & subtitles and text blocks (text boxes).
- Backgrounds — a colour, gradient or picture behind the slide.
- Watermark — faint text/image behind the content (e.g. "DRAFT").
Headers, footers & slide numbers
From Insert → Header & Footer you can add a footer (e.g. your name), the date, and automatic slide numbers to every slide at once.
- Add titles, subtitles and text blocks; set a background colour/picture and an optional watermark.
- Headers/footers and slide numbers are added from Insert → Header & Footer.
- They can be applied to all slides at once.
3Multimedia, animations & transitions
Slides come alive with media and motion:
- Insert pictures from a file, and add sound effects/audio.
Animation vs transition
| Animation | Transition | |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | An object on a slide (text, image) | The change between two slides |
| Example | A bullet flies in | One slide fades into the next |
Rehearse Timings records how long you spend on each slide so the show can advance automatically.
- Insert pictures from files and add sound/audio to slides.
- Animation moves an OBJECT on a slide; a transition is the effect BETWEEN two slides.
- Rehearse Timings records per-slide time so the show can auto-advance.
★ Practical: a 4-slide deck
Create a short presentation with:
- A title slide (Title + subtitle) and three content slides.
- A background colour or picture, and slide numbers on every slide.
- An inserted image on one slide.
- An animation on one object and a transition between two slides.
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