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Get More Organized with PowerPoint Presenter View

PowerPoint contains powerful features that often get buried under the comfortable confines of default settings. Unlock the potential of the Presenter view for your presentation and get more out of the program.

Our previous article talked about the different views in PowerPoint 2013 and how these views can help you customize your workflow. There, we explored the eight types of views and the additional two views.

In this post, we’ll be going in-depth on one of the additional views – the Presenter View.

This view essentially acts as the remote control to your presentation. It lets you set the precise length of your presentation and helps you look at your notes when the inevitable mind slip occurs.

You’ll amaze your audience with your ability to move from slide to slide with precise timing. The secret to ending your presentation on the dot is all in the Presenter View.

Maximize all Useful Features of Presenter View

This tutorial uses the version of PowerPoint 2013 with a computer that has two monitors to fulfill the requirement of having two screens present to activate Presenter View.

Starting your slide show automatically brings up Presenter View if you’re using PowerPoint 2013. The program also detects if you have two screens so that it can display the Presenter View and the Slide Show separately. Make sure to check if you already have a projector plugged in.

Press F5 on your keyboard to bring up the Presenter View, which simultaneously brings up the Slide Show.

PowerPoint Presenter View: The Key Areas

PowerPoint Presenter View: Key Areas

The image above labels the four main areas you’ll notice in the Presenter View. The first, Toolbar (1), has three components: Show Taskbar, Display Settings, and End Slide Show as you see below.

PowerPoint Presenter View: Toolbar

a. Show Taskbar simply shows your computer’s taskbar below the Presenter View. Collapse and expand the taskbar by clicking on this button. The taskbar is hidden by default during your presentation, and this menu item is useful if you need to bring it up.

b. Display Settings is the only item on the menu that has an inverted triangle beside it, indicating that there are other options available in the dropdown menu. Swap Presenter View switches the position of the Presenter view and Slideshow view. The Duplicate Slide Show fills both of your screens with the Slide Show View.

c. End Slide Show closes both screens displaying the Slide Show and the Presenter view.

PowerPoint Presenter View: Full Screen vs window

The Minimize, Restore Down, and Close buttons on the upper right corner of the Presenter view Toolbar as highlighted above are another simple but useful set of features.

The Minimize button minimizes the Presenter view. The Restore Down button allows you to resize Presenter view. It looks much more compact than the full-screen view as the image above shows. Be careful since the Close button exits both the Slide Show and Presenter view to end your presentation.

Slide Timing, Preview, and Navigation Area

PowerPoint Presenter View: Slide timing

The most crucial feature in the second area is the Timer. Here, you can see how long each slide plays down to the second. The pause and play icons beside the time display allow you to control how long you want a slide to last on screen. Stay within your presentation time limit and cover all your talking points with the help of the timer.

Format your slides to only last a specific duration of time to keep you on track during your pitch. It’s even more important now to rehearse your speech so that you don’t rush your delivery.

See what your current slide looks like in the Slide Preview window between the Timer and Navigation. This understandably takes up the largest space in the Presenter view so that you can see an overview of the slide. In his tutorial on IndieZine, Geetesh Bajaj expounds on the extra controls below the Slide Preview area.

The Slide Navigation (2) at the bottom tells you which slide number you’re on and the total number of slides in your deck.

Next Slide and Notes Area

PowerPoint Presenter View: Notes area

The last two areas beside the Slide Preview are Next Slide (3) and Notes (4). The former displays your upcoming slide to give you time to prepare your next thoughts.  The latter area displays your notes. The text size is adjustable on the Notes area so that you can adjust your notes to be readable from afar.

Conclusion

This thorough look at the Presenter view proves how the program is packed with features that need to be explored. It’s one of many views you can use in PowerPoint 2013 to improve your workspace and help you be in control of precise timing during your pitch.

Presenter view is useful in checking how long your slides are playing and keep you aware and alert of the time you’re spending on stage. In addition to these useful functions, you can preview your next slide and notes.

Prepare yourself with the use of these settings and make Presenter view a valuable helper for your next, big presentation.

 

Reference

Bajaj, Geetesh. “PowerPoint 2013 Tutorials – Enhanced Presenter View in PowerPoint 2013.” Indezine.
November 9, 2012. Accessed January 7, 2016. www.indezine.com/products/powerpoint/learn/powerpoint-2013/enhanced-presenter-view-ppt2013.html

Choose and Customize View Panes in PowerPoint 2013

Ribbons? Tabs? Status Bar? Views? Familiarize yourself with PowerPoint’s layout so you won’t get lost. A little customization can help make you feel at home.

We’ll cover basic information on the different kinds of views in PowerPoint under the View tab. There are eight available views in this tab plus the two additional views, the Slide Show view and the Presenter view.

It’s overwhelming to see these features for the first time, even more so when you don’t know what they’re for. These views are meant to make your PowerPoint experience faster and easier. Find out which view works best for your tasks.

PowerPoint 2013 Basics

Customize View Panes in PowerPoint 2013: PowerPoint basic tabsUnder the View tab, you will find eight views: Normal, Outline View, Slide Sorter, Notes Page, Reading View, Slide Master, Handout Master, and Notes Master.

1. Normal View is the default view, and therefore the most familiar type of view. It has three areas, The Slides pane, the Slide area and the Notes.

The Slides pane is where you can preview a thumbnail-sized image of your slide. The Slide area is the largest area where you directly add elements to your slide. The Notes pane is where you can add your notes. This can also be expanded or collapsed by clicking and dragging the thin border above it.

2. Outline View is similar to Normal View, except it replaces the visual thumbnail views in the Slides pane with a textual, outlined list of the slide’s content. You’ll only see the text in your slide when you use this view, helping you focus only on the text instead of the visual elements on your slide.

3. Slide Sorter Don’t be alarmed, the Slide area hasn’t disappeared. This view is a single area that shows all your slides as thumbnails. It’s a great view to use when you need an overview of your deck.

Group your slides much easier with Slide Sorter.

4. Notes Page shows a vertical view of your slide. The page has two sections: the upper section that contains your slide, and the lower section that contains your notes.

Use the notes page to focus on adding notes to your deck.

5. Reading View is very similar to the Slide Show view since both display your slide in full-screen mode. The difference is that Reading View shows the title bar and status bar of PowerPoint to help you keep track of which slide you’re currently viewing.

6. Slide Master has a similar layout to Normal view. Changes in this slide affect all the slides under it. It’s the perfect view when you need to apply plenty of elements to many slides quickly.

Apply your company’s logo consistently and in perfect alignment by placing it in this view.

7. Handout Master provides a single, vertical view of your work area similar to the Notes page. But this view groups your slides into one page.

Print materials from PowerPoint using this view to leave spaces for notes and compress enough slides in one page for easier viewing.

8. Notes Master is a printer-friendly version of your Notes page. Every change you make in the Notes Master also affects the Notes page view. If providing more notes is your priority, the vertical orientation of the page gives you more area for writing down notes.

Additional Views

Customize View Panes in PowerPoint 2013: Slide Show Tab Additional View

Access the Slide Show view from the ribbon. It contains four commands under the Start Slide Show category and four commands under the Set Up category. These two categories help you synchronize your slide timings.

Customize View Panes in PowerPoint 2013

The Presenter View is a special setting that gives you more control of your slides.  This view pops up once you start your slide show.

Presenter View only runs on computers with dual screen capabilities, so make sure you have a projector plugged in. The main monitor displays the Presenter view, while the screen the audience sees is projected on your other monitor or projector.

The Presenter View has four areas as shown in the image above:

1. The Toolbar (1) menu on top has a button that allows for the toolbar to expand or collapse, another button that swaps the presenter view and the slide show, and a button to end the slide show which closes the Presenter view.

2. The Timer, Slide Preview, Slide Navigation (2) are all located in the second area highlighted in the image above. More of these are explained in our article on how to be more organized using the Presenter view.

The extra tools underneath the Slide Preview give more slide options for the presenter. These options include the pen and laser pointer, see all slides, zoom into slide, black or white-out screen and even more slide options.

The Timer displays the duration of a slide, and the Slide Navigation lets you move from slide to slide by clicking on the forward and backward arrows. It also tells you what slide you’re on, and displays the number of slides in total.

3. A small area on the upper right previews the next slide and is called the Next Slide Preview (3).

4. The Notes (4) area exists below the next slide preview box and displays the notes for the current slide if there are any available. You can change the text size of your notes if you’re viewing them from a distance.

Change Your Views

The View panes in PowerPoint presents many options for you to manage your workspace for slide creation.

You can get better insight and control of your presentation with the help of these additional views. Choose the Normal view for a balanced layout perfect for slide creation.

Outline View helps you focus on the content and structure of your slides by doing away with thumbnails.

Slide Sorter, Slide Master, Handout Master, Notes Master are perfect for slide management while the Slide Show and Presenter View helps you to rehearse for the final touches in your presentation.

Arrange your slides and append notes faster and easier using these views.

 

References

Bajaj, Geetesh. “PowerPoint 2013 Views for Windows.” Indezine. June 6, 2013. Accessed December 18, 2015. www.indezine.com/products/powerpoint/learn/interface/powerpoint2013-views.html
“Get A Change Of View With PowerPoint.” Microsofttraining.net. May 24, 2011. Accessed December 18, 2015. www.microsofttraining.net/article-1698-change-view-with-powerpoint.html

How to Make a Trade Show Video Loop Using PowerPoint

Trade shows are a great opportunity for several things. Big industry events like it allow you to study the latest trends in your field and learn more about your competitors. Most importantly, it gives you the chance to showcase your company and demonstrate your latest products and services. For this reason, you’ll need to make a great impression on your target audience.

Your goal is to make others want to get to know your brand better. For starters, you’ll need to work on a booth that will attract plenty of visitors.

One way to do that is by projecting a trade show video loop. This way, passers-by can easily get the gist of what you want to say in just a short while.

You can make a trade show video loop by using PowerPoint. There’s a function that allows you to create self-running presentations. But your booth needs more than just a bunch of slides running again and again.

Here’s a presentation made in PowerPoint 2010 that can help you set up your own looping videos for trade shows.

How to make a PowerPoint loop for trade shows

powerpoint loop options

Step One: Go to the Slide Show tab and click on the Set Up Slide Show option.

powerpoint loop slide show

Step Two: Once the dialogue box appears, choose Browsed at a kiosk (full screen) under Show Type.

powerpoint 2013 loop rehearse timing

Step Three: You can begin setting up the timing of your presentation by selecting the Rehearse Timings option, still on the Slide Show tab. Keep in mind that once you click on Rehearse Timings, the program will begin timing your presentation immediately.

powerpoint loop 03

Step Four: A small toolbar will appear on the upper left side of your screen. You can customize the way you time your presentation in this section. In the image above, certain icons are numbered to guide you. Click on: #1 to move on to the next slide, #2 to pause, and #4 to repeat; while, #3 shows you the slide time, and #5 shows you the total time for the presentation.

powerpoint 2013 loop timer

Step Five: Press ESC on your keyboard if you’re satisfied with the timing. This will prompt the program to ask you if you’d like to keep the slide timing you recorded.

There you have it! Use these looping slide shows to engage people on-the-go during trade shows. You might not be able to pitch to them as they pass by your booth, but an interesting enough presentation that speaks for itself just might pique people’s interests and stop them in their tracks.

If you’re looking to become really impressive, it needs a sleek design that matches your company’s core message. It’s more than worth it to ask for help.

 

Reference

Trade Show Booth Ideas That Attract Visitors.” Trade Show Ideas. Accessed June 19, 2014.

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