The recolor feature (FORMAT >> RECOLOR) can customize an image, saving a trip to Photoshop. For this presentation I needed to use the same content in 3 color coded sections. Once the funnel image was optimized and saved from Photoshop as a .png with no background I was able to do the rest in PowerPoint. Here is my original, simple greyscale funnel.

And here the funnel on 3 slides - no grey.

The funnel image used the custom color recolor:

The bars use a 2 color gradient fill with just color 1 adjusted (color 2 = white and 100% transparent).

Download the sample presentation to see the recolor tool in use (129K). Note: if your browser changes downloaded file to".zip" rename to ".pptx".

- Troy @ TLC

If you develop PowerPoint templates, this new add-in from OfficeTips (PowerPoint MVP Shyam Pillai) is a MUST HAVE. Adding a custom color scheme is a tedious process that is now super easy, just fill in the swatches with the colors needed for the template, click apply, done!

Install the free 'Color Swatch' add-in (PPT 2007, 2010) and it adds these 2 options to the ribbon:

Click 'Create Swatch Slide' and this slide is added to the presentation:

Simply change the fill color to all boxes as needed for the template custom color scheme. Here I have created a blue/green color pallette (leaving the first 4 boxes the same):

With the colors set click 'Apply Swatches to Color Theme' and give the color scheme a name (which will show up in DESIGN >> COLORS):

When applied the RGB value for each color swatch is updated automatically!

But wait, there's more!

Here is a standard color pallette. It shows theme colors, MS standard colors, and additional options:

Maybe you have seen a corporate template another section called 'Custom Colors'. PPT can pin additional colors to a theme, but up until now it involved xml coding with no visual interface to get these often needed colors into the template. Now it is as easy as applying a fill color to some boxes!

Here I have updated the Swatch slide with 3 custom colors. I have also named them (Yellow, Red, Moss).

Now when I look at the color pallette I have a new row of colors. And the Custom Color row travels with the presentation:

And the tooltip shows the color names assigned:

WOW!! This is a really, really incredible (and if you don't develop templates, trust me, this is incredible!). Here is the info and download page.

- Troy @ TLC

This great tip is from MS PPT MVP Sandy Johnson at The Presentation Wiz. In talking about developing presentation templates Sandy mentioned a disclaimer type slide she includes at the beginning of all templates to help the user understand there are some challenges in using PPT 2003 templates in PPT 2007 and vice-versa.

Here is the slide included in her templates:

This template has been created in PowerPoint 2003 and is designed to utilize 2003 design features. While presentations created using this template can be viewed in PowerPoint 2007, note that if our presentations are edited in 2007, some of your Slide Master features will be lost.
To that point, we strongly encourage the PowerPoint template best practice of always starting new presentations with a “fresh” Slide MASTER template (vs. reusing an old presentation).
Thank you.

This is a great idea and service to everyone that uses the template. Look for a various to be included in all of my PowerPoint templates from now on.

- Troy @ TLC

If using PPT 2007, you may have found the super and subscript buttons missing from the ribbon. My first solution is to make use of the QAT (Quick Access Toolbar) and add these valuable tools to it.

But you can also make any text superscripted with a keyboard command.

This works in PPT 2007, 2003, XP, and 2000 (cannot remember if works in PPT 2000, so this is just a guess).

A few notes about using the keyboard options from my use and observations:
1. PPT 2003 CTR+SHIFT+(plus) superscripts. Do it again and it returns to
standard text.
2. PPT 2007 CTR+SHIFT+(plus) superscripts. Do it again and nothing happens
(eg. no way to return to standard text from keyboard commands).
3. I have never been able to use keyboard command in either version to sub-script text (although others have said it works).

On a recent show I was asked (minutes before needed onscreen) to display a timer for some group interaction. Of course the answer was 'no problem'... and I got to work. Here is the result:

Making this visual timer is easy.

1. Here is my sample slide, using PPT 2007's Civic template.

2. Next I created 2 cirlces of identical size. For the "timer" cirlce I made it red and applied some Shape Styling.

3. Using the alignment tools both circles are set to stack and then positioned on slide.

4. Apply an entrance animation to the top/red circle:
- Wheel
- 1 Spoke

5. Customize the time (of the entrance animation) to anything up to 99 minutes.

6. Run the show!

- Troy @ TLC

Here is a graphic from a recent client presentation (as sent to me - but with some text 'removed').

A simpe line break, soft-return (shift-return) grouped the topic/cities onto a single line which is much easier for the audience to interpret quickly.

- Troy @ TLC

SmartArt is a great solution for converting text to visual elements. For a recent project I modified a simple timeline SmartArt (Closed Chevron Process) with customized drop shadows to add some visual interest to the slide.

All was accomplished by adjusting the shadow distance for each of the 3 elements.

Download the slide here.

- Troy @ TLC

Here is a problem. You have a presentation where a number of tables are created and the Table Styles (Table Tools >> Design >> Table Styles) are used to make them look consistent and professional.

I often hear (and was one of people complaining too) that the styles are different for the PPT 2007 vs. the PPT 2003 table.

I have created a sample slide with these 2 tables on it:

Here is a link to download that slide (80K). See if you can make the two tables have an identical style/look using PPT 2007's very helpful Table Styles. Feel free to use the post comment option to to tell us if you were successful, unsuccessful, or steps to accomplish.

Next post I will show what I check and do to accomplish this.

- Troy @ TLC

I had a few emails from the Nov. 30 post "#13 Gradients" about the additional items now in the Format Shape dialog. Yep, the options available in this dialog has increased! There are literally dozens of improvements that I did not cover in my top 15 and I look forward to spending the 2nd half of 2010 (after Office 2010 is released to retail) with in-depth posts.

Here is the dialog from the previous post:

When you open the Format Shape dialog some of the currently available features get a full details pane like Reflection and Glow & Soft Edges.

Some features have more options available. "Picture" from PPT 2007 gets expanded to Picture Corrections and Picture Color.

And there are new dialogs such as Crop (see Nov. ## post), Artistic Effects (very cool stuff that probably should have been in my Top 15 list) and more with Size, Position, etc.

- Troy @ TLC

Lots of attention seems to have been given to the administrative functions of PowerPoint (print, save, etc.). Everything is now clustered in the 'backoffice' and there is lots to talk about. But one item I like is the ease of finding the details about the presentation you are working on.

Simply go to the backoffice and info.

The right side window gives all of the presentation vitals, which were almost all available in previous versions - if you knew where to look.

1. Path to file
2. Thumbnail of presentation
3. All vital statistics of presentation (ranging from # slides to author information)

- Troy @ TLC