Re: Plain blank new slide

[TAJ Simmons]

Marcela,

If you are not taking advantage of the benefits of using the "slide master", and you really do want lots of blank
slides....then I suggest creating one blank layout slide "Format > slide layout > blank". Then "insert menu > duplicate
slide" lots and lots of times. That way you have lots of blank layouts.

Out of interest...what sort of 'content' are you using (pictures? diagrams?)?

Cheers
TAJ Simmons
microsoft powerpoint mvp

awesome - powerpoint backgrounds,
free powerpoint templates, tutorials, hints and tips etc
http://www.powerpointbackgrounds.com

> Is there any way to configure PowerPoint 2003 so whenever I add a new slide, it will be a completely blank slide, no
"click here to add title", "click here to add text" boxes.. these are really annoying. I managed to get a completely
blank title slide (with the slide master view) but for the next slides, I have to either duplicate a previous blank
slide or choose blank slide in the panel every time. I just want a plain blank slide every time I hit Ctrl+M.
> Thanks

[Marcela]

That's exactly what I've been doing, duplicating blank slides or changing them in the panel, but it would be nicer if I could just hit Ctrl+M and get a blank slide, just like in Office 97 and 2000.
I use different things in my slides.. sometimes plain text, sometimes pictures (full screen pictures or several pictures in one slide), drawings or emf files from other applications, I almost never use organigrams. Sometimes the slide has a title, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes titles in the same presentation have different formats... and each presentation is different from any other (different font, different background). So, a template really doesn't work for me, unless I had a different template for each file I make... I don't think it's worth the effort.
So, I guess I just like to have control over what I want instead of letting the program do it for me.
:)

[Marko]

when you insert a new slide don't you get a dialog from which to pick
the type, it will be sitting on the last chosen, but there is a blank
one there

Marcela wrote:

> Is there any way to configure PowerPoint 2003 so whenever I add a new slide, it will be a completely blank slide, no "click here to add title", "click here to add text" boxes.. these are really annoying. I managed to get a completely blank title slide (with the slide master view) but for the next slides, I have to either duplicate a previous blank slide or choose blank slide in the panel every time. I just want a plain blank slide every time I hit Ctrl+M.
> Thanks

--
Marko Jotic, MMCT Holdings Int. Inc.
"Common sense is anything but common".
From the notebooks of Lazarus Long. Robert A. Heinlein.
Handmade knives, antique designs, exotic materials at
http://www.knifeforging.com/

[Marcela]

You get it as a "dialog" box in earlier versions of PowerPoint (up to 2000), in XP and 2003 it inserts the slide and then, there is a panel on the right side of the screen where you can change it. Now the thing is, the slide it inserts will have the layout of to the master, not the last one you used. And when you use the keyboard shortcut it will insert a slide with that design... that is the thing I want to change, so when I use the shortcut it will put a blank slide. Actually I had it setup like that in PowerPoint 97 and 2000 but I was never able to set that up in XP and 2003.

[man@discussions.microsoft.com macromedia man]

Marcela,
That's what I hate about Microsoft products. They have made it much more
complex and a pain to use in their attempts to make their products
user-friendly. The user has no more control, but rather has microsoft's bad
design styles applied to their presentations with MS products. If I were you,
I'd swith to macromedia products and use a program like Flash. 100% pure
customization, better animation, and just an all around better product.
You'll have a bit of a learning curve to use Flash if it's your first time,
but it's easy and once you are up and running, you'll be much more pleased
with the control you have.

I've had the same problem working on a ppt. for a client. The master slide
feature is horrible and doesn't work that well. MS is always auto inserting
this, and auto inserting that. It's just plain horrible and an awful product
to use. It's fine if you want your presentation to be simple, but for it to
stand out, dump Microsoft.

[Steve Rindsberg]

> I've had the same problem working on a ppt. for a client. The master slide
> feature is horrible and doesn't work that well. MS is always auto inserting
> this, and auto inserting that. It's just plain horrible and an awful product
> to use. It's fine if you want your presentation to be simple, but for it to
> stand out, dump Microsoft.

Most of that auto-this and that junk can be turned off. We'd be happy to
explain how; all you have to do is ask. Turning down the attitude a bit would
help ensure a faster and more complete response.

Flash is great for what it does but as you point out, it has a learning curve.
PowerPoint lets you create simple presentations w/o having to climb too far but
if you want to create something special, it has its own learning curve to
scramble around on.

-----------------------------------------
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

[Marcela]

"Steve Rindsberg" wrote:

> Most of that auto-this and that junk can be turned off. We'd be happy to
> explain how; all you have to do is ask. Turning down the attitude a bit would
> help ensure a faster and more complete response.

Ok... I am asking... How do I turn that master thing off? How do I set up
PPT2003 so I can get a plain blank slide when I use the keyboard shortcut?

> Flash is great for what it does but as you point out, it has a learning curve.
> PowerPoint lets you create simple presentations w/o having to climb too far but
> if you want to create something special, it has its own learning curve to
> scramble around on.
>

If PPT lets you create simple presentations... Isn't a plain blank slide the
simplest thing?

Thanks

[Steve Rindsberg]

> > Most of that auto-this and that junk can be turned off. We'd be happy to
> > explain how; all you have to do is ask. Turning down the attitude a bit would
> > help ensure a faster and more complete response.
>
> Ok... I am asking... How do I turn that master thing off? How do I set up
> PPT2003 so I can get a plain blank slide when I use the keyboard shortcut?

Unfortunately, it'll always give you a Title + Text slide. That's one of the
things you can't turn off (although it'd be possible to create a macro that adds a
new slide of any type you like automatically).

You *should* be able to delete the shapes from the master slide and have PPT
respect that, but it doesn't. That's a pain. F6 will take you to the Slide Layout
tab if it's open, though, so you *can* change the new slide back to a blank layout
w/o having to leave the keyboard.

Alternatively, guesstimate how many new slides you want to add, add one blank one
then make as many copies of it as you need (easiest in Slide Sorter view).

> > Flash is great for what it does but as you point out, it has a learning curve.
> > PowerPoint lets you create simple presentations w/o having to climb too far but
> > if you want to create something special, it has its own learning curve to
> > scramble around on.
> >
>
> If PPT lets you create simple presentations... Isn't a plain blank slide the
> simplest thing?

Perhaps. But it's not what somebody creating the average business presentation is
going to want. There are always tradeoffs. PowerPoint makes it simple to do the
basic stuff and doesn't get too badly in the way for more complex tasks.

Flash seems to be t'other way around. You can do some utterly *amazing* things
with it but how long would it take a newbie to learn how to put together half a
dozen word slides with a stock background? Longer than PPT, I'd guess.

I don't really know ... not a Flash user, just someone who'll occasionally spend
hours on the net tracking down flash movies because they're so much *fun*, some of
them. ( http://whitehouseanimationinc.com/kunstbar.htm fractures me btw)

Flash and PPT are designed for different users; what appeals to one may get in the
way of the other or leave the other staring at a blank screen w/o a clue what to do
next.