MS Office Tutorials

Getting Work Done for Free: Best Microsoft Office Alternatives

Microsoft’s Office suite has long been the king of productivity software. And with good reason—it is the most full-featured office suite available. Not only is MS Office deployed extensively throughout enterprises, but many consumers rely on it for their day-to-day word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation needs, too. But Microsoft Office isn’t cheap. Office Home and Student 2007 sells for $149.95 at the Microsoft Store (the 2008 Mac version is the same price). There are some discounts... learn more

25 Places to Find Awesome Stock Photos — Free and Cheap!

Whether you’re designing an artistic website or searching for images to post on your blog, sites that carry not only free but awesome stock photos may very well come in handy. Utilizing the correct set of photos for any project is key, especially if you’re designing an ad for a client, you should always put in your best effort as well as the best images you can find fit for the job. Many of the designers I’ve come across like to download most of their images from 2-3 of the largest... learn more

Easy Keys to Great Graphics in PowerPoint

PowerPoint is all about making information interesting — and visuals have to do a lot of the heavy lifting.  So incorporating graphics is one of the most important aspects of presentation development. Creating a great graphic is the result of two obvious steps, plus one that people often forget . . . 1.  Make it or find it 2.  Insert it AND 3.  Polish it! Step 1 is outside the scope of this tutorial.  But choosing the right images is crucial to success, so here are a few reminders: learn... learn more

Get Motion-Vated! Animate PowerPoint Charts

So, you’ve worked hard to create an interesting, informative PowerPoint show. It looks good! Your presentation is well-organized, visually effective, and nicely paced. But on presentation day, some people in the audience are still looking at their watches, staring out the window, or sneaking in some email responses. What’s missing? Maybe it’s motion. Humans are actually programmed to pay attention when something moves, in case it might be something fierce. So take advantage of that fact... learn more

Three Ways to Spark PowerPoint Creativity

It’s really easy to get in a rut with PowerPoint, especially if you have to make presentations often. And if you don’t work with PowerPoint very much, it may be equally challenging to find a creative approach, instead of just getting some slides made as best you can. Either way, it helps to be prepared! Don’t wait until deadline pressure is on top of you — keep some inspirations stashed away for the moment of need. And practice some techniques that can produce quick breakthroughs when... learn more

Working with Background Graphics in PowerPoint

Why does one PowerPoint presentation grab attention while another one puts viewers to sleep? Content counts, of course—but really, the whole reason for developing a Powerpoint presentation rather than writing a plain Word document is (usually) to incorporate visual interest. If there’s nothing interesting to look at, the audience is likely to wonder why they should bother watching! Fortunately, there are several easy ways to create visual variety in PowerPoint. One way is to tweak the theme... learn more

Eight Great Ways to Share Slides Online

The slideshow has become an indispensable tool for sharing information in a compelling way—and fortunately, there are lots of ways to get your excellent work in front of viewers! Here are eight top choices, divided into two groups: one group of sites where you can upload and share existing PowerPoint presentations, and another group featuring sites that combine presentation development with sharing functionality.  All are free, except as noted. These apps vary widely in focus–some stressing... learn more

Three Steps to Building a BIG PowerPoint Presentation

Need to create a large presentation—say, more than 60 slides? PowerPoints for live presentation can run past 100 slides, and in some instances you may need to connect multiple presentations for longer workshops. Training manuals and sales presentations can also require a lot of slides. It may be tempting to fire up the slide machine and just get started, especially if a deadline is looming. But time spent on planning and preparation is the key to success with a big presentation.  So make the... learn more

Dynamic Duo: SnagIt and PowerPoint

Amazing but true—once upon a time screenshots on the PC were made with the PrtScn key, which just takes a picture of whatever is on the monitor at that moment. Then along came several screen capture programs, and after a while, SnagIt became a standard tool for many of us. Now we can slice up the screen into segments or capture specific windows or snapshot menus, all with just a couple of clicks. And the latest versions of SnagIt for PC provide such good editing tools that you can usually finish... learn more

How to Use Hyperlinks in a PowerPoint Presentation

Hyperlinks are hard workers in the world of PowerPoint. They can be used for the obvious reason (i.e., to link to a web address), and that’s a great tool when using PowerPoint to create documentation, training materials, sales presentations, or other materials meant to be interactive. In a typical speaker presentation, jumping out to a live website is not done that frequently—it’s more likely that web content will be shown as screenshots if included. So the heavy-lifting for hyperlinks here... learn more

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