MS PowerPoint 2002
Software Review by Gerhard R. FischerMy main reason for requesting a copy of Microsoft’s PowerPoint for review was to assess its usefulness in making and presenting slides for use in the class room. It was my hope to find an easier way for slide making than the combination of my many years old, obsolete software programs, which I currently employ for that purpose. As it turned out, I was not disappointed. PowerPoint, even though very powerful, does not require a professional writer or graphics designer to create a reasonably effective slide show.
The software installed easily enough and the whole process did not take overly long. It was at first a little annoying to be reminded and encouraged to activate the new software every time I opened the program to just take a first look at one or the other feature in order to familiarize myself with my new possession. I finally gave in and found to my surprise that the activation process took practically no time at all. I was, however, hampered in my exploring by the (usual) lack of a decent and comprehensive manual. The CD ROM containing the software is accompanied by a 37-page booklet of which about 25 pages address some of the features of PowerPoint 2002, offering no introduction for the first time user, while the remaining pages are concerned mainly with accessibility problems. I was also a bit surprised by the fact that this Microsoft program did not automatically place a shortcut on the desktop upon installation.
Upon starting the software the user is offered a choice of opening an existing presentation for additional work, or to start work on a new presentation, selecting blank pages, general templates, or the auto content wizard. I decided to explore the latter option first and the wizard prompted me to select a presentation type (From All, General, Corporate, Projects, Sales/Marketing, and Carnegie Coach), a presentation style (On-Screen, Web, B/W, Color Overheads, or 35 mm Slides), and a title for the slide show. The wizard next suggested a set of about a dozen slides, complete with a suggested outline for the presentation, based on the type selected. The individual slides are easily modified and adapted to the needs of the author of the presentation.
A very nice way of getting started with PowerPoint.Another way of putting together a new slide show is to begin with a Blank Presentation, i.e., with entirely empty slides ready to receive whatever content is desired. After one has selected one of the available text and/or content layouts, it is easy to type the desired text into the so called text boxes and to add graphics of any kind. This way of making a slide show gives the creator total freedom of content and design and also makes it easy, even for the less experienced user, to arrange the features of the slide as desired and to resize graphics to desired proportions.
The CD ROM contains numerous templates and many different layout arrangements, as well as many different animation schemes and slide transitions. While it is not possible to explore all the features and the full capability of PowerPoint for this relatively short review, I can only say that I was very impressed by the ease with which I could get started on making my first, albeit simple, slides consisting of text and pictures and how easy it was to manipulate the relative location and size of those pictures and related text.
I am looking forward to utilizing PowerPoint when making slides in the future and would certainly recommend the software for anybody interested in creating good and effective slides.
Microsoft PowerPoint - Version 2002
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
425 635-7222
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp
$279.00 - $299.99