Getting Started

From your desktop, open PowerPoint. When PowerPoint opens you will be prompted by a dialog box with four choices. Each of these options are explained on this page. If PowerPoint is already open or this dialog box does not appear, select File>New from the menu bar to display this dialog box.

AutoContent Wizard

The AutoContent Wizard provides a number templates and ideas for presentation types. You will be prompted to make selections throughout the wizard each of which will be applied by clicking the Next button on the bottom of each page of the wizard.

Design Templates

Power Point provides around 50 templates with different backgrounds and text formatting to help you add a theme to your presentation. Preview each design by highlighting the template name on the list. Press OK after you have chosen the design.

Blank Presentation

Choose this option to build a presentation from scratch with no preset graphics or formatting.

Open an Existing Presentation

Select this option to open a Power Point presentation that already exists. Select the folder the file is located in from the Look in: drop-down menu and highlight the file on the list. Click Open to open the presentation.

AutoLayout

After selecting the presentation type, you will be prompted to choose the layout of the new slide. These layouts include bulleted lists, graphs, and/or images. Click on each thumbnail image and a description will be printed in the message box. Highlight the layout you want and click OK.