When PowerPoint recognizes types of data, it marks the data with a smart tag indicator, a purple dotted underline. To find out what actions you can take with a smart tag, move the insertion point over the underlined text until the Smart Tag Actions button appears. You can then click the button to see a list of actions you can take.

Smart Tag Actions button

Smart tag indicator

You have the option to embed smart tags so that they are available to anyone who opens the presentation. Smart tags are not automatically saved when you save a presentation.

You enable smart tags by selecting smart tag recognizers from a list (Tools menu, AutoCorrect Options command, Smart Tags tab under Recognizers). Each smart tag recognizer identifies a type of data, such as names, dates, or financial symbols, and contains the logic needed to provide one or more actions for each data type.

When you have smart tags turned on and you type text into a new presentation or open an existing presentation, the logic in the smart tag looks for words that match the data types selected in the list of recognizers. When the smart tag finds a match, it places a smart tag indicator— a dotted purple line— under the term and enables the appropriate actions.

The actions you can take depend on the type of data that PowerPoint recognizes and labels with a smart tag.

For example, "Nate Sun" in the previous example is recognized as a "person name" smart tag with actions you can take, such as Open Contact, Schedule a Meeting, Add to Contacts, or Insert Address.

If you select the Add to Contacts action, you can add the name and address to your Outlook contact folder without copying the information, opening Outlook, and then pasting the information into a contact card.

The smart tags that come with PowerPoint are just the beginning. You can check for more options in the AutoCorrect dialog box (on the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options, click the Smart Tags tab, and then click More Smart Tags) to find new smart tags and actions on the Web.

You may find additional smart tags created by Microsoft, by third-party companies, or by Information Technology (IT) professionals, who may design smart tags and actions for the specific products or services that you work with. For example, if you work in a sales department, you might be able to click a "product name" smart tag in your document that offers actions such as "check quantity in stock" or "check price."

You can turn smart tags on or off, and save them with your presentation so they appear again when you open the presentation.

Smart tags and actions are developed by Microsoft or third-party companies. Information Technology (IT) professionals may also create smart tags and actions that are customized for the specific products or services you work with.

Creators of smart tags can provide detailed information about a particular smart tag recognizer, which you can access by clicking Properties on the Smart Tags tab of the AutoCorrect dialog box. The Properties button is available only if the smart tag developer has provided information to be viewed when this button is clicked.

The AutoCorrect Options button appears after an automatic correction or change, such as a lowercased letter that's changed to a capital or a network path that's converted to a hyperlink. The button shows as a small, blue box when you rest the mouse pointer near text that was changed; it then becomes a button icon which, when you point to it and click it, displays a menu. If you don't want the correction, use the options on the menu to undo it; turn off this type of correction completely; or connect to the AutoCorrect dialog box to adjust settings.

The Paste Options button gives you greater control and flexibility in choosing the format for a pasted item. The button appears just below a pasted item, such as text, a table, or a slide, with options for formatting. For example, if you copy and paste a slide and insert it after a slide that uses a different design template (design template: A file that contains the styles in a presentation, including the type and size of bullets and fonts; placeholder sizes and positions; background design and fill color schemes; and a slide master and optional title master.), you can choose to retain the original design for the slide or let the pasted slide assume the design of the slide it now follows.

The AutoFit Options button appears when PowerPoint resizes text you're typing to make it fit the current placeholder (placeholders: Boxes with dotted or hatch-marked borders that are part of most slide layouts. These boxes hold title and body text or objects such as charts, tables, and pictures.). If you don't want the text to be resized, you can select options on the button menu to undo the resizing or to connect to the AutoCorrect dialog box to turn AutoFit settings off. Also, for single-column layouts, you can change to a two-column layout, start a new slide to accommodate the text, or split the text between two slides.

The Automatic Layout Options button appears after you insert an item, such as a picture, diagram, chart, or table, that changes the initial layout (layout: The arrangement of elements, such as title and subtitle text, lists, pictures, tables, charts, AutoShapes, and movies, on a chart.) of the slide. To accommodate the added item, PowerPoint will automatically adjust the slide layout. If you want, use the button options to undo the automatic layout or turn it off completely.