Tips and Tricks for PowerPoint 2000

Drawing Tools

Insert a Drawing Object Multiple Times in Office 2000

Have you ever wanted to insert the same drawing object several times in a row in your document, worksheet, or presentation? It's easy. Instead of clicking the drawing object button every time you want to insert the object, you can take advantage of the drawing object button's "sticky" feature.

1. To view the Drawing toolbar, right-click any toolbar and select Drawing.
2. To insert a drawing object several times, double-click the drawing object button (such as Rectangle) on the Drawing toolbar. The button stays selected or "sticky."
3. Insert your drawing object several times by clicking in the appropriate locations.
4. When you're finished inserting the objects, click the drawing object button again, or press ESC.

You can also turn any of the drawing objects available from the AutoShapes button on the Drawing toolbar into "sticky" drawing object buttons. Simply click the AutoShapes button, point to a category (such as Flowchart), and a submenu of shapes opens up. Drag the move handle at the top of the submenu to create a floating toolbar. Then double-click the drawing object button (such as Flowchart: Process). The button now stays "sticky."

For more information about drawing, see Use a Workflow Diagram in Your PowerPoint 2000 Presentation and Draw Flowcharts with Word 2000 and PowerPoint 2000.

Formatting

Apply Text and Graphics Formatting Multiple Times in Office 2000

Have you ever wanted to make several non-sequential words stand out by using a special font in your document? Or have you ever wanted to change certain solid lines to dotted lines in graphics created with the drawing tools? If you've ever wanted to apply the same format to items in different locations in a file, you might not realize how easy it is. Instead of clicking the Format Painter button on the Standard toolbar every time that you want to apply the new format, you can take advantage of the button's "sticky" feature.

1. Select the item whose format you would like to copy.
2. To copy the selected format to several items, double-click the Format Painter button. The button stays selected, or "sticky."
3. Select the text or graphic where you want to apply the new format.
4. When you're finished applying the format, click the Format Painter button again or press ESC.

 Note    Applying text and graphics formatting multiple times does not work between programs. For example, you cannot apply formatting from Word to PowerPoint®.

For more information, type format painter or copy formats in the Office Assistant or on the Answer Wizard tab in the program's Help window, and then click Search. For related information, see Quickly Copy Formatting with the Format Painter in Office 2000 and Insert a Drawing Object Multiple Times in Office 2000.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Useful Shortcut Keys in PowerPoint 2000

Do you find that using the keyboard is sometimes quicker than using your mouse? Shortcut keys can help you bypass menus and carry out commands directly. You can use shortcut keys in many ways with PowerPoint®, from accessing commands and toolbar buttons to inserting a new slide. Shortcut keys are sometimes listed next to the command name on PowerPoint menus. For example, on the Edit menu, the Find command lists the shortcut CTRL+F.

For a comprehensive list of shortcuts, ask the Office Assistant for help. In PowerPoint 2000 or any of the other Office 2000 applications, press F1 to display the Assistant, and then type shortcut keys in the text box. Here are some of the most useful PowerPoint shortcut keys:

For more information, download A List of Useful Office 2000 Shortcut Keys.