Steps for creating a design template

Create a template

These are the general steps for creating a design template in Microsoft® Office PowerPoint® 2003. More detail about specific types of changes follows in other sections.

1. On the Standard toolbar, click New.

   This starts a new presentation with a default title slide added and the Default Design template applied.

2. On the View menu, point to Master, and then click Slide Master.
3. Make the changes you want to the slide master.

   If you want certain changes only on title slides, insert a title master: On the Insert menu, click New Title Master. Make the specific changes to the title master.

4. When you've finished creating the template, on the File menu, click Save As.
5. In the File name box, type a recognizable name for the template, and in the Save as type box, click Design Template (*.pot). Click Save.
6. To see the template within the Slide Design task pane, exit and then restart PowerPoint. The template will be available in alphabetical order by file name, under Available for Use.

Delete a template

Templates get stored by default in this location: C:\Documents and Settings\your name\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates. Go here to delete a template that you don't want. If you don't see the Application Data folder, it's probably hidden. To gain access to it: In Microsoft Windows®, open the Control Panel. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options; click the View tab. Under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders.

Changing the slide master

Change font and font styles

To make changes to the font:

1. In master view, do one of the following:
   • To make a font change to text in a paragraph, such as one level of body text, click the text paragraph to select it. Right-click the selected text, and click Font on the shortcut menu.
   • To make a font change to all the text within a placeholder, right-click the placeholder border. The border becomes dense dots. Click Font on the shortcut menu.
2. Make your changes in the Font dialog box, and click OK.

Important   Avoid using fonts that might not be available on the computer where your template will be used. A sampling of safe Microsoft Office fonts includes Arial, Book Antiqua, Century Gothic, Comic Sans MS, Garamond, Tahoma, Times New Roman, and Verdana. These are some of the fonts that shipped with Microsoft Office 2003 and Office 2002.

For more font information, see Fonts in PowerPoint: Find fonts that fit your content.

Some fonts are not desirable for some audiences. See this course for more information: Create an accessible Office document.

Restore a placeholder

If, in changing the layout, you've deleted a placeholder and want to restore it:

• In master view, click Master Layout on the Format menu. The deleted placeholder will appear with a cleared check box. Select the check box, and then click OK.

Tip   If you alter a placeholder and then decide you'd like the original back, delete the altered placeholder and restore it using these same steps.

Insert a title master

The Default Design template doesn't automatically insert a title master. To insert one:

• In master view, click New Title Master on the Insert menu.

Add washout to a picture

A washout effect can make a picture more suitable as a background. Follow these steps in either master view or normal view:

1. On the Insert menu, point to Picture, and then click From File. In the Insert Picture dialog box, browse to the graphics file, select it, click Insert.
2. On the slide, right-click the graphic; click Format Picture on the shortcut menu. On the Picture tab, under Image Control, click the arrow on the Color box. In the list, click Washout. Click OK.
3. On the slide, right-click the graphic, and then click Save As Picture on the shortcut menu. Save the graphic to a location that you'll remember.
4. Delete the graphic from the slide. You'll browse to it when you apply the background (see the next section).

A bitmap graphics file, such as a photo, can inflate the size of a presentation. To keep the picture as small as possible, use the Compress Pictures feature in PowerPoint. For details, see the lesson Optimize pictures.

Apply a background

To apply a background:

1. On the Format menu, click Background.
2. Click the arrow on the Background fill box. Then choose from a variety of background types:
   • To apply a color from the current color scheme, click a color swatch in the list.
   • To use a color outside the color scheme, click More Colors.
   • To use gradient colors, a texture, a pattern, or a graphics file, click Fill Effects, click the appropriate tab, and then make your selections.

Change color scheme

To edit a template's color scheme:

1. In master view, open the Slide Design task pane (click the Slide Design button on the Formatting toolbar).
2. Click the Color Schemes link near the top of the task pane.

   The color schemes for the template appear.

3. To change colors in the scheme, and thereby create a new scheme, click the Edit Color Schemes link at the bottom of the task pane.
4. In the Edit Color Scheme dialog box, select the scheme color that you want to change; click Change Color. Repeat for each color you want to change.
5. When you're done, click Add As Standard Scheme; click Apply.

You can have a maximum of 16 schemes for one design template. If you exceed that, the new ones just cease appearing in the task pane. You'll need to delete the ones you don't want (see the next section) to make room for new ones.

Color tips    Keep a high contrast between your background color and your colors for title and body text font. Choose a fill color that will show well against the background. Be sure that you choose colors for body text and accent colors for text hyperlinks that show up well against the fill color and against the background.

Delete a color scheme

To delete a scheme:

1. Select the color scheme thumbnail in the Slide Design - Color Schemes task pane. Click Edit Color Schemes at the bottom of the task pane.
2. Click the Standard tab. The thumbnail that you want to delete should be already selected; click Delete Scheme. Then click Apply.

Add a logo

To make a logo or other graphics file part of your template:

1. In master view, select the master that you want the logo on, and note:
   • If you have not inserted a title master and you insert the image onto the slide master, the image will appear on every slide.

     If you don't want the image to appear on title slides, insert a title master, and delete the image from it.

   • If you have inserted a title master and you insert the image onto the slide master, the title master doesn't inherit the image, and so the image won't appear on title slides.

     If you want the image to also appear on title slides, insert the image onto the title master. If you want it only on the title slides, insert it only onto the title master.

2. On the Insert menu, point to Picture, and then click From File. Select the image you want, and click Insert.
3. On the master, size and position the art where you want it.