What is PowerPoint for Mac? It's a visual and graphical application, primarily used for creating presentations. With PowerPoint, you can create, view, and present slide shows that combine text, shapes, pictures, graphs, animation, charts, videos, and much more.
Learn these basic tasks and you'll be well on your way to mastering PowerPoint for Mac 2011.
 | Find and apply a template |
A quick way to create a presentation is to start with a template. Templates contain content and design elements that you can use as a starting point to create a presentation. You can use built-in templates, apply your own custom templates, or search from a variety of templates available on Office.com.
To find a template inPowerPoint, do the following:
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On the Standard toolbar, click New From Template 
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In the navigation bar on the left side of the PowerPoint Presentation Gallery, under TEMPLATES, click All.
To locate templates on Office.com, click the arrow next to ONLINE TEMPLATES, click the category you want (Calendars, for example), and then click the template that you want.
 | Tip You can also search for templates on Office.com from within PowerPoint. In the Search Online and Local Templates box, type one or more search terms. For more information about how to find and apply templates, see
Start with a template to create a new document . |
| Create a presentation |
| Open a presentation |
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On the File menu, click Open.
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In the left pane, click the location of the presentation, click the presentation in the right pane, and then click Open.
| Tips |
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By default, the Mac puts presentations in the Documents folder.
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To search for a presentation, start typing the name in the search box.
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| Save a presentation |
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On the File menu, click Save As.
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In the Save As box, type a name for the presentation, and then click Save.
| Tips |
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By default, presentations are saved in the Documents folder. To select a different location, on the Where pop-up menu, click the location that you want.
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By default, presentations are saved in the PowerPoint Presentation (.pptx) file format. To save your presentation in a format other than .pptx, on the Format pop-up menu, click the file format that you want.
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| Insert a new slide |
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On the Home tab, under Slides, click the arrow next to New Slide, and then click the slide layout that you want.
| View a slide show |
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Open the presentation that you want to play as a slide show.
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To play the slide show from the currently selected slide, on the Home tab, under Slide Show, click Play.
To play the slide show from the first slide, on the Home tab, under Slide Show, click the arrow next to Play, and then click Play from Start.
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To advance through the slides, click the mouse, or press the
SPACEBAR.
| Tip You can also play a slide show by clicking the same options on the Slide Show tab. |
| Print a presentation |
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On the File menu, click Print.
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On the Print What pop-up menu, click Slides, and then click Print.
| Tip To print more than one slide per page, on the Print What pop-up menu, click one of the choices for handouts. |
| Tips for creating an effective presentation |
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Minimize the number of slides To maintain a clear message and to keep your audience attentive and interested, keep the number of slides in your presentation to a minimum.
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Choose an audience-friendly font size Choosing the best font size helps communicate your message. Remember that the audience must be able to read your slides from a distance. Generally speaking, a font size smaller than 30 might be too difficult for the audience to see.
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Keep your slide text simple You want your audience to listen to you present your information, instead of reading the screen. Use bullets or short sentences, and try to keep each to one line; that is, without text wrapping. Some projectors crop slides at the edges, so that long sentences might be cropped.
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Use visuals to help express your message Pictures, charts, graphs, and SmartArt graphics provide visual cues for your audience to remember. Add meaningful art to complement the text and messaging on your slides. As with text, however, avoid including too many visual aids on your slide.
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Make labels for charts and graphs understandable Use only enough text to make label elements in a chart or graph comprehensible.
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Apply subtle, consistent slide backgrounds Choose an appealing, consistent template or
themeA set of unified design elements that provides a look for your document by using color, fonts, and graphics.
that is not too eye-catching. You do not want the background or design to detract from your message. However, you also want to provide a contrast between the background color and text color. The built-in themes in PowerPoint
set the contrast between a light background with dark colored text or dark background with light colored text.
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Check the spelling and grammar To earn and maintain the respect of your audience, always check the spelling and grammar in your presentation.
