Running a Screen (Slide) Shows

Start a screen show
1. Click the Slide Show button in the lower left corner of the screen. This will begin the slide show on the page you are currently on.
2. Choose Slide Show - View Show from the menu commands.
Moving through a Screen Show
  When you run a Screen Show, you want to make the actual PowerPoint program as invisible as possible. There are numerous commands which can be activated using the mouse or keyboard strokes that can help you navigate through your show without having to return to the actual PowerPoint program.
  While in Screen Show:
a. Press F1 to display a table of all the different commands possible to move around and change things during the show.
b. Click the left mouse button, press N, or press Enter or Page Down to move to the next slide.
c. Press Page Up or P to move to the previous slide.
d. Press Esc to cancel slide show and return to the presentation work area.
e. Click the right mouse button anywhere on the slide to get a pop-up menu with all possible commands. Or click on the Options button which appears in the lower left corner of the display to display the same pop-up menu. Choose the command you want.
f. To go to a specific slide, click the right mouse button and select Go - Slide Navigator. The Slide Navigator lists the different slides in your presentations by title. The current slide is highlighted and any slides you have hidden are displayed with the slide number in parentheses. To change the slide you want, click on it and then click the Go To button.
g. A quicker way to go to a specific slide is to click the right mouse button and select Go - By Title. This quickly takes you to another slide by its title.
h. To move to the next slide click the left mouse button.
i. Click End Show to quit the presentation.
Drawing On-Screen
 

Use the Pen to draw on-screen while running a slide show. When you activate the pen, the mouse pointer will appear on your screen, looking like a pen. Depress the left mouse button and drag to draw on the slide. Hold the SHIFT key while you drag the mouse to lock in a nice, straight line.

Activate the Pen <Ctrl>+<P>
Activate the Arrow (Deactivate the Pen) <Ctrl>+<A>
Hide the Arrow or Pen <Ctrl>+<H>

You must return to the arrow pointer in order to continue advancing through your show or use the up and down arrow keys or the Page Up and Page Down keys on the keyboard to go to next or previous slides..

Pen color
The default pen color depends on the design template you are using. Click the right mouse button on the page while running the show. Choose Pointer Options - Pen Color. Choose color you want.

To change the Pen color prior to running your show, Select SLIDE SHOW, Set Up Show. Change the color in the "Set up show" dialog box.

Press the letter E to erase all pen markings on a page.
The Black Screen
 

This command temporarily blackens the screen display. You might use this feature while the audience is on a break, or while you are answering a question that is not exactly related to the visual that is being displayed.

Pressing the letter, B will toggle you back and forth between your current slide and a black screen.

A related command automatically displays a black slide at the end of every slide show. That option, End with Black Slide, is found on the View Tab when you select TOOLS, Options from the menu bar.
The White Screen
  You might want to display a white screen occasionally, perhaps to display an overhead transparency in the midst of a screen show. Press the letter, W to toggle back and forth between your current slide and a white screen.
NOTE: Experts on presenting recommend that you not have a slide on the screen or show your computer screen when you start your presentation and are introducing yourself nor when you finish and are answering questions. This gets your audience to focus on you, not your slide show or computer screen.
Hidden Slides
  You can hide a slide in the show if you aren’t sure you will need to use it. It is still part of your presentation but it won’t be displayed when you run the show.
1. Select the slide you want to hide either in Slide Sorter View or Slide View.
2. You must select the slide to hide. Only selected slides can be hidden or unhidden.
3. Select Tools, Hide Slide from the menu bar.
4. The selected slide is now hidden. In Slide Sorter View, the selected slide now has to the bottom right of the slide, a box with a line through it over the slide number.
5. To unhide the slide, click on the Hide Slide button again in the Tools menu.
Additional Tips
1. Run a computer screen show directly from the hard drive of your computer for best results.
2. If you are creating a screen show on one computer that will be run on a different computer, make sure the fonts (and bullets) used by your screen show are on both computers. If they aren't on the computer used for the screen show, you will have to install them or your formatting will be changed because of PowerPoint's automatic (and unannounced) font substitution. You could also use the "Pack and Go" feature. Use PowerPoint's on-line Help menu for more information.
Keyboard Shortcuts for Screen Shows
F5 - Launch a Screen Show.
Esc - Quit a Screen Show.
F1 - Display a list of the shortcut menu.
B - Display a black screen or return to slide show from a black screen.
W - Display a white screen, or return to the slide show from a white screen.
E - Erase writing or drawing done during a screen show.
Number followed by Enter - Go to a specific numbered slide while running a screen show.
Hold both mouse buttons down for 2 seconds - Returns to the first slide.
CTRL + P - Change pointer to a pen.
CTRL + A - Change the pen to a pointer.
A - Show/Hide the pointer tool and box with arrows in left bottom corner.
 
Set Up Show Dialog Box
  Set up the show using the settings in the Set Up Show dialog box (shown below).
 
 
Show Type
 

Choose from the following:

  Presented by speaker (full screen)
  Browsed by an individual (window)
  Browsed at a kiosk (full screen)
 

Loop continuously until "Esc"
  Show without narration
  Show without animation
  Show scrollbar
   
Pen color
  Click on the down arrow next to the color in this box to choose a new color for the pen. This pen is used while the show is running. Whatever you draw on the screen will not be remembered once you click to go to the next animation or slide.
Show on
  Choose monitor to display show on.
Slides
  Select All the slides in the show or enter the numbered range you want to show. Remember that a show will start on the slide that is selected in either the Slide Sorter View or what is displayed in the Normal View.
Advance Slides
  Choose to advance the slides in the show manually by the click of the mouse. Use Timings, if present option will advance the slides after so many seconds (you enter the number of seconds that the slide will be displayed).
   

PowerPoint Lessons Table of Contents

Last updated January 2002. These courses are copyrighted by the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Communications and Information Technology. Contact Lana Johnson at ljohnson1@unl.edu