By default, PowerPoint gives you as the first slide, a slide that uses the
Title Slide layout. Those are the two centered boxes you see. The first box
is the Title Placeholder. The lower box is the Subtitle Placeholder.
The next slide is, by default, a bulleted slide layout. It's actually
called, in PPT 2003, a "Title and Text" layout. Since you haven't mentioned
which version of PPT you're using, I'll assume 2003. This has a top
placeholder -- the Title Placeholder -- and a lower one -- Text Placeholder.
You can arrange those placeholders on the slide master. Go to View | Master
| Slide Master. But you should not delete any placeholder from the slide
master.
Since you want just one text placeholder, I think the easiest thing for you
to do will be to change the slide layouts to the Title Slide layout.
So, in your Word outline, use Heading 1. Then open the file in PPT. Then
choose all the slides in the pane on the left and go to Format | Slide
Layout and click the Title Slide layout in the pane on the right.
Then go to View | Master | Slide Master and choose Insert | New Title
Master. Then, on the Title Master, place the Title Placeholder in the center
where you want it. You can leave the Subtitle Placeholder where it is, or
you can make its text really small and drag it to a corner of the slide
where it won't bother you. But you shouldn't delete it. Format the Title
Placeholder as desired -- font size, color, etc.
When you close Master View (by going to View | Normal), your slides should
have updated to this new format. If they haven't for some reason, then
re-apply the Title Slide layout by selecting all the slides, going to Format
| Slide Layout, click the arrow next to the Title Slide layout (appears when
you hover over the thumbnail) and choose Reapply Layout.
There are other ways to do this. For example, instead of a Title Slide
layout, you could use the Title Only layout and, in Slide Master View, you'd
arrange the Title Placeholder on the regular Slide Master instead of on the
Title Master.
Now, PowerPoint isn't going to do this by default, but if you really need it
to, you can change your default template so the rearranging and formatting
you did on the Slide Master and/or Title Master applies by default. You'll
still have to apply the appropriate slide layout to your slides, though.
Instructions for creating your own default presentation are here:
Create a default "blank" presentation with your own defaults
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00245.htm
But I think you'll be better off not changing your default for awhile until
you thoroughly understand what you're doing with the slide masters and
layouts. You can always open the existing file, save it with a new name,
delete the existing slides, and use Insert | Slides | From Outline to add
new slides and have the same formatting options available. Or you can choose
File | Open and open the Word outline, then go to Format | Slide Design,
choose Browse at the bottom, and navigate to your existing formatted
presentation. That will apply the formatting from the existing presentation
to the new one -- but again, you'll still have to change the slide layouts
to the appropriate layout.
--
Echo [MS PPT MVP]
http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007?
http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html
Denis said:
Ok i'll explain a little more. I've been told about the heading 1 and
heading 2 issue and see the difference. So to clarify spicificily I would
like the default powerpoint to open with one text box "place holder" not
two.
If i use heading 1 I get the text in the first text box "place holder" if
I
use heading 2 I get the text in the second text box "place holder". I
don't
want two place holders and dont know how to make powerpoint default to use
only one place holder when it opens either using a text document or with
just
simply opening a new presentation. I appreiciate your help. Thank you
I would add that my place holder preferably is centered on the slide using
guides and then when the next slide comes up it is nicely placed like the
previous one. I don't know quite how I do that either but it seems to
work.
Echo S said:
Which version of PowerPoint?
If one textbox is the title placeholder and the other the typical
bulleted
text placeholder, then that's indeed the default, but it's easy to change
if
we know what it is you really want. I know you want one textbox, but do
you
want it to be a title or a bulleted textbox [whether or not it actually
has
a bullet is another issue
]?
If you mean you get a title placeholder plus two bulleted text
placeholders,
that's something different.
So could you specify what placeholders you're getting?
Also, part of the issue could be the formatting of your Word file. When
you
open a Word document, anything formatted with Heading 1 style will become
a
slide title. Heading 2 style becomes the first level bullet. Heading 3
becomes the 2nd level bullet. And so on.
To change a slide layout, you can go to Format | Slide Layout and change
the
slide to a title slide layout, for example, and then you'd go to the
slide
master view (View | Master | Slide Master) and format the title slide
master
to your taste.
There's just too many "ifs" here, though -- if you can help us understand
what exactly is it you're after, we can probably help you get there.
--
Echo [MS PPT MVP]
http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007?
http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
(New!) The PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
http://tinyurl.com/2qzlpl
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html
Denis said:
If I open a word document with powerpoint I would like powerpoint to
use a
basic format of (one text box) to open the document.
Explanation: I'm opening a word document from my folder usint
powerpoint
to
open it with. When it opens I get several slides which is fine, I want
that,
but I also get slides with two text boxes and I dont want two text
boxes
in
each slide just one text box. How do I set a defalt or what selection
do
I
need to select to get rid of the extra text box? The second text box
has
nothing in it just an empty box. I suppose its something to do with
the
slide master but havent been able to figure that out yet.
