1. Tutorial by Reid T. Sundblad

2. Creating a PowerPoint presentation can be made easier and time efficient through the creation and application of a slide master A slide master is “an element of the design template that stores information about the template, including font styles, placeholder sizes and positions, background design, and color schemes.” “The slide master’s purpose is to let [the user] make a global change…and have that change reflected on all the slides in [their] presentation.” Source: Microsoft Office online

3. It is easiest to begin the creation of any PowerPoint presentation by establishing a slide master. This allows for uniformity among slides, creating a presentation that is not only uniform, but professional as well. (Note: a slide master should only be created if the user desires slides that are uniform in design.)

4. Begin by opening up PowerPoint 2007 and selecting the View tab on the ribbon at the top of the page

5. Under the View tab, select the presentation view: Slide Master

6. Upon selecting Slide Master, the ribbon at the top of the page should now change to include a Slide Master tab

7. Running the length of the left side of the screen, multiple slide templates are presented, each with its own unique layout

8. Each template on the left side of the screen represents a different PowerPoint slide layout. Examples include: Title slide layout Title and content layout Section header layout Two content layout Comparison layout An example of a title and content layout is presented on the following slide

9. An example of a title and content layout

10. Upon selecting which slide layout is desired to be edited on the left, simply click on the slide in the center of the screen to begin editing (“Click to edit”)

11. Notable features that can be established on a slide master include (but are not limited to): Title (1) Font Font size Color Bullet size and shape (2) Paragraph (3) Font Font size Color Footer (including date and slide number) (4) Slide background (5) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

12. The Slide Master tab also allows the user to change the theme of the slides, which includes: color, font, and effects These features can be edited by selecting the corresponding dropdown in the Edit Theme section

13. Other features that allow for personalization include: Page Setup (margins) Slide orientation (landscape vs. portrait) Renaming the slide master (which allows for the settings of the current slide master to be distinguishable among other slide masters. This feature is particularly helpful if the slide layout should need to be used again in the future)

14. After the user is satisfied with the changes to the slide master, the user must select Close Master View in order to save and apply changes. Not selecting this may result in the loss of the changes applied to the master slide.

15. There you have it! You have now officially saved time and energy having to painstakingly recreate similar slide layouts by creating a Slide Master! If at any point during the presentation creation you find yourself unhappy with the look of the slides, simply revisit the steps previously laid out and fix the problem area(s). GREAT WORK!

16. Microsoft Corporation. (2011). About the slide master. Retrieved March 13, 2011 from http://office.microsoft. com/en-us/powerpoint-help/about-the-slide-master- HP005195406.aspx