Creating a presentation in PowerPoint

Library Journal

Peachpit's new "Visual QuickProject" series targets those who find even the "Visual QuickStart" titles too complicated, or those who just want to accomplish one project without being distracted by their software's other capabilities. These full-color guides walk readers step by step through completing a common project via large labeled screen shots, large fonts, and minimal text. Creating a Presentation describes both PowerPoint 2003 (PC) and 2004 (Mac), delineating basic presentation creation. Later sections show how to create and print speaker notes and audience handouts, set up a projector, and save a presentation to a CD or web site. Creating a Newsletter demonstrates how to produce with InDesign CS a basic, four-page newsletter that includes a calendar, masthead, and graphic and text frames, followed by ways to publish the newsletter, including PDF, printouts, and preflight checks. Including a companion web site with sample files, Creating a Web Page nicely shows how to use Dreamweaver styles to format text and other ways to ease formatting issues, as well as the basics and more complex items like saving library items and templates. The section on publishing a site gives useful tips on adding search terms, fixing broken links, and uploading. Creating REsumEs covers four projects with Word 2003 (Windows) and 2004 (Mac): letters, resumes, business cards, and flyers. A companion web site provides sample files, articles, and reader comments. The resume section seems a little busier than others and could have been expanded; readers needing this basic advice might have difficulty modifying the example given to fit their needs. Appropriate for absolute beginners and technophobes, these volumes make the most sense for software like Word and PowerPoint; when it comes to more expensive packages like Dreamweaver, libraries may want to buy more thorough guides. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.