Understanding PowerPoint Views

PowerPoint gives you the ability to view your presentation in five different ways. Each view gives you a different way of looking at your work and also offers different capabilities for working with the presentation. To switch from one view to the next, you need only click on the button shown; the buttons are located in the lower left of the PowerPoint window. It is important to understand, however, that all you are changing is the view, the data is still the same.

There is a subtle difference between the user interface in PowerPoint 97/98 and PowerPoint 2000/2001.

PowerPoint 2000/2001

When you create a presentation, PowerPoint 2000 (Windows) and PowerPoint 2001 (Macintosh) by default displays a Tri-Pane View, which is a single window with three panes representing three different views of your presentation. Click in one of the window panes to work in that “view”.

The View Buttons are located at the bottom left of the PowerPoint window Click on the Normal Viewbutton to switch at any time back to the default Tri-Pane View.

The panes displayed in the Tri-Pane View are:

Presentation Slide Pane

• You can type text, draw, add clip art, insert pictures, and change the look of your text and objects, change the slide layout, add artwork and graphics from other applications.
• You can only work on one slide at a time.
• If you click on the Slide Viewbutton while in the Tri-Pane View:
  • the slide pane enlarges
  • the outline pane gets smaller
  • the notes pane disappears

Presentation Outline Pane

• You work only with slide titles and main text in a classic outline form.
• Excellent way to organize your presentation and quickly develop content since you are “viewing” all of your slides at once (you may need to scroll the pane, of course). As stated previously, this is the recommended way to first develop your presentation.
• If you click on the Outline Viewbutton while in the Tri-Pane View:
  • the outline pane enlarges
  • the slide pane gets smaller
  • the notes pane changes shape (is it smaller or larger?)

The Notes Pane

• You create speaker’s notes for any or all of the slides. You can draw or type while in this view just as you do in Slide view.
• Each notes page corresponds to a single slide; you view only one notes page/slide at a time.
• There is no button in the lower left for the Notes Pane.

Two other views available are:

Slide Sorter View

• Clicking on this button closes the Tri-Pane View and switches you to the slide sorter view.
• You see a miniature of each slide, complete with graphics and text. Simulates viewing actual slides on a light table.
• You can reorder slides, add transitions, and set timing for electronic presentations.

Slide Show View

• You see your slides as an electronic presentation on your computer. Each slide fills the screen.
• You will also see the effect of any transitions and/or timing set in the Slide Sorter view.
• Best way to preview what your presentation will look when presented.

PowerPoint 97/98

As you create or edit your presentation, you can switch among the five views by simply clicking on the View Buttons at the bottom left of the PowerPoint window. The views are:

Slide View

• You can type text, draw, add clip art, insert pictures, and change the look of your text and objects, change the slide layout, add artwork and graphics from other applications
• You can only work on one slide at a time

Outline View

• You work only with slide titles and main text in a classic outline form.
• Excellent way to organize your presentation and quickly develop content since you are “viewing” all of your slides at once (you may need to scroll the window, of course). As stated previously, this is the recommended way to first develop your presentation.

Slide Sorter View

• You see a miniature of each slide, complete with graphics and text. Simulates viewing actual slides on a light table.
• You can reorder slides, add transitions, and set timing for electronic presentations.

Notes Pages View

• You create speaker’s notes for any or all of the slides. You can draw or type while in this view just as you do in Slide view.
• Each notes page corresponds to a single slide; you view only one notes page/slide at a time.

Slide Show View

• You see your slides as an electronic presentation on your computer. Each slide fills the screen.
• You will also see the effect of any transitions and/or timing set in the Slide Sorter view.
• Best way to preview what you presentation will look when presented.

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last updated August 13, 2003