Leading the way in Microsoft Office Development

Step 1 - How are your Presentations Displayed ?

The default for PowerPoint 2000, 2002 and 2003 is to display all your open presentations as a separate icon on the task bar.

If you have a large number of PowerPoint presentations currently open and you are using Windows XP then they will be automatically reduced to a single "group" icon on the taskbar.

It is possible to switch this option off if you want to save space on the taskbar.

Select (Tools > Options)(View tab, Windows in Taskbar) and uncheck this checkbox.

If you switch this option off the only way to switch between the different windows is to use the Window drop-down menu.

You will also notice that the Maximise and Restore buttons will reappear on the Menu Bar.

Step 2 - Moving between multiple Presentations

It is possible to have more than one presentation open at the same time.

This is a useful technique because it makes your presentations more accessible.

You can use the (Windows) menu to quickly switch between your open documents.

The Window drop-down menu always lists all the presentations that are currently open. It is also very handy to remind yourself what files you have got open.

The presentation that is currently displayed has a tick against it.

 Window Menu

Alternatively you can use the shortcut key (Ctrl + F6) to toggle between your open documents.

Step 3 - Arranging your Presentations

If you have several presentations open, some of them will be hidden from view.

You can display the contents of multiple presentations at the same time.

Select (Window > Arrange All) to display all the open presentations arranged vertically.

Step 4 - Minimising a Presentation

If you want to temporarily remove one the of the open presentations from view you can Minimise the window.

In the top right hand corner of the active document or window there are three Control buttons.

 Presentation control buttons

Minimise - This will minimise your window or presentation and place a small icon in the bottom left corner of your application.

Restore -

Maximise -

Close - This will close the presentation or window.

Step 5 - Things to Remember

The difference between a window and a presentation is that you can have several windows to the same presentation.

You can use the shortcut keys (Ctrl + F6) and (Ctrl + Shift + F6) to move between all the open presentations or windows.