Product Description

If you're vexed and perplexed by PowerPoint, pick up a copy of Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances. This funny, and often opinionated, guide is chock full of tools and techniques for eliminating all the problems that drive audiences and presenters crazy.

There's nothing more discouraging than an unresponsive audience--or worse, one that snickers at your slides. And there's nothing more maddening than technical glitches that turn your carefully planned slide show into a car wreck. Envious when you see other presenters effectively use nifty features that you've never been able to get to work right? Suffer no more! Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances by Microsoft PowerPoint MVP Echo Swinford rides to the rescue.

Microsoft PowerPoint is the most popular presentation software on the planet, with an estimated 30 million presentations given each day. So no matter how frustrated you get, you're not about to chuck the program in the Recycle Bin. Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances, presents smart solutions to a variety of all-too-familiar, real-world annoyances.

The book is divided into big categories, with annoyances grouped by topic. You can read it cover to cover or simply jump to the chapter or section most relevant to you. Inside its pages you'll learn how to create your own templates, work with multiple masters and slide layouts, and take advantage of various alignment and formatting tools. You'll also learn how to import Excel data; insert graphics, PDF, and Word content; create, edit, and format organization charts and diagrams; use action settings and hyperlinks to jump to other slides; and add sound, video, and other types of multimedia to spark up your presentations.

Entertaining and informative, Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances is filled with humorous illustrations and packed with sidebars, tips, and tricks, as well as links to cool resources on the Web.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #199914 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-17
• Format: Illustrated
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 326 pages

About the Author
Echo Swinford began making slides as a medical meeting planner in 1997 and just never stopped. She uses PowerPoint as the basis for webcasts, CDs, and online applications. Her web site (http://www.echosvoice.com/) is graced by dozens of downloadables and helpful documents, and she has been a member of the Microsoft PowerPoint MVP team since 2000. She's also probably answered more questions on the PowerPoint newsgroup than anyone else.

Customer Reviews

A Nice Attempt
Don't let the title of my review mislead you. This is a great reference book to keep on your shelf and look up when you run into a problem. In fact, you'll find many of the same answers in this book if you search for them on Google Groups, not surprising since Swinford is a regular there. What lets the book down is that it provides a scant three pages on problems arising from using PowerPoint with other applications like Word, PDF and Flash. And in my years of using PowerPoint in a real world situation, these annoyances come up more than anything else. I thought I'll be able to work around these issues when I bought this book, but was disappointed. However, maybe your requirements are different, so to be fair enough, this is just my opinion. Overall, this boom is a nice attempt.

Think of solutions rather than focusing on the product and the value of this book increases
Two disclosures: (1) I have known the author for several years, both as a colleague and a friend; (2) I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher, O'Reilly.

One of the first things that strikes the eye on cracking open the book is the grey border that occupies the outside third of each page. If you are unfortunate and like me pick a few pages each with an empty border it seems a strange -- even annoying -- design choice. But, flip a few more pages and it quickly becomes apparent that the book uses the border creatively to (1) hold the reader's interest by breaking the monotony of the typical linear flow, and (2) impart interesting tidbits. Several minutes into the book I caught myself, upon turning over a page, checking the borders first!

Swinford also makes interesting use of the archetypical savior of many a computer geek -- the paper clip. Scattered through the book are curious contortions of the paper clip. She also lets the reader know she shares their frustrations with PowerPoint with the judicious use of sketches of a pencil snapped in several pieces.

Lest one think these are but gimmicks to cover a lack of substance, nothing could be further from the truth.

Content wise, I would have expected nothing less from the author and she delivers. The book is well organized with sections dealing with broad roles starting with "Presenting Your Presentation," going through every (well, the vast majority in any case) possible uses one might conceive for PowerPoint and ending with "Printing and Distribution." One could nitpick on whether some of the topics addressed might belong in another section, but it is doubtful that any categorization would satisfy every reader.

Browsing through the book, I found myself nodding to myself at the various "annoyances" she has addressed. Having used PowerPoint from when it was first released by Microsoft, and as one who regularly tests its limits -- I have had my share of...let's call them experiences...with the product. The author succinctly identifies each problem and offers a solution be it using PowerPoint or in conjunction with another program. Swinford's expertise and knowledge of not only the program but more importantly of how to use it productively are apparent in the many solutions she presents.

Something new (and impressive I might add) that I learned about her from the book was her knowledge of how other programs can improve one's productivity with PowerPoint. For example, she notes two programs that can assist one "reapply animations." While other programs do cost money, it is a trade-off all of us make routinely: time vs. money.

She is also not afraid to write "No, it cannot be done in PowerPoint." And, she is right. No program can be everything to everyone. And, to that end, she has done her research. Instead of simply stating "use another program," she suggests one. In fact, on page 179, she lists 15(!) programs under the category of "Other Charting Options" -- together with each program's web site and cost.

Clearly, this is not a book from one learns PowerPoint. It is more like a reference book, one that both the beginner and the experienced are likely to turn to when they encounter problems. The author's writing style makes for easy reading and it would not hurt one to read it page by page. For instance, if one hasn't worked with a particular PowerPoint capability it would be a good idea to go through the related section and educate oneself on what to expect. Essentially, this book is best used as a reference.

And, that leads to the biggest "problem," if we can call it that, with this book. Though, to be fair, it is a problem with all such books. A printed book can never do justice to a reference work. A very useful companion would have been an electronic version of the book, something one can search as needed. Take it a step further, and maybe the author and the publisher will consider a purchaser-only companion website for the book. Take the next logical step, and they can charge a fee for new content added to the website.

Be that as it may, all in all, this is a book that PowerPoint users should have within easy reach.

Required Reading for Students!!
This time of year, students all over the United States are working on their final projects. Around here, that means senior presentations, which means PowerPoint.

I'm not at that school full-time any more, but in years past I've seen just about every problem that could crop up related to PowerPoint. I really could have used Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances - especially when I taught PowerPoint, and had students come to me in a panic when the program told them the file on their floppy disk was corrupt. (Page 43 deals with this problem. Wish I had known the solution two years ago!).

PowerPoint has become as important to businesses today as any other program. Presentations are used to pitch new products, ad campaigns, even benefit packages. When it doesn't work right, it can cause serious problems. But with Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances in hand, those problems are no longer fatal.

The book is very well organized; it starts off with problems related to the actual presentation, even possible problems with displays and projectors are discussed. Problems that crop up during the presentation (don't you HATE it when your slides suddenly stop moving forward, or when a graphic that was supposed to show up suddenly doesn't?) are solved right up front, so that you don't have to go digging through the book - a great idea when the CEO is sitting there waiting for you to get on with it.

Many problems that people run into are caused by default settings in PowerPoint. (Maybe that's why they call the "default" - de fault is theirs!). Section 2 covers exactly which default settings you need to change, and why. Section 3 covers editing problems, including complaints about some things that Microsoft needs to add to the program. There are also links to some files from some Microsoft PowerPoint MVPs that are very helpful (including some templates).

Organizational charts can be a pain in PowerPoint, especially if you're trying to add positions. Tips and tricks for doing that, and other things you may need to do to an org chart, are listed in section 5. Importing sound and video is in section 6; I hate it when my sound effects don't play right, and aren't timed right. Unfortunately, synching sound is NOT something the book can help with - "PowerPoint is simply not designed to perfectly synchronize slides and sound."

And that's one thing I love about this book: they aren't afraid to tell you when something just can't be done. Whether it's a feature that Microsoft doesn't have, or something that you just might not WANT to do, you'll find out. And maybe you'll even feel motivated to let the folks out in Redmond know what you wish their product would do for you. Hey, it couldn't hurt!

I'm going to be loaning Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances to the senior project advisor at the school where I used to teach. It will save her a LOT of headaches in the weeks to come. But I want it back after the projects are done, because I can see it saving ME some headaches as well. She can buy her own copy.