Creating Your Own PowerPoint® Slide Template for WisLine Web
Creating your own template can take some time, but once you’ve made it, it can be used over and over again. This tutorial will lead you through the basics of making a simple template. You will learn some of the tools and tricks to get a “specialized” look for your own template. Just remember, that the simplest design is usually best. An overly complicated template can be very distracting to the attendees. To get the most out of this tutorial, especially if you are a new user, first consult the tutorial, "Creating Microsoft® PowerPoint® Slides for WisLine Web."
| This is the Slide Master. To keep subpoints from being too small to see, change the text to at least 28 point size (32 recommended) for all levels. Make the title at least 40 point size (44 recommended). Don’t forget to change the font to a sans-serif font, such as Helvetica, Arial, or Comic Sans. Sans-serif fonts are easier to read on computer monitors, especially older ones. |  |
| Now a company logo has been inserted in the upper left hand corner of the Master slide. A logo should be large enough to read, but not be overpowering. |  |
| Insert a logo by going to Insert on the menu bar, then choosing Picture and From File. |  |
| Move the Title and Body boxes down to keep the slide titles from conflicting with the logo. |  |
| If it is appropriate, you can format the background with a color that matches one of the colors in the logo. |  |
| Change the background color by clicking on the Custom tab in the color selection. If you want, pick a color with a close match to the color in the logo. If you happen to know the RGB or HSL values of the color in a logo you want to match, you can type them in to get an exact match. |  |
| You can also change the font color on the slide to match one of the other colors in the logo, if appropriate. |  |
| The last step to customizing the template is using the Auto Shapes feature. Use the Auto Shapes to draw bars and other shapes on your slides. The Auto Shapes tab is normally located in the lower left hand area of the PowerPoint® screen. |  |
| The rectangle in the Basic Shapes area of Auto Shapes was used to draw this bar. |  |
| Double-clicking on an Auto Shape will open the Format AutoShape window, where you can change the color and other features of the AutoShape. In this case, the color was changed to match one of the other colors in the company logo. |  |
| The oval AutoShape was used to round off the bar that was drawn earlier. To remove the outline of the AutoShapes, choose No Line for the color in the Line area of the Format AutoShape box. To make the logo stand out more on the slide, double-click it and add a line. |  |
| To save this template for future use, choose File from the menu bar and choose Save As. |  |
| Give the template a name in the File Name area and choose Design Template in the Save As type area. The next time you open PowerPoint®, you should find this template in the Design Templates area. |  |
