Getting started using PowerPoint for worship can be an intimidating thing- especially if you are technologically challenged! So here you go- the very basic commands you’ll need to set up your worship or sermon presentation- and where you’ll find them. It couldn’t get any easier!
VIEW OPTIONS
1. Outline View. Clicking this tab displays the outline pane. This view shows an outline of the text on each page.
2. Slide View. Clicking this tab displays the slide view pane. This view shows a thumbnail of each slide in a presentation.
3. Normal View. Clicking this icon causes the window to be displayed in normal view. This is the best view when using an extended desktop.
4. Slide Sorter View. Clicking this icon causes the window to display thumbnails of each slide within a presentation. To change the order of a slide in slide sorter view, hold down the left mouse button on the slide to be moved and drag to the new location. We do not use this view while setting up songs but rather use it when sorting or rearranging announcements.
5. Slide Show. Clicking this icon begins playing the presentation. When on an extended desktop system, the presentation will be displayed on the second screen and the primary monitor will display the outline view. From this point on you must use your keyboard to move through the slides. Use the Up/Down arrows or type in a slide number and hit enter.
DRAWING TOOLBAR
1. Draw Menu. Clicking Draw displays the draw menu. The draw menu provides options for creating, grouping, nudging, aligning, rotating and changing objects.
2. Select Object. The cursor allows you to select objects. Click this icon, then click an object using the left mouse button.
3. Text Box. To draw a text box, click this icon, hold down the left mouse button on the starting point and drag. Use this command to create text for your announcements or sermon notes.
4. Font Color. To apply color to text, select the text then click this icon. To change the color, click the arrow located beside the icon. Use this to change the color of the font for announcements or sermon notes. We suggest not using this command for our songs as it will override the color scheme settings.
5. Object Shadow. This places a shadow on a selected object or text. This is the shadow we suggest using with songs. It will adapt to the slide color scheme settings and provides greater control than the shadow text command.
FORMATTING TOOLBAR
1. Font . The font name is displayed here. To change the font, click the arrow located to the right of the field and make a selection from the options provided. The songs are all formatted using Halvett Black Condensed which we have found to be the most readable font for music. For a download link to the Halvett Black Condensed font please see the online tutorial.
2. Font Size. The font size is displayed here in points. To change the font size, click the arrow located to the right of the field and make a selection from the options provided. You can also type a number in the box. If the font at 36 points trails onto the next line, reduce the font size to 35 (or smaller if required).
3. Font Options. These buttons change the font to bold, italic and underline.
4. Shadow Text. We suggest not using this option as it has limited control and overrides the color scheme settings.
5. Aligning Text. Use these buttons to align your text.
PICTURE TOOLBAR
1. Contrast. Increase/decrease contrast in selected photo.
2. Brightness. Increase/decrease brightness in selected photo
3. Crop. This allows you to change the size of an inserted photo.
4. Format Picture. Displays a window, providing options for cropping, image control, position sizing, and borders.
5. Set Transparent Color. Allows you to set a transparent color for the selected picture. This is a good tool for placing your church logo on announcements or welcome pages..
INSERT MENU
Slides from Files. The insert Slides from Files command allows you to insert an individual song file or announcement. This is ideal for bringing PowerPoint slides in from another file.
SLIDE SHOW MENU
1. Set Up Show. This option allows you to configure PowerPoint to show the slide show through the projector when in extended desktop mode. This process is described in detail under Display Slide Show On. Slide Shows can also be set to loop forever for announcements.
2. Slide Transitions. This command allows you to change the slide transitions between announcements or sermons. We suggest not using slide transitions in your song lists as it tends to distract from worship.
FORMAT MENU
1. Slide Color Scheme. This option allows you to change the default color of the text and shadows for a song list. This process is described in detail in the Slide Color Scheme tutorial: Slide Color Scheme.
2. Background. This option allows you to change the default background for the music list. This process is described in the following tutorials: Using ImageVine Worship Photo Templates & Custom Jpeg Backgrounds.
In the church I attend, we use PowerPoint on a weekly basis. Our congregation enjoys having musical notes on the screen along with the words to each song. Is there a program available to enable this? We have received such slides in the past but were told that company closed due to copy right issues.
We would really appreciate finding this program.
Thanks.