Digitizing Your PDD

Creating Bulleted Lists

To create a bulleted list from the AutoLayout , choose the Bulleted List layout. Click in the main Placeholder and begin typing. Each time you press ENTER, the cursor is automatically placed in the next bulleted point. If the text you type in a bulleted item is longer than a single line, the text will automatically wrap to subsequent lines and indent appropriately.

Each new bullet appears somewhat " greyed out" or dim prior to you typing the first character in the item. This is because the bullet will not appear on the slide unless it has accompanying text.

Each slide should contain no more than seven (7) bulleted points . Multiple-line items should have no more than 2-3 lines each. You should decrease the number of bulleted points in proportion to multiple-line entries.

To create subsequent indented levels , make sure the cursor is in the line in which you want the next level to begin, then click the Demote Tool.

Each consecutive point will remain on the current level until you click the Promote Tool to return to a previous level or the Demote Tool to indent one level further.

Bullet Styles

Although you can set Bullet Styles in the Master, you also can change the bullet style on any slide or on any bulleted point. When you change the bullet style, every subsequent bullet on that slide, whether promoted or demoted, will have that style until you change back to the default or change to a different slide.

To change the bullet style , make sure the cursor is in the line of text in which you wish to change the bullet, then choose FORMAT : Bullet.

NOTE: Sometimes it is difficult to remember exactly what the default bullet style was, so pay close attention to the selected bullet before proceeding with any changes.

You can choose from the selections provided by PowerPoint, choosing both the size (in percentage of text size) and the color.

Click Character to include any symbol font installed on your system. Keep in mind, however, that if you choose a font that is not installed on the computer from which you are giving your presentation, the presentation computer will choose the "closest" font to the one you chose and the result may not be one you like. Both Symbol and Wingdings font are standard on most computers and should display as you intended.

PowerPoint 2000 also has a number of "Picture" bullets in the Clip Art from which you can choose.

Adding / Removing Bullets

The Bullet Tool is a toggle. Click it once to place a bullet at the beginning of the current line of text (the one in which the cursor is flashing). Click it again to remove the bullet. This way you can add bullets to text you have typed without using the Bullet AutoLayout .

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