One of the main reasons most people create a presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint is so that the information can be presented to an audience. It is important that you test your presentation throughout the development process to ensure the formatting, layout and other elements are appearing exactly as you intend. You should also be able to easily navigate the program when working in slideshow mode.
Shocking as it may seem, I have attended presentations where the presenter has actually shown their entire slideshow in the normal view within PowerPoint, essentially meaning the audience can see the full PowerPoint window, future slides, and notes. This also means that the slide is taking up a fraction of the screen when compared to it being displayed in slideshow mode which provides you with a full-screen view as well as the added bonus of some handy slideshow tools.
Let’s have a look at how to run a presentation in slideshow mode.
- Open Microsoft PowerPoint (I’m using PowerPoint 2016)
- Locate and open an existing presentation
- Select the Slide Show tab from the Ribbon
- From the Ribbon, you may choose to run the slideshow From Beginning or From Current Slide
- I am a huge fan of keyboard shortcuts, and you can easily run your presentation using just the shortcut keys. To view the presentation from the first slide or beginning you can use the keyboard shortcut key which is F5 on the keyboard
- To run From Current Slide using a shortcut key, press Shift + F5
- Slideshow mode will now begin which displayed your presentation in full-screen view. The Ribbon and other features of the PowerPoint window will disappear:
- To navigate through the slides you can either click the left mouse button, press the spacebar on the keyboard or use the arrows on your keyboard. I tend to like to move around the room during my presentations so I sometimes utilise a wireless tablet. There are many remote control tools available now to allow you to step away from the computer but still allow you to navigate through your presentation
- To exit slide show mode press the Esc key on the keyboard OR right mouse click anywhere within the slide show presentation and select End Show
I hope this information has helped you to be able to run your presentation in slide show mode and use keyboard shortcuts where possible.
