Graphics and logos in PowerPoint

Reports in PowerPoint

Q. Someone told me that I shouldn’t use PowerPoint to create reports. Why not? What should I use instead if I have a lot of graphics and charts?

A. PowerPoint is a great tool for creating impactful presentations. To that end, it is also good for wrangling different types of content, charts, pictures and infographics. Because it seems easy to move elements and objects around, many people turn to PowerPoint to work on reports that also contain multiple types of content. However, there are a few things that PowerPoint is terrible at! For example, in Word, font sizes stay pretty much uniform unless you change them. In PowerPoint, font sizes may vary depending on how much text you try to cram into a single place holder.

Word is stellar at paginating and sectioning your document. PowerPoint is very limited here. But, here’s the real secret: There’s nothing you can put in PowerPoint that you can’t also put in Word. You can, for example, insert a picture, then click on the little “arc” button and indicate how you want text to wrap around it. Then you can drag it around until it’s exactly where you need it.

Explore the Insert tab in Word and notice that SmartArt, charts and pictures are all usable right here.

Branding changes

Q. Our company logo has changed. How do I change it on the company template?

A. Chances are that the logo was added to the Slide Master and not the individual slides. On the View tab at the top, in the Master Views group, click Slide Master. Once in there, replace the logo with the new one. Layouts will inherit the new object.