Microsoft KB Archive/61914

PowerPoint Features List and System Requirements PSS ID Number: Q61914 Article last modified on 06-29-1992 PSS database name: W_PowerPt

2.00

WINDOWS

Summary:

The following is the Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows Features and System Requirements List.

What Is PowerPoint for Windows?
PowerPoint for Windows is a desktop presentations program. “Desktop presentations” refers to the process and the tools that enable people to create complete presentations. This distinguishes it from presentation graphics programs, which is the kind of software used to make charts. The focus is on actual presentations or “presentation intelligence,” where all of the visuals are kept in one place because the user’s real finished product is a presentation, not a chart.

System Requirements
Computer: Based on 80286 or 80386 microprocessor Display Adapter: EGA or compatible, VGA or compatible, 8514/a or compatible, or any other display supported by Microsoft Windows (except for CGA or MCGA). Monitor: EGA or VGA compatible, IBM 8513 or 8514 monitor, or any other display supported by Microsoft Windows (except for CGA or MCGA). Operating System: Windows 3.0. MS-DOS version 3.1 or higher. Memory: 1 megabyte (MB) of RAM (2 MB recommended). Drives: A hard disk with 20 MB available and a 5.25-inch, 1.2 MB floppy drive or a 3.5-inch, 720K floppy drive. Mouse: Any mouse compatible with Windows.

Features Overview

 * 1) Graphical interface for combining text, charts, and drawings on the same visual. WYSIWYG
 * 2) Puts the entire presentation into one file, allows for consistent formatting and easy organization.
 * 3) Word processing with the flexibility and ease of use of an executive word processor, including a spelling checker, full WYSIWYG, multiple fonts and styles, outline-style indent, and the ability to import outlines.
 * 4) Business drawing capabilities ideal for organizational charts, flow charts, and annotations.
 * 5) Data charting with spreadsheet-like data entry, data import from popular spreadsheets, immediate visual feedback, many chart types, and simple “chart by example” approach.
 * 6) Presentation management features to let you visualize and rearrange your entire presentation, move visuals between presentations (files), and print notes pages and handouts.
 * 7) Unprecedented color capabilities for PC software.
 * 8) Easy connection to Genigraphics, the largest presentation graphics service bureau in the world, for creating 35mm slides and other high resolution color output.
 * 9) File translation utility for conversion of Microsoft PowerPoint presentations between the Windows and Macintosh platforms.
 * 10) An extensive collection of over 400 vector-oriented (not bitmapped) color clip-art images.
 * 11) Over 40 color and black and white templates.

Word Processing Features

 * 1) Use of any font, size, and style anywhere you want.
 * 2) Variable line spacing.
 * 3) User-defined styles for quick formatting and to maintain consistency within your presentation.
 * 4) Multiple levels of “bullet points” with automatic hanging indents.
 * 5) Tab stops including left, right, center, and decimal.
 * 6) Find and replace to change words throughout a presentation.
 * 7) Ruler for setting tabs and indents resembles Microsoft Word for Windows ruler.

Spelling Checker

 * 1) 100,000 word main dictionary.
 * 2) Lets you create user dictionaries for specialized words or proper names.
 * 3) Lets you use the same user dictionaries with Microsoft Word for Windows.

Drawing Features

 * 1) Drawing tools include lines, circles, ellipses, squares, rectangles.
 * 2) Drawing enhancements include line weights, arrowheads, fill patterns, and drop shadows.
 * 3) Refined drawing control is provided by snap-to-grid and alignment guides.
 * 4) Linked text lets you type text directly into any graphic for automatic grouping and alignment of text inside boxes and circles.
 * 5) Imports graphics from Micrografx Draw and In-a-vision (.DRW); Windows metafiles; PC Paintbrush and Publishers Paintbrush (.PCX); Lotus 1-2-3 (.PIC); AutoCad (binary and .DCX); Encapsulated PostScript (.EPS); CGM (computer graphics metafiles used by Harvard Graphics, Lotus FreeLance Plus, and many other packages); .TIFF (used by most black-and-white and color scanners and many paint programs); and HPGL (files formatted for output to Hewlett-Packard plotters); .DIB (device independent bitmaps); bitmaps (.BMP)
 * 6) Crops and scales any imported graphics.

Presentation Intelligence Features

 * 1) Slide sorter lets you visualize the order of your entire presentation right on the screen. You can rearrange your presentations visually.
 * 2) Title sorter shows you the titles of all of the slides in your presentation on the screen. You can rearrange your presentations visually.
 * 3) You can have more than one presentation open at a time and copy slides between presentations. Combined presentations take on the same format.
 * 4) All the slides in your presentation are kept in one file to make it easy to make the slides consistent in appearance, develop a logical flow, and automatically number the pages.
 * 5) Master slide lets you design the look of all of the slides in your presentation. Place a logo, border, page number, or date on the master and it automatically appears on all of the slides in your presentation.
 * 6) Notes pages let you create additional information for each of your slides. Each notes page contains a reduced-size copy of the corresponding slide. You can enter a reminder of what you want to say or additional information you would like the audience to have.
 * 7) Audience handouts let you print your presentation with 2, 3, or 6 slides per page.
 * 8) On-screen slide show lets you turn your presentation into a slide show displayed full screen on your computer monitor.
 * 9) Reads RTF outlines saved in Microsoft Word for Windows or created by other word processors. For each first level heading in the outline PowerPoint will create a slide or notes page, using the heading as the title and all of the sub-headings and text as body text.
 * 10) You can change all of the defaults in PowerPoint.

Business Graphics Features

 * 1) Enables you to create all of the major business charts including pie, bar, line, column, area, and scatter charts.
 * 2) 45 predefined chart styles that can be used immediately simply by pointing to a pictorial example and clicking with the mouse.
 * 3) “Chart-by-example” approach lets you modify an existing chart, rather than starting from scratch.
 * 4) Spreadsheet-like data entry to make entering data easier.
 * 5) Imports data from spreadsheets and other data files including Lotus 1-2-3 (.WKS and .WK1), Lotus Symphony (.WRI, WR2), Microsoft Excel (.XLS), Microsoft Works (.WKS), SYLK, and comma- or tab-delimited ASCII files.
 * 6) Extensive formatting features for colors, fill patterns, legends, and line styles.
 * 7) Supports nearly any font and type size.
 * 8) Chart formatting options include stacked and clustered bar/column charts, hi-lo-close, logarithmic scales.
 * 9) Three dimensional effect for bar, column, area, and pie charts add depth to charts.
 * 10) Any chart can be set as the default.

Color Capabilities
PowerPoint provides unprecedented ease and power for working with color on a PC.


 * 1) Access to over 16.7 million colors.
 * 2) Over 5,000 predesigned color schemes chosen by Genigraphics provide effective color combinations for good looking presentations.
 * 3) Color schemes apply color throughout your presentation, to all graphics, text, and slide backgrounds to save time, effort, and help achieve consistency.
 * 4) Color schemes enable you to turn a black-and-white presentation into color in one step.
 * 5) The ability to customize and re-use color schemes enables you to design effective color templates of your own.
 * 6) Shaded backgrounds apply a professional quality look to your slides with gradual color transitions, in 44 different styles, in the backgrounds of your slides.
 * 7) Genigraphics palette provides quick access to the 90 colors proven to be most effective for 35mm slides.
 * 8) Recolor picture command enables you to change black-and-white clipart to color and to change the colors of imported graphics.

Graphics Interface Features
One of the biggest advantages of PowerPoint is that it runs with Microsoft Windows.


 * 1) All text appears on the screen in the actual font, size, and style you choose. This makes it much easier to be sure your slides are formatted correctly before your print them.
 * 2) All PowerPoint’s tools are smoothly integrated so that you don’t have to jump through menus to move from one type of chart to another. All types of charts can be combined on a slide without pasting separately created charts together.
 * 3) You work directly on your slides as they will appear and you can immediately see the effects of any changes you make on the screen. This makes formatting more predictable than filling in elaborate forms and then previewing the chart on the screen.
 * 4) All the tools and commands are available on drop-down menus or tool bar buttons, rather than deeply nested menus.
 * 5) Accurately shows the exact positions of text and graphics and graphics highlights including color, patterns, shadows, and line weights.
 * 6) Accurate view of your final slide is shown on the screen while you are working, not just in a static preview mode.
 * 7) User interface lets you work directly on your visuals, not on input forms (as in Harvard Graphics).
 * 8) More flexibility to use a wider variety of type styles and sizes.
 * 9) User interface that is consistent with all other Windows applications.
 * 10) Access to wide variety of output devices.
 * 11) Data exchange, including graphics, with a variety of applications.
 * 12) Easy to install because Setup is a Windows program with a one-button install option.

File Exchange Between Windows PowerPoint and Macintosh PowerPoint
A conversion utility that takes advantage of Apple File Exchange, a consistent approach for moving documents between the Macintosh and the PC, is available. (Apple File Exchange provides developers with a common framework for adding new document conversions for Macintosh applications.)

This utility can convert anything created in PowerPoint, including text, drawing, shaded backgrounds, and color schemes. Even pictures (PICT) in Macintosh PowerPoint presentations will be converted to Windows metafiles, and vice versa, as faithfully as possible.

Additional reference words: 2.00

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1992.