When Eric isn't working in (and on) his business or writing books, you can find him enjoying time with friends, walking around the historic Gold Rush town of Jackson, and helping his mother manage her infant and toddler daycare business.
About the Technical Editor
Kristen Merritt is an experienced technical editor who has reviewed books for several publishers, including Wiley and Microsoft Press. Kristen spent 12 years in technical sales, and she is currently employed as a digital marketer.
Introduction
Welcome to this book about becoming a Microsoft Certified Office Specialist for Microsoft PowerPoint, which is a component of the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity applications to which you can subscribe. You can also use this book with the one‐time purchase version of PowerPoint, which Microsoft calls PowerPoint 2019.
Microsoft 365 allows you to use the different versions of PowerPoint on many platforms, including Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and Android. You can even use the web version of PowerPoint on the free online version of Microsoft 365. This book, however, talks about using the most popular version of PowerPoint on the most popular operating system, which happens to be PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 running on Windows 10.
You may already know about a lot of PowerPoint features by working with it, but no matter if you use PowerPoint for your regular slideshow tasks, or if you're new to the application, you'll learn a lot about the ability that PowerPoint gives you to create all kinds of slideshows.
Who Should Read This Book
If you want to prepare to take Exam MO‐300: Microsoft PowerPoint (PowerPoint and PowerPoint 2019)—which will help you become a certified PowerPoint specialist and hopefully increase your stature, marketability, and income—then this is the book for you. Even if you're not going to take the exam, but you want to learn how to use PowerPoint more effectively, this book will show you how to get the most out of using PowerPoint based on features that Microsoft believes are important for you to know.
What You'll Learn from This Book
What you learn in this book hews to the topics in Exam MO‐300, because this book is designed to help you learn about the topics in the exam and pass it on the first try.
After you finish reading the book and complete all the exercises, you'll have an in‐depth understanding of PowerPoint that you can use to become more productive at work and at home (or in your home office).
Hardware and Software Requirements
You should be running a computer with Windows 10 installed, and you should have PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 or PowerPoint 2019 installed and running too before you dive into this book. Either version of PowerPoint contains all the features that are documented in this book so that you can pass the exam.
How to Use This Book
Start by taking the Assessment Test after this introduction to see how well you know PowerPoint already. Even if you've been using PowerPoint for a while, you may be surprised at how much you don't know about it.
Next, read each chapter and go through each of the exercises in the chapter to reinforce the concepts in each section. When you reach the end of the chapter, answer each of the 10 Review Questions to test what you learned. You can check your answers in the appendix at the back of the book.
If you're indeed taking the exam, then there are two other pedagogical tools that you can use: Flashcards and a Practice Exam. You may remember flashcards from when you were in school, and they're useful when you want to reinforce your knowledge. Use the Flashcards with a friend or relative if you like. (They might appreciate learning about PowerPoint, too.) The Practice Exam will help you further hone your ability to answer any question on the real exam with no worries.
How to Contact Wiley or the Author
If you believe you have found an error in this book, and it is not listed on the book's web page, you can report the issue to our customer technical support team at support.wiley.com.
You can email the author with your comments or questions at [email protected]. You can also visit Eric's website at www.butow.net.
How This Book Is Organized
Chapter 1: Creating Presentations This chapter introduces you to managing presentations, including how to modify slide masters, handout masters, and note masters; change presentation options and views; configure print settings for your presentation; configure and present slideshows; and prepare presentations for collaboration with others.
Chapter 2: Managing Slides This chapter follows up by showing you how to insert slides, including from Word and other presentations; insert Summary Zoom slides; modify slides, including inserting slide headers and footers; as well as how to order and group slides.
Chapter 3: Inserting and Formatting Text, Shapes, and Images This chapter shows you how to format and apply styles to text in a slideshow; insert links; insert and format images; insert and format graphic elements, including shapes and text boxes; as well as order and group objects on slides.
Chapter 4: Inserting Tables, Charts, SmartArt, 3D Models, and Media This chapter tells you how to insert and format tables, charts, SmartArt graphics, 3D models, audio and video clips, and screen recordings into a slideshow.
Chapter 5: Applying Transitions and Animations This chapter covers how to apply and configure transitions between slides, animate content within a slide, and set timing for slide transitions.
Interactive Online Learning Environment and Test Bank
Learning the material in the MCA Microsoft® Office Specialist (Office 365 and Office 2019) Study Guide: PowerPoint Associate Exam MO‐300 is an important part of preparing for the exam, but we also provide additional tools to help you prepare. The online TestBank will help you understand the types of questions that will appear on the certification exam.
The Sample Tests in the TestBank include all of the questions in each chapter as well as the questions from the Assessment Test. In addition, there is a Practice Exam containing 50 questions. You can use this test to evaluate your understanding and identify areas that may require additional study.
The Flashcards in the TestBank will push the limits of what you should know for the certification exam. The Flashcards contain 100 questions provided in digital format. Each flashcard has one question and one correct answer.
The online Glossary is a searchable list of key terms introduced in this Study Guide that you should know for Exam MO‐300.
To start using these to study for the exam, go to www.wiley.com/go/sybextestprep and register your book to receive your unique PIN. Once you have the PIN, return to www.wiley.com/go/sybextestprep, find your book, and click Register, or log in and follow the link to register a new account or add this book