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09/08/2011 01:28:13 PM · #1 |
| i have an older copy of office but of course it doesn't include powerpoint. i know i have open office and google, but has anyone actually used these or some other to create power points? im leaning open office because i hate cloud computing. |
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09/08/2011 01:31:31 PM · #2 |
| Yes, I've used open office to create presentations and then opened them in powerpoint later. Works pretty well really. |
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09/08/2011 01:34:13 PM · #3 |
I mostly use the word processor and spreadsheet in openoffice. I think I've used the Impress module a couple of times, though and it's worked just fine. Just some menus and icons that are a bit different from PP. Takes a little hunting around for some things. I don't have any great level of skill with presentations though.
There is also a fork of Openoffice called Libre Office that has some following now. A number of the developers from OO went over to this project.
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09/08/2011 01:51:03 PM · #4 |
If I had to create a presentation and not use Office, I'd probably try OpenOffice first, unless it was a *really* simple presentation. If it were very simple, here's what I'd do:
- Open MS Word (automatically creates a new document)
- In Page Layout tab, select Orientation>Landscape
- Construct my slides as pages in the document
- If desired, save the resulting file as a PDF
The downside of the above is that Word is not designed for the task, so you will face some formatting challenges. That's why I recommend this path only if the presentation is very simple, for example a series of slides with titles, some bullet points and maybe some limited graphics
The ability to save as a PDF file is available to Office users, however you may need to install an add-in published by Microsoft that provides this functionality. There are also third-party PDF writers that act like printers (to publish, you select print and select the software as a printer). I used to use them, however the Microsoft solution performs better and is simpler.
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09/08/2011 02:18:34 PM · #5 |
| thanks, looks like open office will be the first try. |
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09/08/2011 02:42:28 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by kirbic:
The ability to save as a PDF file is available to Office users, however you may need to install an add-in published by Microsoft that provides this functionality. There are also third-party PDF writers that act like printers (to publish, you select print and select the software as a printer). I used to use them, however the Microsoft solution performs better and is simpler. |
Acrobat (the full program, not the Reader version) can be really useful ... you can assemble the final presentation using PDFs created anywhere -- word processor, Photoshop, etc. It's expensive but not that expensive -- possibly worth it if you work with documents much.
I do a little freelance book design so I really need it for proofs, but I also use it whenever I have to print a receipt page from the web or something; I save/print it directly to PDF and only print to paper if necessary.
Message edited by author 2011-09-08 14:44:02. |
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09/08/2011 02:58:33 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by mike_311:
i hate cloud computing. |
Why? It's a godsend for me. |
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09/08/2011 03:07:55 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by Cory:
Originally posted by mike_311:
i hate cloud computing. |
Why? It's a godsend for me. |
its slow. |
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09/08/2011 03:14:52 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by mike_311:
Originally posted by Cory:
Originally posted by mike_311:
i hate cloud computing. |
Why? It's a godsend for me. |
its slow. |
That is a vast oversimplification, but, yes, I can understand where you are coming from. To be fair however, on a fast system, with a good connection the performance is usually very good. |
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09/08/2011 03:15:29 PM · #10 |
| I've used OpenOffice's presentation tool, and it worked fine. The one thing I'd suggest is make sure you have a copy of the OpenOffice presentation tool to show your presentation, or download the free PowerPoint Player, and double-check that your OO presentation looks OK in it. There are some minor formatting tweaks you may have to make between the two (like differences in where things wrap, taking up an extra line unexpectedly, etc.) |
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09/08/2011 04:01:01 PM · #11 |
Let me second everyone who has said to check your Open Office presentation before you actually use it.
I don't have any experience with presentations, but my old boss dragged me kicking and screaming out of retirement to do some pleadings (legal documents to be filed with the court). They have a very precise format which includes numbering the lines along the left side of the paper. Open Office does a fine job if you are going to stay in Open Office. However, these documents were going to be sent back to an office that uses Word. So, I saved them as Word. They looked fine, but when I re-opened the files, the numbering along the side disappeared, making them useless for my purpose. I googled this problem and consulted with my cousin who is a real techno-geek lawyer, and the consensus is that Open Office doesn't do pleadings well. I gave-up and went out and bought Word.
IMNSHO Open Office is fine if you can run it by itself and don't have to swap specially formatted documents with other word processing programs. This may be true of Power Point as well. |
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