Openoffice Impress (Presentation Software) Tutorial

OpenOffice Impress 

(Presentation Software) 

Tutorial

Table of Contents 

Introduction ...........................................................................................................3 

Starting OpenOffice Impress.................................................................................3 

Looking at the Screen ...........................................................................................4 

Creating an Empty (Blank) Presentation...............................................................5 

Adding Information to a Slide................................................................................6 

Opening and Saving a Presentation .....................................................................6 

Opening a Presentation.....................................................................................6 

Saving a Presentation .......................................................................................7 

Adding New Slides................................................................................................8 

Formatting Text on a Slide....................................................................................9 

Changing the Font/Font Size.............................................................................9 

Bold, Italics, Underline.......................................................................................9 

Paragraph Alignment.........................................................................................9 

Adding Bullets and Numbering..........................................................................9 

Cut, Copy, Paste.................................................................................................10 

Cut and Paste..................................................................................................10 

Copy and Paste...............................................................................................10 

Adding Pictures...................................................................................................10 

Creating a Table .................................................................................................11 

Deleting a Slide(s)...............................................................................................11 

Views Bar............................................................................................................12 

Formatting a Slide...............................................................................................12 

Modifying Slide Layout ....................................................................................12 

Adding a Background Color/Image..................................................................13 

Adding Effects (Animation) .................................................................................13 

Example: Adding Effects .................................................................................14 

Adding/Changing Slide Transition.......................................................................15 

Printing a Presentation........................................................................................17

Introduction 

OpenOffice is an open source Office Suite package originally designed by Sun 

Microsystems. OpenOffice is much like Microsoft Office but free to use. The 

software can be freely downloaded and used. 

OpenOffice Impress is much like using Microsoft PowerPoint. 

Starting OpenOffice Impress 

Procedure 

1. Click Start, Programs, OpenOffice.org 1.0.3. 

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Menu Bar 

Looking at the Screen 

Presentation Window 

Main Toolbar 

Slide Navigation, Slide Title buttons 

There are five visible bars: 

• The Menu Bar that lists commands in a menu style, 

• The Function Bar that includes icons for common actions: open, save, 

copy, cut, paste, etc., 

• The Command Bar with icons for formatting the text, 

• The Main Toolbar, with specific tools used during the typing phase to 

insert fields, forms, images, and other objects, 

• The Status Bar that displays information: the current page, current 

template, zoom percentage, insert or overwrite mode, selection mode, and 

hyperlink mode; 

As well as two floating windows: 

• The Stylist. Used to change the style of the text with few clicks, 

• The Navigator. This tool is particularly useful in long documents with 

many chapters, sections, images, etc. 

If the floating windows are not displayed by default, you can display them by 

clicking on the Navigator icon 

function bar. 

and the Stylist icon that you find on the 

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Function Toolbar 

Object Toolbar (The 

buttons will change 

depending on what you 

have selected) 

Presentation 

Styles window

Creating an Empty (Blank) Presentation 

When you start OpenOffice Impress, you will first see the following window. You 

have the option of creating an empty (blank) presentation; a presentation from a 

Template or you can open an existing presentation. 

Procedures 

1. Click Empty presentation. 

2. Click the Next button. 

3. Select how the presentation will be presented (output medium) (e.g. 

screen). 

4. Click the Next button. 

5. Select a slide transition effect and speed (optional). This can be 

changed later (See section: Adding a Slide Transition). 

6. Select a presentation type: 

a. Default - each slide will advance with a mouse click. 

b. Automatic – choose the duration of each page. 

7. Click the Create button. 

8. The Modify Slide window will appear. 

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Title, Spreadsheet 

auto layout

9. Type a name for your slide (optional) or use the default name (e.g. Slide 

1). 

10. Select an Auto Layout (e.g. Title Slide). Use an auto layout that is 

representative of the data you wish to present. For example, if you want a 

slide with a title and a table, use the Title, Spreadsheet auto layout. 

11. Click the OK button. 

Adding Information to a Slide 

Procedures 

1. A blank slide will now appear. 

2. Enter text by clicking where indicated. 

3. A gray border will appear. 

4. To indent (demote) text, click the Demote button on the toolbar. 

5. To promote text, click the Promote button on the toolbar. 

Opening and Saving a Presentation 

Opening a Presentation 

Procedures 

From the following window 

1. Select Open existing presentation. 

2. From the list, choose the filename of the file you want to open. 


4. If the filename does not appear in the list, click . 

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6. An Open dialogue box will appear. Locate the filename you wish to open 

and double click on it. 

Saving a Presentation 

Remember to save your work often so there is no chance of losing it. 

Procedures 

1. Choose File, Save from the menu bar, OR 

2. Click the Save icon on the toolbar. 

3. If you are saving for the first time, a Save File Dialog Window will be 

displayed. 

4. Type a filename and choose a location to save the file. 

5. If you wish to save your file as a Microsoft PowerPoint file format, change 

the Save as type to Microsoft PowerPoint 97/2000/XP. 

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6. Click the Save button. 

Adding New Slides 

Procedures 

1. From the Presentation window, click Insert Slide… 

2. Type a Title for the slide (e.g. Title, Text). 

3. Select an AutoLayout. 


Note: All slides in your presentation will be listed at the bottom of the screen. 

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Formatting Text on a Slide 

Changing the Font/Font Size 

Font is the style of writing and font size is the size of the text with a 12-point size 

being 1/6 of an inch. 

Procedures 

1. Select the text you wish to change. 

2. On the toolbar, click the first drop-down arrow to 

change the font and the second drop down arrow to change the font size. 

Bold, Italics, Underline 

Procedures 

1. Select the text you wish to format. 

2. Click on the attribute icon you wish to apply such as on the 

Toolbar. These buttons transform the selected text (in sequence from left to 

right) into Bold, Italics, and Underlined. 

3. With the text still selected, click the button again to turn the feature off. 

Paragraph Alignment 

Procedures 

1. Select the paragraph you wish to change. 

2. Click on one of the alignment icons on the function toolbar to 

modify the text alignment (left, center, right, or justified). 

Adding Bullets and Numbering 

Procedures 

1. Select the text for which you wish to add bullets/numbering. 

2. Click bullets button or numbering button on the object toolbar 

depending on what you want. 

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Cut, Copy, Paste 

You can perform four main actions on a selected text: copying, cutting, deleting, 

and formatting. 

Cut and Paste 

This allows the user to move selected text so that it can be placed somewhere 

else in the document or in another document. 

Procedures 

1. Select text you wish to cut (move). 

2. Click the Cut button on the toolbar or CTRL + X on the keyboard. 

3. Place the cursor where to place the cut text. 

4. Click the Paste button on the toolbar or CTRL + V on the keyboard. 

Copy and Paste 

This allows the user to create a duplicate (copy) of the selected text to be placed 

somewhere else in the document or in another document. 

Procedures 

1. Select text you wish to copy. 

2. Click the Copy button on the toolbar or CTRL + C on the keyboard. 

3. Place the cursor where to place the cut text. 

4. Click the Paste button on the toolbar or CTRL + V on the keyboard. 

Adding Pictures 

Procedures 

1. Place your cursor where you want to place a picture. 

2. Click Insert menu, Click Graphics. 

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3. Pick the location where the file has been saved. 

4. Double click filename to insert into document. 

Note: Use the following toolbar to modify picture attributes such as color, 

contrast, and brightness. 

Creating a Table 

Tables allow the user to arrange data in a series of rows and columns. 

Procedures 

1. Insert a new slide using the Title, Spreadsheet AutoLayout. 

2. Where indicated, double click to add a spreadsheet (table). A spreadsheet 

will appear. 

3. Fill in your information. (See OpenOffice Calc tutorial for more 

information) 

4. Format the data in the spreadsheet. 

5. Click on slide away from the spreadsheet you have just created. 

6. If at any time you wish to edit the data in the spreadsheet, double click on 

the table in your slide. 

Deleting a Slide(s) 

Procedures 

1. Right click on Slide name at the bottom of the screen. 

2. Left click Delete Slide… 

3. You will be asked if you want to delete the slide. 

4. Click Yes or No depending on what you want to do. 

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Views Bar 

Drawing View 

� Drawing view is the most common view which allows you to type 

information and add pictures and drawing objects right on the slide. 

Outline View 

� Outline view allows you to create your slides from an outline rather 

than entering information directly on a slide. 

Slide View 

� Slide view allows you to rearrange slides by clicking and dragging the 

slide to the new location. This view also allows you to add slide 

transitions to multiple slides at once. 

Notes View 

� In Notes View you can add notes to each slide so that these notes can 

be printed along with the slide when giving a presentation. 

Handout View 

� Handout view shows how many slides would be printed on a page. 

Each slide in this view can be moved by clicking and dragging the 

slide. 

Slide Show View 

� Use Slide Show View to give your presentation. 

� This view can also be used to test such things as slide effects and 

slide transition. 

Formatting a Slide 

Modifying Slide Layout 

Procedures 

Drawing View 

Slide View 

Handout view 

1. Click the Modify Slide Layout… button in the Presentation styles window. 

2. Reselect the AutoLayout. 


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Outline View 

Notes View 

Slide Show View

4. Read the message carefully and Click Yes or No. 

Adding a Background Color/Image 

Procedures 

1. In the Presentation Styles window, click the Presentation styles button. 

2. In the list, select Background. 

3. Right click Background. 

4. Click Modify… 

5. Select a Fill (e.g. Color, Bitmap). 

6. Select a fill from the list (e.g. Blue). 


8. Every slide should now have the same background. The background can 

be changed at any time. 

Adding Effects (Animation) 

Effects are basically the same as Custom Animation in Microsoft PowerPoint. 

Effects allows you to animate each object on your slide. For example, you can 

have each bullet fly-in from the left or a picture fly-in from the bottom right corner. 

Procedures 

1. Click the object that you want to animate (e.g. bulleted list). 

2. Click the Slide Show menu, Effects. 

3. The following window will appear. 

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Effects button 

Text effects 

No effect option 

Effects and Text Effects buttons 

� You can select an animation for each object. (e.g. Fly-in from left) You 

cannot have an effect and text effect selected at the same time. One 

or the other. If you do not want any effect, from Favorites click the No 

effect option as shown above. 

� Note: Effects often have sounds attached to them. Text Effects do not. 

Extras button 

� This button allows you to change the color of an object once it is 

animated. This button also allow you to use sound when animating an 

object. 

� Note: Too many sounds can be distracting to an audience. 

Outline button 

� This button shows the animation order of your objects (e.g. bullets, 

pictures). 

Assign button 

� Clicking this button will update changes made to your effects. These 

changes will appear in the preview window if turned on. 

Preview button 

� Click this button to see how your effects would look when you run the 

slide show. 

Example: Adding Effects 

This exercise will illustrate the steps required to have each slide Fly-in 

from the Left. 

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Extras 

Animation Order 

Preview button 

Assign button 

Update button

Procedures 

1. Find a slide that has a bulleted list. Click anywhere in this bulleted list. 

2. Click the Slide Show menu, Effects. 

3. Click the Effect button and choose Favorites (no effect). 

4. Click the Text effects button and choose Fly-in from the drop down list. 

5. Click the Fly-in from Left button (shown above). 

6. Click the Preview button. 

7. Click the Assign button to see how it will look. 

8. Repeat steps 1 to 7 for each slide. 

Adding/Changing Slide Transition 

Slide transition is the same as adding effects except you choose how you want 

each slide as a whole to advance to the next slide (e.g. Fly-in from Left). You 

can select the slide transition when you create a new empty presentation from 

scratch or later on like we are doing here. 

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Procedures 

1. Select the slide from the bottom for which you want to add animation. 

2. Click the Slide Show menu, Slide Transition. 

3. The following window will appear. 

4. Using the Effects button, choose the effect you wish to use (e.g. Fly-in). 

5. Choose the fly-in direction you wish to use (e.g. Fly-in from Left). 

6. Click the Assign button to update the transition. 

7. Repeat steps 1 to 6 for each slide OR to change all slides at once. 

8. Click the Slide View button at the top right of the screen. 

9. Select each of the slides by clicking on each slide while holding the SHIFT 

key on the keyboard. 

10. Complete steps 2 to 6 above. 

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Printing a Presentation 

Procedures 

1. Press CTRL+P on your keyboard, OR 

2. Select the File menu, Print. 

3. The Printer Dialog Window will appear (as shown below) in which you can 

choose how many copies of your document you wish to print, which 

pages, where the printing output is to be directed (printer or file), and other 

properties that you can access with the Options... button you see to the 

left of the window. When you click the OK button in this window, your 

document will be sent to your printer or to the file you have chosen. 

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Openoffice Impress (Presentation Software) Tutorial

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?