|
Let us continue our interaction with Sun, Shine and Storm,
the fictitious characters we imagined in last month's TechTrax issue. Shine
and Storm have just realized that their PowerPoint aptitudes need some
fine-tuning—and searching the net to find informative sites can be such
a waste of time! Especially since Sun has already compiled a great list
of sites they can visit to further their skills....
Zeroing down to just ten sites, when there is almost a veritable treasure out
there in hundreds of sites, must have been a humbling experience for Sun!
In the end, Sun did assure that this list comprises the ten best pure
gold links.
- Top of the heap is Microsoft MVP Steve
Rindsberg's celebrated PowerPoint FAQ at http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/.
The site is bare of graphics, yet a gold mine of information. You'll find
no tutorials—yet when you are stuck with a problem, Steve's FAQ (frequently
asked questions) is the best place to go. The best way to use the FAQ is enter
your keywords into the search box at the site homepage. Many MVPs supporting
PowerPoint actually use the FAQ as knowledgebase source!
- Microsoft's own homepage for PowerPoint at http://www.microsoft.com/office/powerpoint
is definitely a must-see resource with info on program updates and downloads.
You can also order a 30-day trial CD of Microsoft Office (which includes PowerPoint)
here. There are links to several tutorial pages on Microsoft's site and the
PowerPoint knowledgebase.
- If you have a problem that remains unsolved after visiting the two links
above, you must visit the PowerPoint newsgroup archives at Google Groups—http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&group=microsoft.public.powerpoint.
This page is your window to extract an almost unlimited store of info on any
aspect of PowerPoint from the unexplored dungeons of yesterday.
- Presentations magazine at http://www.presentations.com
discusses almost every aspect of presentations—both related to software
and hardware. Unsurprisingly, the software part is more often than not related
to PowerPoint—a large part of their archives from printed issues is available
online at their site.
- Sonia Coleman, PowerPoint MVP, runs her own site at http://www.soniacoleman.com.
This site has hundreds of free templates to download in addition to several
detailed PowerPoint tutorials and a small PowerPoint FAQ.
- Echo's Voice at http://www.echosvoice.com
is the site of Echo Swinford, another PowerPoint MVP. The site is still being
constructed—although it is an extensive resource even now. Topics covered
include detailed info on using bezier curves, animation and color schemes
in PowerPoint.
- If you have just started with PowerPoint, you should visit the PowerPoint
in the Classroom site at http://www.actden.com/pp/.
The site is akin to a visual textbook on PowerPoint and covers all the basics
in a progressive and lucid style.
- Shyam Pillai runs the Officetips site at http://www.mvps.org/skp/,
where you can download tons of free add-ins for PowerPoint in addition to
some commercial ones. The PowerPoint section of the site also has a small
FAQ section.
- If you don't mind a distinctly occupied interface, you can find a wealth
of information at Kathryn Jacob's site at http://www.powerpointanswers.com.
A search facility is available onsite so you can actually quickly locate what
you need.
- Geetesh's (that's me) site at http://www.indezine.com
has been listed last on the list, because it has links to hundreds of other
PowerPoint sites. You can also find tutorials on every conceivable PowerPoint
subject and lots more.
Finally, if you want to search most of the sites mentioned above at one go,
you can use the PowerPoint Association Search combo facility at:
http://www.indezine.com/ppsearch.html
Now that both Shine and Storm have a nice list of links to browse
online, Sun decides he will leave them alone for a while and search for
a nice training program for PowerPoint. Guess what, he found just what he wanted
at the new PowerPoint Live event—details at http://www.pptlive.com.
|
