| Presentations | Consultancy | Training | Web | Photography | Toolkit | Home |

Introduction
Projection
Line-up
Useful Tips
35mm stuff

Projection

1024 x 768 is king!
Connecting a laptop computer to a projection system is quite straightforward, but need a little thought. The optimal input resolution for almost all LCD projectors, large and small, is 1024 x 768 pixels. Many laptops now use native resolutions that are higher than this and many are now 16:9 wide screen format. It is important to change the output setting on the laptop down to 1024 x 768.

By default, what appears on the laptop screen is mirrored on the projection screen. However, advance users can set up their computer to support Multiple Monitors so something different can appear on each screen. It is possible to have PowerPoint in edit view on the computer, while the Slide Show image is on the the projection screen.

Running PowerPoint and Slide Show
Different versions of PowerPoint have different ways to enter Slide Show mode. Clicking the tiny screen icon in the bottom left corner always woks, but since the 2000 release, simply pressing the F5 key runs Slide Show from the beginning of the presentation. The 2003 version allows you to start Slide Show from any point you are working/viewing, whether in edit or slide sorter view. Simply press Shift+F5.

Depending on your personal choice PowerPoint can be customised in varying ways. One I would recommend is having full mouse control: left-clock for forward and right-click for back. Go to Tools > Options and select the View tab. Under Slide Show uncheck the Popup menu on right mouse click and Show popup menu button options, but leave End with black slide checked.

Imbedded Media
It is easy to add many types of multimedia to PowerPoint presentations. Be aware though that unless you have a particularly powerful graphics card, some imbedded movie files will only appear on the laptop screen and just offer a black hole on the projection screen. Depending on your laptop and graphics cards, there are complex ways around this problem, but the easy and quickest fix is to toggle your laptop screen off so the signal is only going to the projector.

anti-spam email: nigel at sadler dot net
Location: Forest Row, East Sussex, England

| Presentations | Consultancy | Training | Web | Photography | Toolkit | Home |