Custom Shows

Multiple Shows from One file? No Problem!

Boss just ask you to give a five minute executive overview of your existing three hour presentation? Don't create it from scratch - Make a Custom Show!

A few years ago, I was asked to create a summary class from an eight hour class. The whole class was in a single PowerPoint presentation file. I really didn't want to mess with the file, as multiple instructors were using it regularly to teach the class. Nor did I want to create a copy of the file, because I didn't want to keep two copies up to date. So, I searched PowerPoint for an answer.

My answer is the PowerPoint feature called "Custom Show". This feature lets you make several shows out of a single set of slides. I have used this feature to:

Create an executive overview of a presentation
Create a targeted class from an existing one
Rearrange slides in a presentation to change the emphasis

Accessing the Custom Show Feature

The interface and use of this feature has not changed, so the following information will apply no matter which version you are using.

The Custom Show option is found under the "Slide Show" menu in PowerPoint. When you select this menu option, the following window will appear on your screen:

To create a custom show, press the "New..." button. This will change the window to a new one which looks like this:

Adding slides to the show

Your next step is to put the slides in the order you wish. In the list on the left side of the window, find the first slide name of the first slide for your custom show. Click on it and then click on the "Add..." button. It is now added to the custom show, and listed in the right column. Repeat the process for each slide you wish in your show. As you click, the slides will be inserted at the end of the list.

If you wish to add more than one slide at a time, you can use shift-click and control-click to multi-select your slide names and move them over. When you use multi-selct, the slides go into the custom show in the order they are in the original show.

Next, you want to review the order of the slides. If you don't like the order,click on a slide name and use the up and down arrows on the far right of the window to change the order.

When you are finished adding and moving slides, your window will look something like this:

But, one of the slides doesn't have a name!

If there is a slide in the list with no name, just a number, you did not assign a title to that slide. To change this, go to the slide and add a title. Then, drag the title placeholder for that slide off the slide. The title will not show when the slide is viewed, but the slide name will now show in your custom show list.

Naming the show

The next step is to name your show. If you look at the top of the window, your show is currently called "Custom Show 1". You probably want to change this name to something more descriptive. To do this, select the name and replace it with the name of your custom show. The window will then look something like this:

Press the "OK" button and you named show will be saved. You will return to the list of custom shows, which will now contain the show you have created. Your window will look something like this:

Using the Show

From the list of shows, you can change your show by editting it, deleting it, or copying it. Editting brings up the same box that you used to create the show. Delete removes the show. Copy the show asks you for the new name of the show and creates a copy of it. If you wish to rename a show, do that from the edit option.

To execute your show you can press the "Show" button. This will start at the first slide in the selected custom show, and run through the presentation just as it is in the presentation file. This means that any timings, transisions, animations, or effects that you have set up will run just the same as if you were running the entire show.

To take this idea one step further, take a look at the "Set Up Show" feature. It is also found under the "Show" menu. On the window controling this feature, you will see an option to select which show you wish to have as your default show. Select a custom show here and you will automatically run the customs how instead of the full slide show.

Troubleshooting Custom Shows

While custom shows are very nice, they can also inadvertently cause debugging problems. Here are a few of the most common ones:

Once you have set up your show to run as a custom show, that is the way it will run all the time. So? So, when you are viewing a slide and want to do a quick test of the animations and effects, if you have a custom show active, clicking the "View Show" icon will start the custom show, not the slide you are viewing. This situation can be very disconserting the first few times you run into it.
If you don't add a slide to your custom show, it is not available when you run the show. Be sure that you practice the show a couple of times to make sure you have all the slides you need before you give it.
Hidden slides from your file remain hidden when you add them to your custom show.
Because you have re-ordered your slides, you will need to remember different numbers to reach slides with the direct route. The slide that you used to go to by typing "6", for example, is not likely to still be "6" in the custom show. Again, practicing before you give the custom show will help with this.

With those few words of warning, I send you off to use the Custom Show feature. Use it, enjoy it, and let us know what wonderful tricks you use it for!

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