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Creating & Running an Opening Loop

by Moore Anderson

Looking for a great way to up the impact of your presentations? Add an opening loop that runs without intervention. PowerPointAnswers.com author Moore Anderson offers tips for creating and running the loops!

For a professional touch, it looks good to have an interesting PowerPoint loop at the opening of a meeting or event. A loop is ideal to set the tone for a meeting as your audience walks in and is seated as well as adding excitement and anticipation. A loop can be interesting graphics or "factoids" about your company or organization; even a series of jokes or funny quotes... the possibilities are endless.

Creating Your Loop

To Create a looping file if you have not already done so, first assemble the frames for your loop into a show, then go to the "Slide Show" menu and select "Set Up Show". From the set up dialog box, select "Loop continuously until "Esc"", then OK button.



A looping file must contain timings that advance it automatically. Otherwise your loop will hang up at a graphic or animation that isn"t set to a timed cue. Under the Slide Show menu select transitions and add the timings. Usually it is best to be in Slide Sorter View when doing this. Another way is to use the "rehearse timings" feature under the "Slide Show" menu to add your timing cues.

Linking Your Loop to the Main Presentation

PowerPoint does not allow you to combine a timed loop and a straight cued presentation within the same file. The problem is then, how do you attach the loop to the main presentation so you can exit immediately and start your show? Remember, the key to a professional presentation is "Never let the PowerPoint interface show!" The best way I have found is to create an interactive object or "action button" on the first frame of your main presentation file. You can use any single graphic object as an action button for the technique shown here. Here are the steps:

1. Select an object on the first frame of your main presentation (where you want to be after the loop plays).

2. Right click on the object and choose "Action Settings" from the popup menu

   

3. From the Action Settings dialog box, choose "Hyperlink"; then " to other PowerPoint Presentation", then the OK button.

   

4. Select your loop show and accept, OK, then choose the first frame of the loop presentation and "OK"

   

5. Exit Action Settings dialog.

6. Save Your File!

7. To try out your button link go to the "Slide Show" mode. When you are running in this mode, your cursor will change to a pointing hand when you pass it over your interactive object. Clicking on the button area will start your loop. Be sure you do not have the loop presentation open in memory in PowerPoint " only your main presentation should be in memory for this to work. When you want to exit the loop hit the "Esc" key once. This will put you back in your main presentation still in the show mode. Do not hit the escape key twice or you will exit show mode.

This same approach can also be used to link separate presentations in a program of different speakers. This avoids the problem of only having one background in a single presentation file. Although PowerPoint 2002 allows multiple backgrounds, earlier versions do not.

I hope this has been helpful. Much success in your future shows.

Moore Anderson is a professional PowerPoint designer and graphic artist. He also runs shows for large corporate clients around the country. With a 15 year background as an art director for large production companies in the Chicago area, he now runs his own business as a graphic designer and PowerPoint guru. He holds an MFA from the University of Iowa in printmaking and multimedia. Check out www.mooreanderson.com for moore information.

Copyright 2002