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Information Hiding with PowerPoint

This article reprinted with permission from All 'Bout Computers.

There is a great, but often overlooked, feature within PowerPoint called "Hide Slide". This feature is found on the "Slide Show" menu, as well as on the right click menu when you are in "Slide Sorter" view. One of the best uses for this feature is to create a series of FAQ slides.

How do I add the FAQ slides?

FAQ slides can be hidden easily at the end of your presentation. Create each slide as a simple question and answer slide, based on questions you know are likely to come up during the presentation, as well as questions that are asked while you are giving the presentation. Make sure that the question is in the title placeholder.

You can store these slides either at the end of your presentation or in a separate presentation. If you store them in a separate presentation, be sure to use the same template as your main presentation so that the movement to the hidden slides is as seamless as possible.

How do I access the FAQ slides?

Next, create a summary slide of your FAQ slides. The easiest way to do this is with the summary slide option built into PowerPoint. (This option creates a single slide with the title of each of the other slides in the presentation as its content.) Edit the text of this slide so that only the FAQ slides are listed. Next, select each line of text and link it to the corresponding slide. Move this slide to the end of your main presentation.

How do I use the slides during a presentation?

You now have your FAQ's ready to be used. How you will use them depends on whether you are running a presenter driven presentation or a stand alone (kiosk) presentation.

When the questions come up during your presenter driven presentation, first note which slide number you are on, then go to the keyboard and type the number 999 followed by the enter key. Mouse to the presentation you need to use in your answer (probably while saying something to the effect of "That is a great question, in fact it right here on our FAQ slide").

Hint: Don't know how to tell which slide you are on? Keep an index card next to your computer with the titles and slide numbers listed!

For an even slicker method of going to the FAQ slide, make a button on the master slide that has no fill or edges, and memorize where you have put it. Do a quick mouse move and click and you will move to the FAQ slide like magic.

When you finish answering the question, ask the group if that answered the question, then type the slide number of your original slide followed by the enter key. This will put you back where you were in your presentation.

For a stand alone (i.e., no presenter) presentation: Put a "Questions Answered Here" button on each slide. (You can do this quickly by putting it on the master slide). Link that button to the FAQ title summary slide. Then the user can find the question on the page and click to go there. In this case, I recommend putting the FAQ title summary slide and the answer slides in a separate presentation. Then, place a note on each slide (again via the master) that says "Press escape to return to your presentation." When the user presses escape, the presentation will close and they will be back at the same slide they were before going to the FAQ file.

What else can I do with hidden slides?

Using this mechanism, you can also create detail slides you may not always want to show to the audience or create placeholder slides for imported presentations. In each of these cases, you create the hidden slides just as you did the FAQ slides, and access them only when needed.

The biggest advantage of hiding your summary slide comes when you are doing a high level overview of information or an executive summary. You can create this information with a Custom Show, but if you include the hidden slides as well you are able to access details if you need to during the presentation.

One of the advantages of using the placeholder for imported presentations is that it allows you to jump quickly and easily to other information and return to your original location quickly. To set this up, set up your placeholder as the last slide. Place miniature versions of each of the embedded presentations on the placeholder slide by using "Insert->Object->From File" and selecting each of the presentations in turn. When you have finished with the information in the embedded presentation, press the escape key to close the presentation. Then, use your right mouse menu to return to the previous slide. Voila - you are back where you started.

Now that you have been introduced to PowerPoint's ability to hide information, I hope you will play around with it and find other uses for this underused feature of PowerPoint. Have fun playing with the hidden information you can create!