This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Using Clip Art
Clip art can work for or against you depending on how you use it. Making sure that your selections are consistent with the look of your presentation (colors, style, and overall feeling) is essential. You won’t always be able to find exactly what you’re looking for, but there are ways to edit clip art within PowerPoint to adapt it to your specific needs.
Browsing Clip Art
When you installed your Microsoft Office software, a library of clip art was included in the install. Microsoft has also made additional clip art collections available online (you’ll have access to them within PowerPoint if you are connected to the Internet). To browse through the available clip art selections, click on the Insert tab in the Ribbon. Then click on Clip Art in the Illustrations group. The Clip Art palette will open on your right. Use the search box to locate your illustration. You can drag and drop the thumbnail onto your slide or click on the Clip Art thumbnail to insert it on the current slide.
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Expanding the Clip Art Library
Once the Clip Art palette is open, click the Organize clips icon A. The Microsoft Clip Organizer will launch, displaying a collections list on the left and a viewing pane on the right B. It is important that you keep similar topics and styles together by creating new folders for each. To add a new folder to your existing library, click File, then New collection. Once the folder has been created and named, click File, then Add Clips to Organizer. You can then add clips automatically (your drive will be searched for all media files and a shortcut will be created in your Clip Organizer, leaving the originals in place) or select On My Own or From Scanner or Camera. If you have a scanner or camera hooked up, the Clip Organizer will launch the appropriate driver to pull your images in. There are also a variety of other clip art resources available online; www.iStockphoto.com is a great resource for clip art, photos, flash animations, and video.
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Modifying Clip Art
To maintain consistency within a presentation, many times it is necessary to modify the original colors or style of an illustration.
You can make these adjustments by clicking on your clip art, and you’ll see a red tab in the Ribbon called Picture Tools.
Click the Format tab beneath it. From the Adjust group, click Recolor A. Roll your cursor over the different options until you find a style that matches your presentation B. Can’t find what you’re looking for in the presets? Click More Variations.
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