OpenOffice.org 2, Firefox, and Thunderbird for Windows All in One [Electronic resources]

1.

Select Automation

Build your slide show. Once you've designed the slides and added the transitions, select

Slide Show, Slide Show Settings to display the

Slide Show dialog box.

Determine which slides you want to use in the automatic presentation. Most often, you'll probably click the

All slides option, but you can also start the automatic slide show after a specific slide that you choose from the list box next to the

From option.

NOTE

The

Custom Slide Show option shows a customized slide show that you can create from the

Slide Show, Custom Slide Show menu option. A custom slide show contains only selected slides from your presentation.

Click to select the

Auto option and enter a time value that represents the amount of time you want Impress to pause between automatic showings. Checking the

Show logo box displays the OpenOffice.org logo on the screen between presentations, and you cannot change the logo to something else. (The logo is a small price to pay for an absolutely free presentation program!)

The remaining

Options section of the

Slide Show dialog box enables you to select various options for your automated presentations, such as whether you want animations to show throughout the automatic presentation. Click

OK to close the

Slide Show dialog box.

2.

Rehearse and Time the Slides

In many cases, your automatic slide show is ready to go without you doing anything further. Nevertheless, Impress offers one more service that improves upon your automatic presentation's timings. You can walk through a slide show in real time, selecting exactly when you want the next slide to appear. As you rehearse the presentation in this manner, Impress records the time frame that you use for each slide and prepares automatic transitions for you.

To rehearse the automatic presentation, click the

Slide Sorter to display your presentation from a bird's-eye view perspective.

TIP

You can easily rearrange slides by dragging them from one location to another while in the Slide view.

Click the

Rehearse Timings button on the

Slide View toolbar. Your presentation begins, and the first slide appears with a timer in the lower-left corner of your screen.

TIP

To hide any slide that you don't want to display during the presentation, click the

Show/Hide Slide button on the

Slide View toolbar.

3.

Click the Timer to Advance

When the first slide has been on the screen as long as you wish, click the timer. Impress advances to the next slide, using a transition and sound if you've set them up, and that slide's timer begins. Continue clicking each slide's timer after each slide has appeared until the presentation ends. Impress records the display times and uses them the next time you run the presentation with automatic slide changes.

4.

Adjust the Timers

When you return to the

Slide Sorter view, the

Slide View toolbar displays the slide's transition, the transition time, and the amount of time you've given for the slide to appear during the automatic presentation. You can click to adjust any of these settings. If, for example, you want to decrease the time a slide appears, click the down arrow to reduce the amount of time the slide shows from the time applied during rehearsal.