Note: It is strongly recommended that you view lesson 3 of the above-referenced course and complete the Word practice session in that course before proceeding with this practice session.

You may want to print these instructions before beginning the exercise, so that you can easily keep them visible. To download the sample file required for this exercise, click here.

******************* ready to begin? .... here you go.... *******************************

After you download the sample file, open the file in PowerPoint. In this exercise, you will remove a custom slide layout from the sample presentation by deleting the applicable document part and related references from the document ZIP package. If you right-click the first slide in the open presentation and then point to Layout, you see that the title slide uses a custom layout named Title Slide with Picture. Also notice, as in the following image, that this custom layout is the third layout in the layout gallery.

1. Save a copy of the open document with a .zip file extension, as follows:

- Click the Microsoft Office Button and then click Save As. In the Save As dialog box, in the Save as type list, select PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx).

- Type “Sample.zip” in the File Name box, including the quotation marks.

- Select the Desktop as the location in which to save this file. Then click Save.

2. Close the document. Then press CTRL+D to view your desktop, and double-click the file to open the ZIP package.

3. Double-click the ppt folder to open it, and then double-click the slideLayouts subfolder to open it. Select slideLayout3.xml and press DELETE. When prompted, click Yes to confirm the deletion.

Note: Slide layout document parts are numbered according to their order in the layout list. Because this layout appeared third in the list of layouts in the presentation, you know that the slideLayout3.xml part is the correct part to delete. However, remember that you can double-click the file to open it in your default XML viewer if you want to confirm that it is the correct file before you delete it.

When you delete the document part, you also must delete all references to that part that exist in the ZIP package. Because the deleted layout is currently applied to a slide, you will also need to associate a different layout with that slide.

4. Double-click the _rels subfolder inside the slideLayouts folder. Then select slideLayout3.xml.rels and press DELETE. When prompted, click Yes to confirm the deletion.

5. In the ppt folder, double-click to open the slideMasters subfolder, and then click the _rels subfolder inside the slideMasters folder. Select and then copy the file slideMaster1.xml.rels and paste it on the desktop.

6. Open slideMaster1.xml.rels in both your default XML viewer and XML editor. In the viewer, notice that a relationship definition exists for each slide layout that is associated with the slide master. Find the relationship for the deleted document part (slideLayout3.xml). As shown in the following image, that relationship is rID3 in this example.

7. In your XML editor, find and delete the relationship definition for slideLayout3.xml, as shown in the preceding image. Then save the file.

8. In your XML viewer, refresh the page to confirm that there are no errors. Then close both the viewer and editor, and copy slideMaster1.xml.rels back into the ZIP package, replacing the original file of the same name.

9. In the slideMasters folder, select and copy the file slideMaster1.xml and paste it onto your desktop. Then open the file in both your XML viewer and editor.

10. In your XML editor, find the tag sldLayoutIdLst, which lists the relationship IDs for each slide layout attached to this slide master. Locate the sldLayoutID tag for the relationship ID that you deleted in step 7 (rID3) and delete it. Save the file and then, in your XML viewer, refresh the page to confirm that there are no errors.

11. Copy slideMaster1.xml back into the ZIP package, replacing the original file of the same name.

12. In the ppt folder, double-click to open the slides subfolder. The deleted layout was applied to slide 1. However, the information that relates the slide to its applied layout is not located in slide1.xml. It is located in the _rels subfolder, in the file named slide1.xml.rels. Select and copy slide1.xml.rels and paste it on the desktop.
Note: Remember that a relationship (.rels) file is where information is stored that defines relationships between elements in a ZIP package. A slide layout is associated with a slide by indicating that relationship in a .rels file.

13. Open slide1.xml.rels in both your XML viewer and editor. Notice, as shown in the following image, that the relationship rID1 indicates that the slide is attached to layout 3.

14. In your XML editor, change slideLayout3.xml to slideLayout1.xml, to associate this slide with the Title Slide layout (the first layout in the layout list). Save the file and then refresh the page in your XML viewer to confirm that there are no errors in the file.

15. Copy slide1.xml.rels back into the ZIP package, replacing the original file of the same name. Then close the ZIP package.

16. Change the file extension for this presentation back to .pptx and then double-click to open the presentation in PowerPoint.

If no error occurs when you open the presentation and there is no longer a picture on the title slide, right-click the slide and point to Layout to confirm that the first slide is attached to the Title Slide layout.

Congratulations! You have just successfully deleted a document part from a PowerPoint ZIP package.

Note: It is strongly recommended that you view lesson 1 of the above-referenced course and complete the Word practice session in that course before proceeding with this practice session.

You may want to print these instructions before beginning the exercise, so that you can easily keep them visible. To download the sample file required for this exercise, click here.

******************* ready to begin? .... here you go.... *******************************

After you download the sample file, open the file in PowerPoint. Then, notice the formatting of the open sample slide. The Title Slide layout that is applied to the slide has been modified to include a rounded rectangle behind the title text placeholder. Also notice that an additional frame shape appears around the edge of that layout.

In this exercise, you will edit the fill color and reflection for the rounded rectangle shape.

1. Save a copy of the PowerPoint document with a .zip file extension, as follows:

• Click the Microsoft Office Button and then click Save As. In the Save As dialog box, in the Save as type list, select PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx).

• Type “Sample.zip” in the File Name box, including the quotation marks.

• Select the Desktop as the location in which to save this file. Then, click Save.

2. Close the document. Then press CTRL+D to view your desktop and double-click the file to open the ZIP package.

3. In the ZIP package, double-click the ppt folder to open it. Notice that this folder includes subfolders for the slides, layouts, and masters included in the presentation. Because the rounded rectangle you are going to edit is located on the title slide layout, double-click the slideLayouts folder to open it. Then drag the file slideLayout1.xml to your desktop to create a copy of the file on your desktop. (slideLayout1.xml is the Title Slide layout)

4. On the desktop, double-click the copy of slideLayout.xml that you just created. This will open the file in your default XML viewer. On the desktop, right-click the copy of slideLayout1.xml that you just opened and then click Edit.

The same file is now open in your default XML viewer and your default XML editor.

5. In your XML viewer, locate the first shape in the file, which is indicated by a tag, indicating a PowerPoint shape. This shape is the rounded rectangle.

To confirm that you have found the correct shape, note that the default name given to the rounded rectangle in this file is Rounded Rectangle 7. The number 7 is assigned by PowerPoint because this was the seventh object placed on that slide layout. Notice that the properties for the rounded rectangle shape are quite long because this shape has several types of complex formatting, including a bevel, 3-stop gradient fill, and reflection.

6. Scroll down slightly to locate the gradient fill settings. These begin with the tag a:gradFill and look like the following image. Notice that many of the tags that define graphic formatting start with the prefix a instead of p. The a represents Office Art.

• The gradient fill formatting includes the list of gradient stops and information about the type and behavior of the gradient, such as the a:lin tag, which indicates that this is a linear gradient.

• The a:lumMod and a:lumOff tags included in the formatting for each gradient stop represent the percent variation from the primary scheme color used at each stop. As with many percent values in Office Art attributes, these percentages are multiplied by 100,000. So, for example, 50% (or 0.5) is represented as 50000.

• The pos attribute inside each gradient stop (a:gs) tag represents the starting position of that gradient stop. It is also a percent value represented as the percent times 100,000.

7. In your XML editor, locate the gradient stop list and change the color for all three stops from accent1 to bg1. The abbreviation bg1 stands for Background 1 and represents the Light 1 theme color, which is white in this sample document.

Save the file but leave it open and return to the XML viewer.

8. Refresh the page in your XML viewer to show your changes and confirm that no error messages appear. In Internet Explorer, press F5 to refresh the page.

9. In your XML viewer, look directly beneath the gradient formatting to find the effect list, which includes only a reflection in the case of this rounded rectangle. The reflection tag looks something like this.

• Most of the attributes in the reflection tag are also expressed as percentages multiplied by 100,000. So, for example, the endPos attribute, which stands for End Position for the reflection (or percent of the original shape that appears in the reflection) is 38.5%, represented as 38500.

• The stA and endA attributes represent the start and end Alpha values. Alpha is the percent opacity (the opposite of the percent transparency). The reflection shown here begins at 50% opaque and ends at 0.003% opaque (99.997% transparent).

10. In your XML editor, locate the reflection tag. Change the endPos to 60% (60000) and the start Alpha value to 40% (40000). Then save and close the file.

11. Refresh the page in your XML viewer to confirm your changes. If you made the changes as indicated in the preceding step, the beginning of the reflection tag now reads:

12. If you can see all of your changes in your XML viewer, close the viewer. Then copy the slideLayout1.xml file that you just edited and paste it back into the slideLayout folder inside the Sample.zip ZIP package, replacing the existing slideLayout1.xml file.

13. If you don’t want to make more changes in the XML, change the file extension back to .pptx. To do this, select the file and then press F2 to activate the file name. Change the file extension to .pptx and then press ENTER to accept your changes.

14. Double-click the file to open it in PowerPoint. If you made the changes as described in the exercise, notice the following differences:

• The rounded rectangle now has a gradient fill that ranges from light gray to white.

• The reflection is now slightly less opaque than previously and it is longer, running behind the first line of the subtitle.

Keep in mind for your future documents that reflection is one type of graphic effect that you cannot customize in PowerPoint. When you need a reflection setting that is not available from the Reflection options on the Drawing Tools Format tab (such as a different opacity or length, or different distance between the shape and its gradient), you can customize that in the XML just as you have done here.

Congratulations! You have just successfully completed editing the XML for a PowerPoint presentation!

Microsoft Office Products Page
Download a Free 60-Day Trial
How to Buy Office
Comparing Office Editions

Microsoft Office Tips & Tricks: microsoft.com/office/greattips

Office Online (office.microsoft.com)
Get Started with the 2007 Office System
Help and How-To
Training
Office Video Demos
Downloads
Clip Art
Templates
RSS Feeds for Training and Demos
A list of all Office Online RSS Feeds
Office Hours Column
Microsoft Office Live

Get Started Tabs:
Word
Excel
PowerPoint

Online Versions of the Interactive Command Reference Guides:
Word
Excel
PowerPoint
Outlook
Access

Downloadable Interactive Command Reference Guides:
Word
Excel
PowerPoint
Outlook
Access

NOTE: For those who need resources in other languages, check out the appropriate regional Office Online site through Office Worldwide. Many resources, such as the Interactive Command Refernece Guides, are available in several languages.

Search Commands tool from Office Labs:
Search Commands [This is a GREAT tool for those who already have some experience with the Ribbon and want to save time. I don't recommend it for those brand new to the Ribbon, because it may keep them from getting to know the Ribbon. For help getting users up-to-speed, start with the Interactive Command Reference Guides. Then, once you're comfortable with the Office 2007 environment, this tool can be a SUPERB timesaver.]

... Check out additional tools and projects from Office Labs ... such as the Community Clips site, where you can find tips posted by others who work with Office - or post your own video tips (video recording tools provided on the site) ....

Select Microsoft Blogs:
Word Team Blog
Access Team Blog
Brian Jones' Blog (Open XML Formats)
Doug Mahugh's Blog (Open XML Formats)
Erika Ehrli's Blog (Office Developer)

Select Resources for Accessing the Online Office Community:
Office Zealot: officezealot.com (great resource for finding Office bloggers and learning about Office from community experts)
Microsoft Communities
Webcast Calendar
Office Discussion Groups
MVPS.org

A few of the many good MVP sites:
Tech Trax (Office)
The Word MVP Site
PowerPoint FAQ's
Echo's Voice (PowerPoint)
Ron's Excel Pages
Excel MVP Jon Peltier's blog
Jan Karel's Excel Pages

From microsoft.com:
Microsoft At Work
Microsoft Support: support.microsoft.com
Microsoft Downloads: microsoft.com/downloads
Sign up for Microsoft Updates

A couple of select downloads:
Download the Compatibility Pack
XML Notepad 2007
Learn about and download Virtual PC for free (for requirements such as running multiple versions of Office on the same machine)

From Microsoft Learning and Partners:
MS Press Books
Microsoft Certifications
Microsoft E-Learning

Next-level resources:
Office Developer Center
Interactive Office Developer Map
Office Developer - Get Started
OpenXMLDeveloper.org
Open XML Theme Builder on CodePlex

[and for an intro to what advanced users can do with Open XML without being a developer ... check out an earlier post on this blog ... Open XML ... Not just for developers ...

If I missed a link you were looking for, use the Click To Contact link at the bottom of the blog page to send me an email ...

This is hysterical (it's in French, by the way) ...

Now, I'm starting back at it (slowly, but surely), and so I do want to start making use of this page.

Please check back in the next few months ... hopefully, there will be more here at the 18th century page than just excuses about why the page is so bare...

If you don't find the information you need, feel free to use the 'click to contact' link at the bottom of the page to send me an email.

For information on certifications:
For the 2007 Office release (MSBC certifications)
For Office 2003 (MOS certifications)

The links above - particularly the 2007 release certification link, provide several additional links to help you get ready for the exams - such as special offers and practice tests.

For e-learning training from Microsoft Learning:
Direct link to Office 2007 course listings

Check out the MS Press book series Step-by-Step to help prepare for certifications. You can find all MS Press books about Microsoft Office here.

Additional resources....

Getting up to speed with the 2007 release interface:

Interactive Command Reference Guides
Word
Excel
PowerPoint

Get Started Tabs
Word
Excel
PowerPoint

For the excellent paper I mentioned written by a member of the Office product team (about working with the new file formats across multiple versions) ... click here

Additional, outstanding free resources for the 2007 Office release:
Office Online home page
Office Online training page
Microsoft Office tips & tricks webcasts
The Word team blog ... this is the blog written and managed by the folks who designed and created Word 2007 (see my links page - available from the navigation pane at left - for this and other favorite sites from members of the 2007 release product team)
The Microsoft Office discussion groups ... for help from a wide range of MVPs and other Microsoft technology experts
MVPs.org - for a list of websites from Microsoft MVPs across all Microsoft technologies.

For those looking for more advanced information on the 2007 Office release:

Check out my new book on the 2007 Office release - Advanced Microsoft Office Documents 2007 Edition Inside Out ... you can learn more about the book and check out samples through the 'my books' link in the left-hand navigation pane -- or click here.

You can also check out my webcast series on customizing content with the 2007 release:
Open XML basics webcast: Advanced Tips & Tricks: Breaking Into Your Office Open XML Format Documents (Level 300)
VBA basics webcast: Advanced Tips & Tricks: Using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) Every Day Is Easier Than You Think
Customizing the Ribbon with Open XML webcast: Advanced Tips & Tricks: Customizing the Ribbon Using Office Open XML (Level 300)

So, meanwhile, I thought I'd at least post some photos. I thought the under-used wine page was the best place to post, since most of the photos are in Bordeaux (and many at the marvelous Chateau Lynch-Bages) ... more soon ...

Photos in PowerPoint slide show