Tuesday, March 11, 2008

How to Add Text to a PowerPoint Map Slide

How to Video showing how to add text to a PowerPoint clipart state or county map slide.

To add text select the TEXT INSERTION tool in the DRAWING TOOL BAR, usually located along the bottom of your slide window. Click anywhere on the slide and begin typing.

Use the FORMATING PALLET or the pull down menus at the top or your screen to customize with fonts, size, and color. Text blocks can be moved around the screen by clicking, holding and dragging on the grey box that surrounds the text. This box is visible after you have clicked on the text.

To delete a text box, select is with the pointer and then click on the gray box surrounding the type. Hitting the DELETE key on your keyboard will delete the text.

Our maps can be completely edited in PowerPoint. Every state, county, country or text block is an individual editable element. They can be colored, customized, move or deleted elements as you want. PowerPoint has a very nice collection of editing and drawing tools, located either along the bottom or along the side of your screen.

How to Divide a PowerPoint Map In-half

How to Video showing how to divide a PowerPoint clipart state or county map into two territories and color them differently. PowerPoint isn't really a drawing program but we have found a fairly effective way of doing this. Below are two ways to handle this.

The first is to copy the state and paste it right on top or on the side so that you can work on it. Go to the DRAW Pop Up menu in the Tool Bar and select EDIT POINTS, you will see all of the drawing points or handles. You then click on each point with the mouse pointer, while you hold down the Control key on the PC or the Option key on the Mac, the selected point will then disappear. You work your way nibbling around the area you want to delete. You end up at some point with a part of a state. Give it its own color and stroke or line and place it on top of the other map. And presto you have a state that looks to the viewer like you have cut it in half. But in reality is made up of two pieces, a full state and half state.

A second way is to use one of the line tools (I like the one that just uses straight lines) and zoom in to 400% and trace over the outline of the state with the drawing tools. Moving around it, tracing the shape of the state and just the part you want to keep. Give it a color and now you have again what looks like a state cut in half.

The drawing tools are located in the AUTO SHAPES pop up menu in the DRAWING TOOL BAR. In AUTO SHAPES select LINES, (we like the middle line on the bottom row, the FREE FORM LINE tool). With this line tool selected you can now trace over the map, making a complete closed path by clicking point by point around th edge. Bring the line back to the beginning point and give two quick clicks and you will have an object that can be filled with a new color.

To make this easier locate the Zoom Box in the upper right hand corner of the top tool bar and select 300 or 400% so you can really see what is going on. If you need to you can adjust the points by selecting the new object with your pointer and choosing EDIT POINTS from the DRAW popup menu on the far left of the tool bar. Also make sure SNAP TO GRID is not checked. This method isn't perfect but will work pretty well and allows you to set up the partial territories.

If you are using the EPS Adobe Illustrator version of our maps you can use the SCISSORS tool and cut the border and then re-join the lines giving you two halves.

How do I Enlarge or Reduce an Object in PowerPoint?

How to Video showing how to enlarge or reduce a group of clipart state, country or county PowerPoint map.

To enlarge several states or counties you need to GROUP them together.
1 Hold down the Shift key and using the pointer CLICK using the right button on the PC mouse and the regular click on the Mac mouse, on the states you want to enlarge together.

2 Once the states are selected click on the DRAW popup menu in the TOOL BAR along the bottom and choose GROUP.

3 You will now see just 8 handles on your selected group. Place your pointer over one of the lower left or right corner handles. Click, and hold down the mouse button and drag the handle in a diagonal 45 degree direction. This will enlarge the group. Release your mouse button when you have the correct size. Pulling out, the group will enlarge, moving in towards the center it will reduce. Holding down the SHIFT key will keep things proportional.

4 Text elements will need to be re-adjusted manually, they will move to the correct place but in PowerPoint they do not scale up or down. You may also need to UNGROUP them and move them where needed. The text can be resized using the Font Tools along the top of the screen.

How To Color a State, County or Country in PowerPoint

How to Video for coloring an editable PowerPoint clipart map .

Select the state or country with the pointer by clicking on it. On the PC use the right button of the mouse, on the Mac just click with the mouse. You will see 8 little handles appear around it, this tells you the object has been selected. Choose a color from the Fill Bucket in the Drawing Tool Bar usually located along the bottom of the PowerPoint slide.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Learn More About Our Maps

Editable MS PowerPoint and EPS clipart maps for sales and marketing presentations, illustrations, and websites. Royalty Free, World, USA, States, County, Countries, World Regions, and Globes.

Each state or country is an individual element that can be customized, changed, colored however you like.

Perfect for sales and marketing presentations, showing sales territories, advertising, graphic design, building maps for websites, anywhere a royalty free map is needed

Visit our www.mapsfordesign.com website for more info