Best Practices for Slide Masters and Layouts

[Rick Altman]

I love 2007's new controls for slide masters and appreciate all of the extra
ability. One element of strategy haunts me, however: The best way to work
with title slides that are to be distinct from interior slides.

It is wonderful to create elements directly on the slide master, ensuring
that they will then be inherited by all layouts. This becomes tricky,
though, when our design for a title slide differs significantly from the
other layouts. The title layout is going to inherit the same slide master
elements that the other layouts do, so what do you do to create a unique, or
even just slightly different, design for the title:

1. Cover up the global elements that you do not want and begin from there on
the title layout.

2. Refrain from placing the global elements on the slide master, thereby
requiring that those elements get manually placed on every layout that would
call for them.

3. Create a new slide master altogether just for the title design.


None of these seems terribly elegant or efficient, but in the absence of a
fundamental technique that I am simply losing sight of, it seems as if
conventional workaround wisdom is the order of the day here. If that is the
case, is there a favorite technique to address this? Has there been much
discussion about it? (I'm sure that Echo has discussed it a dozen times at
PPTLive, but I've been off flitting around instead of actually listening to
it.)

Would appreciate and enjoy a discussion here around this interesting
conundrum...

 

[Sandy Johnson]

Hi Rick,

Just like in 2003, when you create the format for the Slide Master, then
create the Title Master, the Title Master takes on the features of the Slide
Master.

Similarly, in 2007 I design the overall design using the Office Theme Slide
Master (customize design as desired). As you've described, the next master in
the Master Pane -- the Title Slide Layout -- takes on the features of the
Office Theme Slide Master. However, I override those features by making
changes directly to the Title Slide Layout (you know, insert background
images, different font colors, move placeholders).

Am I understanding your question correctly?

Sandy

 

[Rick Altman]

Hi Sandy --

Here is a very common scenario for my clients:

ON CONTENT SLIDES: Small logo lower-right, some other line of text
lower-left. Because these are to appear on every slide beyond the title,
they are placed on the slide master.

ON TITLE SLIDE: Large logo lower-right, no text lower-left.


So that small logo on the slide master will appear on the title layout, even
though I don't want it. That's the dilemma. I will have to cover up the
large logo before I place the smaller logo atop it. Not terribly difficult,
but not exactly elegant, either...


Rick A.

 

[Echo S]

I'd hide background graphics on the title layout and then paste the stuff
from the master onto the title layout.

I agree it's not implemented very elegantly. But where do they draw the
line? There are section break slides and all kinds of stuff now -- and then
you can also create your own....

 

[Rick Altman]

Where indeed do they draw the line? A good question!

I'm going to experiment with this. Now that it is so much easier to switch
between masters, it might make sense to think of the title as its own
master. It might end up as six of one half a dozen of the other, but it
would be fun to find out...



RA