In previous versions of Powerpoint, there was a method for not applying
information on a master slide to the first slide in a presentation. Does
this option still exist, and if so, where can I find it?
Two that I can think of, depending on what you need to do:
1) Use a separate title master. The first slide will normally be a Title
layout slide but if the template doesn't include a title master (and not all of
them do) PowerPoint will sort of improvise one. To control what appears on
title slides, do View, Master, Slide Master then choose Insert, Title Master.
Now you can format the title master to control the first slide (if it's a Title
layout slide) AND any other Title slides you insert in the presentation.
Actually, you can do a lot more than that using PowerPoint 2002 and later,
using their multiple master features.
2) To eliminate formatting from the master on just a slide or a few, choose
Format, Background and put a check next to "Omit background graphics from
master"
That omits ALL graphics from the master; if you want to include any of them,
copy them from the master to the slide and send to back.
Both of these techniques work on any version of PPT from 97 to 2003
