Screencast: Using PowerPoint for Screencast Titles
Monday, August 15, 2011 at 7:38PM Sometimes you’ll want to create a nice-looking title for your screencast. PowerPoint is a great tool to create rich titles (even with animation if you want). This screencast shows you how to do this using PowerPoint in Presentation mode so that you can start your screencasts off with a nice title and avoid seeing a PowerPoint application UI in the way.
The essential technique is to create a (Macro-enabled) PowerPoint presentation that is viewed in presentation mode, and that has a hidden rectangle you can click to minimize the PowerPoint window quickly. The following VBA code created as a Macro and then attached to an invisible rectangle to achieve this effect.
Sub MinimizePowerPoint()
' Handle slideshow window
If (SlideShowWindows.Count > 0) Then
SlideShowWindows(1).View.Exit
End If
' Handle application window
Application.ActiveWindow.WindowState = ppWindowMinimized
End Sub
Reader Comments (4)
Awesome!!! Gr8 work Saveeen
This is a great tip. I am wondering how you can return back to the PowerPoint presentation mode in order to show the last slides, not only to use it for screencast titles but also to show an ending title or contact information when you finish the screencast.
BTW, we have published a note here:
http://www.free-power-point-templates.com/articles/using-powerpoint-for-demos-screencast/
Hello Saveen,
First of all, I have to say you job is great, really, no doubt.
You describe all process nice and clear.
The only one thing I need to know: where did you get the text of the macro and how I can create another one?
Thank you in advance
Joanna Miller
www.PoweredTemplate.com
PS: I'll be happy to cooperate with you in PowerPoint area.
@Joanna,
Thanks for the kind comments. I wrote that so long ago, I can't exactly remember the source of the macro - it was either from something I found searching and maybe partially constructed from the Macro Recorder in PowerPoint 2007.
Although the Macro Recorder doesn't seem to be available in versions after PP 2007, it is possible to enable the Developer tab in the PP ribbon and create new Macros - the entire VBA development environment is still available in PowerPoint.