This is a tutorial that shows you the basics of how to use OpenOffice Impress. OpenOffice Impress is a free multmedia presentation equivalent to Microsoft PowerPoint.

4. Consider what type of background you want for your slide show. To load a template, right-click your slide and select Slide Design . The Slide Design dialog box appears. Click Load in the lower right corner of the box, click Presentation Backgrounds to highlight it. Click More. Click the Preview check box. Click a template in the Templates window to highlight and preview it. When you find one that you like, click OK to select it. (See Ref. 2)

5. Inserting Text Insert text into your slides by clicking the T in the tool bar located under the slide workspace. Click, hold and drag a text box on your slide. Type the desired text into your text box. Click, hold and drag your cursor over your text to highlight it.

6. Configure your text using the text tool bar that appears over your slide workspace. Select a font name by clicking the black arrow and choosing a font from the drop down menu. Select a font size by clicking the black arrow and choosing a numerical size from the drop down menu. You have the option of making your text bold, underlined, italicized, adding a drop shadow and justifying as needed. You can also insert bullets from this tool bar.

7. Creating a New Slide and Inserting an Image Create a new or duplicate slide by clicking Insert in the top tool bar and select either Slide or Duplicate Slide from the drop down menu. A new slide will appear.

8. Insert an image in your slide by clicking Insert , hover your cursor over Picture , and select From file . The Insert Picture dialog box appears. Navigate to the image file on your computer, click the image to select it and click Open . The image is inserted in your slide. Move the image by clicking, holding and dragging the it to the desired location on your slide. Resize the image by clicking, holding and dragging the green anchor points . (See Ref. 2)

9. Using Master Pages If you haven't yet chosen a background for your slides, it is not too late. Master Pages is a powerful OpenOffice Impress tool for creating a consistent presentation. Click the Master Pages tab in the Tasks pane to the right. Choose a Master Pages template by clicking one in the pane. Impress automatically updates your slides and each time you create a new slide, it's layout will be consistent with the others. (See Ref. 2)

10. Designing Tables Click the "Table Design" tab in the Tasks pane. Click one of the Styles. The Insert Table dialog box appears. Type the number of columns and rows needed for your table and click "OK". From the Table tool box, edit all of the elements of your new table including: line style, line color, borders, area color, merge and split cells, align the contents of the your cells, insert and delete columns and rows.

11. Using Items from the Gallery Click the Gallery icon in the tool bar under your slide workspace. The New Theme pane appears above your slide workspace. OpenOffice Impress has the following galleries built in to the New Theme pane: Backgrounds, Bullets, Homepage, Rulers and Sounds. Preview these galleries by clicking each one to highlight it.

12. The contents of the highlighted gallery will appear to the right. Use items from the gallery by clicking one, holding and dragging it onto your slide. Move the item to the desired location on the slide by clicking, holding and dragging the item into place. Resize the item by clicking, holding and dragging the green anchor points.

13. Custom Animations OpenOffice Impress has a built in interface to create custom animations for the elements in your presentation including, but not limited to: fly in, Venetian blinds, dissolve in, spin in and spiral in. Click the Custom Animation tab in the Tasks pane. Click the element you want to work with on your slide. Click the Add button on the Custom Animation tab. The Custom Animation dialog box appears.

14. Click an animation to select it. Preview the animation by clicking the Play button at the bottom of the Custom Animation tab. If you do not like the chosen animation, change it by clicking the animation in the Custom Animation tab and then clicking the Change or Remove buttons. Try a different animation or opt to not animate your presentation.(See Ref. 2)

15. Slide Transitions and Sounds OpenOffice Impress allows you to add transitions in between the slides of your presentation. Click the Slide Transition tab in the Tasks pane. Select the slides that you want to which you want to apply a transition. Press Ctrl+A to select all of the slides in your presentation.

16. Click a slide or press and hold the Ctrl key and click multiple slides to manually select more than one. The slides are highlighted in the Slides pane. Click a transition in the Slide Transition tab to select it. Impress shows you a preview of the selected transition. Preview several in this manner until you find one that you like. Click the black arrow next to Speed and select a speed from the drop down menu. Click the black arrow next to Sound and select a sound from the drop down menu if applicable.

17. In the Slide Transition tab, set the speed at which your presentation advances to the next slide. Click the radio button for "On mouse click" or "Automatically after". If you chose "Automatically after", type the transition time in the text box beneath. (See Ref. 2)

18. Saving and Exporting Save your work by clicking File in the top most toolbar. Select Save As from the drop down menu. The Save As dialog box appears. Navigate to the folder in which you want to save your presentation, type a file name for your presentation, select Microsoft PowerPoint 97/2000/XP (.ppt) from the file type drop down and click Save .

19. OpenOffice Impress also has and Export feature that allows you to export your presentation in several different formats including, but not limited to: HTML, PDF and Macromedia Flash. After you have saved your presentation, click File in the top tool bar and select Export from the drop down menu. Specify a folder on your computer to export your presentation. Type a file name for your presentation in the File name text box. Click the black arrow next to Save as type and select a file type from the drop down menu. Click Save . Your presentation will be exported to the specified folder and saved as the chosen file type.