Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 Upgrade

A welcome addition is the print preview function, a painful omission from earlier PowerPoint iterations. Now you can see on paper how your slides will appear without having to go through a trial-and-error print process.

Even without the rest of the Office XP suite, PowerPoint 2002 allows users to collaborate on projects, and there are a number of new features in this area. When a presentation is sent to another user for review, the appropriate tools are already turned on. When it returns, the owner can automatically merge the reviewer's updated version with the original. Presentations can also be password protected, allowing reviewers to view the slide shows and add comments, but not be able to edit the file. And digital signatures can be attached to presentations for added security in shared environments.

Some of the more noticeable changes appropriately lie within the slide-creation process. PowerPoint 2002 allows users to apply animation effects and transitions to an entire presentation with a single click. You can also use more than one design template within a single presentation, so you don't have to rely on the same theme for an entire slide show. It also lets you merge two slide shows that use different templates.

PowerPoint 2002 is still point-and-click, drag-and-drop easy for slide creation. You can copy and paste multimedia files into slides (now with support for more file types and larger files). This latest version of PowerPoint also lets you view thumbnails of your slides in a pane on the left side in the normal view (paired with the outline pane, which contains just the bare information).

On the right side, the task pane houses recently used templates and tools, making it much easier to choose the layout for slides as well as add animations and transitions. Another nifty touch: Microsoft incorporated anti-aliasing (a graphics technology most often used in games) to smooth out fonts.

When PowerPoint was first released, it didn't come with a standalone viewer, meaning users without the latest version of PowerPoint wouldn't be able to view your presentations. Microsoft has since updated their free PowerPoint Viewer 97 to allow it to view 2002 PowerPoint presentations as well, although some advanced features in 2000 and 2002 slide shows are not supported in the viewer.

Users of PowerPoint 2000 may not find enough incentive to upgrade to PowerPoint 2002, but if you're still making presentations with even earlier versions of PowerPoint, this is the one that you need to click over to. --J. Curtis

Amazon.com Review
If you use a PC, you almost certainly use Microsoft Office at least occasionally. PowerPoint 2002 is the presentation graphics application in Microsoft's new version, Office XP.

New features across the range of products within the Office XP suite, such as task panes, smart tags, and integrated e-mail, aim to make the various applications more tightly integrated than ever, and thus squeeze more functionality out of each program. Task panes are dynamic windows that pop up in response to specific actions you're performing within a document, suggesting formatting or mail merge options, for example. Smart tags, similarly, are icons that appear when you perform a particular task--hover over them and a drop-down menu appears.

PowerPoint 2002 really is a leap forward from earlier versions. Dual-screen presenter tools allow trainers to have a different view of their presentation from the audience, giving much more subtlety and control over lectures. And anti-aliased screen fonts overcome the amateurish jagged onscreen text that can result from using certain typefaces. Print preview, meanwhile, allows you to view work in progress as you construct your presentation.

Task panes take on a lot of the hard work in this new version. Layout, colors, animation, and more are tackled in the handy pop-up windows. And animation itself is beefed up, with support for multiple objects and path animation opening the door to more sophisticated and slick presentations. --John Rennie, Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com Product Description
PowerPoint 2002 gives users additional functionality to create professionally designed presentations. This latest version also makes it easier for PowerPoint users to discover and use the functionality that was previously in the application. New and improved tools in PowerPoint also make it easier to share and collaborate on presentations over the Web, enabling users to present to and work with others who are geographically dispersed. There is no need for anyone to leave his or her office.

PowerPoint 2002 empowers users to discover and use more of the existing functionality in the application. Users gain the confidence to try new things and ultimately create more effective presentations. New tools such as Task Panes and Smart Tags are shared throughout the Office suite, and help users take advantage of the functionality of the application. In addition, PowerPoint 2002 features improved technology for working with diagrams, drawings, pictures, text, and printing. With the new reliability features in PowerPoint, users can continue to work even in the unlikely event of an error. Furthermore, a variety of security enhancements have been included in PowerPoint to help users feel more secure when working with their presentation.

Share and collaborate on presentations with others via the Web. Work more effectively on presentations with team members, regardless of where they are located. PowerPoint now includes a whole new way of reviewing presentations with others that takes away the difficulties associated with integrating multiple, disparate presentations. It also includes the ability for users to use the Web to broadcast live or recorded presentations around the world. PowerPoint 2002 provides multinational organizations and multilingual users with a better experience when working the application. This includes a variety of improvements such as improved administration of languages, additional language-proofing tool support, and a variety of user-interface improvements.

In this case i was lucky and got it at a KILLER discount (Free from a friend who couldnt use it) but it is a good solid program.


Why?? StarOffice and OpenOffice.org are a contractors' dream   December 6, 2002
Jake (Torrance, CA United States)
20 out of 23 found this review helpful

I'm a contractor now (read: involuntarily unemployed but getting dribbles of work) and got tipped off to StarOffice and OpenOffice.org by a friend in the same spot who's been using StarOffice since day 1. Here's the deal.

- There's nothing important you need in PowerPoint that you don't have in StarOffice, the much cheaper MS Office-compatible Sun product, or OpenOffice.org, which is free, and open source.

- Create a presentation in SO or OOo, save it in MS Powerpoint format, send it to people running PowerPoint, and they won't be able to tell the difference.

- The 3D drawing and all features in fact in the Draw program are spectacular. There's connector lines like you get in Visio, and it's very easy to use.

Everyone should be buying StarOffice -- just go search for it on this site--or downloading OpenOffice.org for free. Don't be silly be buying Powerpoint.


Worth the buy, go for it!!!   March 7, 2002
Andre Da Costa (Jamaica W.I.)
10 out of 12 found this review helpful

If there is at least one application out of the Microsoft Office XP family that's worth buying, it's this program. The features such as animations and effects 100% improved with great looking templates to use. The interface might look a bit surprising at first but, you will start creating awsome presentations in minutes. It's easy to use beacuse of the familiarity with Office and the New Task Pane provides quick access to certain necessary features, eg. If you want change your design template, you can do it right their from the task pane, no digging through menus and right clicking. You are also able to give presentation slides individual template designs to make your templates show more individualty. Their are tons of new features that have not been written about, you will find each every time you use the app. This is one application out of Office Microsoft has really concentrated on, I recommend it!


Long Awaited Enhancements   April 24, 2001
19 out of 22 found this review helpful

Powerpoint finally has password protection for modifying and opening presentations. Another cool feature is that you can play your slide in any view to see how it will play out without having to go into slide show mode. Better animation control, built in image compression and enhanced slide show performance(Not sure how effective this is yet), Multiple design templates in one presentation, It's suppose to have a file recovery tool but have not been able to test this yet, Still no Autorun CD feature but definately worth the upgrade.