If you have ever wanted to run a PowerPoint slide show and edit it at the same time, you will be pleased with PowerPoint! PowerPoint has a new feature that supports the dual-monitor capabilities built into Windows® 98 and Windows 2000. If you have a computer with two monitors (or a monitor and a projector), you can run a slide show and edit a presentation at the same time. Best of all, you view the whole presentation, (including speaker notes), while the audience sees only the slides. You can even make changes to the presentation on the fly — without ever exiting the slide show. This is a wonderful feature for anyone in a truly interactive environment.

Bonus Tip! You need either a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) or AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) video card for each monitor in order to be able to use the dual-monitor features of Windows 98, Windows 2000, and PowerPoint 2000.

The dual-monitor feature lets you set up one monitor to display the main PowerPoint window and the second monitor (or projector) to display a full-screen slide show. Once you've configured this setup, you can run the slide show on one monitor, and view or edit the presentation on the other. Each screen behaves as it normally would. You move from one monitor to the other by moving the mouse.

Is This Really a Powerful Tool?

The dual-monitor feature lets you do the following:

• View your outline, slides, and speaker notes in Normal view while the audience sees only slides
  Normal view is the new default view for editing presentations in PowerPoint 2000. The three panes in this view let you see your slides, outline, and notes at the same time. When you display your presentation in Normal view on one monitor, you can see the slide that your audience sees, as well as your notes and outline.
• View upcoming slides and speaker notes without advancing the slide show
  In Normal view, you can move around in the presentation to see upcoming slides and speaker notes without advancing the slide show on the second monitor. When you do advance the slide show by moving the mouse to the second monitor and clicking, the presentation in Normal view on the first monitor is automatically re-synchronized to match.
• Modify your presentation on the fly
  You can edit your presentation on one monitor while the slide show is displayed on the other.
• Keep the Meeting Minder window available without distracting your audience
  The Meeting Minder window lets you record action items and meeting minutes during a slide show.

To run a Slide Show and edit a presentation at the same time in PowerPoint

Your system must be configured for two monitors. If your system is already configured for two monitors, PowerPoint automatically displays the slide show on the second monitor when you start a slide show. (You can use the procedure "Set up PowerPoint to run on two monitors" to change the monitor that displays the slide show.) If your system is not yet configured for two monitors, complete the following steps. First, configure the system to recognize more than one monitor. Then, set up PowerPoint to run on two monitors.

Bonus Tip! The dual-monitor feature does not currently work with PC Card (PCMCIA) video adapters, so it will not work with many laptops. Check with your computer manufacturer to find out when integrated dual-monitor support will be available.

1. Configure the system to recognize two monitors:




Windows 98 Users

Windows 2000 Users

On the Start menu, click Settings > Control Panel. Double-click the Display icon. On the Settings tab, click the image of the second monitor, and then select Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor.

On the Start menu, click Settings > Control Panel. Double-click the Display icon. On the Settings tab, click the image of the monitor you want to use as the primary monitor. Select Use this device as the primary monitor. This automatically selects Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor for this monitor. Click the image of the second monitor and then select Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor.



2. Set up PowerPoint to run on two monitors:



• On the Slide Show menu, click Set Up Show.



• Double-click the Display icon.



• In the Show on list, click the monitor on which you want the slide show to appear.

The slide show will run in full screen on the monitor you choose in Step 2. The presentation will appear in Normal view on the other monitor.