Since many people use PowerPoint for training programs, you will find some slides populated with screenshots of various computer program interfaces. Typically, these screenshots are captured in another program and then inserted into PowerPoint slide like any other regular picture. This task is now made even easier with the introduction of the Screenshot option in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows that allows you to quickly and easily add a screenshot on your slide, from within PowerPoint.
Note: The Screenshot option works the same way in other Microsoft Office programs including Excel, Outlook, and Word.
Follow these steps to add a screenshot within PowerPoint 2010 for Windows:
- Make sure that the other non-PowerPoint program from which you want to capture a screenshot is open and ready.
- Launch PowerPoint 2010. PowerPoint will open a new Presentation with a Title slide. You can change the slide layout to Blank by selecting the Home tab | Layout | Blank option. Of course, if you already have an existing presentation within which you want to add a screenshot, just open that presentation, and follow these subsequent steps.
- Access the Insert tab of the Ribbon (highlighted in red within Figure 1), and then click the Screenshot button, as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 1.
Figure 1: Screenshot button - This brings up the Screenshot drop-down gallery, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Screenshot drop-down gallery - There are two options within the Screenshot drop-down gallery and both these options are explained below, as marked in Figure 2, above.
A. Available Windows
- Here you can see representations of all open applications that are not minimized to the Task bar. To add a screenshot of the whole window of the application, just click the corresponding thumbnail within this section.
B. Screen Clipping
- To add a partial section of any window, first make sure that you visit the application from which you want to capture a screenshot. Thereafter go back to PowerPoint and click the Screen Clipping option. This will change the cursor to a plus sign, as shown highlighted in red with Figure 3. To take the screenshot, press and hold the left mouse button and drag to select the area of the screen that you want to include within the screenshot.
Figure 3: Cursor changed to a plus sign - When you are capturing the Screen Clipping, PowerPoint is minimized and only the application window that you recently visited is available for clipping.
- As soon as you let the left mouse button go off, the screenshot is automatically added to the current slide within PowerPoint. In Figure 4, below you can see a screenshot is added within the active PowerPoint slide.
Figure 4: Screenshot added on slide - After the screenshot is added, you can apply various Picture Tools options to edit and enhance the screenshot.
- Make sure to save your presentation often.
Note: Only one screenshot can be added at a time. To add multiple screenshots, repeat steps 3 and 4.
