Insert Live Websites Into Your Next PowerPoint Presentation
Jan 28, 2009 Internet, Software
When sharing PowerPoint presentations, I always take a screen shot of a website if I need to show my audience what it looks like. This is never ideal – the full length of web pages rarely fit inside a screen shot. Fortunately, there’s a tool called LiveWeb, a free PowerPoint Add-in for both Mac and PC that lets you put real-time websites into your PowerPoint presentations.
In short, the add-in turns PowerPoint slides into a scrollable web page. Simply download the appropriate version, double click ‘LiveWeb.ppa’ after extracting the ZIP file (do not select ‘Open’ when you are prompted by your browser – you MUST download the file), and you should have a new menu item called ‘Web Pages’ under ‘Insert’. If it doesn’t work immediately, you will need to enable ‘Macros’ and change the security level to ‘Medium’. These options can be fun under ‘Tools’ on a PC. On a Mac, you will be prompted to ‘Enable Macros’ when double clicking ‘LiveWeb.ppa’ if they are not enabled already.
When selecting this menu option, it will take you through a series of alerts – asking you the URL of the website, if you would like to refresh each time you reload the slide, how big the website should be relative to slide size (I usually select 100%), and where to place the website on the slide.
As a note of caution, be sure to log-in to websites that require authentication (such as Facebook) through your presentation before it actually starts. You have to do this in View Show mode. If you stop the slide show, it will possibly log you out.
There’s a handy FAQ about PowerPoint Add-Ins here.
This is is an oldie but goodie – and I hope it’s new to some of you!
Tags: liveweb, powerpoint, Software, techniques
How to Manage Multiple Twitter Accounts On Your Desktop
Dec 31, 2008 Social Media, Software, Twitter
I recently wrote a post on How To Manage Multiple Twitter Accounts On The Web, but failed to recognize a viable way to do this from your desktop, which some people prefer.
Let me introduce you to a nice little application called Twhirl. This Mac and PC friendly program allows you to create a list of your Twitter accounts and login one-by-one. Each account is shown in it’s own application window, and gives you the same functionality as the Twitter website, plus more.
Pros
- View direct messages, replies, favorites, and archive of your own tweets
- View friends and followers
- Follow other Twitter users
- Add tweets to favorites
- Use Twitter’s lookup feature (for usernames) as well as Twitter Search (for content in all tweets)
- Tweetscan Search
- Desktop notifications for new tweets
- Upload to TwitPic
- Shorten URLs (using one of three different short URL providers)
Cons
- Can’t view multiple accounts in one window
- Lack of automatic brand mention tracking
While Twhirl is loaded with features, I’m hesitant to commit because of the inability to handle multiple accounts from one window. However, this is likely a great solution for many of you who don’t want to have a browser open at all times to manage your Twitter accounts.
Graphic Design on a Budget
Dec 17, 2008 Design
While some youth pastors enjoy the luxury of hiring professional designers, others have a budget. And for those on a budget, finding tools to create graphics can be challenging. Today I present to you several options for DIY design. While I can’t give you a designer’s eye, I can certainly give you some resources to help you get started. This list is by no means the end-all be-all of resources – simply a guide , especially for those who are beginners.
Software
- Pixelmator - Similar functionality as Photoshop for Mac ($59)
- GIMP – Alternative to Photoshop for Mac (free)
- Seashore - Basic image editing software for Mac (free)
- Inkscape – Vector editing software fpr PC/Mac (free)
- Photoshop Express – A limited web version of Photoshop (free)
- Paint.NET – Image editor for PC (free)
Tutorials
- Smashing Magazine – More free design resources than you can dig through in months. They offer tutorials, free templates/graphics/backgrounds/fonts, and more.
- Gimp-tutorials.net - The name says it all
- Bits and Pixels - Pixelmator tutorials
- Graphic Design Tutorials (About.com) – Introduction to graphic design with tutorials
Fonts
- DaFont.com – My personal favorite for free fonts
- Urban Font – Clean an easy to use
- Better Fonts – Also easy to use
Pictures/Graphics
- iStockPhoto – The ‘default’ of stock photo site. Thousands upon thousands of images and design elements
- Cyclops – The best tool for searching for stock photo. Searches across more than ten sites at once, finding the best pictures/deals
- Every Stock Photo – same as Cyclops
When purchasing stock photos and fonts, please be sure they are always royalty free. Most sites specify this.
Patterns (for low resolution web graphics/banners)
Printing
(This list will be updated on a regular basis)
