Markdown Demo
Keeping up with the Joneses in tech means learning new things and Markdown is one of those new things for me.
The writeup below is from a Confluence page I wrote that explains how to move from one PowerPoint template to another. It seems like a good way to get a longer form of step-by-step instruction into my portfolio along with a demonstration that I can utilize Markdown while I'm at it. For those keeping score, I wrote the Markdown in ReText on my Linux Mint system and I'm utilizing md-block from the great Lea Verou, developer and designer extraordinaire.
# Updating an entire PowerPoint deck to the newest templates
We strongly recommend you use two monitors when executing these instructions. You will have your new PowerPoint file based on the new template open on one monitor for editing and the old PowerPoint file you are updating open on the other for verification. You can still do them with only one monitor, it just won’t be as easy to verify as with two monitors.
We also recommend you save frequently so you can recover from any significant mistakes and especially after making a lot of changes to a slide. Even with AutoRecover set to save every five minutes, you can still lose a quite bit when you’re on a roll making changes.
## Basic Steps
Before we go into the detailed instructions, these are the basic steps.
* Open a blank PowerPoint based on the new template.
* Copy and paste all the slides from the existing PowerPoint into the blank PowerPoint using the Use Destination Formatting option.
* Modify each slide to either match how it is in the existing deck or utilize the features of the new template to enhance it including a complete redo.
* Delete extra layouts from the slide master.
### Expandable topics
Preparation (One time only)
You need a blank version of the template for ease of use so that you do not have to delete all the example slides every time, but you also need the example slides because they are a useful reference. The solution is to create a blank template and store it in your custom template folder for Office which Office will do automatically when you do a Save As for a template (.potx or .potm). With the blank template stored there, you can create a presentation based on it from within PowerPoint using File -> New-> Custom -> Custom Office Templates.
**Note:** The training PowerPoint template contains macros for the countdown timer on the title slide and must always be saved as a PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Template (*.potm).
1. Open the standard PowerPoint Template or training PowerPoint Template.
2. Delete all the slides.
3. Save it as a template (.potx or .potm) with a new file name (e.g., Blank Training v3). This is the template you will access from within PowerPoint to create blank presentations.
Slide Master Geography (In Brief)
Within every PowerPoint deck is a collection of slide layouts called a slide master. The layouts are listed under their slide master (e.g., Training Slides in the latest Training template) when you assign a layout to a new or existing slide using New Slide or Layout. The order of the layouts in a slide master always remains the same from when it was created which means you will know where to find layouts you commonly use as you become more familiar with a slide master.
You’ll also become familiar with the first and last layouts which is especially helpful when you’re trying to determine who belongs and who got added because added layouts created by PowerPoint from pasted slides are always added after the last layout of a slide master. For the Training Slides slide master, the last layout is called Max Picture, and looks like this:
Any layout after that will have been created by pasting slides from another deck. The goal is to have nothing after it which entails reassigning slides using those extra layouts and then deleting the layouts. We’ll cover that in a different section, but now you know the geography of a slide master.
## Full Procedure
**Note:** Always verify the layout no matter how good a slide looks. It’s a quick check that keeps you from running afoul of the Slide Police.
1. Create a new PowerPoint deck based on the appropriate blank template using File -> New-> Custom -> Custom Office Templates.
2. Open the older PowerPoint deck you want to update, and select and copy all the slides. Keep this deck open for verification, if you can.
3. Paste the slides into the new PowerPoint deck using the _Use Destination Theme_ option.
4. For every slide you pasted in, do one or more of the following:
- Determine whether its layout is within the slide master by right clicking on the slide in the thumbnails and hovering over “Layout” or using Layout from the Home tab to view the layout it is using. If the layout is after the Max Picture layout, you need to reassign it. (See Slide Master Geography if you are unsure.)
- Modify the slide to make it look good which can be as simple as ensuring everything is in its proper place to completely redoing the slide following these guidelines:
1. If the layout is correct and the slide looks good, move on to the next slide. There is usually more than enough to do when uplifting.
2. Use standard slides—Activity, Break, Ground Rules—only for their defined purposes. No hijacking!
3. If you cannot find a layout that works for a particular slide, look through the example deck for ideas and inspiration.
4. Reassigning a slide layout typically doesn’t put all the existing text where it should go in the new layout. It will all be there, though, but you need to move it where it’s supposed to go.
5. Make sure text that you move is properly formatted by pasting it in the new field using Keep Text Only to pick up the formatting of the new field. If the text is complicated such as for a reassigned Activity slide, you may be able to do a normal paste, but you have to still check that the formatting is correct for that particular slide layout.
6. The footer can also be affected by a reassign, but don’t try to fix it until you’re done because you can do it with one command (Insert-> Header and Footer) instead of over and over for each slide. The only time you should fix a footer as you’re working on a slide is when you’re uncertain whether something will cover it and you want to check.
7. Sometimes it’s easier to make a new slide and copy the contents to it rather than rework a slide in place. However, when you do this, make sure to also copy the Notes section. And don’t forget to delete the old slide.
8. Put the deck in presentation mode periodically to see how it flows especially if you’ve been making a lot of changes.
9. Make sure build slides still operate the same. Refer to the tips on build slides for ways to improve them and enhance their maintainability.
5. After all the slides have been uplifted, run the deck in presentation mode from start to finish to verify it’s the way you want it to be. Make any changes needed from that.
6. Remove the unused layouts after Max Picture that were brought over when the slides were copied into the new deck by going into Slide Master from the View tab and deleting those layouts. Only delete the layouts after Max Picture. See the detailed instructions under Slide Master Cleanup.