MX

Creating your own presentation from scratch
This section describes the best workflow for creating a presentation page by taking you through an
example, to help you get started quickly.
Choose New > 955 pix presentation from the File
menu.
A new blank document window opens, displaying the presentation
document icon on its tab at the top of the document window.
The Presentation Toolbar also appears at the right end of the top bar. The buttons on the toolbar are
enabled only when you have something selected on the page.
1.
Use the Text Tool to add some text to your blank presentation, perhaps a heading at the top of
the page. Select this text object using the Selector Tool and look at the status line at the bottom
of the Web Designer Premium window. It will say that you have a text object selected on the
MouseOff layer. Everything on the MouseOff layer will be permanently visible in your
presentation, as if it's part of the background. So preview your page and you'll see your text
heading on the page.
2.
Now add another new text object using the Text Tool. Again, this will be placed on the
MouseOff layer and the status line will show you this when you select it with the Selector Tool.
But now let's make this text appear as the first step in this presentation.
3.
With the text selected in the Selector Tool, click the 'foot' button, which is the first button on the
Presentation Toolbar, called Make new step. Now look at the status line ? it now shows that
the selected object is on "Presentation step 1" instead of MouseOff.
4.
Preview the page again. Initially you can see only your initial text heading. Press the right arrow
key on your keyboard and the second text object will fade in. That's the first step added to your
presentation!
5.
You can continue to add more content to your page the same way.
6.
You may want to add an object to an existing presentation step. For example, suppose you
wanted to show a rectangle next to the text that appears as step 1. Draw a rectangle using the
Rectangle Tool. Select it with the Selector Tool (the status line shows it's on the MouseOff
layer). Right click on the object and you'll see a Presentation sub-menu in the context menu that
appears. That sub-menu itself has a Move to step sub-menu, that lists all the existing steps on
this page. Just select Step 1 to make the rectangle part of step 1. There's also a New step
option in the menu, that does the same thing as the Make new step button you used above. The
status line now shows that the selected rectangle is part of presentation step 1.
7.
Preview your page again and you'll see that when you click the right arrow key, the text and
rectangle fade in together.
8.
You can change the effect used by each step easily. Select the rectangle you just added and then
press the last button on the Presentation Toolbar titled Step transition effect. This brings up a
dialog that allows you to select a different transition instead of the default "fade" transition.
Choose Slide in from right. Preview your page again and this time when you press the right
arrow key the text and rectangle slide in from the right.
9.
If you decide that you want an object to be permanently visible, instead of part of a step, select it
and choose the Move to background button. That puts the object back on the MouseOff layer.
Try this on one of the objects you placed on a step.
10.
A quick way to create new step from an existing step is to use the Duplicate step button. Select
the rectangle and press this button. The entire step is duplicated, including the text that you didn't
select, but which was on step 1 along with the rectangle. Select the new text or rectangle and the
status line shows you it's on a new presentation step.
11.
Suppose you wanted step 3 in your presentation to become the first step instead. Select any
object that's on step 3, then use the drop-down list on the Presentation Toolbar to choose Step
Page 1008