PowerPoint and Presenting Stuff

Shutterstock Plug-in for PowerPoint: Conversation with Janet Giesen

Janet Giesen is Senior Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at Shutterstock. She runs integrated partnerships, co-marketing initiatives, and data deals for the company. Before joining Shutterstock, Janet managed affiliate and digital media partnerships for American Express OPEN. Janet holds an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business, a Professional Certification in Publishing from Columbia’s School of Journalism, and a BA from Boston College.

In this interview, Janet talks about the Shutterstock Plug-in for PowerPoint.

Geetesh: Janet, can you tell us more about why you created the Shutterstock plug-in for PowerPoint?

Janet: Most PowerPoint presentations are made up of two elements: images and text. We wanted to create a plug-in for PowerPoint that would provide immediate access to high-quality, professional images and also solve the blank canvas (or ‘blank slide’) problem. We know that one of the most common ways business professionals use Shutterstock images is to enhance presentations, and with hundreds of millions of users, PowerPoint is one of the most successful presentation tools in the world.

In creating the plug-in, we wanted to create a way for users to easily search our collection of over 80 million images directly within PowerPoint to create more impactful presentations. This brings time-saving functionality to professionals who can choose images they love and preview them in a slide before buying.

Geetesh: What feedback have you received from users of the Shutterstock plug-in for PowerPoint – can you share some thoughts?

Janet: Our customers have been very receptive to the new plug-in and its functionality. We’ve had a considerably high visit-to-install rate and lots of positive feedback in the first week. Users have been particularly excited about the ability to preview images inside a presentation before purchase. We’ve also had users express interest in making the plug-in available for Mac, as well as access to their lightboxes / saved images on Shutterstock inside the plug-in.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.

Filed Under: Interviews
Tagged as: Add-in, Graphics, Images, Interviews, Janet Giesen, Pictures, Plug-in, PowerPoint, Shutterstock

Merge Shapes with Pictures in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows

PowerPoint takes the Merge Shapes command to a whole new level. You can merge shapes with other shapes and text, and you can also merge shapes with pictures! First you may wonder what’s so awesome about merging shapes with pictures? But play a bit and you’ll realize that this opens up huge possibilities. We will start simple in this tutorial and explore how you can create cookie cutter shapes with this option.

Learn how to merge shapes with pictures in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows.

Filed Under: PowerPoint 2016
Tagged as: Merge Shapes, Microsoft Windows, Office 2016, Pictures, PowerPoint 2016, Shapes, Tutorials

Eyedropper Fill in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows

Although PowerPoint allows you to choose almost any color you want, it is often difficult to choose the same color for text as the grass or the sky in a picture on the same slide! PowerPoint 2016 for Windows Eyedropper option enables you to pick an exact color from anywhere, sometimes even from somewhere outside PowerPoint! Even better, when you are picking up the color from a source, you get to see the color preview as well as the RGB value of the color you are picking.

Learn how the Eyedropper fill option works in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows.

Filed Under: PowerPoint 2016
Tagged as: Eyedropper, Fills, Microsoft Windows, Office 2016, PowerPoint 2016, Tutorials

Convert Text to Shapes by Fragmenting in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows

PowerPoint 2016 for Windows enables you to use its repertoire of Shapes to create some amazing artwork. Its Merge Shape commands allow you to create complex shapes by merging several simple shapes. Additionally, these options also let you convert your text to shapes so that you can see the text even on a computer that does not have a particular font installed. We already showed you how you can convert an entire text box to one shape using the Intersect command. Let’s now discover using the Fragment command instead.

Learn how to convert PowerPoint text into individual, editable shapes using the Fragment command in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows.

Filed Under: PowerPoint 2016
Tagged as: Fragment, Merge Shapes, Microsoft Windows, Office 2016, PowerPoint 2016, Shapes, Tutorials

PowerPoint and Presenting News: June 14, 2016

Kurt Dupont of PresentationPoint explains how their Dynamic PICTURES add-in for PowerPoint lets you display multiple pictures in the same picture placeholder/box. PowerPoint MVP, Ellen Finkelstein shares her tips on getting great pictures for PowerPoint slides. Henrik Bergqvist of Pickit talks about their new PowerPoint plug-in that brings back free images to PowerPoint. And David Grupper discusses the upcoming Presenters Network event he is organizing in New York next month.

PowerPoint 2016 for Windows users can learn about merging shapes to create new shapes. We explore the Combine, Union, Fragment, Intersect, and Subtract options. Finally, do not miss the new press releases and templates of this week!

Read Indezine’s PowerPoint and Presenting News.

Filed Under: Ezine
Tagged as: Ezine, Indezine, News, PowerPoint