How do I create a slide show?
Once you have created a map, BigPicture allows you to create a slide show where the map unfolds in any way you like. This is especially useful if you are presenting the map to an audience and you want to explain it in steps. BigPicture also allows you to create a textbox for each slide that explains that slide.
You can Ctrl+click the following link to watch a video about creating slide shows: http://www.palisade.com/BigPicture/Intro/EN/CreatingASlideShow/
Creating a Slide Show Video
Understand the goal
Before explaining the steps for creating a slide show, it is useful to see a completed slide show.
The map
This is a map for a capital budgeting optimization model.
Slide 1
Now you see the results of playing the slide show.
Slide 2
Slide 3 (last slide)
Stop the slide show
You can press the Stop button on the BigPicture ribbon to stop the slide show at any point and return to the full map.
Create the Slide Show
Creating a slide show with BigPicture is very easy, especially if you make the "usual" choices. However, BigPicture lets you tailor your slide show in many ways to meet your needs.
Click the Slide Show button on the BigPicture ribbon
This brings up the Define Slide Show dialog box, with two tabs. This is where you make all of your choices.
Define Slide Show - Slide Tab
1) Click the Add button. This adds a first slide.
2) The added slided has a generic name, Slide #1 (which you can change by typing in the Slide field).
3) All Prior Slides, is selected by default in the list of Inherit Topics options (located at the bottom of the dialog). This option means that as the slide show plays, each slide will show its new topics, as well as all topics from previous slides. This is the way the capital budgeting slide show evolved, and it is probably the option you will use most often.
The other two options allow other possibilities. For example, if slide 1 shows topics 1, 2, and 3, you could use the last option to ensure that slide 2 shows topics 1, 4, and 5. The choice is totally up to you.
Click the Select Topics for Slide button and check topics for slide
This opens the right pane on the dialog box, where you can select the new topics to show for that slide. By default, the topics are listed in a treeview (hierarchical) order. You might prefer a "straight list" of topics, which you can see by clicking the Left-Right Order button at the bottom. (If you do so, the button caption changes to Treeview Order, that is, this button is a toggle.)
Continue to add slides and select topics
In this case, three new topics are added to the second slide. But because of the All Prior Slides setting, the topics shown on the left for the second slide include the topic from slide 1. In any case, repeat this step as many times as necessary to define all slides. You can always use the delete and move up and down buttons to delete or rearrange slides.
(Optional) Play the slides defined so far
At any point, you can click the Play button to cycle through all the slides you have created so far. The button changes to a Stop button, and the slides continue to cycle until you click Stop.
(Optional) Start over
If you decide you have totally messed up, you can click the Clear All button to clear all slides and start over.
Choose options
You can choose a number of self-explanatory options from the Options tab. The Display Slide Description Boxes option is particularly useful, and it is discussed in some detail below.
Click OK
When you have finished defining slides, click OK to return to the map.
Create slide description textboxes
(Optional) Unhide the BP_SlideDescription sheet
The slide descriptions are stored on a hidden BP_SlideDescription sheet. You don't have to unhide and look at this sheet, but if you do, you can format the textboxes in which the descriptions appear. See the next step.
(Optional) Format the "template" textbox on the hidden sheet
The hidden sheet has a "template" textbox. You can uses Excel's formatting tools to format this textbox any way you like. Then all of the slide description textboxes will be formatted this same way. After you have done this, you can rehide the sheet.
Start playing the slide show
Click the Play button on the BigPicture ribbon to start playing the slide show. This button changes to three buttons, Previous Slide, Stop, and Next Slide for continuing.
Type a description and move the textbox
You will see the generic textbox, formatted as you specified, and you can type (or modify) a description for that slide. Note that if you move the slide (to make sure it is visible on the screen and won't overlap the map), the upper left corner of all other slide description textboxes will be in the same place. However, you can resize each textbox independently, depending on the length of the description.
Play the slide show
Play with the Play, Previous Slide, and Next Slide buttons
Click the Play button on the BigPicture ribbon to start playing the slide show. This button changes to three buttons, Previous Slide, Stop, and Next Slide for continuing.
Don't forget to click Stop
When you play the slide show, don't forget to click the Stop button. Most BigPicture options are disabled while a slide show is running.
Click Slide Show to modify the slide show
You can always click the Slide Show button to get back into the Define Slide Show dialog box and modify any part of the slide show, such as the order of the slides.
