Writing on the presentations

[dkook]

I used to be able to write on the slide shows in PowerPoint by changing the pointer into a pen. I just got a tablet pc and was hoping that I could do the same with it in one way or another. Is there an extension that can do this? Or any suggestions that you can make?

[acknak]

Slide Show > Slide Show Settings > Options > Mouse pointer as pen

Don't get too excited: the feature is not so well developed. See Issue 10922: Color and width of the pen in slideshow mode should be changeable.

You may want to register there and add a vote (up to two) or comment, if improving this feature is important to you.

[bhmt]

I used to be able to write on the slide shows in PowerPoint by changing the pointer into a pen.

I'm not a PowerPoint user, so ....

I just got a tablet pc and was hoping that I could...

Yes, no and yes.

Did you leave out the important phrase, "digital ink enabled"? No. OpenOffice.org does not seem to be ink enabled. That's where you "hand write" on the page, but the system deciphers it and knows how to spell check it. And if you want, converts it into "typed text" but can just leave your fountain-pen like scrawl on the document if you want. No. I don't think so, anyway. (not doing on mine).

But, you can draw on Impress slides (and in Write) with the table pc pen. Write your name probably. I made a quick slide in Impress with a Tablet PC and wrote on it with the pen after selecting the "freeform" icon. The file and a pdf are attached.

You can also write using the "TIP" (Tablet PC Input Panel that is part of the Tablet PC OS) and that writing gets converted by the OS and goes nicely into Writer, for example.

The tablet PC "pen" acts like a mouse and in that regard, yes, you can work all the menus and "type" on the slides. And you can "draw" in Impress and Draw and Writer with the mouse and of course the pen.

There ia a Drawing tool bar, usually at the bottom of the screen (View > Tool bars > Drawing). Use one of the 'freeform' line selections to begin with. That will be the icon to the right of the "T" icon. Use that little down arrow to open that pallet.

At the top of the pallet there is a little "handel". Pull up on it an a copy of the pallet will detach. Do that. (You can 'x' it to close it later or just leave it)

Find either of the "freeform" icons and click on one of them. Click on your slide and draw a line.

Once you draw the standard line, you'll notice it's in a selected rectangular box. There is another tool bar "Line and Filling" usually near the top of the page. That will control the color, width and such for your line. You can make changes before or after you make the line.

If you click an icon once, it draws one line and then reverts to a pointer. If you double click the icon, it stays in that mode until you click a different icon or click the selection arrow at the left side (or maybe press ESC...you'll figure it out)

Have Fun!

If you want, I think you can use other programs like Paint or Gimp (and they are "pressure sensitive) and make a picture there and then Insert it into OpenOffice Impress.

But, before you do much of ANYTHING, do it a little bit and see if ALL the things will work. Search the forums. I've heard some objects don't export in PDF, or some of "this" doesn't do "that." Get it all working good on a small project before you invest too much in step 1 of a large project.

No TABLET PC?

And to other folks with regular Windows pcs (not sure of *nix machines), you can get a fairly inexpensive "tablet" that plugs into your desktop and sits on the table next to you and do much the same (drawing, not writing and that becoming text). Wacom is one brand (and they made the 'guts' of what makes this Acer a tablet, for that matter). 3 x 5 and 4 x 6 inch are popular. You really don't need a 8 x 11 tablet to draw on a "letter" size paper. Anything you can now do crudely with a mouse you can do much nicer with a tablet pen. The main thing Tablet PCs add is handwriting recognition.

p.s. I'm on a convertible (attached keyboard and flip over screen), and usually use the keyboard to type in "laptop" configuration, as I am doing now. "Penning" this into recognized text on the tablet would be terrible although possible (yes Writer and all works fine). And for real "drawing," it rarely has the feeling of a sketchpad in your lap. In hindsight, a traditional tablet (Wacom, etc) on the table next to a desktop or notebook pc seems better than a table pc (not to mention a whole lot cheaper), unless you absolutely have to hold it in one arm and write/draw/type with the other. No, I wouldn't buy this again.

Sorry to ramble on like that.

Impress pen works 2.odp

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Impress pen works 2.pdf

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[dkook]

Sorry I wasn't clear enough. What I meant was during a presentation I could write on the slides to add to it as the presentation went along. It was akin to using a smart board.