PowerPoint 2007 equivalents of older version commands (and Commando)
Problem
You know how to find a command or setting in earlier Powerpoint versions.
Now you need to locate the same option in PowerPoint 2007 but they've moved everything.
Use keyboard shortcuts
To start with, most if not all of the keyboard commands you know from earlier versions of PowerPoint will work in PowerPoint 2007. But to find where and what to click with the mouse, try this interactive tutorial from Microsoft
Microsoft has some search tools
Or this page that includes a link to an online interactive tutorial
The Office Labs Search Commands add-in lets you search for commands by keyword (though it doesn't actually help you find the new location of old commands).
Commando2007 does the translation from within PowerPoint
Of course, it's a pain to have to bounce back and forth between PowerPoint and Excel or a web page. So we've just cobbled up a simple little add-in that gives you "command translations" from within PowerPoint.
To try it out:
- Download Commando2007.ZIP and save it to any convenient location.
- Unzip the contents in to any convenient folder. Both included files must remain together; other than that, any folder will do.
- In PowerPoint 2007
- go to Office Button | PowerPoint Options | Add-Ins
- Choose PowerPoint Add-ins in the dropdown list provided
- In the resulting dialog box, choose Add New
- Navigate to the folder where you unzipped Commando2007.ZIP and choose Commando2007.PPA
- In PowerPoint 2007, a Commando2007 item appears on the Menu Commands group of the Add-ins tab.
- In PowerPoint 2003 and previous
- Choose Tools, Add-ins from the main menu bar
- In the resulting dialog box, choose Add New
- Navigate to the folder where you unzipped Commando2007.ZIP and choose Commando2007.PPA
- In PowerPoint 2003, a Commando2007 item appears at the bottom of the Tools menu.
To use it, click Commando2007 on the Tools menu (PowerPoint 2003 and previous). In PowerPoint 2007, use Add-ins | Menu Commands | Commando 2007.
When you click Commando2007, a dialog box appears.
Choose the PowerPoint 2003 menu or toolbar in the upper list box, then pick the command you want from the lower listbox. Commando2007 displays the current location of the command in 2007.
When you click Accumulate, Commando2007 clears the box where it displays results and begins to accumulate two lists of commands, one for each version of PowerPoint. Each time you choose a new command, Commando2007 updates the list and displays it in the text box. This way you can build up a set of instructions for both versions of PowerPoint at once. When you're done, click in the text box containing the results, press Ctrl+A to select them all, then Ctrl+C to copy them to the clipboard. From there you can paste them wherever you like.
You can leave the dialog box open while you work. Click the X in the upper right corner to shrink it out of the way.
While it's small, you can click Restore to bring it back to full size or Quit to dismiss the dialog box completely.
Customize the ribbon bar
If you'd like a more customizable approach to the Office 2007 ribbon, have a look at Patrick Schmid's RibbonCustomizer
UBit Menu adds another ribbon that mimics the older PowerPoint menu
Equivalents
You'll note that quite a few of the PPT 2007 commands below begin with OfficeButton.
This is the big round button at the upper left of your PowerPoint screen:
| Operation | PowerPoint 2003 | Powerpoint 2007 |
|---|---|---|
| Install or uninstall a PPA addin | Tools, Add-Ins | OfficeButton, PowerPoint Options, Add-Ins, Manage:PowerPoint Add-Ins, Go |
| Set macro security | Tools, Macro, Security | OfficeButton, PowerPoint Options, Trust Center, Trust Center Settings 2003 setting / 2007 approximate equivalent Very High / Disable all macros without notification (?) High / Disable all macros except digitally signed macros Medium / Disable all macros with notification Low / Enable all macros Note that the rules are different for macros in trusted locations |
| VBA Editor | Tools, Macro, Visual Basic Editor (or Alt+F11) | OfficeButton, PowerPoint Options, Popular, put check next to "Show Developer tab in the ribbon"; you can then click the Developer tab and click Visual Basic. Alt+F11 also works, whether or not you've enabled the Developer tab. |
| Customize toolbars, menus, buttons | Tools, Customize | OfficeButton, PowerPoint Options, Customize (very limited) But right-click the Quick-Access Toolbar (QAT) and choose "customize quick access toolbar" to get here more easily. |
| Change AutoCorrect settings | Tools, AutoCorrect Options | OfficeButton, PowerPoint Options, Proofing, AutoCorrect Options |
| PowerPoint version and build number | Help, About Microsoft PowerPoint | OfficeButton, PowerPoint Options, Resources, About |
| Diagnostics/Repair | Help, Detect & Repair | OfficeButton, PowerPoint Options, Resources, Diagnose |
| Check for updates | Help, Check for Updates | OfficeButton, PowerPoint Options, Resources, Check for Updates |
| Inserting slides | Insert, Slides, From File | Home tab, Slides group, click New Slide, Reuse Slides. In Reuse slides pane, click Open a PowerPoint file. |
| Constrain line/freeform drawing | Hold down shift while drawing | No apparent equivalent |