PC Instructions

These instructions are based upon the current standard Microsoft Office Suite (with notes for Office 2003) 

You are going to create a single PowerPoint slide that is 35 inches by 43 inches. 

Step 1: Create a PowerPoint "Poster" Slide

• Open PowerPoint Select "Design" and "Page Setup" (Office 2003: select "File" and "Page Setup")

  • Select "Custom" from the "Slides Sized for:" drop-down menu and adjust the height and width

  • Select the appropriate orientation: Portrait orientation - 35" width x 43" height or Landscape orientation - 43" width x 35" height

  • Delete the standard slide text/graphic boxes

  • Add content to your poster as you would a PowerPoint slide: 

    • insert  text boxes to organize your material, text and images, on the slide

    • backgrounds are best selected from the pre-set design schemes

• About Images

  • Avoid using too many large images

  • Don't use a background image that will make text hard to read!

  • Don't resize a small image to a larger one using Powerpoint!

• It will be helpful to zoom in and out to get the layout that you want and also to work with your text. To zoom, go to "View" and select "Zoom".

• Save your work as usual

NOTE: Important things to remember/consider:

• Project Requirements - Does your poster contain the items required for your project. Professors or organizations typically require some or all of the following:

  • Your name(s) (and the names of any sponsors)

  • Date (or semester)

  • Course, or department, or your project name

  • Your professor's name

  • References (may be able to use smaller fonts)

• Preview, Preview, Preview - Use the print preview whenever possible in this process to see if your output looks correct.

• Things to check:

  • Does the poster size look OK with respect to the displayed borders (not a postage stamp on a huge screen)? If not, check page/paper sizes

  • Are top/bottom or left/right sections of the poster clipped? If not, check the orientation and/or the length/width order of the paper size (e.g., may need to change 43x35 to 35x43)

  • Remember the image notes above (too many, too large, or resized images can look great but cause problems with printing)

  • PowerPoint has a "Grid and Guides" function which you can lay over your poster; this might be useful for lining things up. Find it in the "View" menu.

  • Will your text color be hard to read on your background graphic?

Step 2: Create a PDF of your PowerPoint slide

Note that PDF submission is not required for every project. For individual printing requests it is required.