In this guide, you will be introduced and shown how to use one of the newer features added to Adobe Express, the presentation tool.
Due to the length of this guide, we have split it into sections that can be accessed via the ‘Contents’ menu below. Following each section there is a ‘Back to top‘ link that will return the reader to the top of the page.
Contents
- What is an Express presentation?
- To create a presentation.
- Understanding the Adobe Express Presentation user interface.
- Getting started with the chosen presentation template.
- Updating text already included in the template and adding new text.
- Introducing and replacing rich media elements (photographs, images & videos).
- Adding ‘other’ new content.
- Adding animation to elements of the presentation.
- Delivering the presentation using the ‘Present’ button.
- Preparing to deliver the presentation using ‘Present Mode’.
- Configuring and arranging multiple monitor setups (including lecture theatres).
- Delivering the presentation using ‘Present Mode’.
- ‘Other’ useful presenter options and configurations are available in Adobe Express.
- Import a previously created presentation from Microsoft PowerPoint directly into Adobe Express
What is an Express presentation?
The Presentation Tool empowers users to:
- Choose from Thousands of Templates: Select from an extensive library of professionally designed presentation templates.
- Customise with Ease: Tailor the layout, fonts, colours, and content to match your unique vision. (No more generic slides!)
- Effortless Brand Consistency: Apply your brand colours and fonts whilst maintaining a cohesive look across all your presentations.
- Seamless Transitions: Add engaging slide transitions from subtle fades to eye-catching animations, allowing slides to flow seamlessly.
- Presenter Mode: With dual-screen setup, view notes and pages simultaneously.
To create a presentation.
From the homepage of Express, hover the mouse over the presentation tile and select the browse template option. Note if the presentation tile isn’t visible on the home screen of Express, select the Document tab to access the presentation tile.
It is also possible to access the presentation options from the Express home page by clicking the (+) icon and selecting the Presentation icon.
The presentation templates menu will open on the left side of the screen, to select a template browse the available list (there were 2287 available templates at the time of the creation of this article), once a template is selected, simply swap out content and text as required. Another more efficient option is to use the search facility (see below).
The search facility can be used to locate a template that meets the theme of the presentation that is to be created.
Example of search for a template theme for example, ‘cyber security’
Example of search results for ‘cyber security’. At the time of creating this guide, there were 40 search results.
Understanding the Adobe Express Presentation user interface.
- View all pages: Using this option, it is possible to: Select all pages, add a new page, duplicate a page and delete a page (or a selection pages). Close this window using the cross located in the top right of the window.
- Add a new page: Use this option to add a new page, the new page will be added to the point in the presentation where the mouse pointer is currently located.
- Presenter notes: Using this option it is possible to add ‘Presenter notes’, adding presenter notes is very useful when combined with the ‘Presenter mode’ option, which is covered later in this guide.
- Page transitions: This option will apply a page transition (a short animation to enhance the loading of the next slide) to the currently selected page.
A page that has a transition applied can be identified by the small icon to the left of the page thumbnail.
Getting started with the chosen presentation template.
Once a presentation has been selected, one of the first things to do is check and remove any unwanted items from the presentation (such as company name etc.)
Selecting an unwanted item that was included on the presentation template and removing it (it is also possible to replace the image).
Updating text already included in the template and adding new text.
It is now possible to start to update the current text within the presentation and add additional text. The above opening slide title text has been updated and an additional text item has been added. This can be achieved by selecting the current text and updating the content, when selecting the current text, the text formatting menu will appear allowing formatting options such as size, colour etc. to be applied.
Introducing and replacing rich media elements (photographs, images & videos).
To replace a current photo that is part of the original template, select the item and either delete it (and then replace) or select the replace option (if available).
Image showing a current photo being selected and the menu options to replace, crop or delete.
Adding ‘other’ new content.
To add new content to a presentation slide use the Media, Text, Elements, Grids or Brands menu options located on the left of the Express interface.
Image showing the available Adobe stock photos relating to cyber security that can be added to the presentation. Also, remember that it is also possible to upload images from a local source.
Adding animation to elements of the presentation.
To add animations to elements of the presentation, select the element(s) to have the animation applied to (hold down the shift key to select multiple options) then from the corresponding menu that appears, select the animation button.
The ‘Animation menu’ gives options to apply the animation(s) to introduce that element (+ In), loop the element animation continuously (+Loop) and/or conceal the element (+ Out).
The image shows the ‘+ In’ option and the animation type ‘Fade’ has been selected and applied to the element in the presentation slide.
To preview the newly applied animation, click the preview option in the bottom right-hand corner of the slide.
Delivering the presentation using the ‘Present’ button.
Once a presentation is complete, deliver the presentation by clicking the ‘Present’ button.
The image shows the three presentation options.
The first two options simply start the presentation from either the beginning or from the current slide. The third option is extremely useful when presenting with more than one monitor. The perfect example would be in a Teesside University lecture theatre.
Preparing to deliver the presentation using ‘Presenter Mode’.
Using the ‘Presenter mode’, Adobe Express opens a second browser window which will be used to display any speaker notes added to the slides (as covered previously in this guide) and asks the presenter to position this window on the secondary monitor that the students (or other audience will not see). This will allow the presenter to access their presentation notes whilst the audience only sees the presentation.
Image showing the newly opened ‘Presenter Window’ that needs to be positioned on the second monitor and also the ‘Audience Window’ that should be presented on the primary monitor (the screen that the audience will see).
Configuring and arranging multiple monitor setups (including lecture theatres).
This can easily be done by pressing the Windows Key and the letter ‘P’ simultaneously and from the menu that appears on the right side of the primary monitor, selecting the ‘Extend’ option.
Image showing the selection of the ‘Extend’ option to extend the Windows desktop across multiple monitors.
To select the order of the now extended monitors, right-click on the Windows desktop and select ‘Display Settings’
Image showing the Windows desktop has been right-clicked and the ‘Display Settings’ option is clicked.
Image showing the current arrangement of three monitors that are connected to a computer system.
Press the Identify button to temporarily have a number appear on all connected computer monitors and/or projector screens to identify their number.
Image showing how a large box appears on each monitor to identify the monitor once the ‘Identify’ button is pressed.
If the monitors were in the wrong order, use the ‘Rearrange your displays’ option to move (re-arrange) the screens.
Image showing the re-arranging of monitor screens by clicking and dragging monitor one into a different position.
Once the monitors are arranged in the correct order press the ‘Apply’ button. [/alert]
With the monitors correctly arranged and configured and the Audience and Presenter windows moved (dragged) to the correct screens, click the ‘Ok’ button on the Presenter Window and the ‘Open in full-screen mode’ button Audience Window to start presenting with the Adobe Express presentation.
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Image showing the Presenter Window with the Ok button to be pressed to start the presentation. |
Image showing the Audience Window with the open in full-screen mode button to be pressed. |
Delivering the presentation using Presenter Mode
Image showing the full-screen presentation being controlled via the presenter screen that includes the notes added to each slide.
Use the ‘previous’ and ‘next’ navigation buttons on the presenter screen to progress through the presentation.
To exit the slideshow (presentation) click the ‘Exit slideshow’ button located in the top-right of the presenter screen.
Other useful presenter options and configurations are available in Adobe Express.
Adobe Express includes a variety of additional via the menu in the top-right corner of the screen. The options include:
- Undo/Redo: Undo or redo the last change made to the presentation.
- Invite: Add collaborator(s) (including the level of access they are allowed).
- Learn: Links to various training materials and How-to guides.
- Comment: Leave comments on the work for yourself or other collaborators.
- Submit Feedback: Submit a product enhancement idea, report a bug and join the Discord or Facebook community.
- More: Including Show version history, Duplicate file and Report Abuse.
- Download: Select which page to download, File format (PDF, JPEG, PNG or MP4
Import a PowerPoint
It is now possible to import a previously created PowerPoint presentation into Adobe Express and customise it in Express by adding text, images, animations, and more. The import process is simple but be aware that Adobe Express can sometimes struggle
- Click the Large ‘Plus (+)’ button located in the upper right of the Adobe Home page and the Upload your content option.
- Use the Explorer window to locate the PowerPoint file.
- Select Open in the import window to open the presentation in the Adobe Express editor (Adobe Express will now attempt to convert the PowerPoint into an Express-friendly format).
Result
The imported presentation opens in the Adobe Express editor. The file is automatically converted and saved as an Adobe Express file in Your stuff.