Customizing Microsoft Clipart
with PowerPoint versions 2007
LBT140
& 2010
As discussed in the lecture notes for this week’s module, appropriate imagery can have a significant, positive
impact on a learner’s cognitive load as new information is being presented in a multimedia context. While using the
Microsoft Office applications to create educational materials, we can easily find a vast assortment of clipart
components ready to be integrated into any presentational format. Unfortunately, just as digital cable can offer its
subscribers over 400 channels and still fail to air anything “worthy” of watching, Microsoft clipart can often miss the
mark, if only by just a little bit. This leaves us with two options: 1. create our own clipart 2. customize what has
already been created for us. This week we will choose option 2 and leave the custom creation of graphics for the
next module.
While the customization of clipart can be accomplished in Microsoft Word, Publisher or even Excel, we will be
using PowerPoint to accomplish this task as it provides a little more freedom to move things around the way we will
want them.
Once you have started the PowerPoint
application, you will need clear the
default text boxes that appear on the
initial slide. From within the Home tab in the ribbon menu, choose
Select and then Select All. Press the Delete key on your keyboard
Now we will need some clipart on which to practice the customization
process. From within the Insert menu select Clip Art.
An Insert Clip Art frame should now appear on the right side of the PowerPoint window. Within the Search in: drop
down menu, be sure that Everywhere is checked (as shown below in figure 1). Next, within the Results should be:
drop down menu, be sure that only Clip Art is checked (figure 2). Finally, for this example, type the word meeting in
the Search text: text field and click the Search button (figure 3).
Scroll down through the resulting images,
locate and double-click the clipart image
displaying two business men shaking hands.
This action will place a copy of the image on
the stage. Click and drag the circular handle
on one corner of the image to resize. Click and
drag anywhere in the center of the image to
reposition it on stage.
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Right-click anywhere within the clipart image and select Edit Picture from within the
contextual pop-up window. Select Yes when prompted by the alert pop-up window
displayed below. Note: This alert window will not appear if you are editing clip art
from within Microsoft Word. I believe this to be a glitch.
I Can’t Find the Image from the directions!!!
Not a problem. With as many different computer configurations
as there are out there, this is bound to happen to someone.
Simply choose any image that has a cartoon-ish look and feel
for the purposes of this activity.
OK…Now I don’t see the ‘Edit Picture’ Choice!!!
In this case you will have to select a different image. While most
images under the Clip Art media type are editable, some are not.
As a rule of thumb, if it looks like it could be a photograph it’s
probably not editable.
Right-click the image again, this time selecting Grouping and then Ungroup
from the secondary menu. This action will break the clipart image into the
many individual components that artist
created and assembled in order to form the
composite image. Finally, click anywhere
outside the image in order to deselect all of
the components.
To explore how this particular piece of clip art was engineered, click and drag the
various elements around the stage in order to “deconstruct” the image. It is often
fascinating to realize the intricate process that is involved in the creation of clip
art.
Ctrl+Z Is your friend
Once you have had your fill “deconstructing” the image, use the
Ctrl+Z hotkey combination to Undo all of your destructive acts.
With the pinkie finger of your left hand, first press and hold the
Ctrl key on your keyboard. With whichever remaining finger on
your left hand is most comfortable, tap the Z key on your
keyboard. Keep tapping the Z key until to re-assemble the image.
If you run out of “undos” before the image is completely
reassembled, you will have to erase everything on stage and reinsert the image following the steps found on page one.
Ctrl+Z is a “universal” Undo hotkey combination among many
programs. Mac users will use Command+Z.
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In this class, you will read the follow statement often: RIGHT-CLICK EVERYTHING!!
Most of the cool stuff you can find to customize your computing experience can be
found in the right-click, because the menus that appear during this action are
contextual; meaning they change in context to the particular item you happen to be
“right-clicking” at the time. When customizing Microsoft clipart, all of the cool stuff
is definitely in the right-click!
In the next part of this activity, you will be changing the hair and neck tie color of
the man on the right. To do this, first zoom in to the area of you wish to change (see
call out below for zooming tips and tricks).
Next, right-click the dark portion of the man’s hair that is closest to the base of his
neck. Select Format Shape from within the contextual menu. Here we have a widerange of customization features. Make sure you are viewing the Fill tab from within
the Format Shape pop-up window and that the Solid fill radio button is selected.
Select a new fill color from the Color drop down menu. You can choose a color from
the initial swatch or you can select More Colors for a larger palette as seen below.
Because the color of our character’s hair at the
part is the same as it was at the base of his neck,
change the color of that shape next. If you chose a
color from the advanced palette in the previous
step, it will now be available below the initial
color swatch for ease of access. (see image
below).
Adjusting the transparency of a given color can help create
shades that would otherwise be difficult to find (see image
below). This strategy works
particularly well for highlight
colors.
Continue practicing the
customization process with our
character’s tie and anything else
you think needs changing.
Zooming in for a closer look
While all Microsoft applications offer a zoom setting dropdown menu (pictured right), it is
often much faster to use the little known Ctrl+Mouse Wheel technique. With a finger from
your non-mouse hand, press and hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard. Now, if your mouse has
a scroll wheel on top, move the wheel back and forth to zoom in and out. This is a great
Strategy for alleviating eye strain. This technique is also fairly universal across
applications. Try it in Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.
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Ctrl+Click: If you desire to simultaneously select two different shapes in order to change the
color both of them together, select the first shape by clicking it. Then, press and hold the Ctrl
key on your keyboard while clicking on the second shape. This action will allow you to select
two or more items. When you are ready to customize the color, release the Ctrl key and rightclick any one of the select shapes.
Congratulations!! Your clipart has now been customized in an effort to better represent the
point you are trying to convey with the written text or verbal description of your intended
presentation. Consider your audience’s cognitive load lightened :-)
BEFORE
AFTER
The final step in completing your masterpiece is to right-click any one of
the shapes that compose your clipart. Select Grouping and then Regroup
from within the secondary menu. This action will automatically take any
remaining pieces from the original image and “glue” them back together.
Once this is done, you can move the single, grouped object freely about
the stage or copy and paste it into another document.
As demonstrated in the “Clipart Customization Video - Pt.
2”, multiple clipart images can be modified and combined
to create the desired composite image. Aside from being
able to select and delete undesired shapes, you must also
be able to move a given image back and forth in the
stacking order.
As each new image is added to the stage, it is stacked or
“layered” on top of all pre-existing images. Microsoft
allows us to manipulate the stacking order of each layer
individually in order to achieve the desired effect. To do
this, first select the image you wish to re-order. Then,
from within the Draw menu in the lower-left corner of the
PowerPoint window, select
Order and then choose the
preferred action from within
the secondary menu.
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