Presenting
with Prezi
How-To Guide
Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
This guide accompanies the Presenting with Prezi training session. It covers the main points of the
training session in a step-by-step “How To” manner. You can use this guide as an aid when completing
workbook tasks, or as a reference source after you have completed the training.
All resources used in the training session are available on the IT Training website:
http://study.cardiffmet.ac.uk/Help/Training/
A Note on Conventions:
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Menus and menu options appear in bold italics.
E.g. Insert  Image means choose the Insert menu then the Image option.
Prezi features appear in bold.
E.g. “Use the Transformation Tool to manipulate a frame”.
Hints, tips or asides appear within a box. E.g.
TIP: Hints, tips and asides will appear in boxes like this!

Prezi has a comprehensive Help system that can be accessed via the help icon:
. The
articles are also available online, so, when relevant, this guide will link to help articles to
provide more information. These links will appear in an orange box. E.g.
More information: prezi.com/pricing-7/edu/
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
Contents
Getting Started with Prezi ....................................................................................................................... 3
Creating a new Prezi ........................................................................................................................... 4
The Prezi Environment ........................................................................................................................ 4
Working with Content............................................................................................................................. 6
Text ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Images, Video and Other Content ...................................................................................................... 7
Transformation Tool ........................................................................................................................... 8
Themes .................................................................................................................................................... 9
Customising Themes ........................................................................................................................... 9
Frames................................................................................................................................................... 11
The Prezi Path ....................................................................................................................................... 12
Transitions............................................................................................................................................. 13
Animation.............................................................................................................................................. 14
Presenting ............................................................................................................................................. 15
Privacy and Sharing ............................................................................................................................... 15
Backup................................................................................................................................................... 17
Save a copy........................................................................................................................................ 18
Download .......................................................................................................................................... 18
Getting Started with Prezi
Prezi is web-based presentation software; presentations are edited and presented through a web
browser, such as Internet Explorer. Prezi can be found at prezi.com
Prezi offers a number of account options that provide additional capabilities beyond the core
experience. As an educational institution all of our staff and students are entitled to an EDU Enjoy
Plan licence, for free. This account gives you additional storage space (500MB instead of 100MB)
and, crucially, the ability to make presentations private (Prezi’s created by normal accounts are
publically available).
To get your EDU licence, you need to sign-up at prezi.com with your Cardiff Met email address then
follow instructions to activate your account.
More information: prezi.com/pricing-7/edu/
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
Creating a new Prezi
Log-in to your Prezi account then hit the New Prezi icon:
You then have the option of creating a Prezi from a template, or from scratch by choosing Start
blank prezi:
The Prezi Environment
After you have chosen your template, you will presented with the Prezi editing environment:
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Undo/Redo buttons
Insert content and
Customize the design
The Prezi canvas; click
to add content, use the
mouse wheel to zoom,
click and drag to pan
The left pane, used to
create a path through
your Prezi.
Present the show,
change settings and
access help
Working with Content
Text
Text can be added to templates by clicking within a placeholder and typing:
Alternatively, text can be inserted by simply clicking anywhere on the canvas and typing.
Whenever text is inserted or edited the text toolbar appears:
Change font size and colour
Format the text as a title,
subtitle or body text
Add background shading
More information: prezi.com/support/article/creating/text/
Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
Images, Video and Other Content
The Insert menu allows you to insert a variety of content into your Prezi, including images, video,
shapes and symbols, and PowerPoint slides.
Images can be added from your computer (use the Select files button), or directly from the web by
utilising the embedded Google search box:
TIP: Check whether you able to use the image legally; most images are subject to copyright
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
The simplest way to use video in a Prezi is to embed a YouTube clip. Copy the URL (web address) of
the clip then choose YouTube video from the Insert menu.
A variety of symbols and shapes can be inserted by choosing Insert  Symbols and shapes. Unlike
images, the quality of symbols and shapes does not degrade as you zoom in (as they are “vector”
drawings). Arrows and lines have their own menu option on the Insert menu.
PowerPoint slides can also be added via the Insert menu. They are sometimes useful as a starting
point for your Prezi, but as the approach taken by Prezi is so different to PowerPoint, you may be
better off redesigning your slides in Prezi to maximise its advantages (or simply use PowerPoint to
present the slides).
More information: prezi.com/support/search/?q=insert+menu
Transformation Tool
The Transformation Tool allows you to manipulate objects on the Prezi canvas. When an object is
selected, a toolbar will appear:
The toolbar is context sensitive, for example, selecting a frame will display different options than
when selecting a text box. The Transformation Tool allows you to resize, move and rotate Prezi
objects:
Resize
Rotate
Move
More information: prezi.com/support/article/creating/editing-contentwith-the-transformation-tool/
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
Themes
Themes are sets of complementary colours, fonts and background designs that can be applied to
your Prezi with a couple of clicks:
1. Click on the Customize button on the top menu bar.
2. Choose a theme from the pane on the right:
Customising Themes
Any element of a theme (background, font, colours) can be modified by using the Customize pane.
Background image
1. Click the Customize button on the top menu bar.
2. Click Choose file…
3. Select the image file from your computer.
TIP: Background images scale at a different rate to regular images. If you need to zoom in to a great
extent, it may be better to Insert the image instead of applying a background
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
Advanced Customisation (Theme Wizard)
The design of your Prezi can be fine-tuned via the Theme Wizard:
1. Click the Customize button on the top menu bar.
2. Click the Advanced… button at the bottom of the customisation pane.
3. Use the Theme Wizard dialogue to adjust theme settings:
Change colour of
Prezi objects
Adjust font type
and colour
Switch to a simpler
dialogue
More information: prezi.com/support/article/creating/using-themes/
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
Frames
Frames are an integral part of Prezi, they have two main purposes:
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Frames can group Prezi objects (e.g. text, images) together; once objects are placed within a
frame, manipulating the frame (e.g. rotating, moving) will also manipulate the content inside
it. Frames can be thought of as containers for content.
Frames can be used to guide the presenter through a presentation. Frames are
automatically added to the Prezi Path, which is a sequence of steps through a presentation.
The Prezi Path is the route taken through the presentation when the Next button is clicked
in Present mode.
To add a frame to the canvas:
1. Choose a frame type from the drop-down menu at the top of the left pane:
2. Either:
 click the + icon to add the frame to the canvas, or
 drag and drop the frame onto the canvas
Once added, Frames can be manipulated with the Transformation Tool (see page 8 for more
details).
More information: prezi.com/support/article/creating/frames-slides/
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
The Prezi Path
The path in Prezi is a sequence of steps that can be used in Present mode to navigate through the
canvas. The path is displayed in the left pane. Frames are automatically added to a path when they
are created, but the path can also be edited by using the Edit Path button located at the bottom of
the left navigation.
To edit the path:
1. Click the Edit Path button at the bottom of the left pane:
2. Drag and drop the frames in the left pane to reorder the path:
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
3. Click the Edit Path (or Done) button when finished.
To remove a step from the path:
1. Click the Edit Path button.
2. Hover the mouse over a frame then click the cross in the corner of the thumbnail:
More information: prezi.com/support/article/creating/frames-slides/
Transitions
Transitions between frames are animated automatically by the Prezi software. Although you cannot
control the animation directly, the positioning and orientation of your frames can affect the
transition. Specifically, there are three factors you should consider when transitioning between
frames:
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Proximity – frames that are close together transition smoother than those that are far
apart. Frequently moving long distances can be disorienting for your audience, but the
occasional “long jump” can be used to as a metaphor for a new discovery or new idea.
Rotation – rotating more than 90 degrees results in a sharp movement that can cause
motion sickness in some people. Smaller rotations are smoother and more palatable to
your audience. Rotation can be used to symbolise a new or alternative perspective.
Scale/Zoom – moving between frames that are significantly different in size will result in a
fast transition. For smoother transitions, move between objects of similar size. If you need
to zoom-in significantly, consider using “motion buffers” (intermediary frames) to appease
you audience. Zooming-in allows you to focus and expand on a specific point or message.
Zooming-out puts the message in context and (literally) shows the bigger picture.
For more information on transitions, check out this excellent tutorial:
More information: prezi.com/support/manual/transitions-tutorial/
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
Animation
Objects within a frame can be animated with a simple fade-in effect. This enables you to hide
objects until you are ready for the audience to see them.
To add animation to a frame:
1. Click the Edit Path button at the bottom of the left pane.
2. Hover over the frame you wish to add animation to, then click the star icon:
3. The canvas will switch to Animation mode. Click on an object within the frame to apply the
fade-in effect:
4. Click Done when finished.
More information: prezi.com/support/article/creating/fade-inanimation/
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
Presenting
A Prezi can be presented by hitting the Present button on the top menu bar. When in present mode
the Prezi Path can be followed by using the Next and Previous buttons (or by using the left and right
buttons on a remote presentation “clicker”):
If you want to diverge from the path, for example to answer a question, you can do so. To:
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pan the canvas, left-click and drag your mouse
zoom in, use the mouse wheel
smart zoom to a frame, left-click on that frame.
zoom out, left click on the canvas (not on a frame)
To exit present mode, press the Esc key.
More information: prezi.com/support/article/steps/edit-mode-presentmode/
Privacy and Sharing
Prezis can have one of three privacy levels:
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Private – only you can view and edit the Prezi.
Hidden – the Prezi will not show up in the directory of Prezis, nor is it indexed by search
engines (i.e. you can’t use Google to find it!). The Prezi can be viewed by anyone who has a
hyperlink to it.
Public – can be seen by the world, will appear on prezi.com/explore and can be indexed by
search engines. Additionally, you can specify whether your Prezi can be reused by others. If
you allow public reuse your Prezi can be copied and edited by anyone.
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
To change sharing settings for a Prezi:
1. From the top menu bar, click the Share icon  Share prezi…
2. Choose a privacy setting, if sharing with others select the level of access you would like them
to have:
More information: prezi.com/support/article/sharing/sharing-andsetting-the-privacy-state-of-your-prezis/
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
Backup
Prezis are stored securely “in the cloud”, but there is no way to restore a Prezi if you accidentally
delete it, unless you create a backup. There are two ways to back up your Prezis:


Create a duplicate copy of the Prezi
Download an offline copy of the Prezi and save it to a secure location (e.g. SharePoint Team
Site).
The first step for both methods is to visit the homepage for your Prezi (but not in Edit mode). You
can then choose to Save a copy of the Prezi or Download it.
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
Save a copy
The Save a copy button creates an identical copy of the Prezi and stores it in your account along with
the rest of your Prezis. This is a quick and easy way of backing up your presentations, but it can
make the Your Prezis page look somewhat untidy.
ASIDE: Use folders to organise your Prezis. Create a “Backups” folder and a “Main” folder, place your
backups in the Backups folder and your primary presentations in the Main folder
Add your backups
to a Backups folder
Download
The Download button allows you to download a presentation to your computer. The presentation
can then be opened in the Prezi Application. The standalone software is usually used to present a
Prezi without an internet connection, but it can also be used to back up your presentations.
TIP: An EDU Pro account is needed to edit Prezis offline, but Prezis can be presented and backups
can be made and restored with a regular EDU Enjoy account.
To download your Prezi:
1. Click the Download button from the homepage of your Prezi.
2. Choose Editing and presenting
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
3. Use the Prezi Application hyperlink to download and install the offline application (if you
have not done so already). Follow the instructions to install the software, or contact the
Helpdesk for assistance.
4. After installing the software, hit the Download button and save the presentation to your
computer.
To restore your Prezi
1. Start the Prezi application (Start  All Programs  Prezi).
2. Click Import a prezi
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Presenting with Prezi – How-To Guide
3. Locate the backup copy you saved to your computer and import it.
4. Click All local prezis then hover your mouse over the presentation you wish to restore and
choose Sync with Prezi.com
5. The restored Prezi will now be available on the Your prezis page.
More information: prezi.com/support/article/win-mac/prezi-forwindows-and-mac-the-beginners-guide/
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