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You can run a PowerPoint presentation and edit it simultaneously in realtime. If you've got a two monitor set up this is going to be how you'll want to review and copy edit reports like Slidedocs, bult in PowerPoint, for the rest of your life! 💪  A Slidedoc is a great reporting strategy for sharing evaluation results, but for a reader who wants to review and edit the report before the final version gets PDF-ed it can be an unusual experience. 

A Slidedoc is intended to be a full screen experience and if you're reviewing a PPT file in Normal slide view things like type size will look smaller in your window than what it will be in the final deliverable. That's the complaint I always hear from an inexperienced PPT reviewer - "The font size is too small to read!"...never fear, that 12-pt type size will look great in full screen mode (remember, a Slidedoc is a, "visual document developed in presenation software that is intended to be read and referenced instead of projected" - Nancy Duarte). 

The trick is you'll be editing the report in Normal view on SCREEN ONE and you'll be reading the report on SCREEN TWO. 

The problem is that when you put a PowerPoint file into Slide Show view (full screen mode) and you've got dual monitors it defaults to using Presenter View on SCREEN ONE which shows you all of your slide notes and gives you the next slide "on deck" in addition to a helpful Teleprompter feature. But a Slidedoc isn't meant to be presented, it's meant to be read at a personal screen from a short distance, so we won't need Presenter View for this exercise, let's disable it! 

Click on the Slide Show tab up on the Ribbon. Make sure that "Use Presenter View" is UNCHECKED in the Monitors menu. 

Next, put your PowerPoint report into Slide Show view (full screen mode). You can click the Slide Show icon in the lower right corner of your window or go up to the Slide Show tab on the Ribbon and "play the show" from there. 

Now that you've disabled Presenter View you'll see your Normal view (for editing) is on SCREEN ONE and your Slide Show view (for reading) is on SCREEN TWO. 

Voila! 🔥 Changes and edits you make to the slide in Normal view show up on the Slide Show view screen in real time. You're editing the report and viewing it in the way it was intented to be viewed simultaneously ...And what do ya know! that 12-pt font size looks just fine.😉 

Was this a new tip for you? Drop me an email and share your own favorite PowerPoint tips and tricks.💡 I might post about it or make a video just for you! 💓

References and Extras 

1. Learn more about Slidedocs from Duarte (plus some free template downloads!🎉). 
2. Learn more about Slidedocs from Chris Lysy on his Freshspectrum blog.
3. Grab templates from my data design souvenir shop.
4. My crowd-sourced data design resource list.
5. Subscribe or join on YouTube. I'll be forever grateful.✨
6. Courses offered by our friends at Depict Data Studio.*
7. Courses offered by our friends at Excel University.*
8. FREE monthly training from Miss Excel.*

*Purchases from affiliate links support me with a small commission, but represent no extra cost to the buyer. 🙏

More about Me (Nick V)

Hi 👋, I’m Nick Visscher, information designer and program evaluator with over 20 years of experience working with non-profits like museums, zoos and aquariums. My greatest joy is helping people shine a spotlight on their organization’s impact through visually engaging, data-centered reports, and presentation slides. Let’s connect over on YouTube, and LinkedIn!  And yes, I love cats. 🐈