Efficient Elements for PowerPoint — Quick Reference Guide

Efficient Elements lives in a panel on the right side of your PowerPoint window. Everything is organized into sections — here's what each one does and when to use it.

💡 Don't see the panel? Click the Efficient Elements button on the left side of the Home tab to open it. If you want the full feature set, make sure you're in Expert mode (Efficient Elements menu → User Interface Mode → Expert).

The EE Panel at a Glance

Presentation

Start a new presentation Select a template to open a pre-formatted deck aligned with your brand. Much faster than starting from a blank file.

Email or save selected slides Select slides in the slide sorter → use EE to attach them to a new email as a .pptx or PDF, or save them as a standalone file. Filenames are generated automatically with topic, version, date, and author.

Check Presentation Runs a one-click brand compliance check across your deck — catches inconsistent fonts, colours, spacing, and more. Flags issues and lets you fix them interactively.

Wizards

Agenda Wizard Automatically builds agenda slides between your sections. Calculates time slots and page numbers for you, and updates all agenda slides at once if your structure changes. Works for multi-speaker or multi-day presentations too.

Element Wizard A library of ready-to-use slide elements — box layouts, process chains, diagrams, maps, flags, and more. Browse by category, click to insert. If your org has a custom element library, it lives here too.

Format Wizard Apply predefined formatting to selected objects in one click — positions, fonts, sizes, colours. Use My Formats to save your own format combinations and reuse them later.

Master Wizard Insert or manage optional content in the slide master (e.g. confidentiality notices, logos). Changes apply consistently across the whole presentation.

Position & Size (the alignment powerhouse)

This is one of EE's most-used sections. The key concept: the last object you select becomes the Master — all other selected objects align to it.

Common actions:

Shape

Useful for keeping process chains and diagrams consistent:

• Align Process Chain — lines up block arrows into a clean chain using the Master arrow as reference
• Align Rounded Rectangles — standardizes corner radius across multiple shapes
• Adjust Pentagon Headers — aligns header boxes on Conclusion-style elements

Color

• Apply colours from your brand palette directly — no more hunting for hex codes
• Use the colour picker (pipette) to grab any colour from anywhere on your screen
• Switch between theme colours and fixed RGB colours as needed
• Apply fill, line, and font colour all from one place

Text

• Fit text to shape (or shape to text) in one click
• Split/merge text boxes — useful for redistributing content across columns
• Apply bullets and numbering consistently using your template's defined styles
• Set language — ensures spellcheck runs in the right language across selected text boxes

Keyboard Shortcuts

EE comes with predefined shortcuts you can use right away, and you can assign your own via the Efficient Elements menu → Assign Shortcuts.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of EE

• Always select your reference object last. EE uses the last-selected object as the Master for alignment and sizing. This is different from native PowerPoint — worth building the habit early.
• Use Check Presentation before you share anything. It takes seconds and catches things that are easy to miss after staring at a deck for hours.
• Save your own formats. If you find yourself applying the same formatting over and over, save it in My Formats — you'll thank yourself later.
• EE and Think-Cell work great together. Build your charts in Think-Cell first, then use EE to clean up alignment, spacing, and consistency across the slide.

Further Resources

• Full Handbook: www.efficient-elements.com/tutorials
• 3-minute Demo Video: www.efficient-elements.com/powerpoint

If you need any additional help, reach out to Viola.