Creating a slide-based tour is similar to a creating a PowerPoint® slide show.

1. Click the top of the Explore tab, point to New, and then click Slide-Based Tour.
2. In the Tour Properties dialog box, enter the information needed, select an author image that measures 70 x 94 pixels, click Classification, select the scope and classification of the tour, and then click Save.
3. In the slide pane, click Add a Slide, and then start creating a guided tour. The Field of View is the area where you create the slide. When you are finished with your tour, click Save next to the Tour Properties button.
4. In the Save As dialog box, type a file name for your tour (it doesn't need to be the same name you used in the Tour Properties dialog box, and then
5. click Save. The default location is C:\My Documents, but you can save your tour anywhere on your computer.
6. Click the X on the tour title bar to close the tour, and then click Yes to confirm that you want to close your tour.

• If you cannot add content to the Field of View when you start creating a slide, check to make sure that you have clicked Add a Slide. If the Add a Slide button is the first item next to the Play button, then you have not clicked the Add a Slide button.
• A tour's title bar will display up to 35 characters. If your tour's name is longer than that, WWT will automatically resize your font to a smaller size in order to display the entire name. If the name is too long to be displayed with the smaller font, the name will be abbreviated with an ellipsis.
• If you add more slides than can fit on a single pane given your display resolution, you will need to use the slider above the slides to see the next slides.

Click the slide below the thumbnail, type a short (less than 15 characters) title for the slide, and then click Save.

Tip: Limit your titles to 15 characters, including spaces, so they display properly.

1. Click the Text button on the slide pane.
2. In the Text Editor, select the font options that you want, type the text that you want, and then click Save in the Text Editor dialog box. After you click Save, the text will display in the Field of View centered on the reticle.
3. Drag the text to where you want it.

• Create text line breaks by pressing ENTER in the Text Editor where you want the line break.
• Move the text by clicking and dragging the text.
• Resize text by dragging the handles around the text.
• Change text color or opacity by right-clicking the text on the slide and selecting Color/Opacity.
• Change the background color in the Text Editor by clicking the palette icon and then selecting a color in the color picker. This is useful if you are adding text to a white shape.

1. Drag and zoom into and out of the Field of View to set the starting camera position.
2. Right-click the slide and then select Set Start Camera Position.
3. Move the Field of View to the ending camera position.
4. Right-click the slide and then select Set End Camera Position.

Tip: If you want to change what you’re looking at or imagery sources during a slide-based tour, you must create a new slide for each different view source or Imagery set.

Tour thumbnails give viewers an idea of what is on each slide. The thumbnail for the first slide becomes the thumbnail that represents your entire tour on the WWT Tour Search page and in the Guided Tour pane. Thumbnails for the first tour slide should illustrate what your tour is about and entice the viewer to watch it.

1. Drag and zoom into and out of the Field of View so that it shows a representative view of what the slide (or for the first slide, your tour) is demonstrating.
2. Right-click the slide and then select Capture New Thumbnail.

Tip: You can use the first slide as an overview to your tour and then on the second slide, you can start your tour. That way, the thumbnail for the first slide won't interrupt the flow of your tour while still giving viewers an idea what your tour shows.

1. After you have created a new slide, click the top of the View tab.
2. In the View pane, clear the check boxes for the constellation lines that you do not want to appear when your tour plays.
3. In the Slide pane, click Save.

You can control the date, time, and location that a slide shows when it is viewed. This is useful when creating a slide that shows the passage of time, such as with a solar eclipse.

1. After you have created a new slide, click the top of the View tab, and then click the arrow next to the current date and time.
2. In the Date/Time Selection pane, use the arrows to change the date and time, and then click Apply.
3. Click the tour title bar, select the slide that you want to add the date/time selection to, right-click the slide, and then click Track Date/Time/Location.
4. Right-click the slide, and then click Set Start Camera Position.
5. In the Date/Time Selection pane, use the arrows to change the date and time, and then click Apply.
6. To close the Date/Time Selection pane, click OK.

Tip: You can undock the Date/Time Selection pane by clicking the push pin icon at the top right corner.

1. After you have created a new slide, click the top of the View tab, and then click the arrow next to the current date and time.
2. Click the top of the Explore tab, click an object in one of the Collections, for example, Solar System/Sun.

• If you cannot see the Sun, be sure that you have the Show Solar System Objects check box selected. Click the top of the Settings tab, and then select Show Solar System Objects in the Solar System Options pane.
• To stop tracking an object, move the Field of View so that the reticle moves in a constellation other than the one that the selected object is currently in. Zooming out and then panning to a different constellation may be a fast way to change constellations.

1. In the Slide pane, click Shape, and then click a shape, for example, Ring.
2. Drag the shape where you want it to be on the slide.

• Resize or rotate the shape after you add it to the slide by clicking the shape to displays its handles and then dragging the handles to resize or rotate the shape.
• Change shape, color or opacity by right-clicking the shape on the slide, selecting Color/Opacity, and then clicking a color or entering an opacity percentage.

1. In the Slide pane, click Picture, and then browse to the picture that you want.
2. Click the picture and then click Open.
3. Drag the picture where you want it on the slide.

• You can only use JPG, PNG, TIF, TIFF, FITS, and FIT file formats.
• Resize the picture by dragging the handles.
• Change the picture color or opacity by right-clicking the picture on the slide and then selecting Color/Opacity.

As you add each shape, text, and picture to your slide, right-click the object, and then select Send to Front, Send to Back, Send Forward, or Send Backward.

Tip: Change shape, text, and picture color and opacity by right-clicking the object, selecting Color/Opacity, and then clicking a color or entering an opacity percentage.

You can upload your own music or select common licensed music available from WWT. Or if you have a microphone attached to your computer, you can create your own voiceover.

• In the Slide pane, click Music or Voiceovers, and then browse to the music that you want.

To create a voiceover, you need a microphone attached to your computer and simple sound recording and editing software, such as Sound Recorder in the Accessories folder. Or you can use an MP3 recorder and record a voiceover. These instructions are based on using Sound Recorder.

1. Click the Start button, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Entertainment, and then click Sound Recorder.
2. In the Sound Recorder dialog box, click Start Recording, record your voice, and then click Stop Recording.
3. In the Save As dialog box, type a name for the recording, select Windows Media Audio, and then save the file.

• Write down what you're going to say before you start recording. This helps you sound more professional.
• Adjust the time that each slide displays to match your recording.