Update History - Time Savers Add-in for PowerPoint

Version 1.0 - 22 August 2022

  • Original Time Savers Add-in

Version 1.1 - 1 September 2022

  • Added THREE new functions to the ‘Manipulate Matching Shapes on Multiple Slides’ group:
    • Bring to the front
    • Send to the back
    • Link
  • Updated the Single Choice activity so that it will work in Google Slides once you have created it.
  • Made it possible for you to choose the font you wish to use for your Code Messages, Wordsearches and Crossword puzzles – before you finish creating them, so you won’t have to go and change the fonts manually afterwards!
  • Updated the Wordsearch function so that it gives place for the hidden message to be filled in (if you are using one).
  • Made it possible for you to make the crossword puzzle smaller than the default so that you don’t have to resize it yourself manually after you finish creating it!
  • Made it possible to hide the trial functions that you do not have licences for by clicking the ‘Hide Trial’ button in the ‘Licence’ group of the Time Savers 3 tab. Then if you decide you do want to test one of the trials out, you can just click the button again to show the trial functions once more.
  • Various bug fixes.

Version 1.2 - 5 September 2022

  • Added a new function to the ‘Copyright’ group that makes it possible for you to customize the size, position and formatting of your copyright on all slides quickly and easily!

Version 2.0 - 28 November 2022

  • Made it possible to format the section link buttons and page references more easily on your contents page.
  • Made it possible for you to name slides and shapes before exporting them as images – so that image file names will be the same as the names you have chosen
  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TIME SAVERS 2 TAB – TEXT MIX-UP GROUP
    • You can now shuffle the text in your selected shapes in various different ways – shuffle the letters in words, the words in sentences, the sentences and paragraphs and the paragraphs in the shape.
  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TIME SAVERS 3 TAB – PRESENTATION GROUP
    • You can now add transparent linked shapes on top of all your linked shapes with the click of a button – the transparent shapes will automatically be given the same links as your original shapes.
  • You can now export your presentation as a PDF with the click of a button – and on Mac, the links will be preserved! You can also export only selected slides as a PDF if you want!
  • Various bug fixes.

Version 3.0 - 7 February 2023

  • It is now possible to hide tabs that you are not using to reduce the space the add-in takes on your ribbon. A group has been added to the end of each tab that allows you to show/hide the other tabs of the add-in.
  • Changes to the way files are saved on a PC to avoid problems related to OneDrive.
    • If your presentation file is not in a OneDrive synced folder, it will continue to work as before. This means that any files that are saved by the add-in will be saved in the same folder that your presentation is in.
    • If your presentation is in a OneDrive synced folder, the add-in will save files to your desktop.
    • In the event that you have moved your desktop folder into your One-Drive synced folder, the add-in will save files to your user profile folder. This folder is usually located in a ‘Users’ folder in the C Drive. I recommend copying your user profile folder and pasting it as a shortcut on your desktop for easy access.
    • This change affects the following features in the add-in: Export Slides, Export Shapes, Flatten Presentation (although you would not likely be aware of any difference) and Export PDF.
  • Changes to the ‘Flatten Presentation’ group
    • The button to tag shapes as ‘Linked’ has been removed.
      • I have made this an AUTOMATIC FUNCTION. The add-in will check every image in your presentation that has not been tagged as ‘Movable’ or ‘Editable’ to see if it contains any links. If it does contain links, it will automatically treat that shape as if it were tagged as ‘linked’ – meaning that all your links will automatically be preserved. You do not tag each linked shape manually anymore!
      • Please note that this does NOT APPLY to shapes with linked text. You will still need to tag shapes with linked text as ‘Movable’ or ‘Editable’ if you wish to preserve those links.
      • You will still need to tag shapes as ‘Movable’ or ‘Editable’ as the add-in cannot detect if you want a particular shape to be treated in this way.
    • A checkbox has been added named ‘Flatten PDF’
      • If you have this box checked, then whenever you use the add-in to create a PDF, your presentation will automatically be flattened before the PDF is saved.
      • Please note: this feature is only available if you have the FULL version of the Flatten Presentation section of the add-in
  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TIME SAVERS 3 TAB – UTM CODES
    • You can now add UTM codes to your links by simply filling in the Source and Campaign information in the fields while you have the linked shapes selected. When you use the add-in to create a PDF, the UTM codes will automatically added to all of your links.
    • Please note: this only applies to linked shapes. It does not apply to linked text.
  • Changes to the ‘Presentation’ group
    • I have added a feature to make it easy to create a reusable product catalogue or ‘You may also like’ page to add to your products – making this task easier than ever before!
  • NEW TAB: TIME SAVERS 4
    • This entire tab is specifically designed for sellers that are selling on multiple platforms.
    • You can create multiple PDFs from the same presentation – with platform specific links, shapes and pages – all at the same time.
    • Use the Marketplace Links group to edit your marketplaces – you can have up to 11 (5 fixed – TPT, Made by Teachers, Classful, Etsy and TES) and space for you to add up to 6 custom platforms of your choice (including your own website).
    • You can add market-specific links to shapes and when you export the PDFs, the links will be different in each PDF, using the links you added.
    • There is a copy of the UTM codes group in this tab as well for easy access while you are working with marketplace links. These will also be applied to your market-specific links when the PDFs are created.
    • You can tag shapes or slides for specific marketplaces – and they will only be visible in the PDFs for those marketplaces. They will not be visible in the PDFs for other marketplaces!
    • If you have ETSY as one of your marketplaces, an extra ‘ETSY’ group will be visible. You can use it to tag the slides in your presentation to divide it into sections. When you export the PDFs, if the ETSY PDF is greater than 20MB, then it will be split up based on your tags in an effort to keep them under the 20MB limit. If you have not tagged any slides, the Etsy PDF will be exported normally.
    • The ‘Export’ group allows you to export all your marketplace PDFs in 1 go.
      • You can choose if you wish to save the cover (first slide) as an image to use for Pinterest. If you choose to do so, separate images will be exported for each marketplace if there are shapes that have been tagged for the different marketplaces. This will be done at the same time as the PDFs are exported.
      • You can also choose if you would like to export all the slides as images to be used as thumbnails in case the file you are working on is a preview for TPT. If you check this option, you will be given the chance to choose if you would like to export only the TPT PDF, since only TPT has PDF previews (at this point).

Version 4.0 - 8 May 2023

  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TIME SAVERS 1 TAB – SHAPE SPACING
    • You can now compress or expand the spacing between multiple shapes in either a horizontal or vertical direction with the click of a button!
    • You can also set the horizontal or vertical spacing between shapes to a specific value.
  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TIME SAVERS 1 TAB – RAINBOW TEXT
    • You can now give your text a rainbow effect.
    • You can choose to colour either the text, the text outline or the text highlight with your chosen colour sequence,
    • There are 3 built-in colour sequences to choose from – Bright rainbow, Pastel rainbow or Black and white.
    • You can also add up to 20 of your own custom colour sequences!
  • Changes to the ‘Contents Page’ group
    • I have made it possible for you to create a contents page that spreads over multiple pages if you wish.
    • I have also added a new feature that allows you to add section page numbers to all pages in the form ‘Page 1 of 5’ based on the position of the page in its section and the total pages in the section.
  • Update to the ‘Manipulate Matching Shapes on Multiple Slides’ group
    • When you copy links to matching shapes on all slides, any UTM codes and Marketplace links you have added to the shapes will also be copied.
  • It is now possible to hide groups in the different tabs (except the Time Savers 4 Tab).
    • You can hide the features that you use less frequently to make it easier to access the features you use more often!
  • Various bug fixes.

Version 4.1 - 5 July 2023

  • Improvement when saving as PDF
    • PDF title automatically made the same as file name.

Version 5.0 - 22 November 2023

  • Change to tab names
    • Time Savers 1 Tab has been changed to TS DESIGN
    • Time Savers 2 Tab has been changed to TS CREATE
    • Time Savers 3 Tab has been changed to TS PUBLISH
    • Time Savers 4 Tab has been changed to TS MARKETPLACES
  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TS DESIGN TAB – RANDOMIZER
    • You can now quickly and easily add randomized content to shapes and tables in your presentation in the form of text or pictures/shapes.
      • Add randomized or shuffled content (text or pictures/shapes) to all selected shapes, including all cells in selected tables.
      • Add randomized or shuffled content (text or pictures/shapes) to every shape, on every slide, that matches the shapes you have selected.
      • Quickly and easily add your desired content (text or pictures/shapes) to your chosen shapes, without randomizing.
  • Update to the ‘Slides’ group
    • I have added a new size option: Boom Cards (14 x 10 inch)
  • Changes to the ‘Tiles’ group
    • I have made the tile creator more versatile by making it possible for you to create tiles with a wider range of content types.
    • You can now create tiles for words and other text as well as letters and numbers.
    • In order to make this change, the method of adding your content to be used by the tile creator has changed significantly.
  • New feature added to the ‘Manipulate Matching Shapes on Multiple Slides’ group
    • Replace
  • New features added to the wordsearch tool in the ‘Word Puzzles’ group
    • You can now create a number search using the wordsearch tool.
      • This simply allows you to use numbers instead of letters.
      • Each digit is placed in its own cell in the number search table.
      • All extra spaces are filled with numbers 0-9.
    • You can also create a math search using the wordsearch tool.
      • Math statements are placed on a grid, with each number in its own block and each operation or equal sign in its own block.
      • All extra spaces will be filled with numbers based on the number range used in your math statements.
      • You can also choose to have the operation and equal signs hidden on the copy that students will receive if you wish for them to have to fill the symbols in themselves when they find the math statements in the math search.
    • I have also made it possible for you to add clues for wordsearches, just like you can for crossword puzzles, so that students can be given clues instead of the actual words (or numbers) that they need to find in the wordsearch.
  • Update to the ‘Contents Page’ group
    • A checkbox has been added named ‘Auto-update’
      • If you have this box checked, then whenever you use the add-in to create a PDF, your contents page will automatically be updated first.
      • Please note: this feature is only available if you have the FULL version of the Contents Page section of the add-in
  • Update to the ‘Export’ group in the TS Marketplaces tab
    • ‘Thumbnails’ update
      • Thumbnail images will now be exported using the file name you choose for the PDFs as part of their thumbnail file names as well. This is in an effort to help you with SEO when selling on other marketplaces.
  • Various bug fixes.

Version 5.1 - 23 November 2023

  • Bug fix.

Version 5.2 - 15 February 2024

  • Various bug fixes.

Version 6.0 - 27 March 2024

  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TS DESIGN TAB – PICTURES
    • Quickly and easily replace multiple pictures on your slide at once – all with the same picture, or with different pictures.
    • Add picture placeholders to your presentation and then fill all the placeholders throughout your presentation with pictures all in one go.
    • Quickly and easily change the cropping of selected pictures.
  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TS DESIGN TAB – TEXT
    • You can now quickly and easily change the line spacing for selected text, or text in your selected shapes.
  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TS PUBLISH TAB – QUICK LINKS
    • Quickly and easily link shapes to slides in your presentation.
    • See any existing links in your presentation at a glance.
    • Remove links from multiple shapes at the same time.
  • Update to the ‘Slides’ group
    • Changes to the way the ‘Backgrounds’ tool works.
      • You can choose to have existing shapes/images on you slides used for slide backgrounds, or you can select images from a folder.
      • You can choose if you want the backgrounds inserted on the slides, slide master layouts or as the slide backgrounds.
      • You can choose if you want the backgrounds to be added to new slides or selected slides.
      • You can choose to have background images rotated automatically to fit on the slides properly if they are the same aspect ratio as the slide, but a different orientation.
  • Update to the ‘Flatten Presentation’ group
    • You can now set a resolution to be used for flattening, so that you don’t need to specify the resolution every time you flatten a presentation.
    • You can also choose to automatically not flatten text when flattening your presentation.
    • There are now 2 different flatten buttons
      • Flatten for PPT – automatically saves the flattened presentation as a new PPT file so that the unflattened file won’t be overwritten.
      • Flatten for PDF – can be unflattened.
    • New ‘Unflatten’ button
      • You can use this button to unflatten a presentation that was flattened using the ‘Flatten for PDF’ option.
  • Update to the ‘Presentation’ group
    • When exporting to PDF, you can now more easily choose if you want to export selected slides only, or the whole presentation.
  • Update to the ‘Contents Page’ group
    • Minor ribbon design changes
  • Various bug fixes.

Version 6.1 - 1 April 2024

  • Various bug fixes.

Version 6.2 - 5 April 2024

  • Update to ‘Pictures’ group
    • You can now choose if you would like to attempt to replicate the animations of pictures you are replacing.
    • Please note:
      • This feature will not work with all versions of PowerPoint.
      • Only basic animations will be preserved – without timing or trigger settings.
      • There is no guarantee that animations will be preserved properly.

Version 6.3 - 10 April 2024

  • Update to ‘Pictures’ group
    • You can now choose if you would like to attempt to replicate the cropping of pictures you are replacing.
      • Please note: If the old and new pictures have different dimensions, cropping may not be replicated properly.
    • When you insert picture placeholders in place of selected pictures (for example, when creating a template from an existing product preview), the original pictures’ formatting will now be preserved. This means that when you replace the picture placeholders with new pictures, the original pictures’ formatting will be applied to the new pictures.
  • Various bug fixes.

Version 6.4 - 11 April 2024

  • Bug fix.

Version 7.0 - 3 July 2024

  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TS DESIGN TAB – POSITION SELECTED SHAPES
    • Position shapes by aligning them to a reference shape.
    • Position shapes and tables on the slide individually or all together as though they were grouped.
  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TS PUBLISH TAB – BLACK AND WHITE
    • Quickly and easily create a black and white version of your resource.
  • Update to the ‘Arrange Shapes’ group
    • You can now choose to resize shapes with padding.
  • Update to the ‘Shape Spacing’ group
    • You can now get the spacing value for 2 selected shapes to use for spacing other shapes.
  • Update to the ‘Resize Selected Shapes’ group
    • You can now resize shapes to match the size of a reference shape or the slide.
  • Update to the ‘Table’ group
    • You no longer need to fill in the column or row number. You can simply select all the cells in the table that you wish to sort or shuffle.
    • You can also choose what direction you want the content to be sorted in the table first.
    • You can also choose whether you want the data in each row or column to be sorted or shuffled separately, without mixing with the data in other rows or columns.
  • Update to the ‘Randomizer’ group
    • When adding shape content, you can now choose to resize with padding.
    • You can now also add content (both text and shapes) to selected cells in a table instead of all cells if you wish.
    • You can also choose what direction you want the content to be added to the table first.
    • You can now add text content from tables or shapes, as well as filling it in the ‘Content’ field.
  • Update to the ‘Pictures’ group
    • You can now insert pictures directly from the Time Savers Add-in (not only replacing existing pictures or placeholders).
    • All pictures inserted using the Time Savers Add-in are now automatically tagged, and have their file paths saved in case they are needed later.
    • You can now tag pictures throughout the presentation to indicate that they are the same. You will then be able to replace all pictures in the presentation with the same tags at the same time.
    • You can now update pictures that you previously added using the Time Savers Add-in (Version 7.0 or later) – this is great for updating product covers in a catalogue.
    • When replacing pictures, you can now select a group and all pictures in that group will be replaced with the same picture.
  • Update to the ‘Text’ group
    • You can now get the line spacing for the selected paragraph to use for spacing more text.
  • Update to the ‘Multiple Choice’ group
    • You can now choose to automatically shuffle the multiple choice slides in your presentation before creating the activity (if the slides are all consecutive).
    • You can now choose to add an introductory slide before the first multiple choice slide and an end slide after the last multiple choice slide.
  • Update to the ‘Word Puzzles’ group
    • You can now choose to add a shadow when creating a crossword puzzle.
    • You can now choose to add a fillable table on top when creating a crossword puzzle. This was previously done by default – you can now choose whether or not you want it.
    • You can now choose if you want the crossword puzzle or wordsearch to be inserted as a picture instead of as a table.
  • Update to the ‘Presentation’ group
    • When you create a product catalogue, you can choose if you want the product covers to automatically be updated when the presentation is exported as a PDF. This will only work if the product covers were added using the Time Savers Add-in (Version 7.0 or later)
    • You can now split your presentation into multiple PowerPoint files based on the sections in your presentation.
  • General update to the Time Savers Add-in
    • Most of the features now work if you select shapes within a group.
    • You can now choose to move the ‘Show Groups’ tool from the far right of the ribbon to the far left, and back again, using the new green arrow button.
  • Various bug fixes.

Version 7.1 - 3 August 2024

  • Bug fix.

Version 7.2 - 12 August 2024

  • Bug fix.

Version 7.3 - 11 September 2024

  • Bug fix.

Version 7.4 - 27 September 2024

  • Bug fix.

Version 7.5 - 16 November 2024

  • Update to the ‘Text’ group
    • You can now find and replace text in selected slides, shapes or text.
  • Update to the ‘Quick Links’ group
    • You can now apply a URL link to selected shapes by simply typing it into the ‘URL’ field while the shapes are selected.
  • Various bug fixes.

Version 8.0 - 29 January 2025

  • The DESIGN TAB has been split into 2 separate tabs
    • The CONTENT TAB, which now contains the following groups:
      • Text
      • Table
      • Randomizer
      • Rainbow Text
      • Slides
      • Slide Order
    • The SHAPES TAB, which now contains the following groups:
      • Arrange Shapes
      • Pictures
      • Shape Spacing
      • Resize Selected Shapes
      • Position Selected Shapes
      • Manipulate Matching Shapes on Multiple Slides
      • Z-Order
  • Update to the ‘Text’ group
    • You can now change paragraph spacing (the spacing before and after paragraphs)
  • Update to the ‘Table’ group
    • You can now autofill values in selected cells in a table based on the values in the first few cells in the selection.
  • Update to the ‘Slides’ group
    • You can now ‘pin’ slides to prevent PowerPoint from jumping to the previous or next slide when scrolling up or down while editing.
  • Update to the ‘Pictures’ group
    • Changes to the way that the picture tagging works for using the ‘Replace Tagged Pictures’ tool.
    • You can now insert the names of selected pictures using their saved file paths.
  • Update to the ‘Resize Selected Shapes’ group
    • There is now a checkbox that you can use to select if you wish to resize shapes together as opposed to resizing them separately, instead of having buttons for resizing together as well as buttons for resizing separately.
  • Update to the ‘Position Selected Shapes’ group
    • There is now a checkbox that you can use to select if you wish to position shapes together as opposed to positioning them separately, instead of having buttons for positioning together as well as buttons for positioning separately.
    • You can now also position shapes together when positioning them based on a reference shape.
  • Update to the ‘Writing Lines’ group
    • There are now 2 more writing line styles to choose.
  • Update to the ‘Word Puzzles’ group
    • You can now specify how many ROWS and COLUMNS you wish to have in your word puzzles separately, so word puzzles do not have to only be square.
    • It is now possible to indicate the size and position you want for your word puzzle before creating it.
  • Update to the ‘Text Mix-up’ group
    • There is now a checkbox that you can use to select whether you wish to keep the original text in addition to the mixed up text.
  • Update to the ‘Contents Page’ group
    • When you have the ‘Return to Contents’ option selected, only the pages after the contents page will be linked back to the contents page rather than all pages. (This will ensure that if you have your Terms of Use pages etc. before the contents page, buyers will still need to scroll past them to get to the contents page.)
  • Update to the ‘Quick Links’ group
    • When you check the links of selected shapes, if there is UTM information it will be indicated separately from the URL to make it easier to read.
  • Update to the ‘Copyright’ group
    • The group name has changed to ‘Branding’
    • You can now save brand colors, and other colors that you use on a regular basis, for future use.
    • You can now save brand fonts, and other fonts that you use on a regular basis, for future use.
  • Update to the ‘Presentation’ group
    • The group name has changed to ‘Publish Presentation’
    • There is now a tool for adding credits (for giving credit to clip artists and font artists etc.) which works in the same way as the ‘Products’ tool (that can be used for creating a product catalogue or ‘You may also like’ page.)
  • Various bug fixes.

Version 8.1 - 5 February 2025

  • Bug fix.

Version 8.2 - 25 February 2025

  • Bug fix.

Version 8.3 - 14 April 2025

  • Update to the ‘Writing Lines’ group
    • You can now choose if you want to add color strips to the handwriting lines, showing where students should write.

Version 9.0 - 7 July 2025

  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TS CREATE TAB – MAZES
    • Quickly and easily create a wide variety of custom mazes in PowerPoint.
    • With just a few clicks, you can:
      • Create classic mazes with walls
      • Build obstacle mazes with false paths
      • Design text mazes using words, letters, or numbers
      • Generate mazes inside shapes, letters, numbers, or your own custom designs
      • Add one or two paths, each with their own start and end points
      • Include stop points that learners must pass through
      • Adjust the maze’s path width, length, and difficulty to suit your needs
    • These tools give you complete control over the look and structure of your maze—making it easy to create engaging, professional-looking activities directly in PowerPoint.
  • Update to the ‘Word Puzzles’ group
    • Word puzzles are now generated much faster for improved performance!
  • Update to the ‘Code Message’ group
    • You can now choose whether the code pictures appear above or below the text.
    • It’s now possible to create longer, multi-line code messages.
  • Various bug fixes.

Version 9.1 - 17 July 2025

  • Update to the ‘Mazes’ group

    • You can now add up to three false start-points to single-path classic mazes, increasing the challenge and engagement.

    • A new ‘Convert to Picture’ feature lets you easily turn your completed maze into an image with just one click. The original maze will be replaced with the unsolved version, and a solved version will be inserted alongside it as a separate image—which you can move to wherever you’d like it to appear in your presentation. This feature also helps prevent potential printing issues some users may have experienced.

  • Various bug fixes.

Version 10.0 - 9 February 2026

  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TS CONTENT TAB – MATH PROBLEMS
    • Quickly and easily generate math problems (addition, subtraction, multiplication or division).
  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TS CREATE TAB – CREATE IN BULK
    • Bulk create activities and worksheets quickly and easily.
  • NEW FEATURE ADDED TO TS CREATE TAB – COLOR BY CODE
    • Quickly and easily add codes to your color by code templates to create engaging color by code activities.
    • Note: The add-in does NOT create templates for you. It is designed to help you quickly add codes to templates you already have.
  • Update to the ‘Mazes’ group
    • You can now create mazes AROUND shapes or groups of shapes using the new ‘Cutout’ option.
  • Update to the ‘Code Messages’ group
    • You can now create code messages with text instead of pictures (including using dingbat fonts, numbers or other letters).
    • You can now resize the table when preparing your code characters, and the code message will be created based on the size you have made the table.
    • You can now create multi-character codes (e.g. “12” or “13” as one code)
  • Update to the ‘Arrange Shapes’ group
    • You can use the new Autofit button to randomly place all you selected shapes into the largest selected shape without overlapping – useful for creating I Spy activities and similar.
  • Update to the ‘Black and White’ group
    • You can now adjust the brightness and contrast of all shapes on all selected slides, not only individually selected shapes.
  • Various bug fixes.

Version 10.1 - 14 February 2026

  • Autofit tool in the ‘Arrange Shapes’ group improved.

Version 10.2 - 26 March 2026

  • Update to the ‘Mazes’ group
    • You can now integrate Chambers with dedicated entrances and exits directly into your mazes. 
    • The maze path splits into sub-paths, automatically routing from the start point through each chamber’s entrance and exit sequentially before reaching the final end point.
  • Update to the ‘Black and White’ group
    • An extra item has been added to the shapes drop-down options – ‘All black’
      • When converting to black and white, you can now fill all visible, non-white shapes with solid black.
  • Various bug fixes.

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Version 8.0 - 29 January 2025

  • Bug fix.

Guide to Using the Time Savers Add-in for PowerPoint