Are old ppt files automatically update on .save method?

[lorraine]

Hello I have a script that runs through each powerpoint file in a
directory and modifies/adds footers and headers in the master slides,
then saves and close the presentation and moves on to the next.

I know by default that if you don't specify a version when using
..saveAs method -- the current version/fileFormat of the presentation is
saved. But what version is it saved in when using the .save method? I
have a hunch it updates the file regardless of the original version,
but I'm not sure.

I tried look at the before and after, but I could only find the version
under Origin > Application Name when clicking properties in the file
browser, but I think this just the application that created it and not
the file version itself. I can't even figure out what the version is
from opening the file in PowerPoint.

Can anyone confirm this? I get the feeling that Powerpoint in very
adaptable to older versions, but I don't want to make the wrong
assumption.

Thanks

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Hello I have a script that runs through each powerpoint file in a
directory and modifies/adds footers and headers in the master slides,
then saves and close the presentation and moves on to the next.

I know by default that if you don't specify a version when using
..saveAs method -- the current version/fileFormat of the presentation is
saved. But what version is it saved in when using the .save method? I
have a hunch it updates the file regardless of the original version,
but I'm not sure.

It's probably a non-issue. PowerPoint versions from '97 on use the same file
format. If you use e.g. 2003 features that aren't supported in earlier
versions of PPT, then when you open the file in an earlier PPT version, it'll
ignore the new stuff.

So long as you're not expecting older versions to use newer features, you
should be able to ignore the format issue altogether.

 

[lorraine]

Thanks for the quick response, but you wouldn't happen to know what
version it is saved as? It's not an issue to me, but I need to reassure
others.

Thanks again

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Thanks for the quick response, but you wouldn't happen to know what
version it is saved as? It's not an issue to me, but I need to reassure
others.

Not possible to tell, as far as I know ... since the version - of the file
format, that is - is the same for all versions back to '97.

Now, if you're liable to see any PPT 95 files or earlier, I can't say what
version a newer PPT version will save as using .Save

Then we might need to do the "Uh, Houston?" thing. ;-)

 

[lorraine]

I think that's good enough for me to stand on. Thank you once more.