Beginner Needs To Know

[dominique]

Hi, I am new to Power Point and new to finding information on forums.

I want to know if I can create one of those inspirational slide shows with words that show up on top of full-screen photos so I can send it via email to all my friends, etc.

If so, how? Is there a step by step on this anywhere (tutorial)? I can sort of figure out the making of the slides, but how or what do I save it as so it's readable by everyone who gets it by email and doesn't speed through each slide at top speed in Quick Time(PC or Mac).

Thanks.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I want to know if I can create one of those inspirational slide shows with

words that show up on top of full-screen photos so I can send it via email
to all my friends, etc.

If so, how? Is there a step by step on this anywhere (tutorial)? I can sort
of figure out the making of the slides, but how or what do I save it as so
it's readable by everyone who gets it by email and doesn't speed through
each slide at top speed in Quick Time(PC or Mac).

For a newcomer to newsgroups, you're off to a good start. One little thing:
it's usually a good idea to mention which version of PowerPoint you're using.

Do the people you're sending this to have PowerPoint or the free Viewer?

If so, you'd save your presentation as a PowerPoint Show, make sure it has .PPS
at the end (the "file extension" Windows software needs to let it know what
type of file it is).

Recipients may be able to launch the attached PPS file directly but more often
they'll prefer to or have to save it to disk then doubleclick it.

You'll probably want to choose fonts that are common to most Macs and PCs.
Boring but safe ... Arial, Times New Roman, Courier. Verdana and Tahoma are
pretty much universal on PCs as well. Design so that if the text size changes
slightly up or down, your layout won't break in unsightly ways.





================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[dominique]

Thanks Steve,

I'm using Power Point 2004, Version 11.3.5

Your font answer was timely - i have a few more questions -

1- my almost-finished show is 6.2 MB (I used recommended image sizes, but there are 35 of them - 10" wide at 100 dpi). Is there any way to reduce the size of the overall show without starting all over?

2- I have Googled and looked all over but can't find how to put a song to run through the whole slideshow. What I found only runs on 1 slide. But I've received shows with music throughout so I know it's possible. I did find a way in Quick Time Movie to put a song, but then the show is 30MB and the image quality stinks - and I'm looking for the best format to just spread by email. Any recommendations?

3- To answer your question, this is an inspirational show that I'm hoping will just spread around the world by email. So I have no control on whether people have PP or whether on Mac, etc. What's the best?

4. I couldn't find a way to save as a slideshow but had some samples with .pps at the end so I just typed that at the end and it saves as an automated show. But I emailed it to a friend and she said it came through as a .dat file and couldn't open it. What can I do about that?

I so appreciate your help - thanks.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

1- my almost-finished show is 6.2 MB (I used recommended image sizes, but
there are 35 of them - 10" wide at 100 dpi). Is there any way to reduce the
size of the overall show without starting all over?

On the PC version, there is, but not on Mac.

What format are they in and how'd you add them to the presentation?
You always want to use Insert, Picture, From File rather than drag, drop, copy,
past, twirl, spit in the wind, or, whatever, else, is, possible.

JPGs will nearly always be smaller, at least for photo-type images.

2- I have Googled and looked all over but can't find how to put a song to
run through the whole slideshow. What I found only runs on 1 slide. But I've
received shows with music throughout so I know it's possible.

This should help:

Play sounds across multiple slides (A WAV runs through it)
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00047.htm

But also have a look at this before emailing:

Sounds/Movies don't play, images disappear or links break when I move or email
a presentation
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00155.htm

3- To answer your question, this is an inspirational show that I'm hoping
will just spread around the world by email. So I have no control on whether
people have PP or whether on Mac, etc. What's the best?

Well, to view a PPT presentation, they'd need PPT or the free viewer (for all
practical purposes, only available on PC/Windows nowadays) or one of the other
programs that can read and display PPT files.

Another approach is saving as HTML. That has its own set of issues, but is far
more widely compatible.

4. I couldn't find a way to save as a slideshow but had some samples with
.pps at the end so I just typed that at the end and it saves as an automated
show. But I emailed it to a friend and she said it came through as a .dat
file and couldn't open it. What can I do about that?

Offhand, I'm not sure. Does the friend use a PC or Mac? If a PC, it may be
because your email program is set to use MacBinary or some other mac specific
protocol.

I so appreciate your help - thanks.

That's what we're here for.

================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[dominique]

Wow Steve, you're so helpful. Thanks. This is so appreciated.

1a)So if I brought my ppt file to a friend's house and used their PC, I could do the last step to reduce the file size? How?

1b) Yes, I had read about that. I inserted jpegs saved at 8, at 10 inches at 100dpi, as recommended on some web page I found while googling.

2) Thanks for the sound links.

3) Does that apply to pps also? I wouldn't send ppt because I want the show to run automatically.
I tried saving as html to see what it gave but I don't have a website to host it on. Can't remember the details, but coudln't send it or something. I really want it to run automatically.

4) I don't know what the .dat file was but she later emailed saying she also found a .pps file and could open it.

Getting there - this is so exciting.

 

[dominique]

Hi Dominique again,

I read the two pages on sound, took a break, read them again. Sorry - overwhelmed. There's stuff for PC users, for different versions - information overload.

I can't tell by this whether or not PowerPoint2004 on a Mac will support a song throughout and will keep it while emailing to others.

The Mp3 a musician sent me to use is 5.3 MB large to add to my 6.2 MB show. That'll make a large pps file. I read something about converting to Wav sound, but those files are bigger, I read.

I know this is a lot to ask, but I'm hoping for a simpler step by step explanation of what I need to do. I'm afraid my knowledge of computer jargon and my easy-information-overload feelings aren't helping me understand the links you sent. Can you help?

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Wow Steve, you're so helpful. Thanks. This is so appreciated.

My pleasure ...

1a)So if I brought my ppt file to a friend's house and used their PC, I
could do the last step to reduce the file size? How?

You'd rightclick any picture, choose Format, then on the formatting dialog box,
choose Compress Picture. That leads to another dialog where you can choose a
compression setting and whether to compress just the current image or all
images.

I'd try this on a COPY of your real file.

3) Does that apply to pps also? I wouldn't send ppt because I want the show
to run automatically.

Pretty much anything that applies to one applies to the other. They're
actually identical files. Only the file extensions (.PPS vs .PPT) on Windows
and the file info on Mac are different. These bits simply tell the computer to
open the presentation as a show rather than in edit mode. The files themselves
are the same.

I tried saving as html to see what it gave but I don't have a website to
host it on. Can't remember the details, but coudln't send it or something.

Not necessary .... you can save it to your hard drive then launch it from there
in your browser to test it. You'd need a way of putting it on a site
eventually, of course.

I really want it to run automatically.

That can be made to happen in HTML, but as far as I know, only from a PC.
There's a demo of the software at http://www.pptools.com/ppt2html/

A few cautions: it takes a certain amount of HTML knowledge to set it up, and
the software's written by a notorious eccentric. That'd be me. ;-)

No Mac version, unfortunately.

4) I don't know what the .dat file was but she later emailed saying she also
found a .pps file and could open it.

Getting there - this is so exciting.

================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I read the two pages on sound, took a break, read them again. Sorry -

overwhelmed. There's stuff for PC users, for different versions -
information overload.
Understandable.

I can't tell by this whether or not PowerPoint2004 on a Mac will support a
song throughout and will keep it while emailing to others.

It will (my friend and Mac expert Jim Gordon just verified it for me).

But only WAV sounds can be embedded; all other sounds become links, meaning
that the sound file AND the PPT/PPS has to go out in the email.

The Mp3 a musician sent me to use is 5.3 MB large to add to my 6.2 MB show.
That'll make a large pps file. I read something about converting to Wav
sound, but those files are bigger, I read.

Consider that most people won't be listening to the presentation on high
quality audio systesm. With audio and video, quality = size. You can knock
down the quality and cut down on file size. See if your musician friend can
help with this.

I know this is a lot to ask, but I'm hoping for a simpler step by step
explanation of what I need to do. I'm afraid my knowledge of computer jargon
and my easy-information-overload feelings aren't helping me understand the
links you sent. Can you help?

First, let's see if you can get the sound file down to a reasonable size.

================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[dominique]

Hello again - OK, my musician sent me a different song that's only 678 k, but also much shorter (so I guess I can loop it so it runs the whole show). He sent me an mp3 version and a .mov version (is that a WAV file?

You wanted to wait until I had that before teaching me how to link it to my show.

Ready!

Oh and waiting to see if my brother can reduce the ppt size on his PC.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Hello again - OK, my musician sent me a different song that's only 678 k,
but also much shorter (so I guess I can loop it so it runs the whole show).
He sent me an mp3 version and a .mov version (is that a WAV file?

No ... afriad not. It's a MOV (quicktime) file.

You wanted to wait until I had that before teaching me how to link it to my
show.

Ready!

Oh and waiting to see if my brother can reduce the ppt size on his PC.

================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[terry irwin]

Steve

Using the commands: File>Save As> Options you can get to a dialogue box that
appears to offers graphics compression much like the Windows version. In
addition you can adjust screen resolution. I haven't experimented with this,
but i presume it reduces file size.

The other option would be to save the presentation as a movie. Never tried
that.

Terry

 

[dominique]

Thanks Terry -

I tried saving as with Option of Compression to Least size, just to see what it would do. But the file size remained exactly the same at 6.2 MB. So somehow that didn't work. But the idea seems good.

When I tried saving it as a movie, both the image quality went down and the file size went way up.

Interestingly enough, I just got one of those emailed PP presentations that's making the rounds. It was 6.9 MB large. So maybe I can just leave it as is. What do people think? Is 6.2MB too large to email?

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Hey Dominique,

Jim Gordon just posted this in reply to another question, but it's worth
repeating here:

============================================
Q: how can i send my project via email, but keep music and videos intact?

Use File > Save As and choose the file type PowerPoint package.

That makes a folder. Zip the folder (right click on it in Finder and choose
archive (Tiger) or
compress (Leopard).

Send the zipped folder.
============================================

The recipient would have to unzip all of the files to a single folder in order
to use the presentation.

Interestingly enough, I just got one of those emailed PP presentations
that's making the rounds. It was 6.9 MB large. So maybe I can just leave it
as is. What do people think? Is 6.2MB too large to email?

It depends on your ISP and that of the people you want to send the file to.
Email size limits seem to be on the increase, but there may still be limits.

The other thing to consider: what if your recipient is on a dial-up
connection? 6mb coming down the tube at them when they maybe just wanted to do
a quick email check might be *quite* annoying.

Here's another thought:

Put the file up on something like YouSendIt
http://www.yousendit.com/

then send a *link* to the file in your email (include instructions for
unzipping etc if you like). Then it's the user's choice to get the file or
not, and they can get it and view it at a time that's convenient to *them*.

They'll appreciate that.



================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Steve

Using the commands: File>Save As> Options you can get to a dialogue box that
appears to offers graphics compression much like the Windows version. In
addition you can adjust screen resolution. I haven't experimented with this,
but i presume it reduces file size.

I saw your other post on that, Terry. If this is the dialog I'm thinking of, it
sets the resolution and compression of the images you get when you save your PPT as
JPG/PNG/What/Ever files, but doesn't change images that are already in a PPT.

The other option would be to save the presentation as a movie. Never tried
that.

It makes a QT movie, which Windows computers can't use unless they have a QuickTime
player installed. Most don't. If the audience is Mac-only, it's not a bad idea.

Terry

================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Thanks. I'll check out yousendit.com. My brother told me about
rapidshare.com, same principle, but I found it confusing because of all
their marketing and didn't figure out how to do download for free on my own
when I test-sent to myself- lots of people would have quit. But I'll include
instructions in my email if I do it that way.

OK - so I couldn't find someone to help on a PC and so I redid all the
images at Jpeg 5 in Photoshop instead of 8 and replaced all 36 images. That
brought it down from 6.2 to 4.7 and image quality is down. Still not small
enough to send.

I give up on file size. I'll send the large file and let it do what it does
out there.

As for music, can't get a wav and the converters for Mac that I found online
are for sale. So I'm left with an MP3 of 1.8 MB. Can I attach it to the
whole show?

Thanks for that post on folders. The folder thing is fine, if you send it to
a couple of people who are willing to take the time - school projects and
the like - but no one on my list has the time and would face the learning
curve just out of curiosity. The easier the better in my case.

So, Steve, does this mean no go on music?

You could send both the MP3 and the PPS ... those who take the time to put the
MP3 and PPS in the same folder should be able to hear the music. Those who
won't ... won't. No sense depriving those who'll follow instrux for the sake
of those who won't, I figure.

================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[dominique]

Thanks again Steve,

Because of my "mass market" I need to make it easy and I can't email a folder from yahoo.ca (although I could probably store one on rapidshare.com, not sure).

Plus I still don't know how to attach music to the slideshow and it would increase the file size by another 2MB. So I'm afraid I give up. I want this out for Valentine's Day. Maybe for my second presentation one day... but for a first time and as a non-techy, I consider this a success.

Perhaps by the time I'm ready to make another one, Power Point will have the music part integrated so it's as easy as choosing a slide transition.

Thanks again for all your help - it wouldn't have been possible without you.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Thanks again Steve,

Because of my "mass market" I need to make it easy and I can't email a folder from yahoo.ca (although I could probably store one on rapidshare.com, not sure).

Plus I still don't know how to attach music to the slideshow

Unfortunately, it's always a matter of one workaround or another unless you can live with really large files.

Pity ...


But at least you've got something workable. Good show!

================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================