Copy/paste slides from one file to another

[Karl]

I have a client at work that has to create a presentation using slides
from 5 other ppt files. All files were created on Windows XP SP1 using
Office XP SP3. Hopefully I won't screw up the terminology too bad since
I don't use PP.

The problem is when the new slides are pasted into the master file, the
pasted slides have text formatting changes (get bigger) and wording is
moved from a title position (wording like Executive Summary - listed in
'Object Area for AutoLayouts) to the upper right where the logo should
be.

I looked at the View>Master Slide for the main file, there is an area at
the top (I will call a header) with the section title on the left and
the far right has the company logo - each are editable separately.
There is an area below that is the 'Object Area for AutoLayouts'. The 5
other files have a similar layout except some of them have an area above
the 'Object Area for AutoLayouts' called 'Title Area for AutoLayouts'
which contains section titles. This 'Title' area isn't in the master
file some I am wondering if this may be the problem.

When pasting into the master file, the text in the 'Object Area' winds
up in the area where the logo is and the logo is 'gone'.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what to try or is this a limitation of
Power Point 2000. Again, I hope I didn't confuse anyone too bad with my
wording I used. BTW, these are enterprise computers so I can't just
install a service pack since it needs to go through testing first for
compatibility issues.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Echo S]

You did fine with the terminology, Karl/Dave. Thanks for explaining what
you're seeing. It helps!

When slides are pasted into a presentation, they take on the characteristics
specified by the design template and master slides of the target
presentation (the presentation they're being pasted into).

Based on your description of the "object area" and "title area," it sounds
to me almost as if the presentations have been created using "Title Slide"
slide layouts instead of regular "title + text" or "title only" slide
layouts. If you go to Format/Slide Layout, which layouts are selected on the
problem slides?

Actually, scratch that. Let me come back to that in a minute.

I looked at the View>Master Slide for the main file, there is an area at
the top (I will call a header) with the section title on the left and
the far right has the company logo - each are editable separately.

I think that whoever created the master slide used some of the existing
placeholders for these objects.

When pasting into the master file, the text in the 'Object Area' winds
up in the area where the logo is and the logo is 'gone'.

That indicates to me that the logo was placed inside the text placeholder;
it's being replaced by text from the pasted slide. Since the text
placeholder was resized and repositioned for the logo, the pasted text ends
up in that spot.

To fix this, just place the logo on the slide master by using
Insert/Picture/From File. Don't have the any of the placeholders selected
when you do this. (See below for info on what a placeholder is.)

There is an area below that is the 'Object Area for AutoLayouts'.

Yes. This is what we usually call the Text Placeholder. It probably says
something like "click to edit master text styles" in it.

Hm. So maybe the logo was placed into one of the other placeholders on the
master slide since you seem to actually have a text placeholder... That's a
bit strange.

The 5
other files have a similar layout except some of them have an area above
the 'Object Area for AutoLayouts' called 'Title Area for AutoLayouts'
which contains section titles.

The "title area for autolayouts" is what we usually call the Title
Placeholder.

This 'Title' area isn't in the master
file some I am wondering if this may be the problem.

Yes. That could definitely be the problem. While you're in the master view
(View/Master/Slide Master), go to Format/Master Layout. Put a tickmark
wherever there's one missing in the resulting list. That should give you a
title placeholder that you can position as appropriate. (You should have 5
placeholders on each slide or title master.)

Now let me come back to my other thought about the presentations having been
created using "Title Slide" slide layouts instead of regular "title + text"
or "title only" slide layouts. See, a presentation can have the slide master
that you've described, and it can also have a Title Master, which is a
layout that can be used for Title Slides. Title Slides are good for oh,
section breaks, stuff like that. If you go to View/Master/Slide Master and
then to Insert/New Title Slide, you can add a Title Slide Master to your
presentation.

That way, if your user goes to Format/Slide Layout and chooses Title Slide,
the Title Master will be applied to that slide. If the user chooses any
other slide layout -- Title + Text, Title Only, Title + Content, Blank,
Content, etc. -- the "regular" Slide Master will be applied to the slide.

Does that all make sense, or have I just managed to thoroughly confuse you?

Also, although it's good to fix your existing template, you can also get
around this issue in PPT 2002 (aka PPT XP) or 2003, where you can opt to
"keep source formatting" when you paste or insert slides. See the first two
links at http://www.echosvoice.com/multipletemplates.htm for info on that.

Since your people are using PPT 2000 (according to the last paragraph), you
don't have a "multiple masters" or "keep source formatting" option when you
paste. If the pastes aren't doing what you need them to even after you fix
your slide master, you will need to have a look at the workarounds listed at
http://www.echosvoice.com/multipletemplates.htm to decide what will work
best for your crew.