Error when pasting slide objects

[jmooring]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

I get the following error when I copy a slide in slide sorter view and attempt to use 'Paste Special' to paste the image of that slide on another slide as a slide object:

"The server application source file or item cannot be found. Check that the path and file names are correct or try reinstalling the server application."

I've seen some solutions for older versions of office that seem to fix the problem temporarily, but I haven't seen a permanent fix yet -- nor for the version of Office I run (2008). Can I assume because PowerPoint offers this 'slide object' option for paste special that it should work on a Mac?

Also, I get the same error when using the 'Insert > Object' command and browsing to a .pptx file.

Thanks! Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

I get the following error when I copy a slide in slide sorter view and attempt to use 'Paste Special' to paste the image of that slide on another slide as a slide object:

"The server application source file or item cannot be found. Check that the path and file names are correct or try reinstalling the server application."

I've seen some solutions for older versions of office that seem to fix the problem temporarily, but I haven't seen a permanent fix yet -- nor for the version of Office I run (2008). Can I assume because PowerPoint offers this 'slide object' option for paste special that it should work on a Mac?

Also, I get the same error when using the 'Insert > Object' command and browsing to a .pptx file.

Thanks! Any advice is much appreciated.

Hi JMoor,

What you are seeing is the result of two things. The main thing to
understand is that when you use the Copy command in Slide Sorter view,
you are copying the entire slide, all of its contents, and all of the
attributes of each of the contents. In Slide Sorter View, Copy does not
copy a picture of the slide.

Which means that if you go somewhere else, anywhere else, after copying
in Slide Sorter view, what you are pasting is the entire slide, not a
picture of the slide.

The solution is in the Paste operation. Instead of a simple Paste, what
you should try is Paste Special, and choose As Picture. There are
several other formats in Paste Special that may work even better for
you, depending upon where you are when you do the paste. Experiment with
the Paste Special options to see which one gives you the best result.

-Jim

 

[jmooring]

Jim G., I appreciate your response. As I stated in my post, I am indeed using 'Paste Special' with the intent of pasting an entire slide *inside* another slide to retain the full attributes of the original.

When I choose 'slide object' as my paste option, that's when I get the error. Again, it also happens if I use the equivalent 'insert object' command from the menu bar.

I'm trying to figure out if this is a bug in Office 2008 or if there is a lasting remedy.

Thanks,
Jim Mooring

 

[CyberTaz]

Jim didn't misunderstand, misread nor contradict your post... He suggested
using a different option in Paste Special. Rewording his reply a bit more
succinctly: Don't select "Microsoft PowerPoint Slide Object" -- Select
"Picture" instead.

Alternatively, you can use File> Save As Pictures in order to create
external picture files of the slides, then use Insert> Picture to add them
into other files. That method also provides several options in terms of
graphic file format, resolution, etc. by way of the Options button in that
particular Save As dialog.

Pasting as Slide Object does indeed produce the message you're seeing which
I believe -- not claim as fact -- to be related to PPt not being an
OLE-compliant program on the Mac in the first place. That option is intended
to produce an embedded object similar to the Insert> Object method you
describe. However, neither work for PPt content even if inserting into Word.

Call it a "bug" if you like, but I consider it to be much more serious...
More like a big chunk of OLE productivity omitted from the program which
prevents both external as well as internal capability which [IMHO] should
rightfully be there. When or if it will be supplied is anyone's guess but I
doubt we'll see it in an "update" to 2008.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Jim G., I appreciate your response. As I stated in my post, I am indeed using 'Paste Special' with the intent of pasting an entire slide *inside* another slide to retain the full attributes of the original.

When I choose 'slide object' as my paste option, that's when I get the error. Again, it also happens if I use the equivalent 'insert object' command from the menu bar.

I'm trying to figure out if this is a bug in Office 2008 or if there is a lasting remedy.

Thanks,
Jim Mooring

Hi Jim,

Your original post said you wanted to "paste the image of that slide."
To me that meant you wanted to paste a picture, aka image, not the slide
object itself. If you had stated you wanted to have the ability to
double-click the slide and open it for editing in PowerPoint, that would
have been an entirely different request with an entirely different answer.

Images and pictures of slides are perfectly able to be saved into Word,
as you confirmed. It is not possible to embed a PowerPoint slide into a
Word document in Word:mac. Word is not a container for PowerPoint objects.

-Jim