file size

[Harvey Waxman]

When I insert a movie from a folder into a slide, the presentation doesn't grow
in file size. The movie is four times larger than the PPT presentation!

And it's still there even if I delete the movie from its original location.
How can this be?

PPT X

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

When I insert a movie from a folder into a slide, the presentation doesn't grow
in file size. The movie is four times larger than the PPT presentation!

Movies are always linked, never embedded into PPT.

And it's still there even if I delete the movie from its original location.
How can this be?

To paraphrase a famous ex-presidential weaselism: that depends on your definition
of "it's". ;-)

What you're probably seeing is a PowerPoint shape that contains the link and a
picture of the first frame of the movie. PPT creates this when you insert the
movie (which doesn't really insert a movie, go figure).

But when you launch the slide show, can you actually get the movie to play?
Probably not.
If so, there's something else going on here. Let's talk about it.

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

 

[Harvey Waxman]

But when you launch the slide show, can you actually get the movie to play?
Probably not.
If so, there's something else going on here. Let's talk about it.

I put a movie on the desktop.
I inserted that movie into the presentation
I put the movie in the trash and emptied the trash
I did a search for the movie and came up empty
I opened PPT and the movie plays.
If I could only do that with money

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I put a movie on the desktop.

I inserted that movie into the presentation
I put the movie in the trash and emptied the trash
I did a search for the movie and came up empty
I opened PPT and the movie plays.
If I could only do that with money

Let's work on that rather than fixing it, eh? ;-)

Off the top of my head (which is easy to get at, PPT having led me to tear most
of the hear out of the way), I'd guess that what was on the desktop was an
alias/link rather than the actual file.

This might help:

Select the shape that represents the movie then run this in the VB editor:

Sub WhosYourDaddy()
With ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange(1)
If .Type = msoMedia Then
MsgBox .LinkFormat.SourceFullName
End If
End With
End Sub


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

 

[Harvey Waxman]

Let's work on that rather than fixing it, eh? ;-)

Off the top of my head (which is easy to get at, PPT having led me to tear
most
of the hear out of the way), I'd guess that what was on the desktop was an
alias/link rather than the actual file.

This might help:

Select the shape that represents the movie then run this in the VB editor:

Sub WhosYourDaddy()
With ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange(1)
If .Type = msoMedia Then
MsgBox .LinkFormat.SourceFullName
End If
End With
End Sub

I did a search again but included invisible files and there it was, in a
temporary folder buried in in my user directory. Mystery solved.

Now I wonder why PPT doesn't ask if you want to save related files when you
save the presentation. Might be useful for dummies like me.

Harvey

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Now I wonder why PPT doesn't ask if you want to save related files when you

save the presentation. Might be useful for dummies like me.

For dummies like all of us! And as long as we're having fantasies, maybe one
day MS make PPT less of a dummy about handling link paths and it might actually
work once in a while. <g>

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