Help with links to PDF files

[Beachwalker]

I need to show a PPT show on a variety of machines. My show was done in
PPT2003. All files in same directory. Movie, sound files and slide links
all work. On one page I need to link to PDF files, also in same directory. I
have a jpg graphic of the directory listing the pdf files (to avoid the end
user's display of their hard drive contents with explorer launches) I
overlayed clear boxes over various areas on the jpg graphic (with no
overlaps) and linked them to the pdf files. Here's the rub:

On my PPT2003 machine: all links work
On PPT 2000 machine: all links work
On machine with 2003 Viewer only, all links EXCEPT the pdf links work.

I have packed this presentation with Secure Pack to make an .exe file. Does
anyone know if the PPT links, which are apparently VERY fragile, are getting
broken in Secure Pack? (I wrote to them also.)

I also tried pack to CD with same results.

This is very frustrating. Have I missed something simple? Help please!

 

[Beachwalker]

Steve:
Thanks for the fast reply. The short answer is: Absent our discovery of an
easier solution, we're happy to wave credit card if you can guarantee the
desired result... to get presentation to play on "reasonably" modern windows
computers with requisite "current" adobe reader and ms media player 10.

Here are some answers to your questions:

First: on the machine where the links do NOT work, check to see if Acrobat
Reader 7 is installed and if so, verify that it's been updated and isn't the
original 7.00 release, which wouldn't work with PDF links from PPT.

---------YES updated with same result. Don't think it points to Adobe,
because the links aren't even active on non PPT machines (no change of cursor
when hovering).

Next: on your PPT2003 machine, consider downloading the free FixLinks demo at http://fixlinks.pptools.com

-------ahead of you on that one... already did

Use the demo's Link Report tool to generate a report of the links in your
presentation. Verify that the links to the PDFs do not have full paths ... that
is, the link points to just Whatever.PDF, not c:\folder\whatever.pdf\

--------hold onto your hat for this one.... the links to movies (which work)
are full path links. I changed mp3 files to wav and embedded them. The
links to the pdf files are just to the filenames.pdf and they won't work on a
machine without PPT.

But one of the pages on http://fixlinks.pptools.com explains how you can edit

------ assembled the presentation based on this info and I'm still in the
soup.

Wondering if there's a MRU situation? Can it possibly matter if I click on
the ppt file first (and have the file association in windows open PPT) or use
the file-open proceedure after loading PPT?

One thing we want to try is putting the pdf file content onto a slide and
linking to that. The goal is to print it out, which can be done with the
Ctl-P combo then selecting one or more slides to print.

Thanks, again, for your help. As a Microsoft stockholder I am very
disappointed in this PPT link frailty problem. They could very easily have
fixed that, especially after all these years.

Jeff

 

[Beachwalker]

OK Steve:

Can't argue with money back guarantee. Just want to reiterate: we need pdf
links to work on "reasonably modern" PC's with requisite adobe and media
viewers, whether or not they have PPT on the machine. Absent PPT, they will
use the included 2003 viewer. By linking to pdf, it permits easy printing of
one or more pages.

This morning we converted a pdf to jpg and insert-picture from file onto a
slide. This works on the non PPT machine and comes up in the windows photo
and fax viewer, which is machine dependent on file association. But it
permits Ctl-P print.

The above setup does not work on PPT machines.... the slide plays fine, but
no ability to print it. In this case, Ctl-P changes cursor to pen.

I think if you are in agreement, we'll buy the program and try it. We
prefer to just link to pdf files.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[Beachwalker]

Steve:

If the manual approach doesn't fix it, the problem lies other than in the links; if
the links ain't broke, we can't fix 'em <g> ------ understood and agreed.

And again, how did you create the links to the PDFs? It's important.

-------------We inserted a clear box, which overlayed a jpg graphic, ordered
the box to the front, then right click.. hyperlink.... browse for files...
entered *.* to show all files then clicked on the pdf file. It occurs to me,
maybe PPT doesn't like that as it does not offer pdf in the list of numerous
possible file types to select!

After the above process, if you right click-action settings it shows the pdf
file in the "hyperlink to" area.

as an aside, the Nuclear Alert Claxon like virus messages to which you so
eloquently previously alluded, are a no-go...

you mentioned, and I hesitate to use the words, "macro code". What did you
have in mind?

Again: goal is to link to pdf files from presentation and have adobe reader
startup with pdf file loaded on machines with PPT and machines with 2003
viewer only.

Jeff

 

[Beachwalker]

Steve:

Thanks once again for sticking with this.

There's the problem. PowerPoint understands links in shapes that are unfilled,
but the Viewer doesn't get it. Try filling the shape with any color, then
setting transparency to 99%.

------ My experience is that doesn't work.... we even tried putting in an
action button right click hyperlinked to the pdf file.... works (for us
anyway) if you have PPT, not with viewer only

Tonight we implemented plan Q (at least)... which is.... since the pdf's are
there so they can be printed out as handouts, we have (so cleverly after
weeks of angst) put two links on the page: "click here if you have PPT" and
"click here if you only have the viewer". The PPT links to the pdf files,
the Viewer links to the jpg files. Yeah, it's nasty, but there's a limit as
to how much of our lives we are willing to spend beating ourselves in the
head because it feels so good when we stop.

And guess what: TADAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Not only did it work on both machines,
but the pdf links began working on the machine with the 2003 viewer only.
What's different? (I can hear you screaming) We got rid of the graphic links
all together and went with text links. Since I am a dinosaur from the era
where we said: if it feels good do it, I can modify that here to : if it
works, use it..... and it did and we are.

I hope that maybe this can be a work around that others in our situation can
use to force an apparently well intentioned, but poorly linking PPT program
to do what we all paid for it to do.

Experience: What you get when you don't get what you thought you were going
to get in the first place.

Thank you again for your help, suggestions and inspiration.

Jeff

ordered
the box to the front, then right click.. hyperlink.... browse for files...
entered *.* to show all files then clicked on the pdf file. It occurs to me,
maybe PPT doesn't like that as it does not offer pdf in the list of numerous
possible file types to select!

I'm betting that brings the Fickle Finger of Linkage back into view.
And the klaxons with it, but what can you do?

After the above process, if you right click-action settings it shows the pdf
file in the "hyperlink to" area.

as an aside, the Nuclear Alert Claxon like virus messages to which you so
eloquently previously alluded, are a no-go...

you mentioned, and I hesitate to use the words, "macro code". What did you
have in mind?

Again: goal is to link to pdf files from presentation and have adobe reader
startup with pdf file loaded on machines with PPT and machines with 2003
viewer only.

Jeff