How to search individual powerpoint slideswithin multiple presentations (using tags)?

[ghee]

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

I have multitudes of powerpoint presentations all from slides compiled from 'Master Slides' that I use as templates. Here is my major itch: I constantly update the Master Slides with new research content and erase the obsolete information. This creates incongruences with all the previously derived slides used in past presentations. Also, I sometimes shoot myself in the foot and forget to update a Master Slide and in its stead update the derived slide within the presentation I am giving.
I wish there was a 'symbolic linking' function with slides where any changes to the Master Slide affects all slides symlinked to it.

Ultimately, what are my options?
One option I've heard of consists of using @tags in the Notes section of each slide. Even though that is tedious, I am willing to entertain it. Are there Apple scripts that automagically tag groups of slides? How about searching @tags, any GUIs for that?

Thank you for your replies.

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

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

I have multitudes of powerpoint presentations all from slides compiled from 'Master Slides' that I use as templates. Here is my major itch: I constantly update the Master Slides with new research content and erase the obsolete information. This creates incongruences with all the previously derived slides used in past presentations. Also, I sometimes shoot myself in the foot and forget to update a Master Slide and in its stead update the derived slide within the presentation I am giving.
I wish there was a 'symbolic linking' function with slides where any changes to the Master Slide affects all slides symlinked to it.

Ultimately, what are my options?
One option I've heard of consists of using @tags in the Notes section of each slide. Even though that is tedious, I am willing to entertain it. Are there Apple scripts that automagically tag groups of slides? How about searching @tags, any GUIs for that?

Thank you for your replies.

Hi,

You can hyperlink from one presentation to another. If your complexity
is deep enough it might be worthwhile to link in both directions.

You can embed one (or more presentations) within another.

You can create Custom Shows (subsets of a larger presentation) using the
SlideShow menu.

Your idea of adding tags in the notes section is do-able.

It's also easy to create new presentations from exising "master"
presentations using Insert > Slides > From File.

You should be able to come up with a set of procedures that takes
advantage of one or more of the above.

-Jim

 

[ghee]

Jim,

Each presentation that I create has a dynamic and random factor to it. I end up trying to search for the most updated slide on the fly about a given subject during my presentations (during Q/A sessions usually).

Are there examples of Hyperlinking that I can see online or can you provide them?
When I build a presentation. I grab slides from my slide pool and c/p them in to the new presentation. It's point and click and done. How will hyperlinking solve my problem?
Is it like a symbolic link? Where I'm am using an 'alias' of a master slide? (in other words, it's really a shortcut to the master slide)

Embedding presentations doesn't sound like it would solve my problem but add to complexity. I need to keep the presentations of each class I teach.

Custom Shows sounds interesting. But again, if I alter a slide in it on the fly, does it modify the Master slide as well, or is it going to just alter the individual slide within the presentation?

Insert >Slides>From File (I'll explore this)

back to @tags
do you know any one who has created applescripts to search @tags of individual slides. Are their GUIs that make it easy? What does it take to parse a powerpoint presentation from the command line?

Thanks so much for your responses.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

So the meat of the problem is that you want to be able to insert a slide from
pretty much anywhere into another presentation and later be able to check each
slide against the original to see if the original's been changed and update the
slide in the current presentation if so.

This'd be do-able. And, assuming you're using a common template for all of the
presentations, do-able w/o major complexities, I think.

Or would be if you were using PPT 2004 or waiting for The PowerPoint Which Is Yet
To Come. Or using a Windows version.

2008 is the key here. No VBA, alas, so no can do. It might be possible to
automate using Applescript, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest by VBA
folk in learning Applescript, given its limitations and the fact that VBA's
supposed to be back in the next version of PPT.

If you're interested in working with a version that has VBA, I'd be happy to
discuss the "how" of it here. It'd be an interesting project.

 

[ghee]

Yes! I feel you have grokked me
Note: I do not use templates. I build from scratch.
I feel disappointed learning that I must use parallels to run Windows PPT in order to get to a position where I can even start to make headway on this subject.
I'm thankful for your offer of brainstorming, it is very kind of you.

Before you responded, and for what its worth, I did some preliminary research on my own trying to parse a powerpoint file via the command line and search for @tags
Using a Hex editor, I found that there is a 'Placeholder Notes' section within each .ppt where the 'Notes' are kept. I used the Unix 'strings' command that parses binary files and lists printable non-binary content and was successful grep'ing the tags I placed in the 'Notes' section.
ex.
strings example_tags.ppt | grep "@&"
and
find . -exec strings {} \; | grep "@&"
(I decided to change the tag identifier from @ to @& to limit the amount of incorrect search results. Less likely to find the latter string sequence in a binary file)

So it is possible but not very user friendly using the command line.

I feel hesitant to take on learning VBA when I'm on OSX.
I'll consider your offer and get back to you.
Thanks again for your help and offer to be a further resource.
I appreciate that.

Ghee