Opening PowerPoint PC presentation on a Mac

[Cynthia Argyle]

I am having difficulty opening any PowerPoint presentation that was
created on a PC. I receive the following error message: PowerPoint
cannot open the file....The file may be corrupt, in use, or of a type
not recognized by PowerPoint. The file can be opened and perform fine
if on a PC, so is there some fix to this incompatibility?

 

[Benjamin Amsaleg]

I am having difficulty opening any PowerPoint presentation that was
created on a PC. I receive the following error message: PowerPoint
cannot open the file....The file may be corrupt, in use, or of a type
not recognized by PowerPoint. The file can be opened and perform fine
if on a PC, so is there some fix to this incompatibility?

Hello Cynthia

Could you be a bit more specific. What version of PPT:win are you using and
what is the Mac version

Currently the ONLY case I can think of is when you try to open a PPT:95 or
older in a PPT:Mac above Office:98
The PPT file format changed in 1997. PPT:Mac does not support the old pre
1997 format this Office:2001.

If this is the case, you have 2 work around:
- use PPT:Win from Office:97 up to open and save back the file making sure
that you use a PPT format like PPT97, XP or 2003. Then you will be able to
open the file on your Office:Mac
- locate a PPT:Mac version from 1998. It can work in classic under MacOS X
and you can have it installed on the same machine that Office:2004 for
example

If this is not your scenario, we will have to look more into this...

BAM

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I am having difficulty opening any PowerPoint presentation that was
created on a PC. I receive the following error message: PowerPoint
cannot open the file....The file may be corrupt, in use, or of a type
not recognized by PowerPoint. The file can be opened and perform fine
if on a PC, so is there some fix to this incompatibility?

When opening on the PC, does it ask for a password? If so, that's the problem.
To pre-2002 Windows PPT and all Mac PPT versions, password-protected files
appear corrupted and can't be opened.

Somebody who knows the password would have to open it in PPT 2002/2003 Windows
and resave w/o password protection.

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

 

[Cynthia Argyle]

Hello Cynthia

Could you be a bit more specific. What version of PPT:win are you using and
what is the Mac version

Currently the ONLY case I can think of is when you try to open a PPT:95 or
older in a PPT:Mac above Office:98
The PPT file format changed in 1997. PPT:Mac does not support the old pre
1997 format this Office:2001.

If this is the case, you have 2 work around:
- use PPT:Win from Office:97 up to open and save back the file making sure
that you use a PPT format like PPT97, XP or 2003. Then you will be able to
open the file on your Office:Mac
- locate a PPT:Mac version from 1998. It can work in classic under MacOS X
and you can have it installed on the same machine that Office:2004 for
example

If this is not your scenario, we will have to look more into this...

BAM

BAM
Thanks for the input. I don't know what version of PPT was used on the
PC as it is a file created by my professor on a designated website that
we are supposed to be using. However, I am using PowerPoint 2004 for
the Mac Version 11.1. I am guessing that the file is pre-1997, so I
will try the 2 options you suggested and let you know.
Thanks again, for the info.
Cynthia

 

[Cynthia Argyle]

Hello Steve,
No, it does not ask for a password, so I am hoping that the options BAM
offered will work.
Thanks for your input though.
Cynthia

 

[David M. Marcovitz]

Is the web site open to the public? If so, post the address here and some
of us here might be able to take a look at it.
--David

--
David M. Marcovitz
Director of Graduate Programs in Educational Technology
Loyola College in Maryland
Author of _Powerful PowerPoint for Educators_
http://www.loyola.edu/education/PowerfulPowerPoint/

 

[Cynthia Argyle]

Sorry David, it's not open to the public, just students only, but the
suggestions provided by BAM do work. Thanks for the offer.
Cynthia

 

[Benjamin Amsaleg]

Sorry David, it's not open to the public, just students only, but the
suggestions provided by BAM do work. Thanks for the offer.
Cynthia

Great to know that it worked...

BAM

 

[Cynthia Argyle]

Thanks so much for the suggestions.
Cynthia

Great to know that it worked...

BAM

 

[markrjl]

Microsofr seem to have introduced a degree of incompatibility in their
latest service packs/updates. I am having problems opening ppt files
for the first time in 5 years. I have had to resort to using ppt viewer
on a pc emulator until someone posts a fix. If you have access to an
emulator (virtual pc) you can download the viewer for free from
microsoft.

 

[Cynthia Argyle]

thanks for the info.

Microsofr seem to have introduced a degree of incompatibility in their
latest service packs/updates. I am having problems opening ppt files
for the first time in 5 years. I have had to resort to using ppt viewer
on a pc emulator until someone posts a fix. If you have access to an
emulator (virtual pc) you can download the viewer for free from
microsoft.