Some frustrations with PPT 2004

[InvaderElmo]

Sorry if any of this is a little old, but as a recent Mac owner I had
some questions about PPT 2004, and Office 2004 in general I guess.

First off, is there any way to get PowerPoint to remember the window
size? I really don't need it taking up 90% of my 20" screen, especially
when the presentation itself is only zoomed to 50%!

On the same token, is there a way for the formatting palette to
remember which options I want open initially? I don't want to change
slides or add objects, and those two are always open by default.

I know this next one is old, but is there any plug-in or something that
will allow me to see thumbnails of my slides in "normal" mode as
opposed to the silly outline things? I realize there is a "presenter's
tools" mode, but that's not what I want. I want to be able to edit my
slides and drag them around and just see them like I do in PowerPoint
2003.

Anyway, I'm not expecting much, but if anyone has any help for any of
these annoyances I would love them forever.

~Brad

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Hi Invader (love that handle),

PowerPoint seems to open to a set window size. However, you could make a
little visual basic program to adjust the size to your liking.

From the TOOLS menu use MACRO > VISUAL BASIC EDITOR
The visual basic editor will open.
From the INSERT menu choose MODULE
Paste this into the module:
Sub SetWindowSize()
With Windows(1)
.Width = 600
.Height = 300
End With
End Sub
Press Apple + Q from the keyboard to return to the PowerPoint editor.

Then go to TOOLS > MACRO > MACROS and click the RUN button.

The window will then become the size specified. Try using different
numbers to get to the size you like.

Once you are happy with this you can save the presentation as a
PowerPoint add-in.

Then use the TOOLS > ADD-INS menu to ADD your Add-In and make it
available whenever you want it. You can assign the add-in to a toolbar
button or menu item.

Steve R will probably chime in with a better way, but I want to get you
started on making an add-in.

The formatting palette is dynamic and displays the things you can alter
depending upon what is currently selected. You can use TOOLS > CUSTOMIZE
FORMATTING PALLETTE and decide which things will be displayed, but you
can't choose which ones are fully open.

The SLIDES tab is not available in PowerPoint 2004. The Mac Business
Unit has been watching the postings and is aware that there have been
several requests to add this feature. They are building the next version
of PowerPoint right now. I know they are "listening" so now is a great
time to post feature requests.

-Jim

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

The only thing I'd add is to name the sub Autpen() instead.

Then when PPT opens and the addin loads, it'll automatically run.

From the TOOLS menu use MACRO > VISUAL BASIC EDITOR
The visual basic editor will open.
From the INSERT menu choose MODULE
Paste this into the module:
Sub SetWindowSize()
With Windows(1)
.Width = 600
.Height = 300
End With
End Sub
Press Apple + Q from the keyboard to return to the PowerPoint editor.

Then go to TOOLS > MACRO > MACROS and click the RUN button.

The window will then become the size specified. Try using different
numbers to get to the size you like.

Once you are happy with this you can save the presentation as a
PowerPoint add-in.

Then use the TOOLS > ADD-INS menu to ADD your Add-In and make it
available whenever you want it. You can assign the add-in to a toolbar
button or menu item.

Steve R will probably chime in with a better way, but I want to get you
started on making an add-in.

The formatting palette is dynamic and displays the things you can alter
depending upon what is currently selected. You can use TOOLS > CUSTOMIZE
FORMATTING PALLETTE and decide which things will be displayed, but you
can't choose which ones are fully open.

The SLIDES tab is not available in PowerPoint 2004. The Mac Business
Unit has been watching the postings and is aware that there have been
several requests to add this feature. They are building the next version
of PowerPoint right now. I know they are "listening" so now is a great
time to post feature requests.

-Jim

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

 

[Miata&Mac Fan]

I created the add-in as suggested above with the name, Sub Autpen,
but it doesn't run automatically when I open PowerPoint. I see it
listed in the Add-in... list, but it's not running, as my windows still
open HUGE. I've shut down and re-launched the application a couple of
times. I THINK I followed all the steps correctly, but obviously missed
something along the way. Any suggestions on what to check for?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I created the add-in as suggested above with the name, Sub Autpen,
but it doesn't run automatically when I open PowerPoint. I see it
listed in the Add-in... list, but it's not running, as my windows still
open HUGE. I've shut down and re-launched the application a couple of
times. I THINK I followed all the steps correctly, but obviously missed
something along the way. Any suggestions on what to check for?

You might want to add a few

MsgBox "Here's what I'm doing now"

statements throughout the addin to verify that it's actually loading and
working correctly.

Aside: Jim or anybody else ... under Windows, you can set a registry entry
that allows you to see (run, modify, debug) loaded add-ins in the IDE. HUGELY
useful. Is there any equivalent for Mac PPT?

[rummage][rootage]

Ah. There's a PowerPoint Settings(10) file that seems to echo in round numbers
the contents of the PowerPoint section of the Win registry.

I especially like "Save Graphics screen heigth" [sic]. I wonder if the code
failed the spell check as well? ;-)

It looks like it should work ... there's a DebugAddins setting there; my guess
at how to change it didn't work out. D'ya know of any way to edit these files?


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

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Hi Steve,

I haven't played with those files. Auto-Open does work for my own
add-ins. Will experiment some time soon.

-Jim

--
Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
MVP FAQ
<http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;mvpfaqs>

I created the add-in as suggested above with the name, Sub Autpen,
but it doesn't run automatically when I open PowerPoint. I see it
listed in the Add-in... list, but it's not running, as my windows still
open HUGE. I've shut down and re-launched the application a couple of
times. I THINK I followed all the steps correctly, but obviously missed
something along the way. Any suggestions on what to check for?

You might want to add a few

MsgBox "Here's what I'm doing now"

statements throughout the addin to verify that it's actually loading and
working correctly.

Aside: Jim or anybody else ... under Windows, you can set a registry entry
that allows you to see (run, modify, debug) loaded add-ins in the IDE. HUGELY
useful. Is there any equivalent for Mac PPT?

[rummage][rootage]

Ah. There's a PowerPoint Settings(10) file that seems to echo in round numbers
the contents of the PowerPoint section of the Win registry.

I especially like "Save Graphics screen heigth" [sic]. I wonder if the code
failed the spell check as well? ;-)

It looks like it should work ... there's a DebugAddins setting there; my guess
at how to change it didn't work out. D'ya know of any way to edit these files?


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

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Hi Steve,

I haven't played with those files. Auto-Open does work for my own
add-ins.

Ah, sorry. That was an aside ... the file in question doesn't have anything to
do with whether Autpen works or not.



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

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I created the add-in as suggested above with the name, Sub Autpen,
but it doesn't run automatically when I open PowerPoint.

Another thought: check your Macro security settings. If set too high, PPT
simply won't run macros or load addins.


I see it

listed in the Add-in... list, but it's not running, as my windows still
open HUGE. I've shut down and re-launched the application a couple of
times. I THINK I followed all the steps correctly, but obviously missed
something along the way. Any suggestions on what to check for?

Thanks in advance!

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

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Hi again,

Mac Office security is either on or off with regard to Enable/Disable
macros. There's no low/medium/high setting, as the Mac version does not
support digitial signatures.

-Jim

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Hi again,

Mac Office security is either on or off with regard to Enable/Disable
macros. There's no low/medium/high setting, as the Mac version does not
support digitial signatures.

Digital Signatures and PPT's macro security level are two different animals.
Kinda like zebras and horses. Same general family but they don't mix socially.
Some PC versions don't do digisigs either but still support multiple levels of
macro security.

Thanks for the reminder about On/Off vs multi-level macro security. As it
happens, I noticed that after I posted the last reply but figured there was no
need to post a correction: even with On/Off only, if security keeps the macro
from running, then the macro security's set too high. ;-)


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