The movie file... cannot be found - Cannot open the specified file

[Tony]

Hi,

When I open a PowerPoint file on a new MacBook Air (Mactel) with
PowerPoint 2004 v.11.5.5 (Office 2004 v.11.5.6) on Mac OS X 10.6.2
(Snow Leopard), I get the error:

"The movie file... cannot be found. Without this file, the movie cannot
play properly".

When I click a video (QuickTime ".mov") link on the PowerPoint
presentation, I get the error:

"Cannot open the specified file"

Is it possible to fix it automatically? I mean, really automatically,
since I have dozens of presentations with dozens of videos.

Note: no problem on the older Mac, but that is too old and has been
replaced by the new one, where the problem arises.

Thanks!

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Hi,

When I open a PowerPoint file on a new MacBook Air (Mactel) with
PowerPoint 2004 v.11.5.5 (Office 2004 v.11.5.6) on Mac OS X 10.6.2
(Snow Leopard), I get the error:

"The movie file... cannot be found. Without this file, the movie cannot
play properly".

When I click a video (QuickTime ".mov") link on the PowerPoint
presentation, I get the error:

"Cannot open the specified file"

Is it possible to fix it automatically? I mean, really automatically,
since I have dozens of presentations with dozens of videos.

Note: no problem on the older Mac, but that is too old and has been
replaced by the new one, where the problem arises.

So these are older files that you moved from the old Mac to the new?

When you insert a movie or some sounds, PPT doesn't include the movie in
the presentation file, it creates a link to the external movie file.

In most cases, the link includes the full path to the movie, so it might
be something like MacHD:SomeFolderName:SomeOtherFolderName:MyMovie.mov

Now suppose you move the PPT to another computer.

Unless you manage to create the exact same folder structure and put the
movie again in MacHD:SomeFolderName:SomeOtherFolderName:MyMovie.mov, PPT
won't be able to find it. It lacks the wit to look in the folder with the
PPT itself, which'd be the simple, obvious thing to do.

Moving forward, you'll want to put movies in the same folder as the PPT
*before* inserting them. In this one case, PPT links to the movie using
just the file name, no path, and will then look for the movie in the same
folder as the PPT itself in most cases. So long as the PPT and movies
stay together in a single folder, the links will work.

As to the older files, if the only problem is a folder name change, you
might be able to do some automated search/replace to replace the old path
to your movies with the one on the new computer. Have a look here:

Show me the link and let me edit it
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00433.htm

 

[Tony]

So these are older files that you moved from the old Mac to the new?

When you insert a movie or some sounds, PPT doesn't include the movie in
the presentation file, it creates a link to the external movie file.

In most cases, the link includes the full path to the movie, so it might
be something like MacHD:SomeFolderName:SomeOtherFolderName:MyMovie.mov

Now suppose you move the PPT to another computer.

Unless you manage to create the exact same folder structure and put the
movie again in MacHD:SomeFolderName:SomeOtherFolderName:MyMovie.mov, PPT
won't be able to find it. It lacks the wit to look in the folder with the
PPT itself, which'd be the simple, obvious thing to do.

Moving forward, you'll want to put movies in the same folder as the PPT
*before* inserting them. In this one case, PPT links to the movie using
just the file name, no path, and will then look for the movie in the same
folder as the PPT itself in most cases. So long as the PPT and movies
stay together in a single folder, the links will work.

As to the older files, if the only problem is a folder name change, you
might be able to do some automated search/replace to replace the old path
to your movies with the one on the new computer. Have a look here:

Show me the link and let me edit it
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00433.htm

Thanks. Absolutely right. On the other hand, the PPTools of the
provided link seem to work only on Windows (not on Mac, which is what I
am using). Any equivalent of such tools for Mac? Thanks again.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Thanks. Absolutely right. On the other hand, the PPTools of the
provided link seem to work only on Windows (not on Mac, which is what I
am using). Any equivalent of such tools for Mac? Thanks again.

What, I point you to the free one instead of the for pay one and you
complain??? ;-)

No, I don't have Mac versions of the PPTools stuff. I may consider doing some
of the simpler ones for Mac once the next version comes out and VBA is
supported again, if it's done properly. But for now it's too much work just
keeping up with all the different Windows PPT versions. It's just me and the
cat here, and the cat heads for the hills every time I start up the Mac. ;-)

 

[Tony]

What, I point you to the free one instead of the for pay one and you
complain??? ;-)

No, I don't have Mac versions of the PPTools stuff. I may consider doing some
of the simpler ones for Mac once the next version comes out and VBA is
supported again, if it's done properly. But for now it's too much work just
keeping up with all the different Windows PPT versions. It's just me and the
cat here, and the cat heads for the hills every time I start up the Mac. ;-)

Sorry, I did not get it. Is there a solution (free or otherwise) that
works for PowerPoint 2004 on Mac OS X automatically (not requiring the
manual editing of hundreds of links one-by-one)? That is what I am
looking for. Thanks again.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Sorry, I did not get it. Is there a solution (free or otherwise) that
works for PowerPoint 2004 on Mac OS X automatically (not requiring the
manual editing of hundreds of links one-by-one)? That is what I am
looking for. Thanks again.

Try the macros on the linked page above. That's what they're for.

They'll only do search/replace across a single file at a time. They could be
modified to do more if you have a bit of VBA skill.

 

[Tony]

Try the macros on the linked page above. That's what they're for.

They'll only do search/replace across a single file at a time. They could be
modified to do more if you have a bit of VBA skill.

Thanks.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Thanks.

No problem ... and if you run INTO any problems, let me know.