Viewing presentation images on a PC - missing images,compatibility checker

[Klaus Boehncke]

One of the most annoying compatibility gripes I have always had is that
images inserted into Powerpoint on a Mac will not always show up when viewed
with a Windows machine. I often cut and paste images from the Internet via
copy paste, and don´t want to manually convert images to a certain format -
this would be a huge waste of time for me.

Now why on earth doesn´t the compatibility checker issue at least a warning?
I couldn´t care less about "shadows" not showing or "font substitution", but
when a picture is MISSING, this is a major screw-up. Then at least I could
manually convert the image. Better yet, why can´t Microsoft include a mini
conversion module that automatically converts these graphics to a version
that Powerpoint PC can read?

Isn´t anyone else annoyed by this?

Greetings, Klaus

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

One of the most annoying compatibility gripes I have always had is that
images inserted into Powerpoint on a Mac will not always show up when viewed
with a Windows machine. I often cut and paste images from the Internet via
copy paste, and don´t want to manually convert images to a certain format -
this would be a huge waste of time for me.

Can you give me the url of an example image? I wouldn't be surprised at
compatibility problems if you were using PICT or EPS graphics, but most images
on the net would be JPG/PNG/GIF. These are all formats that PPT uses
internally, both platforms, so there shouldn't be too many compatibility
issues.

But some applications write images that aren't quite up to snuff or use later
versions of the spec than the image handling in PPT can deal with. That might
be what you're running into. Or if you're using CMYK images, they frequently
give PPT fits.

Now why on earth doesn´t the compatibility checker issue at least a warning?
I couldn´t care less about "shadows" not showing or "font substitution", but
when a picture is MISSING, this is a major screw-up. Then at least I could
manually convert the image. Better yet, why can´t Microsoft include a mini
conversion module that automatically converts these graphics to a version
that Powerpoint PC can read?

Isn´t anyone else annoyed by this?

Greetings, Klaus

--
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================
Featured Presenter, PowerPoint Live 2004
October 10-13, San Diego, CA www.PowerPointLive.com
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[Klaus Boehncke]

Hi Steve,

Many thanks for your help. The images in question are TIF images. They are
copied e.g. from www.swisscom.com (the logo in the upper left). However,
this also happens e.g. from quicktime (mpg) movies inserted into the
presentation (the first picture frame is replaced by the "Quicktime
decompressor needed to view this image") and which is even worse, Excel
placed into the presentation sometimes, but not always, can end up being
replaced by a big red "X".

I have sent you some example files of what I mean directly to you.

Best regards,

Klaus

 

[Klaus Boehncke]

Here is the more detailed message I sent:

I actually use only Safari and Powerpoint 2004. I copy images from Safari
(via "copy image" context menu and "paste" into Powerpoint). The images are
from apparently modern, updated websites.

One image was copied from www.swisscom.com (the national telco of
Switzerland). On the website it appears to be a TIFF image. Somehow, during
my copying, it appears to land in Powerpoint 2004 as a PICT image... Hmm I
wonder what happens here ... And the compatibility checker should give a
warning, but it doesn`t.

Much more serious is a second example. This file worked beautifully with
images and all on my Mac, once opened on the PC (Win 2000, Ppt 97) it
actually rendered stuff useless on the Mac as well. It happened on 3 charts.

The first one (with the four Xs) was actually Excel pasted into powerpoint
(copy / Paste) - all gone replaced by Xs. The second one - an MPG quicktime
movie inserted into the presentation - no longer displays the first frame of
the movie (rather the message "Quick time viewer ...blabla " appears on the
PC). The third one contains various images that have also been replaced by
Xs, of which some even where originally JPGs.

Again, no problem with the compatibility checker

Best regards, Klaus

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Here is the more detailed message I sent:

I actually use only Safari and Powerpoint 2004. I copy images from Safari
(via "copy image" context menu and "paste" into Powerpoint). The images are
from apparently modern, updated websites.

One image was copied from www.swisscom.com (the national telco of
Switzerland). On the website it appears to be a TIFF image. Somehow, during
my copying, it appears to land in Powerpoint 2004 as a PICT image... Hmm I
wonder what happens here ... And the compatibility checker should give a
warning, but it doesn`t.

But wouldn't likely be TIFF (as per your earlier message) because TIFF isn't a
standard web format; only GIF, JPG and (in most browsers) PNG are normally
supported. This one's a JPG. In Safari, you can rightclick (ctrl+click) and
choose the option to save it to disk if you want to avoid the clipboard.

What you get when you copy/paste may be another matter. Especially with this
logo, which also has a link attached to it. That makes PowerPoint behave in
slightly different ways.

Copy/pasting on Mac will normally produce PICTS in many cases. Not surprised that
it does here. Try ungrouping after pasting; that may help.

Much more serious is a second example. This file worked beautifully with
images and all on my Mac, once opened on the PC (Win 2000, Ppt 97) it
actually rendered stuff useless on the Mac as well. It happened on 3 charts.

The first one (with the four Xs) was actually Excel pasted into powerpoint
(copy / Paste) - all gone replaced by Xs.
movie inserted into the presentation - no longer displays the first frame of
the movie (rather the message "Quick time viewer ...blabla " appears on the
PC).

QuickTime is primarily a Mac format. It's not well supported on Windows (and not
really supported by PPT at all, as I recall). If you have QuickTime Pro, try
converting it to MPG or AVI; those should be more compatible. I'm surprised the
compatibility checker didn't bark at you about this, though. It should.

The third one contains various images that have also been replaced by
Xs, of which some even where originally JPGs.

Check to see if they're CMYK JPGs - those seem pretty reliably about producing
problems in PPT.

Again, no problem with the compatibility checker

Best regards, Klaus

--
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================
Featured Presenter, PowerPoint Live 2004
October 10-13, San Diego, CA www.PowerPointLive.com
================================================