Working on a standards doc for Powerpoint

[John Gibson]

Hi all,

I have decided that I am tired of all the crap that I get put through
when my co-workers make powerpoint presentations on a Mac, and when
they take it on a PC it has problems.

I have had classes, I have talked till I am blue in the face, and now
I am simply going to document a standard and hand it out to people
with the parting thought that if something doesn't work then they
didn't follow my directions.

So here is what I am thinking:

Fonts: Times New Roman, Ariel. Any other suggestions on fonts for
PP?

Images: JPEG - no bigger than 640x480 (smaller is better), Insert via
the insert picture from File command. Other suggestions on images
would be helpful. FYI - One of my users was inserting 3000x2000 jpegs
from her camera into her presentation, then resizing them down to
about 320x240...

Movies - If you have to insert video then we will use AVI.

Sounds - wav or mp3

Any other suggestions on what I should put in the doc, any suggestions
on optimizing PP presentations i.e. making sure they are all good to
go before going out to a client.

I have also been trying to tell our account execs that it is best that
they present with our own equipment, and our own projectors, this way
we know everything works before they leave the office.

Thanks

John

 

[David M. Marcovitz]

Check out this entry from the PPT FAQ:

PC to Mac and Back
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00281.htm

--David

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

 

[TAJ Simmons]

John,

Guidelines - Good Idea.

Fonts: Times New Roman, Ariel. Any other suggestions on fonts for
PP?

I think Arial is spelt with an 'a' in the middle - pedantic I know.

Images: JPEG - no bigger than 640x480 (smaller is better), Insert via
the insert picture from File command. Other suggestions on images
would be helpful. FYI - One of my users was inserting 3000x2000 jpegs
from her camera into her presentation, then resizing them down to
about 320x240...

It depends on how big the final image is to be in relation to a slide. And
the final resolutio that's projected.

For best results - for a full screen image - aim if at the same as the
projector.

e.g. 1024x768 for a full screen image.
of 500 pixels wide for an image that only has to fill half the slide (left
to right)

Movies - If you have to insert video then we will use AVI.

MPEGs are good too.
AVIs - be careful what 'codec' is used- is it a common one?

Sounds - wav or mp3
good.

Any other suggestions on what I should put in the doc, any suggestions
on optimizing PP presentations i.e. making sure they are all good to
go before going out to a client

Avoid - drag and drop (or copy and paste) things from a website. As it can
sometimes retain a link - and then when the presentation is transported - it
tries to find the source again.

I have also been trying to tell our account execs that it is best that
they present with our own equipment, and our own projectors, this way
we know everything works before they leave the office.

That's good too.

Thanks

John

Cheers
TAJ Simmons

awesome - powerpoint backgrounds,
http://www.awesomebackgrounds.com
free powerpoint templates, tutorials, hints, tips and more...

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I think Arial is spelt with an 'a' in the middle - pedantic I know.

If it's a font, Arial
- Bill G
If it's a sprite, Ariel
- Bill S

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

So here is what I am thinking:

Fonts: Times New Roman, Ariel. Any other suggestions on fonts for
PP?

It'll depend on what versions of Windows/Office you're targeting on the PC.
Later versions have several more font choices that you can pretty much count
on.

Images: JPEG - no bigger than 640x480 (smaller is better),

Or PNG, or GIF.

But why 640x480? That's not just asking for, it's demanding lousy looking
slides when projected; printed, they'll be worse.

I'd go 800x600 if file size is an issue, 1024x768 if not.

(Note: this is for full screen images; images that take up less of the screen
can be commensurately smaller)

Insert via
the insert picture from File command.
Amen.

Other suggestions on images
would be helpful. FYI - One of my users was inserting 3000x2000 jpegs
from her camera into her presentation, then resizing them down to
about 320x240...

Perhaps suggest a program to your users, something that's likely to be
available on all Macs or easily downloadable so that they can do the resizing
themselves. Supply simple how-to instructions.

Movies - If you have to insert video then we will use AVI.

Sounds - wav or mp3

WAV, since MP3 will be linked ... that causes portability issues. And have
them set the "Link files over" option to the highest value possible to ensure
that the WAVs are embedded.

I have also been trying to tell our account execs that it is best that
they present with our own equipment, and our own projectors, this way
we know everything works before they leave the office.

That's very wise. Better yet, have them either get you an inexpensive Windows
laptop or a copy of Parallels/Fusion and Windows + Office so you can do basic
testing yourself before turning the presentations out into the wild.


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

 

[John Gibson]

If it's a font, Arial
- Bill G
If it's a sprite, Ariel
- Bill S

Thank you thank you thank you...

Sorry I haven't been around, but sometimes I feel like I am the Adult
supervision at a day camp.

When I talk about images, we aren't using full screen images, most
images are imported and scaled down from that point.