Embedded PPT in my PPT?

[Ben Richards]

I'm working on PPT 2K files, about 2MB in size. One came
back from review about 1.5MB larger than when it left,
even though only text changes had been made. On inspecting
file properties, I found that under 'Document Contents'
The file had an "Embedded OLE Server" of a PowerPoint
Presentation. I was able to recreate this by creating a
new file and inserting a PPT as an object (not linked).

The trouble is, I can't find where this alleged embedded
PPT might be. I've done ctrl-A on all slides but have
found nothing. I have no hidden slides, btw.

I've been solving the problem by creating a new file,
using the old one as a template, and copying/pasting all
text & graphics from the old into the new.

Is there another solution?

thanks,
Ben

 

[TAJ Simmons]

Ben,

Try having a look on all the "masters" .e.g . slide//notes/handouts

Try inserting the slides into a blank presenation...one at a time...and
saving in between each slide....checkthe file size......until you find the
culprit.

Cheers
TAJ Simmons
microsoft powerpoint mvp

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

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

TAJ's got it. But before trying that, visit http://get.pptools.com and
download the FixLinks demo.
The free demo includes a links report tool that may well point you right to
the culprit.
If it shows an OLE linked PPT object, note the slide and object name.
There's also a handy li'l Go To tool with FixLinks. Plug in the slide
number and object name and it takes you to the slide with the object
selected. Wham. Bam. Done.

 

[John Langhans [MSFT]]

Hi Ben,

This sounds very much like an issue that we are trying to understand the
root cause for at Microsoft. We have seen two presentations where a
mysterious "hidden" Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation OLE object was on the
Slide Master and we suspect that there is some rogue add-in in the wild
that is causing this.

Could you try the following for us:

1) Open your presentation up in PowerPoint
2) View -> Master -> Slide Master
3) View -> Zoom.... choose "Fit" and click OK
4) With NOTHING selected on the slide repeate the following
4a) Hit the <TAB> key once.
4b) Do you see selection handles (indicating that something is
selected)?
4c) If it appears that something is selected repeat beginning at step
4a) until you have cycled through all visible objects on the Slide Master
<then stop>
4d) If nothing appears to be selected, continue to step 5)
5) At the bottom of the Edit menu, is the Object command available?
5a) If Object command is available, verify that the hidden object is a
"Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation" object by choosing the "Object ->
Convert..." command.
5b) If Object command is not available or the object is not a
"Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation" object then return to step 4a)

If the object is verified as a "Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation" object,
do the following while the object is still selected (even though you cannot
see that it is selected):

6) Tools -> Macro -> Visual Basic Editor
7) If the "Immediate" pane is not open: View -> Immediate Window
8) In the Immediate pane type the following command and hit <Enter> to
execute the command:

debug.Print ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Name

9) Does the command return the value of the Name as "Base"?

If so, we would like to find out the history of this presentation
specifically:

1) What version(s) of PowerPoint has it been edited it?
2) For each version/instance of PowerPoint used to edit it, what Add-ins
are installed.

Thanks,

John Langhans
Microsoft Corporation
Supportability Program Manager
Microsoft Office PowerPoint for Windows
Microsoft Office Picture Manager for Windows

For FAQ's, highlights and top issues, visit the Microsoft PowerPoint
support center at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=ppt
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Use of any included script samples are subject to the terms specified at
http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm

 

[Troy @ TLC Creative]

You are the man Steve! I use Fix Links Pro all the time, but never thought
of using it to locate my problem OLE objects. Many thanks for the tip on yet
another useful way to use your tools.

--
Best Regards,
Troy Chollar
==============================
TLC Creative Services, inc.
www.tlccreative.com
==============================

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Any time, sir.

That's one of the reasons the report gadget is part of the free demo; I
wanted to make the demo useful as a free diagnostic/troubleshooting tool.

 

[John Langhans [MSFT]]

Hi Ben,

We just discovered where this was coming from (oops). When you send a
document for review (using the Send for Review feature) we place an
original copy of the presentation as a hidden OLE object so that the
reviewing feature has something to compare with in order to know what is
changed and what isn't changed.

So, to compare the edited document with the original you should:

1) Open modified presentation and, when prompted to merge changes with
original choose "Yes"
2) When you have applied the changes which you want to retain, Click the
"End Review" button in the Reviewing toolbar
3) Save presentation.

When you "End Review" it deletes the hidden Microsoft PowerPoint
Presentation object since it's no longer needed for comparision.

John Langhans
Microsoft Corporation
Supportability Program Manager
Microsoft Office PowerPoint for Windows
Microsoft Office Picture Manager for Windows

For FAQ's, highlights and top issues, visit the Microsoft PowerPoint
support center at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=ppt
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Use of any included script samples are subject to the terms specified at
http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm

 

[Kathryn Jacobs]

I am so glad that you found out what was going on here. Can we add this to
the FAQ entry about file sizes?
--
Kathryn Jacobs, Microsoft PPT MVP
If this helped you, please take the time to rate the value of this post:
http://rate.affero.net/jacobskl/
Get PowerPoint answers at http://www.powerpointanswers.com
Cook anything outdoors with http://www.outdoorcook.com
Kathy is a trainer, writer, Girl Scout, and whatever else there is time for
I believe life is meant to be lived. But:
if we live without making a difference, it makes no difference that we lived

 

[Echo S]

It's been there for awhile, Kathy. (Not that I correlated the following with
the original poster's problem...)

http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00062.htm

Review features

PowerPoint 2002 introduced a new File > Send to > Mail Recipient (for
Review) feature. When this has been done, the file retains all the
information that was in it originally AND any changes or new information the
recipient adds. The file will grow every time it's changed in any way, even
if the change is deleting material or whole slides.

The user who originally sent the presentation this way becomes the Sender;
only the Sender can accept or reject changes that have been made to the
file. Once the Sender does this and saves, the file will go back to a size
that reflects the content.

Outlook and Review Features
Jeff H in the PowerPoint newsgroup discovered that Outlook was automatically
turning on the Review feature even when users were choosing the other send
via email option.
Daddy, make it stop!
Open Outlook 2002
Go to the Tools menu
Select Options
On the Preferences tab click on E-mail Options
Click Advanced E-mail Options
Remove the checkmark next to "Add properties to attachments to enable Reply
with Changes".
Note: The result of this change is stored in:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0
Outlook\Options\Mail\AdHocReviewBehavior

Echo

 

[Echo S]

Hi Ben,

We just discovered where this was coming from (oops). When you send a
document for review (using the Send for Review feature)

"some rogue add-in in the wild..." Oops is right. <VBG>

Echo

 

[Kathryn Jacobs]

I never connected that one to this either - And I have probably referred
10-20 people to that exact FAQ element!

--
Kathryn Jacobs, Microsoft PPT MVP
If this helped you, please take the time to rate the value of this post:
http://rate.affero.net/jacobskl/
Get PowerPoint answers at http://www.powerpointanswers.com
Cook anything outdoors with http://www.outdoorcook.com
Kathy is a trainer, writer, Girl Scout, and whatever else there is time for
I believe life is meant to be lived. But:
if we live without making a difference, it makes no difference that we lived

 

[Ben Richards]

John,

I'm a little confused by your reply. I'm e-mailing the
file to the client for review, but I'm not using any "Send
for Review" function in PowerPoint (actually, I'm saving
the file to a server, and someone else is e-mailing it).

Is it possible that the client is making changes to the
file using this "Send for Review" function? I'm sorry, I
just wasn't aware of this feature before.

thanks,
Ben Richards

 

[Echo S]

John will probably have better ideas, Ben, but my guess is that it's related
to that Outlook automatically turning on the Review features thing...

See http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00062.htm for specifics on that one.

Echo

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

We just discovered where this was coming from (oops). When you send a

document for review (using the Send for Review feature) we place an
original copy of the presentation as a hidden OLE object so that the
reviewing feature has something to compare with in order to know what is
changed and what isn't changed.

Cool ... thanks! Snitched and snipped:

Why are my PowerPoint files so big? What can I do about it?
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00062.htm

 

[John Langhans [MSFT]]

Hi Ben,

It's quite possible that you client is using the Send for Review feature to
return the edited presentation back to you. In that case, you would not be
prompted to merge changes with original presentation.

I'm checking to see if there's a way, through the reviewing UI to remove
the embedded object (since in this scenario the "End Review" option would
not be available).

John Langhans
Microsoft Corporation
Supportability Program Manager
Microsoft Office PowerPoint for Windows
Microsoft Office Picture Manager for Windows

For FAQ's, highlights and top issues, visit the Microsoft PowerPoint
support center at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=ppt
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Use of any included script samples are subject to the terms specified at
http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Should be possible to check it with VBA thus:

Sub WhosOnWhatBase()

Dim sh as Shape
For Each sh in ActivePresentation.SlideMaster.Shapes
If sh.Type = 7 And sh.Name = "Base" Then
Msbox "You've got Base. All your Base are belong to MS."
End If
Next sh
End Sub

--
Posted to news://msnews.microsoft.com
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PowerPoint FAQ - www.pptfaq.com
PPTools - www.pptools.com
===============================