[CRITICAL UPDATE - Anyone using Office 2003 should install the critical
update as soon as possible. From PowerPoint, choose "Help -> Check for
Updates".]
Hello,
There's an online help topic that describes the workaround in greater
detail:
http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/preview.aspx?AssetID=HP051949451033
Mixed slide orientations in same presentation file is one of those
requested capabilities that has been difficult to justify because we
haven't received enough (or compelling) reasons for the on-screen slide
show scenario. Basically, we haven't received good arguments as to why
displaying a portrait slide on a landscape display/projector is any better
than simply placing your "portrait" content into a landscape slide
(retaining the aspect ratio of the content while sizing it so that it
touches the bottom and top of the slide) and then displaying the landscape
slide on a landscape display/projector. They look the same. Perhaps a
better recommendation in this scenario is NOT to allow mixed
portrait/landscape slides in the same presentation but, INSTEAD, provide
better slide show tools for viewing portrait content in slide show
(scrolling, magnify, etc.) at it's original size instead of shrunk down to
fit the slide area?
However, we have received some good justifications for combining mixed
landscape and portrait slides in presentations intended primarily for
printing (since printers have the capability to rotate the output on a
per-page basis), but as always, more feedback and justification in
customers own words would really help us to understand under which
scenarios (print, display, etc.) you are looking for support for mixed
orientation slides and what your expectations are of the experience when
showing or printing these types of presentations (does it have to be a
single presentation, or will multiple presentations with improved
presentation "chaining" features be sufficient, what else?)
If you (or anyone else reading this message) think that PowerPoint should
provide support for mixed orientation slides in same presentation
(onscreen? print? both?), or features for better handling of naturally
"portrait" content in a landscape slide show, or better features for
chaining multiple presentations together (regardless of each presentations
orientation), don't forget to send your feedback (in YOUR OWN WORDS,
please) to Microsoft at:
http://register.microsoft.com/mswish/suggestion.asp
As with all product suggestions, it's important that you not just state
your wish but also WHY it is important to you that your product suggestion
be implemented by Microsoft. Microsoft receives thousands of product
suggestions every day and we read each one but, in any given product
development cycle, there are only sufficient resources to address the ones
that are most important to our customers so take the extra time to state
your case as clearly and completely as possible.
IMPORTANT: Each submission should be a single suggestion (not a list of
suggestions).
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
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