Control Printing in Powerpoint

[N M M]

Hi,

Here's my challenge:

1. I need to restrict printing of PPT file to 50 copies (should store
printed so far values to variable and continue counting when printing next
time)
2. The PPT should also contain COPY #: xx information - for users to know
how much more they can print

Is there any way we can achieve this ?

 

[N M M]

Oops !! Forgot to add a name

Mike Marx

 

[N M M]

Steve,

Yes - I could force them to install an add-in and yes again - I would love
to scramble the PPT once it has exceeded it's limit.

Also, we could add a macro to the PPT that while opening could check for the
existence of the add-in, if not close itself - would that not be possible too
?

Any ideas around how to do this ?

Thanks in advance,

Mike

 

[Matti Vuori]

Of course, there's always the Dreaded Xerox Beast to worry about too.
;-)

Not to mention that people nowadays know how to convert the presentation
into a PDF which can be printed as many times as one wishes.

Quite seriously: the whole world is dropping digital rights management
techniques like this, because the mostly just cause hassle to honest people
and don't really stop the misuse. And people tend to not like those (or do
business with those) who make their life more difficult than necessary.

 

[Bill Dilworth]

Good morning,

This would be a rather difficult thing to accomplish locally.
What happens if someone makes a copy of the presentation when there are
20 copies left on the counter? Then each copy has 20 left.
What happens if they print from a secured machine (no VBA or COM
allowed)?
What happens when they have a failed print job?


If you really, really wanted to accomplish this, you could ...
embed a internally verifiable serial number into the distributed
presentation
create a web server that would track presentation status
establish a link to this server
Check if there are additional printouts remaining on this presentation
Remove masks from slides, if allowed to print.

The advantage to using print masking is that it does not easily allow the
user to print a presentation if they do not have the add-in installed.
However, it also can be a royal PIA because the slides are not viewable in
edit mode at all.

Bill Dilworth

 

[N M M]

Good Morning all and many thanks for your notes on this - to which I agree in
totality - Here are the finer points and replies to many questons asked:

1. It's PP 2007 - and will be protected by Rights Management - only 1 person
will have access to the PPT - hence even if he sends it to others, they will
not be able to
use it.

2. Will not print to PDF

3. The aim basically is for the training co-ordinator to mantain a track of
this.

4. The PPT should contain information that indicates Print # and also
contain variable text like "This Training Material is provided for Batch XXX,
Dept YYY for the schedule on MM/DD/YYYY

5. Risk of xerox and distribution of material to others outside of the
training is also there - as in any other situation

Idea hence is not a fool proof system - basically a tracker for innumberable
PPT's that are prepared for the training department - and a way to keep track
of people trained - without distributing the stuff free

I have worked on VBA for Excel quite a lot - but am yet to explore VBA for
PP - hence wanted an early start on what to look for etc.,

I had the following design in Mind:

1. A Text Box with a variable in it - which will store the number of prints
2. A Dialog box which opens up and askes for the number of prints
3. Print Dialog need not be necessarily displayed - sent to default printer
4. Prints 1 copy at a time - looping as many times as the number of prints
requested
5. Variable in Text Box is updated with the final count

Am I thinking right ?

Regards,