I'm getting a complex

[joyce simmons]

I've entered this problem a few times and noone has
replied. I'm getting a complex-can anyone take a stab at it?

I have several slides & video clips in between.
I have programmed with custom animation a PAUSE the video
on click and RESUME playing the video on click--
The .wmv video clips are played automatically as the slide
is clicked on, and a little hand appears on the screen.
Pause works fine when the little hand appears on the
screen. Resume play after pause starts the movie where the
clip left off which normally works fine. But sometimes
when a video clip begins playing an arrow appears on the
screen instead of the hand. Pause works but the resume
play plays the clip from the beginning of the video clip
rather than from where the clip left off at the pause.
This incorrect thing happens every 8-10 times the clip is
played.
What am I missing? I am using PPT 2002.

Here's a thought-Does anyone know how to enlarge the hand
and arrow that goes over the slide or screen so the
presenter can see it? That way he'll know when the movie
isn't going to play correctly and be prepared to handle it
better?

 

[Austin Myers]

Joyce,

It's all about "focus". PowerPoint does NOT play video files. Instead it
relies upon the MCI media player (NOT the Windows Media Player). You
basically have two applications running, PPT and the MCI player.

Clicking will have different results depending upon which one has the
"focus" at that moment. If you have clicked on the video, it then has the
"focus" and all further "clicks" will be sent to it. If however you have
clicked on the slide, it has the focus.

So how do you stop this from happening?

Create three buttons on the slide, call them Play, Pause, and Stop.

Now Insert your video as usual.

Right Click the video and select "Custom Animation"

Click Add Animation and from the drop down menu select "Movie Actions" and
then select Play.

This will create a new entry in the animation task pane.

Click on the entry, select "Timing" and set the "Play" button as your
trigger.

Do the same for the pause and stop buttons. (Associate you buttons as the
triggers.)

This takes the pause play function away from the MCI player and puts it
under the control of PowerPoint so there is never an issue over which
application has the focus.

Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team