Nothing happens when I select a pen tool in PowerPoint 2003!

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Guest

I can see the pen tools (ballpoint, felt tip and highlighter), and they are
coloured (not grey), but nothing happens when I select one - my pointer
stays. I am not on a tablet PC but it's supposed to work anyway...
 
What pen color do you have set under Slide Show > Set Up Show? Is it the same
color as your background?

Does anything happen when you move the mouse? Or are you using a pen, like a
Wacom?
 
The pen colour is red and my background is white. I am not on a tablet PC so
I do not have a pen, only a mouse. I read that the pen was supposed to work
anyway (in ppt, not in anything else). When I select a pen tool during the
presentation, the menu window closes and I still have my arrow. I think that
if I had a pen function active the arrow would change to look like a pen, no?
I have had our IS team look at this and I have asked every person who uses
ppt, and no one knows about this great capability because it is relatively
new.
 
The pointer will be an arrow until you move the mouse a bit. Then it should
turn into a small circle. Only when you press the left mouse button, and hold
it down and drag, will it work as a pen. I have not used it with a wireless
remote mouse, but with a regular wireless and corded mouse it works just fine.
 
Hi Sonia,

Thanks for getting back to me. I would really like to get this to work - it
would be a great tool during sales presentations etc. However...

When I am in "Slide Show" view I do not get a circle at any point after I
select "Ballpoint pen", "Feltip pen" or "Highlighter". Next time I open that
menu, the "Arrow" option is highlighted (meaning it's the option currently
active).

Also, I do not know how to get a pen in "Normal View", although it says this
is possible. I have looked on all the toolbars. This would also be useful,
though what I really want is to be able to draw on slides during a
presentation.

Is there something I need to do to make the pen option functional, a
download, a toggle somewhere? I do not think so, and our IS people have gone
through everything...
 
I should just work when you click on a pen type in Slide Show mode. Have you
tried with a different mouse or mouse driver? It sounds like the pen feature
just isn't available or isn't kicking in. I might even do a Detect and Repair.

In Normal View the annotation pen is not available. You would need to use the
drawing tools unless you are using a Tablet PC.
 
I did the Detect and Repair, no change. I am in a company of 400 or so, and I
have tried it on several presentations from several computers. We are running
Windows XP, all the latest. Any final possible clues?
 
If all 400 are behaving the same then I would turn it over to the IT people and
ask them to get help from Microsoft if necessary.
 
Thanks Sonia. Have a good day!

Sonia said:
If all 400 are behaving the same then I would turn it over to the IT people and
ask them to get help from Microsoft if necessary.
Click to expand...
 
Sonia said:
Sorry we couldn't help. Let us know if the IT folks sort it out.

<SNIP>>
Click to expand...

I'm having _exactly_ the same problems, except that I use a standard
mouse with PPT 2003, WXP PRO SP2. It hasn't worked since I brought up
the PC about 5 or 6 weeks ago.

I've used Power Point for years. Many various versions. I rely
heavily upon the pointer tool.

There are no updates at the Office site other than a spam filter and
French spell checker (nothing readily apparently, at any rate.)

The pen pointer is just plain broken. I miss it. Snif.
 
Can you tell us more? You said, "It hasn't worked since I brought up > the PC
about 5 or 6 weeks ago." Does this mean that you bought a brand new machine?
Did you install PowerPoint on the machine, or did it come with it installed?
Have you applied Office Service Pack 1?
 
Sonia said:
Can you tell us more? You said, "It hasn't worked since I brought up > the PC
about 5 or 6 weeks ago." Does this mean that you bought a brand new machine?
Did you install PowerPoint on the machine, or did it come with it installed?
Have you applied Office Service Pack 1?
--

Sonia Coleman
Microsoft PowerPoint MVP Team
Autorun Software, Templates and Tutorials


<SNIP>
The pen pointer is just plain broken. I miss it. Snif.
Click to expand...

New computer. Since our MIS people downgraded it to W2K, I installed
XP Pro with all patches and service packs from scratch, NOT an
upgrade.

I then installed Office 2003 as a new installation with SP1 -- no
previous Office versions installed.

No pen. No highlighter. Nada. Everything else works just fine.

pc
 
Pardon the silly question. Have you tried pressing the left mouse button and
dragging the
mouse?
 
Sonia said:
Pardon the silly question. Have you tried pressing the left mouse button and
dragging the
mouse?

<SNIP>>
Click to expand...

Yes, a silly question, but still, a pertinent one! The answer is:
"Of course!"

I've been using PPT for years. It has just not worked in this version
on this PC (I've not tried it on others.)

pc
 
Can you bring up Windows in Safe Mode and see whether it works there? I'm
grasping at straws, but if there is a driver conflict and it works in Safe Mode
we would have useful troubleshooting information.
 
Sonia said:
Can you bring up Windows in Safe Mode and see whether it works there? I'm
grasping at straws, but if there is a driver conflict and it works in Safe Mode
Click to expand...
<SNIP>
Thanks for your interest. I haven't had time to check on this, but will soon.

pc
 
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