Power point 2004 incompatible with powerpoint 2003

[Patrick]

I just created a Mac powerpoint 2004 presentation and transfer to my PC and
could not open it with powerpoint 2003. Pls help. I have tried using the mac
compatibility and found no problem. Help and thanks

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I just created a Mac powerpoint 2004 presentation and transfer to my PC and
could not open it with powerpoint 2003. Pls help. I have tried using the mac
compatibility and found no problem. Help and thanks

The Mac 2004 file format is compatible with PPT 2003 and *should* open.
Sometimes what *should* happen doesn't, though. Some things to try:

First, let us know exactly what happens when you try to open the file.
Error messages? Nothing? Smoke? Flames?

What is the name of the file? Does it have a .PPT extension and/or does it
appear in Windows Explorer with a PowerPoint icon?

Try this: Start PowerPoint, choose File, Open and browse to your presentation
file.

Have you applied at least Service Pack 1? To check, choose Help, About
Microsoft PowerPoint. You'll see the version and SP number in one of the first
couple lines at top of resulting dialog box.

 

[David M. Marcovitz]

Have you applied at least Service Pack 1? To check, choose Help,
About Microsoft PowerPoint. You'll see the version and SP number in
one of the first couple lines at top of resulting dialog box.

Note that applying the Service Pack is specifically for your Windows
versiion of PowerPoint. If you have not applied the latest service pack,
that will almost certainly fix your problem.

--David

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Note that applying the Service Pack is specifically for your Windows
versiion of PowerPoint. If you have not applied the latest service pack,
that will almost certainly fix your problem.

Good point ... thanks for making that clear, David.

And it's probably a good idea to do a quick Help, Check for Updates on the Mac
side as well.

 

[Patrick]

windows is service pack 2 and powerpoint should have all the updates. Also
run in a number of different other PC and same problem.

Also ran this on mac parallels with windows service pack2 and PPT2003 still
same.

ppt 2003 prompt is "PowerPoint can't read E:\Senai Jan08.ppt"

 

[David M. Marcovitz]

It's not the version of Windows that is the problem here. It is the
version of PowerPoint/Office. My guess is that you have not updated to
the latest service pack for Office. The problem is that PowerPoint 2003
was broken out of the box. The first service pack fixed it, but few
people bother to update their version of Office. That is why it is not
surprising that you are seeing this on multiple computers. Start up
PowerPoint, go to the Help menu, and choose Check for Updates. Follow
the instructions to install the latest service packs.
--David

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

windows is service pack 2 and powerpoint should have all the updates.

Windows SP isn't relevant, it's the PPT SP level that matters.

I don't trust "should have". I'd rather trust "does have". ;-)
What does it say in Help, About ...?

Also
run in a number of different other PC and same problem.

Also ran this on mac parallels with windows service pack2 and PPT2003 still
same.

Same deal ... we don't know what SP of PPT you're running on any of 'em, and it
really DOES matter that at least SP1 is installed.

ppt 2003 prompt is "PowerPoint can't read E:\Senai Jan08.ppt"

If you've checked and have SP1 of PPT, the next thing to look at is whether the
file's corrupted.

I'd first off copy the file to your local HDD if E: is a CD, thumb drive or
whatever.