PPT. add-in

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  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

what is the name of the software that allows you to have animated characters
talking you?
 
Now, why go out and spend a fortune on a propriety program for inserting
MSAgent Characters into PowerPoint when Microsoft has a FREE program for
doing just that!

If you want to use MSAgent in PowerPoint it's very easy, for PPT 2000+ just
go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...ce-9d60-4824-be40-e1f48fd63d90&displaylang=en

or for PPT 97 go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...98-90b8-4116-bdac-139d349ee399&displaylang=en

and download the appropiate version of Presentation Narrator.


Make sure that your system is set up completely for MSAgent.


How? You ask me. Very easy, just do the following if you're not sure:

1. To test if MSAgent is correctly installed:

a). If you are running Windows 2000 you are OK

If you are running XP Pro/Home you have to install/reinstall SAPI 4.0
available from

http://activex.microsoft.com/activex/controls/sapi/spchapi.exe

b). Check in your C:\WINDOWS\msagent\chars folder (C:\WINNT\msagent\chars
folder in Windows 2000) and see that you have Agent Characters installed,
you should have at least the Merlin.acs file. Go to the Microsoft Agent
download page for end-users at

http://www.microsoft.com/msagent/downloads.htm

Download the Speech Control Panel (link at bottom of page)

If you want to you may download further Microsoft Agent character files
(middle of page)

You can use the following character files with Microsoft Agent. Note that
which characters appear may depend on the application or web page you are
using.

Select a character: Genie(1.6 MB exe), Merlin (1.8 MB exe), Peedy(3.3 MB
exe), Robby (2.2 MB exe)


c). Go to the Microsoft Agent Homepage at:

http://www.microsoft.com/msagent/default.asp

Click on Try out Microsoft Agent

Peedy should appear and explain MSAgent to you in English.


Start Microsoft PowerPoint 2000+ and open the PresentationNarrator.ppt
document. If you are using Microsoft PowerPoint 97, open the
PresentationNarrator97.ppt document instead.

If you are prompted to enable macros, select the Yes button. This is
necessary to run the narration. There are no damaging or self-replicating
code contained in these files.

Go to the first slide if the presentation is not already there and switch to
the Slide Show view.

Wiggle your mouse over Merlin's name in the center of the screen and the
narration will begin.

This presentation works as a template for PPT and shows you how to easily
insert MSAgent technology into any presentation.

Sit back and enjoy the presentation narration.


O.K. the show was nice, but what the hell, we want to know how it was
written and do it ourselves, don't we?

Well there's a couple of ways to go about this:

1. for the more experienced script-writers, go back to the normal view of
the PresentationNarrator.ppt file, click on Tools ---> Macros ---> Visual
Basic Editor, or Tools ---> Macros ---> Microsoft Script Editor and check
out the scripting for the slides one by one.

Or, for the newbies to scripting (and some of you lazy guys out there),

2. go back to the normal view of the PresentationNarrator.ppt file and look
at the bottom of the screen where you will see a window starting with the
text: "To begin the narration, switch to Slide View and wiggle the mouse
over Merlin's name on the slide".

This window - the notes pane, is used to show any and all notes you would
like to make about your presentation, AND the scripting for MSAgent
characters.

Following is part of the notes for page 1. PLEASE LOOK AT THE NOTES FOR ALL
THE PAGES!

You can put any text that you want right here. As much as you want. And use
whatever punctuation that you want (e.g. <!$^*#($%^*). Cut and paste freely.
But only as long as it is above the demarcation line below (you might want
to think of it as the magic marker).

^*#{}#*^ (- this is the demarcation line between comments and script and
appears on all slides - even if there are no comments).

SHOW merlin, merlin.acs, 83, 80
PLAY Confused
SAY Hey, wait a second.
PLAY RestPose
SAY If these people want to find out about Microsoft Agent, they should be
hearing about it from me.
SAY Please allow me to introduce myself.
PLAY Greet
PLAY Explain
SAY I am Merlin, one of the Microsoft Agent characters.
PLAY RestPose
SLIDE 2 = SAY Let me tell you about how you can easily humanize Web sites,
applications and even presentations, just like this one.

As you can see, the scripting is super-simple. Play around with it. You can
change anything directly in the notes pane.

Don't forget to read the accompanying documentation that comes with the
Presentation Narrator for information about authoring scripts and the
command syntax.


Enjoy scripting your own MSAgent presentations, with Presentation Narrator
it couldn't be simpler!

Cheers,

Tom Hodgers
 
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