Video annoyance in PP2003

[Newbie]

Hi All

I'm using Powerpoint 2003 SP2 and I'm pulling my hair out re using video
clips in my presentation.

Don't get me wrong it works fine, but if I transfer my presentation over to
another machine I have to remove all the video entries (and their related
animations) and re-do them.

It's not me!

I have a Dell 8400 at home and everything was fine, transferred the ppt file
(plus my data folder which contains all of the pics, videos, sounds, etc
that my presentation uses - I have no idea whether these files are simply
embedded in the ppt and I don't need this folder or whether the ppt refers
to them so the path has to be kept consistant - I just know Microsoft won't
make it easy for me :0) ) to a Dell Optiplex at my work and the videos would
not start. They just displayed motionless. Removed them from the ppt and
re-entered them and then the video would play again! Transferred the ppt
and data folder to our presentation laptop and had to do the whole process
again!!!

Is there anyway to stop this?

Thanks

 

[Echo S]

I think the problem is your paths. PPT looks for the linked files (and video
is always linked) to be the same place as they were on the development
machine. If you're working from the desktop or My Documents, those full
paths include your computer user name. The presentation computer probably
has a different user name, so PPT can't find the files.

Try this.

On the development computer, put your presentation on the C drive, and put
your data folder on the C drive also. So you'd have

C:\mypresentation.ppt
C:\data\ (includes all the linked files)

Redo your links.

Then put the presentation and the data folder on the C:\ drive directly on
the presenation machine.

Better yet, put the presentation in the same in the same folder with the
data files. If it can't find linked files in the same place as they were on
the development computer, it looks in the same folder it lives in to see if
they're there.

Or try Package for CD to resolve the links. You can opt not to include the
Viewer. You should get a folder with the presentation and the linked files.
Move that folder to the presentation computer.

--
Echo S [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/index.html
PPTLive! Oct 28-31, New Orleans http://www.pptlive.com

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Hi All

I'm using Powerpoint 2003 SP2 and I'm pulling my hair out re using video
clips in my presentation.

Don't get me wrong it works fine, but if I transfer my presentation over to
another machine I have to remove all the video entries (and their related
animations) and re-do them.

It's not me!

I have a Dell 8400 at home and everything was fine, transferred the ppt file
(plus my data folder which contains all of the pics, videos, sounds, etc
that my presentation uses - I have no idea whether these files are simply
embedded in the ppt and I don't need this folder or whether the ppt refers
to them so the path has to be kept consistant - I just know Microsoft won't
make it easy for me :0) ) to a Dell Optiplex at my work and the videos would
not start. They just displayed motionless. Removed them from the ppt and
re-entered them and then the video would play again! Transferred the ppt
and data folder to our presentation laptop and had to do the whole process
again!!!

Is there anyway to stop this?

Several.

Simplest:

First, put all of your sounds and movies in the same folder as the PPT file.
Then and only then insert the sounds and movies into the PPT. From then on, as
long as the sounds and movies say in the same folder as the PPT itself (and the
system is capable of playing them) the links will work.

The same isn't true of pictures, but unless you went out of your way to link
them, they'll be embedded and immune to this kind of problem.

If you've already created a presentation with lots of links, you can use PPT
2003's Package for CD feature to move the PPT and linked files to a new folder;
it'll fix up the links on the way.

We have an addin called Fixlinks that you probably don't need in this case, but
it's worth knowing about, if only for the handy Links Report feature included
in the free demo version. That can help diagnose linking problems.
http://www.pptools.com/fixlinks/