Lesson 3: Supporting PowerPoint 2003

After end users begin using PowerPoint 2003 and start performing configuration tasks on their own, creating presentations, using macros, and accessing some of the more advanced features available in the application, they might encounter problems using them. Although troubleshooting tasks will vary, in this lesson you will learn how to resolve some of the more common ones.

After this lesson, you will be able to

• Resolve issues related to sharing presentations.

• Recover lost PowerPoint files.

Estimated lesson time: 10 minutes

Sharing Presentations

PowerPoint users’ common tasks include creating, moving, and deleting slides; adding and editing text; embedding and linking music and sounds; viewing slide shows; and inserting charts and tables. You should have functional knowledge of these things, too.

PowerPoint users do much more than create presentations, though. They share these presentations. Sharing a presentation, whether it is sent over a network, shown using a laptop and a projector, or burned onto a CD, is often a source of difficulty for the user. This is especially true when additional files are involved, such as a music file that plays in the background, a linked graph or chart, or an image. Users often call for help on these issues.

Note

Formatting text, creating macros, and troubleshooting missing toolbars and components can also be a part of resolving PowerPoint calls. These tasks were detailed in the Word 2003 and Excel 2003 sections of this chapter, and procedures for them are similar in PowerPoint.

Packaging and Sharing

When a user is ready to send a completed presentation to a CD, a network file server, or a colleague, that presentation must be packaged so that all of the files included in the presentation (music, graphics, fonts, charts, and so on) are incorporated. The Package for CD feature in PowerPoint 2003 simplifies this process. The Package for CD feature can be used to burn the presentation and all of its included files onto a CD, save them to a folder, copy them to a network file server, or even copy them to a floppy disk. In addition (excluding when the presentation is saved to a floppy disk), a PowerPoint Viewer is also added, so that any person using almost any computer can view the presentation.

These steps are required to successfully package a completed presentation:

1. Open a completed and saved PowerPoint presentation.

2. From the File menu, choose Package For CD.

3. In the Package For CD dialog box, type a name for the CD (or file).

4. Linked files, embedded TrueType fonts, and the PowerPoint Viewer are included by default. To make any changes to the defaults or to apply a password to any of the files, click Options. Make the appropriate changes, and click OK.

5. To add files, select Add Files. Browse to the location of the files to add, select them, and click Add.

6. To copy the file to a folder or a network file server, click Copy To Folder. Browse to the location in which to save the files. Click Select, and click OK.

7. To burn the entire presentation onto a CD, click Copy To CD.

8. Wait while the files are packaged and copied. Click Close when finished.

The saved and packaged presentation is now ready for viewing. The folder contains all of the files needed for the presentation, including copies of music, images, charts, graphs, a PowerPoint Viewer, an AutoRun file, and more. Showing the presentation involves only starting it or putting the CD into the CD-ROM drive.

Note

Embedding and linking sounds and images is an important part of creating PowerPoint presentations. Embedding and linking were detailed in the Word 2003 portion of this chapter, and procedures for embedding and linking objects are similar in PowerPoint.

Recovering Lost Files

The first section of this chapter on Word 2003 detailed options for recovering lost files. The options available for that application are also available for PowerPoint 2003. When a user reports that a file has been lost due to a computer glitch, power outage, or user error, you should work through those options, which include the following:

• Using Microsoft Office Application Recovery From the Start menu, choose All Programs, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Tools, and Microsoft Office Application Recovery. In the Microsoft Office Application Recovery dialog box, select Microsoft Office PowerPoint. Select either Recover Application or End Application.

• Using AutoRecover Restart or recover the application by using Microsoft Office Application Recovery or by restarting the computer. In the Document Recovery task pane, select the document to recover. You can configure AutoRecover on the Tools menu by choosing Options and selecting the Save tab.

• Using Open and Repair From the File menu, choose Open, and select the file to recover. Click the arrow next to the Open button, and select Open And Repair.

• Dealing with User Errors From the File menu, locate the lost file in the File menu, or on the Start menu, choose My Recent Documents and select the file to reopen.

Lesson Review

The following question is intended to reinforce key information presented in this lesson. If you are unable to answer this question, review the lesson materials and try the question again. You can find answer to the question in the “Questions and Answers” section at the end of this chapter.

Lost files can be recovered in a number of ways, including using Microsoft Office Application Recovery, AutoRecover, Open and Repair, and more. To demonstrate your familiarity with these options and others, match the situation on the left with the best file recovery method on the right.

1. PowerPoint has locked up and is not responding. The user has not saved the presentation he is working on in quite some time and does not want to lose his work. What should you try first?	A. Open and Repair
2. A user deleted an e-mail and needs to retrieve it. She has not emptied her Deleted Items folder, although it is configured to delete items in that folder when she exits Outlook. What should you tell the user to do?	B. The File menu
3. A user reports that his Excel file will not open, and he thinks it is corrupt. The computer shut down from a power failure, and when he rebooted and started Excel again, nothing happened. He was not offered any recovered files. What should he try now?	C. Microsoft Office Application Recovery
4. A user saved a file yesterday but cannot remember where she saved it. She needs to access the file quickly. Where can she look?	D. Open the folder, locate the file, and drag it to a different folder.

Lesson Summary

• The Package for CD feature in PowerPoint 2003 simplifies the process of saving a complete presentation to a CD, including music, graphics, fonts, charts, and so on.

• Recovering lost files in PowerPoint 2003 is a lot like recovering lost files in Word 2003 or Excel 2003. Tools for recovering lost files include Microsoft Office Application Recovery, AutoRecover, and Open and Repair.