Section 2.3. WHAT S GOING ON WITH THESE FILE SIZES?


2.2. CUSTOMIZE POWER POINT TO SUIT YOUR NEEDS

2.2.1. Restore Missing Images and Charts

THE ANNOYANCE: When I open my file, the images and charts are missing. What's going on?

THE FIX: Are you using PowerPoint 2003? You need to apply the latest Service Pack for Office 2003 by going to Help Check for Updates.

Service Pack 1 especially is a critical patch for PowerPoint 2003. It resolves most of these "missing images" types of issues, as well as a number of others. To see if a Service Pack or update has already been installed, select Help About Microsoft Office PowerPoint and look for SPx is the number of the Service Pack. For example, in Figure 2-5 it says Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 (build number) SP1.

Figure 2-5. Make sure you have the latest Service Pack installed by selecting Help About.


2.2.2. Restore Grayed-Out Commands

THE ANNOYANCE: I can't save my PowerPoint file because the save options are all grayed out.

THE FIX: You need to activate Office. Select Help Activate Product and follow the prompts.

If, for some reason, you are unable to activate using the "Activate by using the Internet" option, choose "Activate by using the telephone" instead. The activation wizard will provide you with the number to dial. For more information on activation, visit the Microsoft web site (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011187761033.aspx).

Another possibility: If you downloaded a trial version of Microsoft Office, the applications will open in reduced functionality mode after the trial time period has expired. In this case, you must purchase Microsoft Office to make it fully functional.

2.2.3. Restore New Animations

THE ANNOYANCE: When I right-click an object and choose Custom Animation, the old custom animation dialog box opens. How can I get the custom animation task pane with the exit and trigger animations and motion paths to open instead?

THE FIX: Select Tools Options and click the Edit tab. In the "Disable new features section, uncheck the "New animation effects," "Multiple masters," and "Password protection" boxes, and then close the dialog box (see Figure 2-6). Next, close and reopen PowerPoint.

If the three boxes are already unchecked, check them and close the dialog box. Next, close and reopen PowerPoint, return to the Edit tab, and uncheck the three boxes. Close the dialog box, close PowerPoint again, and reopen it. See if you can now get to the Custom Animation task pane.

Figure 2-6. If you want to enjoy all the benefits of PowerPoint 2002 and 2003, make sure you uncheck the three items under "Disable new features."


2.2.4. Bring Back Color Views

THE ANNOYANCE: Oh my god! PowerPoint is all black and white! Where'd the color views go?

THE FIX: You're a victim of a Windows accessibility setting. Select Start Control Panel Accessibility Options, click the Display tab, and uncheck the "Use High Contrast box.

2.2.5. Make Sure You Have a Qualifying Product

THE ANNOYANCE: When I tried to install PowerPoint, I got an error message saying it couldn't find the qualifying product. I have an old version of Office installed on my computer, so what's the problem?

THE FIX: In a nutshell, you purchased an upgrade version of PowerPoint 97, 2000, or 2002. For the most part, you can't install an upgrade version of PowerPoint if you don't have a full version of PowerPoint to upgrade. So you really needed to purchase the full standalone version of PowerPoint, not the upgrade version.

See, your old version of Office might not have PowerPoint. This was pretty typical with Small Business Edition (SBE) versions of Office (i.e., Office XP SBE, Office 2000 SBE, Office 97 SBE). You can try putting your Office installation CD in the CD drive when the PowerPoint installation prompts you to help it find the qualifying product. Sometimes that will work.

Microsoft got smart with PowerPoint 2003, though. Even Office SBE versions now count as qualifying products if you purchase a PowerPoint 2003 Upgrade. That means you can use the PowerPoint 2003 Upgrade version to add PowerPoint to any version of Office XP, 2000, or 97. But bewaremany OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers, which is a fancy name for a company that manufactures and sells computers) include Office 2003 Basic with the computers they sell. Office 2003 Basic does not include PowerPoint, and you cannot use the PowerPoint 2003 Upgrade to add PowerPoint 2003. In this case, you need to purchase the full standalone version of PowerPoint 2003. Check the Microsoft web site for the list of qualifying products (http://www.microsoft.com/office/powerpoint/howtobuy/default.mspx) if you're thinking about adding PowerPoint to your computer.

Of course, you can always purchase a licensed copy of an older version of PowerPoint to use as your qualifying productif you can find one. But make sure you check the list of qualifying products before you go this route!

2.2.6. Change the Username in Comments

THE ANNOYANCE: When I installed Office, I typed in a joke name. Now that name shows up in the comment boxes on my slides. How can I change it to my real name, or else my new clients won't be clients for long.

THE FIX: Select Tools Options, click the General tab, and type your name in the User Information box. Dont forget to update your initials to match! Changing the User Information in one Office application changes it automatically in the other Office applications.

2.2.7. Avoid Saving in Notes Page View

THE ANNOYANCE: How do I get my speaker notes back? I saved my presentation, but when I opened it again, the speaker notes disappeared.

THE FIX: Start looking for a backup or a previous version of your presentation because once those notes disappear, there's unfortunately no way to get them back.

Disappearing notes is most definitely a problem in PowerPoint 97. Saving while in Notes Page view seems to trigger the disappearance. You should also turn off Fast Saves, which may contribute to the problem. Select Tools Options, click the Save tab, and

To stop the problem from happening again, install Service Release 1 (SR-1)and possibly Service Release (SR-2)for Office 97 (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdate/CD010226191033.aspx). Also, don't save while in Notes Page view.

PowerPoint 2002 and 2003 don't seem to have a problem with disappearing notes. It may not even be a problem in PowerPoint 2000, although most long-time PowerPoint users still refuse to save while in Notes Page view. As the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy….

2.2.8. Add Save as HTML to the Menu

THE ANNOYANCE: I read that I can use Save as HTML to convert my PowerPoint file to a web page, but I don't have that option on my menu.

THE FIX: Save as HTML isn't part of the default installation for PowerPoint 97. If you performed a Typical Installation, the Save as HTML option is either grayed out or simply does not appear.

To install this feature, insert your Office (PowerPoint) 97 installation CD into the CD drive and choose Custom Installation when prompted. Find Web Authoring Tools and put a checkmark next to it.

If you have Adobe Acrobat 4.0 (and maybe 5.0, too), the Acrobat add-ins for PowerPoint could be conflicting with the Save as HTML feature. To resolve this, you'll need to disable the PDFMaker.PPA and PDFMakerA.PPA files. Close PowerPoint, find the two PPA files on your hard drive (e.g., C:\Program Files\Acrobat\Macros\Office97\), and rename them PDFMaker.PPX and PDFMakerA.PPX. Restart PowerPoint and see if File Save as HTML is now available.

Renaming these two PPA files disables the add-ins that let you make one-click PDF files from PowerPoint. However, you can still select File Print and select Acrobat Distiller from your list of printers to create PDFs in PowerPoint.

2.2.9. Outline View Icon Gone

THE ANNOYANCE: In PowerPoint 2000, I could click the little icon at the bottom left of the screen to open Outline view. How come I can't seem to find that in PowerPoint 2002?

THE FIX: If you need a fullscreen Outline view, hold down the Ctrl+Shift keys and click the slide sorter icon at the lower left of the screen. Microsoft removed the Outline View icon in PowerPoint 2002 and 2003, maybe because you can resize the Outline pane on the left to nearly full screen (see Figure 2-7).

Figure 2-7. Drag the edge of the Outline pane to resize it.


To add the Outline View icon to your toolbar, select Tools Customize, click the Commands tab, select the View category, and drag the Outline command to one of your toolbars (see Figure 2-8).

Figure 2-8. Click and drag a command to any toolbar so it's always within easy reach.





Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things about Your Favorite Presentation Program
ISBN: 0596100043
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 83
Authors: Echo Swinford

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