Designing Cross-Platform PowerPoint Presentations Dr. Liz McCormack Cain Project in Engineering and Professional Communication THE CAIN PROJECT

2 Why Cross-Platform? Save time by not switching computers — Lose presentation time — Lose audience interest Don’t know equipment availability

3 What Can I Do About It? Check Compatibility Report — Available only in newer versions — Identifies differences between current version and PowerPoint 97 through 2004 Access the Compatibility Report from Tools in the Menu bar. For a sample compatibility report visit: Office04/Powerpoint04/whatsnew.html

4 What If I Use Older Versions? Update PowerPoint Ask about equipment for talk Preview your slideshow — On both platforms — Multiple versions

5 Frequent Compatibility Issues Displaying Text Playing Movies Animating Objects Editing or Rotating Images

6 Fixing Problems: Text Problem: Text Replacement Abc becomes Abc Fix: Use fonts common to Mac and PC: Arial, Comic Sans, Helvetica, Trebuchet MS, Verdana.

7 Fixing Problems: Text Problem: Disappearing Text becomes ? or - Fix: Generate symbols/equations in a suitable program and insert them as images. or Use PowerPoint Equation Editor to embed equations. (Insert > Object > Equation) or Insert symbols in “[Normal Text]” if available. Use “Symbol” as second choice. (Insert > Symbol)

8 Fixing Problems: Text Problem: Text Changes Size Text on one line becomes Text on one line Fix: Leave extra space in text boxes to allow for differences.

9 Fixing Problems: Movies Problem: Movie Won’t Play Becomes or Fix: Avoid Flash, Windows Media, and Quicktime Movies Use MPEG Insert movies after moving to new OS Link to movie rather than insert

10 Fixing Problems: Animation Problem: Transition lost becomes Fix: Use “older” set of transitions or “No Transition” No Quicktime transitions on PC

11 Fixing Problems: Animation Problem: Animation lost becomes Fix: No Motion or trigger path on Mac Use animations common to both OS: Appear, Fade, Fly, etc.

12 Fixing Problems: Images Problem: Image Doesn’t Show becomes Fix: Use jpeg or png; not pict format Use menu bar to insert image; not drag and drop Pay attention to file size

13 Fixing Problems: Images Problem: Image is Rotated becomes Fix: Rotate image in graphics editor, then insert

14 Fixing Problems: Images Problem: Transparency Lost becomes Fix: Edit image in graphics editor, then insert

15 Fixing Problems: Other Problem: Audio Doesn’t Play becomes Fix: Use MP3 Avoid AIFF or WMA which are OS specific

16 Protecting Yourself Presentation in a folder with all images, movies, and audio — Re-insert at pre-talk slide review — Access files if problem arises during talk

17 Protecting Yourself Be able to give talk without movies, images, or special characters — Anticipate OS specific items Be able to give talk without slides — Especially first few slides