Power Point
Well, it's been a while, so I thought I'd write a post in English again. Watch out, unless you know anything about Microsoft Power Point, this might be boring!
This week I was busy at work making a power point presentation for a presentation next week I won't even be able to see. It was my first time to make a presentation using Power Point, but it became my responsibility to get it done, so I figured out how to use it on the fly.
I have to say, it was a lot of fun! It was actually very easy except for two things,
The sound files weren't too bad, but the video file had me pulling my hair out. I put the movie in the Power Point slide as you're supposed to, but, alas, all that stared back at me was a black rectangle, even though the file played normally using Microsoft Media Player.
I found a workaround that made a link to the movie file, but it caused Media Player to open in a separate window, which is not a very slick thing to have happen in the middle of a presentation.
Then I downloaded a programme which purports to convert just about any movie file type to any other movie file type, but none of the files I made with it came to any avail either. (link to download site)
Finally, I decided to use the video editing software that I use sometimes for making DVDs to make a file that worked. (I admit, I should have just done this from the beginning, but at the time I didn't have easy access to it!) I was estatic when it finally worked! This presentation took all week to make, and it turns out that now I know how to use Power Point better than almost everyone where I work. I know for a fact that I'm the only one who can get a video file to work properly. (I've seen the presentations that some of the other guys have made.)
For anyone who cares, here was the trick that finally made it work:
convert the movie file to a WMV file at 320x240 and 30fps.
There may be other formats that work, but this is now the gold standard where I work!
This week I was busy at work making a power point presentation for a presentation next week I won't even be able to see. It was my first time to make a presentation using Power Point, but it became my responsibility to get it done, so I figured out how to use it on the fly.
I have to say, it was a lot of fun! It was actually very easy except for two things,
- editing the sound files
- getting the movie file to work properly
The sound files weren't too bad, but the video file had me pulling my hair out. I put the movie in the Power Point slide as you're supposed to, but, alas, all that stared back at me was a black rectangle, even though the file played normally using Microsoft Media Player.
I found a workaround that made a link to the movie file, but it caused Media Player to open in a separate window, which is not a very slick thing to have happen in the middle of a presentation.
Then I downloaded a programme which purports to convert just about any movie file type to any other movie file type, but none of the files I made with it came to any avail either. (link to download site)
Finally, I decided to use the video editing software that I use sometimes for making DVDs to make a file that worked. (I admit, I should have just done this from the beginning, but at the time I didn't have easy access to it!) I was estatic when it finally worked! This presentation took all week to make, and it turns out that now I know how to use Power Point better than almost everyone where I work. I know for a fact that I'm the only one who can get a video file to work properly. (I've seen the presentations that some of the other guys have made.)
For anyone who cares, here was the trick that finally made it work:
convert the movie file to a WMV file at 320x240 and 30fps.
There may be other formats that work, but this is now the gold standard where I work!
