MAGICINFO DIGITAL SIGNAGE SUPPORT FORUM

Digital Information Displays (Digital Signage) => MagicInfo => Topic started by: MarkWarren on June 07, 2010, 08:54:58 AM

Title: PowerPoint problem
Post by: MarkWarren on June 07, 2010, 08:54:58 AM
Hi everyone,

First time on here so please be gentle  :)

I have just taken delivey of a 400DXN-2 and also one of the Samsung 'media player' boxes to have aplay with.

I have managed to get things working OK using MagicInfoPro, inluding video, stills, RSS feeds etc. but I am really struggling with getting Powerpoint files to play back.  When I insert the PP file and go into scheduler on the client, it simply opens up the file in PowerPoint for editing and does not display it.  I have set the slide show up to show in a window, loop continuously and use timings.  I have installed full PowerPoint onto the client as well as the Viewer, as suggested in a great article I read recently, but this still hasn't worked.  I have also tried saving a PowerPoint Show file but this also doesn't work.

This is the last bit I need to get working so any help would be really appreciated - I am convinced I am missing something really simple and obvious, though not to me!!

Many thanks

Mark Warren
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: theman192 on June 07, 2010, 04:22:36 PM
Hi Mark

I'm fairly new as well, but I think your issue is having the full Powerpoint installed on the client.  The only thing you should there is the viewer.  When the scheduler launches the ppt file then the viewer which will now by the default app for that file will display your slide deck.  If you have multiple slides, make sure your annimation timing is added and you put the it into continiou loop, or you will get just one pass.


Hope this helps
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: MarkWarren on June 09, 2010, 08:36:31 AM
Hi theman,

Thanks for your reply.  I did initially have just the viewer on and it did not work.  I then read a good article which explained you had to have the full version on the client which is why I then installed it.

As stated in my original post I have set the slide show to use timings and loop continuously, but still no joy.

It is really frustrating in that the Powerpoint inclusion is probably going to be the most used bit by the different people around the university - that and the fact I have got every other feature to work just fine !!

Cheers

Mark
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: Bill Coral on June 12, 2010, 06:23:20 AM
Never had a problem and don't understand why you do. What version of PPT application do you use. I find that 2003 is the best to use. There is an option on Magicinfo Pro server to use Viewer On or Off. Save your files as PPT and not PPS.

Bill
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: rhuets on June 14, 2010, 04:05:07 PM
It works well with ppt viewer 2007. no need of full powerpoint at all.
Please ajust settings of your ppt.
it must be continuous till ESC, without comments, and full screen.
Hope it helps
 :)
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: simma on June 18, 2010, 11:33:34 AM
Hi,

Even i faced the similar problem with the PPT and i switched to PPS. Now every thing goes smooth.

Regards,
Narasimman.K
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: London-I on June 21, 2010, 06:07:30 PM
We too use PPS with no issues thus far..
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: dm on July 07, 2010, 03:44:55 PM
I ran into similar problems when first setting up the software, here is what I learned...

To run powerpoint full screen on the actual display, you will need to have powerpoint viewer installed.  I don't think the version matters.  To run the powerpoint in a "window" on the screen, you will need to have powerpoint 2003 installed.  The newer versions of powerpoint always want to open in editing mode.

You will also need to set a couple options, some in the powerpoint (set up slide show; browsed by indivdual, loop continuosly, ect...)

In magic infopro you will need to set viewer property to off.
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: nolly on September 12, 2010, 05:32:02 PM
Hi,

Even i faced the similar problem with the PPT and i switched to PPS. Now every thing goes smooth.

Regards,
Narasimman.K

I have spent more hours on this powerpoint problem than I would like to admit!
I am interested in the suggestion to save the files as .pps  - my server v 2507 doesn't recognise .pps files so I can't upload them to the library. 

nolly
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: Alison Mudd on September 13, 2010, 02:53:05 PM
I have spent more hours on this powerpoint problem than I would like to admit!
I am interested in the suggestion to save the files as .pps  - my server v 2507 doesn't recognise .pps files so I can't upload them to the library. 

nolly

The only way I could get a presentation to work on our was by saving the PPP as jpg's, it saves them all in an individual picture then to add each jpg to the libary, then run them as a photo one after the other.  Spent hours messing about trying to get it to work as one file.
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: London-I on September 13, 2010, 03:44:30 PM
May I suggest using I-Spring Ultra to convert the files to flash then just drop them into your screen as a .swf..

It's what we do and nobody can tell it isn't the original power-point.

Quality is excellent.
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: London-I on September 13, 2010, 03:45:34 PM
Should say it's what we do now :-)
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: nolly on September 13, 2010, 05:09:57 PM
The only way I could get a presentation to work on our was by saving the PPP as jpg's, it saves them all in an individual picture then to add each jpg to the libary, then run them as a photo one after the other.  Spent hours messing about trying to get it to work as one file.

Thanks Alison.  I'm relieved to know that I'm not alone!  This is what I am doing at the moment.  It works very reliably, but is restrictive in terms of the transitions. 

I like London-I's idea.
May I suggest using I-Spring Ultra to convert the files to flash then just drop them into your screen as a .swf..

It's what we do and nobody can tell it isn't the original power-point.

Quality is excellent.

This is not unlike Gerald's solution:

Hi folks,

just a hint - I had much trouble in converting Powerpoints to flash with adequate quality in the same context (viewing more than one PPT on a MagicInfo screen). Last week I came across the free beta version of Office 2010 from Microsoft, with the new PowerPoint 2010 (download from Microsoft's web site, will run free of charge for several months). There is a new option in Powerpoint 2010 - save presentation to Windows Media File (wmf). This creates a video file from your PPT presentation with all transitions, animations, sound, etc. in a very high quality. And the wmv file is fully scalable on the MagicInfo screens. Files are a little bit large, depending on the number of animations / transition effects, but the quality of the presentation is extraordinarily high - much better than everything we saw before with PPT to Flash converters. And yes, it allows you to run several presentations in parallel on the MagicInfo screen. We do that now for all our screens and do not use flash videos anymore. No separate viewer is required on the displays, it runs with the (current) standard configuration of MagicInfo Pro.

Sincerely

  Gerald

I think that its time to give up on Powerpoint and try one of those methods.  Thanks all.

nolly
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: nolly on September 13, 2010, 11:27:45 PM
May I suggest using I-Spring Ultra to convert the files to flash then just drop them into your screen as a .swf..

It's what we do and nobody can tell it isn't the original power-point.

Quality is excellent.

I have just downloaded & tried I-Spring Free.  It does the job, but packages the flash in a player with navigation tools at the bottom.  Can these can be removed in the Ultra version?

nolly
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: London-I on September 14, 2010, 07:53:43 AM
Yep, you can take everything off so it just plays the power-point. You can set quality/filesize and also looping. It will keep any transitions in the power-point and you can resize it to fit the available space on your screen (keep aspect ratio though). I should think there are other similar programs available, this is just the one we use and it works every time with excellent integration into the power-point application itself (produces another tool-bar for publishing and other options).
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: geeman on September 16, 2010, 12:18:24 AM
Folks, Powerpoint 2010 has a feature that allows you to export your slideshows to wma file. Its really seamless. The quality is excellent. And it eliminates the need for iSpring.
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: London-I on September 16, 2010, 12:16:16 PM
Hi geeman

I agree that would be an excellent alternative (I presume you mean .wmv not .wma though).

I believe you can export HD video with this option  :)
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: tugi on November 01, 2010, 07:33:26 PM
It works well with ppt viewer 2007. no need of full powerpoint at all.
Please ajust settings of your ppt.
it must be continuous till ESC, without comments, and full screen.
Hope it helps
 :)

I am sorry but how to make it fullscreen? According to some threads, I should choose Browsed by Individual (Window), while fullscreen options exist at: Presented by a speaker and Browsed at a Kiosk. Thank you!
Title: Re: PowerPoint problem
Post by: TC1927 on December 08, 2010, 04:26:53 PM
May I suggest using I-Spring Ultra to convert the files to flash then just drop them into your screen as a .swf..

It's what we do and nobody can tell it isn't the original power-point.

Quality is excellent.

Good Man! Works a a treat.