* Utilizing the Microsoft PowerPoint "Pack And Go Wizard" *
I will introduce here a feature present in all versions of PowerPoint 4.0, 97 and 2000, called "Pack-and-Go-Wizard".
This PowerPoint option will create for you a file that contains all the elements needed to run your presentation without having PowerPoint installed.
If we want to make an analogy, we can imagine ourselves going to a meeting where we'll have to make a presentation: we can carry with us in our pocket just a floppy disk with the PowerPoint file, and rely on the computer and the projector we will find in the meeting room. If we are not sure we will find a computer over there, but just an old projector for 35 mm slides, along with our small floppy disk we will carry with us our laptop computer (thus increasing the weight we have to carry); maybe, if we want to be safe 100%, we can also bring with us a projector, therefore needing a taxi cab!
PowerPoint "Pack-And-Go" does this for you, packs everything you might need for properly and reliably displaying your presentation and stores all the needed elements in a new file. So you will be safe, though the file may be be a bit bigger than your original presentation. Paradoxically, the files created with this feature do contain a "virtual" projector inside, the so-called "PowerPoint Viewer".
To access this functionality Wizard, while you are in PowerPoint, go to the File menu, and click on "Pack And Go..."
As this feature might have not be installed by default on your computer, you may be required to provide the installation CD-ROM where Microsoft Office can find the necessary files.
Once you select the "Pack And Go" option, you will have to click on "Next" and select some options.
1) pack the presentation you have currently opened or any another one you have created before. Use the "Browse" button to locate previously created preentations
2) select the drive where you want to save the new file (floppy disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, network shared drive). If the presentation is very small, it will fit in a floppy that you can carry with you. Otherwise, you can use a Zip disk (the capacity is bigger than a normal floppy disk) or, if you are lucky and have a CD-recorder, you can save your presentation on a blank CD-ROM
3) choose whether to include or not in this file other linked files and whether to embed or not True-Type fonts. Linked files may be Excel charts, Word tables, images and pictures: your option should always be to include linked files and to embed True-Type fonts: This will guarantee you the greatest reliability and fidelity to the original design. Choose not to embed fonts only when you are using standard fonts available on any computer. These are Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana, Symbol. This solution can save you some space in the final file size
4) when asked if to include the PowerPoint Viewer for Windows 95/NT, say yes if you are not sure about what operating system you will have in the computer you will use. If you are sure you are going to use Windows 98/ME or 2000 you can select not to include such viewer
5) Click on Finish and it's done
You will find two files in the location where you have saved your Pack And Go project: one is called "pngsetup.exe" and the other one has a generic name, usually "pres0.ppz".
Together, they can be bigger than the original presentation file. For instance, a PowerPoint presentation that is a bit more than 1 Mb, can increase its size to 3.75 Mb if you include the PowerPoint Viewer, and have decide to embed all the fonts and linked files.
Once you are in the destination computer, just double-click on the pngsetup.exe file and select a folder where you would like to "unpack" your compressed files. You can also type in the name of a new folder (you can use the name of your original file, max 8 characters, no spaces) that will be created directly on the C drive. Otherwise, to simplify, select the desktop as a destination folder.
*TIP*:
Once the "unpacking" is successful (it takes a few seconds), you will be asked if you want to run the show. If you say Yes, the presentation will be shown right away in its original format. If you say No, you can access your presentation later by finding the folder where you stored this unpacked files. Right-click the .ppt file (your presentation) and choose "Show" from the context menu (the one that appears every time you right-click).
This tool does a great job that can save your day and you feel safer rather than just copying your normal .ppt file in a diskette and bringing it with you. Using Pack And Go, you won't have to worry if PowerPoint is installed or not in the machine where you will run the show. If you include the PowerPoint Viewer, your presentation will positively run on any machine.
Always test your presentation before the show starts, and where possible, before running your show, always close all the running programs and restart the computer, so that all the available memory will be allocated to your program.
PROS:¡¡¡
Create a reliable presentation file that can be shown on a computer without the requirement to have PowerPoint installed on that machine. You will not have to worry about that problem and you will not be stressed for technical problems might arise during the show. The Viewer will show files created also with older PowerPoint versions as well as Macintosh-originated ones.
CONS:¡¡¡
The new file that Pack And Go creates for you is bigger in size than the original PowerPoint presentation file, since it contains also system files used to display your presentation without PowerPoint installed. Another disadvantage of this tool, along with the increased file size, is that it will not support some features as picture bullets and automatic numbering.
You can read this article in the original issue of MasterView.
