PowerPoint 2003: Presentation, Distribution, and Sharing

Published: July 17, 2003

Please note Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity

Hosts:

• Mike, Developer in the PowerPoint team
• Tom, Program Manager for PowerPoint Multimedia Team
• Sara, Program Manager on the PowerPoint team
• Andre, Program Manager on the PowerPoint team
• April, MVP Lead for PowerPoint as well as a few other office products
• John, Lead beta support engineer for PowerPoint

Moderator: Jamie (Microsoft)
Good day. Welcome to today's chat 'PowerPoint 2003: Presentation, Distribution, and Sharing .' Before we begin the chat, we'd like to go over the ground rules and basic instructions. Before we begin, lets meet our hosts for today's chat.

Host: Mike (Microsoft)
Hello, my name is Mike Fried. I am a developer in the PowerPoint team. I work in Multimedia and Animations.

Host: Tom (Microsoft)
Hey, I’m Tom. A Program Manager for PowerPoint Multimedia Team. I was working on Package for CD this release.

Host: Sara (Microsoft)
Hi there, I'm Sara. I am a Program Manager on the PowerPoint team. I focus on the presenter's experience and helping you be your best in front of an audience.

Host: Andre (Microsoft)
Hello, I'm Andre. I'm also a Program Manager on the PowerPoint team. My focus has been on the PowerPoint Viewer.

Host: April (Microsoft)
Hello, I am the MVP Lead for PowerPoint as well as a few other office products. For more information about the MVP program see mvp.support.microsoft.com :)

Host: John (Microsoft)
Hi, I'm John the lead beta support engineer for PowerPoint as well as a few other Office products and technologies.

Moderator: Jamie (Microsoft)
Q: I'd like to use the Viewer to run presentations that contain Microsoft Agent animations. Viewer97 couldn't do that; I think the reason was that Viewer97 doesn't support ActiveX controls. Will Viewer 2003 support MSAgent animations?

A: The new Viewer will not support MSAgent animations; as with the 97 Viewer it also does not support ActiveX controls or VBA

Moderator: Jamie (Microsoft)
Q: Will Microsoft ever decide to deploy "background" music with their DGL solution to allow presenters the ability to play royalty free music with their presentation?

A: This is something that has been considered but we are not currently working on.

Host: Sara (Microsoft)
Q: Will Powerpoint'03 be integrated with MS RTC server?

A: The MS RTC server is integrated with the Shared workspace taskpane which can be viewed in PPT 2003 by using the Tools>Shared Workspace. However, PPT 2003 does not have any direct RTC server integration for this release.

Host: Mike (Microsoft)
Q: Will Powerpoint'03 support web based streaming media(audio/video) more effectively?

A: Yes. PowerPoint 2003 supports streaming media via Windows Media Player. This includes streaming support for file formats including ASX, WMA, WMV.

Host: Tom (Microsoft)
Q: Does Microsoft acknowledge issues with font smoothing when animating text? If so, when will we see this improved?

A: We are aware of these issues and hope to address them in the future.

Moderator: Jamie (Microsoft)
Q: How can IT professionals and presenters get actively involved in the Beta process for future development?

A: https://betaplace.microsoft.com is where you can signup.

Host: Sara (Microsoft)
Q: What are changes/enhancements being made with respect to html/dhtml/xml integration

A: We are investigating XML/HTML/DHTML enhancements for future releases. Is there requirements that you have in particular for our support in this area?

Host: Andre (Microsoft)
Q: What is the goal release date for Office 2003? Or, is Office 2003 a temporary name, with a possible change as the release date changes? (eg Office 2004, etc)

A: Microsoft Office 2003 is scheduled to be released by end of year. That is the official name.

Host: John (Microsoft)
Q: My company produces a lot of content for the web using flash animations. We would like to incorparate these in client Powerpoint presentations. Will Powerpoint 2003 support flash swf files.

A: Support for flash animations in PowerPoint 2003 is the same as it has been for the last several releases, through the use of ActiveX control. For more info: http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00049.htm

Host: Tom (Microsoft)
Q: re: font smoothing... Does the future mean ver 2003?

A: We have not made any changes for 2003. Could you elaborate on the issues you are having.

Host: Sara (Microsoft)
Q: Will '03 allow subliminal message implementation thus making presentation audiences more "actively" engaged?

A: Yes, if you play the slide show back very quickly, it will hypnotize the audience <jk ;->

Host: Sara (Microsoft)
Q: This might be a little early to ask this, but how will PowerPoint be enhanced to take advantage of the Longhorn OS graphic capabilities?

A: yes, we will definitely work to take full advantage of all of the new Longhorn graphic capabilities in PowerPoint 12..

Host: John (Microsoft)
Q: Does PowerPoint 2003 support merge doc (mail merge) capabilities?

A: Not directly, but with the use of tags and the object model it should be possible to create your own limited mail merge capability.

Host: Tom (Microsoft)
Q: How do you expect people to be able to use video in PowerPoint without any video editing experience? or professional video equipment?

A: I expect people to use Windows Movie Maker and insert the finished video into PowerPoint. The learning curve for this application is very low and the output works fine in PowerPoint.

Host: Sara (Microsoft)
Q: Are there plans to have a PPML (PowerPoint xml) like we will have wml (Word ML)?

A: we are actively investigating an XML implementation for PowerPoint in the next release. Do you have any specific requirements that you would like to pass along?

Host: Tom (Microsoft)
Q: Where can I find specific information for what hardware will work best with "Hardware Acceleration" for DirectX Animations.?

A: A newer video card and a faster computer can’t hurt. You can also boost your performance by lowering the slideshow resolution with “slideshow>set up show” What specifically is performing too slowly for you.

Host: Sara (Microsoft)
Q: Is there anything that PowerPoint can do to help you when presenting in front of an audience?

A: Please feel free to send along any requirements/problems that you have when presenting. Thanks!

Host: Sara (Microsoft)
Q: Has anything been done to improve the quality of the templates and clip art that come with PowerPoint?

A: there have been some minor improvements in template handling this release. A complete template revamp is being investigated for the next release.

Host: Andre (Microsoft)
Q: How will '03 work with handheld PPT presentations?

A: No specific improvements for handhelds are included in PowerPoint 2003. However, there are investigations ongoing to improve this scenario.

Host: Sara (Microsoft)
Q: Is PP going to become so robust that soon presenters will need to hire designers to design their presentations such as so in Premiere, Flash, and FCP?

A: our goal it to make presentation creation dead simple. We are investigating ways of making every template/design used look beautiful and professional to help people who may be artistically challenged (like myself! :).

Host: John (Microsoft)
Q: I have been very disappointed with solutions that claim to convert PowerPoint to flash. Is the Package for CD intended to accomplish this objective?

A: Package for CD does not convert presentations to flash, but with the inclusion of the new PowerPoint Viewer, which supports all the newer animations, there's less need to convert to Flash to get around PowerPoint 97 limitations.

Host: Tom (Microsoft)
Q: Is a going to be an integrated feature to save a Powerpoint presentations directly to CD frow within the program.

A: There is a new feature in PowerPoint 2003 called “Package for CD” It makes it easy to burn one or more presentations to a CD with the PowerPoint Viewer.

Host: Andre (Microsoft)
Q: Will corporate branded template creation become any easier in this release?

A: Nothing specific. What difficulties do you find in the current solution? We are interested in improving this area.

Moderator: Jamie (Microsoft)
Q: Has Microsoft considered creating an online presentation "screening" service where users would be able to get critique from other users?

A: That is an interesting suggestion Peter.

Host: Mike (Microsoft)
Q: The new package for CD is great! But, what is the best format for video (MPG, AVI, WMV). I've been using WM9 but have found the majority of clients don’t have the right codec and are not capable enough to download it. Can the codec be on the CD?

A: It is technically possible to include the codec installation on the CD. The codecs may be downloaded from: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/format/codecdownload.aspx

Host: Tom (Microsoft)
Q: re: Hardware Acceleration - I understand that, but after extensive testing, the best (and usually most expensive) video card does not necessarily mean better with PowerPoint Animation. What specific features/benchmarks are needed for best performance.

A: PowerPoint’s DirectX support uses DirectX version 5. I do not know which specific DirectX features are used.

Host: Sara (Microsoft)
Q: When is MSFT going to introduce a laptop display teleprompter for the presenter?!!?

A: PowerPoint has an add-in that allows the presenter to see their notes, thumbnails and slides on their laptop while the audience sees the slide show on the projector. We are looking at enhancements in future which may include teleprompter capabilities.

Host: John (Microsoft)
Q: How will your acquisition of PlaceWare ( I think that's who it was) affect PPT in terms of delivering online presentations.

A: PlaceWare already does PowerPoint (to some extent). Is there particular additional functionality or integration that you are hoping for? (NOTE: Due to timing of PlaceWare acquisition, no enhancements for Office 2003).

Host: Tom (Microsoft)
Q: Re: Hardware Acceleration - DirectX FIVE??? You are up to 9. Why aren't we moving

A: We are looking into this for the future.

Host: Mike (Microsoft)
Q: My problem has been clients with no or limited internet access. When the player goes to look for the codec online, it can’t get it. If the codec was on the same cd would the client pc recognize and install from it? Thanks!

A: No, you would have to manually run the codec install package.

Host: Mike (Microsoft)
Q: What is the greatest challenge in developing this software?

A: Good question. I'd have to answer balancing functionality with ease of use is the greatest challenge.

Host: Tom (Microsoft)
Q: Will PP offer the ability to export to DVD?

A: this article on ZDNET mentions an upcoming 3rd party solution for this. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-1024566.html

Host: Sara (Microsoft)
Q: Lots of software companies like to deploy design overhauls on their software. Should we ever expect to see a graphic overhaul from Microsoft or is user-familiarity too great of a risk?

A: We realize that any changes to our GUI will affect our users. In future, we will try to design innovative UI without alienating existing user knowledge./

Host: John (Microsoft)
Q: PlaceWare: just trying to understand how that acquisition might fit in with PPT in terms of easy online conferencing, or whether it will be its own application.

A: Placeware will continue to be it's own product/technology developed by our collaboration business group while PowerPoint will still be part of the Office business group.

Host: John (Microsoft)
Q: What new features are available for PowerPoint?

A: The list of new features is documented at: http://officebeta.microsoft.com/assistance/preview.aspx?AssetID=HA010714951033&CTT=1&Origin=EC010229731033&QueryID=Yxk3dJOeO

Host: Tom (Microsoft)
Q: I have had issues with the audio voiceover player being machine-speed dependent - which results in an out-of-sync issue between the voice-over and slides. Will this be addressed in PPT 2003?

A: This has not been addressed in PowerPoint 2003. If you need precise timing, I would suggest using the same machine to author and present.

Host: April (Microsoft)
Q: Publisher 2003 supports both CMYK and Pantone colors - any chance of that getting ported over to PowerPoint?

A: This is something we are looking to enhance, thanks for the feedback.

Host: John (Microsoft)
Q: Has the problem with frequent crashing been corrected?

A: Thanks to the Watson crash reporting capability included since Office XP, there have been significant improvements in quality and stability. Are there specific scenarios where you are still experiencing instability (send in those crash reports)

Host: Tom (Microsoft)
Q: Will new PPT files be backwards compatible with older viewer programs?

A: The file format has not changed since PowerPoint 97. Besides, we have a new viewer with PowerPoint 2003 that can view new presentations in full fidelity.

Host: Mike (Microsoft)
Q: Bummer. Guess I'll be using HUGE MPG-1 files or include an installation guide. All in all, pack for CD is still great!

A: CDs can hold over 600MB. Also, you can Package to Folder and then burn to a DVD which gives you up to 4.7GB.

Host: Andre (Microsoft)
Q: Why doesn't the viewer support ActiveX controls? (I'd really like to use Viewer2003 to run MSAgent animations!)

A: Supporting ActiveX and scripting increases the security risk of the feature, especially when coupled with the new Package for CD feature which will auto run presentations. We are investigating what support we could provide in the future.

Host: Mike (Microsoft)
Q: Would it be wrong to ask about VBA support in PPT 2003 here?

A: No. Go ahead.

Host: Andre (Microsoft)
Q: re: : PowerPoint 2002 and ppviewer 97. .

A: Unfortunately, the 97 Viewer doesn't handle the new PowerPoint 2002 presentations as well as we'd like. However with Office 2003, the new Viewer will have high fidelity support for these presentations, though it will not be compatible with pack-n-go

Host: Mike (Microsoft)
Q1: Will there be any new EVENTS in PowerPoint VBA?

Q2: Will there be a way to track what BUILD we are on similar to SlideShowWindow.view.currentSlide ... but currentBuild?

A: No, and No. The primary changes to the Object Model in PowerPoint 2003 is with new features, in particular inking.

Moderator: Jamie (Microsoft)
That's about all the time we have left for today's chat. Lets give our hosts our thanks and we'd like to thank you for your questions.

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Newsgroup: Office Beta Newsgroups

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Website: Visit the Home Page for Microsoft Office Beta