making Mac powerpoint presentations compatible for windows

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Level 1

8 points

making Mac powerpoint presentations compatible for windows

Having recently purchased a Mac for the first time, I'm struggling a bit with the fact that although I'm preparing powerpoint presentations (with music) on it, I can't play these presentations in a windows PC. I also received today a song in .m4 format, and it won't open on my Mac. Anyone know how I can do these things?

Apple Mac, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Jul 11, 2010 8:42 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 11, 2010 8:50 AM in response to Lizzie20

Are you making the presentations is Keynote? If so, when you save them, there will be a drop down box that allows you to save them as a powerpoint presentation (.ppt) as opposed to a keynote presentation. If you do this, you will be able to open the file on a Windows PC.

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Answer 2

Jul 11, 2010 9:02 AM in response to Lizzie20

1) Open the file in Keynote by double-clicking on it.

2)Go to the "File" menu and select "Export."

3)Convert the Keynote file to PowerPoint. Select the "PPT" tab from the top of the window and press the "Next" button. Enter a name and save location, such as the "Documents" folder, for the converted file and press "Export."

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Answer 3

John Potts

Level 4

3,118 points

Jul 12, 2010 6:46 AM in response to Lizzie20

Lizzie

1 Can you clarify whether you are making the original presentations using Keynote (part of Apple's iWorks suite) or Powerpoint for Mac (Microsoft Office for Mac)?

2 Re the song: do you mean in .mp4 format?

best wishes

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Answer 4

Maxit

Level 4

3,649 points

Jul 23, 2010 4:54 PM in response to Lizzie20

Lizzie, getting back to your original question - what problems are you having exactly? I have made powerpoints with music and they play fine on a windows PC. When you save the presentation, you have to make sure you save the entire file (which includes the music).

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Answer 5

Jul 23, 2010 8:39 PM in response to Tom Gewecke

Hi Tom Gewecke;

I don't know why you say that. For all of the years that I work for IBM, I did all of my presentation on Keynote and simply saved in PowerPoint format. I then did the presentations at IBM without any problems.

___________________

Allan

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Answer 6

Lizzie20 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 24, 2010 3:45 PM in response to Maxit

Hi. I only tried one Powerpoint presentation. On Mac it saves as a 'pptx file, which doesn't play in windows. It said something like it wasn't recognised. Someone else says I need I-Work to do it properly. I'm not that computer literate, and as you can see by the time lapses of my entries, I don't have the time to devote to it. I'm really disappointed, because other Mac users swear by Apple, but it's all a bit bewildering to me. I think I'll have to sign up to a tutorial. I CAN go back to the Apple shop for some 1 to 1, but I haven't got around to it yet. It's 30 miles away, and I work, so it's tricky. I had no problems with the windows PC when I bought it first - the instructions were crystal clear. I don't know about the ones for the Mac - I find them rather obscure. I have a friend who used keynote, and that didn't play in windows either. She had to redo the whole thing on the windows pc.

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Answer 7

Jul 24, 2010 3:59 PM in response to Lizzie20

Lizzie20 wrote:
Hi. I only tried one Powerpoint presentation. On Mac it saves as a 'pptx file, which doesn't play in windows. It said something like it wasn't recognised.

Oops, this might be it. The pptx format is new with Office 2008 (Mac) and Office 2007 (Windows). For older versions, Microsoft provides a free update that will read these formats. I bet the Windows machines you are using are running an old version of PowerPoint without the proper updates.

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Answer 8

Lizzie20 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 24, 2010 4:25 PM in response to mwfanelli

Thank you. My own windows PC is about 6 years old, and I think the one I tried to play the ppt on is even older, so that's probably the reason. So it looks as if I can't do it. Thank you all for your interest and comments. I hope if I have another issue I'll be a little better informed!

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Answer 9

Maxit

Level 4

3,649 points

Jul 24, 2010 5:11 PM in response to Lizzie20

Lizzie, yes you can do it! When you save your presentation, you have options under "save as" and one of those is the older version of power point (ppt). This will be the only step you need if you want to save a powerpoint without media files.

To save one with media files, choose "save as presentation." It will give you a handy little folder with both the powerpoint and the media file. In this option the power point automatically saves as pptx, however. So, open it, save it as older version. Presto problem solves. The issue is not mac 🙂

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Answer 10

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,478 points

Jul 11, 2010 9:10 AM in response to Lizzie20

I'm preparing powerpoint presentations (with music) on it,

If you are having problems with PowerPoint for Mac, the place to ask is

http://www.officeformac.com/ProductForums/PowerPoint/

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Answer 11

Maxit

Level 4

3,649 points

Jul 12, 2010 5:38 PM in response to Lizzie20

Check out this great little application for converting sound (and other) files - http://www.nch.com.au/switch/ You can translate that .m4 file to mp3 in seconds.

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Answer 12

Lizzie20 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 23, 2010 12:21 PM in response to MacNewbie82

Sorry for leaving this discussion. What is keynote and how do I access it?

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Answer 13

Jul 23, 2010 1:18 PM in response to Lizzie20

Hi Lizzie20;

Keynote is the part of iWorks that is used to make presentations. You need to install iWorks before you can access it.

___________________

Allan

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Answer 14

Lizzie20 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 23, 2010 2:38 PM in response to Allan Eckert

Thank you. I'll try to do that!

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Answer 15

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,478 points

Jul 23, 2010 4:20 PM in response to Lizzie20

What is keynote and how do I access it?

If you are already having trouble with PowerPoint for Mac, messing with Keynote is not going to help, as it is even less compatible with Windows.

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