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User profile for user: keriah
keriah Author
User level: Level 1
104 points

How can I find an unsupported font in a presentation?

I imported a Powerpoint presentation into Keynote on my Mini and reduced it to 4 slides so that I could develop new conventions (and theme). I changed all the fonts (including those in the master slides) to a small subset of those supported on both the desktop and iPad versions of Keynote.

Initially, when I opened the presentation in desktop Keynote I was getting a font error, but desktop Keynote offered me the chance to do a replace. (There, I took the typical advice to replace it with a font that would stand out and, eventually, found that this was the font that had been used in the page numbers. I didn't see that font usage until I 'turned on' the display of page numbers on all slides.) I fixed that font in all places (on the 'master' slides) and got the small presentation down to one that now opens cleanly in desktop Keynote.

However, when I import that small set of slides into iPad Keynote I still get 2 font errors -- one is for one of the original fonts from PPT (which I had removed from 'everywhere'), and a second error is for a font that I do not recognize as one I have ever used. Since I cannot see the fonts in any of the slides -- and the iPad does not offer the same "replace font" -- I'm stuck. (Yes, since it does not show up I suppose there is no harm, but I plan to use these slides as a basis for other presentations so I would like to get things as clean as possible.)

Is there a way to find where a specific font is in a presentation? ... either on the source/desktop version of the file or on the iPad version?

Mini, Mac OS X (10.6.4), iPhones, iPods, iPad, MacBook Pro (10.5), PB G4 (10.4)

Posted on Aug 27, 2010 5:33 AM

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10 replies
User profile for user: Lauri
Lauri
User level: Level 1
140 points

Sep 17, 2010 3:05 PM in response to yeaIknow

The Document Warning box says what slide number the font error is on. Usually converted PowerPoints want Calibri. Have you checked that you don't have extra Masters that you haven't actually used on slides but may trigger a font error? You might also try deleting unused Masters, dragging all the slides into a virgin Keynote file and resaving. Sometimes I just give up on fixing font errors from files that were originally Powerpoints.
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User profile for user: Brian Peat
Brian Peat
User level: Level 6
18,216 points

Sep 23, 2010 9:18 PM in response to keriah

Fonts are EVERYWHERE in a presentation. You can't even imagine how many font designations are in a chart alone, and there are a zillion chart types. What can you do?

Well, when I'm creating themes I end up cracking the file and opening the xml file inside it, then I do a find/replace and replace the one I don't want with the one I do (making sure the name is ABSOLUTELY CORRECT based on other entries of the good font in the xml file). It works, but the idea usually scares most people away.

When I release a new theme that started as another theme, I always do this so as to globally remove the old font and replace it with the new one.

The trick with the newer keynote format is that you have to add .zip after the file name (name.key.zip) and then double click it to unzip it. If you leave the .key in the file name, it won't break and will still be a real .key file. Then you can right click on the file and choose to show file contents. That'll get you to the xml file. Usually I work on a copy of the entire file before I start so I don't screw it up and lose everything.

hope that makes sense.
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User profile for user: Lauri
Lauri
User level: Level 1
140 points

Sep 23, 2010 10:01 PM in response to Brian Peat

Have you tried simply changing .key to .zip without keeping .key? Changing .zip back to .key changes it back to a Keynote file just fine for me. But I do keep a copy of the original just in case something gets hosed up. Too bad packages don't transfer well because I liked the "View package contents" action better for digging around.
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User profile for user: Lauri
Lauri
User level: Level 1
140 points

Sep 24, 2010 10:12 AM in response to Brian Peat

Brian Peat wrote:
and you can easily still open the package via the right click menu.



That statement is a little confusing because you are mixing the new file type with the old. In Preferences, you can opt to have Keynotes saved in the old "Package" format so you can view package contents using a simple right click but then you have to worry about transfer problems when you copy the Keynote to another computer. OR you can use the new way using a zip archive but then if you want to get at the contents, you have to change .key to .zip, unzip the archive, get what you want, and finally change .zip back to .key to get the Keynote file back. It's a choice to make whether you want it easy to get at the media or have a more robust transferable file.
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User profile for user: Brian Peat
Brian Peat
User level: Level 6
18,216 points

Sep 24, 2010 9:52 PM in response to Lauri

The zip format is an option, but the unzipped .key file is still a real file. I simply force the finder to let me have an unzipped .key that still works as a .key. The reason I don't completely take it down to a folder (with no .key on the end) is that I don't trust that I can make it BACK into a .key if I simply change the ending. It probably will work, but why take the risk. Unzipping it but leaving it as a .key simply takes it back a generation when you had to use the "show package contents" to open it. There's no mix and match, it's either a zipped version or an unzipped version, I'm simply switching from one to the other.

In my case, I'm not worried about transfer issues, I'm working on my own stuff. If I send it to someone I'll simply zip the thing in the finder and send them a zip file they can easily open.
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User profile for user: Lauri
Lauri
User level: Level 1
140 points

Sep 24, 2010 11:32 PM in response to Brian Peat

Ah, I see what you're doing. I think we differ by purpose. My objective is to get at the contents, period, so I do it the quickest way. I rarely revert the archive back to a keynote (or Powerpoint) file. When I dig, it's to get assets for another Keynote or because someone provided a file in the wrong aspect and I have to redesign anything they embedded as an image background (so annoying they embed those!). And, I never use the computer I design on during a show so I always have to copy to multiple computers (my computer to show computer to backup show computer to client final disc). Whatever works, I guess.

As an aside, I HAVE edited the xml file for a Powerpoint file to change its aspect by changing the extension .pptx to .zip and then reverting back to .pptx just fine. It's a nice way to avoid the whole image distortion from changing the Page Setup.
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How can I find an unsupported font in a presentation?

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