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New computer, new Keynote, repeatedly crashing

I have a Macbook Pro 15" w/Retina, 16GB. Keynote was factory installed. Everything is up to date. OSX 10.8.3, Keynote '09 5.3 (1170)


I'm trying to use Keynote for the first time. It has crashed 3 times while working on just the second slide. What little data I'd entered was lost.


I'm new to the Mac, this is my first one. I use PowerPoint without problems on a PC.


I thought the Mac, the tightly integrated OS, and the Apple software were to be very stable, if not bulletproof. So far this is pretty unimpressive. Is anyone actually using Keynote for anything useful?


David

Numbers-OTHER, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on May 16, 2013 12:43 PM

Reply
7 replies

May 19, 2013 6:03 AM in response to David_E_

Try this maintenance procedure, it has sorted out many Keynote issues:



1

Uninstall all of iWork if you have this, otherwise uninstall Keynote if other iWork applications are not installed.

This must be done with an application remover to delete the installation properly. Appcleaner is known to work with this procedure, is free can be downloaded from here: Appcleaner Download


2

empty the trash


3

Reinstall Keynote or iWork using the original method on purchase using the installer file or installed from the App Store


4

shutdown the Mac and restart holding down the shift key until the apple logo appears

let the Mac complete the start up procedure completely, it will take longer to start as it is repairing software on the hard drive


5

go to Applications > Utilities > Disc Utility > First Aid > Repair Disc Permissions

when this is completed restart the Mac normally


Please report back on how you got on as feedback is important to keep information up to date.

May 19, 2013 7:17 AM in response to Gary Scotland

Hi Gary,

I replied by email but don't see it posted so I'll enter it here on the web. If it gets posted later I apologize for the duplicate.


It did not help.


I carefully went through each of the steps you listed. When I finished I opened Keynote. I found the file I'd been working on. It has a .JPG on the first slide.


I used the "alpha" tool to make the white part of the image background transparent. On the first two clicks of the mouse it cleared some of the background. On the 3rd click Keynote crashed again.


User uploaded file


Gary, thanks for trying to help.


All the best,

David

May 19, 2013 10:47 AM in response to Gary Scotland

Hi Gary,


OK, I found Preview and I set it to the editor for the photos. I opened the picture and made the background tranparent said OK when it asked to change the JPG to PNG. I hit "Save" and God only knows where it went.


Finder cannot find image7.png on my computer. If I drag the edited PNG photo from Preview to Keynote, the original photo with the background is inserted. I hit "export" and the photo appears in iPhoto as "newest imported" but it isn't the edited form, it's the one with the background. I can even drag what appears to be the edited version in Preview to the desktop but it goes over as the .jpeg form with the background


I have Photoshop and Windows7/64 on the computer along with VMWare Fusion so I can certainly do it all easily in Windows, but that sort of defeats the purpose of trying to do within the Mac OS.


This is frustrating.


All the best,

David

May 19, 2013 11:15 AM in response to David_E_

OK, I found the image.


Finder shows it in "all my files" but couldn't seem to find it with the find command. It had a space in the file name, I was trying for "image7" but the system had it as "image 7". So it was my fault I couldn't find it. It is also using the file name "ViiKl.jpeg" for the original image now. I'm not sure where that came from, not from me.


I got the .png file from Finder and dragged it into Keynote and it came in, so all is well. It won't take me 4 hours next time.


Thanks for the help


David

May 20, 2013 9:30 AM in response to David_E_

My final impression of Keynote.


The program seems stable as long as I avoid the "alpha" tool to make JPG backgrounds tranparent. Overall the Keynote program has been very pleasant to use. I've made a complicated 29 slide presentation complete with illustrations, animated bullets, slides with timed images, 3d transformations, and animated arrows.


I'll have no hesitation about using Keynote in the future. It's intuitive, fairly quick to use, and makes a very nice presentation. The animation features make the presentation "pop", and so feel much less static than other presentations I've done.


Overall, I like Keynote. A lot.


The instability in the program with the "alpha" tool isn't critical but it is annoying because it causes data loss. I suggest people save after creating each slide if they're using the "alpha" tool. Otherwise, for me, the program has been stable. Initially I'd been using the graphics mask in combination with the alpha tool and I thought it might be the combination that was the problem. The mask has been solid. The alpha tool causes the Keynote program to crash unrelated to use of the mask.


Thanks for the help.


All the best,

David

New computer, new Keynote, repeatedly crashing

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