Flash animations into Mac PPT?

[GeeMan99]

Anyone know how to import and play Macromedia Flash
animations into Mac OS X PowerPoint (and have the
naimations play cross-platform)?

Or should I just make a QT movie and have done with it?


GeeMan

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Hi GeeMan,

Getting a flash animation into PowerPoint is a cinch.

Turn on the Movies toolbar (View > Toolbars > Movies. Click the button to
insert a movie.

PowerPoint relies on QuickTime to play the Flash animation. If your
animation plays in QuickTime (not every part of Flash is supported) then
you'll get whatever QuickTime renders.

What happens when playing "across platforms" depends upon what you mean by
"platform." OS 9 and OSX platforms will work fine between PPT 2001 and PPT
X. If you want to use Microsoft operating systems with Microsoft PowerPoint
and MacroMedia Flash then have a look here:
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00049.htm

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

All responses should be made to this newsgroup within the same thread.
Thanks.

About Microsoft MVPs:
http://www.mvps.org/

Search for help with the free Google search Excel add-in:
<http://www.rondebruin.nl/Google.htm>

 

[Guest]

Getting Flash into PPT is not a cinch. I resent such
flippant responses.

I know you can import QT files into PPT. But my Flash
files can't play in QT (otherwise I would have converted
them, wouldn't I?). My website uses Flash heavily, and I'd
dearly love to multipurpose the work I've already done
without ripping large QT files and making 300Mb+ PPT files
- not nice.

What do I mean by "Platform"? I mean giving the PPT file
to Windows users, and having them play it on their PC.
Clear enough?

Thanks for the link. However all the links lead to help in
embedding (and playing) Flash in PPT on Windows, or even
OpenOffice. I do not use Windows, nor do I plan (or want) to.

Since the post I have resorted to using QT throughout and
PIXLET codec. Cross-platform, more flexible, small
resulting file sizes, great quality and decent alpha
channel support. I've abandoned using PPT apart from the
occasional importing PPT files into QT or Final Cut Pro.

Best decision I ever made.

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

My comments are interspersed below...

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
----------

Getting Flash into PPT is not a cinch. I resent such
flippant responses.

Sorry, I didn't mean to be flippant. The steps to insert a flash movie into
PowerPoint are as follows:

1. From PowerPoint's menu choose View > Toolbars > Movies
2. Click the Insert Movie Button on the Movies toolbar
3. Navigate using the file open dialog box to the .swf file you wish to use
4. Click Open.

I know you can import QT files into PPT. But my Flash
files can't play in QT (otherwise I would have converted
them, wouldn't I?). My website uses Flash heavily, and I'd
dearly love to multipurpose the work I've already done
without ripping large QT files and making 300Mb+ PPT files
- not nice.

In many cases it is not necessary to convert Flash files into QuickTime
movies in order to get them to play in QuickTime. QuickTime can play some,
but not all Flash files. If QuickTime can play your flash files, then so can
PowerPoint because it relies on QuickTime to play all movies (on the Mac,
but not in Windows). For those Flash animations that won't play within
QuickTime you should create hyperlinks to the flash files so that they can
play in Flash player if it is installed on the computer.

What do I mean by "Platform"? I mean giving the PPT file
to Windows users, and having them play it on their PC.
Clear enough?

That's the way I look at things, too. But most Windows users will tell you
that Windows XP is a different platform from Windows NT or Me. I've learned
to ask rather than assume what people mean when they use the word
"platform." Windows users display an attitude like yours when I presume to
think they mean Mac vs Windows vs UNIX vs LINUX when they talk about their
beloved "platforms."

Thanks for the link. However all the links lead to help in
embedding (and playing) Flash in PPT on Windows, or even
OpenOffice. I do not use Windows, nor do I plan (or want) to.

Then I misunderstood what you meant by "and have the animations play
cross-platform." I figured those links would help you deal with PPT and
Flash when setting things up for Windows users. Probably the best all-around
solution for you is to use hyperlinks in PowerPoint to activate Macromedia
Flash animations (not to be confused with the meaning that PowerPoint has
for the word animations). If you're planning to use a CD or DVD to move the
presentations around, be sure that the Presentation and all the Flash files
are together in the same folder at the same directory level before creating
the hyperlinks. This will create "relative" as opposed to "full path" links
so that when you move the containing folder the links continue to work.

Since the post I have resorted to using QT throughout and
PIXLET codec. Cross-platform, more flexible, small
resulting file sizes, great quality and decent alpha
channel support. I've abandoned using PPT apart from the
occasional importing PPT files into QT or Final Cut Pro.

I learned something new today. I didn't know it is possible to import PPT
files into QT or Final Cut Pro.

-Jim Gordon

 

[GeeMan99]

Jim,

Thanks for taking the time to give such a complete response.


1) PPT doesn't "see" my flash files as being open-able
into the preso.

2) Take your point about embedding links into the preso
and taking the relevant swf files with me. However, I
often have to give such presos to non-computer-savvy people
(salespeople, usually!). Experience has shown that such
people cannot be trusted to copy a CD onto their HD without
tampering with the directory structure ;-((

3) Didn't explain myself clearly. You're right can't get
PPT directly into QT or FCP: You have to export a QT file
from PPT (or Keynote) first.



GeeMan99

-----Original Message-----
My comments are interspersed below...

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
----------

Getting Flash into PPT is not a cinch. I resent such
flippant responses.

Sorry, I didn't mean to be flippant. The steps to insert a flash movie into
PowerPoint are as follows:

1. From PowerPoint's menu choose View > Toolbars > Movies
2. Click the Insert Movie Button on the Movies toolbar
3. Navigate using the file open dialog box to the .swf file you wish to use
4. Click Open.

I know you can import QT files into PPT. But my Flash
files can't play in QT (otherwise I would have converted
them, wouldn't I?). My website uses Flash heavily, and I'd
dearly love to multipurpose the work I've already done
without ripping large QT files and making 300Mb+ PPT files
- not nice.

In many cases it is not necessary to convert Flash files into QuickTime
movies in order to get them to play in QuickTime. QuickTime can play some,
but not all Flash files. If QuickTime can play your flash files, then so can
PowerPoint because it relies on QuickTime to play all movies (on the Mac,
but not in Windows). For those Flash animations that won't play within
QuickTime you should create hyperlinks to the flash files so that they can
play in Flash player if it is installed on the computer.

What do I mean by "Platform"? I mean giving the PPT file
to Windows users, and having them play it on their PC.
Clear enough?

That's the way I look at things, too. But most Windows users will tell you
that Windows XP is a different platform from Windows NT or Me. I've learned
to ask rather than assume what people mean when they use the word
"platform." Windows users display an attitude like yours when I presume to
think they mean Mac vs Windows vs UNIX vs LINUX when they talk about their
beloved "platforms."

Thanks for the link. However all the links lead to help in
embedding (and playing) Flash in PPT on Windows, or even
OpenOffice. I do not use Windows, nor do I plan (or

want) to.

Then I misunderstood what you meant by "and have the animations play
cross-platform." I figured those links would help you deal with PPT and
Flash when setting things up for Windows users. Probably the best all-around
solution for you is to use hyperlinks in PowerPoint to activate Macromedia
Flash animations (not to be confused with the meaning that PowerPoint has
for the word animations). If you're planning to use a CD or DVD to move the
presentations around, be sure that the Presentation and all the Flash files
are together in the same folder at the same directory level before creating
the hyperlinks. This will create "relative" as opposed to "full path" links
so that when you move the containing folder the links continue to work.

Since the post I have resorted to using QT throughout and
PIXLET codec. Cross-platform, more flexible, small
resulting file sizes, great quality and decent alpha
channel support. I've abandoned using PPT apart from the
occasional importing PPT files into QT or Final Cut Pro.

I learned something new today. I didn't know it is possible to import PPT
files into QT or Final Cut Pro.

-Jim Gordon

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Hi again,

Then maybe a different strategy may work. I don't know if flash can
incorporate QuickTime movies. If it can maybe you could save the PowerPoint
presentation as a QuickTime movie and embed that into the flash file and
simply distribute that. Macromedia Director might be something to consider
here.

Or maybe you could play the presentation and the flash animation and record
it as a movie using SnapZPro (from Ambrosia).

If you create hyperlinks and the directory structure changes (if they move
the flash animations to a new folder, for example) the hyperlinks will
surely break.

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

All responses should be made to this newsgroup within the same thread.
Thanks.

About Microsoft MVPs:
http://www.mvps.org/

Before posting a "new" topic please be sure to search Google Groups to see
if your question has already been answered.

An Excel add-in is available to help with this task.
<http://www.rondebruin.nl/Google.htm>

----------