Hello,
Please check out the "PC to Mac and Back" link that tohlz suggested. It
has a lot of detail.
Specifically to answer your questions:
The file format for PowerPoint versions beginning with 97 and ending
with 2004 is the same. You can save in presentation format with .ppt
extenion, PowerPoint template with .ppa, PowerPoint show with .pps etc.
Beginning with Office 12 there will be a new default foramt,xml, which
will be cross-platform Windows and Macintosh.
That means that Mac and Windows computers can (in general) always play
the same presentation files. Anything that you used in a newer version
that does not exist in an older version simply will be ignored or
downgraded to the earlier equivalent functionality.
For example, if I put a nice soft-shadow on a picture or some text in
Macintosh PowerPoint 2004 and play it in any earlier version either Mac
or Windows only an old-style hard shadow will be displayed. The point is
the presentation will always play - just without any newly supported
features. "Always" meaning that you must also check the link tohlz
suggested for possible incompatibilities - particularly muti-media playback.
I note that someone posted there is no current free player for
Macintosh. That is correct, sort of. PowerPoint presentation will
display their best on a Mac in PowerPoint 2004. For free there are a few
versions of OpenOffice. Personally, I think the OpenOffice product does
a very poor job, but it does work in its own funky sort of way.
If you happen to find someone with Mac PowerPoint 2004 you can open your
presentation there and use the built-in compatibility checker, which
lists potential incompatibilities based on whatever version(s) you wish
to check against. PowerPoint 2004's checker has a built-in "Fix" tool
that adjusts your presentation automatically to match whatever version
you wish to be compatible with.
-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
