Music stops playing in PowerPoint 2003 slideshow

I created five slideshows in PowerPoint 2003 with the VISTA operating system
on a new Dell Dimension E520 computer. I embedded the same three different
sound tracks with the .mp3 format into each slideshow. I copied each to a CD
and made numerous “trial runs� of each on my computer before I copied them to
the “gift� Cds. I have read comments about PowerPoint only being able to
embed .wav files, but the .mp3 files work fine for me except for one song on
another computer.

I saved all of the slideshows as a PowerPoint slideshow before I “packaged
them to a CD.� The CDs run perfectly on my computer except for not opening
automatically as I had chosen. A window comes up for me to double-click on
the file to open it. I think this has to be caused by VISTA.

The real problem comes from trying to run the slideshows on another
computer. Not only do they NOT start automatically, the music stops at the
beginning and during the third sound track. This problem has happened on two
different computers with XP and each person having PowerPoint 2003 installed
on their computer.

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on the prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have to go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

I cannot find the Sound Option dialog box in PowerPoint 2003 so have not
been able to verify that the .mp3 files are embedded or not. As far as I am
concerned, they have to be embedded or they would not play on another
computer.

Before I started making the slideshows, I read and copied everything I could
find with the instructions, read the tutorials, and followed all of the steps
from the Microsoft website. I am very frustrated about WHY the music problem
is happening. Each one of the slideshows is for my five grandsons from their
birth to their current ages. I plan to make CD copies for five more
relatives, but if at all possible, I don’t want this glitch to occur. I am
wondering if this problem is a bug in PowerPoint 2003 or maybe somehow VISTA
could be causing this.

I would appreciate any suggestions anyone may have.

Deloresw

First MP3 files cannot be embedded, they have to linked, and must accompany
the presentation. Best way is to put them all into the same folder as you
presentation before you insert them in PowerPoint. When using the package
for CD option, Make sure to select the viewer, and use the copy to file
option. Then use your CD burning software to copy all of the files to the
CD. This will give you an Autorun CD.

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint


"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I created five slideshows in PowerPoint 2003 with the VISTA operating
system
on a new Dell Dimension E520 computer. I embedded the same three different
sound tracks with the .mp3 format into each slideshow. I copied each to a
CD
and made numerous "trial runs" of each on my computer before I copied them
to
the "gift" Cds. I have read comments about PowerPoint only being able to
embed .wav files, but the .mp3 files work fine for me except for one song
on
another computer.

I saved all of the slideshows as a PowerPoint slideshow before I "packaged
them to a CD." The CDs run perfectly on my computer except for not opening
automatically as I had chosen. A window comes up for me to double-click on
the file to open it. I think this has to be caused by VISTA.

The real problem comes from trying to run the slideshows on another
computer. Not only do they NOT start automatically, the music stops at the
beginning and during the third sound track. This problem has happened on
two
different computers with XP and each person having PowerPoint 2003
installed
on their computer.

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have to go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

I cannot find the Sound Option dialog box in PowerPoint 2003 so have not
been able to verify that the .mp3 files are embedded or not. As far as I
am
concerned, they have to be embedded or they would not play on another
computer.

Before I started making the slideshows, I read and copied everything I
could
find with the instructions, read the tutorials, and followed all of the
steps
from the Microsoft website. I am very frustrated about WHY the music
problem
is happening. Each one of the slideshows is for my five grandsons from
their
birth to their current ages. I plan to make CD copies for five more
relatives, but if at all possible, I don't want this glitch to occur. I am
wondering if this problem is a bug in PowerPoint 2003 or maybe somehow
VISTA
could be causing this.

I would appreciate any suggestions anyone may have.

Deloresw

I appreciate your response, but I still do not understand why the other songs
play correctly if they are not embedded. Also, can you give me some simple
instructions on how to go about linking the files to the slideshow, e.g., do
I perform the same tasks I have been doing by inserting the sound files in
the "add effects" column and using the "effect options" to start and stop?
The instructions I read and downloaded make it sound complicated to me. If I
remember correctly, the instructions say if you link the sound files, you
have to lower the kbs from 50,000 back to the 128 kbs before choosing to link
the files. Thanks again!
Deloresw

"Michael Koerner" wrote:

First MP3 files cannot be embedded, they have to linked, and must accompany
the presentation. Best way is to put them all into the same folder as you
presentation before you insert them in PowerPoint. When using the package
for CD option, Make sure to select the viewer, and use the copy to file
option. Then use your CD burning software to copy all of the files to the
CD. This will give you an Autorun CD.

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint


"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I created five slideshows in PowerPoint 2003 with the VISTA operating
system
on a new Dell Dimension E520 computer. I embedded the same three different
sound tracks with the .mp3 format into each slideshow. I copied each to a
CD
and made numerous "trial runs" of each on my computer before I copied them
to
the "gift" Cds. I have read comments about PowerPoint only being able to
embed .wav files, but the .mp3 files work fine for me except for one song
on
another computer.

I saved all of the slideshows as a PowerPoint slideshow before I "packaged
them to a CD." The CDs run perfectly on my computer except for not opening
automatically as I had chosen. A window comes up for me to double-click on
the file to open it. I think this has to be caused by VISTA.

The real problem comes from trying to run the slideshows on another
computer. Not only do they NOT start automatically, the music stops at the
beginning and during the third sound track. This problem has happened on
two
different computers with XP and each person having PowerPoint 2003
installed
on their computer.

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have to go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

I cannot find the Sound Option dialog box in PowerPoint 2003 so have not
been able to verify that the .mp3 files are embedded or not. As far as I
am
concerned, they have to be embedded or they would not play on another
computer.

Before I started making the slideshows, I read and copied everything I
could
find with the instructions, read the tutorials, and followed all of the
steps
from the Microsoft website. I am very frustrated about WHY the music
problem
is happening. Each one of the slideshows is for my five grandsons from
their
birth to their current ages. I plan to make CD copies for five more
relatives, but if at all possible, I don't want this glitch to occur. I am
wondering if this problem is a bug in PowerPoint 2003 or maybe somehow
VISTA
could be causing this.

I would appreciate any suggestions anyone may have.

Deloresw

If you use Package for CD, the MP3 files should be in the same folder with
the presentation and Viewer files. They will be properly linked (the package
for CD process resolves all the links for you) and should play on other
computers.

If the first two play, I'd imagine that the packaging and linking went okay,
and the third one should as well. Since it does play at least sometimes on
the other computers, it sounds to me (no pun intended) as if the MP3s are
all linked properly.

For the automatic starting part, I would try this:
1. File | Package for CD
2. Choose copy to folder and run the PforCD process
3. Burn the contents of the folder to the CD. Don't burn the folder
itself -- all the files should be "loose" on the CD. If they're inside a
folder, the CD won't autorun.

For the sound part, here's the process I'd use to insert the sounds.

1. On slide 1, Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File. Navigate to
your MP3 and insert it.
2. When prompted, select "play automatically."
3. Right-click the sound icon on the slide, choose custom animation
4. In the custom animation pane, double-click the sound file in the
animation list to open the Play Sound dialog.
5. On the Effect tab, make sure Start Playing is set to "from beginning" and
"stop playing" is set to "after 999 slides." I know you may only want the
first sound to play for 10 slides or something, but go ahead and put 999 in
there.
6. Click OK to close.

Now go to the slide you want the 2nd sound file to begin playing on and
repeat the process. Put 999 in the "stop playing after" setting again. Do
the same for the 3rd sound file.

You may have this set up just fine, and it could be just that the computer
is running out of resources as you play the presentation. After all, it's
running from a CD, which is slower than running from the harddrive. This...

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

....is the odd part, and the part that's making me think it may be a
resources issue. How big is the third MP3 file? (I know they're not usually
large, but it never hurts to ask.) Also, how big is your PPT file -- like,
how many slides and also how big is the file size (in kb or MB)? If you have
lots of high-resolution pictures, that often makes the file size very large
and could be bogging down the playback. It can be resolved, but I hate to
send you down that road if it's not really the issue.

--
Echo S [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/power...noy/index.html
PPTLive! Oct 28-31, New Orleans http://www.pptlive.com

"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I appreciate your response, but I still do not understand why the other
songs
play correctly if they are not embedded. Also, can you give me some simple
instructions on how to go about linking the files to the slideshow, e.g.,
do
I perform the same tasks I have been doing by inserting the sound files in
the "add effects" column and using the "effect options" to start and stop?
The instructions I read and downloaded make it sound complicated to me. If
I
remember correctly, the instructions say if you link the sound files, you
have to lower the kbs from 50,000 back to the 128 kbs before choosing to
link
the files. Thanks again!
Deloresw

"Michael Koerner" wrote:

First MP3 files cannot be embedded, they have to linked, and must
accompany
the presentation. Best way is to put them all into the same folder as you
presentation before you insert them in PowerPoint. When using the package
for CD option, Make sure to select the viewer, and use the copy to file
option. Then use your CD burning software to copy all of the files to the
CD. This will give you an Autorun CD.

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint


"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I created five slideshows in PowerPoint 2003 with the VISTA operating
system
on a new Dell Dimension E520 computer. I embedded the same three
different
sound tracks with the .mp3 format into each slideshow. I copied each to
a
CD
and made numerous "trial runs" of each on my computer before I copied
them
to
the "gift" Cds. I have read comments about PowerPoint only being able
to
embed .wav files, but the .mp3 files work fine for me except for one
song
on
another computer.

I saved all of the slideshows as a PowerPoint slideshow before I
"packaged
them to a CD." The CDs run perfectly on my computer except for not
opening
automatically as I had chosen. A window comes up for me to double-click
on
the file to open it. I think this has to be caused by VISTA.

The real problem comes from trying to run the slideshows on another
computer. Not only do they NOT start automatically, the music stops at
the
beginning and during the third sound track. This problem has happened
on
two
different computers with XP and each person having PowerPoint 2003
installed
on their computer.

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

I cannot find the Sound Option dialog box in PowerPoint 2003 so have
not
been able to verify that the .mp3 files are embedded or not. As far as
I
am
concerned, they have to be embedded or they would not play on another
computer.

Before I started making the slideshows, I read and copied everything I
could
find with the instructions, read the tutorials, and followed all of the
steps
from the Microsoft website. I am very frustrated about WHY the music
problem
is happening. Each one of the slideshows is for my five grandsons from
their
birth to their current ages. I plan to make CD copies for five more
relatives, but if at all possible, I don't want this glitch to occur. I
am
wondering if this problem is a bug in PowerPoint 2003 or maybe somehow
VISTA
could be causing this.

I would appreciate any suggestions anyone may have.

Deloresw

Thank you so much for your comments--you are soooo funny. smile I need
funny after being submerged in these slideshows.

I have been doing everything you said about adding the music, except I have
spent a lot of time calculating the time for each song and testing and
retesting when I add or delete a slide to make sure the songs do not overlap
or not play long enough. So if I set each song to stop playing after 999
slides, will this alleviate me having to make adjustments to the music when I
need to make changes?

The song that will not play correctly on the XP computers is 2:23 minutes;
4.35 MB, the other songs are 8.18 MB; 4.67 MB; 7.63 MB; and 2.11 MB. As you
can see, I have added two more songs. smile Each slideshow is approximately
170 slides of pictures and satelitte maps. The largest slideshow is about 34
MB and the others are about 24 MB.

You said "all the files should be "loose" on the CD. If they're inside a
folder, the CD won't autorun."

If I am understanding you correctly, should I move the music files and
slideshow file to the same folder BEFORE I begin inserting the music files
into the slideshow? I now have the music files in a folder under "Music."
This morning, I made a new folder to prepare to move the music files and
slideshow into this new folder.

Also, should I adjust the maximum size for sound files back down to 128 kb
from the 50,000 kbs?

Delores

For the sound part, here's the process I'd use to insert the sounds.

1. On slide 1, Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File. Navigate to
your MP3 and insert it.
2. When prompted, select "play automatically."
3. Right-click the sound icon on the slide, choose custom animation
4. In the custom animation pane, double-click the sound file in the
animation list to open the Play Sound dialog.
5. On the Effect tab, make sure Start Playing is set to "from beginning" and
"stop playing" is set to "after 999 slides." I know you may only want the
first sound to play for 10 slides or something, but go ahead and put 999 in
there.
6. Click OK to close.

Now go to the slide you want the 2nd sound file to begin playing on and
repeat the process. Put 999 in the "stop playing after" setting again. Do
the same for the 3rd sound file.

You may have this set up just fine, and it could be just that the computer
is running out of resources as you play the presentation. After all, it's
running from a CD, which is slower than running from the harddrive. This...

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

....is the odd part, and the part that's making me think it may be a
resources issue. How big is the third MP3 file? (I know they're not usually
large, but it never hurts to ask.) Also, how big is your PPT file -- like,
how many slides and also how big is the file size (in kb or MB)? If you have
lots of high-resolution pictures, that often makes the file size very large
and could be bogging down the playback. It can be resolved, but I hate to
send you down that road if it's not really the issue.

--
B each.





"Echo S" wrote:

If you use Package for CD, the MP3 files should be in the same folder with
the presentation and Viewer files. They will be properly linked (the package
for CD process resolves all the links for you) and should play on other
computers.

If the first two play, I'd imagine that the packaging and linking went okay,
and the third one should as well. Since it does play at least sometimes on
the other computers, it sounds to me (no pun intended) as if the MP3s are
all linked properly.

For the automatic starting part, I would try this:
1. File | Package for CD
2. Choose copy to folder and run the PforCD process
3. Burn the contents of the folder to the CD. Don't burn the folder
itself -- all the files should be "loose" on the CD. If they're inside a
folder, the CD won't autorun.

For the sound part, here's the process I'd use to insert the sounds.

1. On slide 1, Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File. Navigate to
your MP3 and insert it.
2. When prompted, select "play automatically."
3. Right-click the sound icon on the slide, choose custom animation
4. In the custom animation pane, double-click the sound file in the
animation list to open the Play Sound dialog.
5. On the Effect tab, make sure Start Playing is set to "from beginning" and
"stop playing" is set to "after 999 slides." I know you may only want the
first sound to play for 10 slides or something, but go ahead and put 999 in
there.
6. Click OK to close.

Now go to the slide you want the 2nd sound file to begin playing on and
repeat the process. Put 999 in the "stop playing after" setting again. Do
the same for the 3rd sound file.

You may have this set up just fine, and it could be just that the computer
is running out of resources as you play the presentation. After all, it's
running from a CD, which is slower than running from the harddrive. This...

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

...is the odd part, and the part that's making me think it may be a
resources issue. How big is the third MP3 file? (I know they're not usually
large, but it never hurts to ask.) Also, how big is your PPT file -- like,
how many slides and also how big is the file size (in kb or MB)? If you have
lots of high-resolution pictures, that often makes the file size very large
and could be bogging down the playback. It can be resolved, but I hate to
send you down that road if it's not really the issue.

--
Echo S [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/power...noy/index.html
PPTLive! Oct 28-31, New Orleans http://www.pptlive.com

"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I appreciate your response, but I still do not understand why the other
songs
play correctly if they are not embedded. Also, can you give me some simple
instructions on how to go about linking the files to the slideshow, e.g.,
do
I perform the same tasks I have been doing by inserting the sound files in
the "add effects" column and using the "effect options" to start and stop?
The instructions I read and downloaded make it sound complicated to me. If
I
remember correctly, the instructions say if you link the sound files, you
have to lower the kbs from 50,000 back to the 128 kbs before choosing to
link
the files. Thanks again!
Deloresw

"Michael Koerner" wrote:

First MP3 files cannot be embedded, they have to linked, and must
accompany
the presentation. Best way is to put them all into the same folder as you
presentation before you insert them in PowerPoint. When using the package
for CD option, Make sure to select the viewer, and use the copy to file
option. Then use your CD burning software to copy all of the files to the
CD. This will give you an Autorun CD.

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint


"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I created five slideshows in PowerPoint 2003 with the VISTA operating
system
on a new Dell Dimension E520 computer. I embedded the same three
different
sound tracks with the .mp3 format into each slideshow. I copied each to
a
CD
and made numerous "trial runs" of each on my computer before I copied
them
to
the "gift" Cds. I have read comments about PowerPoint only being able
to
embed .wav files, but the .mp3 files work fine for me except for one
song
on
another computer.

I saved all of the slideshows as a PowerPoint slideshow before I
"packaged
them to a CD." The CDs run perfectly on my computer except for not
opening
automatically as I had chosen. A window comes up for me to double-click
on
the file to open it. I think this has to be caused by VISTA.

The real problem comes from trying to run the slideshows on another
computer. Not only do they NOT start automatically, the music stops at
the
beginning and during the third sound track. This problem has happened
on
two
different computers with XP and each person having PowerPoint 2003
installed
on their computer.

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

I cannot find the Sound Option dialog box in PowerPoint 2003 so have
not
been able to verify that the .mp3 files are embedded or not. As far as
I
am
concerned, they have to be embedded or they would not play on another
computer.

Before I started making the slideshows, I read and copied everything I
could
find with the instructions, read the tutorials, and followed all of the
steps
from the Microsoft website. I am very frustrated about WHY the music
problem
is happening. Each one of the slideshows is for my five grandsons from
their
birth to their current ages. I plan to make CD copies for five more
relatives, but if at all possible, I don't want this glitch to occur. I
am
wondering if this problem is a bug in PowerPoint 2003 or maybe somehow
VISTA
could be causing this.

I would appreciate any suggestions anyone may have.

Deloresw

Correction to the size of the slideshows. Three of them are 27.6 MB; 32.5 MB,
and 45.6 MB.
Delores

"Deloresw" wrote:

Thank you so much for your comments--you are soooo funny. smile I need
funny after being submerged in these slideshows.

I have been doing everything you said about adding the music, except I have
spent a lot of time calculating the time for each song and testing and
retesting when I add or delete a slide to make sure the songs do not overlap
or not play long enough. So if I set each song to stop playing after 999
slides, will this alleviate me having to make adjustments to the music when I
need to make changes?

The song that will not play correctly on the XP computers is 2:23 minutes;
4.35 MB, the other songs are 8.18 MB; 4.67 MB; 7.63 MB; and 2.11 MB. As you
can see, I have added two more songs. smile Each slideshow is approximately
170 slides of pictures and satelitte maps. The largest slideshow is about 34
MB and the others are about 24 MB.

You said "all the files should be "loose" on the CD. If they're inside a
folder, the CD won't autorun."

If I am understanding you correctly, should I move the music files and
slideshow file to the same folder BEFORE I begin inserting the music files
into the slideshow? I now have the music files in a folder under "Music."
This morning, I made a new folder to prepare to move the music files and
slideshow into this new folder.

Also, should I adjust the maximum size for sound files back down to 128 kb
from the 50,000 kbs?

Delores

For the sound part, here's the process I'd use to insert the sounds.

1. On slide 1, Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File. Navigate to
your MP3 and insert it.
2. When prompted, select "play automatically."
3. Right-click the sound icon on the slide, choose custom animation
4. In the custom animation pane, double-click the sound file in the
animation list to open the Play Sound dialog.
5. On the Effect tab, make sure Start Playing is set to "from beginning" and
"stop playing" is set to "after 999 slides." I know you may only want the
first sound to play for 10 slides or something, but go ahead and put 999 in
there.
6. Click OK to close.

Now go to the slide you want the 2nd sound file to begin playing on and
repeat the process. Put 999 in the "stop playing after" setting again. Do
the same for the 3rd sound file.

You may have this set up just fine, and it could be just that the computer
is running out of resources as you play the presentation. After all, it's
running from a CD, which is slower than running from the harddrive. This...

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

...is the odd part, and the part that's making me think it may be a
resources issue. How big is the third MP3 file? (I know they're not usually
large, but it never hurts to ask.) Also, how big is your PPT file -- like,
how many slides and also how big is the file size (in kb or MB)? If you have
lots of high-resolution pictures, that often makes the file size very large
and could be bogging down the playback. It can be resolved, but I hate to
send you down that road if it's not really the issue.

--
B each.





"Echo S" wrote:

If you use Package for CD, the MP3 files should be in the same folder with
the presentation and Viewer files. They will be properly linked (the package
for CD process resolves all the links for you) and should play on other
computers.

If the first two play, I'd imagine that the packaging and linking went okay,
and the third one should as well. Since it does play at least sometimes on
the other computers, it sounds to me (no pun intended) as if the MP3s are
all linked properly.

For the automatic starting part, I would try this:
1. File | Package for CD
2. Choose copy to folder and run the PforCD process
3. Burn the contents of the folder to the CD. Don't burn the folder
itself -- all the files should be "loose" on the CD. If they're inside a
folder, the CD won't autorun.

For the sound part, here's the process I'd use to insert the sounds.

1. On slide 1, Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File. Navigate to
your MP3 and insert it.
2. When prompted, select "play automatically."
3. Right-click the sound icon on the slide, choose custom animation
4. In the custom animation pane, double-click the sound file in the
animation list to open the Play Sound dialog.
5. On the Effect tab, make sure Start Playing is set to "from beginning" and
"stop playing" is set to "after 999 slides." I know you may only want the
first sound to play for 10 slides or something, but go ahead and put 999 in
there.
6. Click OK to close.

Now go to the slide you want the 2nd sound file to begin playing on and
repeat the process. Put 999 in the "stop playing after" setting again. Do
the same for the 3rd sound file.

You may have this set up just fine, and it could be just that the computer
is running out of resources as you play the presentation. After all, it's
running from a CD, which is slower than running from the harddrive. This...

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

...is the odd part, and the part that's making me think it may be a
resources issue. How big is the third MP3 file? (I know they're not usually
large, but it never hurts to ask.) Also, how big is your PPT file -- like,
how many slides and also how big is the file size (in kb or MB)? If you have
lots of high-resolution pictures, that often makes the file size very large
and could be bogging down the playback. It can be resolved, but I hate to
send you down that road if it's not really the issue.

--
Echo S [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/power...noy/index.html
PPTLive! Oct 28-31, New Orleans http://www.pptlive.com

"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I appreciate your response, but I still do not understand why the other
songs
play correctly if they are not embedded. Also, can you give me some simple
instructions on how to go about linking the files to the slideshow, e.g.,
do
I perform the same tasks I have been doing by inserting the sound files in
the "add effects" column and using the "effect options" to start and stop?
The instructions I read and downloaded make it sound complicated to me. If
I
remember correctly, the instructions say if you link the sound files, you
have to lower the kbs from 50,000 back to the 128 kbs before choosing to
link
the files. Thanks again!
Deloresw

"Michael Koerner" wrote:

First MP3 files cannot be embedded, they have to linked, and must
accompany
the presentation. Best way is to put them all into the same folder as you
presentation before you insert them in PowerPoint. When using the package
for CD option, Make sure to select the viewer, and use the copy to file
option. Then use your CD burning software to copy all of the files to the
CD. This will give you an Autorun CD.

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint


"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I created five slideshows in PowerPoint 2003 with the VISTA operating
system
on a new Dell Dimension E520 computer. I embedded the same three
different
sound tracks with the .mp3 format into each slideshow. I copied each to
a
CD
and made numerous "trial runs" of each on my computer before I copied
them
to
the "gift" Cds. I have read comments about PowerPoint only being able
to
embed .wav files, but the .mp3 files work fine for me except for one
song
on
another computer.

I saved all of the slideshows as a PowerPoint slideshow before I
"packaged
them to a CD." The CDs run perfectly on my computer except for not
opening
automatically as I had chosen. A window comes up for me to double-click
on
the file to open it. I think this has to be caused by VISTA.

The real problem comes from trying to run the slideshows on another
computer. Not only do they NOT start automatically, the music stops at
the
beginning and during the third sound track. This problem has happened
on
two
different computers with XP and each person having PowerPoint 2003
installed
on their computer.

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

I cannot find the Sound Option dialog box in PowerPoint 2003 so have
not
been able to verify that the .mp3 files are embedded or not. As far as
I
am
concerned, they have to be embedded or they would not play on another
computer.

Before I started making the slideshows, I read and copied everything I
could
find with the instructions, read the tutorials, and followed all of the
steps
from the Microsoft website. I am very frustrated about WHY the music
problem
is happening. Each one of the slideshows is for my five grandsons from
their
birth to their current ages. I plan to make CD copies for five more
relatives, but if at all possible, I don't want this glitch to occur. I
am
wondering if this problem is a bug in PowerPoint 2003 or maybe somehow
VISTA
could be causing this.

I would appreciate any suggestions anyone may have.

Deloresw

Well, I'm glad I could make you laugh, anyway!

But now I might make you cry. :-(

Using the "stop playing after 999 slides" won't keep you from having to make
timing adjustments to the slide transitions. But it should ensure that the
songs play all the way through and not stop unexpectedly partway through the
song. I would not try to use a "stop after XX slides" and put the real
number of slides in there. It just doesn't seem to work right for some
strange reason.

However, you should be aware that timing is not PowerPoint's strong suit.
You're not going to get extremely accurate timing with PPT. My favorite way
to explain it is, if you're playing the Star Spangled Banner and you want
the fireworks animation to happen when the song says "and the rockets' red
glare," well, it ain't gonna happen. PPT just isn't going to be that
precise.

So, you will probably be better off just putting 3-, 4-, and 5-second
automatic transitions on each slide and trying to get within a few seconds
of the total sound length.

Or, what I might do is use a sound editor and combine all the MP3s into one
sound file, insert that on the first slide and set it to stop playing after
999 slides, and then just set the transition times (3, 4, 5 seconds or so)
for all the slides.

Audacity is a good free sound editor. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ You
must download and install the LAME MP3 encoder as well, but there are links
to it on that site. Just click "Download Audacity 1.2.6" to get to it.

As for putting the MP3 into the folder with the presentation before
inserting it, yes, it's a good habit to get into. But it's not really
necessary since you're using Package for CD. The PfCD process actually
creates a new folder and puts the presentation and the MP3s in the same
folder -- and it fixes up all the links. So you don't have to worry so much
about starting with the MP3 in the same folder as the presentation. It may
make your life easier, though, and, as I mentioned, it really is a good
habit to get into.

Go here http://www.echosvoice.com/autoruncd2.htm and scroll down a little
way, and you can see a screeenshot of the files inside a package for CD
folder. You'll have autorun.INF, gdiplus.dll, pptview.exe and a bunch of
other files. You'll also see your presentation file and your MP3s. (The
linked audio in the screenshot is a WMA file, Beethoven's Symphony....) Burn
all those files to the CD. Don't burn the *folder.* Windows looks for the
autorun.INF file, or sometimes the play.BAT file, to start the CD
automatically. If that file is inside a folder, Windows can't see it on the
CD. And those INF/BAT files look for the pptview.exe file on the CD
directly. If it's in a folder, they can't find it. And thye pptview.exe file
looks for your presentation (PPT or PPS) file on the CD. If it's in a
folder, the Viewer won't be able to find it. And so on. You get the idea.

As for the 50,000 -- that is only for WAV files. Only WAVs can be embedded,
and so that setting applies only to WAVs. You are working with MP3s, so you
can ignore it. You can leave it alone or set it back to 100 or whatever. It
doesn't matter.

Oh, file size. 170 slides at 34MB or so doesn't seem out of whack. So I
don't think the file size is the problem. (I could be wrong, though, and I'm
sure others will pop in and correct me if I am!)

--
Echo S [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/power...noy/index.html
PPTLive! Oct 28-31, New Orleans http://www.pptlive.com

"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
Thank you so much for your comments--you are soooo funny. smile I need
funny after being submerged in these slideshows.

I have been doing everything you said about adding the music, except I
have
spent a lot of time calculating the time for each song and testing and
retesting when I add or delete a slide to make sure the songs do not
overlap
or not play long enough. So if I set each song to stop playing after 999
slides, will this alleviate me having to make adjustments to the music
when I
need to make changes?

The song that will not play correctly on the XP computers is 2:23 minutes;
4.35 MB, the other songs are 8.18 MB; 4.67 MB; 7.63 MB; and 2.11 MB. As
you
can see, I have added two more songs. smile Each slideshow is
approximately
170 slides of pictures and satelitte maps. The largest slideshow is about
34
MB and the others are about 24 MB.

You said "all the files should be "loose" on the CD. If they're inside a
folder, the CD won't autorun."

If I am understanding you correctly, should I move the music files and
slideshow file to the same folder BEFORE I begin inserting the music files
into the slideshow? I now have the music files in a folder under "Music."
This morning, I made a new folder to prepare to move the music files and
slideshow into this new folder.

Also, should I adjust the maximum size for sound files back down to 128 kb
from the 50,000 kbs?

Delores

For the sound part, here's the process I'd use to insert the sounds.

1. On slide 1, Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File. Navigate to
your MP3 and insert it.
2. When prompted, select "play automatically."
3. Right-click the sound icon on the slide, choose custom animation
4. In the custom animation pane, double-click the sound file in the
animation list to open the Play Sound dialog.
5. On the Effect tab, make sure Start Playing is set to "from beginning"
and
"stop playing" is set to "after 999 slides." I know you may only want the
first sound to play for 10 slides or something, but go ahead and put 999
in
there.
6. Click OK to close.

Now go to the slide you want the 2nd sound file to begin playing on and
repeat the process. Put 999 in the "stop playing after" setting again. Do
the same for the 3rd sound file.

You may have this set up just fine, and it could be just that the computer
is running out of resources as you play the presentation. After all, it's
running from a CD, which is slower than running from the harddrive.
This...

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on
the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have
to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

...is the odd part, and the part that's making me think it may be a
resources issue. How big is the third MP3 file? (I know they're not
usually
large, but it never hurts to ask.) Also, how big is your PPT file -- like,
how many slides and also how big is the file size (in kb or MB)? If you
have
lots of high-resolution pictures, that often makes the file size very
large
and could be bogging down the playback. It can be resolved, but I hate to
send you down that road if it's not really the issue.

--
B each.





"Echo S" wrote:

If you use Package for CD, the MP3 files should be in the same folder
with
the presentation and Viewer files. They will be properly linked (the
package
for CD process resolves all the links for you) and should play on other
computers.

If the first two play, I'd imagine that the packaging and linking went
okay,
and the third one should as well. Since it does play at least sometimes
on
the other computers, it sounds to me (no pun intended) as if the MP3s are
all linked properly.

For the automatic starting part, I would try this:
1. File | Package for CD
2. Choose copy to folder and run the PforCD process
3. Burn the contents of the folder to the CD. Don't burn the folder
itself -- all the files should be "loose" on the CD. If they're inside a
folder, the CD won't autorun.

For the sound part, here's the process I'd use to insert the sounds.

1. On slide 1, Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File. Navigate to
your MP3 and insert it.
2. When prompted, select "play automatically."
3. Right-click the sound icon on the slide, choose custom animation
4. In the custom animation pane, double-click the sound file in the
animation list to open the Play Sound dialog.
5. On the Effect tab, make sure Start Playing is set to "from beginning"
and
"stop playing" is set to "after 999 slides." I know you may only want the
first sound to play for 10 slides or something, but go ahead and put 999
in
there.
6. Click OK to close.

Now go to the slide you want the 2nd sound file to begin playing on and
repeat the process. Put 999 in the "stop playing after" setting again. Do
the same for the 3rd sound file.

You may have this set up just fine, and it could be just that the
computer
is running out of resources as you play the presentation. After all, it's
running from a CD, which is slower than running from the harddrive.
This...

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way
we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on
the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have
to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

...is the odd part, and the part that's making me think it may be a
resources issue. How big is the third MP3 file? (I know they're not
usually
large, but it never hurts to ask.) Also, how big is your PPT file --
like,
how many slides and also how big is the file size (in kb or MB)? If you
have
lots of high-resolution pictures, that often makes the file size very
large
and could be bogging down the playback. It can be resolved, but I hate to
send you down that road if it's not really the issue.

--
Echo S [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/power...noy/index.html
PPTLive! Oct 28-31, New Orleans http://www.pptlive.com

"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I appreciate your response, but I still do not understand why the other
songs
play correctly if they are not embedded. Also, can you give me some
simple
instructions on how to go about linking the files to the slideshow,
e.g.,
do
I perform the same tasks I have been doing by inserting the sound files
in
the "add effects" column and using the "effect options" to start and
stop?
The instructions I read and downloaded make it sound complicated to me.
If
I
remember correctly, the instructions say if you link the sound files,
you
have to lower the kbs from 50,000 back to the 128 kbs before choosing
to
link
the files. Thanks again!
Deloresw

"Michael Koerner" wrote:

First MP3 files cannot be embedded, they have to linked, and must
accompany
the presentation. Best way is to put them all into the same folder as
you
presentation before you insert them in PowerPoint. When using the
package
for CD option, Make sure to select the viewer, and use the copy to
file
option. Then use your CD burning software to copy all of the files to
the
CD. This will give you an Autorun CD.

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint


"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I created five slideshows in PowerPoint 2003 with the VISTA operating
system
on a new Dell Dimension E520 computer. I embedded the same three
different
sound tracks with the .mp3 format into each slideshow. I copied each
to
a
CD
and made numerous "trial runs" of each on my computer before I
copied
them
to
the "gift" Cds. I have read comments about PowerPoint only being
able
to
embed .wav files, but the .mp3 files work fine for me except for one
song
on
another computer.

I saved all of the slideshows as a PowerPoint slideshow before I
"packaged
them to a CD." The CDs run perfectly on my computer except for not
opening
automatically as I had chosen. A window comes up for me to
double-click
on
the file to open it. I think this has to be caused by VISTA.

The real problem comes from trying to run the slideshows on another
computer. Not only do they NOT start automatically, the music stops
at
the
beginning and during the third sound track. This problem has
happened
on
two
different computers with XP and each person having PowerPoint 2003
installed
on their computer.

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way
we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on
the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have
to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

I cannot find the Sound Option dialog box in PowerPoint 2003 so have
not
been able to verify that the .mp3 files are embedded or not. As far
as
I
am
concerned, they have to be embedded or they would not play on
another
computer.

Before I started making the slideshows, I read and copied everything
I
could
find with the instructions, read the tutorials, and followed all of
the
steps
from the Microsoft website. I am very frustrated about WHY the music
problem
is happening. Each one of the slideshows is for my five grandsons
from
their
birth to their current ages. I plan to make CD copies for five more
relatives, but if at all possible, I don't want this glitch to
occur. I
am
wondering if this problem is a bug in PowerPoint 2003 or maybe
somehow
VISTA
could be causing this.

I would appreciate any suggestions anyone may have.

Deloresw

Thank you so much for your help! I will try not to cry too much if something
does not work! I have had fun making the slideshows, but the small glitches
were about to get me down.

Deloresw

"Echo S" wrote:

Well, I'm glad I could make you laugh, anyway!

But now I might make you cry. :-(

Using the "stop playing after 999 slides" won't keep you from having to make
timing adjustments to the slide transitions. But it should ensure that the
songs play all the way through and not stop unexpectedly partway through the
song. I would not try to use a "stop after XX slides" and put the real
number of slides in there. It just doesn't seem to work right for some
strange reason.

However, you should be aware that timing is not PowerPoint's strong suit.
You're not going to get extremely accurate timing with PPT. My favorite way
to explain it is, if you're playing the Star Spangled Banner and you want
the fireworks animation to happen when the song says "and the rockets' red
glare," well, it ain't gonna happen. PPT just isn't going to be that
precise.

So, you will probably be better off just putting 3-, 4-, and 5-second
automatic transitions on each slide and trying to get within a few seconds
of the total sound length.

Or, what I might do is use a sound editor and combine all the MP3s into one
sound file, insert that on the first slide and set it to stop playing after
999 slides, and then just set the transition times (3, 4, 5 seconds or so)
for all the slides.

Audacity is a good free sound editor. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ You
must download and install the LAME MP3 encoder as well, but there are links
to it on that site. Just click "Download Audacity 1.2.6" to get to it.

As for putting the MP3 into the folder with the presentation before
inserting it, yes, it's a good habit to get into. But it's not really
necessary since you're using Package for CD. The PfCD process actually
creates a new folder and puts the presentation and the MP3s in the same
folder -- and it fixes up all the links. So you don't have to worry so much
about starting with the MP3 in the same folder as the presentation. It may
make your life easier, though, and, as I mentioned, it really is a good
habit to get into.

Go here http://www.echosvoice.com/autoruncd2.htm and scroll down a little
way, and you can see a screeenshot of the files inside a package for CD
folder. You'll have autorun.INF, gdiplus.dll, pptview.exe and a bunch of
other files. You'll also see your presentation file and your MP3s. (The
linked audio in the screenshot is a WMA file, Beethoven's Symphony....) Burn
all those files to the CD. Don't burn the *folder.* Windows looks for the
autorun.INF file, or sometimes the play.BAT file, to start the CD
automatically. If that file is inside a folder, Windows can't see it on the
CD. And those INF/BAT files look for the pptview.exe file on the CD
directly. If it's in a folder, they can't find it. And thye pptview.exe file
looks for your presentation (PPT or PPS) file on the CD. If it's in a
folder, the Viewer won't be able to find it. And so on. You get the idea.

As for the 50,000 -- that is only for WAV files. Only WAVs can be embedded,
and so that setting applies only to WAVs. You are working with MP3s, so you
can ignore it. You can leave it alone or set it back to 100 or whatever. It
doesn't matter.

Oh, file size. 170 slides at 34MB or so doesn't seem out of whack. So I
don't think the file size is the problem. (I could be wrong, though, and I'm
sure others will pop in and correct me if I am!)

--
Echo S [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/power...noy/index.html
PPTLive! Oct 28-31, New Orleans http://www.pptlive.com

"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
Thank you so much for your comments--you are soooo funny. smile I need
funny after being submerged in these slideshows.

I have been doing everything you said about adding the music, except I
have
spent a lot of time calculating the time for each song and testing and
retesting when I add or delete a slide to make sure the songs do not
overlap
or not play long enough. So if I set each song to stop playing after 999
slides, will this alleviate me having to make adjustments to the music
when I
need to make changes?

The song that will not play correctly on the XP computers is 2:23 minutes;
4.35 MB, the other songs are 8.18 MB; 4.67 MB; 7.63 MB; and 2.11 MB. As
you
can see, I have added two more songs. smile Each slideshow is
approximately
170 slides of pictures and satelitte maps. The largest slideshow is about
34
MB and the others are about 24 MB.

You said "all the files should be "loose" on the CD. If they're inside a
folder, the CD won't autorun."

If I am understanding you correctly, should I move the music files and
slideshow file to the same folder BEFORE I begin inserting the music files
into the slideshow? I now have the music files in a folder under "Music."
This morning, I made a new folder to prepare to move the music files and
slideshow into this new folder.

Also, should I adjust the maximum size for sound files back down to 128 kb
from the 50,000 kbs?

Delores

For the sound part, here's the process I'd use to insert the sounds.

1. On slide 1, Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File. Navigate to
your MP3 and insert it.
2. When prompted, select "play automatically."
3. Right-click the sound icon on the slide, choose custom animation
4. In the custom animation pane, double-click the sound file in the
animation list to open the Play Sound dialog.
5. On the Effect tab, make sure Start Playing is set to "from beginning"
and
"stop playing" is set to "after 999 slides." I know you may only want the
first sound to play for 10 slides or something, but go ahead and put 999
in
there.
6. Click OK to close.

Now go to the slide you want the 2nd sound file to begin playing on and
repeat the process. Put 999 in the "stop playing after" setting again. Do
the same for the 3rd sound file.

You may have this set up just fine, and it could be just that the computer
is running out of resources as you play the presentation. After all, it's
running from a CD, which is slower than running from the harddrive.
This...

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on
the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have
to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

...is the odd part, and the part that's making me think it may be a
resources issue. How big is the third MP3 file? (I know they're not
usually
large, but it never hurts to ask.) Also, how big is your PPT file -- like,
how many slides and also how big is the file size (in kb or MB)? If you
have
lots of high-resolution pictures, that often makes the file size very
large
and could be bogging down the playback. It can be resolved, but I hate to
send you down that road if it's not really the issue.

--
B each.





"Echo S" wrote:

If you use Package for CD, the MP3 files should be in the same folder
with
the presentation and Viewer files. They will be properly linked (the
package
for CD process resolves all the links for you) and should play on other
computers.

If the first two play, I'd imagine that the packaging and linking went
okay,
and the third one should as well. Since it does play at least sometimes
on
the other computers, it sounds to me (no pun intended) as if the MP3s are
all linked properly.

For the automatic starting part, I would try this:
1. File | Package for CD
2. Choose copy to folder and run the PforCD process
3. Burn the contents of the folder to the CD. Don't burn the folder
itself -- all the files should be "loose" on the CD. If they're inside a
folder, the CD won't autorun.

For the sound part, here's the process I'd use to insert the sounds.

1. On slide 1, Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File. Navigate to
your MP3 and insert it.
2. When prompted, select "play automatically."
3. Right-click the sound icon on the slide, choose custom animation
4. In the custom animation pane, double-click the sound file in the
animation list to open the Play Sound dialog.
5. On the Effect tab, make sure Start Playing is set to "from beginning"
and
"stop playing" is set to "after 999 slides." I know you may only want the
first sound to play for 10 slides or something, but go ahead and put 999
in
there.
6. Click OK to close.

Now go to the slide you want the 2nd sound file to begin playing on and
repeat the process. Put 999 in the "stop playing after" setting again. Do
the same for the 3rd sound file.

You may have this set up just fine, and it could be just that the
computer
is running out of resources as you play the presentation. After all, it's
running from a CD, which is slower than running from the harddrive.
This...

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way
we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on
the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have
to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

...is the odd part, and the part that's making me think it may be a
resources issue. How big is the third MP3 file? (I know they're not
usually
large, but it never hurts to ask.) Also, how big is your PPT file --
like,
how many slides and also how big is the file size (in kb or MB)? If you
have
lots of high-resolution pictures, that often makes the file size very
large
and could be bogging down the playback. It can be resolved, but I hate to
send you down that road if it's not really the issue.

--
Echo S [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/power...noy/index.html
PPTLive! Oct 28-31, New Orleans http://www.pptlive.com

"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I appreciate your response, but I still do not understand why the other
songs
play correctly if they are not embedded. Also, can you give me some
simple
instructions on how to go about linking the files to the slideshow,
e.g.,
do
I perform the same tasks I have been doing by inserting the sound files
in
the "add effects" column and using the "effect options" to start and
stop?
The instructions I read and downloaded make it sound complicated to me.
If
I
remember correctly, the instructions say if you link the sound files,
you
have to lower the kbs from 50,000 back to the 128 kbs before choosing
to
link
the files. Thanks again!
Deloresw

"Michael Koerner" wrote:

First MP3 files cannot be embedded, they have to linked, and must
accompany
the presentation. Best way is to put them all into the same folder as
you
presentation before you insert them in PowerPoint. When using the
package
for CD option, Make sure to select the viewer, and use the copy to
file
option. Then use your CD burning software to copy all of the files to
the
CD. This will give you an Autorun CD.

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint


"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I created five slideshows in PowerPoint 2003 with the VISTA operating
system
on a new Dell Dimension E520 computer. I embedded the same three
different
sound tracks with the .mp3 format into each slideshow. I copied each
to
a
CD
and made numerous "trial runs" of each on my computer before I
copied
them
to

I'm back!! I really appreciate all of the time you spent helping me, but when
I changed the effect options to "Stop playing after 999 slides," the songs
only played one time each. I changed the timing to repeat until end of slide,
but this caused the songs to overlap. I then changed the timing to first
song, (none) and second song to play 3 times, etc. The songs still would only
play one time each.

I reverted back to my original settings for the effect options, e.g., first
song, stop after 23 slides, timing; play to end of slide; second song, stop
after 39 slides, etc. Now, I am back in business except for the same problem
of autorun not working properly on my computer. The autorun and PP viewer, as
always, are listed on the CD, but I still have to click on the PP file and
select from the dropdown menu for Microsoft PowerPoint to run the slideshow.
I can live with this as long as everything else works on the XP computers,
but if you have anymore suggestions for me to try I would more than welcome
them.

Again, I thank all of you for your time and help! I hope my experience helps
someone else.

Deloresw



"Deloresw" wrote:

Thank you so much for your help! I will try not to cry too much if something
does not work! I have had fun making the slideshows, but the small glitches
were about to get me down.

Deloresw

"Echo S" wrote:

Well, I'm glad I could make you laugh, anyway!

But now I might make you cry. :-(

Using the "stop playing after 999 slides" won't keep you from having to make
timing adjustments to the slide transitions. But it should ensure that the
songs play all the way through and not stop unexpectedly partway through the
song. I would not try to use a "stop after XX slides" and put the real
number of slides in there. It just doesn't seem to work right for some
strange reason.

However, you should be aware that timing is not PowerPoint's strong suit.
You're not going to get extremely accurate timing with PPT. My favorite way
to explain it is, if you're playing the Star Spangled Banner and you want
the fireworks animation to happen when the song says "and the rockets' red
glare," well, it ain't gonna happen. PPT just isn't going to be that
precise.

So, you will probably be better off just putting 3-, 4-, and 5-second
automatic transitions on each slide and trying to get within a few seconds
of the total sound length.

Or, what I might do is use a sound editor and combine all the MP3s into one
sound file, insert that on the first slide and set it to stop playing after
999 slides, and then just set the transition times (3, 4, 5 seconds or so)
for all the slides.

Audacity is a good free sound editor. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ You
must download and install the LAME MP3 encoder as well, but there are links
to it on that site. Just click "Download Audacity 1.2.6" to get to it.

As for putting the MP3 into the folder with the presentation before
inserting it, yes, it's a good habit to get into. But it's not really
necessary since you're using Package for CD. The PfCD process actually
creates a new folder and puts the presentation and the MP3s in the same
folder -- and it fixes up all the links. So you don't have to worry so much
about starting with the MP3 in the same folder as the presentation. It may
make your life easier, though, and, as I mentioned, it really is a good
habit to get into.

Go here http://www.echosvoice.com/autoruncd2.htm and scroll down a little
way, and you can see a screeenshot of the files inside a package for CD
folder. You'll have autorun.INF, gdiplus.dll, pptview.exe and a bunch of
other files. You'll also see your presentation file and your MP3s. (The
linked audio in the screenshot is a WMA file, Beethoven's Symphony....) Burn
all those files to the CD. Don't burn the *folder.* Windows looks for the
autorun.INF file, or sometimes the play.BAT file, to start the CD
automatically. If that file is inside a folder, Windows can't see it on the
CD. And those INF/BAT files look for the pptview.exe file on the CD
directly. If it's in a folder, they can't find it. And thye pptview.exe file
looks for your presentation (PPT or PPS) file on the CD. If it's in a
folder, the Viewer won't be able to find it. And so on. You get the idea.

As for the 50,000 -- that is only for WAV files. Only WAVs can be embedded,
and so that setting applies only to WAVs. You are working with MP3s, so you
can ignore it. You can leave it alone or set it back to 100 or whatever. It
doesn't matter.

Oh, file size. 170 slides at 34MB or so doesn't seem out of whack. So I
don't think the file size is the problem. (I could be wrong, though, and I'm
sure others will pop in and correct me if I am!)

--
Echo S [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/power...noy/index.html
PPTLive! Oct 28-31, New Orleans http://www.pptlive.com

"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
Thank you so much for your comments--you are soooo funny. smile I need
funny after being submerged in these slideshows.

I have been doing everything you said about adding the music, except I
have
spent a lot of time calculating the time for each song and testing and
retesting when I add or delete a slide to make sure the songs do not
overlap
or not play long enough. So if I set each song to stop playing after 999
slides, will this alleviate me having to make adjustments to the music
when I
need to make changes?

The song that will not play correctly on the XP computers is 2:23 minutes;
4.35 MB, the other songs are 8.18 MB; 4.67 MB; 7.63 MB; and 2.11 MB. As
you
can see, I have added two more songs. smile Each slideshow is
approximately
170 slides of pictures and satelitte maps. The largest slideshow is about
34
MB and the others are about 24 MB.

You said "all the files should be "loose" on the CD. If they're inside a
folder, the CD won't autorun."

If I am understanding you correctly, should I move the music files and
slideshow file to the same folder BEFORE I begin inserting the music files
into the slideshow? I now have the music files in a folder under "Music."
This morning, I made a new folder to prepare to move the music files and
slideshow into this new folder.

Also, should I adjust the maximum size for sound files back down to 128 kb
from the 50,000 kbs?

Delores

For the sound part, here's the process I'd use to insert the sounds.

1. On slide 1, Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File. Navigate to
your MP3 and insert it.
2. When prompted, select "play automatically."
3. Right-click the sound icon on the slide, choose custom animation
4. In the custom animation pane, double-click the sound file in the
animation list to open the Play Sound dialog.
5. On the Effect tab, make sure Start Playing is set to "from beginning"
and
"stop playing" is set to "after 999 slides." I know you may only want the
first sound to play for 10 slides or something, but go ahead and put 999
in
there.
6. Click OK to close.

Now go to the slide you want the 2nd sound file to begin playing on and
repeat the process. Put 999 in the "stop playing after" setting again. Do
the same for the 3rd sound file.

You may have this set up just fine, and it could be just that the computer
is running out of resources as you play the presentation. After all, it's
running from a CD, which is slower than running from the harddrive.
This...

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on
the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have
to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

...is the odd part, and the part that's making me think it may be a
resources issue. How big is the third MP3 file? (I know they're not
usually
large, but it never hurts to ask.) Also, how big is your PPT file -- like,
how many slides and also how big is the file size (in kb or MB)? If you
have
lots of high-resolution pictures, that often makes the file size very
large
and could be bogging down the playback. It can be resolved, but I hate to
send you down that road if it's not really the issue.

--
B each.





"Echo S" wrote:

If you use Package for CD, the MP3 files should be in the same folder
with
the presentation and Viewer files. They will be properly linked (the
package
for CD process resolves all the links for you) and should play on other
computers.

If the first two play, I'd imagine that the packaging and linking went
okay,
and the third one should as well. Since it does play at least sometimes
on
the other computers, it sounds to me (no pun intended) as if the MP3s are
all linked properly.

For the automatic starting part, I would try this:
1. File | Package for CD
2. Choose copy to folder and run the PforCD process
3. Burn the contents of the folder to the CD. Don't burn the folder
itself -- all the files should be "loose" on the CD. If they're inside a
folder, the CD won't autorun.

For the sound part, here's the process I'd use to insert the sounds.

1. On slide 1, Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File. Navigate to
your MP3 and insert it.
2. When prompted, select "play automatically."
3. Right-click the sound icon on the slide, choose custom animation
4. In the custom animation pane, double-click the sound file in the
animation list to open the Play Sound dialog.
5. On the Effect tab, make sure Start Playing is set to "from beginning"
and
"stop playing" is set to "after 999 slides." I know you may only want the
first sound to play for 10 slides or something, but go ahead and put 999
in
there.
6. Click OK to close.

Now go to the slide you want the 2nd sound file to begin playing on and
repeat the process. Put 999 in the "stop playing after" setting again. Do
the same for the 3rd sound file.

You may have this set up just fine, and it could be just that the
computer
is running out of resources as you play the presentation. After all, it's
running from a CD, which is slower than running from the harddrive.
This...

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only way
we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click on
the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we have
to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

...is the odd part, and the part that's making me think it may be a
resources issue. How big is the third MP3 file? (I know they're not
usually
large, but it never hurts to ask.) Also, how big is your PPT file --
like,
how many slides and also how big is the file size (in kb or MB)? If you
have
lots of high-resolution pictures, that often makes the file size very
large
and could be bogging down the playback. It can be resolved, but I hate to
send you down that road if it's not really the issue.

--
Echo S [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/power...noy/index.html
PPTLive! Oct 28-31, New Orleans http://www.pptlive.com

"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I appreciate your response, but I still do not understand why the other
songs
play correctly if they are not embedded. Also, can you give me some
simple
instructions on how to go about linking the files to the slideshow,
e.g.,
do
I perform the same tasks I have been doing by inserting the sound files
in
the "add effects" column and using the "effect options" to start and
stop?
The instructions I read and downloaded make it sound complicated to me.
If
I
remember correctly, the instructions say if you link the sound files,
you
have to lower the kbs from 50,000 back to the 128 kbs before choosing
to
link
the files. Thanks again!
Deloresw

"Michael Koerner" wrote:

First MP3 files cannot be embedded, they have to linked, and must
accompany
the presentation. Best way is to put them all into the same folder as
you
presentation before you insert them in PowerPoint. When using the
package
for CD option, Make sure to select the viewer, and use the copy to
file
option. Then use your CD burning software to copy all of the files to
the
CD. This will give you an Autorun CD.

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint


"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I created five slideshows in PowerPoint 2003 with the VISTA operating
system
on a new Dell Dimension E520 computer. I embedded the same three
different

What does your Autorun.ini file say?

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint


"Deloresw" wrote in message
news
I'm back!! I really appreciate all of the time you spent helping me, but
when
I changed the effect options to "Stop playing after 999 slides," the songs
only played one time each. I changed the timing to repeat until end of
slide,
but this caused the songs to overlap. I then changed the timing to first
song, (none) and second song to play 3 times, etc. The songs still would
only
play one time each.

I reverted back to my original settings for the effect options, e.g.,
first
song, stop after 23 slides, timing; play to end of slide; second song,
stop
after 39 slides, etc. Now, I am back in business except for the same
problem
of autorun not working properly on my computer. The autorun and PP viewer,
as
always, are listed on the CD, but I still have to click on the PP file and
select from the dropdown menu for Microsoft PowerPoint to run the
slideshow.
I can live with this as long as everything else works on the XP computers,
but if you have anymore suggestions for me to try I would more than
welcome
them.

Again, I thank all of you for your time and help! I hope my experience
helps
someone else.

Deloresw



"Deloresw" wrote:

Thank you so much for your help! I will try not to cry too much if
something
does not work! I have had fun making the slideshows, but the small
glitches
were about to get me down.

Deloresw

"Echo S" wrote:

Well, I'm glad I could make you laugh, anyway!

But now I might make you cry. :-(

Using the "stop playing after 999 slides" won't keep you from having to
make
timing adjustments to the slide transitions. But it should ensure that
the
songs play all the way through and not stop unexpectedly partway
through the
song. I would not try to use a "stop after XX slides" and put the real
number of slides in there. It just doesn't seem to work right for some
strange reason.

However, you should be aware that timing is not PowerPoint's strong
suit.
You're not going to get extremely accurate timing with PPT. My favorite
way
to explain it is, if you're playing the Star Spangled Banner and you
want
the fireworks animation to happen when the song says "and the rockets'
red
glare," well, it ain't gonna happen. PPT just isn't going to be that
precise.

So, you will probably be better off just putting 3-, 4-, and 5-second
automatic transitions on each slide and trying to get within a few
seconds
of the total sound length.

Or, what I might do is use a sound editor and combine all the MP3s into
one
sound file, insert that on the first slide and set it to stop playing
after
999 slides, and then just set the transition times (3, 4, 5 seconds or
so)
for all the slides.

Audacity is a good free sound editor. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
You
must download and install the LAME MP3 encoder as well, but there are
links
to it on that site. Just click "Download Audacity 1.2.6" to get to it.

As for putting the MP3 into the folder with the presentation before
inserting it, yes, it's a good habit to get into. But it's not really
necessary since you're using Package for CD. The PfCD process actually
creates a new folder and puts the presentation and the MP3s in the same
folder -- and it fixes up all the links. So you don't have to worry so
much
about starting with the MP3 in the same folder as the presentation. It
may
make your life easier, though, and, as I mentioned, it really is a good
habit to get into.

Go here http://www.echosvoice.com/autoruncd2.htm and scroll down a
little
way, and you can see a screeenshot of the files inside a package for CD
folder. You'll have autorun.INF, gdiplus.dll, pptview.exe and a bunch
of
other files. You'll also see your presentation file and your MP3s. (The
linked audio in the screenshot is a WMA file, Beethoven's Symphony....)
Burn
all those files to the CD. Don't burn the *folder.* Windows looks for
the
autorun.INF file, or sometimes the play.BAT file, to start the CD
automatically. If that file is inside a folder, Windows can't see it on
the
CD. And those INF/BAT files look for the pptview.exe file on the CD
directly. If it's in a folder, they can't find it. And thye pptview.exe
file
looks for your presentation (PPT or PPS) file on the CD. If it's in a
folder, the Viewer won't be able to find it. And so on. You get the
idea.

As for the 50,000 -- that is only for WAV files. Only WAVs can be
embedded,
and so that setting applies only to WAVs. You are working with MP3s, so
you
can ignore it. You can leave it alone or set it back to 100 or
whatever. It
doesn't matter.

Oh, file size. 170 slides at 34MB or so doesn't seem out of whack. So I
don't think the file size is the problem. (I could be wrong, though,
and I'm
sure others will pop in and correct me if I am!)

--
Echo S [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/power...noy/index.html
PPTLive! Oct 28-31, New Orleans http://www.pptlive.com

"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
Thank you so much for your comments--you are soooo funny. smile I
need
funny after being submerged in these slideshows.

I have been doing everything you said about adding the music, except
I
have
spent a lot of time calculating the time for each song and testing
and
retesting when I add or delete a slide to make sure the songs do not
overlap
or not play long enough. So if I set each song to stop playing after
999
slides, will this alleviate me having to make adjustments to the
music
when I
need to make changes?

The song that will not play correctly on the XP computers is 2:23
minutes;
4.35 MB, the other songs are 8.18 MB; 4.67 MB; 7.63 MB; and 2.11 MB.
As
you
can see, I have added two more songs. smile Each slideshow is
approximately
170 slides of pictures and satelitte maps. The largest slideshow is
about
34
MB and the others are about 24 MB.

You said "all the files should be "loose" on the CD. If they're
inside a
folder, the CD won't autorun."

If I am understanding you correctly, should I move the music files
and
slideshow file to the same folder BEFORE I begin inserting the music
files
into the slideshow? I now have the music files in a folder under
"Music."
This morning, I made a new folder to prepare to move the music files
and
slideshow into this new folder.

Also, should I adjust the maximum size for sound files back down to
128 kb
from the 50,000 kbs?

Delores

For the sound part, here's the process I'd use to insert the sounds.

1. On slide 1, Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File. Navigate
to
your MP3 and insert it.
2. When prompted, select "play automatically."
3. Right-click the sound icon on the slide, choose custom animation
4. In the custom animation pane, double-click the sound file in the
animation list to open the Play Sound dialog.
5. On the Effect tab, make sure Start Playing is set to "from
beginning"
and
"stop playing" is set to "after 999 slides." I know you may only want
the
first sound to play for 10 slides or something, but go ahead and put
999
in
there.
6. Click OK to close.

Now go to the slide you want the 2nd sound file to begin playing on
and
repeat the process. Put 999 in the "stop playing after" setting
again. Do
the same for the 3rd sound file.

You may have this set up just fine, and it could be just that the
computer
is running out of resources as you play the presentation. After all,
it's
running from a CD, which is slower than running from the harddrive.
This...

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only
way we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and click
on
the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The
third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we
have
to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

...is the odd part, and the part that's making me think it may be a
resources issue. How big is the third MP3 file? (I know they're not
usually
large, but it never hurts to ask.) Also, how big is your PPT file --
like,
how many slides and also how big is the file size (in kb or MB)? If
you
have
lots of high-resolution pictures, that often makes the file size very
large
and could be bogging down the playback. It can be resolved, but I
hate to
send you down that road if it's not really the issue.

--
B each.





"Echo S" wrote:

If you use Package for CD, the MP3 files should be in the same
folder
with
the presentation and Viewer files. They will be properly linked (the
package
for CD process resolves all the links for you) and should play on
other
computers.

If the first two play, I'd imagine that the packaging and linking
went
okay,
and the third one should as well. Since it does play at least
sometimes
on
the other computers, it sounds to me (no pun intended) as if the
MP3s are
all linked properly.

For the automatic starting part, I would try this:
1. File | Package for CD
2. Choose copy to folder and run the PforCD process
3. Burn the contents of the folder to the CD. Don't burn the folder
itself -- all the files should be "loose" on the CD. If they're
inside a
folder, the CD won't autorun.

For the sound part, here's the process I'd use to insert the sounds.

1. On slide 1, Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File.
Navigate to
your MP3 and insert it.
2. When prompted, select "play automatically."
3. Right-click the sound icon on the slide, choose custom animation
4. In the custom animation pane, double-click the sound file in the
animation list to open the Play Sound dialog.
5. On the Effect tab, make sure Start Playing is set to "from
beginning"
and
"stop playing" is set to "after 999 slides." I know you may only
want the
first sound to play for 10 slides or something, but go ahead and put
999
in
there.
6. Click OK to close.

Now go to the slide you want the 2nd sound file to begin playing on
and
repeat the process. Put 999 in the "stop playing after" setting
again. Do
the same for the 3rd sound file.

You may have this set up just fine, and it could be just that the
computer
is running out of resources as you play the presentation. After all,
it's
running from a CD, which is slower than running from the harddrive.
This...

The music plays fine with the first two sound tracks. The only
way
we
can
start the music of the third sound track is to go back and
click on
the
prior
slide to advance to the slide with the third sound track. The
third
sound
track plays for awhile and then stops a couple more times so we
have
to
go
through the same procedure to start the music again.

...is the odd part, and the part that's making me think it may be a
resources issue. How big is the third MP3 file? (I know they're not
usually
large, but it never hurts to ask.) Also, how big is your PPT file --
like,
how many slides and also how big is the file size (in kb or MB)? If
you
have
lots of high-resolution pictures, that often makes the file size
very
large
and could be bogging down the playback. It can be resolved, but I
hate to
send you down that road if it's not really the issue.

--
Echo S [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PowerPoint 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/power...noy/index.html
PPTLive! Oct 28-31, New Orleans http://www.pptlive.com

"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I appreciate your response, but I still do not understand why the
other
songs
play correctly if they are not embedded. Also, can you give me
some
simple
instructions on how to go about linking the files to the
slideshow,
e.g.,
do
I perform the same tasks I have been doing by inserting the sound
files
in
the "add effects" column and using the "effect options" to start
and
stop?
The instructions I read and downloaded make it sound complicated
to me.
If
I
remember correctly, the instructions say if you link the sound
files,
you
have to lower the kbs from 50,000 back to the 128 kbs before
choosing
to
link
the files. Thanks again!
Deloresw

"Michael Koerner" wrote:

First MP3 files cannot be embedded, they have to linked, and must
accompany
the presentation. Best way is to put them all into the same
folder as
you
presentation before you insert them in PowerPoint. When using the
package
for CD option, Make sure to select the viewer, and use the copy
to
file
option. Then use your CD burning software to copy all of the
files to
the
CD. This will give you an Autorun CD.

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint


"Deloresw" wrote in message
...
I created five slideshows in PowerPoint 2003 with the VISTA
operating
system
on a new Dell Dimension E520 computer. I embedded the same
three
different