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Q138027: PPT: Movies Do Not Play When Moved Cross-Platform

Article: Q138027
Product(s): Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows
Version(s): MACINTOSH:4.0; WINDOWS:4.0,4.0a,4.0c,7.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbinterop kbole kbdta
Last Modified: 11-MAR-2000

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 95, version 7.0 
- Microsoft PowerPoint for Macintosh, version 4.0 
- Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows, versions 4.0, 4.0a, 4.0c 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When you double-click a movie in slide view, you may receive one of the
following messages:

  In PowerPoint for Windows 95, version 7.0

  Sorry, this picture contains only a bitmap.

  In PowerPoint 4.0 for Windows

  Sorry, this QuickTime movie can only be played on a Macintosh.

  In PowerPoint 4.0 for the Macintosh

  The server application, source file, or item cannot be found. Make sure the
  application is properly installed, and that it has not been deleted, moved,
  or rentosh.

CAUSE
=====

When you insert a movie into a slide, PowerPoint actually creates a link to the
original movie file. The type of link depends on the type of movie file and the
computer's operating system. For example, if you insert a QuickTime movie into a
PowerPoint 4.0 for the Macintosh presentation, PowerPoint uses the QuickTime
Extension to play the movie. If you insert a Video for Windows (.avi) movie into
PowerPoint 4.0 for Windows, PowerPoint uses OLE and the Windows Media Player to
play the movie.

The error messages occur for one or both of the following reasons:

- You copied the presentation to another computer but you did not copy the
  movie files. Or, you copied all the files, but PowerPoint cannot find the
  movie files.

- The type of link required to play the movie isn't supported by PowerPoint or
  the operating system. For example, PowerPoint for the Macintosh cannot
  activate Windows Media Player objects.

RESOLUTION
==========

1. When you copy your presentation between a Macintosh-based and a Windows-based
  computer, be sure to copy all the movie files as well.

2. Make sure that your movie files can be played on the destination computer.

3. Open the file on the destination computer.

4. For each movie object, do the following:
  a. Delete the movie.

  b. Reinsert the movie.

5. Save the presentation.

PowerPoint for the Macintosh, versions 3.0 and later, can insert and play
QuickTime movies. PowerPoint for Windows, versions 3.0 through 7.0 cannot insert
or play QuickTime movies unless you install QuickTime for Windows, a third-
party add-on to Windows.*

PowerPoint for Windows, versions 3.0 and later can insert and play Microsoft
Video for Windows Audio-Visual Interleave (.avi) files.** PowerPoint for the
Macintosh, versions 3.0 and 4.0 cannot insert or play .avi files.

*NOTE: Windows-based programs can only play QuickTime movies that are saved
without dependencies (also called "flattened" QuickTime movies.)

**NOTE: If you are running Windows 3.x, you must have the Video for Windows
Runtime files installed. These files are installed by many multimedia programs
and also by PowerPoint 4.0 for Windows.

MORE INFORMATION
================

It is possible to convert .avi movies to QuickTime movies (and to convert
QuickTime movies to .avi movies.) There are several utilities available, some of
them shareware, that can do this.

The following solution assumes you have Microsoft Video for Windows, version 1.1,
installed on your Windows computer, or the Video for Windows 1.1 Utilities on
your Macintosh:

AVI (Windows) to QuickTime (Macintosh)
--------------------------------------

1. Transfer the AVI file from Windows to the Macintosh.

2. Start the AVI To QT utility.

3. Locate the AVI file you want to convert.

4. Select the AVI file, then click Add.

5. Click Convert. You have two options to save the file:

  Save Normally (dependency to AVI file)

  Save Self-Contained Movie

6. Make sure the Windows Compressors reside in the extensions folder. The
  extension currently supports the following compression schemes:

  Microsoft Video 1
  Microsoft RLE
  Microsoft Full Frame
  Apple Cinepak

7. Delete the placeholder from your presentation.

8. Insert the converted movie.

QuickTime (Macintosh) to AVI (Windows 3.1)
------------------------------------------

1. Start the VFW Converter.

2. Click Open Source.

3. Locate the QuickTime movie you want to convert.

4. Click the movie, and then click Open.

5. Click Convert.

6. Click Uncompressed, click the desired color depth, and click the frame rate.

  NOTE: Depending on the size of the original movie, the resulting file may be
  extremely large.

7. Click OK.

8. Move the file to the Windows platform.

You can now import this movie into PowerPoint.

NOTE: The movie is not compressed. To save hard drive space, compress the AVI
movie, by following thse steps:

1. Open VidEdit for Windows 1.1.

2. On the File Menu, click Open.

3. Locate the uncompressed AVI file.

4. On the File menu, click Save As.

5. Click Compression Options.

6. Click the desired compression scheme (Microsoft RLE[32] is a good choice).

7. Save the AVI file; this compresses the movie.

For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:

  Q108804 Video for Windows 1.1: Contents of Macintosh Utilities


  Q112422 PPT: Not All .AVI Files Play Under Windows NT

Additional query words: 3.00 3.00b 4.00a 4.00c ppt95 m_powerpt w_powerpt quicktime quick time avi mov movie cross platform

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Keywords          : kbinterop kbole kbdta 
Technology        : kbHWMAC kbOSMAC kbPowerPtSearch kbPowerPt700 kbZNotKeyword2 kbPowerptMacSearch kbPowerPt700Search kbPowerPt400 kbPowerPt400Mac kbPowerPt400c kbPowerPt400a
Version           : MACINTOSH:4.0; WINDOWS:4.0,4.0a,4.0c,7.0
Hardware          : MAC x86
Issue type        : kbprb

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