Digital Workshop

OK... I've got a simple menu screen, with three buttons:

Play Video 1
Play Powerpoint
Play Video 2

Perfect.

Now the client says he'd like a "Play ALL" button that automatically plays video 1, then the powerpoint, then video 2.

So... presuming that I can have the .pps in a docview screen, (I've currently got it as a launched file) I could time the length of the powerpoint, and then have a delay that closes that screen and opens the video screen...

Is this the best way, or are there any more suggestions?

Now I've tried using the doc view, this method isn't going to work, as I don't just get the powerpoint slideshow, but the powerpoint buttons across the top, and scrollbar down the side.

So... do I convert the powerpoint to something else?

Help really appreciated....

Does the PPT have any interaction required of the client or user?

If not, could you include the videos in the PPT and just play the PPT? You can set up PowerPoint for a duration on a slide and then move through the other ones. That way you would get a "seamless" feel to everything.

If not, you could always convert the PPT to SWF using any number of tools and then you can synch your videos and SWF to run seamlesslyl.

If the PPT does require the client/user to click on it, I just don't see any way to get them to "Play All".

Or you could always save out all the PPT pages as images and then use Opus's slideshow.

Or you could save out all the PPT pages as images and then, using a video editing tool, bring them into your existing video(s) and combine everything into one video and go that route.

Thanks for your thoughts... they're helping!

The idea is that the client will be able to put different powerpoints in, and then burn CDs for different events etc.

I've currently told him that the user will need to click to close the powerpoint, leaving the next opus video screen open behind, which again will need to be clicked on to play.

Not quite what he originally asked for, but not awful.... I'll soon see what he says!

Here's another one for you.

Create 3 pages. One page for your video, one page for your slideshow, one page for your other video.

On the first video page, set the video to run automatically, and then when done go to the slide page.

On the slide page, set the slideshow to play all files from a specific directory such as <SYSTEM_PUBLICATION_DIR>\PPT\*.* Set it to run automatically and set it to go to the second video page when the slideshow completes.

On the second video page, set the video to run automatically, and then when done go to launch screen.

Create each page again for the launch buttons but make sure they have finishing actions of going back to the launch page.

Now all your client would have to do would be to save PPT as images and then copy them and replace what is in the <SYSTEM_PUBLICATION_DIR>\PPT folder.

Voila, this should do what they want.

Linda

Probably teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, but if you convert the .PPT extension to .PPS, the Powerpoint show will be play full screen rather than the programme. You just need to ensure your clients already either have the full Powerpoint programme installed, or the viewer (2 versions available, 97 & 2003) which you could pack with your publication.

Chris,

Yes, my experiments have been with the Powerpoint viewer, as I'm not sure what the end end user will have... so what I really need is for the viewer to send an End action back to Opus.

(I did think that putting a .pps rather than a .ppt in the docview would get rid of the top menu bar, but t didn't.)

Perhaps I should just encourage the client to let me build the whole thing in Opus!

BWpatric... really close... but the client is going to be adding audio files to their powerpoint. So conversion to still images is out.

Otherwise it was a really great idea!

Try again? !