Contents |
Overview |
|---|
Microsoft PowerPoint is a very popular program for creating presentations, used in business, education, and many other settings. It has a very nice HTML conversion Wizard, and produces good HTML output.
However, because PowerPoint is very graphical, the HTML output is extremely bulky. Each PowerPoint presentation needs to occupy a separate subdirectory. A single PowerPoint presentation, one file with only three slides, expands to a subdirectory containing twenty-nine HTML and graphical files.
There are situations in which this isn't acceptable. Fortunately, there is a way around it: you can send the outline - the textual part of the presentation - to Microsoft Word, and have Word save that as a single HTML file...without any graphics. If a few graphics are needed, they can be inserted into the outline using a Web page editor.
In this module, we'll go through the process for each of these two major
types of conversion step-by-step. But first, you'll need to run PowerPoint.
The icon looks like this: 
3. Layout Selection |
Two choices are involved in this step: This first is to decide whether to use a saved set of specifications - that is, the answers to all the questions theWizard asks you. This saves you time. At the end of the process, you are given the opportunity to save these specifications in case you want to use them later. Until you save at least one, there won't be any to retrieve. 
The other choice is to decide if you want a standard layout or one using frames. I usually recommend against frames, though there are some circumstances in which they are quite helpful. I find the frames significantly reduce the viewing area for the PowerPoint slides themselves, but you should try it and see for yourself.  |
4. Graphic Type |
The first choice of graphic type is .GIF vs. .JPEG graphic compression for the images. The best all-around choice is .GIF, but .JPEG offers you a range of compresison ratios. JPEG at 100% produces huge files, and at 50% distorts the pictures noticeably. Best results are obtained between 85% and 95%, which results in files larger than equivalent quality .GIF images. The second choice is what to do about animations in PowerPoint. PowerPoint allows some simple but interesting animation in its slides. (Look at W44b.ppt slide 4 for an example of animation in PowerPoint.) If you choose .GIF or .JPEG graphics, the animation will be lost. But
Microsoft has a PowerPoint animation player that can be used as a browser
"plug-in" - but only in Microsoft's own Internet Explorer. If you choose,
you can have the presentation saved as HTML text with slides that can be
seen with the PowerPoint Animation Player. The first page of the presentation
will have a button If your audience doesn't download the player, the slides will be blank
with |
5. Monitor Size
|
 Do
you know how large your guests' screens are? Of course not! The safest
course is to make your Web page readable on the smallest standard screen
size: 640x480.
The width of the graphic can't be full-screen, unfortunately - at least, it's not really practical. The problem is that all the slides will share the page with a series of navigation buttons. If the slide occupies the full width of screen, the buttons can be placed at the top or bottom, but then your readers will have to scroll down to see everything. So... use 3/4 width. |
6. Information Page
|
The "information page" is a Web page PowerPoint creates to act as an introduction
and table of contents. It's the "home page" for your presentation.
The Wizard sensibly reminds you to put your email and home page addresses on, and creates a link for them. "Other information" will appear as a paragraph under the main header of the presentation. Other options:
|
7. Colors and Buttons
|
 You
can really improve the look of your presentation by adjusting the Web colors
to match the colors in the original PowerPoint presentation. At the very
least, changing the background color to black will help the presentation
stand out. Of course, if you do that, you'll need to change the text color
as well!
Notice the "transparent buttons" checkbox: with certain color combinations, this can be very effective. You'll have to try it to see how you like it!
|
8. Layout Issues
|
 The first
decision in this step is where to place the navigation buttons. They all
work, but I think they work best below the slide. You may want to
try other alternatives and see how you like them.
Notice that there is also a checkbox to include notes in the pages. When you create a PowerPoint presentation you have the option of putting notes (word-processor style) with each slide. These don't show in the "slide show", but they can be printed as useful cues for the speaker. This check box lets you put the notes into each HTML slide page. They will be placed below the slide, so your readers may have to scroll down to see them.
|
9. Saving Conversion Specifications |
When you reach this point, you're finsihed answering the Wizard's questions. The only thing left to decide is whether to save your answers in a file, so you can use them again for the next time you convert PowerPoint to HTML. Do you remember that in Step 3 "Layout Selection" you were given the option of loading a saved set of specifications? This is where you get to save them for next time!
When you're done, you'll want to see the results using a browser! You might also want to check with a directory viewing utility: How much space are the Web files taking up. Looking carefully at the results will help you create a better HTML version next time. |
Saving PowerPoint Presentations as Outlines |
|
|---|---|
Viewing an Outline |
|
Sending to MS Word |
 The
simplest and most effective way of saving a PowerPoint outline is to use
the menu selections, File ... SendTo ... MicrosoftWord. This actually
creates an RTF format document, which can be read by most word processors,
and probably some Web editors as well. |
Page Layout Selection |
|
Use Word to Convert to HTML |
Once the presentation is saved as RTF, you can open it in MS Word and many other word processors. Your best route to HTML through Word is to use the menu selection, File ... SaveAsHTML. See the module "How to Convert Microsoft Word Documents into Web Pages" (W36c) for details. |
About this document... |
|
|---|---|
Audience: |
This is information for people who want guidance in converting PowerPoint presentations into HTML. |
Objectives: |
When you successfully complete this lesson, you will
be able to...
|
Module W43c: |
This document is part of a modular instruction series in Computer Information Systems. For more information, see the overview or the list of modules in this series, W: World Wide Web. This document has been used in the following classes: CIS 260 |
Author: |
Laurence J. Krieg |
Institution: |
 |
| History: | Original: 29 Nov 1998
Last modification: Monday, 31-Aug-2009 11:48:06 EDT |
| Copyright: | Copyright © 1999, Laurence J. Krieg.
Instructors: You may point to this file in your Web-based materials. Students: you may make a copy for your personal use. All other uses: contact the author, Laurence J. Krieg for permission. Email krieg@ieee.org |
Once
you've opened your PowerPoint slide presentation, choose File...Save
as HTML to get the conversion Wizard started.
linked to Microsoft's Web site, so viewers can download the animation player.
an
icon saying, "Click here to get the plugin."
The
Wizard will add navigation buttons to each page: you get to choose their
style. I find the rectangular button works best, particularly if you position
the buttons on the top or bottom during the next Wizard step.
Button
color will be based on the background color of your Web pages. Here are
a set of non-transparent square buttons from a green background.
(I added the yellow text to clarify their purpose for you - the text doesn't
appear on the actual slides.)
One PowerPoint
presentation can easily be transformed into 20-50 Web files, including
HTML and graphics. Most are numbered, and don't have distinctive names.
For these reasons, it is necessary for each presentation to have a subdirectory
(folder) of its own. In this step, you tell the Wizard where to create
the directory.
As
mentioned earlier, you can create a much more compact Web file by saving
the outline form of a PowerPoint presentation. If you want to see what
the outline looks like, click in the lower left corner of the PowerPoint
window on the second button from the left (circled in the figure).
