Modularizing PPT Presentations

[Scott Meyers]

I have a lot of modules (i.e., topics) that are used in multiple talks. Updates
to the various modules are not uncommon, so to make sure that each talk
containing a module is always up to date, I want to have my PPT presentations
consist largely of collections of other PPT files. For example, one talk might
consist of modules 1, 2, 4, 5, and 9, while another talk might consist of
modules 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 10.

I don't want to create talks by importing (i.e., copying) slides from modules,
because I'd have to redo the importation each time I wanted to give the talk (to
pick up the latest versions of all the modules in the talk). That's not
practical given the number of talks and modules I have, the frequency with which
they change, and the number of people who'd have to be trained to do such assembly.

I looked into playlists, but there doesn't seem to be a way to have slides
automatically numbered sequentially across a playlist, and hardwiring slide
numbers is not feasible, because different modules occur in different places in
different talks. Experience has shown that omitting slide numbers is also
impractical. Another apparent drawback with playlists is that there does not
seem to be a way to print all the slides in a playlist as a single presentation,
but that's what talk attendees expect to receive.

I've read about the ability of a PPT presentation to contain hyperlinks to other
presentations, but I'm not sure how I could take advantage of this facility.
For example, I'd still want to be able to automatically number all slides in a
talk consecutively and I'd still want to be able to print out all the slides in
a talk as a single unit.

I'm new to PPT, and I'm sure I'm not the only person who wants to create custom
presentations by mixing and matching combinations of modules such that when the
modules are updated, all presentations containing them automatically get the
updated content. I welcome all suggestions for how to approach this problem.

Thanks,

Scott

[Sandy]

Try this:

1) Save all your modules into a single master presentation file.
2) Create custom shows for each of your talks (Go to Slide Show > Custom
Show). This option allows you to select slides and name individual
presentations
3) To view a particular show on a particular "day" (Go to Slide Show > Set
Up Show > Show slides > [name of Custom Show].
4) To print a particular show: File > Print > Print Range > Custom Show
[name of Custom Show].

Let me know if this works for you. Otherwise, you may want to consider using
VBA for a more custom approach.
--
Sandy

Post by Scott Meyers
I have a lot of modules (i.e., topics) that are used in multiple talks. Updates
to the various modules are not uncommon, so to make sure that each talk
containing a module is always up to date, I want to have my PPT presentations
consist largely of collections of other PPT files. For example, one talk might
consist of modules 1, 2, 4, 5, and 9, while another talk might consist of
modules 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 10.
I don't want to create talks by importing (i.e., copying) slides from modules,
because I'd have to redo the importation each time I wanted to give the talk (to
pick up the latest versions of all the modules in the talk). That's not
practical given the number of talks and modules I have, the frequency with which
they change, and the number of people who'd have to be trained to do such assembly.
I looked into playlists, but there doesn't seem to be a way to have slides
automatically numbered sequentially across a playlist, and hardwiring slide
numbers is not feasible, because different modules occur in different places in
different talks. Experience has shown that omitting slide numbers is also
impractical. Another apparent drawback with playlists is that there does not
seem to be a way to print all the slides in a playlist as a single presentation,
but that's what talk attendees expect to receive.
I've read about the ability of a PPT presentation to contain hyperlinks to other
presentations, but I'm not sure how I could take advantage of this facility.
For example, I'd still want to be able to automatically number all slides in a
talk consecutively and I'd still want to be able to print out all the slides in
a talk as a single unit.
I'm new to PPT, and I'm sure I'm not the only person who wants to create custom
presentations by mixing and matching combinations of modules such that when the
modules are updated, all presentations containing them automatically get the
updated content. I welcome all suggestions for how to approach this problem.
Thanks,
Scott

[Scott Meyers]

Post by Sandy
1) Save all your modules into a single master presentation file.
2) Create custom shows for each of your talks (Go to Slide Show > Custom
Show). This option allows you to select slides and name individual
presentations
3) To view a particular show on a particular "day" (Go to Slide Show > Set
Up Show > Show slides > [name of Custom Show].
4) To print a particular show: File > Print > Print Range > Custom Show
[name of Custom Show].
Let me know if this works for you. Otherwise, you may want to consider using
VBA for a more custom approach.

Thanks for the suggestion, but this sounds unwieldy. There are well over 1000
slides and probably close to 100 modules. Many modules are used in many talks,
but many are used in only a single talk, too. Setting up all the custom subsets
would be a major hassle, I think. Also, I'm not sure that the relative order of
modules is necessarily the same in different talks that use them, i.e., one talk
might show module A before module B, while another might show module B before
module A, because the different contexts of the different talks leads to
different presentation orders.

Can you elaborate on how VBA could be used to help with this problem? What I
really want is a way to append different .ppt files together to create complete
presentations.

Thanks,

Scott

[Sandy]

I'm not really the VBA expert and am currently working with someone to help
me with a project similar to what you want:

Save all of your modules separately.
Create a PowerPoint interface that allows you to either
A. Use a drop down menu to select various modules then merge them into a
single presentation, or
B. Create icons on a PowerPoint slide that represent and are linked to each
of the modules. Click on desired icons to drag each of the modules into a
single presentation.
--
Sandy

Post by Scott Meyers

Post by Sandy
1) Save all your modules into a single master presentation file.
2) Create custom shows for each of your talks (Go to Slide Show > Custom
Show). This option allows you to select slides and name individual
presentations
3) To view a particular show on a particular "day" (Go to Slide Show > Set
Up Show > Show slides > [name of Custom Show].
4) To print a particular show: File > Print > Print Range > Custom Show
[name of Custom Show].
Let me know if this works for you. Otherwise, you may want to consider using
VBA for a more custom approach.

Thanks for the suggestion, but this sounds unwieldy. There are well over 1000
slides and probably close to 100 modules. Many modules are used in many talks,
but many are used in only a single talk, too. Setting up all the custom subsets
would be a major hassle, I think. Also, I'm not sure that the relative order of
modules is necessarily the same in different talks that use them, i.e., one talk
might show module A before module B, while another might show module B before
module A, because the different contexts of the different talks leads to
different presentation orders.
Can you elaborate on how VBA could be used to help with this problem? What I
really want is a way to append different .ppt files together to create complete
presentations.
Thanks,
Scott

[Kathy Jacobs]

Scott,
Check out the information on Robert Lane's site about relational
presentations. You might find that the methods he is developing will help
with your training. The idea he puts forth is that instead of keeping
everything in one large file (or a small number of large files) and copying
and pasting them every time you need a new order or combination, keep the
information in small single slide presentations and set up a hierarchical
organization for those files. Then, use a series of navigation tools to move
between the various files. Information on the methodology can be found on
Robert's site:
http://www.aspirecommunications.com/index.html

If you are interested in learning even more than is available on the site,
Robert is doing a 2-day class in Phoenix AZ at the end of January.
--
Kathryn Jacobs, Microsoft MVP PowerPoint and OneNote
Author of Kathy Jacobs on PowerPoint - Available now from Holy Macro! Books
Get PowerPoint answers at http://www.powerpointanswers.com

I believe life is meant to be lived. But:
if we live without making a difference, it makes no difference that we lived

Post by Scott Meyers

1) Save all your modules into a single master presentation file. 2)
Create custom shows for each of your talks (Go to Slide Show > Custom
Show). This option allows you to select slides and name individual
presentations
3) To view a particular show on a particular "day" (Go to Slide Show >
Set Up Show > Show slides > [name of Custom Show]. 4) To print a
particular show: File > Print > Print Range > Custom Show [name of Custom
Show].
Let me know if this works for you. Otherwise, you may want to consider
using VBA for a more custom approach.

Thanks for the suggestion, but this sounds unwieldy. There are well over
1000 slides and probably close to 100 modules. Many modules are used in
many talks, but many are used in only a single talk, too. Setting up all
the custom subsets would be a major hassle, I think. Also, I'm not sure
that the relative order of modules is necessarily the same in different
talks that use them, i.e., one talk might show module A before module B,
while another might show module B before module A, because the different
contexts of the different talks leads to different presentation orders.
Can you elaborate on how VBA could be used to help with this problem?
What I really want is a way to append different .ppt files together to
create complete presentations.
Thanks,
Scott

[PPTMagician]

In addition to Kathy's suggestion:

http://www.pptmagic.com/articles/dynamicppt.htm

http://www.pptmagic.com/articles/repository.htm

Same concept, beginner level. Slide numbering will be an issue though. It
seems to me someone else had posted an answer for the page numbering issue
with multiple shows, but I can't find it now.
--
Thanks,
Glenna Shaw
Microsoft PowerPoint MVP Team
http://www.pptmagic.com

Post by Kathy Jacobs
Scott,
Check out the information on Robert Lane's site about relational
presentations. You might find that the methods he is developing will help
with your training. The idea he puts forth is that instead of keeping
everything in one large file (or a small number of large files) and copying
and pasting them every time you need a new order or combination, keep the
information in small single slide presentations and set up a hierarchical
organization for those files. Then, use a series of navigation tools to move
between the various files. Information on the methodology can be found on
http://www.aspirecommunications.com/index.html
If you are interested in learning even more than is available on the site,
Robert is doing a 2-day class in Phoenix AZ at the end of January.
--
Kathryn Jacobs, Microsoft MVP PowerPoint and OneNote
Author of Kathy Jacobs on PowerPoint - Available now from Holy Macro! Books
Get PowerPoint answers at http://www.powerpointanswers.com
if we live without making a difference, it makes no difference that we lived

Post by Scott Meyers

1) Save all your modules into a single master presentation file. 2)
Create custom shows for each of your talks (Go to Slide Show > Custom
Show). This option allows you to select slides and name individual
presentations
3) To view a particular show on a particular "day" (Go to Slide Show >
Set Up Show > Show slides > [name of Custom Show]. 4) To print a
particular show: File > Print > Print Range > Custom Show [name of Custom
Show].
Let me know if this works for you. Otherwise, you may want to consider
using VBA for a more custom approach.

Thanks for the suggestion, but this sounds unwieldy. There are well over
1000 slides and probably close to 100 modules. Many modules are used in
many talks, but many are used in only a single talk, too. Setting up all
the custom subsets would be a major hassle, I think. Also, I'm not sure
that the relative order of modules is necessarily the same in different
talks that use them, i.e., one talk might show module A before module B,
while another might show module B before module A, because the different
contexts of the different talks leads to different presentation orders.
Can you elaborate on how VBA could be used to help with this problem?
What I really want is a way to append different .ppt files together to
create complete presentations.
Thanks,
Scott

[Sonya Stone]

Hi Scott,

I share your frustration, I'm trying to find a way to do the same thing at our company! I've considered some type of "mail merge" from a master presentation (not feasible if one doesn't know VBA), trying to use PowerApps (doesn't seem to connect with PowerPoint), and tagging each presentation module (go to File > Info and you have the option to add tags. I haven't found out yet how to select and compile them, though!)

Using a 3rd party application for presentation management seems like the best solution. Companies like shufflrr, slidelizard and empowersuite manage slide libraries (I have no affiliation to these, by the way, I'm sure there are many more good ones out there.) Unfortunately, the company I'm currently working at has determined that this isn't a priority for their IT solutions so this isn't an option for me.

Good luck! Let me know if you find a solution!

Sonya.

[Marky Goldstein]

I'd say Powerpoint, Word have become junkware now, not fullfilling contemporary requirements anymore.

It's a shame for the global tech progress.

Nonetheless, checkout Templafy and let us know how it goes.