Problems with fonts (using two computers and different versions of PPT)
MaryL
of you know from my other messages, I am just now trying to move from "plain
vanilla" PPT slides to more creative slides. At the same time, now I am
using two versions of PPT. At the office, I still have Win-98 and PPT97. At
home, I updated from Win-98 to XP Home Edition and from PPT97 to PPT-XP2002.
Other programs I use (such as WordPerfect) can legally be used on more than
one computer as long as I am the only user. MS Office can only be installed
on one computer. I learned this when I had to reformat my new computer at
home, and even that required me to contact MS and get a new code.
I have run into a number of problems - some caused by trying to use and edit
my "older" PPT97 files on my home computer with PPT02, and others by taking
the newly-edited slides to the university where I have tried to do still
more editing. In other words, I do some of my work at home and some at the
university - I do not simply embed fonts at one location and use the slide
in the other. Oh, yes, to provide still another possible level of
complication: These slides are then shown in the classroom by using a cart
that is outfitted with PPT2000. So far, that has not been a problem because
I do embed fonts.
I have run into some problems with fonts related to the information I just
provided:
(1) Files that were originally created on PPT97 often cannot be saved with
embedded fonts on PPT02. I continually get the message that some of my fonts
cannot be saved with the presentation because they have not been installed.
For example, one set showed that CG Times had not been installed. Therefore,
I copied CG Times from my old computer (Win-98) and installed it on the new
computer (Win-XP). Then I got a new error message from the same PPT
document - this time, it said that some fonts could be saved and the reason
given was "general failure." Other programs (such as WordPerfect10) do not
have any problem with the same font.
(2) Once I take the slides to the university and try to work in PPT97, I get
still another set of error messages which say that some fonts cannot be
saved with the document because of "licensing restrictions."
Help! What can I do? I need to work with two different versions of PPT
because the university does not upgrades software on a regular basis
(money). Moreover, I am using two operating systems - Win98 at the
university and Win-XP at home.
Any suggestions?
MaryL
PTT, Inc.
PowerPoint when you have more than 500 fonts in your fonts directory. Open
up Explorer, and browse to C:\Windows\Fonts and see if you have more than
500. If so, you might want to get rid of some of the less used ones.
Also, this has nothing to do with your problem, even though I am going to
make it out to be one, and that is why are you using WordPerfect? Do you
copy and paste from WordPerfect to PowerPoint? If so, try using "Paste
Special" and selecting "unformatted text" as an option. Better yet, start
using Word and you will find that life is much better! HA!
Please keep in mind that this is Thanksgiving Day morning and I am opening
up some real old cobwebs on this. But then again, if you have less than 500
fonts I have just wasted your time! <VBG>
Bill Foley
www.pttinc.com
"MaryL" <stan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:uuc53ea...@corp.supernews.com...
Adam Crowley
Warning - this is my opinion...
My first suggestion would be stick to Arial or Times New Roman if you're
doing so much moving between different machines - it will save you a lot of
heartache (Is CG Times so different to Times New Roman..? I don't know).
I understand that you're trying to make slides more creative - I make a
living from those who know no better by trying to make their presentations
look nice - but fonts aren't necessarily the answer and it's a very small
pay off against the problems you're having. A well chosen colour scheme and
background will take you further away from that vanilla than fonts will.
If I know that stuff that I work on will be shown on many different machines
I will use Arial every time (Sans-serif fonts are generally easier to read
on a screen). And I don't like what embedding fonts sometimes does to
spacing and always does to file size (the increase is often ridiculous).
If you're determined to use unusual fonts always copy them when you copy
your file - this way you can install them on machines even if copyright
restrictions don't allow you to embed them.
Also, PowerPoint XP allows you to embed only the characters that are used -
check in Tools>Options>Save - that will hinder further editing on a machine
that doesn't have the fonts.
"MaryL" <stan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:uuc53ea...@corp.supernews.com...
MaryL
"PTT, Inc." <ptt...@itexas.net> wrote in message
news:e#j6n$tlCHA.2592@tkmsftngp02...
> Not sure if this could be causing your problem, but I know of problems in
> PowerPoint when you have more than 500 fonts in your fonts directory.
Open
> up Explorer, and browse to C:\Windows\Fonts and see if you have more than
> 500. If so, you might want to get rid of some of the less used ones.
>
now.
> Also, this has nothing to do with your problem, even though I am going to
> make it out to be one, and that is why are you using WordPerfect? Do you
> copy and paste from WordPerfect to PowerPoint? If so, try using "Paste
> Special" and selecting "unformatted text" as an option. Better yet, start
> using Word and you will find that life is much better! HA!
>
I love WordPerfect!! I have used it since version 3.0 (when it was still
WordPerfect Corporation in Orem, Utah and we were using MS-DOS). I use many
of their advanced featues, and after all these years I am somewhat "expert"
in WP -- but definitely not in PPT (where I am a true "novice.") I have a
huge number of WP files that I use for both personal and professional
(teaching) purposes. One of the first features that attracted me to WP
years ago was Reveal Codes, which enabled me to quickly detect and eliminate
many problems. I have read that Word now has something similar, but I have
not checked into it.
I do sometimes paste data from WP into PPT (using "unformatted text," just
as you described). However, the problems I described remain the same
regardless of whether it is a file where I used WP documents or whether it
was a completely new file created by typing directly into PPT.
> Please keep in mind that this is Thanksgiving Day morning and I am opening
> up some real old cobwebs on this. But then again, if you have less than
500
> fonts I have just wasted your time! <VBG>
>
No, you haven't wasted my time ... but I am open to more suggestions. Have
a nice Thanksgiving!
> > MaryL
> >
> >
> >
>
>
MaryL
I already tried to change the fonts from CG Times to Times New Roman -- I
agree that they are virtually the same. Ironically, I had also tried your
other suggestion (Arial). In each case, I received "general failure" when I
tried to save them on my home computer. Incidentally, I actually agree with
your statements about fonts, and I usually use Times New Roman when I print
documents for class handouts. However, the PPT documents I was asking about
are documents that I made by using templates downloaded from Internet sites
(such as Sonia's page), and I was simply using the fonts that were pre-set
by those templates. I also had some that had flags and political images in
the background because I teach political science. I tried to pick designs
that were simple but which would fit the theme of the class. I may have to
give up on that idea. (I use PPT in class every day, so I was also trying
to avoid some of the monotony that can come with looking at the same type of
presentation day-after-day.)
When I show the slides in class, I use one of four separate carts that our
department has -- the carts are configured with some multimedia options, and
we roll them from one room to another. There are a number of us who use the
same carts, so only one person in the department is permitted to make any
changes to the equipment. This means that I cannot install fonts on that
computer. If I don't embed fonts in the file, I get some strange-looking
bullets instead of the ones that shipped with the templates I am using.
What else do you suggest?
MaryL
"Adam Crowley" <adam@webshiteDOTorg> wrote in message
news:egctDJulCHA.1748@tkmsftngp07...
> > MaryL
> >
> >
> >
>
>
Sonia
FONT embedding
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00076.htm
Microsoft's Typography site
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00296.htm
Get a copy of Font Properties Extension and install it - -
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/free.htm. It's a handy little tool for
understanding a particular font.
_____________________
Miscellaneous:
I'm with Adam. I always use Arial for readability and then use color,
images, etc. to "liven" up the page. If I want smashing titles in a
different font, I will create them in Photoshop and save them as PNG's and
insert them as pictures.
In PowerPoint 2002 go to Tools > Options > Edit and disable the three items
listed at the bottom of the dialog. If you use custom animations, don't
expect them to work identically on each system. PowerPoint 97 differs a bit
from PowerPoint 2000 and 2002.
In Word, go to Tools > Options > View and under Formatting marks check
"All". That might be similar to Reveal Codes in WP.
Since you are only dealing with three systems (home, work, and cart), try to
ensure that the same fonts are installed on each so that you don't have to
worry about embedding. You can get lots of free, embeddable True Type fonts
on the web and there is a great newsgroup on Usenet called
alt.binaries.fonts. Lots of generous people there and loads of knowledge
shared.
There are probably lots of other things that I've overlooked, but the above
will address most of your questions.
--
Sonia Coleman, Microsoft PowerPoint MVP Team
http://www.soniacoleman.com
(Autorun CD Project Creator & Free Templates)
http://www.soniacoleman.com/Templates.htm
"MaryL" <stan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:uuc53ea...@corp.supernews.com...
MaryL
Thanks for the suggestions. I quickly looked at the links you provided, and
they look like they will be very helpful. Some of the templates I have been
using came from your page <http://www.soniacoleman.com/Templates.htm>. I
have really enjoyed using them. One of the problems came with "monotype
fonts," which I finally decided were the bullets. I was able to copy that
font successfully from one computer to another.
Actually, I am dealing with more than three systems -- I edit on two (home
computer and office computer, although I also have a laptop that I would
eventually add to the mix), but there are four separate carts that our
department uses in the classrooms. I have to be able to use any of the four
at any time. Individual faculty are not permitted to make changes (even
install fonts) on the carts. Ironically, the carts have different
configurations even though we have an administrator who is supposed to make
all changes. I know he would install (or give me permission to install)
some fonts, but different templates seem to come set up with different fonts
and bullets. However, the basic problem has really been between the two
computers that I use at home and office because that is where I do my
editing.
The only animations I use is that I sometimes set a slide to show only one
bulleted item a time (something I could easily do in PPT97 by using levels
but have not yet learned to do in PPT02).
I realize that I need to "simplify," and I am trying to decide on the best
way to do that. Incidentally, the three options that you suggested I
disable (under Tools>Options>Edit) were already disabled on my version, so
that apparently was not a source of my problems.
Thanks for your help!
MaryL
"Sonia" <sc...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:O6oGEiulCHA.2116@tkmsftngp07...
Adam Crowley
> One of the problems came with "monotype
> fonts," which I finally decided were the bullets.
Monotype Sorts is common but by no means universal.
Wing Dings has many similar characters that can be used to replace those of
Monotype Sorts and is far more likely to be on the target machines.
Adam Crowley
"MaryL" <stan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:uuc86o7...@corp.supernews.com...
> However, the PPT documents I was asking about
> are documents that I made by using templates downloaded from Internet
sites
> (such as Sonia's page), and I was simply using the fonts that were pre-set
> by those templates.
Format>Replace Fonts always works for me (except with that blasted Arial
Unicode and Korean text support etc...grrr). I'd replace all text fonts
with Arial and bullets such as Monotype Sorts with Wing Dings. Then make
sure you're not still embedding fonts when you save.
> I also had some that had flags and political images in
> the background because I teach political science. I tried to pick designs
> that were simple but which would fit the theme of the class. I may have
to
> give up on that idea. (I use PPT in class every day, so I was also trying
> to avoid some of the monotony that can come with looking at the same type
of
> presentation day-after-day.)
I stand by my earlier comment - you can avoid monotony without feeling you
have to keep changing fonts
MaryL
documents "from scratch." The font changes I mentioned usually came with
different templates I downloaded, and I can now watch for that as a problem
area. My actual preference is Times New Roman or Arial, and those are also
two that you mentioned. It will not be any problem at all for me to stick
to those two fonts. When I said that I would like some variety, I was
referring to the background design. I don't want anything obtrusive, but
would have liked some variety given the number of lectures that a student
sits through in a single semester (approximately 40). However, above all
they should be functional; so I may also have to give up on the idea of
different designs for different topics (one set for civil rights, one set
for the presidency, one set for Congress, etc.). I would just like to be
something more than a "talking head" to students, and I definitely am not an
entertainer!
One last point: Why did you say NOT to embed the fonts after replacing
them? I thought that was important since I will need to use these slides in
the classroom by using a "universal" departmental cart that is configured by
someone else. Or are you acting on the assumption that this set of fonts
plus Wing Dings will simply eliminate the need to embed?
MaryL
MaryL
"Adam Crowley" <adam@webshiteDOTorg> wrote in message
news:#2OJDHvlCHA.2032@tkmsftngp02...
Adam Crowley
> One last point: Why did you say NOT to embed the fonts after replacing
> them? I thought that was important since I will need to use these slides
in
> the classroom by using a "universal" departmental cart that is configured
by
> someone else. Or are you acting on the assumption that this set of fonts
> plus Wing Dings will simply eliminate the need to embed?
Arial and Times New Roman are standard Windows fonts installed on all
Windows machines unless they have deliberately been removed (very unlikely,
considering how many documents all over the world use them). I'm fairly
sure it's the same with Wing Dings (it's certainly been on every machine
that I've bothered to check).
If you uncheck embed fonts you will avoid your files being unnecessarily
large.
Hope that helps.
Steve Rindsberg
PowerPoint and in general.
FONT embedding
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00076.htm
Microsoft's Typography site
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00296.htm
> For example, one set showed that CG Times had not been installed.
Therefore,
> I copied CG Times from my old computer (Win-98) and installed it on the
new
> computer (Win-XP).
What format was the font in? Ie, what were the filenames of the fonts
(assuming you copied/installed a set of four ... normal, bold, italic and
bold-italic)?
>Then I got a new error message from the same PPT
> document - this time, it said that some fonts could be saved and the
reason
> given was "general failure." Other programs (such as WordPerfect10) do not
> have any problem with the same font.
Embedding a font and using it are two different animals. Is WP using or
embedding the font?
In any case, different programs handle embedding differently and respect the
font manufacturer's wishes re embedding to different degrees. We're back to
"different animals" again, eh?
> Help! What can I do? I need to work with two different versions of PPT
> because the university does not upgrades software on a regular basis
> (money). Moreover, I am using two operating systems - Win98 at the
> university and Win-XP at home.
I'd suggest using Times New Roman TrueType instead of CG Times. They
shouldn't look all that different, but Times New Roman will be on every
Windows computer with Windows 3.1 or higher on it. Can't get much
ubiquitouser than that. ;-)
Try this:
Open your presentation, choose Format, Replace Fonts. Pick CG Times in the
upper list box, pick Times New Roman in the lower one then OK.
Steve Rindsberg
> your file - this way you can install them on machines even if copyright
> restrictions don't allow you to embed them.
I object, yerhonner. If the font manufacturer doesn't allow embedding, it's
because they don't want the fonts to be freely distributed. They surely
won't go along with the idea of copying them.
There. I've done my duty.
I see I've already chimed in and agreed with all the other stuff ya said.
Steve Rindsberg
> agree that they are virtually the same. Ironically, I had also tried your
> other suggestion (Arial). In each case, I received "general failure" when
I
> tried to save them on my home computer.
Can you quote that message exactly, and let us know precisely it occurs?
I've never heard of the General popping up to annoy anyone from within
PowerPoint. He often shows up when there are hard disk problems, though.
If I were you, I'd back up any important files just in case.
> the background because I teach political science.
See, I *knew* you were one of the good ones!
( PoliSci grad here. We do land far from the tree, don't we?)
Steve Rindsberg
> them? I thought that was important since I will need to use these slides
in
> the classroom by using a "universal" departmental cart that is configured
by
> someone else. Or are you acting on the assumption that this set of fonts
> plus Wing Dings will simply eliminate the need to embed?
That's the idea. Windows itself ships with a basic set of fonts - if you
stick with them, there's no need to embed anything.
You can get lots of info on what fonts are included with which Win versions
and Office versions here:
Steve Rindsberg
> sure it's the same with Wing Dings (it's certainly been on every machine
> that I've bothered to check).
Got me curious ... I just check this here:
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/default.asp
WingDings, in one version or another, has shipped with Windows 3.1 on.
If it's not on a Windows computer capable of running any version of PPT,
somebody's been mucking with the fonts and needs a spanking.
MaryL
"Steve Rindsberg" <ab...@localhost.com> wrote in message
news:e0wr71vlCHA.1324@tkmsftngp04...
> > I already tried to change the fonts from CG Times to Times New Roman --
I
> > agree that they are virtually the same. Ironically, I had also tried
your
> > other suggestion (Arial). In each case, I received "general failure"
when
> I
> > tried to save them on my home computer.
>
> Can you quote that message exactly, and let us know precisely it occurs?
> I've never heard of the General popping up to annoy anyone from within
> PowerPoint. He often shows up when there are hard disk problems, though.
> If I were you, I'd back up any important files just in case.
>
failure within the OS. This happened after I tried to use "save as" and
embed fonts. The dialog box that appeared was labelled "Save with Fonts."
The message said that "some of your fonts could not be saved with the
presentation." Below that is a box with 2 columns: Cannot be saved in
column 1 and Reason in column 2. Column 1 had 3 entries -- CG Times Italic,
CG Times, and (again) CG Times. Column 2 listed "General Failure" 3 times.
Glad to hear we didn't drive you away from PoliSci!!
MaryL
MaryL
sites.
Incidentally, how can I tell what font has been used for bullets? It is
easy to see what fonts are used for text, but I don't see any way to click
on a bullet and get the same information.
MaryL
"Steve Rindsberg" <ab...@localhost.com> wrote in message
news:uaHbWwvlCHA.1748@tkmsftngp07...
Adam Crowley
> Incidentally, how can I tell what font has been used for bullets? It is
> easy to see what fonts are used for text, but I don't see any way to click
> on a bullet and get the same information.
Format>Bullets tells you which fonts are used, but they will also appear
under Format>Replace fonts
Steve Rindsberg
> failure within the OS. This happened after I tried to use "save as" and
> embed fonts. The dialog box that appeared was labelled "Save with Fonts."
> The message said that "some of your fonts could not be saved with the
> presentation." Below that is a box with 2 columns: Cannot be saved in
> column 1 and Reason in column 2. Column 1 had 3 entries -- CG Times
Italic,
> CG Times, and (again) CG Times. Column 2 listed "General Failure" 3
times.
That's good news, then. I hate it when the military mess with my hard
drives.
It might be a really old copy of CG Times that PPT's getting upset over, or
... hmm .... are you certain that there's a CG Times font there at all?
Does it show up in the Format, Replace Fonts dialog, lower list box, and if
so, what icon is next to it?
> Glad to hear we didn't drive you away from PoliSci!!
Nah. I walked. ;-)
Steve Rindsberg
> easy to see what fonts are used for text, but I don't see any way to click
> on a bullet and get the same information.
Click in the text, choose Format, Bullet.
All will be revealed.
MaryL
is an old copy -- I think that is one that I installed from my Win98
computer after I saw the message that it needed to be installed. It has the
"TT" (TrueType) icon beside it, and there is only one listing even though it
showed up twice in General Failure. I only used CG Times because that was
the font that came with one of the templates that I downloaded from the
Internet -- I changed to Times New Roman several years ago for most of my
wordprocessing documents.
MaryL
answered all my questions, and I learned a lot. Echo sent a file in
response to my previous question a few days ago. That will enable me to
place text in a left-side running column to draw attention to the primary
theme. I am going to combine that what what you have said about fonts and
bullets, and simply stay with the same format for awhile. One thing I know
I will want to add will be some pictures -- it is better to show a picture
of the Chief Justice or the British House of Commons, for example, than to
just describe them. So you may hear from me if I have problems placing
them! But I promise not to bombard you with a continuing series of
questions that require constant feedback.
MaryL
Steve Rindsberg
probably
> is an old copy -- I think that is one that I installed from my Win98
> computer after I saw the message that it needed to be installed. It has
the
> "TT" (TrueType) icon beside it, and there is only one listing even though
it
> showed up twice in General Failure.
That's normal, then.
>I only used CG Times because that was
> the font that came with one of the templates that I downloaded from the
> Internet -- I changed to Times New Roman several years ago for most of my
> wordprocessing documents.
I'd switch the PPT files to that, then. I'm sure Sonia will give you her
permission. ;-)
Steve Rindsberg
know
> I will want to add will be some pictures -- it is better to show a picture
> of the Chief Justice or the British House of Commons, for example, than to
> just describe them.
Go there! Read TAJ's tutorials about sizing the pictures properly and all
that. Important stuff. Good stuff.
Me, I'm outa here. I hear a turkey calling my name. Nothing unusual in
that. Brian's always phoning me up at weird times. Over the river, through
the woods ...
Adam Crowley
> Me, I'm outa here. I hear a turkey calling my name.
Are you called Gobble?
Steve Rindsberg
>
> Are you called Gobble?
That was the operative verb, as opposed to proper noun. Yum!