How to keep a PPTA file working
Mar 15, 2011
A recent posting here about distorted text & graphics led to an answer that the related Powerpoint file had some corruption going. The fix entails importing all the slides into a new Powerpoint file. My question is, how can I do that and still keep the related PPTA file (and all the other related resources) associated with the new file, audio associated with the correct slides, and all working properly? Is it as simple as saving the new PPTX with the original filename?
On a related note, we're starting to do a lot of Articulate production, and the nature of what we do is a lot of customization of existing Powerpoint/Articulate projects. In other words, a lot of copying and saving as and modifying. I'm already seeing these files losing track of which quiz files (etc.) they are supposed to be associated with. Are there any existing whitepapers, videos, etc. that explain the best practices and how-to's around this?
TIA...
1 Reply
Hi George - if your project's working fine, you can always do a Save As and give the project a new name. Presenter will create a new PPTA file with the same name. A best practice, though (especially if you have added Engage interactions or Quizmaker quizzes to your course) is to create an Articulate package and then unzip it in a new folder location for the new project.
If you ever did encounter a PowerPoint file corruption and needed to import your slides into a brand-new file, you'd need to import your audio & other embedded items (movies, attachments, etc.) into that new project. This is one reason why we recommend creating a backup copy of your presentation's audio if you don't already have external wav or mp3 files of your narration. That way it's easy to reimport if you ever do hit a snag.
Regarding your other question, you might be interested in checking out Dave Burton's Project Beacon. He just blogged about that today. He designed it to help simplify the process of keeping your quizzes & interactions connected with your project.
Hope that helps!
This discussion is closed. You can start a new discussion or contact Articulate Support.