Presenter creates auto archive files

May 11, 2011

shani efford-eliraz
By shani efford-eliraz

Hello,

I emailed about this previously and problem keeps getting worse!

 Articulate keeps creating archive files (see image) for its presentation. Now - not only is it creating it for the existing filename, it also creates them for a name used in the presentation past life.

We have a rather strict version control methodology, so every time after testing, a new version is created. the .ppt file is renamed and the "vx-x" is changed accordingly.

The original name of the file was "preventing bribery", which I had changed as I noticed that all Articulate associated files prefer to have shorter names.

The most bizarre thing in all this is that Presenter keeps creating archive files with the old name of the file as well.

 

This duplication makes the save time of the file ridiculously long (over 6 minutes to be saved on a local drive) and prolongs publishing as well. I keep moving the Presenter archive files away, but it only solves it for 2 or 3 saves.

Is it meant to happen this way?....

1 Reply
Brian Batt
almost 13 years ago05/11/11 at 7:33 am (UTC)

Hi Shani & welcome to Heroes,

Presenter creates a backup PPTA file whose name will be -old.ppta if the PPTA file becomes locked by another user or computer service or if it becomes temporarily inaccessible for any reason.  Some scenarios, though not all possibilities, where this can occur are described below. 

  1. If the PPTA file becomes locked by another service: If another computer service (for example:  a backup service) accesses the PPTA file while you are working with it, Presenter may not be able to update the file with new information.  In this scenario, Presenter will rename the PPTA file to -old.ppta, and a new PPTA file will be generated.
  2. If a user does a “Save as” and saves over an existing PowerPoint file with a PPTA file: Whenever a user does a Save as, Presenter will also copy the PPTA file to the Save as Location. This can cause a conflict if there is already a PPTA file in that location. Rather than overwriting the file, Presenter renames the file to -old.ppta.
  3. If Presenter upgrades a project from Presenter 5 and a PPTA file already exists in that location: If a PPTA file already exists, Presenter will change the name of the file to -old.ppta and create a new one.
  4. If you have a PPT (2003 or earlier) and PPTX (2007) file in the same folder with the same name: If you have a PPT and PPTX file in the same folder withe the same name, Presenter will want to name the PPTA file the same regardless of which file you are working on. If there already is a PPTA file in the folder that is not associated with the PowerPoint file you open, Presenter will change the name of the file to -old.ppta and create a new one for the opened PowerPoint file.
  5. A user moves a file outside of PowerPoint, and there is a PPTA with the same name as the PowerPoint file in the target directory: If Presenter detects a project is moved outside of PowerPoint, it will copy over the PPTA to the current directory (provided you have write permissions to that directory). If there is an existing PPTA file in that location, Presenter will change the name of the file to -old.ppta and create a new one.

Restoring the connection between the original PPTA file and your PowerPoint file

In the event that a -old.ppta file is created or if you have renamed or relocated your PowerPoint file (thus breaking the link to the PPTA file), you can easily reconnect the original PPTA file with your PowerPoint file, which will restore your missing audio resources. Here’s how:

  1. Ensure that the PowerPoint file and the original (or “-old”) PPTA file are located in the same folder.
  2. Remove “-old” from the PPTA file (if applicable), or rename the PPTA file so that it has the same file name as the corresponding PowerPoint file.

This discussion is closed. You can start a new discussion or contact Articulate Support.