Windows 7 and Can't Open Project File Message

Have you tried doing a save and send?  Open your ppt>Goto File>Save & Send>Articulate Package>Then click on the Articulate Package icon. I guess I should ask what version of office is this?

Thanks for the suggestion. Using PowerPoint 2010. I can't package it because it states it's Read Only, so Articulate functionality won't work. The program does tell me I can make a copy of the file, but that means that all quizzes, engage, videos, etc. would have to be reinserted. I tried that too.

Hi ID,

Are you working off of a network or a USB drive?

No, my local drive. :-(

I'm wondering if it's because the files are on an external drive and Windows 7 thinks this is a network. Has anyone had this experience?

Hi ID,

Are your PowerPoint presentations and other Articulate files on the external drive?

Yes, as mentioned above, they are. This never gave me a problem with XP, but I wonder if this is the issue. It would be strange though. Interestingly, it's not happening with the newer files, only with the older ones. In particular. the .ppt (not PPTX) files, though perhaps some of the "x" files too. Any ideas why Windows is doing this and how to fix? I can't package them and put them on the C: drive, because the Articulate functionality doesn't work. Thanks for keeping this conversation going!

What about trying to convert it to pptx?

For some reason, that didn't help. Making a new copy and saving with another name helps, but then the Engage, Quizmaker and maybe the media files don't work. I wonder if I copied the .ppta file and gave it a new name, if that would help. Do you know if one can do that with a .ppta? Just copy and give a new name ... the same name new name as the .pptx?

Hi Instruction Designer,

When you open the file in PowerPoint, perform a File > Save As and save it to your local hard drive.  Then, go to each slide that contains an Engage interaction or Quizmaker quiz and click on the Edit button.  If prompted to find the file, just find the source file (likely on your network drive).  Once the file opens, click on Save & Return to Presenter.  Repeat for each slide.

Please check out the link below & the screencast at the bottom of the link for more information on the PPTA file and how it works:

http://www.articulate.com/support/presenter09/kb/?p=1953

Thanks, Brian. Two things: Just to be clear, this is not a network drive. It's an external drive because my hard drive was full. So it doesn't make sense that Windows sees all of this as a network.

Second, I am trying to avoid doing what you've suggested, though I will if I have to, because I have around 50 courses to deal with. It would be a nightmare, so I'm looking for a way around it. That's what my original question is. Is there a way around this? I'm not on a network.

Thanks.

Hi ID,

Working off of a network, Flash drive, USB drive, external hard drive, or any other device that is not the local hard drive, may cause issues similar to what you're experiencing.  

Since you never experienced the issue on your XP machine, you might want to take a look at the security permissions on your Windows 7 machine.  Thus, you may need to contact the vendor of the external drive to see if there are any Windows 7 related issues.

Okay, I found a solution to this issue from a programmer. The whole issue is a permissions problem. By going to the properties of the external drive and changing permissions to allow write access, Windows 7 went through every directory and changed the permissions. So now when I open an old PPT file, it is writeable and not Read Only, so they all work. I hope this helps someone else in the future.

Thanks for letting us know that you were able to resolve the issue!