Difference between revisions of "Microsoft PowerPoint 2007"

Revision as of 11:31, 20 May 2019

Hacking

My PowerPoint has embedded audio and video that only works on my computer

The ppt file is actually a compressed archive using pkzip containing a number of xml and mostly image media. Using the vim editor it is possible to open the ppt file and navigate though the various xml files, select one, and successfully make an edit. One notable example of a useful edit is to correct the path to what is called "External" media such as embedded video and audio within the PowerPoint presentation.

vim powerpoint.ppt 

The vim editor shows a list of xml files contained within the ppt that you can navigate up and down via the keyboard. We will select a specific xml, in this case called:

ppt/slides/_rels/slide2.xml.rels

An embedded sound within the PowerPoint only works when the presentation is launched from the source computer or LAN. To make it portable, all specific paths need to be altered so that they are relative. Take note of this network path:

Target="file:///H:\My%20Documents\MHA%20Program\Capstone\week%2010\pack\Hospital_AlarmFatigue05.wav"

When the PowerPoint presentation is launched from another computer outside of the creator's own private network, the media file will not execute. In other words, there will be no sound.

Using the vim editor the original ppt file is opened, then the slide with the media is selected via cursor navigation and the XML is edited.

Target="file:///Hospital_AlarmFatigue05.wav"

Then the XML is saved, the container saved, and quit the vim editor. The ppt is not corrupted and the PowerPoint presentation is able to use the audio file as long as it is present in the same directory as the ppt file, no matter what computer (within parameters).

As a reference, the XML code format for the path was:

Target="file:///\Hospital_AlarmFatigue03.m4v" TargetMode="External"

Anything with the TargetMode "External" refers to a media that is not directly embedded in the ppt file itself. Microsoft did not design the ppt container to include audio and video clips until later versions of PowerPoint. This is a major fault in Microsoft PowerPoint that has frustrated users for decades. Imagine the marketing department creating an impressive PowerPoint presentation only to have it fail when ported to the boardroom computer now absent are all audio and video components.

Software to correct the hard-coded full path to external resources, a task that cannot be accomplished within PowerPoint, is available at a cost. However, vim is FOSS and with it the same task can easily be accomplished by the process described earlier.