Dirty Letters in Animations in XP but NOT 2000.

  • Thread starter Thread starter O. David Sparkman
  • Start date Start date
O

O. David Sparkman

I draw chemical structures using a special software. The structures will
contain different alpha characters like the letters C, H, N, O. I will copy
a structure from the drawing program to the Windows Clipboard and past it as
an object on a slide in Power Point. I will then associate an animation with
the structure (dissolve in, wipe right, checkerboard, etc.).

When this slide is viewed in the Slide Show view of Power Point 2000 it
looks fine. When this same presentation is viewed in Power Point XP, the
curved letters look 'dirty'. The curved edges are no longer smooth.

I get this same result if I type a word in Word that contains these same
letters (C, H, N, and O) and then copy the Word to the Windows Clipboard and
paste it onto a slide in Power Point. This tells me that the problem is not
my chemical structure drawing software.

I need to use XP because of some of the enhanced animation features. Any
suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

David
 
Unfortunately, it seems those very same animation effects are the cause of
the scruffy lettering. There was an extensive thread on that topic a few
months back. Look up "Scruffy Text"

The best method I have found is to not animate the text, but use some
creative tricks to make it appear animated or to replace animated text with
non-animated text after it animates (are you as confused as I am?). I know,
I know, this is why we switched to PP 2002: to get away from these silly
animation tricks.

For a fade in on the text, try a fade out on a covering box that matches the
background of the slide.
For wipe right, insert a new slide that is identical to the previous, add
the animation with a custom animation "after previous" and a zero second
transition, then add another slide with the text in position, but not
animated
For checker board follow the same route as above or exit a covering box.

This is a work around, not a cure. Has anyone done any testing on
scruffiness issues with Beta PP2003?

B
 
"O. David Sparkman"

If you ungroup your chemical structure is there still a problem?

If you remove the animation is there still a problem?


Maybe this fix for a similar problem may help (install at your own risk)
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q332046

And have a read of this page....
http://www.powerpointanswers.com/article1043.php



Cheers
TAJ Simmons
microsoft powerpoint mvp

awesome - powerpoint backgrounds,
free sample templates, tutorials, hints and tips etc
http://www.powerpointbackgrounds.com
 
And, yes - the author of the PowerPointAnswers article is still collecting
new data for the study. If you want to contribute, just let me know.

--
Kathryn Jacobs, Microsoft PPT MVP
Get PowerPoint answers at http://www.powerpointanswers.com
Cook anything outdoors with http://www.outdoorcook.com
Kathy is a trainer, writer, Girl Scout, parent, and whatever else there is
time for
I believe life is meant to be lived. But:
if we live without making a difference, it makes no difference that we lived
 
You cannot ungroup the structures. They are imported as a single object.

The problem exist when the animation from the structure is removed. The
problem remains until ALL animation s removed from the slide. Even when
there is no animation associated with the structure, as long as anything on
the slide is animated, the problem exist.

I am using black structures on a white background.

Regards'
David
 
FYI: Quick test shows that this one does happen on 2003. In fact, no matter
which system I run on, I see the scruffy problem with this file on PPT XP or
PPT 2003. (For those not not the know, this is a change from past examples.
I have not been able to see the errors in most cases. However, it could be
my new monitor is finally letting me see the problem... Get a better
monitor, see the problem. Isn't that the way it always goes?)

David, I'll play with this more tonight and tomorrow and let you know what I
find out. In the mean time, what happens on your end if you make the
contrast between the text and the background not quite so extreme? (Say grey
on white or black on a color?)

--
Kathryn Jacobs, Microsoft PPT MVP
Get PowerPoint answers at http://www.powerpointanswers.com
Cook anything outdoors with http://www.outdoorcook.com
Kathy is a trainer, writer, Girl Scout, parent, and whatever else there is
time for
I believe life is meant to be lived. But:
if we live without making a difference, it makes no difference that we lived
 
Kathryn,

Same effect with two different shades of gray background and the black
letters.
 
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