PowerPoint 2000 Hyperlink frustration

[Guest]

This is a little longwinded but I think I need to explain whats happening.

Summary:
1.Created large instructional PPT with Hyperlinks to both external PPT pages
with illustrations. 700+ slides.
2. Hyperlink issues occured and through troubleshooting realized the 6,500
word limits for data cache.
3. Split ppt into 6 chapters and added Chapter Hyperlinks pointing to
remaining outside chapter PPTs. This reduced the slide count dramatically -
largest ch.5 slide count is 205, ch.3 count (next largest) is 175.
-----------Problem----------------
Chapters are all built the same with the same link boxes on the left which
include Chapter link box and Fig. link box.....
Ch.1 = 68 slides = ok / Ch.2=41 slides = ok / Ch.3=175 slides = Bad links /
Ch.4 = 112 slides = ok / Ch.5 = 205 slides = Bad links / Ch.6 = 150 = ok

1. I took Ch.5 slit it in two 5a and 5b (thinking about the cache limits).
The results were negative, still bad Hyperlinks even with 5a being only 80
slides.
2. as a test - I removed all link boxes from about 80% of Ch.5a slides and
then relinked the hyperlinks that remained and saved. closed the program and
opened it again to test my newly created links - didnt work.
3. I created a test file (new) ppt with only 3 slides.....created new text
boxes with dummy chapters titles and linked them as in the original.
Tested--they work. Closed the file, closed the program then re-opened and
tested again...this test file worked as is should. I even created another
link in the file and tested again to confirm that all was working properly.
4. with my test file (3 slides) open, I opened my Ch.5a file that had link
problems and selected a few slides from it to drag and drop into my new test
ppt.
5. with these ch 5a slides inserted into my tested (working) ppt I then
added another Textbox and created a Hyperlink on one of the Ch.5a slides that
I brought over.........saved the test file, closed the program.
6. Opened the test file and check my links, the original links that were
created in the test file works as they had before. The link that was created
after I drug the Ch.5a slides over didnt work - - - - and now any links that
I try to create on the test file wont work, its like they turned off or
something corrupted the file once I drug the Ch.5a files into the new test
PPT.

Are there attributes that are attached to slides that are carried with them
even when dropped into another PPT that could cause a problem like this? Am
I missing something........

I dont want to lose the Ch.5 slides that are animated...ect a lot of work,
but I need the Hyperlinks to work to make it do what it needs.

Help me please.
Regards,
Larry

 

[Guest]

Hi

Have a look here:
Lost hyperlinks, hyperlinks link to wrong place, hyperlinks stop working
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00401.htm

That page also contains a link to Bill Dillworth's unlimited links code:
http://billdilworth.mvps.org/UnlimitedLinks.htm

Oh, and ppt doesn't like linking to slides with punctuation in the title -
dashes, commas etc are best avoided

Lucy
--
MOS Master Instructor
www.aneasiertomorrow.com.au

PowerPoint Live 2007 28-31 October in New Orleans www.pptlive.com
See you there

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

This is a little longwinded but I think I need to explain whats happening.

No problem with that ... better to have all the details.

Try this:

Open your 5a presentation, for example, go to the first slide, select some text
at random and try to insert a hyperlink to one of the slides that you're having
trouble linking to. When you choose to link to a place in this file and click
the slide title, does PPT show you a slide preview?

If not, there's your problem. The slide title probably has a comma in it;
commas in slide titles make PPT's shoelaces come all undone.

Let us know if that's the problem or no ...

 

[Guest]

Larry

I'm currently working on an addin 'Hypersquash' which compacts the data to
fit below the storage limit. If you are nterested in helping test it please
email me. NOTE it wont fix already lost links you need to compact as you go
along, it will tell you when to compact and which links work on a slide.

 

[Guest]

Sound interesting especially if it can fix my problems...I will email you
shortly.
Larry

 

[Guest]

Hey Steve...
Not sure if thats my problem.
Dont have titles on the slides - I've inserted graphics and then inserted
text boxes for title placements.

I did another test to clarify my problem...........
1. created new PPT file with only 1 slide.
2. created 1 text box and typed " Forum test ch1" , selected text and
created hyperlink to the seperate PPT file "chapter1".
3. tested link - ok , saved file and closed program.
4. started PPT and reopened new file and tested link = ok
Now the good part..........................
5. opened my existing ch.5a file with the link problems. and set to slide
sorter view.
6. set my new ppt test file to slide sorter view also and drug a slide from
5a to the new PPT file besides the existing slide with link that worked. now
this file has 2 slides only.
7. saved and closed program, restarted program and opened test file, tested
link=ok
8. created a new text box with new text "Forum test ch2" on the original
first slide. ( the same slide that has the link that works.
9. tested both links = ok , closed file and program.
10. opened program and file........tested original link=ok, tested the new
link that was created after bringing in the 1 slide from Ch.5a------no good,
doesnt work now.

Any ideas, there must be something that is being carried over to create
these problems..........remember that the text box titles on these chapters
are all the same...some chapters work perfectly but these two just dont work.
GREMLINS!!!

open to suggestions...thanks.
Larry

 

[Guest]

hey john,

You might want to check out my reply to Steve, I did another test, it might
help clarify even more....or confuse even more....
Thanks.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Let's be sure we're talking about the same thing. Sorry if this sounds
condescending ... I promise it's not meant to. It's one of those "Once you know,
it's obvious ..." kinda things:

To humans, "Title" usually means "The text at the top of the slide, bigger than the
other stuff, tells you what the slide's about, like that."

To PPT, it means "The text in the title text placeholder on the slide".

So to make sure that they're the same, have a look at the outline view. If the text
appears directly to the right of one of the slide icons, it's the title text for
that slide. Otherwise no.

So. Are the titles really titles? Gotta ask. ;-)

 

[Guest]

Not a problem, Steve.

I use blank slides, title placeholders and all others are deleted. There
are no descriptions when looking at the slide outline view.
It's strange, a working ppt can be rendered non working (with Hyperlinks)
just by bringing in 1 slide from the non working PPT. (anyslide from the non
working PPT) assumed not confirmed...tested a few.. not all

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Not a problem, Steve.

Thanks ...

So what next. Hmm. Can you break it down to this:

Bad presentation, one to five slides
Good presentation, one to five slides
Instructions for moving bad into good to make it break.

I'd be happy to have a look if you want to email 'em along.

steve atsign pptools dot com

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Bad presentation, one to five slides

Good presentation, one to five slides
Instructions for moving bad into good to make it break.

I'd be happy to have a look if you want to email 'em along.

Got the files, thanks. That's the good news. The bad news ... I can't repro the problem,
at least not in PPT 2003. [later: went back and checked in 2000 as well ... no changes]

I dragged the problem slide from 5a into the other presentation and saw no behavioral
changes. Also, I was able to create new links in 5a and have them work (even after saving
to a new file and reopening).

On the other hand, most of the links in 5a were DOA ... there are links that point to
nothing. For example, if you choose the "Chapter 1" text, rightclick and pick Edit
Hyperlink, you'll see that the address is blank.

By the way, our FixLinks add-in demo will give you a quick way to track these guys down.
http://www.pptools.com/fixlinks/
The Link report is part of the free demo.
It'll also give you some idea of the amount of link space used in the full versions of your
presentations.

Or just hover the cursor over links. The good ones will show the name of the linked file
in the tooltip; the bad ones just come up blank.

 

[Guest]

Steve,
Sorry to drag this on but:
I took the exact files that I sent to you and this is exactly what I did
with them. could you compare?
1.opened 5a and sected slide sorter view
2.opened ch.4 and checked links, all links directed properly (only a few
work, this was intentional due to my set up with you. I only supplied a few
chapters and one fig.4-8 to check the action with) Everything seems fine. I
get path link indicators when I scroll over all.
3. create hyperlink on slide 3 of ch.4 file - insert text box type "test1"
highlighted text and create link to Ch.1 PPT file.
4. save file, close file and program. then reopen and verify new link
operation. good.
5. drag slide 2 from 5a.PPT into ch.4 PPT, save file.
6. check links again in ch.4 , all seem fine, with the exeption of the 5a
slide (links were not assigned)
7. create link on slide 3 of ch.4 file (right Below Test1 link) called
"Test2" directing to Ch1 PPT file. and save.
8. close file and program and reopen ch.4 PPT, test new links on ch.4 slide3.
In show mode i can scroll over all previous links and see the path, BUT the
Test2 link that was made after dropping 5a into ch.4 is blank, no text
indicators. and any others I attempt to make thereafter are gone once I close
the program and reopen.

could these problems be a result of my systems setup? I've transferred all
files to my laptop disconnected from all external networks and filters and
still have the problem.
Thanks again in advance.

Bad presentation, one to five slides
Good presentation, one to five slides
Instructions for moving bad into good to make it break.

I'd be happy to have a look if you want to email 'em along.

Got the files, thanks. That's the good news. The bad news ... I can't repro the problem,
at least not in PPT 2003. [later: went back and checked in 2000 as well ... no changes]

I dragged the problem slide from 5a into the other presentation and saw no behavioral
changes. Also, I was able to create new links in 5a and have them work (even after saving
to a new file and reopening).

On the other hand, most of the links in 5a were DOA ... there are links that point to
nothing. For example, if you choose the "Chapter 1" text, rightclick and pick Edit
Hyperlink, you'll see that the address is blank.

By the way, our FixLinks add-in demo will give you a quick way to track these guys down.
http://www.pptools.com/fixlinks/
The Link report is part of the free demo.
It'll also give you some idea of the amount of link space used in the full versions of your
presentations.

Or just hover the cursor over links. The good ones will show the name of the linked file
in the tooltip; the bad ones just come up blank.




-----------------------------------------
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Sorry to drag this on but:

No problem, Larry. This time we have "Bingo".
I'm still not sure what I did differently last time, but your detailed instructions did it this
time. I was able to repro the problem.

And maybe fix it.

After seeing the same problem, I "roundtripped" the presentation to HTML and back.

See:
HTML "Round-tripping" to repair corruption
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00526.htm

After doing that, I went back to the slide with the non-functioning Test2 link, reapplied a link
to the text, saved, quit, restarted PPT, opened the file again and it worked.

Give that a try on a copy of your main presentation and see if the same thing works for you.

Let us know one way or t'other, too.

I took the exact files that I sent to you and this is exactly what I did
with them. could you compare?
1.opened 5a and sected slide sorter view
2.opened ch.4 and checked links, all links directed properly (only a few
work, this was intentional due to my set up with you. I only supplied a few
chapters and one fig.4-8 to check the action with) Everything seems fine. I
get path link indicators when I scroll over all.
3. create hyperlink on slide 3 of ch.4 file - insert text box type "test1"
highlighted text and create link to Ch.1 PPT file.
4. save file, close file and program. then reopen and verify new link
operation. good.
5. drag slide 2 from 5a.PPT into ch.4 PPT, save file.
6. check links again in ch.4 , all seem fine, with the exeption of the 5a
slide (links were not assigned)
7. create link on slide 3 of ch.4 file (right Below Test1 link) called
"Test2" directing to Ch1 PPT file. and save.
8. close file and program and reopen ch.4 PPT, test new links on ch.4 slide3.
In show mode i can scroll over all previous links and see the path, BUT the
Test2 link that was made after dropping 5a into ch.4 is blank, no text
indicators. and any others I attempt to make thereafter are gone once I close
the program and reopen.

could these problems be a result of my systems setup? I've transferred all
files to my laptop disconnected from all external networks and filters and
still have the problem.
Thanks again in advance.

Bad presentation, one to five slides
Good presentation, one to five slides
Instructions for moving bad into good to make it break.

I'd be happy to have a look if you want to email 'em along.

Got the files, thanks. That's the good news. The bad news ... I can't repro the problem,
at least not in PPT 2003. [later: went back and checked in 2000 as well ... no changes]

I dragged the problem slide from 5a into the other presentation and saw no behavioral
changes. Also, I was able to create new links in 5a and have them work (even after saving
to a new file and reopening).

On the other hand, most of the links in 5a were DOA ... there are links that point to
nothing. For example, if you choose the "Chapter 1" text, rightclick and pick Edit
Hyperlink, you'll see that the address is blank.

By the way, our FixLinks add-in demo will give you a quick way to track these guys down.
http://www.pptools.com/fixlinks/
The Link report is part of the free demo.
It'll also give you some idea of the amount of link space used in the full versions of your
presentations.

Or just hover the cursor over links. The good ones will show the name of the linked file
in the tooltip; the bad ones just come up blank.

I use blank slides, title placeholders and all others are deleted. There
are no descriptions when looking at the slide outline view.
It's strange, a working ppt can be rendered non working (with Hyperlinks)
just by bringing in 1 slide from the non working PPT. (anyslide from the non
working PPT) assumed not confirmed...tested a few.. not all

:

Let's be sure we're talking about the same thing. Sorry if this sounds
condescending ... I promise it's not meant to. It's one of those "Once you know,
it's obvious ..." kinda things:

To humans, "Title" usually means "The text at the top of the slide, bigger than the
other stuff, tells you what the slide's about, like that."

To PPT, it means "The text in the title text placeholder on the slide".

So to make sure that they're the same, have a look at the outline view. If the text
appears directly to the right of one of the slide icons, it's the title text for
that slide. Otherwise no.

So. Are the titles really titles? Gotta ask. ;-)


Hey Steve...
Not sure if thats my problem.
Dont have titles on the slides - I've inserted graphics and then inserted
text boxes for title placements.

I did another test to clarify my problem...........
1. created new PPT file with only 1 slide.
2. created 1 text box and typed " Forum test ch1" , selected text and
created hyperlink to the seperate PPT file "chapter1".
3. tested link - ok , saved file and closed program.
4. started PPT and reopened new file and tested link = ok
Now the good part..........................
5. opened my existing ch.5a file with the link problems. and set to slide
sorter view.
6. set my new ppt test file to slide sorter view also and drug a slide from
5a to the new PPT file besides the existing slide with link that worked. now
this file has 2 slides only.
7. saved and closed program, restarted program and opened test file, tested
link=ok
8. created a new text box with new text "Forum test ch2" on the original
first slide. ( the same slide that has the link that works.
9. tested both links = ok , closed file and program.
10. opened program and file........tested original link=ok, tested the new
link that was created after bringing in the 1 slide from Ch.5a------no good,
doesnt work now.

Any ideas, there must be something that is being carried over to create
these problems..........remember that the text box titles on these chapters
are all the same...some chapters work perfectly but these two just dont work.
GREMLINS!!!

open to suggestions...thanks.
Larry

:

This is a little longwinded but I think I need to explain whats happening.

No problem with that ... better to have all the details.

Try this:

Open your 5a presentation, for example, go to the first slide, select some text
at random and try to insert a hyperlink to one of the slides that you're having
trouble linking to. When you choose to link to a place in this file and click
the slide title, does PPT show you a slide preview?

If not, there's your problem. The slide title probably has a comma in it;
commas in slide titles make PPT's shoelaces come all undone.

Let us know if that's the problem or no ...


Summary:
1.Created large instructional PPT with Hyperlinks to both external PPT pages
with illustrations. 700+ slides.
2. Hyperlink issues occured and through troubleshooting realized the 6,500
word limits for data cache.
3. Split ppt into 6 chapters and added Chapter Hyperlinks pointing to
remaining outside chapter PPTs. This reduced the slide count dramatically -
largest ch.5 slide count is 205, ch.3 count (next largest) is 175.
-----------Problem----------------
Chapters are all built the same with the same link boxes on the left which
include Chapter link box and Fig. link box.....
Ch.1 = 68 slides = ok / Ch.2=41 slides = ok / Ch.3=175 slides = Bad links /
Ch.4 = 112 slides = ok / Ch.5 = 205 slides = Bad links / Ch.6 = 150 = ok

1. I took Ch.5 slit it in two 5a and 5b (thinking about the cache limits).
The results were negative, still bad Hyperlinks even with 5a being only 80
slides.
2. as a test - I removed all link boxes from about 80% of Ch.5a slides and
then relinked the hyperlinks that remained and saved. closed the program and
opened it again to test my newly created links - didnt work.
3. I created a test file (new) ppt with only 3 slides.....created new text
boxes with dummy chapters titles and linked them as in the original.
Tested--they work. Closed the file, closed the program then re-opened and
tested again...this test file worked as is should. I even created another
link in the file and tested again to confirm that all was working properly.
4. with my test file (3 slides) open, I opened my Ch.5a file that had link
problems and selected a few slides from it to drag and drop into my new test
ppt.
5. with these ch 5a slides inserted into my tested (working) ppt I then
added another Textbox and created a Hyperlink on one of the Ch.5a slides that
I brought over.........saved the test file, closed the program.
6. Opened the test file and check my links, the original links that were
created in the test file works as they had before. The link that was created
after I drug the Ch.5a slides over didnt work - - - - and now any links that
I try to create on the test file wont work, its like they turned off or
something corrupted the file once I drug the Ch.5a files into the new test
PPT.

Are there attributes that are attached to slides that are carried with them
even when dropped into another PPT that could cause a problem like this? Am
I missing something........

I dont want to lose the Ch.5 slides that are animated...ect a lot of work,
but I need the Hyperlinks to work to make it do what it needs.

Help me please.
Regards,

-----------------------------------------
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[Guest]

Steve,

You and PPtools are my heros, after days of frustration with what seemed
like nowhere to go you have finally solved my problems.

This powerpoint is pretty large, many graphics and many link options. When
you mentioned roundtripping it I figured I'd just let the program run and
come back later to check on progress.......there was none.....it processed at
hyperspeed and reopened the new file for me right then. Everything works,
of course I lost all the links prior to this so I will need to relink the
presentation BUT EVERYTHING WORKS. and thats whats important.

Steve, I'd like to thank you for being so professional and diligent, at
times it was pretty longwinded and maybe a little confusing.......many thanks.

Question though: do you know what can dirty the file up like that, and how
is it that HTML can clean out any dirt in the file. Do you know of any ill
effects to this....I did notice that my file size shrunk by about 1473kb.
Would it be wise to make this a general practice to filter out possible
problems.

This did fix my problems and I appreciate all the help. Thank you.

Larry Goddard

Sorry to drag this on but:

No problem, Larry. This time we have "Bingo".
I'm still not sure what I did differently last time, but your detailed instructions did it this
time. I was able to repro the problem.

And maybe fix it.

After seeing the same problem, I "roundtripped" the presentation to HTML and back.

See:
HTML "Round-tripping" to repair corruption
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00526.htm

After doing that, I went back to the slide with the non-functioning Test2 link, reapplied a link
to the text, saved, quit, restarted PPT, opened the file again and it worked.

Give that a try on a copy of your main presentation and see if the same thing works for you.

Let us know one way or t'other, too.

I took the exact files that I sent to you and this is exactly what I did
with them. could you compare?
1.opened 5a and sected slide sorter view
2.opened ch.4 and checked links, all links directed properly (only a few
work, this was intentional due to my set up with you. I only supplied a few
chapters and one fig.4-8 to check the action with) Everything seems fine. I
get path link indicators when I scroll over all.
3. create hyperlink on slide 3 of ch.4 file - insert text box type "test1"
highlighted text and create link to Ch.1 PPT file.
4. save file, close file and program. then reopen and verify new link
operation. good.
5. drag slide 2 from 5a.PPT into ch.4 PPT, save file.
6. check links again in ch.4 , all seem fine, with the exeption of the 5a
slide (links were not assigned)
7. create link on slide 3 of ch.4 file (right Below Test1 link) called
"Test2" directing to Ch1 PPT file. and save.
8. close file and program and reopen ch.4 PPT, test new links on ch.4 slide3.
In show mode i can scroll over all previous links and see the path, BUT the
Test2 link that was made after dropping 5a into ch.4 is blank, no text
indicators. and any others I attempt to make thereafter are gone once I close
the program and reopen.

could these problems be a result of my systems setup? I've transferred all
files to my laptop disconnected from all external networks and filters and
still have the problem.
Thanks again in advance.

Bad presentation, one to five slides
Good presentation, one to five slides
Instructions for moving bad into good to make it break.

I'd be happy to have a look if you want to email 'em along.


Got the files, thanks. That's the good news. The bad news ... I can't repro the problem,
at least not in PPT 2003. [later: went back and checked in 2000 as well ... no changes]

I dragged the problem slide from 5a into the other presentation and saw no behavioral
changes. Also, I was able to create new links in 5a and have them work (even after saving
to a new file and reopening).

On the other hand, most of the links in 5a were DOA ... there are links that point to
nothing. For example, if you choose the "Chapter 1" text, rightclick and pick Edit
Hyperlink, you'll see that the address is blank.

By the way, our FixLinks add-in demo will give you a quick way to track these guys down.
http://www.pptools.com/fixlinks/
The Link report is part of the free demo.
It'll also give you some idea of the amount of link space used in the full versions of your
presentations.

Or just hover the cursor over links. The good ones will show the name of the linked file
in the tooltip; the bad ones just come up blank.





I use blank slides, title placeholders and all others are deleted. There
are no descriptions when looking at the slide outline view.
It's strange, a working ppt can be rendered non working (with Hyperlinks)
just by bringing in 1 slide from the non working PPT. (anyslide from the non
working PPT) assumed not confirmed...tested a few.. not all

:

Let's be sure we're talking about the same thing. Sorry if this sounds
condescending ... I promise it's not meant to. It's one of those "Once you know,
it's obvious ..." kinda things:

To humans, "Title" usually means "The text at the top of the slide, bigger than the
other stuff, tells you what the slide's about, like that."

To PPT, it means "The text in the title text placeholder on the slide".

So to make sure that they're the same, have a look at the outline view. If the text
appears directly to the right of one of the slide icons, it's the title text for
that slide. Otherwise no.

So. Are the titles really titles? Gotta ask. ;-)


Hey Steve...
Not sure if thats my problem.
Dont have titles on the slides - I've inserted graphics and then inserted
text boxes for title placements.

I did another test to clarify my problem...........
1. created new PPT file with only 1 slide.
2. created 1 text box and typed " Forum test ch1" , selected text and
created hyperlink to the seperate PPT file "chapter1".
3. tested link - ok , saved file and closed program.
4. started PPT and reopened new file and tested link = ok
Now the good part..........................
5. opened my existing ch.5a file with the link problems. and set to slide
sorter view.
6. set my new ppt test file to slide sorter view also and drug a slide from
5a to the new PPT file besides the existing slide with link that worked. now
this file has 2 slides only.
7. saved and closed program, restarted program and opened test file, tested
link=ok
8. created a new text box with new text "Forum test ch2" on the original
first slide. ( the same slide that has the link that works.
9. tested both links = ok , closed file and program.
10. opened program and file........tested original link=ok, tested the new
link that was created after bringing in the 1 slide from Ch.5a------no good,
doesnt work now.

Any ideas, there must be something that is being carried over to create
these problems..........remember that the text box titles on these chapters
are all the same...some chapters work perfectly but these two just dont work.
GREMLINS!!!

open to suggestions...thanks.
Larry

:

This is a little longwinded but I think I need to explain whats happening.

No problem with that ... better to have all the details.

Try this:

Open your 5a presentation, for example, go to the first slide, select some text
at random and try to insert a hyperlink to one of the slides that you're having
trouble linking to. When you choose to link to a place in this file and click
the slide title, does PPT show you a slide preview?

If not, there's your problem. The slide title probably has a comma in it;
commas in slide titles make PPT's shoelaces come all undone.

Let us know if that's the problem or no ...


Summary:
1.Created large instructional PPT with Hyperlinks to both external PPT pages
with illustrations. 700+ slides.
2. Hyperlink issues occured and through troubleshooting realized the 6,500
word limits for data cache.
3. Split ppt into 6 chapters and added Chapter Hyperlinks pointing to
remaining outside chapter PPTs. This reduced the slide count dramatically -
largest ch.5 slide count is 205, ch.3 count (next largest) is 175.
-----------Problem----------------
Chapters are all built the same with the same link boxes on the left which
include Chapter link box and Fig. link box.....
Ch.1 = 68 slides = ok / Ch.2=41 slides = ok / Ch.3=175 slides = Bad links /
Ch.4 = 112 slides = ok / Ch.5 = 205 slides = Bad links / Ch.6 = 150 = ok

1. I took Ch.5 slit it in two 5a and 5b (thinking about the cache limits).
The results were negative, still bad Hyperlinks even with 5a being only 80
slides.
2. as a test - I removed all link boxes from about 80% of Ch.5a slides and
then relinked the hyperlinks that remained and saved. closed the program and
opened it again to test my newly created links - didnt work.
3. I created a test file (new) ppt with only 3 slides.....created new text
boxes with dummy chapters titles and linked them as in the original.
Tested--they work. Closed the file, closed the program then re-opened and
tested again...this test file worked as is should. I even created another
link in the file and tested again to confirm that all was working properly.
4. with my test file (3 slides) open, I opened my Ch.5a file that had link
problems and selected a few slides from it to drag and drop into my new test
ppt.
5. with these ch 5a slides inserted into my tested (working) ppt I then
added another Textbox and created a Hyperlink on one of the Ch.5a slides that
I brought over.........saved the test file, closed the program.
6. Opened the test file and check my links, the original links that were
created in the test file works as they had before. The link that was created
after I drug the Ch.5a slides over didnt work - - - - and now any links that
I try to create on the test file wont work, its like they turned off or
something corrupted the file once I drug the Ch.5a files into the new test
PPT.

Are there attributes that are attached to slides that are carried with them
even when dropped into another PPT that could cause a problem like this? Am
I missing something........

I dont want to lose the Ch.5 slides that are animated...ect a lot of work,
but I need the Hyperlinks to work to make it do what it needs.

Help me please.
Regards,


-----------------------------------------
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

-----------------------------------------
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

You and PPtools are my heros, after days of frustration with what seemed
like nowhere to go you have finally solved my problems.

This powerpoint is pretty large, many graphics and many link options. When
you mentioned roundtripping it I figured I'd just let the program run and
come back later to check on progress.......there was none.....it processed at
hyperspeed and reopened the new file for me right then. Everything works,
of course I lost all the links prior to this so I will need to relink the
presentation BUT EVERYTHING WORKS. and thats whats important.

Steve, I'd like to thank you for being so professional and diligent, at
times it was pretty longwinded and maybe a little confusing.......many thanks.

No problem ... and not longwinded at all. You supplied a lot of detailed and needed information.
Without that, we'd never have gotten to the answer.

Question though: do you know what can dirty the file up like that, and how
is it that HTML can clean out any dirt in the file.

I suspect that what happens is along the lines of:

- If PPT runs into something it doesn't quite understand, it gets confused
- When it exports to HTML, it exports only the stuff that doesn't confuse it (it can't translate
stuff it doesn't understand, naturally)
- So when the HTML comes back in, there's nothing in there that confuses PPT.

OK, it's a bit anthropomorphic as technospeak goes, but it gets the idea across. ;-)

Do you know of any ill
effects to this....

I've never run into any, but it's always possible that something will get lost in translation.

I did notice that my file size shrunk by about 1473kb.
Would it be wise to make this a general practice to filter out possible
problems.

I tend to fly under "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" rules. But when it breaks, roundtripping is
one of my first fixitricks.

This did fix my problems and I appreciate all the help. Thank you.

Larry Goddard

Sorry to drag this on but:

No problem, Larry. This time we have "Bingo".
I'm still not sure what I did differently last time, but your detailed instructions did it this
time. I was able to repro the problem.

And maybe fix it.

After seeing the same problem, I "roundtripped" the presentation to HTML and back.

See:
HTML "Round-tripping" to repair corruption
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00526.htm

After doing that, I went back to the slide with the non-functioning Test2 link, reapplied a link
to the text, saved, quit, restarted PPT, opened the file again and it worked.

Give that a try on a copy of your main presentation and see if the same thing works for you.

Let us know one way or t'other, too.

I took the exact files that I sent to you and this is exactly what I did
with them. could you compare?
1.opened 5a and sected slide sorter view
2.opened ch.4 and checked links, all links directed properly (only a few
work, this was intentional due to my set up with you. I only supplied a few
chapters and one fig.4-8 to check the action with) Everything seems fine. I
get path link indicators when I scroll over all.
3. create hyperlink on slide 3 of ch.4 file - insert text box type "test1"
highlighted text and create link to Ch.1 PPT file.
4. save file, close file and program. then reopen and verify new link
operation. good.
5. drag slide 2 from 5a.PPT into ch.4 PPT, save file.
6. check links again in ch.4 , all seem fine, with the exeption of the 5a
slide (links were not assigned)
7. create link on slide 3 of ch.4 file (right Below Test1 link) called
"Test2" directing to Ch1 PPT file. and save.
8. close file and program and reopen ch.4 PPT, test new links on ch.4 slide3.
In show mode i can scroll over all previous links and see the path, BUT the
Test2 link that was made after dropping 5a into ch.4 is blank, no text
indicators. and any others I attempt to make thereafter are gone once I close
the program and reopen.

could these problems be a result of my systems setup? I've transferred all
files to my laptop disconnected from all external networks and filters and
still have the problem.
Thanks again in advance.

:

Bad presentation, one to five slides
Good presentation, one to five slides
Instructions for moving bad into good to make it break.

I'd be happy to have a look if you want to email 'em along.


Got the files, thanks. That's the good news. The bad news ... I can't repro the problem,
at least not in PPT 2003. [later: went back and checked in 2000 as well ... no changes]

I dragged the problem slide from 5a into the other presentation and saw no behavioral
changes. Also, I was able to create new links in 5a and have them work (even after saving
to a new file and reopening).

On the other hand, most of the links in 5a were DOA ... there are links that point to
nothing. For example, if you choose the "Chapter 1" text, rightclick and pick Edit
Hyperlink, you'll see that the address is blank.

By the way, our FixLinks add-in demo will give you a quick way to track these guys down.
http://www.pptools.com/fixlinks/
The Link report is part of the free demo.
It'll also give you some idea of the amount of link space used in the full versions of your
presentations.

Or just hover the cursor over links. The good ones will show the name of the linked file
in the tooltip; the bad ones just come up blank.





I use blank slides, title placeholders and all others are deleted. There
are no descriptions when looking at the slide outline view.
It's strange, a working ppt can be rendered non working (with Hyperlinks)
just by bringing in 1 slide from the non working PPT. (anyslide from the non
working PPT) assumed not confirmed...tested a few.. not all

:

Let's be sure we're talking about the same thing. Sorry if this sounds
condescending ... I promise it's not meant to. It's one of those "Once you know,
it's obvious ..." kinda things:

To humans, "Title" usually means "The text at the top of the slide, bigger than the
other stuff, tells you what the slide's about, like that."

To PPT, it means "The text in the title text placeholder on the slide".

So to make sure that they're the same, have a look at the outline view. If the text
appears directly to the right of one of the slide icons, it's the title text for
that slide. Otherwise no.

So. Are the titles really titles? Gotta ask. ;-)


Hey Steve...
Not sure if thats my problem.
Dont have titles on the slides - I've inserted graphics and then inserted
text boxes for title placements.

I did another test to clarify my problem...........
1. created new PPT file with only 1 slide.
2. created 1 text box and typed " Forum test ch1" , selected text and
created hyperlink to the seperate PPT file "chapter1".
3. tested link - ok , saved file and closed program.
4. started PPT and reopened new file and tested link = ok
Now the good part..........................
5. opened my existing ch.5a file with the link problems. and set to slide
sorter view.
6. set my new ppt test file to slide sorter view also and drug a slide from
5a to the new PPT file besides the existing slide with link that worked. now
this file has 2 slides only.
7. saved and closed program, restarted program and opened test file, tested
link=ok
8. created a new text box with new text "Forum test ch2" on the original
first slide. ( the same slide that has the link that works.
9. tested both links = ok , closed file and program.
10. opened program and file........tested original link=ok, tested the new
link that was created after bringing in the 1 slide from Ch.5a------no good,
doesnt work now.

Any ideas, there must be something that is being carried over to create
these problems..........remember that the text box titles on these chapters
are all the same...some chapters work perfectly but these two just dont work.
GREMLINS!!!

open to suggestions...thanks.
Larry

:

This is a little longwinded but I think I need to explain whats happening.

No problem with that ... better to have all the details.

Try this:

Open your 5a presentation, for example, go to the first slide, select some text
at random and try to insert a hyperlink to one of the slides that you're having
trouble linking to. When you choose to link to a place in this file and click
the slide title, does PPT show you a slide preview?

If not, there's your problem. The slide title probably has a comma in it;
commas in slide titles make PPT's shoelaces come all undone.

Let us know if that's the problem or no ...


Summary:
1.Created large instructional PPT with Hyperlinks to both external PPT pages
with illustrations. 700+ slides.
2. Hyperlink issues occured and through troubleshooting realized the 6,500
word limits for data cache.
3. Split ppt into 6 chapters and added Chapter Hyperlinks pointing to
remaining outside chapter PPTs. This reduced the slide count dramatically -
largest ch.5 slide count is 205, ch.3 count (next largest) is 175.
-----------Problem----------------
Chapters are all built the same with the same link boxes on the left which
include Chapter link box and Fig. link box.....
Ch.1 = 68 slides = ok / Ch.2=41 slides = ok / Ch.3=175 slides = Bad links /
Ch.4 = 112 slides = ok / Ch.5 = 205 slides = Bad links / Ch.6 = 150 = ok

1. I took Ch.5 slit it in two 5a and 5b (thinking about the cache limits).
The results were negative, still bad Hyperlinks even with 5a being only 80
slides.
2. as a test - I removed all link boxes from about 80% of Ch.5a slides and
then relinked the hyperlinks that remained and saved. closed the program and
opened it again to test my newly created links - didnt work.
3. I created a test file (new) ppt with only 3 slides.....created new text
boxes with dummy chapters titles and linked them as in the original.
Tested--they work. Closed the file, closed the program then re-opened and
tested again...this test file worked as is should. I even created another
link in the file and tested again to confirm that all was working properly.
4. with my test file (3 slides) open, I opened my Ch.5a file that had link
problems and selected a few slides from it to drag and drop into my new test
ppt.
5. with these ch 5a slides inserted into my tested (working) ppt I then
added another Textbox and created a Hyperlink on one of the Ch.5a slides that
I brought over.........saved the test file, closed the program.
6. Opened the test file and check my links, the original links that were
created in the test file works as they had before. The link that was created
after I drug the Ch.5a slides over didnt work - - - - and now any links that
I try to create on the test file wont work, its like they turned off or
something corrupted the file once I drug the Ch.5a files into the new test
PPT.

Are there attributes that are attached to slides that are carried with them
even when dropped into another PPT that could cause a problem like this? Am
I missing something........

I dont want to lose the Ch.5 slides that are animated...ect a lot of work,
but I need the Hyperlinks to work to make it do what it needs.

Help me please.
Regards,


-----------------------------------------
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

-----------------------------------------
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================