PowerCONVERTER
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How
easy is the PowerCONVERTER product to use?
2. Which version of PowerCONVERTER
is right for me?
3. I
have a computer at home and one at the office. Can PowerCONVERTER be loaded
onto both systems?
4. Can multiple users install and use PowerCONVERTER?
5. What
audio file formats are supported by PowerCONVERTER?
6. What
video file formats are supported by PowerCONVERTER?
7.
How long does it take to convert a PowerPoint presentation
using the PowerCONVERTER?
8.
Is there a limit
to the size of the presentation that the PowerCONVERTER can convert?
9. What
is the average file size reduction I can expect using PowerCONVERTER?
10. What file formats
does PowerCONVERTER output?
11.
When
I publish and distribute my converted presentation to the web or CD-ROM,
what will my viewers need to see it?
12.
Can I use PowerCONVERTER
with the 3D effects produced by PowerPlugs: Transitions and/or 3DTitles?
13.
Can I use PowerCONVERTER
with animated backgrounds produced by PowerPlugs: Video Backgrounds?
14. Can I edit
my presentation after it has been converted to a Flash movie file?
System Requirements
1.
Will PowerCONVERTER run on my PC?
2. How
large is the PowerCONVERTER program?
3. Can
PowerCONVERTER be run from a network / virtual drive?
4.
Does
PowerCONVERTER require Microsoft.NET?
Support
1.
What are my tech support options?
2. How
much do updates cost?
1.
How easy is the PowerCONVERTER product
to use?
It's
very easy to convert your PowerPoint presentations to Flash using PowerCONVERTER.
Using an industry standard installer program, it seamlessly installs into
PowerPoint with just a few simple clicks. And it works right inside of
PowerPoint, so you never have to leave PowerPoint to output your presentations
to Flash animations.
To convert,
open your PowerPoint presentation. Select the PowerCONVERTER button
which appears below the PowerPoint menu toolbar (shown below).
When you click on
thePowerCONVERTER button, a dialog box will display (shown below).
Step 1 -- Select the 'Convert to Flash' button, and
PowerCONVERTER will begin converting and compressing the resource files
associated with your PowerPoint presentation to Flash. The conversion
process may take anywhere from just seconds to a few minutes to complete
- but you can be assured that it's taking care of the job accurately
and completely.
Step 2 -- After converting the presentation, you can
save your flash-based presentation as a Flash Shockwave File ("SWF")
file or as a self-running Executable ("EXE") Flash animation.
If you plan to upload your Flash presentation to the Web, you probably
should choose the 'Save as SWF' button.* If you plan to burn your presentation
onto CD-ROM to send to others, you may want to click the 'Save as EXE'
button. Just two or three clicks. That's really all it takes!
Note: PowerCONVERTER
version 4 creates separate .SWF files for any media linked or embedded
in your PowerPoint presentation. If you plan to upload your flash-based
presentation to the internet (Web or intranet), all of these files will
need to be uploaded together into the same folder. An HTML page is created
for you. Simply link to the HTML file that is saved with your presentation
and the link will open a new browser and automatically start playing
your presentation.
For
further details on optional settings available in PowerCONVERTER, please
read the Online Help documentation. You can access the Help documentation
by clicking the Help button located in the upper right-hand corner of
the PowerCONVERTER Main menu screen.
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2.
Which version of PowerCONVERTER
is right for me?
The
PowerCONVERTER software is designed to plug into different corresponding
versions of PowerPoint. In other words, PowerCONVERTER 2000 is designed
to work best with PowerPoint 2000 and PowerCONVERTER XP is designed to
work best with PowerPoint 2002 (Office XP) and PowerPoint 2003. PowerCONVERTER
Lite plugs in to PowerPoint 97 and sports a narrower range of features
compared to PowerCONVERTER 2000 and PowerCONVERTER XP.
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3.
I have a computer at home and one at
the office. Can PowerCONVERTER be loaded onto both systems?
Yes. Your PowerCONVERTER software can be installed and operated by you
on both machines. Just use the same registration code (that is provided
to you by CrystalGraphics upon purchasing the software) to activate PowerCONVERTER
on both machines. Note: You must install and activate PowerCONVERTER on
both machines within thirty days of your purchase date.
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4. Can
multiple users install and use PowerCONVERTER?
No. CrystalGraphics
offers only single user licenses of PowerCONVERTER.
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5. What
audio file formats are supported by PowerCONVERTER?
PowerCONVERTER
can support the same audio formats as what PowerPoint allows you to embed
in your presentations. For instance, WAV and MP3 audio are industry standard
audio file formats supported by PowerCONVERTER. And, all versions of the
PowerCONVERTER support continuous audio. For a complete listing of audio
formats supported by PowerCONVERTER, click
here.
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6. What
video file formats are supported by PowerCONVERTER?
PowerCONVERTER
can convert a wide range of MPEG and AVI video formats. To improve video
conversion, make sure that you are using the latest version of Windows
Media Player. Also check that the codecs you are using in the video are
properly installed on your computer. Finally, check your version of the
Macromedia's Flash player. Presentations that have video embedded requires
Flash 6 or higher. For a complete list of video formats and codecs supported
by PowerCONVERTER, click
here.
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7. How
long does it take to convert a PowerPoint presentation using the PowerCONVERTER?
Conversion
time is totally dependent on the size of the original PowerPoint file
and the number of multimedia elements included, such as graphics, animations,
sound, etc. However, we have found that most presentations only take a
few minutes to convert. The PowerCONVERTER software will use all available
CPU speed during the conversion process. For best results, try to have
only PowerPoint and the PowerCONVERTER running at the time of conversion.
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8. Is there a limit
to the size of the presentation that the PowerCONVERTER can convert?
Generally not. Keep in mind, however, that if the resulting file size of a presentation converted to Flash is quite large, it probably shouldn’t be shown on the Internet because of the time it would take to load a presentation that large. In those circumstances, the presentation should be broken into segments or chapters to give viewers a short break and to decrease the load time per section.
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9. What
is the average file size reduction I can expect using PowerCONVERTER?
In some
cases, 97% of the original file size has been compressed. Nevertheless,
the actual file size reduction will vary based upon the presentation content.
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10. What
file formats does PowerCONVERTER output?
PowerCONVERTER
converts your PowerPoint presentations to one of two file formats: SWF
and EXE.
The .swf ("Shockwave File") file format is a compiled Macromedia
flash format for web publishing.
The .exe ("Executable") file format contains the compressed
presentation file with the Flash player built in. It’s ideal for
CD-ROM distribution.
Once you convert your presentation to either of these formats, the converted
presentation can not be modified / edited. However, you always have your
original PowerPoint presentation file (PPT) to make changes within PowerPoint
and then use PowerCONVERTER to convert and output a new compressed file.
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11. When
I publish and distribute my converted presentation to the Web or CD-ROM,
what will my viewers need to see it?
If you have
uploaded your Flash-based presentation to a Web site, viewers of your
presentation need nothing but a Web browser and Macromedia Flash Player
version 6 or higher. The Flash format is an industry standard file format
and the majority of computers have Flash playback capability built into
the Web browser. If, under the rare circumstance your recipient's computer
does not have Flash playback capability, the computer will detect the
problem and automatically install the Flash Player in less than a minute
using a dial-up connection to the internet (the Flash player is free --
there are no costs involved). When you distribute your converted presentation
via CD-ROM, the flash player is included.
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12. Can
I use PowerCONVERTER with the 3D effects produced by PowerPlugs: Transitions
and/or 3DTitles?
No. The "real-time" 3D effects produced by PowerPlugs: Transitions and PowerPlugs: 3D Titles cannot be converted to Flash.
Note: Even if PowerCONVERTER was capable of converting PowerPlugs' 3D effects to Flash, the resulting Flash file likely would not be practical for use because this would significantly add to the overall file size of the presentation. And, in most cases, one chooses to convert their PowerPoint presentations to Flash to reduce the file size.
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13. Can
I use PowerCONVERTER with animated backgrounds produced by PowerPlugs:
Video Backgrounds?
No. Animated video backgrounds cannot be converted to Flash.
Note: Even if PowerCONVERTER was capable of converting
moving backgrounds to Flash, the resulting Flash file likely would not
be practical for use because this would significantly add to the
overall file size of the presentation. And, in most cases, one chooses
to convert their PowerPoint presentations to Flash to reduce the
file size.
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14. Can
I edit my presentation after it has been converted to a Flash movie file?
No. Once you convert
your presentation to a Flash movie format, the converted presentation
can not be modified / edited. However, you always have your original PowerPoint
presentation file (PPT) to make changes within PowerPoint and then use
PowerCONVERTER to convert and output a new compressed file.
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1.
Will PowerCONVERTER run on my PC?
Yes, when your computer is configured in the
following way(s) –
· Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, XP or Vista
· PowerPoint 97, PowerPoint 2000, PowerPoint 2002/XP, PowerPoint
2003, or PowerPoint 2007
· 12 MB free hard disk space (More hard disk space is required
for converting your presentation files from PPT to Flash)
· If you are using PowerCONVERTER XP and Windows XP (SP2), Microsoft
.NET is required
· Flash viewer 6 or higher
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2.
How large is the PowerCONVERTER program?
PowerCONVERTER requires just a little over 12MB of hard drive space. Of
course, you'll need more hard drive space to convert and save your Flash-based
presentations.
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3.
Can
PowerCONVERTER be run from a network / virtual drive?
No. PowerCONVERTER must be installed onto the local hard drive
of an individual PC and run from that PC regardless of whether the host
application, PowerPoint, is running via a network or virtual drive.
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4.
Does
PowerCONVERTER require Microsoft.NET?
It is required if you are using PowerCONVERTER XP and are planning to
take full advantage the animation features and multimedia capabilities
of PowerPoint 2002 (Office XP) and PowerPoint 2003. "Dot NET" is the latest
technology from Microsoft that helps to produce faster-running applications
and improved functionality. Third-party software, such as PowerCONVERTER,
can be written to support .NET. Without .NET, many of the new features
available in PowerCONVERTER XP would not have been possible. The Microsoft
.NET Framework is automatically installed with Windows XP service pack
2 and on Windows 2003 servers. It will also be included in all new products
from Microsoft. For more information and to download the .NET framework,
visit the .NET homepage at http://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/.
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1. What are my tech support options?
CrystalGraphics provides the following technical support service options to its customers:
- CrystalGraphics customers automatically receive unlimited
access to our Online Technical Support FAQs which list the typical technical
support problems that users encounter, along with our best information
regarding their solutions. This service is available free of charge.
- If you are a CrystalGraphics customer and have read
through all the common questions and answers in the technical support
section of the CrystalGraphics website, and your issue is still not
resolved, you can contact CrystalGraphics Technical Support via email
24 hours per day for a customized answer to your unique issue.
-
If you should need telephone-based technical support assistance
within 30 days after your purchase, you can call us toll-free at 1
800-504-6148 . For customers calling from outside the U.S. and Canada,
please dial +1 800-504-6148. Telephone-based technical support is
available Monday through Friday, 8:30AM - 2:00PM Pacific Time.
Note: Some locations outside the U.S. may not be able to connect directly
to this toll-free number. In this case, please call +1 408-496-6175,
extension 271 and leave a message that includes your name and contact
information such as your complete email address and a phone number
(include your country & city code numbers) along with a description
of the problem you are experiencing. A technical support representative
will make every effort to promptly return your call and assist you.
2.
How much do updates cost?
Updates
of the PowerCONVERTER software are FREE within 90 days after the date
of purchase! If you want to upgrade from PowerCONVERTER
Lite to either PowerCONVERTER 2000 or PowerCONVERTER XP, please contact
our sales staff for upgrade pricing information.
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