PowerPlugs: 3D Titles

Online Technical Support
Please review these technical FAQs to see if your question is answered on this page. If your question is not addressed here, please go to the last question to find out how to contact our Technical Support department.

Downloading

1. What should I do when I receive an error message trying to download the paid version of PowerPlugs: 3D Titles?
2. What should I do if I am having trouble downloading the demo?
3. Why does the second link show the same files as the first link?

Installation

1. How do I install PowerPlugs: 3D Titles?
2. How do I uninstall PowerPlugs: 3D Titles from my system?
3. How do I use 3D Titles?
4. What do I need to do if I upgrade to a later version of PowerPoint?
5. What should I do if PowerPlugs: 3D Titles is not available in PowerPoint?
6. What should I do if the commands "Add 3D title" and "View Show with 3D" do nothing?
7. What is DirectX?
8. When I install PowerPlugs, I get a Visual C++ Runtime Error during installation of 3D Titles. What do I do?
   

Registered Owners

1. Why do I still see the demo logo on my 3D Titles?
2. Why does the second link show the same files as the first link?
3. How do I get the latest version of the software?
4. How do I send my 3D Titles enhanced presentation to someone?
5. How do I get 3D Titles to work with multiple presentations, or in kiosk presentations?

Crashes or Errors

1. What should I do if the software crashes or gives an error message when I try to "View Show with 3D"?
2. What should I do if PowerPlugs: 3D Titles crashes after attempting to install and use it with an international language version of PowerPoint?
3. What should I do if the 3D Titles dialog keeps asking me to render my 3D Titles?

No 3D Titles

1. What should I do if the 3D Titles do not play back in my presentation?
2. What should I do if some 3D Titles "skip" or play back intermittently in my presentation?
3. What should I do if my 3D presentation won't play on another computer (and I've used the "pack 3D Effects" command)?

Acceleration

1. What 3D graphics acceleration works with PowerPlugs: 3D Titles?
2. How do I check what model display adapter (video card, 3D accelerator) I have?
3. What should I do if my computer is supposed to have 3D acceleration but 3D Titles doesn't recognize it?

Miscellaneous

1. What should I do if it seems to take "too long" for a 3D title to display?
2. Why is PowerPlugs: 3D Titles hanging on the progress window after starting "View Show with 3D"?
3. What should I do if my 3D Presentation is missing objects, images or other elements that were inserted in my slides (and I've used the "Pack 3D Effects" command)?
4. Why are my sound effects or animations being cut off before they are completed?
5. My 3D Titles will not work while an audio file is playing. What can I do?

Additional Support

1. How do I contact Technical Support?

1. What should I do when I receive an error message trying to download the paid version of PowerPlugs: 3D Titles?

If you are trying to download through a company network's Internet connection, you may receive errors or have problems downloading. Please be aware that many company network connections are protected by firewalls and proxy servers, and these firewalls and proxy servers can cause downloading problems. We recommend that you try downloading through a regular modem connection that does not go through a company network. If you are unable to download please try the troubleshooting tips below or contact our sales department to have them ship you the CD ROM version instead.

Please try this if you are behind a firewall:

1. Close all browser windows
2. Go to Start menu, Settings, Control Panel
3. Click on Internet Options
4. Select the Advanced Tab
5. Check one or all of the following:
   
   a) Use Web Based FTP
   b) Use passive FTP for compatibility with some firewalls and DSL modems
   c) Enable folder view for FTP sites (in this case you would uncheck this option)
   
6. Click Apply

If you are able to view the file but prompted to enter a password after clicking on it:

a) Right-click on the files(s) and select Save Target As, Save Link As, or Copy To Folder depending on which browser you are using.
b) Type in the user name and password where "X" is your user name and "Y" is your password. ftp://XXXXXXXXXX:YYYYYYYYYY@www.crystalgraphics.com:2122/
c) Try using a different web browser to download the files.

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2. What should I do if I am having trouble downloading the demo?

The Internet is sometimes congested, or there are connection problems between areas. Phone lines could be down, or there may be a problem with your Internet providers' connection to the Internet. Our server may also be experiencing a heavy traffic load. If you are having difficulty downloading your easiest option is to try downloading again at a different time of day on on a different day.

Here are some other suggestions:

General downloading suggestions:

1. Access our FTP site directly ftp.crystalgraphics.com
2. Make sure you have sufficient space on your hard drive.
3. Close all other programs. When other programs are running concurrent to downloading, there's "competition" for processor activity and time on your computer. This can cause problems with downloading.
4. Check to see that the driver (the software that controls the modem) you are using for your modem is the appropriate driver for your modem and that it is the most current one. In your Start/Settings/Control Panel, double click on Modems. Select the General tab and check to see if your modem is listed as "standard". If it is listed as standard, your computer is using a generic driver for your modem. You may achieve a more consistent operation of your modem if your system is reconfigured so that it is using a driver specific to your modem rather than a generic driver. To change the modem driver simply add a "new" modem by clicking the Add button . Click Next to let Windows find your modem. If it selects the standard modem click the "Change" button. Select your modem's manufacturer from the list on the left, then select your specific modem from the list on the right. If your modem is not on the list you may need to go to the manufacturer's web site to download the latest drivers. Once your modem is installed with the appropriate drivers "remove" the old modem by clicking the remove button. 4. In addition to verifying what modem drivers you have set up (step #3), also check other modem settings in the Control Panel. Go to Start/Settings/Control Panel/Modems/General tab. Select the modem driver then select the Properties button. At the top of the Modem Properties page, there is a tab called Connection. Click the Connection tab and check to see that the "Disconnect a call if idle for more than __" is not checked, or, is set to a sufficiently long time for the file you are downloading. We recommend turning it off by unchecking it.
5. In the same dialog box as step #4 there is a button called Port Settings. Click on the Port Settings and it will bring up another window that allows you to change buffer sizes. As the dialog box describes, a lower setting is more reliable but slower; a higher setting is faster but less reliable. Change the Receive Buffer to a lower setting to reduce the possibility of being disconnected.

Corrupted file messages:

This happens when the file gets cut off prematurely, or the line has noise. You can re-download the file to replace the download damaged file.

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3. Why does the second link show the same files as the first link?

This is caused by the browser on your machine not refreshing the display of the link.

Netscape users should click on the provided link then after the page is loaded click reload in your browser.

Internet Explorer users should click on the provided link then after the page is loaded click refresh in your browser.

This will cause your browser to refresh the displayed links and should show the correct file list. If not please verify that you are clicking on the correct link. Links are provided by the sales department.

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1. How do I install 3D Titles?

In the PowerPlugs: 3D Titles CD or folder, there is a file called Setup.exe. Double click on this file. Setup.exe will install the 3D Titles files onto your local hard drive. It will also automatically install it into PowerPoint.

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2. How do I uninstall PowerPlugs: 3D Titles from my system?

1. Exit PowerPoint. Go to the PowerPlugs: 3D Titles or 3D Sensations (if you have version 1.1, 1.5 or 1.51) folder and run Setup.exe.

2. Click on "Remove from PowerPoint" button. This will remove the PowerPlugs: 3D Titles or 3D Sensations interface from the PowerPoint. Then click "OK" to exit Setup.

3. Click on the Windows Start menu and go to the Windows Control Panel. Select the "Add/Remove Programs." Select the PowerPlugs: 3D Titles or 3D Sensations program to uninstall the files from your hard drive.

4. If you wish to reinstall PowerPlugs: 3D Titles once you have uninstalled it from your hard drive, follow the steps outlined in "How to Install PowerPlugs: 3D Titles " (see above).

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3. How do I use 3D Titles?

The easiest way to get started using PowerPlugs: 3D Titles is reading the included Help documentation. Go to the Start Menu\Programs\PowerPlugs\3D Titles\3D Titles Help.

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4. What do I need to do if I upgrade to a later version of PowerPoint?

First run the Reconfigure program that we include in the Start menu\Programs\PowerPlugs\3D Titles\. This will enable you to first remove the PowerPlugs from PowerPoint and then add it back into PowerPoint. This forces the program to add into the new version of PowerPoint that you just installed.

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5. What should I do if 3D Titles is not available in PowerPoint?

Make sure you are using PowerPoint 97 or 2000 when installing PowerPlugs: 3D Titles (the earlier versions of PowerPoint do not support plug-ins). Also, make sure there is adequate disk space available on your local hard drive. If you have enough disk space, check to see if the installer loaded the files onto your hard drive. If they were loaded, but the "View Show with 3D" and "Add 3D title" commands were not added into your PowerPoint's Slide Show menu, then try running the Setup.exe program in your PowerPlugs: 3D Titles folder. Then click Add into PowerPoint.

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6. What should I do if the commands "Add 3D title" and "View Show with 3D" do nothing?

Do you have a presentation loaded? If you do, and you still don't get anything to happen when you click on Add 3D title and View Show With 3D:

1. you may have accidentally installed the 3D Titles software incorrectly. For example, the Installer defaults to C:\Program Files\PowerPlugs. If you changed that path to simply D:, then all the folders will end up in the D drive root directory and Windows will not deal with that correctly. If this happened to you, then simply uninstall the software and reinstall it, being careful to use a good path for the software to be installed into.
2. Run the reconfigure utility (Start\Programs\PowerPlugs\3D Titles\reconfigure) First click Remove from PowerPoint. Then click Add into PowerPoint. If you receive an error stating that the "named addin was not found", you need to reinstall 3D Titles. If you receive another error stating the addin could not be installed, try reinstalling PowerPoint.
3. Go to the Tools\Addins menu item. First select the PowerPlugs item from the list, then click remove. Now click Add New. Browse to the C:\Program Files\PowerPlugs folder and select the POWERPLUGS.PPA addin. Click OK.

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7. What is DirectX?
DirectX is a software API that enables third party software products to interact through Windows with the hardware in your computer...

What does this mean? This is a software product that is free from Microsoft. It allows our software, and many other software packages) to communicate with your video card to create these 3D title effects. You can download the latest version of this API from Microsoft by clicking here. Be sure to download the DirectX for end users.

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8. When I install PowerPlugs, I get a Visual C++ Runtime Error during installation of 3D Titles. What do I do?
Reduce the Macro Security settings in PowerPoint to Medium. If this does not work, try installing outside of the network environment.

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Registered Owners

1. Why do I still see the demo logo on my 3D Titles?
If you have purchased and installed 3Dtitles, you should now have additional volumes of effects in the Add 3D Titles dialog box. Simply click on the pulldown menu titled Volume. From here you can select from the installed volumes of effects. To avoid seeing the watermark on your 3D Titles, do not use the Demo 3D title volumes. These effects have the watermark. If you do not see the non-demo effects in this pulldown please double check that you have downloaded and installed the purchased files into PowerPlugs. These demo effects can be removed by deleting the 3D Titles from the PowerPlugs\3D Titles folder that have "demo" in the name of the file. These files begin with "demo" and have the extension ".p3d".

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3. How do I get the latest version of the software?
Go to our update page to download the latest version of the 3D Titles software.

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4. How do I send my 3D Titles enhanced presentation to someone?
To bundle the files necessary for playback of your 3D Titles enhanced presentation on another computer, use the Pack 3D Effects command. If you do not have 3D Titles version 1.66 or higher, it is recommended that you update to the latest version. Click here to get your FREE update. How you proceed next depends on whether or not the destination computer is equipped with 3D accelerated display hardware.

For destination computers that have 3D accelerated display hardware:

1. Open your presentation in PowerPoint.
2. From the File Menu, select Pack 3D Effects. Select "Yes" to "3D hardware acceleration".
3. Using Windows Explorer, place 3 files together in the same folder:
   • The PowerPlugs Player program (POWERPLUGS PLAYER.EXE)
   • Your PowerPoint presentation file (PRESENTATION.PPT)
   • The transitions effects file (PRESENTATION.3DP) created by the Pack 3D Effects command
      Note: The PPT and 3DP files must have the same prefix name.
4. Optional: If there are any linked media files in your presentation, use Pack and Go after using Pack 3D Effects. Store the files created by Pack and Go in the same folder as the 3 files created by Pack 3D Effects.
5. Copy the entire contents of the folder onto storage media (e.g., floppy disk, CD-ROM, zip file) and then onto the destination computer.
6. With the files all copied into a single folder on the destination computer, double-click the "PowerPlugs Player.exe" file to start the PowerPlugs Player program.
7. Select the presentation file (PRESENTATION.PPT) to start running the presentation.

For destination computers that do NOT have 3D accelerated display hardware (or if unknown):

1. Open your presentation in PowerPoint.
2. From the File Menu, select Pack 3D Effects. Select "No" or "Maybe" to "3D hardware acceleration".
3. When asked if you wish to use Pack and Go, select Yes. Be sure to include the PowerPoint Viewer. If you have AVI files, sound files, or other embedded links in your presentation, Pack and Go will copy these files into a central location for you. (Microsoft provides documentation on the Pack and Go command in their PowerPoint Help file.)
4. Combine the files that were created with Pack 3D Effects and Pack and Go into one folder.
5. Copy the entire contents of the folder onto storage media (e.g., floppy disk, CD-ROM, zip file) and then onto the destination computer.
6. With the files all copied into a single folder on the destination computer, double-click the PPVIEW32.EXE file to start the PowerPoint Viewer program.
7. Select the presentation file (PRESENTATION.PPT) to start running the presentation.
   

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5. How do I get 3D Titles to work with multiple presentations, or in kiosk presentations?

At this time Microsoft does not give our software access to these functions. When a user clicks the link buttons we cannot detect this action and therefore cannot display the 3D Titles. We hope that future volumes of PowerPoint will allow this kind of interaction with our software.

Crashes and Errors

1. What should I do if the software crashes or gives an error message when I try to "View Show with 3D"?

The amount of video RAM with your 3D graphics accelerator may be inadequate for the resolution and/or color bit depth settings at which you are playing back your 3D enhanced presentation. Try setting your display to a lower resolution. Also, try reducing the color depth setting. With 4 MB of video RAM in your graphics board, a resolution of 800x600 is the highest possible, with a 16-bit color depth. With 8 MB or more of video RAM, a resolution of 1024x768 may be possible. But even if you have enough RAM, these resolutions may not work well with your graphics board. If you are experiencing stability or quality problems, you should try using a resolution of 640x480x16 bits. You can lower your settings by going to the Start button in Windows, then click on the Settings command, then the Control Panel option, then the Display icon, then the Settings tab, then change the "Desktop area" settings and the "Color palette" settings.

It is also possible that there may be a problem with a specific slide in your presentation to which a 3D title effect has been applied. If you notice that the "Preparing 3D Presentation" dialog of the View Show with 3D command hangs or the playback of your 3D presentation halts at a particular slide, try removing the 3D title effect applied to that slide.

A. Runtime errors: There is a read out in the Preparing 3D Titles dialog window. It will count down the slides.

1. On which slide does the preparation stop?
2. Does that slide have a graphic on it? More than likely it will be on the next slide lower (if it stops on slide 12, check slide 11).
3. Try deleting the picture. Does a blank text or object box appear in place of the picture? (usually asking to Click here to enter Text) If this does not occur try removing all pictures and reinserting each picture one at a time until the problem returns.
4. This is what is causing the runtime error. Try deleting the text box and replacing the picture. If you have to cut and paste you will need to cut from PowerPoint and paste into any Paint program, then cut and paste back into PowerPoint. This is a bug we found in PowerPoint 97. It has been fixed in PowerPoint 2000. When we process the slides we ask PowerPoint what is on each slide. It reports that the picture is a text box instead of a picture because of this embedded text box. This false report causes the runtime error.

B. A message that says: This machine does not appear to have adequate 3D acceleration hardware installed and enabled you will need to pre-render the effects for later real-time playback.

1. This is simply stating that your computer does not have a 3D capable board and that our software needs to generate the effects because your video card cannot.
2. We create AVI file versions of the 3D Titles and store them in a folder with your presentation.
3. The folder is named "(your presentation's name) videos"
4. After the effects are rendered choose view show with 3D again to view the 3D title effects in the presentation.
5. If you are unable to view the 3D Titles after you render them, or the rendering time takes only moments see: What should I do if the 3D Titles do not play back in my presentation?

Another consideration is that you may be using PowerPlugs: 3D Titles on a system that has an incompatible 3D product that could also be competing for the 3D graphics accelerator's limited resources. We are working to do compatibility testing with other new 3D products as they are released. When we find compatibility problems and fix them, we will put new versions of PowerPlugs: 3D Titles on our Web site, which you may download for free.

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Make sure you are running the most current version of PowerPlugs: 3D Titles. The 1.5 and later versions of 3D Titles are compatible with international PowerPoint 97, 2000, and 2002 versions.

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3. What should I do if the 3D Titles dialog keeps asking me to render my 3D Titles?

This is usually caused by a video card conflict.

1. Make sure that you have the most current version of the drivers for your video card.(See below to determine what your video card is)
2. Make sure that you try the latest version of DirectX (see above for explanation of DirectX)

3. Also verify that the acceleration is enabled in Windows. For Windows 95/98: Go to the Start Menu\Settings\Control Panel. Double-click the System Icon. Go to the performance tab. Click the Graphics button. Make sure that the bar is slid to Full.

   For users of laptops with some brands of display chips you may need to reverse the above directions and slide the acceleration to None. This will force 3D Titles to render AVI files instead of trying to use your display card to render the 3D Titles. This can also cause a loop of rendering dialogs.

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1. What should I do if the 3D Titles do not play back in my presentation?
First there must be at least two slides in your presentation, you need to be able to 3D title from one slide to another. Second make sure that you are assigning 3D Titles to slides other than the first slide. 3D Titles to the first slide only show up in looping presentations.

Be sure you have the most current driver for your display hardware (3D graphics accelerator) installed on your system.(See the documentation that came with your 3D graphics accelerator card for more information) Once you have confirmed that the latest driver for your hardware is present, you should also check to make sure that DirectX 5.0 or above and/or OpenGL.

Also verify that the acceleration is enabled in Windows. For Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP/Windows Vista/Windows 7: Go to the Start Menu\Settings\Control Panel. Double-click the System Icon. Go to the performance tab. Click the Graphics button. Make sure that the bar is slid to Full.

For users of laptops with NeoMagic brand display chips you may need to reverse the above directions and slide the acceleration to None. This will force 3D Titles to render AVI files instead of trying to use your display card to render the 3D Titles. Users of S3 Virge MX chips in their laptops should not disable the acceleration. We have found that these chips cannot run with the acceleration disabled!

If you have verified that you have a working 3D graphics accelerator card, and if the problem persists, try reducing the resolution of your graphics screen display because there might not be enough video RAM available to support the play back. (See the question "If the software crashes" for more info.)

ATI video card users may experience a black screen at the 3D title point. Usually the sound effect for the 3D title is present, but the 3D title effect is not visible.

1. Update to the most current driver for your video card model. ATI drivers should be obtained from the manufacturer at http://www.ati.com/
2. Make sure that you are running the most current version of DirectX. (5.0 or above)(see above for explanation of DirectX)

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Make sure that there is a 3D title assigned to the slide(s). To do this, use PowerPoint to go to the slide(s) that should have a 3D title effect assigned. Then select the "Edit 3D Title Slide" command to confirm that there is a 3D title chosen from the Gallery.

It is possible that the 3D title effects may not play back when the position of the mouse cursor is within the text box boundaries of a slide. So, if you use a mouse to click through your presentation, make sure the cursor sits outside the content area of your slides as you play back the presentation. To avoid this text box/mouse cursor sensitivity altogether, try using keyboard strokes to play back your presentation, such as the space bar, arrow keys or Page Down/Up keys.

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3. What should I do if my 3D presentation won't play on another computer (and I've used the "pack 3D Effects" command)?

Please see the Pack 3D Effects FAQ to be sure that you are taking the right steps in transporting the presentation. Once you have confirmed that these requirements are met, you should also check to make sure that DirectX 5.0 or above and/or OpenGL, and the latest software driver for your display hardware is installed (see the documentation that came with your graphics accelerator card for more information). If you have verified that the destination computer has a working 3D graphics accelerator card, and if the problem persists, try reducing the resolution of your graphics screen display because there might not be enough video RAM available to support the play back. (See "If the software crashes…" for more info.)

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1. What 3D graphics acceleration works with PowerPlugs: 3D Titles?
Most 3D accelerated display hardware on the market today that supports Direct3D and OpenGL should work fine. For a complete up-to-date list of tested 3D graphics acceleration hardware, please visit this page.

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2. How do I check what model display adapter (video card, 3D accelerator) I have?

For Windows 95/98 users: Go to the Start Menu\Settings\Control Panel. Double-click on the System Icon. Click on Device Manager. Double click on Display Adapter. This is your video card.

For NT users: Right-click on the desktop. Choose Properties. Click on Settings. Click on Display Type. This is your video card.

3. What should I do if my computer is supposed to have 3D acceleration but 3D Titles doesn't recognize it?

Your system may not have a video card that can accelerate 3D graphics. (Either OpenGL ICD for NT, or Direct 3D for Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP/Windows Vista, Windows 7)

1. Make sure that you have the most current version of the drivers for your video card.(See below to determine what your video card is)
2. Make sure that you try the latest version of DirectX (see above for explanation of DirectX)

3. Also verify that the acceleration is enabled in Windows. For Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP: Go to the Start Menu\Settings\Control Panel. Double-click the System Icon. Go to the performance tab. Click the Graphics button. Make sure that the bar is slid to Full.

   For users of laptops with some brands of display chips you may need to reverse the above directions and slide the acceleration to None. This will force 3D Titles to render AVI files instead of trying to use your display card to render the 3D Titles. This can also cause a loop of rendering dialog

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Miscellaneous

1. What should I do if it seems to take "too long" for a 3D title to display?

Under Windows 95 there is usually about a 3-second setup time required by PowerPlugs: 3D Titles to load the necessary data into your graphics board for each slide in your presentation. This setup process for that "next" 3D title effect begins automatically as soon as the 3D title before it is completed. Once it is loaded, the 3D title should be ready to start as soon as you click the mouse, or press the right arrow key or the spacebar.

Under Windows NT, the setup time may take two or three seconds longer. In addition, Windows NT is slower at starting the 3D title once the setup time is completed, and the mouse is clicked, or the arrow key or spacebar is pressed. Our experience is that Windows NT may introduce a delay of up to 7 seconds to start the 3D title. This delay can be reduced by making sure you have enough system RAM (at least 48 MB), and by making sure you have a fast PC, with no other applications running concurrently. Optimizing you hard drive may also help. Although undesirable, any delay can be anticipated, taken into account, and compensated for during your presentations.

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Versions of PowerPlugs: 3D Titles prior to 1.1 had a bug in the processing of text strings that make up PowerPoint slides (a text string ending with a blank character would cause the preparation of the 3D show to hang). This problem has since been resolved. Please download the current version of PowerPlugs: 3D Titles.

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3. What should I do if my 3D Presentation is missing objects, images or other elements that were inserted in my slides (and I've used the "Pack 3D Effects" command)?

Pack 3D Effects only packs up PowerPlugs: 3D Titles-related items. So, if your presentation includes AVI files, images, Excel charts, Truetype fonts or other similar external files, make sure to transport these files to the destination computer (for your convenience, PowerPoint's "Pack and Go" command located in the PowerPoint File menu, will compress these files plus your PowerPoint presentation file into one transportable file, giving a file extension name of ".ppz."). Please see PowerPoint's documentation for more information on the Pack and Go command.

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4. Why are my sound effects or animations being cut off before they are completed?
We are aware of a bug in PowerPoint that does not allow CD audio files to play correctly, they are ended after a 3D title displays, if a 3D title is applied to slide 2. To work around this problem do not assign a 3D title to slide 2 if you use a CD audio track for your presentation.

If you use WAV files your sound card may not allow two wave files to play simultaneously. If this s the case you should disable the sound effects for the 3D Titles in the Add 3D title dialog.

If you use automatic timings make sure that you allow enough time for all your on slide animations to complete before the 3D title is triggered.

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5. My 3D Titles will not work while an audio file is playing. What can I do?
Do not insert a 3D Title slide after the slide in which the audio file starts.

EXAMPLE: If your audio file starts on slide 2, do not insert a 3D Title slide as slide 3.

Tip: try duplicating slide 2 and apply an automatic advance of 0 seconds to it. The trick is to make it seem as though slide 2 did not change.

Note: This solution will not work if effected slides are set to automatically advance.
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If you have read through the above questions and answers your issue was not addressed, and you have bought PowerPlugs: 3D Titles , you can contact technical support.

Go to PowerPlugs: 3D Titles home page