PPT: Cannot Branch to PowerPoint Slide Objects (113017)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 4.0
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 4.0a
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 4.0c
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 95
This article was previously published under Q113017

SUMMARY

Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows provides the ability to create two different types of PowerPoint OLE (object-linking-and-embedding) objects:

MS PowerPoint Slide
MS PowerPoint Presentation

If you insert an MS PowerPoint Presentation object into a slide, you can use the Play Settings command to choose which action to take with the object during an on-screen slide show. If you choose the Show action, you can branch to that inserted presentation during your slide show.

However, if you insert an MS PowerPoint Slide object into a slide, you will find that the Show action is not available. As a result, you cannot branch to an MS PowerPoint Slide object.

WORKAROUND

The workaround is to convert your MS PowerPoint Slide object into an MS PowerPoint Presentation object. Once you have converted the object, you can use the Play Settings dialog box to choose the Show action for the object so that you can branch to it during your on-screen slide show.

There are two different procedures for converting the object, depending on whether the object is embedded or linked.

Embedded Slide Object Procedure

Use the Convert command:
  1. Select the MS PowerPoint Slide object that you want to convert.
  2. From the Edit menu, choose MS PowerPoint Slide Object. Select the Convert command.
  3. In the Convert dialog box, select the object type MS PowerPoint Presentation and choose OK.

Linked Slide Object Procedure

  1. Delete the linked MS PowerPoint Slide object from your slide.
  2. If the source file contains just a single slide, skip to step 4.
  3. If the source file contains more than one slide, you can't really link to just one slide in a presentation of multiple slides so you will need to create a single slide presentation by doing the following:
    1. Open the presentation file that is the source of the linked object that was just deleted.
    2. Save the file under a different name, using the Save As command. This preserves the original file.
    3. Delete all slides from this new presentation, except the slide that you want to link.
    4. Save and close the file.
  4. Insert a new MS PowerPoint Presentation object by doing the following:
    1. From the Insert menu, choose Object.
    2. Select Create From File.
    3. Browse for or type in the path and filename of the presentation that is the source of the linked object you want to insert.
    4. Select the Link check box.
    5. Choose OK.

MORE INFORMATION

When you select and copy just one slide from Slide Sorter view, the only OLE object type that is placed on the Clipboard is an MS PowerPoint Slide object. If you select and copy two or more slides from Slide Sorter view, the only OLE object type that is placed on the Clipboard is an MS PowerPoint 4.0 Presentation object.

If you have any existing presentation files that you want to insert into PowerPoint as an OLE object and you always want them to come in as MS PowerPoint Presentation objects, so that you can branch to them, do the following:
  1. From the Insert menu, choose Object.
  2. Choose Create From File.
  3. Browse for or type in the path and filename of the presentation that you want to insert.
  4. If you want to link, rather than embed the object, select the Link check box.
  5. Choose OK.
The object created will always be an MS PowerPoint Presentation object regardless of whether it is linked or embedded, has one slide, or many slides.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/16/2005
Keywords:kbprb kbusage KB113017
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