PPT2000: Narration Is Delayed or Truncated in Slide Show (310688)

SYMPTOMS

When you view a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation that contains recorded narration in Slide Show view, you may experience one or more of the following behaviors:

The next slide is displayed before the narration for the previous slide is complete, and the narration is truncated.
There is a short delay of about 5 seconds between slides.
There is a long delay, in excess of 30 seconds, between slides.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if one or more of the following conditions are true:

When you set and rehearse the slide show timings for your presentation and then record narration for the slides, the time frame of the Record Narration setting may be longer than the time frame of the Rehearse Timings setting. If you decide to keep the Rehearse Timings setting, your narrations are cut short.
Narrations may be truncated if the last item that you animate on a slide is a text frame or an AutoShape that has text added to it.
Short delays may occur because PowerPoint must load the recorded narration into memory before playing it. The length of the pause depends on the quality of the narration recording: The higher the quality, the larger the sound file. Any delay is also affected by the speed of the processor.
Long delays may occur if the slide is corrupted.

RESOLUTION

If Narrations Are Truncated

To record narrations and rehearse timings together in the proper order, follow these steps:

After you create your presentation and add all custom animations, make sure that all animations are set to advance on a mouse click and not automatically.
If the last item to be animated on the slide is a text frame or an AutoShape that contains text, follow these steps:
1. Create one new shape, and then place it outside of the slide's area.
2. Set the shape's Custom animation setting to Appear.
3. On the Order & Timing tab, make sure that the shape is the last item to animate, and that it is set to animate on a mouse click.
Make sure that any slide transitions are set to advance on a mouse click and not automatically.
On the Slide Show menu, click Record Narration. After you have completed the narration, click No when asked if you want to save the slide timings.
Preview your slide show (advancing manually) to make sure that your narrations are correct. Make any corrections to individual narrations at this time.
When you are satisfied with the recorded narrations, add the automatic slide and animation timings by clicking Rehearse Timings on the Slide Show menu.

If There Is A Short Delay Between Slides

To work around this issue, consider changing the quality of your narration to a lower level. To do this, follow these steps:

On the Slide Show menu, click Record Narration.
In the Record Narration dialog box, click Change Quality.
In the Sound Selection dialog box, select a setting in the Attributes box that has fewer kilobytes per second (KBps) than the setting that you are currently using. Click OK twice to begin recording your narration at the lower rate.

If There Is A Long Delay Between Slides

If you suspect that a long delay between slides indicates that a particular slide has become corrupted, re-create the slide, and then delete the corrupted original.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about how to set and rehearse slide show timings, click Microsoft PowerPoint Help on the Help menu, type about setting and rehearsing slide show timings in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

For more information about re-recording a narration, click Microsoft PowerPoint Help on the Help menu, type re-record voice narration in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.