PPT: Viewer Can't Access Multiple Disks Using Playlist (95685)

SUMMARY

The Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer has the ability to run multiple PowerPoint slide shows, one right after another. To do this, it uses a playlist (.LST) file.

Playlist files must point to presentations or other playlists that are available at the time the playlist is opened. This means that you cannot make a playlist file that calls files on more than one floppy disk per disk drive.

If a presentation or playlist is not immediately available, or if the path or filename you have specified is incorrect, you will receive a message such as the following:

<drive>:\<path>\<filename>
Sorry, the file cannot be found

-or-

<drive>:\<path>\<filename>
Sorry, the path or file name is invalid

If you choose the OK button, PowerPoint Viewer proceeds with the slide show, using only those presentations or playlists that are immediately available.

If you choose the Cancel button, the slide show stops and you are returned to the PowerPoint Viewer dialog box.

MORE INFORMATION

To create a playlist file, follow these steps:

In a text editor, such as Notepad, create a text file that lists the PowerPoint presentations or other playlists you want Viewer to use while running a slide show. Make sure the text file contains one filename per line, as in this example:

      ;This is the beginning of the list file.
      ;Any line of text that comes after a semicolon is ignored
      ;by PowerPoint Viewer (you can use them as comments to
      ;yourself or to others who may run the playlist file).
      C:\FILE1.PPT       ; this file is on the hard disk
      A:\FILE2.PPT       ; this file is on a floppy disk in A:
      ;This is the end of the list file.

Save and name the file with an .LST extension.

Steps to Reproduce Problem

In a text editor, such as Notepad, create the following playlist:

      ;This is the beginning of the list file TEST.LST.
      FILE1.PPT          ; this file is on the hard disk
      A:\FILE2.PPT       ; this file is on floppy disk #1
      A:\FILE3.PPT       ; this file is on floppy disk #2
      C:\\FILE4.PPT      ; this path is invalid
      ;This is the end of the list file TEST.LST.

Create a PowerPoint file named FILE1.PPT in the PowerPoint directory on the hard disk.
Create PowerPoint files named FILE2.PPT and FILE3.PPT, and save them on two separate floppy disks.
Put the disk that contains FILE2.PPT in drive A.
Launch PowerPoint Viewer and select TEST.LST as the playlist you want to run. Choose the Show button.

When PowerPoint Viewer tries to find FILE3.PPT on drive A, it generates this error message:

Sorry, the file cannot be found.

This occurs because the file is on the second floppy disk, which is not in drive A when Viewer opens the file TEST.LST.

When PowerPoint Viewer tries to find FILE4.PPT on C:\\, it generates this error message:

Sorry, the path or filename is invalid.

This occurs because the path syntax in the playlist is incorrect.