Drag & Drop
How to display your PowerPoint files
Do you want to know how to display your PowerPoint files in Easy Multi Display? You are in the right place.
You can use the Software mode for PowerPoint, but we generally advise our customers to favour a video export of their PowerPoint slideshow whenever possible.
Why?
The PowerPoint player is proprietary and allows very few interactions. For example, you cannot open two PowerPoint files at the same time, and it is impossible to pass it parameters such as x, y, height or width on the fly: it is full screen or nothing. You also need an Office licence on the playback PC.
With your presentations converted to video, you can display from 1 to 24 presentations on your screens in EMD. If your video is in a zone, you can click on it to show it full screen, click again to put it back in its zone, and you can also pause your presentation.
Why convert your presentation to video?
If you want to give a high-fidelity version of your presentation to colleagues or clients (as an email attachment, through a web publication, or on a CD/DVD), you can save it and play it back as a video.
You can save your presentation in MPEG-4 (.mp4) or .wmv format. Both formats are widely supported and can be used for web delivery.
A few tips for saving your presentation as video
- You can record and time a voice narration and the laser pointer movements in your video.
- You can control the file size and the video quality.
- You can include animations and transitions in your film.
- Your audience can watch the presentation without having to install PowerPoint.
- If your presentation contains an embedded video, it will play correctly without any check on your part.
- Depending on the content, creating the video can take some time. Long presentations and those with animations, transitions and multimedia content will take longer. You can keep using PowerPoint while the video is being created.
How to convert your PowerPoint file to video
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In the File menu, select Save to make sure your recent work has been saved in the PowerPoint presentation format (.pptx).
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Click File > Export > Create a Video. (Or, on the Recording tab of the ribbon, click Export to Video.)
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In the first drop-down list under “Create a Video”, select the video quality you want, which corresponds to the resolution of the final video. You can try the different options to work out which one best suits your needs.
| Option | Resolution | For viewing on |
|---|---|---|
| Ultra HD (4K)* | 3840 x 2160, largest file | Large monitors |
| Full HD (1080p) | 1920 x 1080, large file | Computers and HD screens |
| HD (720p) | 1280 x 720, medium file | Internet and DVD |
| Standard (480p) | 852 x 480, smallest file | Portable devices |
*The Ultra HD (4K) option is only available on Windows 10.
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The second drop-down list under “Create a Video” tells you whether your presentation includes a narration and timings (you can turn this setting on or off). If you have not recorded a timed narration, the default option is Don’t Use Recorded Timings and Narrations. By default, the time spent on each slide is 5 seconds. You can change this timing in the Seconds spent on each slide box. If you have recorded a timed narration, the default option is Use Recorded Timings and Narrations.
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Click Create Video.
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In the File name box, enter a name for the video, browse to the folder where you want to save it, and click Save.
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In the Save as type box, select MPEG-4 Video or Windows Media Video.
You can follow the progress of the creation in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. This process can take several hours depending on the length of the video and the complexity of the presentation.
All done!
Tip: for a long video, you can start its creation in the evening so it runs overnight. That way it will be ready the next morning. To play the video you created, go to the folder you chose and double-click the file.