MessageNet Connections users with Microsoft PowerPoint (version 2012 or later) now have the option to save a PowerPoint presentation as a video file. This makes displaying a presentation on a MessageNet MediaPort a lot simpler. PowerPoint presentations have often had many specific settings that need to be correct in order to properly display (as explained in this earlier blog post: Make Power Point Presentations Compatible), so a video, which only needs to be saved in widescreen format, is a lot easier to successfully create and display. Another advantage of the video format is that all transitions and animations are compatible and display on MediaPorts, unlike the .ppt format, which is more restrictive.

1. Click on the ‘file’ tab and select ‘save & send’
2. Under the ‘file types’ heading, select ‘save as video’
3. If you haven’t already set up transition timings, it will ask you to do so next
4. Save the file (it may take a few minutes for the file to be converted, depending on the speed of your computer)
5. Finally, upload it to a MessageNet Connections media message and enjoy a nicer presentation that was easier to create