Version 5.5 > PPT problems
The reasons I didn't run the sermon PPT through SSP is because you can't preview all the slides and go to any at any given time (very important when the pastor gets a bit off track and has to skip some of his sermon due to time issues!).
I think the best solution would be that when you click the "diamond" or "+" or whatever to start a PPT in SSP, if the normal PPT "presenter view" would come up (or whatever you have set to come up for that particular PPT). Or even if SSP had it's own "presenter view"! (it could be way better than the PPT one: bigger/changeable preview screens for the slides; e.t.c.)
Oh well, after all that, I must admit I played a video file on Sunday and it played better than it would in WMP (none of the dual screen problems http://ssplash.com/Forums/tabid/76/forumid/1/postid/622/view/topic/Default.aspx)
A few comments:
Did you install the PowerPoint Support ProModule? Most of the
functionality that you want (e.g., being able to inspect the presentation) is
provided. You can see the next slide in the preview panel and all of them in
the Inspector panel. In my opinion, the random
navigation (skipping around) through a PPT presentation is better in SSP than running it in native PPT.
And, as good as that is, I still almost never use PowerPoint. I find
native SSP slideshows to be better in every respect except one: more people
have PPT than SSP, so if your presentation is coming from (for example) a
visiting speaker, it will come in PPT.
If you prepare your presentations yourself, I would recommend that you
take the time to learn Slide Show Builder, the SSP tool to create slide
shows. SSP/SSB provides all of the key functionality provided by PPT, and
more. The ability to "preview
all the slides and go to any at any given time" is better using a
SSP slide show than a PPT slideshow displayed in SSP and much
better than standalone PPT. One feature I particularly like is the
ability to "name" each individual slides. Then, in the program
panel, you can expand the slideshow to see a list of slides by
name. My Pastor uses outlines, so my names tend to be (I, IA, IA1,
IA2, IB...) I also incorporate the scripture references right in the slide show
on separate slides. I make them stand out by naming them with a prefix of
"-----", so they look like "----- Gen 1:1). This is
outstanding in SSP, because when I create the slides, I never know if the
pastor first make his point then reference scripture, or reference scripture
then make his point. either way, the ability to easily jump around works very
well!
Hope this helps,
gap
When I did the installation I installed both "PowerPoint Support" and "PowerPoint Import"
Then, when I run PowerPoint, I choose "PowerPoint controls”. (See Tools->Configure-PowerPoint Support). You need the ProModule to do this.
When I run a PPT slide show, the next slide shows perfectly in the "Preview pain".
(note, if the slide has animations, e.g., fly in bullet points, the preview pane just shows the completed or final view.. Which works for me better than if they had chosen the next bullet)
If you want the ability to pick and choose slides from the PPT out of order, open the "Inspector Panel" (Icon in the upper left, with a magnifying glass. In the inspector panel, choose the "slides" tab. You should see each slide. Then, to display a slide, touch the "green diamond" next to the slide in the inspector, and SSP will display that slide. It is working perfectly for me.
Did you install the "PowerPoint Support" ProModule?
Tools -> Preferences -> External Slide Shows.
I use "A) Use the external player when possible"
I'm not sure if this matters, but there is also a "Third Party" configuration that specifies "Hide the Song Show Display when a third party slide show is displayed", I do NOT have that selected.