by Steven Pittsley CNE | Sep 18, 2006 7:00:00 AM

Takeaway: If you've ever tried to transport or share a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation only to discover that essential pieces were missing and it wouldn't run properly, you'll appreciate the convenience and simplicity of the PowerPoint For CD feature. You can even include the Viewer for those who don't have PowerPoint installed.

The Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 Package For CD feature is a flexible tool that allows you to either burn a presentation and all supporting files onto a CD or copy them to a specified folder. The package that's created using this tool includes image files, video clips, TrueType fonts, sound files, and other files used by the presentation. The package can also include the PowerPoint Viewer, making it easy to share the PowerPoint presentation with those who don't have PowerPoint installed on their workstations.

Creating a CD

To use the Package For CD feature to burn a CD, start by inserting a blank CD into your computer's CD writer. Next, open the PowerPoint presentation and click File | Package For CD, as shown in Figure A, to open the dialog box shown in Figure B.

Figure A

Figure B

Type a descriptive name for the package in the Name The CD text box. You can also click the Add Files button to add any files you want in the package that are not included in the package by default.

Now, click the Options button to open the dialog box shown in Figure C. Here, you can modify the default settings for creating the package:

• PowerPoint Viewer: When this option is selected, the PowerPoint Viewer is included in the package.
• Linked Files: Includes all the files that are linked to the package, such as videos and pictures.
• Embedded TrueType Fonts: Embeds all the TrueType fonts within the presentation so that they will be available on other computers.
• Password To Open Each File: Enter a password to protect each file in the package, including the PowerPoint presentation.
• Password To Modify Each File: Enter a password to restrict modification of any file in the package.

Figure C

Once you've set the desired options, click OK to return to the Package For CD dialog box. To create the package and write it to the CD, click the Copy To CD button. The Copying Files To CD progress window will appear (Figure D), providing status information as the package is created and written to the CD.

Figure D

When the procedure is complete, the Copying Files To CD window will display the message shown in Figure E.

Figure E

After a few moments, the CD will eject from the drive and the Copying Files To CD window will close. Now you have the option of copying the same files to an additional CD (Figure F). Click Yes to create another CD or No to end the process.

Figure F

Copying to a folder

Although the feature is called Package For CD, PowerPoint doesn't require that a CD writer be installed on the workstation. viagra brand by online You can simply create a package and copy it to a folder for sharing with others.

To create a package and copy it to a folder, you follow the basic steps described above: Open the presentation and click File | Package For CD, then enter a package name, click the Add Files button if you want to include additional files, and click the Options button to modify the default settings for creating the package.

When you're finished, click the Copy To Folder button to open the dialog box shown in Figure G. Enter a name in the Folder Name text box and then click the Browse button to navigate to the location where you want the package saved.

Figure G

To finish the process, click OK. The package will be created and copied to the location you specified in the previous step. Surprisingly, you won't be notified that the procedure is complete.

To view the presentation and the files included in the package, open Windows Explorer and navigate to the location where you saved the package. Figure H shows an example of the files that are included in a package. In addition to the PowerPoint presentation and the supporting files, this package contains the PowerPoint Viewer (pptview.exe).

Figure H