Opening a PPS file in not-presentation mode

users
#1

Hi all,

I'm trying to open PPS files but *not* in presentation mode.
For some reason, all presentation files, are opened in presentation mode, and when I hit ESC, LO just closes. Pressing F5 does nothing, and right click does not give me an option.

I read online that I need to rename files, or something similar, is this so? Do I need to move the files over to a rw mount, and rename them in order to just open them in non-presentation mode, or was I just fed rubbish?

Thank all,

#2

Hi :slight_smile:

I think you only need to copy&paste the pps and then rename the ending from .pps
to .ppt. Of course you don't really need to copy&paste or duplicate the files
at all, just rename them. Personally i would always keep the original as
untouched as possible just in case!

Good luck and regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#3

But why? this makes no sense. Why does the application run in a
different mode, according to file filename? Isn't there a workaround or
something for this?

I believe this bug was not present in OO; at least not the last version
I used. Any ideas on when this will be fixed?

Oh, and I mentioned copy, because I've a bunch of files stored on an
external read-only backup drive, so this means I'll have to copy them
over and rename then for now every time I want to open them.

Thanks for your time :),

#4

Hi Osvaldo,

But why? this makes no sense. Why does the application run in a
different mode, according to file filename? Isn't there a workaround or
something for this?

The workaround is to rename the extension of your file to *.ppt and make
it writable if it is currently on a read only mount/share.

I believe this bug was not present in OO; at least not the last version
I used. Any ideas on when this will be fixed?

The automatic slideshow execution of PPS files was a long time request
for many MSOffice users who switched to OOo and then found that their
slideshow presentations didn't start up automatically in slideshow mode.
The PPS extension is just that - a slideshow. The PPT extension is the
Powerpoint "editable" file. I doubt that this recently integrated
feature in LibO is going to be withdrawn any time soon.

Alex

#5

Double clicking a PPS opens the file in slideshow as expected.

The problem is that starting Impress and then opening a PPS file should open
it in Edit mode (as PowerPoint does).

Instead it opens it in slideshow mode and closes Impress on ESC. This is
indeed a bug which makes it impossible to edit a PPS file (without using the
rename hack which is not a solution :wink: )

#6

Hi :slight_smile:
Renaming the file is not even a hack. A hack implies some sort of sophisticated
programming but renaming a file is far more trivial than that. The pps format
is designed to do one job but the ppt format is designed to do another.

When you want to show the slide-show do you want the audience to first see it
displayed in design view and then see you spending a bit of time clicking on
things to get the slide-show to start?

Pps is for audiences to watch. It is NOT for editing

Something similar occurs with html which can be written as a text-file (".txt")
but when "Save As ..." .html the new file would be displayed by the
web-browser. It is still identical to the ".txt" file. Mostly changing formats
does significantly alter the contents of the file but ppt is identical to pps
but just serves a different function.

Good luck and regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#7

Hi Osvaldo,

But why? this makes no sense. Why does the application run in a
different mode, according to file filename? Isn't there a workaround or
something for this?

The workaround is to rename the extension of your file to *.ppt and make
it writable if it is currently on a read only mount/share.

A DVD can't be made read-write for renaming, nor read-only shares that contain backup. If it's RO, it's for a reason :stuck_out_tongue: :slight_smile:

I believe this bug was not present in OO; at least not the last version
I used. Any ideas on when this will be fixed?

The automatic slideshow execution of PPS files was a long time request
for many MSOffice users who switched to OOo and then found that their
slideshow presentations didn't start up automatically in slideshow mode.
The PPS extension is just that - a slideshow. The PPT extension is the
Powerpoint "editable" file. I doubt that this recently integrated
feature in LibO is going to be withdrawn any time soon.

So LO is actually targeted towards former MS Office, rather that ex-OO users. I don't think that fair on the OO userbase that never used MS Office.

Alex

A context menu to "normal view" or "non-presentation view" would be a great fix. Or a ~/config/libreoffice config file where one could disable the behaviour would be great to. It seems unfair that LO is better acomodated to former MS-office-users, instead of OO-users. It's like trying to absorb that userbase, without caring for the OO userbase.

I don't want to actually EDIT the file. I just want that view then in non-presetation view because I hate animations that take more time than it takes me to read.

Restricting funcionallity from a software acording to what some author chose when distributing is a form of DRM, even if it's really crappy and easily workaroundable.

#8

Hi, there.
I have known some friends who preffered OOo Impress instead of MS Powerpoint just becasue of this issue. Receiving quite number of nonsense slide shows in daily basis is annoying by itself. Previous versions of Impress was giving the opportunity for a faster look just in Thunderbird without any further clicks or actions. I think that this functionality should be kept in a way. I understand the neeed for compatibility and the reason for targeting MS Powerpoint users but still can't we reach a better solution? For instance Impress can start with the slide show mode but a magic key can stop it and show the design view (may or may not be editing mode). Can't we satisfy all group of users?
Regards,

*Cevad OZTUG*

#9

________________________________
From: Hugo Osvaldo Barrera <hugo@osvaldobarrera.com.ar>
To: users@libreoffice.org
Sent: Wed, 20 April, 2011 6:01:12
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] Re: Opening a PPS file in not-presentation mode

On 2011-04-19 04:02, Alexander Thurgood wrote:

Le 19/04/11 08:14, Hugo Osvaldo Barrera a écrit :

Hi Osvaldo,

But why? this makes no sense. Why does the application run in a
different mode, according to file filename? Isn't there a workaround or
something for this?

The workaround is to rename the extension of your file to *.ppt and make
it writable if it is currently on a read only mount/share.

A DVD can't be made read-write for renaming, nor read-only shares that contain
backup. If it's RO, it's for a reason :stuck_out_tongue: :slight_smile:

I believe this bug was not present in OO; at least not the last version
I used. Any ideas on when this will be fixed?

The automatic slideshow execution of PPS files was a long time request
for many MSOffice users who switched to OOo and then found that their
slideshow presentations didn't start up automatically in slideshow mode.
The PPS extension is just that - a slideshow. The PPT extension is the
Powerpoint "editable" file. I doubt that this recently integrated
feature in LibO is going to be withdrawn any time soon.

So LO is actually targeted towards former MS Office, rather that ex-OO users. I
don't think that fair on the OO userbase that never used MS Office.

Alex

A context menu to "normal view" or "non-presentation view" would be a great
fix. Or a ~/config/libreoffice config file where one could disable the
behaviour would be great to. It seems unfair that LO is better acomodated to
former MS-office-users, instead of OO-users. It's like trying to absorb that
userbase, without caring for the OO userbase.

I don't want to actually EDIT the file. I just want that view then in
non-presetation view because I hate animations that take more time than it takes
me to read.

Restricting funcionallity from a software acording to what some author chose
when distributing is a form of DRM, even if it's really crappy and easily
workaroundable.

Hugo Osvaldo Barrera

Hi :slight_smile:
If this were changed then how would slide-shows be shown as slide-shows? Lets
say i get called into a meeting and have to display management accounts. Could
i be confident in the slide-show starting or would i have to worry that it might
open in design-view?

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#10

1) As I said, add a setting, I don't really care if the new behaviour is the default, as long as people who want to change it *can* change it.

I don't mind configuring stuff to my linking. I do dislike a change in behaviour to attract a new user base, and not even a checkbox to revert to the original one.

2) Your presentation depends on the fact that your users don't see your impress' design view? Are you serious? How did you survive all these years, when the design view was the default behaviour? This simply sound shallow.

Mind you: I don't crying "revert this back", I'm saying, respect your previous userbase, and allow them to retain the behaviour OO had, with which we were so confortable. A simple checkbox in preferences will do really :slight_smile:

Now, every time I get an e-mail with a PPS, I need to save a file to disk, navigate to it, rename it, and open it. Browsing through a dozen files in a DVD or RO share is insufferable.