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I know PowerPoint is not the right tool for this job, but the customer is always right, no?

It’s a technical manual with lots of photos, and the writer’s written it as dozens of independent badly aligned text boxes. My task is to do it properly, but still (unfortunately) in PowerPoint.

Specific problems are that I need columns and text wrapped around photos.

I have considered doing the job properly in Word, then pasting it (paste special) into PowerPoint. This seems to work, but raises two additional problems: the file size (already huge) gets even bigger; and I have to do it page by page.

Does anyone have any ideas?

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I agree that PowerPoint is the wrong program. But thats what the boss wants. Your blotting problem can be solved in two ways. You can save as html or Adobe Acrobat. Doing so will reduce it’s size and most computers can open them. Good luck.

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Thanks!

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You are correct that Ppt is not the right tool if the intention is to print the final document. (And that is not to mention to the total lack of “page layout” tools in Ppt – a process it was never intended for.) What is the reason for the insistence on Ppt?

One of the major problems you will have is if the printing is to be done commercially. Ppt operates in an RGB colour space; for commercial printing, you require CMYK. In fct, most commercial printers wouldn’t accept a Ppt file – they wouldn’t know what to do with it. As a designer, I’ve run into these strange demands from clients. Frankly, if the client will not accept your professional recommendations, then you are probably better off refusing the project.

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Thanks for the information. I didn’t realize there were printing problems too.

I think there will come a time when ease of use ceases to be an end to itself. PowerPoint is definitely very easy to use, but that also means it is very easy to use badly. Many of my customers use it for many of the wrong purposes, like this technical manual that should have been produced using a page layout package (or, passably, with a powerful word processor).

When I quoted for the job, I backed my recommendations with a high price penalty on the PowerPoint option. But corporare culture runs strong, and is often dictated by idiots. So what’s new?

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Oh sure – horses for courses. I can never figure why corporate users can’t see that MS provides differing products for differing end uses. Word processing, spreadsheets, database, presentations, web design – each has its own strengths.

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