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Joseph Ganci

Joseph Ganci

Dazzle Technologies Corp.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. What the Converter Can and Can't Do and How it Works
  3. Getting Started
  4. Setting Options and Transitions
  5. Performing the Conversion and Reviewing the Results
  6. Potential Pitfalls
Created:
22 November 2004
User Level:
Intermediate, Advanced
Products:
Authorware

Converting PowerPoint to Authorware

The New PowerPoint Converter

Among its many new features, Macromedia Authorware version 7 introduced one feature of particular interest to designers and project managers sitting on top of a great deal of learning materials in the form of Microsoft PowerPoint files. The Authorware PowerPoint converter can help kick start your e-learning by bringing PowerPoint storyboards or rapid prototyping materials you may already have into Authorware and then letting you change and build upon those converted files.

PowerPoint? Say It Isn’t So!

Let’s get one thing out of the way: I do not advocate the use of PowerPoint files as a delivery medium for excellent e-learning. I’m sure some of you out there will swear up and down that you have imparted the wisdom of the ages to your personnel or customers through the best PowerPoint presentation you brilliantly created in a moment of intense inspiration brought on by "The Ultimate e-Learning Muses." That may be so, but I haven’t seen your presentation, nor have I seen any PowerPoint presentation yet that did much more than present facts and knowledge points and conveyed very few “a-ha” moments of understanding. Of course, it is that understanding that is the goal of all good e-learning.

Without a doubt, over the years, PowerPoint has become more powerful and it is possible to build some limited interactivity, navigation, and progress tracking, but comparing PowerPoint’s features to what a product like Authorware or Flash can do for you is a bit like comparing the capabilities of a tricycle to those of a Harley-Davidson VRSCB V-Rod.

On the other hand, those who are designing e-learning often employ PowerPoint to create their storyboards or use PowerPoint when creating rapid prototypes. These are then often handed to developers or programmers who then copy and paste or rewrite the contents of those storyboards in Authorware. This is silly; wouldn’t it be much better to save a step and convert those materials in an organized manner and then build on top of those the proper interactivity, navigation, and progress tracking? It makes sense to me!

Requirements

To complete this tutorial you will need to install the following software and files:

Authorware 7

The Authorware 7.0.2 Updater

  • Download the Authorware 7.0.2 Updater (EXE, 4.66MB)

    The Converter is included in Authorware 7 and later. Some bugs in version 7 were fixed in versions 7.01 and 7.02. I highly recommend that you download the 7.02 update (free of charge) from Macromedia so that you don’t have to deal with any potential bugs in the prior versions.

    The converter has been tested most extensively with the latest versions of PowerPoint, but should work with earlier versions as well, at least back to PowerPoint 97.

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About the author

Joseph Ganci is President of Dazzle Technologies Corp., located in Sterling, VA, just outside Washington, D.C. He has been involved for the last 22 years in every aspect of multimedia and learning development with an emphasis in development. Mr. Ganci has taught classes and seminars at leading universities and in many government facilities, commercial firms and educational institutions, and has spoken at several industry conferences.

Mr. Ganci is also a published author, having written several books and articles about Authorware and elearning, and is widely considered a guru for his expertise in elearning development. He has consulted on a wide range of multimedia and learning applications worldwide for many organizations. Mr. Ganci holds his degree in Computer Science.