Resolving Problems
Some problems you can solve yourself by determining the cause of the problem and eliminating any contributing factors. Most problems you encounter in PowerPoint will probably be memory related, even if you have a great deal of memory (RAM) on your computer. In addition, because PowerPoint is a graphical application and most of your slides contain several graphical elements (pictures, textures, and colors), printing and display can also be problem areas if your printer doesn't have enough memory or your video card isn't powerful enough.
When you consider solving a problem yourself, be honest with yourself—do you feel confident changing your computer's configuration? Are you comfortable with the Control Panel? If you begin tinkering in one dialog box or another, do you completely understand the nature and ramifications of all the changes and settings with which you're working? If the answers to these questions are not Yes on all counts, don't try to solve the problem on your own—call for help.
Note
If you want to try a possible solution on your own, try to exit without saving or choose File, Save As and save the file under a new name and restart PowerPoint. You might lose any work (in your original file) done since your last save, but if the last batch of changes was what caused your problem, you've also lost them!
Display Problems
Most display problems, if they occur suddenly, are memory related. Typical complaints include the following:
Ghosts of previous slides or dialog boxes appear behind your current slide, or even on top of it.
Graphics look incomplete, grainy or choppy, or as though a pattern is placed on top of them.
Ornate graphics or background elements take a long time to refresh as you move from slide to slide.
If any of these problems occur, save your work and exit PowerPoint. If you have other programs running, shut them down, too. You should even consider restarting your computer to empty your memory and start with a clean slate. Most of the time, however, simply restarting PowerPoint resolves the problem.
If the problem is chronic, you might consider upgrading your video card to one that has more memory and is therefore capable of displaying and handling more complex graphic and multimedia content.
Note
If your slide's background or object fill colors appear in stripes or just don't look as smooth as you think they should, check your zoom level. Choosing 100% should smooth out the display, removing any distortion. You can also try viewing the offending slide in Slide Show view, which enables you to see the entire slide.
Printing Problems
Printing problems are generally related to your printer and are usually transient. Don't rush your computer in for repairs just because a print job doesn't come out as expected. Some common printing problems include the following:
The whole page doesn't print; about a third or half-way through the page, the image appears to be chopped off.
Text objects are missing.
Nothing prints, or only a few pages of random characters and symbols print.
Most of the problems you'll encounter when printing will probably be due to a “confused” printer, one with too much input from too many people (if you're on a network) or too much data to handle in your particular presentation. If the same presentation with the same content printed fine before on the same printer, this is further evidence that the current environment—other printer traffic—is the culprit.
If you're on a network, contact your company's network administrator or technician. He might suggest printing the presentation at night or early in the morning before other workers come in and use the printer. If possible, direct your print job to another printer that is used by fewer people.
If you don't have the luxury of delaying your print job, you can always take the presentation on disk to a local printing and photocopying store. Many rent time on their computers, and you can print it out there.
To reduce the amount of information that your printer must handle for your presentation, try printing in black and white (use the Print dialog box setting).
If all quick-fix or workaround options fail or are inappropriate for your immediate needs, you can take a more direct approach and check your printer's settings. Each printer's settings are different, since they are based on the printer's specific capabilities, its connection to your printer or a network, and your system configuration. To access your printer's settings, choose Settings, Printers from the Start menu, and double-click the icon for the printer. The resulting dialog box will show you the current settings for your printer's connection to the computer, speed, resolution, and other options, again, depending on your printer. If you're working with someone else's computer (the computer on your desk at work, for example), it's a good idea to ask for assistance from a technical resource before making any changes.
You can also try changing or updating the driver for your printer to solve printing problems (equally unadvisable in a workplace where you're probably not supposed to do your own repairs). Check the manufacturer's Web site for the latest driver and download it. Install it by double-clicking the Add Printer icon in the Printers window. When asked, direct the installation program to the folder where you have stored the driver, and a new printer icon will appear, based on that driver file. Attempt your print job again, and if the previous driver was the culprit, your print job should be successful.
Troubleshooting Problems with PowerPoint Features
PowerPoint is loaded with effective and normally efficient tools to enhance your presentations and, most of the time, these features work perfectly. When they don't, however, they can truly be more trouble than they're worth. Before starting your next presentation, familiarize yourself with these situations and their resolutions:
AutoCorrect isn't correcting Be sure it's on. Choose Tools, AutoCorrect Options, and check to see that a check mark is next to Replace Text as You Type and any of the other AutoCorrect options that you want to use.
AutoCorrect is working when you don't want it to In your presentation for the law firm of Tidwell, Evans, and Havilland, you need to type TEH and not have it converted to THE. You don't want to remove the AutoCorrect entry from the list, and you don't want to turn off AutoCorrect altogether. What to do? Click the down arrow to the right of the AutoCorrect Options button (it's just beneath the corrected word) and choose Stop Automatically Correcting “teh.”
Your hyperlinks don't work The most common cause of this problem is that the target file or Web location is no longer valid or has been moved. It's a good idea to maintain your links by checking them periodically, especially an intranet or Web pages on the Internet. If the hyperlink fails, right-click it and choose Edit Hyperlink from the shortcut menu. In the Edit Hyperlink dialog box that appears, you can enter a new hyperlink.
The speech and handwriting recognition tools won't work properly Remember that you need at least 128MB of memory for these powerful features to work (even though you might be able to access them with less).
Drag-and-drop editing doesn't work If you've ruled out that your mouse skills are the cause of the problem—not having text properly selected can often be the culprit—be sure that the drag-and-drop feature is turned on. Choose Tools, Options and, in the Edit tab, look for a check mark in the Drag-and-Drop Text Editing option. If it's not checked, click the option box.
Note
If your hyperlink works but takes a long time to get to the target Web site, the server on which the target resides may be busy. Try to reach the site later, or try during times of the day that are less likely to be busy, such as early in the morning or very late at night.
Slideshow Problems
If you're having a problem with your slideshow, the problem is likely that the show is too slow or your animations don't work as expected. In the case of speed, your computer's memory might be the problem, or if you're using graphic files, if they were scanned at a high resolution (600 or 1200 dpi), this may slow down your show as well. To see if memory is the problem, close any other programs that aren't essential and restart PowerPoint. If the show is still too slow, and you are using graphic files in your presentation, consider rescanning it at a lower resolution (if you have access to the original artwork), or opening the file in a program, such as Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop, that enables you to edit and resave the image at a lower resolution.
If your animations aren't working as expected, try the obvious first. Go back to the slides and make sure your settings are correct. If they are, try deleting the offending object (a piece of clip art that doesn't fly in as desired or a title that doesn't appear at all during the show) and reinserting it. Then, reapply the animation effects. Years of using PowerPoint and helping hundreds of students create presentations has proven this method; although not technically elegant, it is the most effective and expeditious way to solve such problems.
Note
When any PowerPoint problem occurs in printing, running a slideshow, or editing your slides, try the Ask a Question box on the menu bar. Enter your question (or a keyword if you're in a hurry) and press Enter. If you type “Printing,” for example, the topics that the Ask a Question box will find for you include “Troubleshoot printing.”