Import a PowerPoint file into Litmos using the media module. This module can also be used to import PDF files. If you are using Keynote, the file will first need to be saved as a .ppt before it can be imported into Litmos.

PowerPoint is still the dominant authoring tool for eLearning material. There are some very cool things you can do in PowerPoint if you know how so check the bottom of this article for tricks and tools of the trade.

All files imported into a media module will be converted into an online format to allow users who do not have PowerPoint to view the video. However, during this conversion, some features may be stripped from the file see below for more information.

Why does the audio, animations not play with my PowerPoint upload?

If your PowerPoint Presentation contains audio and/or animations content, these effects will be lost when your file is uploaded in to Litmos as a Presentation Module because after your file uploads, it’s converted into an online format so that it can be viewed over the web. This means trainees do not need to have PowerPoint on their computer to view the content. However, the downside is that the conversion process strips out the animations and/or audio so that the presentation becomes a static object.

What’s the Solution?

If you want to upload a PowerPoint that contains audio and/or animations content you will need to first convert it to a Video file, then upload it in to Litmos as a Video module respectively.

Here are three easy ways to do this:

1. Use a PowerPoint to a video converter like the free one offered here by iSpringSolutions: https://www.ispringsolutions.com/ispring-free. This tool keeps all the visual parameters, animation effects, slide transitions, audio narrations, video and other objects after the PowerPoint converts to a video file.

2. Use a screen recorder to record your presentation as it plays through, then publish the recording as a Video file and upload in to Litmos as a Video module. This blog post suggests some of the top screen recorders on the market, free or otherwise: http://www.litmos.com/blog/authoring-tools/top-screen-recording-tools and http://www.litmos.com/blog/authoring-tools/10-tips-for-recording-audio-on-screencasts

3. Export the PowerPoint file as a video file through PowerPoint (instructions below).

Why is part of my PowerPoint file missing?

This can be due to non-standard slide sizes which could be a result of custom slide size settings when a presentation is created in PowerPoint, or default settings when it is converted from Keynote to PowerPoint if you are using a Mac. This is easy to fix. How to fix will depend on whether they were built in PowerPoint, or whether they were built in Keynote (Mac) then converted to .ppt.

Here are the instructions for both cases:

PowerPoint 2007

• Go into the presentation, click on the ‘Design’ tab, then ‘Page Setup’. Change slide size to ‘On-screen show (4:3)’ and rename/save file. Now try to upload in to Litmos once again.
  Keynote conversion to PowerPoint Presentation
  You will need to ensure the slide resolution used in conversion is the same 4:3 ratio – either (800 x 600) or (1024 x 768). Here are Apple’s instructions on changing slides from the default sizes: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2925

Convert PowerPoint presentation to HTML5/ SCORM

• Alternatively, you can opt to convert your file from a .ppt/.pptx to a HTML5 SCORM file (.zip), which can then be uploaded in to Litmos as a SCORM module. To do this you can use many different tools but this one from iSpring can be downloaded for free from: https://www.ispringsolutions.com/ispring-free. Their ‘PowerPoint to HTML5 Converter’ is a PowerPoint plug-in specifically designed to preserve all aspects of your presentation through a conversion.

• *After downloading the free tool, you will see ‘iSpring Free’ appears in your PowerPoint window as an extra menu along the toolbar. It is then simply a matter of opening your PowerPoint presentation and clicking on the ‘iSpring Free’ menu, then selecting to Publish it to HTML5 using their preset settings.

Exporting the PowerPoint as a Video File

There are many benefits to exporting a PowerPoint file into a .wmv video. Some of the main reasons include preserving audio and animation of the PowerPoint file.

To export the file as a video:

1. In PowerPoint, go to File.

2. Click Save & Send.

3. Click Create a Video.

4. Select the timing each slide should play.

5. Click Create Video.

6. Give the video a file name, choose where to save it and click Save.

7. Import the video into a video module within Litmos.

Note: Instructions are given for Microsoft PowerPoint 2010. Other versions may very.

PowerPoint Tips and Tricks for Training

Tom Kuhlmann’s blog (@tomkuhlmann on Twitter) “The Rapid E-Learning Blog” which is attached to the Articulate product website. Here are a few of his posts to get started:

• How Walt Disney Would Use PowerPoint to Create E-Learning Courses

• PowerPoint Animations Made Easy with this Free Tool

• How to compress images in PowerPoint when it seems like things are getting sluggish

And some other articles and resources:

• Avoiding the Road to PowerPoint Hell