PowerPoint.Advanced.Presentation.Techniques [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Working with Add-Ins

An add-in is a helper file with a .PPA extension that you "add in" to PowerPoint to expand its capabilities. Most people reading this book won't be writing their own add-ins, but everyone should know how to find and install them.

Add-ins vary tremendously in terms of their complexity. The high-end add-ins (like many of the ones on the CD for this book) are almost like full-blown applications with their own Setup utilities. The low-end ones are so subtle you may not even realize they are installed. An add-in typically has a .PPA extension, but some may have .DLL, .EXE, or .PWZ extensions.

Finding Add-Ins

The Web is the best source of PowerPoint add-ins, and one of the best Web sites for listing and categorizing add-ins is Indezine (Appendix C for details. And of course, I've been mentioning various add-ins all throughout this book where one of them exists that will help with this or that specific task.

Installing and Removing Add-Ins

Most add-ins come with their own Setup programs, which may or may not automatically install the add-ins in PowerPoint. To check whether a particular add-in is installed, and install it if not, do the following:

Choose Tools⇨Add-Ins. The Add-Ins dialog box opens. If the add-in does not appear on the list, it is not installed yet. Figure 19-10 shows one add-in installed.

To install an add-in, click Add New. The Add New PowerPoint Add-In dialog box opens. It opens to the C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Add-Ins folder by default, but the add-in might be stored somewhere else.

Browse to the folder containing the add-in, select it, and click OK. Then back in the Add-Ins dialog box, click Load (if available) and then click Close.

Figure 19-10: The Add-Ins box lists the installed add-ins and enables you to add more.

If you don't know where the Setup program put the add-in, use the Search feature in Windows to locate files with a .PPA extension.

Loading or Unloading an Add-In

Notice the checkbox next to the add-in in Figure 19-10. You can use this to load or unload an add-in, which is useful because you can temporarily remove one without removing it from the handy list in the dialog box. Marking the checkbox is the same as clicking the Load button; clearing it is the same as clicking Unload.