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YamFlash Movies in PowerPoint

C o m p u t e r s • C o m p u t e r s i n R a d i o l og y

Simple Method for Inserting Flash Movies into PowerPoint Presentations

Chun-Shan Yam1

Yam C-S

Keywords: movies, PowerPoint, Shockwave Flash

DOI:10.2214/AJR.06.0631

Received May 11, 2006; accepted after revision September 12, 2006.

1Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 1 Deaconess Rd., WCC, Room 306, Boston, MA 02215. Address correspondence to C.-S. Yam (csyam@bidmc.harvard.edu).

WEBThis is a Web exclusive article.

OBJECTIVE. This article describes a simple method for inserting Shockwave Flash(Adobe) movies into PowerPoint (Microsoft) slides.

CONCLUSION. Shockwave Flash is the latest recommended file format for presentingdynamic data sets in PowerPoint at radiologic society meetings. Unfortunately, the standardmethod recommended by Microsoft for inserting Flash into PowerPoint is cumbersome and la-bor intensive. The procedure also can be intimidating for many radiologists. This article offersa solution that entails a simple PowerPoint macro.

hockwave Flash (Adobe) is a rela-tively new presentation format usedat most radiologic society meet-ings, such as those of the ARRS,

Radiological Society of North America, andEuropean Congress of Radiology. A previousarticle [1] describes step-by-step instructionsfor creating Flash movies from common movieclips (i.e., Microsoft AVI Videotape andMPEG Movie and Apple QuickTime) and se-ries of digital images (e.g., JPEG, bitmap, por-table network graphics). That article also de-scribes inserting Flash movies (.swf) intoPowerPoint (Microsoft) presentations.

The main advantage of using Flash in Pow-erPoint is the ability to embed Flash moviesinto the presentation rather than linking to ex-ternal files, such as common movie clips. Un-fortunately, the current process for embed-ding Flash movies into PowerPoint is not assimple as adding digital images using dragand drop or as straightforward as insertingmovie clips using drop-down menus. Instead,Flash files must be imported by means of anActiveX control (Shockwave Flash object).This control not only is unfamiliar to manyacademic radiologists but also is cumber-some. For example, the user must manuallyenter the entire system path filename (a com-mon term for computer experts but not intui-tive or straightforward for many other com-puter users) of the Flash movie into theproperty window of the control. The com-plexity and length of this filename parametercan vary. Depending on computer configura-tions and individual preferences, data files

can be organized in different ways. For exam-ple, if a Flash movie (e.g., Test.swf) is locatedon the desktop within four layers of folders,the full system path of the filename can be ascomplicated as C:\Documents and Settings\User1\Desktop\Folder1\Folder2\Folder3\Folder4\Test.swf.

Currently, the maximum allowable lengthof combined folder and filename componentsis 2,048 characters. One can anticipate thattyping this lengthy filename for a Flash movielocated in a network drive within multiplelayers of folders will be absolute tedium formany computer users. In addition, because ofthe allowable use of special characters (e.g.,space and underscore) and repeated foldernames (e.g., C:\Documents and Settings\Dell\My Talks\RSNA_2006\Test\Test\Test\…\Test.swf), typographic errors are common duringdata entry.

Because of this complexity, many academicradiologists are disappointed when using or at-tempting to use this new presentation format.However, a closer look at the problem revealsthat the real issue is the awkward user interfaceof the ActiveX control rather than the Flashmovie itself. For this reason, I offer a simplePowerPoint macro solution for inserting Flashfiles into PowerPoint. This macro allows usersto select the Flash movie with a user-friendlyfile dialog window, bypassing the ActiveXcontrol and eliminating the data-entry require-ment. This article focuses on the use of a macrofor inserting Flash movies into PowerPointpresentations but not for creating Flash mov-ies. Step-by-step instructions for creating Flash

S

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movies from digital images and convertingcommon movie clips into Flash movies are de-scribed in a previous article [1].

PowerPoint MacroBased on the simple-to-use and yet versa-

tile scripting language Visual Basic for Appli-cation (VBA, Microsoft), a macro allowsPowerPoint users to create a short programfor automating repetitive routines and labor-intensive tasks. An automated process basedon a macro for inserting a large number ofdigital images into PowerPoint has been de-scribed [2]. A general guideline for usingmacros in PowerPoint also is discussed in thatarticle. In this article, I discuss a PowerPointmacro in which Windows (Microsoft) systemresources are used to streamline insertion ofFlash movies into PowerPoint.

Standard Method for Inserting Flash into PowerPoint

The standard method for inserting a Flashmovie (*.swf) into a PowerPoint presentationis discussed for demonstration purposes. TheActiveX control (Shockwave Flash object)for inserting a Flash movie is installed in mostnewer operating systems, such as Windows2000 and Windows XP. This control is com-patible with PowerPoint 2000, XP, and 2003.If it is not available, however, either in thesystem or at the PowerPoint application, thecontrol can be restored with installation of afresh copy of the Flash player. This Flashplayer is available as a free download at theAdobe (formerly MacroMedia) Website [3].A similar free download, MacroMediaShockwave Player, is available at the sameWebsite but is not required for this applica-

TABLE 1: Standard Method for Inserting Flash Movies into PowerPointPresentations

Step Process Description Action Type

Inserting an ActiveX Control

1 Select View then Toolbars and Control Toolbox from the top menu.

User action

2 In the Control Toolbox, click on the More Controls icon. User action

3 Select Shockwave Flash Object from the drop-down list. User action

4 Close the Control Toolbox. User action

5 Using the left mouse button (click-and-drag), draw the control onto the slide.

User action

Configuring the ActiveX Parameters

6 Using the right mouse button, click on the control to bring up the context menu.

User action

7 Select Properties from the menu. User action

8 At the Movie box, type the full-path filename for the Flash movie.

User action

9 At the Embed Movie box, choose the option True. User action

10 Close the Properties window. User action

11 Select View then Slide Show to play the Flash movie. User action

TABLE 2: Macro for Inserting Flash into PowerPoint

Step Process Description Action Type

1 Select the Flash movie using a Windows file dialog. User action

2 Create an ActiveX control at the PowerPoint template. Automated

3 Configure the movie filename and other parameters at the ActiveX control. Automated

4 Copy the completed ActiveX control to the new presentation. Automated

5 Close the original PowerPoint template. Automated

6 Start the slide show to test the Flash movie. Automated

Note—In this macro, only one user action is required (file selection). All other steps are automated by the Visual Basic for Application (VBA) scripts. A complete source code for this macro is available at the PowerPoint template (SWF_into_PPT.ppt) in this online article. Detailed information for configuring and invoking the system resources to utilize the Windows file dialog is documented at the annotated VBA scripts.

tion. The differences between these two play-ers are documented on the Adobe Website [4].

After launching PowerPoint, open a newpresentation in the normal slide view. A Flashmovie can be embedded with the standardmethod shown in Table 1 [5]. Detailed in-structions for using this standard method forinserting Flash movies into PowerPoint havebeen described elsewhere [1].

The Alternative Solution: A PowerPoint Macro

The user steps involved in the standardmethod for inserting Flash into PowerPointpresentations are cumbersome and labor in-tensive. This lengthy process can be simpli-fied with a PowerPoint macro. The macrocontains six individual functions: five auto-mated actions and one user step (Table 2). APowerPoint template containing this macrocan be downloaded from this online article(SWF_into_PPT.ppt, 26 kb). Because thistemplate already contains the macro, radiolo-gists can use it directly without programming.A simple demonstration appears later.

For experienced PowerPoint users, de-tailed information for automating the Ac-tiveX control and invoking the Windows filedialog utility is documented at the VBAscripts. These scripts can be viewed with theVBA editor within PowerPoint by selectingTools then Macro and Visual Basic Editorfrom the menu (or pressing the Alt and F11keys). The scripts are annotated according tothe individual functions listed in Table 2.

Macro Security SettingsBecause they contain VBA scripts, macros

can be programmed for a wide range of appli-cations, including malicious computer viruses,which can harm computers by altering the ba-sic system information or accessing personaldata. To prevent such viruses from running au-tomatically, Microsoft has implemented a se-curity checkpoint. To set the security level, se-lect Tools then Macro and Security from themenu, and then choose one of the followingfour options at the Security Level tab (Fig. 1).With Very High, a macro can be run only if theuser digitally signs and marks it as a trustedmacro. (A signed macro is one with a valid dig-ital signature provided by a certified Internetagent such as www.VeriSign.com [6, 7]). WithHigh, a macro can be run only if it is digitallysigned and has user permission. With Medium,an unsigned macro can be run only with userpermission. With Low, any macro can be runwithout user permission.

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Fig. 1—Screen capture shows PowerPoint 2003 security window.

Fig. 2—Screen capture shows security warning window that appears when PowerPoint template (SWF_Into_PPT.ppt) is launched.

Fig. 3—Screen capture shows PowerPoint template (SWF_Into_PPT.ppt) with instructions for running macro.

The security level can be adjusted accordingto the application. Very High and High providestrong security to prevent unsigned or untrust-worthy macros from running in PowerPoint.Medium provides an alternative for runningunsigned macros with user permission and isappropriate for running macros on an occa-sional basis. Low allows any macro to runwithout any security and is generally not rec-ommended, but it is sometimes useful to pro-gram developers. Because the macro providedin this article is designed for academic use, it isnot necessary that it be digitally signed. Settingthe security level to Medium should be appro-priate for this application. If the security levelis set to Very High or High, the macro de-scribed in the following demonstration will notrun. Users also must restart PowerPoint forchanges in the security setting to take effect.

DemonstrationAlthough this demonstration was prepared

with PowerPoint 2003 and Windows XP Pro-fessional (SWF_into_PPT.ppt), the essentialsteps can be applied to other operating sys-tems (e.g., Windows 2000) and PowerPointversions (e.g., PowerPoint 2000 and XP).Also for this demonstration, a sample Flashmovie (a scrollable cine loop of 50 axial CTimages) was prepared. This sample Flashmovie can be downloaded from the onlineversion of this article (CT_Cine.swf, 1.7 Mb).(Note: The scrolling feature of this movie wascreated using Flash ActionScript. The processfor creating this scrollable Flash movie willbe provided in a future article.)

After downloading these two files, openthe PowerPoint template (SWF_into_PPT.ppt)with the desktop PowerPoint application. Aconvenient way to do this is to double-clickon the template file itself. When the templateis launched, a security warning dialog boxmay appear, prompting permission for en-abling the macro function (Fig. 2). Click onEnable Macros to allow this option. The tem-plate contains a single slide with instructionsfor running the macro (Fig. 3). Press the Altand F8 keys to begin, choose Insert_Flashfrom the list box, and then click Run to con-tinue (Fig. 4). In a file dialog box, select aFlash movie and then click Open to finish(Fig. 5). The Flash movie appears in a newPowerPoint presentation (Fig. 6). If the Runbutton is grayed out (not active), the macrosecurity level is most likely set to Very Highor High. Lower the security level to Mediumas discussed earlier, and restart the demon-stration (SWF_into_PPT.ppt).

Flash Movies in PowerPoint

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Fig. 4—Screen capture shows macro window in PowerPoint.

Fig. 5—Screen capture shows Select Flash Movie dialog window for file selection.

Fig. 6—Screen capture shows embedded Flash movie running in new PowerPoint presentation.

The original PowerPoint template closes af-ter the Flash movie is embedded and trans-ferred to the new presentation, and the changesare not saved. There are two advantages to thisstep. First, the original PowerPoint templateremains intact. Second, the newly created pre-sentation contains no macro functions, elimi-nating the security issues that arise when pub-lic computers, such as conference roomcomputers, are used for presentations [2].

Unlike common movie clips (e.g., AVI,QuickTime, and MPEG), the Flash movie isembedded into the PowerPoint presentation butnot linked to the external source file. With thisadvantage, the embedded Flash movie can betransferred between PowerPoint slides and pre-sentations in the same way that digital imagesare transferred (i.e., copy-and-paste and drag-and-drop). Because the Flash movie is physi-cally part of the presentation file, presenters donot have to worry about the issue of missing filelinks so common to movie clips. In addition,the Flash movie can be resized and repositionedwith simple click-and-drag mouse actions.

LimitationsThe ActiveX control (Shockwave Flash Ob-

ject) for inserting a Flash movie into PowerPointis available only for PC, not Macintosh, sys-tems. This general cross-platform issue involvesuse of ActiveX components in most applica-tions, including all Microsoft Office products.Similarly, PowerPoint presentations created onPC systems with embedded Flash movies willnot work on Macintosh systems. Therefore, oneof the requirements for using MacroMediaFlash in electronic PowerPoint presentations atradiologic society meetings is the PC format.

Users are required to lower the security levelto medium to run this macro. Although this set-ting provides minimum safety for preventingmalicious viruses from running automatically,users should reset the security level to highersettings after using this macro [2, 7]. In addi-tion, this article describes the use of a particularmacro for inserting a Flash movie into Power-Point presentations but not general guidelinesfor developing macros. These guidelines havebeen discussed previously [2].

ConclusionBecause of its enriched animation functions

and embedding capability, MacroMedia Flashis recommended as the standard tool for creat-ing digital animations for PowerPoint presenta-tions at radiologic society meetings. However,the method recommended by Microsoft for in-serting Flash into PowerPoint presentations is

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cumbersome and labor intensive. This articleprovides the simple solution of a PowerPointmacro—freeware available for download inthis online article. With this macro alternative,embedding Flash movies into PowerPoint is assimple as inserting common movie clips.

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