KB: Running Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer from CD-ROM

[Desmond]

Running the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer Directly from the CD-ROM

Document ID: IR10011

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The information in this article applies to:

• AutoPlay Media Studio 5.0 Standard Edition
• AutoPlay Media Studio 5.0 Professional Edition

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SUMMARY

This article describes how to run Microsoft's PowerPoint viewer without installing it on the user's system.

DISCUSSION

It is much easier to simply require your users to install the PowerPoint Viewer themselves from the Microsoft website. You can then simply use a File.Open action to view the PPT file. If you require another option, please read the following information, but be aware that Indigo Rose can not provide you with further assistance or legal guidance on implementation details.

1. Download the PowerPoint viewer from Microsoft's website (ppview97.exe).
   
2. Create a folder named 'PowerPoint' in the root folder of your distribution (CD_Root).
   
3. In the 'PowerPoint' folder, create two folders: Installer and Setup.
   
4. Copy the PowerPoint Viewer installation file (ppview97.exe) to the 'Installer' folder.
   
5. Right click 'ppview97.exe' and click 'Open With WinZip'.
   If you do not have this option, then you do not have WinZip installed. Download WinZip from www.winzip.com.
   
6. WinZip opens a window with all files from ppview97.exe listed. Double click 'PPView1.cab'.
   
7. Select all files within 'PPView1.cab', and copy them to the 'PowerPoint' folder that you created earlier.
   Be sure to copy all of the files to PowerPoint, and not to subdirectories. When this step is completed, all the files should be in the 'PowerPoint' directory; Installer will contain only ppview97.exe, Setup will be empty, and there will be no other folders.
   
8. In the 'PowerPoint' folder, delete the following:
   - Acmsetup.exe
   - Acmsetup.hlp
   - Mssetup.dll
   
9. Move 'ppview.dll' to the Setup folder.
   
10. Your folder tree should look similar to this:
    CD_Root
    +PowerPoint
    ++installer
    ++setup
    
11. PowerPoint contains 24 files, and two subfolders: Installer and Setup.
    Installer contains just ppview97.exe.
    Setup contains just ppview.dll.
    
12. Change the extension of your PowerPoint presentation from PPT to PPS.
    
13. Use the following action to open the PPS file:
    path_short = File.GetShortName(_SourceFolder);
    File.Run("PowerPoint\\PPVIEW32.EXE", path_short .. "\\Autoplay\\Docs\\mercedes.pps", "", SW_SHOWNORMAL, false);

Please note that in this case, the Microsoft PowerPoint viewer is not installed on the user's system. It is run directly from the CD-ROM.

KEYWORDS: PowerPoint, CD, Viewer, Install

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Last reviewed: September 24, 2003
Copyright © 2003 Indigo Rose Corporation. All rights reserved.

[Lula]

Hi Desmond,

I would like to know if it is possible to do the same thing ( run viewer directly from CD without installation on user's system ) with the Powerpoint 2003 Viewer.

Thank you for your help.

[eric_darling]

I didn't even know there was a 2003 version of the PowerPoint Viewer. Where do you find it?

[Corey]

Hi. It's here, it's been out for a while:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=428d5727-43ab-4f24-90b7-a94784af71a4&displaylang=en

Lula, I'm certainly no Desmond by far, but I do believe that the PPT2003 viewer can indeed be run in the same manner as described here... :yes

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[Desmond]

Hello Lula,

I haven't tested this with the 2003 viewer, but i see no reason why it can't. The nice thing about the viewer referenced in this article is that it doesn't need to install any files (dll/ocx/whatever) to the windows directory to run.

Assuming 2003 operates in the same manor, it should work.

Give 'er a go, and let us know what happens!

[eric_darling]

I am not sure why I'd want to use this updated viewer in preference over the 97 version. It seems like fewer MS operating systems will run it. I guess there are probably some new supported features, but I've not missed a beat with the 97 version that seems to handle most of what I send via PP 2003.

In any case, if anyone has a good list of updated features or supported options, I'd love to know more.

Thanks!

[TJ_Tigger]

Here is a version that runs from CD and shows the ability to open to a specific page.

http://www.indigorose.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6722&highlight=ppt+viewer

Tigg

[almeo]

In Ppviewer2003 case, how do we do it?

Hi, I am trying to follow the above instruction to make Ppviewer2003 run on the CD itself. However after downloading the "Ppviewer2003.exe", I tried to open "Ppviewer2003.exe" with winzip, and find only "Ppviewer.msi" file. I don't see any PpViewer1.cab file. My show hidden files is already activated. So how do I go about doing it? Please help. Thank you.

[Ted Sullivan]

Here is a great article, that shows you step-by-step how to this with PowerPoint 2003 Viewer and AutoPlay Media Studio 5.0:

http://www.indezine.com/products/powerpoint/ppautorun3.html