Welcome to the May edition of Impatica Tips. In this issue we will discuss how your Windows display settings may affect some elements of your PowerPoint presentations. We will also give you some tips on using screen captures and using Windows Sound Recorder. In addition to all this we are pleased to introduce to you our newest product, the Impatica ShowMate. Enjoy.	Volume 02-02 May 15, 2006 Want to review our previous editions of Impatica Tips? Please visit our archive. Receive Impatica Tips in your Inbox! You can subscribe and get Impatica Tips monthly. Your feedback is very important to us! Send your ideas for future editions of Impatica Tips to Impatica Customer Support Ask the Expert! Do you have a question that's got you stumped? Send your presentation creation and impaticization questions to our resident Impatica experts. Your questions may be featured in a future edition of the tips!
Windows Display Setting Affects PowerPoint Files When elements created using some PowerPoint add-ins, such as equation editors, are used and then impaticized with Impatica for PowerPoint, the words, equations and symbols may be presented with pink or purple coloring. This effect occurs when the Windows Display Property Effect "Smooth edges of screen fonts" is selected within the Windows "Display Properties". To avoid this, you can do the following: Windows 2000: Right-click on a blank area on your Desktop. Choose Properties. Click the Effects tab. Uncheck Smooth edges of screen fonts. Reconvert your presentation and verify that all of the elements of your presentation are of the correct color. Windows XP: Right-click on a blank area on your Desktop. Choose Properties. Click the Appearance tab. Click on the Effects button. Uncheck the "Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts" option. Reconvert your presentation and verify that all of the elements of your presentation are of the correct color.
Get Maximum Impact From Your Screen Captures Using screen captures within the slide area of OnCue presentations is often a great way to clarify a point of discussion. Depending on the slide size allotted in your OnCue template, the area available for screen captures may be limited. To maximize the detail and impact of your screen captures, try using additional “spotlight” screen captures. To do this, simply include an enlarged copy of the key screen elements. When used with animation effects, these “spotlight” screen captures can really draw attention to key elements and clarify your message. To illustrate this point, we have prepared a sample PowerPoint slide show that has been sized for use with a standard OnCue template (6.3 x 4.72 inches). The screen captures indicate both a software interface sample and Web form sample. You can download the PowerPoint file to see how the sample was created.
Recording Audio With Windows Sound Recorder Windows Sound Recorder is a simple audio recording utility included with Microsoft Windows XP/2000 Operating Systems. It hasn't changed over the years, so this tip should be accurate no matter what version of Windows you are running. You can use Sound Recorder to record your narration files for audio-only OnCue presentations. Sound Recorder produces PCM format WAV files which are supported by OnCue. To do this, your computer must have a sound card (most do) and you'll need a headset/microphone to plug into your computer. Other features of Sound Recorder include simple editing, mixing, and adding effects to sound files with ease. Let your imagination and creativity loose to create your own sound effects. We recommended that Impatica users use the following settings for recording all sounds and narrations: PCM WAV files 8000 Hz 16-bit Mono Impatica OnCue will downsample and convert all sounds to 8000 Hz, 16-bit, mono. Therefore, recording the source audio at these settings will produce the best impaticized output while using relatively compact source file sizes. To set these parameters using Sound Recorder, you can do the following: In the File menu, choose Properties. From the "Choose from:" drop-down menu select "Recording formats", and click the "Convert Now..." button In the "Sound Selection" window, use the "Attributes:" drop-down menu to choose 8000 Hz, 16-Bit, Mono, 15 kb/sec. You can save these settings by clicking the Save As... button. A pop-up will prompt you to "save this format as." Type in a name you'll remember, such as "Impatica." Click OK. You can now record your sound files by clicking the Record button. By making the changes listed above, your sound files will be ready to use in any future impaticized presentation.
Introducing Impatica ShowMate Leave Your Laptop at Home - Project PowerPoint Presentations From BlackBerry Handhelds As a PowerPoint user, you may find yourself lugging a laptop just to give live PowerPoint presentations. To alleviate this problem, we are happy to introduce to you the latest addition to the Impatica suite of products, Impatica ShowMate. The Impatica ShowMate is a tiny, lightweight device that connects to any multimedia projector or display. It works with the BlackBerry which becomes an easy to use presentation controller, either wirelessly using Bluetooth or with a wired USB connection. While the ShowMate displays the animated presentation on the projector or display, the BlackBerry shows a slide list, slide text or even slide notes in the palm of your hand. This makes giving engaging presentations not only more convenient, but also much easier. Impatica ShowMate includes a copy of Impatica for PowerPoint BlackBerry Edition, the Windows software used to convert presentations for delivery to the BlackBerry and projection via ShowMate. It can also optionally be used with Impatica for BlackBerry Enterprise Server, Impatica's software for automatically converting PowerPoint e-mail attachments received on the BlackBerry. To find out more about Impatica ShowMate, visit http://www.impatica.com/showmate or e-mail blackberry@impatica.com.