Producing _editable_ Powerpoint slides from Flare

[oceanclub]

Have just seen this in a Madcap Flare press release:

https://www.madcapsoftware.com/casestudy/BAInsight.aspx

Additionally, BA Insight makes extensive use of Flare’s functionality for importing Microsoft® Word. Writers take content written using Word and simply import it into Flare. From there, they can publish editable PowerPoint® slides using a Word-to-PDF workflow.

I'd love to know more about how this is possible as editable Powerpoint slides has been a requirement for us for a while.

P.

[doc_guy]

I've never heard about that feature. If I had to guess, I'd guess that the showcased company wrote some special code that made it work. That happens _a lot_ with showcased companies. They've used Flare in a really cool, unique way, but they have had to customize the process so extensively, that the average Flare user can't apply what the showcased company has done.

[robdocsmith]

I'm thinking they:

• Import content from Word and create whatever topics they need
• Create a powerpoint-like page layout with a pdf target.
• Reconfigure content into a TOC specifically for that output with any additional front and back matter topics.
• Output as PDF
• In Acrobat DC select Export as Powerpoint presentation.

Not what I'd consider an automated process but it does keep all content in Flare and still allow customizations to the presentation down the track. I can't see a path to round-trip it back into Flare without manually editing the Flare content and re-outputting.

Cheers,

Rob

[oceanclub]

It turns out the solution is easier than I thought - Adobe Acrobat (the full version, not Reader) can indeed export an editable Powerpoint presentation. So I set up page layouts and a stylesheet to match our current PowerPoint look and feel, generate to PDF, then open that and convert to PowerPoint.