PowerPoint to Flare

[sarahb]

My company uses PowerPoints for our training content (slides and notes). We then take those PowerPoint files, convert them into PDF files, drag those PDF files into Flare, and then use Flare to slap on our cover page, copyrights/disclaimer, table of contents, and end page, to create a book for students. Problem is, Flare can't apply layouts to those PDF files, so I then have to use a PDF software tool to add footers and page numbers to those PDF pages. As you can see, it's a very labor intensive process.

We are now thinking of moving the PowerPoint notes into Flare, and just using PowerPoint for the actual slides (our trainers still need the PowerPoint slides to teach the students). There are big advantages to having this content in Flare, but I won't list all those reasons here. So using this concept, each slide = a single topic in Flare (the book that we create for students has a layout of the slide image followed by the notes. So page 1 is slide image then notes, page 2 is slide image then notes, and so on). I've written a script to extract and covert the PowerPoint "XML" (which has a lot of proprietary code, so it's not perfect) to HTML, using our Flare styles. The script also exports the slides from PowerPoint into .png images, and inserts it into the HTML, so that each Flare topic has the slide image followed by notes. So I have a successful proof of concept in that regard. Each Flare topic is automatically named based off the slide number (i.e. Slide01.htm, Slide02.htm) so its easy for the writer to know which topic relates to which PowerPoint slide. This would be a one-time migration. Once the notes are out of PowerPoint, they are out of PowerPoint. All updates to the notes going forward would be done in Flare (it would be a maintenance nightmare otherwise).

Here's the problem: the order of topics in the Content Explorer in Flare need to stay in sync with the order of the slides in PowerPoint (I know the order of the TOC is what counts, but the writer needs to be able to know what topic they are working in easily). So let's say were are updating our training in PowerPoint. We want to switch around slide 7 with slide 10. In Flare, we would now have to rename Slide07.htm and Slide10.htm. Or let's say there are 50 slides, and we delete slide 5 in PowerPoint, moving all the slide numbers down one. In Flare, I would have to delete, Slide05.htm and re-name topics Slide06.htm through Slide50.htm. As you can see, that's a massive inefficiency.

I've thought about renaming the topics based on slide title instead of slide number, but that runs into its own set of problems (when you move around slides in PowerPoint, the embedded images in the Flare topic file now get out of sync...so you don't have the issue with file re-naming, but an issue with image replacement).

Maybe I'm thinking about this the wrong way. Does anyone have another solution to maintaining notes in Flare and slides in PowerPoint?

[doloremipsum]

So I had a similar issue and came up with a similar solution for a one-off import (it was more manual than yours but got the job done). I actually attempted to single-source it by creating a 'powerpoint' in Flare. Essentially I had one target that produced a monitor-sized/fullscreen PDF with only the slide content - the trainer could throw it up on the TV and press space to scroll down to the next slide/page - and another that created a normal PDF with the slide content in the top half of the page, and the notes content in the bottom (nested in its own special div).

It was honestly a bit janky, and in the end the trainer (without my knowledge) just converted the full-screen PDF... back into a powerpoint. And copied the notes text in from the other PDF. So it was never actually used for its intended purpose, but I'm convinced that it would work and might solve your problem if your trainers will accept it. Everything is in Flare, nothing is in Powerpoint.

[sarahb]

Ah, I see. The problem is our slides include animations and such, so the instructors wouldn't be able to teach from a PDF with still slide images. So we'd still need the slides in PowerPoint for the instructors. Plus, how would you design new animated "slides" in Flare for an update to the training?

It would be amazing if the Flare Content Explorer allowed you to disable alphabetical order, and drag and drop topics into place. That would solve so many problems.

[ChoccieMuffin]

Can't your writer use the TOC to identify where they are in the slide deck? To make it a bit easier, could you rename your slides as "Slide01-This is the first slide" where "This is the first slide" is the title of the slide?

How often do you need to switch the order or add new slides? If not too often, could you slip new slides in as, for example, "Slied05a-New Slide Title", and if you have to move "Slide 10 Making Tea" to after Slide 3, rename just that slide to "Slide 3a Making Tea" and then just not have a Slide 10?

If it's just the order in the Content Explorer that matters rather than matching the topic numbers to the slide numbers, that should work for you. If that proves too confusing, after a time you could work through and renumber the topics, but you wouldn't need to do it EVERY time you change the slide order.

[Rockingriqui]

I'm having a similar issue, but a bit more complicated.
All my training material (but PPT) are on Flare, and trying to create a book including PPT and notes.
First trial: include the PPT as PDF --> the page layout /number of pages are not applied
Second trial: convert the ppt into pngs and include it in Flare --> huge work (20 presentation with 200 slides each) and a nightmare for update everytime a slide change
Third trial: "move" the ppt into flare and giving trainers PDF --> a lot of resistance from trainers, especially in animation. IN addition, most of the slides are managed by SMEs so they won't definitively use Flare to change the course note.

So currently I have everything on FLARE but the slides, that is the 1st thing a customer asks after a training course.
Any other trick, workaround that anyone can provide will be appreciated. The single-sourcing idea is definitively flawed without Powerpoint integration