openoffice macro question
 

Hello,
I use openoffice impress to reproduce power point presentations.
I see that openoffice has the strange issue to insert a pause
of ten seconds when the slideshows finish and has to restart,
(a bug?), and I would like to know how to set up a macro to
delete this pause.
I found a property on openoffice docs at:

http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/.../Presentations

named Pause(long), described as:

the amount of time that a blank screen is displayed at the end of the presentation

and I would like to set up it as zero always, to workaround this
issue.
How to do?

If you go to the "slide show" menu and select "slide show settings", you get a dialog. Under "Type" set "auto" and you can change that 10 second delay at the end to anything you want.

I know, but I cannot modify the file settings. (this is the problem..)
I use openoffice on a kiosk that load .pps files uploaded from clients,
and I have to set up no pause for all documents.

When I create an odp document, the auto timing stays with the document. So whatever OOo I upload it to also uses that timing. Dunno about power-point.

You are telling me that you use openoffice impress to reproduce power point presentations, but you cannot modify the file settings? How is this possible?

The pps files are uploaded by clients...
Surely the clients decide whether their presentations pause or not?

Whichever - I doubt you can add a macro to remove the pause. What you need to do is remove the pause directly, and there is a tool provided to do that.

No, openoffice has a (bug? issue?), that ignore the pause insert in .pps files and
insert a ten seconds pause between slideshow loops. I am trying to do a workaround.
On openoffice forum I ask about a macro and seems that a solution is possible,
however I have to verify it. I use a linux box as a kiosk server and I cannot say
to the client: "do not use powerpoint, use linux instead!". I am trying to develop
a solution that satisfy clients and that is transparent for them. Or perhaps, I hope it :-)

You can inform them that ODF format (ISO/IEC 26300:2006) will work best. They can udit/create these files with OpenOffice.org (windows version) - you can even supply the files.

Warn that not all (legacy) power point presentations will convert perfectly, though they can still be used.

But I know what you mean.

The 10 second pause is is default for all automatic odp files. It is managed with the "feature" previously discussed. I still don't understand why you cannot use it. Or do you mean that you are playing the ppt files without converting them?

Odd that the timings in automated slide-shows would be ignored - means you'll end up redoing them by hand.

The macro method you mention is from this:
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/.../Presentations
... pause(long) is an application rather than a document feature. Changing the default pause will do what you want though - sort of.

Most effective method:
Convert the uploaded PPT file to ODF, modify the ODF, show the ODF

I repeat: you will not get this effect removed with a macro.


Remember that MS format "support" in OOo is still mostly a matter of reverse engineering. That MS have historically changed small details in their implimentation just to make this hard. It is even possible that the missing timings are restricted to the application that runs the presentation and not stored in the file at all.

I'll bet the presentations play differently in different versions of powerpoint.

Note: the 10s delay added to looping ppt files is a formal issue
http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=88112
... you'll want to vote for it.




http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache...ient=firefox-a
... notes on using MS Office with OpenOffice. It is of particular interest to you because it details gotchas in importing powerpoint to impress.

The behavior of the pause page is discussed in the user guide:
http://documentation.openoffice.org/...ide2_draft.pdf

Yes, I play this .pps without modifying it (it is a kiosk server,
run with apache and php). I cannot convert to .odp and modify,
I could only if this could be done in a non-interactive way.
However, a macro solved my problem. Like suggest me in the Oo forum,
I did a macro that set pause property to zero, and assign it when
opening a document. It seems works. :-)

tanoatlq,

I have seen many other people comment on this issue now. I was actully just searching around to see if there was a macro function to turn it off becuase I am doing the smae thing as you and have ran into the issue.

If you would like to post the macro you used I think it would help out a lot of people who might have this same issue.


Jorvic


~~~
I am asking as I made a macro that I thought would have turned it off and set it to document open but no such luck. I however have never even seen Openoffice macro's before now...

I did

Sub powerpoint
Dim Doc As Object
Dim Presentation As Object

Doc = StarDesktop.CurrentComponent
Presentation = Doc.Presentation
Pause(0)
Presentation.start()
End Sub

solution
 

http://user.services.openoffice.org/...t=5083&p=23468

This thread has a solution incase anyone else ever stumbles onto this thread.

*grin*
ROTFL - that thread was started by me (after started this thread) to find a solution,
and I did :-)