This technique assumes you know how to loop sound across slides.

When you loop the presentation using the options in Slide Show | Set Up Show, you'll find that the music starts again on the first slide whenever the presentation is looping. To overcome this problem, PowerPoint MVP Glenna Shaw provides the perfect solution:

1. The trick is to insert a "kick-off" slide at the beginning of the slide show to start your music.

2. Next mark slide 2 through the last slide to be a custom show with automated timing to advance slides. Make sure Slide 1 DOES NOT have automated timing to advance slide.

3. Add an Action Button (or hyperlink) to Slide One to link to the Custom Show. Slide 1 should now have two items; the sound file and an action button or hyperlink to start the Custom Show.

4. Set up the slide show to loop until ESC using automated timings and showing all slides.

5. Save it as a .PPS (recommended).

When you run the slide show, Slide 1 will start the music and you'll need to click on the Action Object or Hyperlink to start the custom show. From that point on, the presentation should loop through Slide 2 to the Last Slide without resetting the music (unless you have some other sound stop it between Slide 2 and the Last Slide). If you saved it as a PowerPoint Show (PPS), the whole thing will close neatly when you press ESC.

There's a sample file for this technique that you can download from Glenna's site... The sample is called Loop Sounds.

Monday, August 23, 2004