I am using Impress on a Linux based system to present a Powerpoint slide show. There is a song embedded with the audio extending over several slides containing the lyrics. It works ok in Powerpoint on a Windows machine, but in Impress (either Windows or Linux) the audio drops out at the first slide change. I would really like to use the Linux (Raspberry Pi) machine for presenting, but the audio needs to work properly. Is there any way to work around this?
@JohnD49
Have you searched around in the ask site? You could have found this answer of @librebel here:
How to add music to an entire Impress presentation?
He linked to a “tutorial” of @acknak on Apache OpenOffice Community Forum - [Solved] Music files that will play over multiple slides - (View topic)
Attached you find two sample files in a folder in a ZIP container. Please note: The sound file is not embedded in the presentation file. Extract the entire folder of the uploaded ZIP file. The used sound file is free for use and not under copyright.
How to get the sound file from the Powerpoint presentation (if embedded)? If it is a pptx file, you may extract the sound file while opening the pptx file on a compression programme like 7-zip or any in-built app in Linux. You will find the sound file in some folder, I think.
If it is a ppt file, I see/know no way for extracting.
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Impress_SoundAlongMoreThanOnePages.zip (836.7 KB)
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EDIT
Working with the Media Playback toolbar
Source: Impress Guide 25.2 Pages 255f
You may work on the Media Playback toolbar as well. When using it you can embed or link the sound file. You will start music before presentation mode and it will indipendently run during presentation - even after leaving presentation mode. To show the Media Playback toolbar select the sound icon on the slide.
When you have left presentation mode and work on edit mode you can stop the music (or you let it continue). IMO this is a bit “underdeveloped”, but it works stably.
(To position the sound file in a master slide could be a good idea, but when changing the slides it started from the beginning again.)
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See attached Impress file with embedded sound file:
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Impress_SoundAlongMoreThanOnePages_EmbeddedSound.odp (841.6 KB)
1 Like
@Grantler Thanks for your response and helpful links.
The problem I have is that I am using Powerpoint files, that are prepared on Powerpoint by another person. They will run OK in Powerpoint but I would like to be able to present them using Impress on a Linux machine. I was wondering if anyone knew of any way of getting the embedded sound that is already present in the file, to extend across several slides, when played in Impress, as it does when played in Powerpoint. I guess, from the links that I read, that Impress handles sound in a different way, so this may not be possible. It is frustrating, as the embedded sound plays OK on the first slide, but then drops out at the slide change.
As written before, you could do that if you extract the sound file and add it in one of the given ways in an Impress presentation.
Again you did not mention the Powerpoint’s file version (ppt or pptx) which means a relevant difference for extracting the sound file.
As a hint you could do the following steps:
- Save the ppt/pptx file as a .odp file (conversion).
- Now you could open the odp file with 7-zip or similar app and extract the sound file; then delete the sound file in the odp file.
- Check, if sound is stiil played in presentation mode. (Hopefully not.)
- Add the sound file to the odp presentation in one of the above mentioned given ways (and check again. Now it is hopefully played…)
If you don’t succeed with my bundle of advices: For better working on your original file you should share it. Probably it is too big for the ask site, so upload it on a cloud or upload service and share the link for downloading it.
@Grantler
Thanks again for your quick response.
This is for use in a church service, and I often receive the file just before the service. There will be several songs included within the presentation with the sound embedded, and the lyrics spread across several slides.
Unfortunately I would not have the time to do any file editing of the kind that seems to be necessary. I was hoping for a one time fix to the Impress settings, but that is clearly not a possibility. I will probably need to stick with Windows and Microsoft Office, which is a pity,