Determining audio files and corresponding slide # in Presenter

[Rich463x0]

It is a big challenge to edit audio files.  Presenter does not sequentially number audio files, they appear to be random.  Which means you have to hunt and peck to find the correct audio file to edit for the appropriate slide.  Any fix for this?

[Captiv8r]

Hi Rich

How are you trying to edit the files? I'm looking at Presenter at the moment and each slide has an Edit button for the audio. So I'm a bit confused as to what you are seeing or where you are looking.

Cheers... Rick

[Rich463x0]

Hi Rick  - you are absolutely correct I can do some editting within Presenter, but it is very limited. When I publish the files and the audio is created, say I have 30 slides.  If I want to edit the individual MP3 file after publishing, Presenter does not label these audio files in a logical manner.  They seem to be random.  What I want to do is bring the files into Soundbooth (or Audition) and deess or remove backgound noise, do some eq modifications, cut out some of the file and redo, etc.  Finding a particular audio clip for that slide is very tedious. IMHO Slide one should be names audio_001.mp3.  But it isn't Hence the problem, which I consider to be a bug..

[Guest]

Hi Rich,

This isn't really a bug at all.

But just a quick question: do you have source audio to draw from so that you can clean them up BEFORE publishing in PowerPoint? Or are you recording audio directly within PowerPoint? I ask because, with all due respect, having to re-edit audio after-the-fact seems to be more trouble given that you're sanitizing the mp3 files once you've gone through the production workflow process.

By default, Presenter will give you a series of mp3 files typically labeled as:

a24x[some number].mp3

where "some number" may be thought of as the corresponding audio relative to the slide where it's used.  However, that's not always the case, and yes, you're right...sometimes you have to hunt down the correct file which can be a pain.  However, from what I've read in your thread, since you have Soundbooth, wouldn't it make more sense, from the perspective of production workflow, to edit the audio files prior to importing them in PowerPoint?

I'm not making a judgement call here...I'm just curious about workflow process, that's all.

Rob

[Rich463x0]

HI Rob - I don't mind the questions at all, it's a way for me to learn which is the best way to use these products.  To answer your questions

1) Do you have source audio to draw from so that you can clean them up BEFORE publishing in PowerPoint?

NO, I do not create the audio in PPT

YES - I could create the audio Captivate or Audition but I did not (MISTAKE!!)

2 Are you recording audio directly within PowerPoint?

NO - I do not record directly into powerpoint, I find powerpoints recording function less than satisfactory.

Your commment about "having to re-edit audio after-the-fact seems to be more trouble given that you're sanitizing the mp3 files once you've gone through the production workflow process." is more trouble,

Very, very true please read on.

3) Since you have Soundbooth, wouldn't it make more sense, from the perspective of production workflow, to edit the audio files prior to importing them in PowerPoint?

YES it would but here's what happened in this project.

I opened Captivate 3 and imported my PPT 2003 presentation. Immediately noticed

1) bullet points had been added to a number of tables and

2) a number of of graphic files (either bmp or jpeg - not sure) were very grainy.

Due to this - I did not record in Captivate.

I then opened Presenter v7 build 7588 (7.0.5)  > Set up the preferences for microphone, Adobe Connect Pro web server, etc. > recorded the presentation in Presenter > Published to my C drive.

Results = no added bullet point and no grainy graphics.  I think 'perfect' I'll publish to the server.  I then publish to the server, send out the link and naturally I get comments such as 'you sound too low, you sound <blah..blah..blah> You need to use more animation etc.. Constructive criticism..all well and good.

So,  I add the animation to PPT > Save as PPT 2003 > Publish to local hard drive (so I have a copy)  > Publish to Server. Before publishing is when I tried to find the MP3 files to edit in Audtion or Captivate (I have both) This is where the challenge comes in.  I am hunting and pecking (33 slides) trying to find which MP3 goes with the appropriate slide.  Unfortunatley the audio slides are labelled (for example) 1088225537.mp3, 1510256289.mp3 completely random no order ryne or reason.

Each of these mp3 files also has a corresponding *.lthmb file (for example 1088225537.mp3 has 1088225537.lthmb).  To top this off when you publish a file in presenter the time stamp is the same for ALL the slides.  I have 33 slides in this presentation.  With the time constraints of this project. I published.  I have learned I really need to do the audio in Captivate (or Audition) and import into Presenter. It is more time consuming. On another note Presenter is an awesome product.  IMHO It does not get nearly the attention like products such as Captivate or Audition.  Also, I want to upgrade to Captivate4, but get conflicting answers about whether or not the unwanted bullets will appear or not.  Yes I can try Captivate4 - which I will do. SO A long answer to you questions.

Thanks for your time.  All the best ~rich

[Guest · Accepted solution]

See, now we're getting somewhere!

When I wrote that line about having corresponding audio files after publishing (ex: a24x[some number].mp3), I was referencing the .mp3 files you get as a result of publishing the PPT deck using the Presenter plug in.

However, as you wrote:

"...Each of these mp3 files also has a corresponding *.lthmb file (for example 1088225537.mp3 has 1088225537.lthmb)..."

what you're looking at is the folder that Presenter creates the moment you start incorporating audio using the recording feature that Presenter offers (the same would be true if you imported audio files using Presenter as well.)  And, as you have found out, trying to get a handle on which audio file goes w/ a particular slide is horrendous at best.

Okay, may I suggest another tactic?

Let's try this: Publish the PPT deck you have.  What you'll end up with is a set of files and folders, but I want you to look for the data folder that's created as a result of the publishing process. (Unless you specify where you're publishing to, Presenter will publish to a directory called "My Adobe Presentations" by default, so you may have to look there on your harddrive)  Inside the data folder will be a list of mp3 files, which, if everything goes smoothly, should make it much, much easier to see which audio is used by a specific slide.

Here's what I mean: for example, after publishing, I have a data folder and inside I found the following file: a24x9x3.mp3  As I double click the mp3 file (which causes it to play using Windows Media on my laptop), I can hear that it corresponds to my slide 9 in my PPT deck.  And there's corresponding mp3 files for each and every slide I have in my deck.  I'm clicking another file (wouldn't it be nice to see what I'm doing???) a24x20x3.mp3, and that file corresponds to my slide 20 content in PowerPoint.

So again, give publishing in PowerPoint a shot and see if that makes it any easier.  Well...not nearly as easy as recording in Audition/Soundbooth/Audacity, but it's close enough to hopefully dig you out of that hole you're in now.

Rob

http://www.robrode.com/yabb

[Rich463x0]

Rob - absolutely awesome! I saw those files in the data folder but did not know they were the final version which is published.  I assumed published files would be in the audio folder..silly me!? .that being said, I was able to edit the essential slides in Soundbooth.  Import them into Presenter, published to hard drive tested it out, sounded good, then published to Adobe Connect Pro.  Results are exactly what I wanted.  Thanks so much for your time and talent.  I am very happy with this outcome.