Instructions for creating the RealMedia presentation

Tools

Microsoft PowerPoint 97	Part of Office 97
GoldWave	Download from http://www.goldwave.com and unzip.
RealPresenter (Old version)	Download from ftp://nova.umuc.edu/pub/csmn/Presentations/presenter.zip to a temporary file directory. Remember the file path. You may use the program to create files for this application. Should you wish to create presentations for other applications, then download the current version of RealPresenter and other useful tools from http://www.real.com

Helpful hints.

Review the following presentations that demonstrate the product by using the product.

Be sure to record all sound files with the same parameters.
Do not use animation in your PowerPoint presentation.

Process

Install RealPresenter into PowerPoint. Unzip it, and then run ‘setup’. It will automatically install itself into your PowerPoint 97 program.
Create a directory to hold the presentation and sound files. I recommend you use a sub-directory below ‘My Documents’. Name it from the class or conference abbreviation.

Note steps 3 through 5 are iterative.

Use Power Point to create and edit the slide presentation. Do not use any animation inside a slide. Should you wish to use animation, duplicate the last slide in the sequence, then delete from the earlier slides.
Write a draft narrative for each slide. This is what you would say if you were giving the presentation in front of a live audience. You can do this with pencil and paper or with the word processor. The narration is not a deliverable.
Use GoldWave to create sound files for the presentation; one sound file per slide. Link the sound files to the PowerPoint presentation. Details are provided below.
Convert the PowerPoint presentation to RealMedia format

Details

Start up

Start PowerPoint.
Set the slide transition time. – Select ‘Slide show’ then ‘Slide Transition’. In the Advance group box of the Slide Transition dialog, check the ‘On mouse click’ and also check the ‘Automatically after’ check box and enter 0 seconds for the delay time. Next click on ‘Apply to All’.
Set the display width to 33%.
Access your presentation slide 1

Start GoldWave
If you can, set the size of the PowerPoint and GoldWave windows so they appear as shown in the Figure. This will allow you to quickly switch between the programs.
Access GoldWave.
If not already visible, display the device controls by selecting the Tools menu followed by Device controls

Do the following for each slide

Create the sound file

Create a new sound file by selecting the File/New menu item or selecting the New button which is located on the upper left portion of the screen just below the top line menu. You will need to estimate how long you are going to speak for that slide. Be generous, you can trim the end later.
Select sampling parameters of 22050 Hz, 8 bit, Mono, in the pop up window
You will see a graph in the main window with a straight line – this represents the sound (of which there is none at this point)
To begin recording, press the control key and the record key in the Device Control window at the same time– it’s the red button on the upper center portion of the dialog box
Talk into the microphone and record your presentation
To stop recording – press the record button
To listen to the recording, select the ‘smiley’.

Edit the sound file

All editing is done in the main GoldWave window
Your presentation probably didn’t take up the entire allotted time. At a minimum, you probably will need to trim the excess silence from the end of the file. Use the right mouse button to position the cursor (a vertical line) at the end of your sound presentation. This will highlight the blank sound from the selected position to the end of the file. Press the ‘Trim’ key. Now all that is left is your presentation without a blank sound trailer. If you accidentally delete the sound, you can undelete it from the ‘Edit’ menu.

To edit a specific portion of your sound presentation, select that portion with the mouse as follows; the left mouse key selects the left most edge of the editing area, the right mouse button selects the right most edge. The highlighted area will be replaced if you re-record, or it will be deleted if you select to delete.
After editing the sound, maximise the volume. Select ‘Effects’, then ‘Volume’ then ‘Maximize’ and follow the instructions.

Save the sound file, name the files 01_text, 02_text, etc. where the numbers correspond to the slide number and ‘text’ corresponds to the contents. For example, 02_agenda, etc.

Add the sound file to the PowerPoint presentation

Access PowerPoint
From the top line menu, select ‘Insert’ then ‘Movies and Sounds’, then ‘Sound from File’.
A file dialog will appear – navigate to the directory that holds your sound files and select the sound file that goes with the slide.
A speaker icon will appear in the center of the slide – put the cursor on the icon and drag it to a location where it is less noticeable.
Position the cursor over the sound icon and click the right button mouse.
Select ‘Custom Animation’, then ‘Play settings’. Check the ‘Play using animation order box’. Check the 'pause slide show while playing' buton.
Select ‘Timing’ then in the ‘Start Animation’ box, check ‘automatically’ and ‘After 0 seconds’. Note that the only animated object should be the media file. Then click on the ‘OK’ button.

Repeat until the presentation is complete.

Convert presentation to RealMedia rm file

Save the file.
Within PowerPoint, select the menu items ‘Tools’ then ‘Publish to RealMedia’
This brings up a wizard that instructs you the rest of the way – just follow the on screen instructions to create the RealMedia (.rm) file.
Be sure to view and listed to the presentation using RealPlayer after you are finished – some times screwy things happen for unknown reasons.
Repeat the edit process if necessary.

GoldWave is Shareware. Should you continue to use it after creating the presentation, you should register it and pay for it. The cost is nominal and is worth it.