Importing PowerPoint Slides into your Presentation

Adding PowerPoints into your slideshow is a extremely easy if you have already setup your main presentation to display Google Presentations as shown here.  To start importing your slides you will need to first go to your Google Drive Account.  After getting into your account you will next select the Google Presentation that is currently setup with your main presentation.

Importing Slides

After opening up your presentation you will want to first go to File and then select "Import Slides" from the drop down menu.  Next you can either import slides from a PowerPoint which have already been uploaded to your Google Drive or you can choose to upload a new one that is currently located on your computer.

Importing PowerPoint located on Google Drive

Selecting PowerPoint in Google Drive

You will be presented with a list of compatible PowerPoint files currently located on your Google Drive.  Simply highlight the one you would like to use and click on "Select" at the bottom.

Adding PowerPoint located on Computer

Adding PowerPoint files located on your computer

First you will want to select "Upload" from the options on the left hand side of the box.  Next you can click on "Choose files to upload" in order to browse to the PowerPoint you are going to use in your presentation.  Alternatively you can browse to it through a normal windows explorer and then drag it into the browser to upload the file.  

After selecting your PowerPoint you will be shown a list of all the slides in your presentation.  You can then either select individual slides or you can click on the "All" button in the top right hand corner in order to import all the slides located in your PowerPoint.

After clicking on "Import Slides" you slides will be automatically added to your main presentation!  If you have setup your presentation properly these new slides should now be showing in your presentation.  By taking advantage of this feature you can now create and update professional looking content and quickly get it to your screens!

ENTECH SIGNS:

(972) 641-0390

www.alpha-led.com

Automatically convert Microsoft Office Documents into Google Documents

In order to make your life a little easier there's a simple tweak which you can use to automatically convert your Microsoft Documents into Google Docs.  This is very handy feature for importing Excel files and PowerPoint files so you can use them directly in your presentation without much additional effort.

Link to Google Drive on Google's Homepage 

First you will want to go to your Google Drive account.  You can access it by going google.com and clicking on the link labeled Drive at the top.  Please note this may show as Documents if you have not upgraded to Google Drive yet or if you are not currently logged in to your Google Account.  

Direct web address to access Google Drive

You can also access the account directly by going to https://drive.google.com

Once there all you will need to do is to select the settings icon in the top right hand corner of Google Drive (indicated by a gear icon) and then go down to the upload settings.  There find the option "Convert uploaded files to Google Docs format" and select that option.  You can make sure the option has been enabled by finding the check mark next to it to indicate that this feature is currently active.

Please note that if you do import a PowerPoint Presentation any transitions you have used will be lost. You can however add these again by opening the file in Google Presentation and apply transitions between the slides.

Now in the future if you upload for example an Excel spreadsheet it will automatically be converted to a Google Spreadsheet which is now correctly formatted to be used in your presentation. Now all you have to do is enable the appropriate sharing settings and insert the link in your presentation.  This is very useful as it prevents you from having to copy and paste from Microsoft Office Documents into the Google Documents and allows you to easily use materials that have already been prepared in Microsoft Office.

ENTECH SIGNS

(972) 641-0390

www.alpha-led.com

How to Setup Google Presentation for use with PowerPoint

Up until now we have been converting PowerPoint into images and uploading them to Picasa or an FTP in order to use them in our presentation.

Google has recently included many new features in Google Drive which has opened up many new possibilities unavailable to us before. The most interesting feature is Google Presentation and its ability to publish to the web. Using this new feature you can now easily upload your own PowerPoint into Google Presentation or directly edit and create content online. Today we will begin by showing you how to setup your presentation to start pulling slides from directly from Google Presentation.

Initial Setup Instructions

Select "Drive" from www.google.com

To begin you will need to go to www.google.com and select Drive from the list of options on top.  If you signed up for your Google account a long time ago and have not upgraded yet yours may still say "Documents" instead.  If you haven't upgraded already after you select documents it will prompt you to upgrade to Google Drive.  You can also get there directly by going to http://drive.google.com

Create new Google Presentation

Next you will want to create a new Google Presentation by clicking on the red "Create Button" located on the left hand side of the page and then select "Presentation" from the drop down menu.

Choose template style

Google presentation already comes with several built in presentation templates which you can choose from.  After you make your choice just hit OK.  If you do not want to use any template styles just hit cancel or hit the X in the top right hand corner.

Click "Untitled Presentation" to change file name

Rename Google Presentation

Now you will want to click "Untitled Document" in the top left hand corner and in the next dialog box give the presentation a name of your choice.  After you are done you will hit OK to save the new changes.

Next you will need to find out how large you need to make your Google Presentation so that it will fit properly into your place holder.  To do that you will need to go to your presentation in the online management system.

 Placeholder Properties

Once you get into Design View right click on the placeholder that you wish to add this Google Presentation and select properties.

Placeholder Size

Here make a note of the current width and height settings for your placeholder. 

Publish to the Web

Next you will need to return back to your Google Presentation and in the "File" drop down menu, select the option "Publish to the Web."

Start Publishing

Click "Start Publishing" to make this Google Presentation available on the web.  You will then be prompted to see if you are sure if you would like to publish this document.  Hit "OK" to publish.

"Publish to Web" dialog box

Enable Slideshow Options

First you need to locate the option "Start slideshow as soon as the player loads" and "Restart slideshow after the last slide" near the bottom of the dialog box.
 

Next adjust how quickly you would like your presentation to play by selecting the desired time duration from the drop down menu.  Typically I find that five to ten seconds is usually enough, however you will need to adjust the time depending on what kind of material are in your slides.

Now before we get any further you will need to understand that Google Presentations come with an embedded control bar at the bottom which allows you to play, pause, go to next slide ect.

Google Presentation Control Bar at the bottom of  a presentation

In order to give your presentation a more professional look we will hide this control bar.  In order to do this we will make this presentation a little taller then the placeholder we have.  So for instance I have a place holder that is 800x600.  So for my Google Presentation I want it to be slightly taller in height to hide the bar so I will add 20 pixels (the height of the control bar) to the bottom.  This gives me a presentation with the size of 800x620.  Since the placeholder is only 600 high it will cut off the extra 20 pixels from the bottom of the Google Presentation in effect getting rid of the control bar.

Copy Embed code

Next select the code located under "Embed Code" and  then right click and copy.

Paste code into Notepad

Next you will want to start the program Notepad by going to the Start Menu and then Accessories.  Paste the code into Notepad and then look for the width and height options.  Change your height and width to match the correct size we identified earlier.  In this case I have changed the my values to 800 and 620.  Remember to add the additional 20 pixels to the bottom if you wish to remove the control bar.

Select "Save As" from File

Change "Save as Type" to All Files and add .html to your filename

Next you will want to go to file and select Save As.  In the dialog box you will want to first change your "Save As Type" as All files (*.*)  You will then give your file a name and then add the extension .html to the end.  So for our example we called the file mainpresentation.html

Now that you are done creating your file, all you need to do now is upload it to your FTP or any other online storage location. Locate the URL for your file, so for example if you used the Entech FTP it would look something like www.entechsigns.com/rvauser/username/mainpresentation.html

Return to your presentation in the online management system and go into design view.  Click on the place holder and select properties.  Then select gadget and from the list select the URL gadget near the bottom of the list.

Insert URL and adjust refresh rate

After adding your gadget you will want to insert the address for your html file in the gadget setting.  I would recommend adjusting the "Data Refresh Interval" to about around 5 minutes or more depending on how often you would like your PowerPoint to update.  After you are done saving your settings you are now ready to start using Google Presentation with your account!

ENTECH SIGNS

(972) 641-0390

www.alpha-led.com

Converting PDF files to JPG

With PDF files being so common in the workplace, you will many times find useful information which you receive that would like to incorporate into your presentation.  By taking advantage of a PDF converter you can easily convert your PDF files into an image which you can easily incorporate into your presentations.

Due to the fact that many organizations require authorization for you to install programs and software one of the most convenient ways to convert PDF to images is to utilize an online PDF to image converter.  If you look online you will find that their are several websites which can convert PDF to JPG however many of these websites typically are slow, inefficient or are more time consuming then necessary.

Of all the options available my favorite is http://pdf2jpg.net which worked quickly, efficiently and provided high quality images that you can then easily add to your presentation.

Website to convert PDF to JPG

To start, you will first need to select a PDF file from your computer that you would like to convert

Choose file to convert to JPG

Next you will need to choose the quality level of the converted images.  In many cases the pdf images will usually be placed within a smaller portion of your presentation instead of taking up the whole screen.  In this case 150dpi should be plenty, however if you plan to fill up an entire screen such as a LCD in portrait mode I would recommend using the highest resolution possible (300 dpi)  to insure you do not suffer a loss of image quality in your presentation.

Depending on your exact screen size and resolution these recommendations may differ.  I highly recommend playing with different options to see which will provide you with the best results for your particular application.

Select level of quality desired

Next hit the "Convert PDF to JPG" to start the conversion process.  If wanted you can also enter your e-mail address here and have the images e-mailed to yourself.

Start PDF conversion process

It will take a few seconds to convert the PDF file and after the process is done you will be presented with a series of images which you can either view in your browser, or download. In addition at the very bottom of the list you can download all of the images in a single zip file which is extremely helpful if your PDF has a lot of pages.

List of converted images available for download

After you have finished downloading the images to your computer, just upload them to Picasa, Dropbox, or your FTP server.  Congratulations!  Your PDF images are now ready to be added into your presentation!

ENTECH SIGNS

(972) 641-0390

www.alpha-led.com

Content Approval Process now Live!

In order to help you mange your displays better a recent update has been rolled out on the system allowing you to prevent certain users from publishing content.  What this means is you can now provide certain individuals the ability to create and edit content only but only the approved individuals will able to publish the content to the screens.

This allows you to delegate responsibility to other individuals without worrying losing control of what can be displayed or published to the displays.

This is especially useful for individuals running these type of screens in environments such as a school where you would like to provide students creative control of the content creation however worry about possible abuse of the system.  With this new feature the presentations will only be allowed to be shown on the displays after the appropriate teachers or administrators have reviewed the content and approved them for publishing.

By allowing others to work on the content generation you can better take advantage of your displays and combine the best ideas together to make the most of your investment without fear of losing control over your screens!

In order to take advantage please feel free to contact us and we will guide you to the process of setting this feature up on your account.

ENTECH SIGNS
(972) 641-0390
www.alpha-led.com

Entech Provides FTP Access to all users of our Expert Digital Signage Package

Entech Signs is currently offering FTP Access for all interested individuals currently subscribed to our Expert Digital Signage Package.  If you find that certain images are not loading properly on your current server of choice or you need a secure location to store your videos for sharing, our FTP would be the perfect solution for you!

Ftp Client

If you find that your backgrounds, logos and banners not reliably loading properly and it is significantly impacting the performance of your screen this FTP would be highly recommended way to reduce and eliminate these issues.

Please note that depending on the current rules and operating procedures at your location; an FTP is not always a viable option.  FTP is sometimes blocked at workstations and restrictions on software installation could prevent you from utilizing our FTP.  Please contact your Technical Department to find out if you will be able to use FTP and what steps need to be taken if you would like to implement FTP access at your location.

If you have any further questions about our FTP or would like to sign up for our FTP service please do not hesitate to contact us!

ENTECH SIGNS
(972) 641-0390
www.alpha-led.com

How to get more Font Styles and Font Sizes!

Ever wish you had more Font Sizes or had a different font available in the text editor gadget?  Using this simple trick will allow you to expand on the functionality of your system and provide you with additional options!

Standard list of fonts 

In the original editor you will only have access to about 15 basic font types and 7 different font sizes available.  This is very limited if you compare to the number of fonts and sizes available in your word editor.  After doing some editing you will find that on occasion you wish you could have larger font or have some more variety in font so you can properly convey your message to your viewer.  

Wing Dings and Showcard Gothic with Font Size 48

Next use your editor of choice and create the message using the font size and font you would like to use. 

Highlight and copy message

Next you will want to highlight everything you want to use and do a right click and select the copy option.

Insert message into text gadget

Right click in your online message editor paste and you will now see that your text including all fonts and sizes will be retained.  As long as it is part of the standard font package that is installed typically on all windows machines you should not have a problem previewing having this message being sent to your Electronic Displays.

ENTECH SIGNS

(972) 641-0390

www.alpha-led.com