Do you need to distribute your Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 presentation to others? Is it possible these recipients may not have PowerPoint already installed on their systems?

PowerPoint makes it easy to create a CD complete with your presentation and a copy of the PowerPoint Viewer, allowing those without PowerPoint to view your presentations. Plus, the created CD will start automatically on most systems, taking recipients directly into the slideshow's contents after reading and agreeing to a standard licensing agreement. The CD should work on most machines running Windows 98 SE and up.

To package a CD:

1. Choose "File" - "Package for CD".

2. A "Package for CD" dialog box appears.

Next to "Name the CD" enter a desired CD name. This can be up to 16 characters long.

3. By default, only the current presentation will be copied to the CD. If you need to copy other presentation files, click the "Add files" button and choose the desired presentation files to add.

4. Also, by default, the PowerPoint 2003 reader and any linked files are included on the CD. To change these and/or other options, click the "Options" button to open an "Options" dialog box:

* Uncheck "PowerPoint Viewer" to leave the viewer off the destination CD, assuming the CD recipient already has PowerPoint or the viewer installed on their machine.

* Underneath "Select how presentations will play in the viewer", click the pull-down to:

- Play presentations in the defined order

- Play only the first presentation automatically

- Let the end-user decide which presentation to view

- Choose to not make the CD auto-start.

* Uncheck "Linked files" if you do not want any files linked from the presentation to be added.

* Check "Embedded TrueType fonts" to embed any non-standard fonts you may have used in the presentation. Failure to do so if you have used non-standard fonts, especially symbol fonts, may cause the presentation to display not as originally intended.

* Underneath "Help protect the PowerPoint files", enter a password, if desired, needed to open or modify each presentation.

When done, click "OK" to close the "Options" dialog box.

5. When done adjusting options, click "Copy to CD" in the original dialog box to burn a CD with your presentation and chosen options. Or, click "Copy to Folder" to copy the files to a folder of your choosing. Then you can add, replace, or delete files as needed, then use your own CD authoring software to create the final CD distribution.

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