Microsoft KB Archive/186731

= PPT98: Error Message When You Open Presentation: PowerPoint Couldn't Translate This File =

Article ID: 186731

Article Last Modified on 7/19/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft PowerPoint 98 for Macintosh

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This article was previously published under Q186731



SYMPTOMS
When you attempt to open a presentation that was created in an earlier version of PowerPoint, you may receive the following error message:

PowerPoint couldn't translate this file.



CAUSE
This problem may occur when one or more of the following conditions are true:

 Virtual memory on your computer is turned off.

-or-

 The Minimum Size setting in the Info dialog box is set too low.

-or-

 The amount of available memory is very low, either because there are too many programs running, or because your computer has insufficient total memory (regular memory plus virtual memory).

-or-

 The presentation is in PowerPoint 2.0 format. PowerPoint 98 can only open PowerPoint 3.0 and later presentations. When a PowerPoint 2.0 presentation is opened in PowerPoint 98, the following error message appears:

An installed converter couldn't open . The file may be in use.





WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Download and Install the Update for the PowerPoint 4-8 Translator
PowerPoint 4-8 Translator Update converts graphics-heavy presentations from PowerPoint 4.0 to PowerPoint 98 using less memory. This update reduces memory requirements to open presentations created with PowerPoint 4.0 in PowerPoint 98. PowerPoint 98 may still require additional memory allocated to it when translating files.

To download this update, click the following link:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/office/98/updates/powerpoint_4_8_trans/default.asp

NOTE: Please review the Readme file for how to install the PowerPoint 4-8 translator.

Method 2: Turn on Virtual Memory

 * 1) On the Apple menu, point to Control Panels, and then click Memory.
 * 2) In the Virtual Memory section, click On.
 * 3) On the File menu, click Close Window.
 * 4) On the Special menu, click Restart.

After the computer restarts, virtual memory will be turned on.

NOTE: If necessary, you can set the amount of virtual memory in the Memory control panel.

Method 3: Change the Minimum Size and Preferred Size of Memory
 From the Finder, click the Microsoft PowerPoint icon in the Microsoft Office 98 folder.</li> On the File menu, click Get Info.</li> In the Minimum Size and Preferred Size boxes, type the amount of memory that you want Microsoft PowerPoint to use.

NOTE: Do not set the Minimum Size setting too low. If you do, you will receive an error message similar to the following

You have set the Minimum size below <x>K, which may cause "Microsoft PowerPoint" to crash. Are you sure you want to continue?

where <x> is the minimum size.</li> On the File menu, click Close Window.</li></ol>

Method 4: Increase Available Memory
Increase the amount of available memory in your computer, by using either of the following options:
 * Upgrade your computer by installing more memory.
 * Do not run unnecessary programs or extensions. You can disable extensions by using the Extensions Manager in Control Panel; however, you must take care when you disable extensions, because some extensions must be loaded in order for some programs to work correctly.

Method 5: If the Previous Methods Do Not Work
If you cannot open the presentation using the previous methods, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

153136 PPT: Troubleshooting Damaged PowerPoint Presentations

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MORE INFORMATION
It is strongly recommended that you turn on virtual memory if you are running Microsoft PowerPoint 98 Macintosh Edition on your computer. If you turn off virtual memory, you likely need to increase the amount of memory available to Microsoft PowerPoint by performing the steps in the "Resolution" section of this article.

For additional information about virtual memory, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

120506 How Virtual Memory Works on a Power Macintosh

In addition, the PowerPoint Translator 8-4 translates PowerPoint 98 presentations to PowerPoint 4.0 format. This translator is an application program. In contrast, the other two PowerPoint translators (PowerPoint Translator 4-8 and PowerPoint Translator 7-8) are libraries, not application programs. Therefore, these translators use memory assigned to PowerPoint when converting files.

Additional query words: trans mac_ppt ppt98 ppt_98 powerpoint 8.00 mac_powerpt powermac powerpt translate convert change opening opened error message box popped up on my screen unable invalid corrupt couldn t

Keywords: kbconversion kberrmsg kbinterop kbprb KB186731

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