Which PPT (PowerPoint) import method should I use in Udutu?

There are a few considerations when importing PPTs (PowerPoint) to an online course. Currently in Udutu there are two ways to import your PPT.

One is to do so by converting your PPT into individual HTML slides. The second is to convert the PPT to contained HTML5 package on a single screen. By converting your PPT into individual screens /slides you can then move around in the wireframe (outline) of the course. In addition to moving them around, you can also insert additional Udutu screens. Adding assessment screens within or after the PPT slide deck would be a good example of this.

The individual slide import also has the advantage that all the objects in your PowerPoint automatically become separate library objects and can be re-used in other ways, such as images in assessments etc. The drawback to an HTML import is that you first have to optimize your PPT for import. For example, you won’t want to have a complex background on your PowerPoint slide nor will you want to use fonts that are not supported on the web. Complex backgrounds may have trouble converting to HTML and many fonts used in Word and PPT will not covert directly to HTML. This means that substitution fonts will be applied by the conversion tool and these can often cause issues with spacing and layout. A second problem is that the height and width proportions of a PPT are different to a standard web page in that the PPT is taller and narrower. This means that content lower down in the PPT can often get cut off. Going through your PPT and, in addition to simplifying the fonts and the backgrounds, ensuring there isn’t any content too far down in the slides should ensure a clean import.

Again, It’s a really good idea to simplify your PPTs background, preferably to the point of a blank background design before importing them. You would then use the course ‘theme‘ and the CSS to provide the look and feel including background images you desire.

Now, having said all that about HTML imports, if you simply want a PowerPoint to look exactly like the original presentation, including retaining a background you’ve used, then you should use the HTML5 importer. This will convert the PPT into an HTML5 video on one screen/slide. The advantage is that the look and feel AND most animations and sounds should import over. The drawback is the content won’t get captured into the media library for later use as in the HTML import.