Add PowerPoint Files to Blackboard

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1 Blackboard Training Resources Adding PowerPoint Files to Blackboard Version 1.2 Final How To Add PowerPoint Files to Blackboard Recommendations There are a number of ways to display a PowerPoint presentation in Blackboard. Each option has both benefits and drawbacks, thus our suggestions may not suit every individual purpose. However, a rule of thumb is: If you require other people to edit the file, add the presentation as a Presentation file (.ppt) If you require people to view the presentation and are not concerned if they access the original file, save it as a Presentation Show (.pps) If you want to restrict access so people can only view the presentation, save it as a single file web page (.mht) or standard web page (.htm) If you want people to access a printed copy of the presentation, consider converting it to PDF using Adobe Acrobat or PDF Creator. See the next page for details. About Online PowerPoint files If you add a normal PowerPoint file (.ppt) to Blackboard (or a website) then when a user opens it they will be asked whether they wish to open or save the file. This means that the end user can access all of the presentation, for example your notes or hidden slides. In some cases this will be appropriate, for example if you are sharing resources with students or colleagues with the intention of them editing or reusing the file. There may be times when you want the presentation to open as a slide show (.pps). This means that people viewing it won t have to go through any extra steps to view the presentation as it was intended. Be aware that the file can still be saved as a presentation file (.ppt) and therefore it is still possible to access the full presentation from within PowerPoint. Both PowerPoint presentation files (.ppt) and PowerPoint shows (.pps) require the user to have a copy of PowerPoint or PowerPoint viewer 1 installed on their computer in order for them to view the presentation. Alternatively you can save the presentation as a single file web page and then upload it to Blackboard. By doing this you restrict users access to the file and they will be unable to edit the presentation file. The following table shows which tasks can be carried out for each file type. Task PowerPoint File PowerPoint Show Web Pages View Presentation Edit if saved as.ppt file Presentation View notes if saved as.ppt Edit Notes if saved as.ppt Requires PowerPoint 1 to be installed 1 PowerPoint or PowerPoint viewer. The viewer is available for free download from For further information: (Author: Name) Page 1 of 6

2 Blackboard Training Resources: How to Add PowerPoint Files to Blackboard Converting PowerPoint to PDF As well as saving a presentation in various formats within PowerPoint, you can convert a presentation into PDF format. This creates a printable document with the contents of each slide appearing on a separate page, with speaker s notes if required. The PDF can be uploaded to Blackboard just as any other file. For more information on creating PDFs you may find the following document useful: Introduction to Creating PDF files with Adobe Acrobat Version 7.0 Professional available from the Humanities ICT office website: hester.ac.uk/ict/training /resources/office/pdf.ht ml Alternatively, if you do not have Adobe Acrobat on your computer you can use PDF Creator software that is available on the CLIP image/ standard desktop. A short demonstration on using PDF Creator is available from hester.ac.uk/ict/training /resources/office/pdfcreator.html PowerPoint Presentation Files PowerPoint files have the file extension.ppt For example you may have a PowerPoint presentation with the filename lecture1.ppt When a PowerPoint presentation file is added to Blackboard the user will be prompted to either open or save the file. Adding a PowerPoint Presentation file to Blackboard: 1. Save the presentation in PowerPoint as a.ppt file 2. Log into Blackboard to add the file to the file manager 3. Ensure you are working in the Build tab 4. Click on File Manager from the Designer Tools menu 5. Click on Get Files 6. The Content browser window opens 7. Click on My Computer 8. Browse to the folder where you saved the file 9. Select the file 10. Click Open 11. The file is now available in the File Manager 12. Navigate to an organiser page or a Learning Module 13. Click Add File 14. Choose Browse for Files. The Get Files screen appears 15. Click Class Files 16. Select the desired PowerPoint file and click OK. The file appears as a link on the organiser page or Learning module. Page 2 of 6

3 Blackboard Training Resources: How to Add PowerPoint files to Blackboard PowerPoint Shows PowerPoint shows have the file extension.pps For example you may have a presentation show with the filename lecture1.pps Slideshows are normal presentations that open automatically in slide Show view rather than in Normal view. To add a PowerPoint Show file to Blackboard: 1. Open the PowerPoint presentation (.ppt) file in PowerPoint 2. Select File > Save As 3. From the Save as Type drop-down box, select PowerPoint Show (*.pps) 4. Click Save 5. The file is now saved to the same folder as the original presentation (.ppt) file. 6. Follow steps 2 to 16 in Adding a PowerPoint Presentation file to Blackboard: above Editing PowerPoint Shows Saving the PowerPoint show as a.pps file (the default) will mean you are only able to open the file as a PowerPoint show. Changing the file extension to.ppt will allow you to open the file as the full editable presentation. Viewing PowerPoint Presentations and PowerPoint Shows To view a PowerPoint presentation file or a Presentation Show from Blackboard as students would view it: 1. Ensure you are working in the Student View tab 2. Navigate to the page or learning module from where the presentation is linked 3. Click on the link 4. The File Download window opens 5. You can either save the file by clicking on the Save button, or 6. Open the file directly by clicking on the Open button 7. PowerPoint Shows will open as a slide show. Presentations will open directly in your web browser or in an instance of PowerPoint depending on your local settings. Page 3 of 6

4 Blackboard Training Resources: How to Add PowerPoint files to Blackboard Web Pages Creating a web page from a PowerPoint presentation can be done in 2 ways: 1. Creating a single file web page (.mht file) 2. Creating a standard web page (.htm file) and a folder of supporting files Method 1 is by far the quickest and simplest; however it does require users to have access to Internet Explorer to view the file, i.e. it will not open in Firefox. This document will outline both methods. When a presentation web page (created by either method) is viewed through Internet Explorer the slide titles are displayed on the left hand side of the web page as a menu, with the slide content appearing in the right-hand frame. Notes will be displayed on the web page if they have been added to the presentation. Users can also choose to view the presentation as a Slide Show. Notes area Slide Show button To add a PowerPoint web page to Blackboard: Option1: Creating a Single File web page (.mht file) 1. Open the PowerPoint presentation (.ppt) file in PowerPoint 2. Select File> Save As 3. From the Save as Type drop-down box select Single File Web Page (.*mht; *.mhtml) 4. Click on the Publish button 5. Click on the Web Options button 6. Select Black Text on White (or Presentation colors/text color) from the Colors drop-down list 7. Click OK 8. Click Publish 9. The file is now saved 10. Follow steps 2 to 16 in Adding a PowerPoint Presentation file to Blackboard: above 11. The web page can now be viewed in Blackboard. Page 4 of 6

5 Blackboard Training Resources: How to Add PowerPoint Files to Blackboard Option 2: Creating a standard web page (.htm file) and folder of supporting files 1. Open the PowerPoint presentation (.ppt) file in PowerPoint 2. Select File> Save As 3. Create a new sub-folder: 3.1. Click on the New folder icon 3.2. Give the folder a name, e.g. lecture1presentation 3.3. Click OK 4. From the Save as Type drop-down box select Web Page (.*htm; *.html) 5. Click on the Publish button 6. Click on the Web Options button 7. Select Black Text on White (or Presentation colors/ text color) from the Colors drop-down list 8. Click OK 9. Click Publish 10. The file is now saved and an additional subfolder of files is created. 11. You now need to create a zip file containing both the web page and the folder of supporting files: 12. Open My Computer 13. Navigate to the folder that you created (i.e. where you saved the web page file) but do not open the folder. You need to be able to see it in My Computer 14. Right-click on the folder and select Compress to foldername.zip 15. A zip file will be created 16. Navigate back to the Blackboard File Manager area 17. Click on Get Files 18. Click on My Computer 19. Select the zip file you just created 20. Click Open 21. The zip file is uploaded and you will return to the File Manager screen 22. Click on the ActionLink next to the zip file and select Extract 23. A new folder is created containing all of the files from the zip file. This Page 5 of 6

6 Blackboard Training Resources: How to Add PowerPoint files to Blackboard includes the web page (.htm file) and the subfolder of supporting files. You can now add the web page to a page in Blackboard 24. Navigate to the organiser page or Learning Module where you want the link to the presentation web page to be 25. Click Add File 26. Choose Browse for Files. The Get Files screen appears. 27. Click Class Files 28. Open the subfolder containing the web page and the folder of supporting files by clicking on the folder name 29. Select the web page (.htm file) and click OK. The file appears as a link on the organiser page or Learning module 30. The web page can now be viewed in Blackboard. Viewing PowerPoint Web Page files To view a PowerPoint Web page file from Blackboard as students would view it: 1. Ensure you are working in the Student View tab 2. Navigate to the page or learning module from where the web page is linked 3. Click on the link 4. The web page opens in a new browser window 5. Click on the slide titles on the left to navigate through the presentation 6. Click on the Slide Show button if you would prefer to view the presentation in slide show view. Press Escape to return to the web page view. Note for Firefox users A single file web page (.mht file) requires Internet Explorer to open correctly. Clicking on the link in Firefox will give you the option to open a separate Internet Explorer window to display the file. Page 6 of 6