Inserting MolSlides into PowerPoint Slides
This can be done only in Windows, as far as we know, using
the free LiveWeb Add-In
for PowerPoint (
www.mvps.org/skp/liveweb.htm).
I have not yet had time to experiment with this, but I have seen it done
with a Chime HTML page by Wayne Decatur (UMass, Amhert) in a seminar presentation.
Also, Bob Hanson (St. Olaf College, Northfield MN) has reported
that this can be done with a Jmol HTML page.
Below is a message posted to the
molvis-list
in October, 2004 by Duane Sears (U California, Santa Barbara).
I've experimented around with a few different ways to embed web pages with
Chime images into PowerPoint slides and I find that the free LiveWeb Add-In
for PowerPoint (http://www.mvps.org/skp/liveweb.htm ) gives the best result
and is easy to manage once you figure out the logic of the Add-In. This
Add-In exploits the functionality of the Visual Basic WebBrowser function
which launches an Internet Explorer browser embedded in a slide or a Visual
Basic UserForm. I know it works with Windows operating systems 98, 2000,
and XP. I don't know about other operating systems.
If you want to see an example of PowerPoint slide show with such features,
you can download a "zipped" sample PowerPoint presentation from my web site
at
http://tutor.lscf.ucsb.edu/instdev/sears/biochemistry/DWSEARS2004-Ppt-EmbeddedChimeWebpages.zip
EMBEDDED WEB BROWSERS WITH CHIME IMAGES
In a nutshell, this is how LiveWeb works. Install LiveWeb and then
configure PowerPoint for the Add-In by selecting LiveWeb from the Standard
Toolbar option -- "Tools/Add-Ins/Install New." Now select the "Insert/Web
Pages" drop-down option found on the PowerPoint Standard Toolbar. This
option activates a LiveWeb wizard for embedding a WebBrowser Visual Basic
function into a slide. The wizard presents a dialog box for you to enter
the URL of the web page you want to view on the slide. With a second
drop-down LiveWeb menu option -- "Insert/Edit Page Property" - the
WebBrowser associated URL can also easily be modified at a later time.
This option (which is not particularly well documented and took me a while
to discover) is very useful because you can easily update a link if it
changes, or change the associated URL for a copied slide so it's WebBrowser
is associated with a new web page.
A few additional points to note:
After a web page has been embedded in a slide, the resizable area you see
reserved for the WebBrowser function will always appear on top during Show
Mode, even if you have text or a figure pasted over the embedded browser as
it appears in the Slide Edit mode.
Also, web pages sometimes don't load into the embedded WebBrowser function
the first time they are encountered in Show Mode. I don't know why this is,
but to partially alleviate this problem, I found a Visual Basic Subroutine
that I add to the embedded WebBrowser function's Visual Basic code. This
subroutine is designed to trigger web page loading the first time the slide
with the WebBrowser function is encountered during the Show Mode. To add
the following Subroutine VB code to the WebBrowser function code, DOUBLE
CLICK on the WebBrowser you see mapped on the slide in the edit mode. The
following Visual Basic text appears initially:
---------------------------------------------------
Private Sub WebBrowser1_StatusTextChange(ByVal Text As String)
End Sub
---------------------------------------------------
Now, APPEND the following Subroutine to this text and change the URL
accordingly.
-------------------------------
Sub WebBrowser1_DocumentComplete(ByVal pDisp As Object, URL As Variant)
Dim varURL As Variant
'Check to see if this is the first time this
'control has been run, if so, load the page.
If URL = "" Then
varURL = "http://tutor.lscf.ucsb.edu/instdev/sears/biochemistry/"
'INSERT YOUR OWN URL HERE
WebBrowser1.Navigate varURL
End If
End Sub
---------------------------------------
POPUP WEB BROWSERS WITH CHIME IMAGES
I've also found a way to create pop-up web pages that float over the
PowerPoint slides without completely hiding the slide being viewed in Show
mode. For this application, the WebBrowser function is added to a Visual
Basic UserForm after opening the Visual Basic Editor from the Standard
Toolbar option -- "Tools/Macro/Visual Basic Editor." With the VB Editor
open, the first step is to select "Insert/UserForm" and the second step is
to drag the WebBrowser function on to the UserForm from the "Toolbox. " The
first time you do this, the "Microsoft Web Browser" function will probably
be located in "Additional Functions" and can be found after right clicking
on the ToolBox panel and searching through the list; however, the
"WebBrowser" will remain visible on the Toolbox thereafter.
Now, do the following:
1. Open the "Project" and "Properties" windows in the VB Editor, if not
already open.
2. Re-size the "Height" and "Width" of both the UserForm and WebBrowser to
the same dimensions, and set "Top" and "Left" to zero for both the UserForm
and the WebBrowser. Also, select the "StartUpPosition" option you desire
for the UserForm.
3. From the "Properties" window, change the "Name" option from "UserForm"
to an informative new name without spaces, e.g. "AminoAcids"
4. From the "Properties" window, change the name WebBrower1 to something
like WebBrower20 (a unique number). You will need a new WebBrowerXX number
for every different URL projected as a popup browser.
5. After double clicking on WebBrowser20 (which is superimposed on the
UserForm in the VB Editor window), the following VB code appears:
------------------------------------
Private Sub WebBrowser20_StatusTextChange(ByVal Text As String)
End Sub
------------------------------------
6. Now, APPEND the following code and change the URL to what you want.
-----------------------------------------------
Private Sub UserForm_Activate()
WebBrowser20.Navigate
"http://tutor.lscf.ucsb.edu/instdev/sears/biochemistry/tw-amn/aaschargedpolar-frames.htm"
End Sub
------------------------------------------
7. With the VB Editor select "Insert/Module"
8. Add the following macro to the Module (e.g., Modul111) with the
designation before the period (say "AminoAcids" in "AminoAcids.Show")
exactly matching the name of the UserForm the macro refers to (i.e.,
"AminoAcids")
-----------------------------------------
Sub Slide20browse()
'
' Macro created 10/10/04 by Duane W. Sears
'
AminoAcids.Show
End Sub
--------------------------------------
9. Close out of the Visual Basic Editor and insert an Action Button on the
slide.
10. Format the Action Settings of the button by selecting "Run macro" and
selecting "Slide20browse" for the macro.
11. Now, when you click on the button, WebBrowser20 will pop up over the
slide, and it can be moved around with the mouse if desired. Note that you
have to close the WebBrowser before being able to continue with the Slide
Show.
12. NOTE: When PowerPoint is first installed, it usually defaults to the
"Highest Security" setting for macros. You have to change this to at least
"Medium Security" ("Tools/Options/Security/Macro Security/Medium") in order
to be able to activate the popup menu Active X components associated with
the action buttons and WebBrowser functions. After changing the setting, it
is necessary to close out of PowerPoint and re-open the file before the new
security setting remains active (until you change it).
I hope this helps. Good luck.
Duane
Feedback to Eric Martz.