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.