Protect Updates and Revision History
Protect Updates
Protect is a work in progress. We're constantly improving it and adding new features. This Revision History lists the changes we've made lately.
You can always update your current copy of Protect to the most recent version at no charge.
To update, visit the Downloads page, follow the instructions there to download and install the latest version. That will update Protect automatically. You do not need to uninstall Protect first or re-enter any registration information. Just run the installer and you're updated, whether you have a demo or fully registered version.
Revisions are listed by date, most recent changes first.
Revisions that affect all PPTools add-ins
Fall 2007Discussions with WebEx should result in a fix for the problem their software was causing PPTools add-ins. If you encounter problems with PPTools add-ins when WebEx software is in use, contact WebEx tech support for several effective workarounds or updated software.
Summer 2007New image export routines in PPT2HTML, Protect and ImageExport give much higher quality images than was previously possible when using PowerPoint 2002 and up.
28 November, 2006Added a workaround for a problem caused by some WebEx software (on starting PPT you see repeated error messages). With the workaround, you'll see the error messages ONLY the first time you start PPT after installing the WebEx software; they'll stop after that. We're working with WebEx to correct the problem that causes this.
13 September, 2006- Fixed a problem that caused diagnostic reports to fail under PowerPoint 97
- Add-ins now install under the PowerPoint 2007 Beta Preview, though we cannot guarantee they'll work reliably
Protect Revision Log
16 Dec, 2007
Added special case code to handle bugs in image exports from PPT 2002 SP1
October 2007
We've given you the ability to control the compression level applied to JPGs exported from Protect. If your Protect-ed files are too large, you can now choose JPG exports instead of the default PNG files, and you can choose the compression level that suits your needs.
Use Notepad to open the PPTools.INI file in your PPTools folder. Locate the line that reads: [Protect] and add two lines directly after. It should look like this:
[Protect] FileFormat=JPG JPGCompressionLevel=80 ; followed by whatever was already there in the file ...
The FileFormat=JPG line tells Protect to use JPG images instead of its default PNG images.
JPGCompressionLevel sets the amount of compression on a scale from 1 to 100.
Higher numbers give higher quality but larger images.
Lower numbers give lower quality but smaller images.
The default JPGCompressionLevel is 90 (that's what you'll get if the FileFormat is JPG but no JPGCompressionLevel is specified). You'll need to do a little experimenting to determine the best level for your presentation. Shows with lots of small text, will require a higher number than shows with just photo-type images.
September 2007
Protect (along with PPT2HTML and ImageExport) uses a new method for creating images that solves the "dog-chewed text" problem that PowerPoint 2002 introduced, and that still plagues PowerPoint 2003 and 2007.
Protect now detects these problem PPT versions and automatically exports images at higher resolution than requested, then automatically downsamples them to the final needed resolution. This results in MUCH better looking images.
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