I'm setting up a Word template that will include a linked PPT slide and its associated notes on each page -- we need better formatting functionality for the notes than we can get in PowerPoint, and we need (hopefully) to be able to edit the slides directly from the Word docs.



So I have two questions.

(1) Is there any way to minimize the file size? I'm testing this with a 50-slide PPT (2.5 Mb), and with only 8 slides linked, the Word file is already over 10 Mb! Presentations with 50 or more slides are not uncommon, so this is a pretty serious issue.

(2) We are likely to have multiple people working on these files over their lifetimes, some at different locations. The links seem to be created using an absolute reference ("C:\\Documents and Settings\\Me\\My Documents\\Project\\Filename.ppt"); we can create them on the network so they'll work for local staff, but is there a (preferably automated) way to convert them to relative references so external staff can receive an entire *folder* and the links will still work?

The more I play around with this, I'm wondering if it's really a practical solution. The file size is a huge problem, and I'm not sure we can rearrange the workflow so we wouldn't need to link the slides.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Caroline