Keynote (Mac’s presentation software)

Topic

New Reply

Right now I have to “Keynote” issues. In order of increasing importance:

(1) Today, I got a red dot on the “App Store” icon on the Desktop taskbar, telling me there is something there waiting to be updated. I checked and found it was “Keynote”. So I clicked on “Update”, but nothing happened. Then I clicked on “Update all”, again nothing happened. Repeated several times the whole procedure, had no better luck.

Later, I tried again. This time I had a result of sorts: a little spinning ring turning and turning endlessly for as long as I care to check on it. After about twenty minutes I put the thing out of its misery and clicked the whole thing off. My Internet connection is going gangbusters, so it is not a general breakdown in connectivity that is behind this. And still have that red dot on the “App Store” icon. This is the first time in almost two years I’ve had a Mac that this happens. Maybe this is some freakish thing that just will go away. But in case it is not: What does all this mean?

(2) How does it compare with PowerPoint, when both are used on a Mac?

Thanks.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

Replies

2  The only problem I ever had on my MacBook Pro from mid-2010 with both programs was in selecting which one the intended recipient could use, by far that choice was PowerPoint as I had only a few clients with a Mac.  [Mine died when the onboard drive controller crapped out, not worth the expense to have repaired.]

 

EDIT: missed about your Subject line, it’s wrong as the Keynote is not a Text Editor, different types of programs.

Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?"

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

Reply | Quote

Berton, Thanks.

I have people with both Windows and Mac computers that I share presentations with, or prepare for showing those to them, and I am wondering if, for Macs as destination, Keynote is better than PowerPoint. Macs have a Mac-friendly version of Office. Mine has the Office 16 version and I have used it to make PowerPoint presentations shown on large screens using other Macs. Thee same PPTX files created with the Mac can also be shown with Windows PCs.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

Incidentally, Keynote is presentation software, not a text editor. Mac’s text editor is called TextEdit.

You can create a presentation in Keynote and export it to PowerPoint. Don’t know if you can create in PowerPoint and export to .key format, but you could check that out in your PowerPoint 2016 on the Mac.

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

Reply | Quote

PKCano, Yes, you are quite right: I typed “Text editor” by mistake

When I noticed, it was too late, having already clicked “Return”, as correcting the title of a new thread I have created is beyond my very limited lounger powers (golden cockade and all).

And thanks for the tip. I’ll give it a try, see what happens.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

OscarCP wrote:

Berton, Thanks.

I have people with both Windows and Mac computers that I share presentations with, or prepare for showing those to them, and I am wondering if, for Macs as destination, Keynote is better than PowerPoint. Macs have a Mac-friendly version of Office. Mine has the Office 16 version and I have used it to make PowerPoint presentations shown on large screens using other Macs. Thee same PPTX files created with the Mac can also be shown with Windows PCs.

I had both Office 2008 and Office 2011 on my Mac and Yes, the files created by the applications in the suite were usable on either Office 2013 or Office 2010 [maybe even earlier versions].  I still use Office 2000 [apps version 9] on a couple of Notebooks except not Outlook.

Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?"

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

Reply | Quote

@OscarCP – Did you ever get the Keynote update to install?

Reply | Quote

DrBonzo, Yes I got it recently. I seem to remember that it took several trials before it actually got updated. Probably a problem at the Apple updates service.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

If you’re still having issues with the update, you may be able to remove Keynote by opening Launchpad, clicking and holding on the Keynote icon, clicking the X button to delete it. Then restart your Mac (just so everything clears), and re-install Keynote fresh from the Mac App Store.

Once in a blue moon I’ve had an app update stick like that, and reinstalling the app worked.

In terms of presentation tools, I prefer Keynote to PowerPoint. I’d only use PowerPoint if I had to ensure specific PowerPoint-only functionality or compatibility with a presentation. Most presentations I’ve built in Keynote export fine to PowerPoint on PC’s, and I much prefer it over PowerPoint. It’s a solid presentation tool I use often, and Apple even uses it for their keynotes.

Nathan Parker

1 user thanked author for this post.

Myst

Reply | Quote

I also like Keynote over PP. I want to work with Keynote more and it seems to bypass some of the details of PP I don’t need. This is good advice Nathan once I get to using the app more often.

@oscarcp – hope you get everything sorted out with your Keynote app.

MacOS iPadOS and sometimes SOS

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

Reply | Quote

Apple sent me the link to the manual for Keynote. Here it is if it helps:

https://help.apple.com/keynote/mac/6.6/

Nathan Parker

2 users thanked author for this post.

PKCano, Bluetrix

Reply | Quote

Have anyone tried showing a presentation created with Keynote using a Windows machine? Are they compatible with Windows, same as PowerPoint presentations, that can be shown with both Windows and Macs without major problems? I have noticed some minor glitches (e.g., an animation not working) once or twice with PP presentations created in Windows when shown with a Mac, but nothing serious. And that was some years ago; I’m sure things have changed for the better ever since. At least everything worked very well the last few times I’ve done that.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

Windows machines can’t run Keynote directly. They can edit Keynote files using a web-based version of Keynote at iCloud.com, but you wouldn’t want to run your presentation from the web browser.

Keynote can export to PowerPoint, and it can import PowerPoint files. I’ve generally not had major issues importing/exporting PowerPoint files. Occasionally there will be minor formatting differences I may want to clean up before presenting, but I’ve been handed PowerPoint files 30 minutes before presenting a presentation, and I’ve been able to open them in Keynote, make a couple of minor tweaks, and run with it.

PowerPoint for Windows and Mac are also far more compatible than in the past (in the past, I had to really check compatibility between the two platforms).

Keynote between Mac and iOS is also way better now. In the past going between a Mac and iPad was a little painful, but Apple moved to more shared compatibility.

Nathan Parker

Reply | Quote

Hm. LibreOffice lists Keynote files as compatible, but doesn’t specify versions and it’s been common for it to lag a bit behind… there was an old bug entry from 2015 about Keynote 6 support, that was marked as fixed… eventually.

Would anyone happen to have checked if current LibreOffice opens current Keynote files, and how well?

(It doesn’t associate .key files by default, but if you explicitly open one…)

Reply | Quote

Nathan Parker, When you write “import … files to …” you mean the actual presentation files, right?

Also: can one make a Keynote presentation and export it to a PDF file, to have a PDF presentation that is compatible with just about every OS (for those occasions when one is not keen on having fade-ins, fade-outs, music and video clips or other special effects, just plain text and static pictures (i.e. viewgraphs by another name)?

And you know what will be really nice? It will be really nice if someone fixed the title of this thread. It weighs on my mind that this is my mistake of one split second turned into an eternal finger pointing at my failings.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

I don’t have LibreOffice on my Mac at the moment, so if someone else does, that’d be great. I can send over a current Keynote file for someone to test if need be.

When importing a file, what you’d do is simply open the PowerPoint file in Keynote. It’ll then load it into Keynote, allowing you to then save it as a Keynote file if need be. You can also export to PowerPoint, and I’ve noticed even with complex presentations, the formatting adjustments needed between the two are generally minor.

You can definitely export a Keynote presentation as PDF. It’s a breeze to do, and it retains formatting beautifully. I export all my Keynote presentations as PDF’s for handouts.

On re-naming the thread, that’d be one for the admins. I don’t have enough super powers to adjust it, but one of the admins likely could.

Nathan Parker

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

Reply | Quote

I managed to get some time on a Mac that had Keynote installed, and did a quick and very simple test file.

LibreOffice on a did open it but it didn’t look very pretty and more importantly some content was missing – some pages with graphs just looked blank, some image frames were out of place, text looked very different (possibly due to font substitution not being accurate at all).

Oh well. At least it got *something* out of it, unlike MS PowerPoint (Click-to-Run latest monthly 64bit)…

2 users thanked author for this post.

Nathan Parker, OscarCP

Reply | Quote

That is too bad. But, looking at this on the bright side, two useful things I’ve learned from this conversation have been: (1) the mutual compatibility of Keynote with PowerPoint as well as (2) the possibility of converting a Keynote presentation to a PDF format. When traveling around giving presentations in different places, I have found that at most venues the people in charge of the projection side of the show still use presentation software based on Office, and changing to a different format is not just frowned upon but may result in no presentation taking place, when there are several others scheduled for the same session. Either using PowerPoint files, or PDF versions of the same has always worked for me.

Many thanks to Kirsty for fixing the title of this thread, so now people who do not now what “Keynote” means can get the right idea of what this topic is all about and, maybe, even come visiting here.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

Good to know about Keynote/LibreOffice. My recommendation would be to export to PowerPoint in Keynote, then open the PowerPoint in LibreOffice. It seems LibreOffice attempted to open the Keynote file, but Apple didn’t provide enough compatibility tools to third parties to make it go well.

Keeping a PDF as a backup doesn’t hurt either in case all else fails.

Nathan Parker

Reply | Quote