PowerPoint Presenter View issues

Question

I have PowerPoint for Mac version 16.32 (part of Office 365 subscription) and High Sierra 10.13.6. My MacBook Pro is late 2011.

Recently I found that in Presenter View some slides 'flicker' or freeze. However the flickering does not appear on the white screen when using a projector. But the flickering occurs when the computer is connected to a screen and when it isn't.

This doesn't happen in 'normal' view.

I wonder if it is a software compatibility issue between PowerPoint and the recent Mac osx software update. However my MacBook doesn't allow for any further updates beyond High Sierra 10.13.6.

Hoping someone can help? I don't really want to reinstall my whole operating system (but will if necessary) and I have already reinstalled Office 365, but the same issue occurs.

Answer 1

Hi DazGarf,

Thank you for posting back and sharing your test results.

Feel free to let me know the outcome after you try to swap displays.

Besides, it's not recommended to downgrade your Mac OS to an earlier one. I'd like to let you know about following:

Since Catalina is released, the OS requirement for Office becomes the 3 most recent versions: Catalina, Mojave and High Sierra. Therefore, High Sierra is the minimum OS requirement for Office.

If you downgrade Mac OS to an earlier one, your Office will no longer receive any updates including security updates.

Appreciate your understanding.

I notice you mentioned this issue starts to happen recently and your PowerPoint version is 16.32.(the current latest production version)

To check if it is a issue in a specific version of PowerPoint, you may try to revert PowerPoint to a previous version, such as 16.29.

You can get the 16.29 update package for PowerPoint fromthis article.

If issue doesn't appear in this previous version, you can use it as a workaround.

When a newer production version is released, update Office again and see if issue can be fixed.

Best regards,

Ada

Answer 2

Thank you Ada for your reply.

Just to clarify, the issue occurs whether or not the computer is connected to the projector; it happens with different projectors too. so it happens at home as well when not co netted to an external source.

I will try and swap displays as you suggest. I wonder also whether I try to downgrade my Mac OS to an earlier one (I have High Sierra 10.13.6, which is the latest I can upgrade to, having a late 2011 MacBook).

Many thanks.

Answer 3

Many thanks Emerson,

When booting into Safe Mode there is no sound in PowerPoint at all! And the slides don't seem to transition very well at all. So Safe Mode produces a poorer presentation, unless I'm doing something wrong!

The link you sent unfortunately didn't provide a solution as it seems to relate to Windows rather than Mac.

The flickering only occurs in Presenter View and not in normal view.

Thank you again.

Answer 4

Hello!

I am Emerson. Thanks for participating Microsoft community. I am an Independent Advisor.

Is the problem still persist in safe mode?

Check this link that could help you.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/fo...

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Regards,

Emerson