Random horizontal lines appearing when annotating PowerPoint presentation

Question

I just got a Surface Go to use for giving powerpoint presentations when I lecture.

When I write on the slides during a slideshow, short horizontal lines appear to the left of my pen at random times while I write.  This only happens when using powerpoint.

I saw that there were complaints about this in another thread, but that thread was locked, so it appears that this is a widespread bug.

Is there any chance that there are people working on fixing the bug, and if so, when do you expect it will it be fixed by?

Answer 1

This is not a bug. It's a video driver problem. You may be able to get a recent Windows 10 driver from Microsoft.

You can also try opening File>Options>Advanced in PowerPoint, scroll to the Display section and check Disable Slide Show hardware graphics acceleration.

To report this display problem to Microsoft, please choose File>Feedback in PowerPoint.  Click on the Send a Frown button and describe the problem in detail, including the model of your Surface Pro, and Windows and Office version numbers. Submitting sends the report to the programming team.

Answer 2

Hi Rick,

There are instances wherein the issue may be related with the application itself or the device that you are using. Could you please provide us the build and version of PowerPoint that you are using? To get this information, open PowerPoint > File > Account > About PowerPoint. It would be more helpful if you could send us a video of the exact concern that you are experiencing with the application. This way we can further isolate this matter and provide you an accurate resolution.

To notify us and have us get back to you, simply reply to this post.

Answer 3

I tried checking Disable Slide Show hardware graphics acceleration, but that didn't fix the problem.  Hopefully the feedback will help.

Do you know who exactly I should contact about the video driver, and which driver I should ask for?

Answer 4

Hi,

I'm using Microsoft Powerpoint for Office 265 MSO (16.0.11425.20200) 32-bit.

The problem only occurs while in slide-show mode.

Answer 5

Here is Microsoft's page of drivers for every Surface model.