We have recently discovered that there is a known issue impacting PowerPoint audio narration on Mac computers. When recording audio narrations in PowerPoint, the audio can get randomly cut off. There are reported issues of this happening in Office 2004, 2008 and 2011. Currently, we have a few workarounds for those mac users who are looking to record audio narrated PowerPoint’s.

The best solution for the problem is to record your PowerPoint audio narrations on a PC.  This is by far the easiest solution, and you can continue using the same audio narrations function in PowerPoint to handle the recording.  UW-Whitewater Faculty and Staff are welcome to contact the Learning Technology Center for assistance.

1. Do not save the slide timings when recording.  After you are done recording your narration, PowerPoint will prompt you if you would like to save the slide timings.  Click “No” to this box.  The down side is that the user will need to manually click through the PowerPoint.
2. Record one slide at a time. Some users have had luck inserting the audio slide by slide, instead of using the built in audio narration functionality.  To do this, click on the “Insert” menu, choose “Audio” and select “Record”.
3. Use a 3rd party application. Audio can be recorded in applications like Audacity or GarageBand and exported as a MP3 file.  Each slide would need to be recorded and added into the PowerPoint separately.

If you have any additional questions regarding this, please contact the Learning Technology Center.