Limitations of Keynote

Ifrit

Ifrit

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For me, Keynote is my favourite Presentation program. Being a fan of Apple hard- and software isn't the only reason, but with the release of Keynote I finally found another presentation application which is easy to use, and which enables me to create wonderful presentations with just a few mouse klicks.

(I used and still use Powerpoint, but creating Templates/Buttons in Photoshop which don't feature the "made with powerpoint" look is really tiresome)

Unfortunally after working after a certain lengh of time I encountered several limitations... Maybe I am wrong, it might be that I don't use the features/function correctly. If somebody could provide better workarounds I would like to hear/read it...

Saving into other formats (besides Quicktime) is horrible. Most features get lost after the conversion, even exporting straight to pdf doesn't work correctly (missing alpha transparency effects). If I want to export to another (static) format I use "CMD+SHIFT+3" in order to take a screenshot of the presentation and then edit the picture in Photoshop.

Forms with rounded edges. I still have to use Powerpoint to create these forms, then copy + paste it into Keynote. Its fine that Keynotes detects, that these forms are in vector format, but I am not able to "sqeeze" certain imported forms (changing aspect ratio > its only possible to change the whole size)

Alpha transparency and anti aliasing get lost if graphics are imported from Photoshop. Maybe I am asking to much (no I don't want PS layer compatibility or other advanced stuff). But the result is horrible if a non rectangular form is used in order to copy these graphics. And whats up with scaleing graphics in Keynote? It seems that in this case the application forgets that Quarz Extreme is enabled. After scaling a graphic in Keynote it looks like I did the job in MS paint.

Playing more than one animation at one time isn't possible. Duh!

"Confirm animation with mouse click" feature is utterly broken:

First, its just a global setting for one foil(sp?), site.
One examble:
After running an "automatic", complex keynote animation, you would like to explain certain things about it and then, after a mouse click, a short summery should be shown on same site. This isn't possible in Keynote. You either confirm every animation with a mouse click or else everything is animated automatically.

Secondly, this function is broken, it doesn't matter if I checked or unchecked the the box, I had to push the mouse button every time in order to get the animation running.

It isn't possible to rotate and skew objects on Keynote. (at least I wasn't able to find the function)

If Apple could fix these things, and maybe add some kind of "chart manager" I would be in heaven. In the meantime a combination of, Photoshop, Powerpoint, Adobe Acrobat and Keynote is the only solution for me.
 
I don't know about anyone else, as i hardly ever use presentation software, but i am on the receiving end often (I am at University).

Given the grunt laptop video cards have these days I think it would be in invaluable feature to be able to present the show to the projector (external monitor) but on the laptop screen have a note taking feature, like cue cards for the lecturer to be able to expand on what is on the main slide. Also to be able to see the next slide or two so they know what's coming up. You may say that they should know, but they often don't, especially where each "slide" has many parts to it, maybe 4 or 5 transitions - but still the same slide, if you know what I mean!

I've been thinking about this for a while, but have never bothered to create a thread to post it. Anyone else think this would be a good idea?
 
I occasionally use presentation software. In fact I am giving a Keynote presentation for the first time today, after using Power-Point for years. I agree, it certainly does have some limitations. And yes, it is in his infancy, and I am sure that Apple will make improvements. I made the presentation on my desktop and transferred it over to my iBook. This included two small mp3 clips and some jpgs. All transfered fine, and everything appears to be ready.
 
Thanks Cheryl, I didn't know there were any sites out there which "deal with" the Keynote presentation software. I'll make sure to check it out.

Personally I need decent presentation software, for examble to show number and facts of new Macintosh hard/software to potential cutomers. Yes, I am still working as a service technician for an Apple reseller, but occasional I have to present new technologies (one examble is: on a trade show) to a larger crowd. Often a good presentation remains longer in the head of certain people than something which is only written/printed on a sheet of paper.
 
powermac: If you use "advanced" features like transparency or shadows in your presentation and then export it into other formats, the result won't look so tempting.

Although, keynote does a good job of importing complex powerpoint prentations.
 
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