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Microsoft(R) PowerPoint(R) 97 for Windows(R) 95 and Windows NT(R)
Year 2000 Conversion Problem and Solution

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Revision Date: 3/98

The following information applies to Microsoft PowerPoint(R) 97 for Windows(R) 95 and Windows NT(R). This document provides information that supplements the Microsoft PowerPoint 97 Readme (PPREAD8.TXT). If you installed Microsoft PowerPoint 97 with Microsoft Office 97, see also the Microsoft Office 97 readme file (OFREAD8.TXT) for information that is relevant to all Microsoft Office 97 products.

INTRODUCTION--EXPLANATION OF THE YEAR 2000 PROBLEM
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This affects PowerPoint 97 users who save their files to PowerPoint 4.0 and use dates which are of the year 2000 or greater.  Two potential problems can occur:

a) Year 2000 and later dates were displayed with 3 digits for the year as opposed to 2 digits on a save to a PowerPoint 4.0 format.  For example, 2/23/00 will be converted to 2/23/100 in the file when opened in PowerPoint 4.0.

b) Dates greater than the year 2037 were converted to asterisks once the file was saved to a PowerPoint 4.0 format. 

It should be noted that these same two problems mentioned above will also occur if the file is first saved to PowerPoint 4.0 format and then read back into PowerPoint 97.

CORRECTING THE PROBLEM
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The patch file included with this Readme file is for use with Microsoft PowerPoint 97 and PowerPoint 97 SR-1 releases only. This patch modifies Microsoft PowerPoint so that the problem no longer occurs.  After installing this patch, Microsoft PowerPoint 97 will save the correct date to PowerPoint 4.0 presentation files.  Microsoft PowerPoint 4.0 will correctly display the correct date. The correct date will continue to display when reopening the PowerPoint 4.0 file back in PowerPoint 97.

There are two versions of the patch required for differing language versions of PowerPoint 97:
PPTY2KUS.exe - for US, Int'l English and European releases
PPTY2KFE.exe - for Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese releases


To install the patch
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1. Download the patch to your desktop or to a specific directory such as c:\date

2. If Microsoft PowerPoint is running, quit Microsoft PowerPoint.

3. Using Windows Explorer, double-click the PPTY2KUS.exe
   or the PPT2YKFE.exe file located on your desktop or in your c:\date folder.

   After a moment, you will see the following message in a Windows dialog box:
   
      Please type the location where you want to place the extracted files.
   
   Use the Browse button to specify the location where you want the files to be extracted;
   either to the desktop or the c:\date directory.

4. Go to that location and double click on the PP97READ.TXT file there (this file).

5. Locate the installation location of the file translators for Office 97 or PowerPoint 97.
   This is ususally c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Xlators. Alternatively you 
   could use Windows Explorer to search for the directory "xlators."  Copy the PP7TRANS.DLL
   file into the ...\Xlators directory of your Office 97 or PowerPoint 97 installation. 
   Click on the new PP7TRANS.DLL file on your desktop or in your c:\date directory, press the 
   right mouse button and select COPY.  Then click on your ...\Xlators directory.  
   Press the right mouse button and select PASTE.  Click "Yes" in the confirm file replace dialog.

6. This concludes the fix to the year 2000 problem.  You may wish to remove the files you
   downloaded and extracted to the desktop or c:\date directory.


To apply the patch to Administrative Installs
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This section is applicable to Network System Administrators.  Administrative installations of Microsoft PowerPoint must also be updated.  To update a Run from Network Server installation, or a shared Microsoft PowerPoint installation:

1. You must have full access to the shared server location.

2. Connect to the Shared Server Location (where the Microsoft PowerPoint
   97 program is installed).

3. Verify that the PP7TRANS.DLL file in the ...\OFFICE\XLATORS folder is READ/WRITE.

4. Copy the patch file PPTY2KUS.EXE to a workstation directory, such as c:\date.

5. In Windows(R) 95 or Windows NT(R) 4.0, choose Run on the Start menu.

6. Type the following in the Open box on the Run dialog box:

	c:\DATE\PPTY2KUS /T:"<PATH>" /C

   where <PATH> is the fully qualified path to the shared server 
   location.  For example, if the shared server is denoted by 
   \\SERVER\SHARE\OFFICE97\OFFICE\XLATORS, you would type (including
   the quotes):

        c:\DATE\PPTY2KUS /T:"\\SERVER\SHARE\OFFICE97\OFFICE\XLATORS" /C

   You will be prompted to replace the file. Choose Yes.

7. The PP7TRANS.DLL file on the server will be replaced.

8. You may wish to remove the files you downloaded and extracted to the
   desktop or c:\date directory.

9. Set the PP7TRANS.DLL file back to READ-ONLY if it was READ-ONLY
   originally.


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SUPPORT
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Assistance with this patch is provided to you through your 90-day Microsoft PowerPoint 97 or 90-day Microsoft Office 97 warranty support policy.  Installing the patch will not restart this warranty period.  If your 90-day Microsoft PowerPoint 97 or 90-day Microsoft Office 97 warranty support period has expired, paid phone support as well as alternative options are available.

If your license to the Microsoft PowerPoint 97 or Microsoft Office 97 product was obtained from a hardware manufacturer, then technical support for this patch is not available from Microsoft.  Please contact your hardware manufacturer before installing this patch to determine your support options.

LICENSE
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This patch, for use only with Microsoft PowerPoint 97 or Microsoft Office 97, is considered part of Microsoft PowerPoint 97 or Microsoft Office 97 software. Therefore, its use is subject to the same terms and conditions governing the use of Microsoft PowerPoint 97 or Microsoft Office 97 software.
