Troubleshooting — Nixt Slides docs

A presentation won’t open

When a file can’t be opened, a dialog titled Cannot open followed by the file name explains why. Some messages come with a suggestion underneath. Close the dialog with OK.

Message	What it means	What to do
“That file is no longer where it was.” with “It may have been moved, renamed or deleted.”	A file in the RECENT list has been moved, renamed or deleted since you last opened it. It’s removed from the list.	Find the file and open it with Open a presentation.
“Nixt Slides isn’t allowed to open that file.” with “Open it again with Open a presentation. That gives the app permission, and it keeps it from then on.”	On macOS, the app no longer has permission to read a file in the RECENT list — usually one opened before the app started keeping that permission.	Open the file once with Open a presentation.
“Nixt Slides reads the modern Office formats (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx) and not the pre-2007 binary ones. A .ppt file is a different format entirely, not an older version of the same one.”	The file is in the PowerPoint 97–2003 format (`.ppt`, `.pps` or `.pot`).	Open it in PowerPoint once and save it as `.pptx`, as the suggestion says.
A message that Nixt Slides does not read OpenDocument files	The file is an OpenDocument file such as `.odp`.	Export it as `.pptx` from the app that made it.
“Nixt Slides opens presentations, and” the file name “is a document.” (or “a spreadsheet”, or “a PDF”)	The file is a Word document, spreadsheet or PDF. The suggestion names the Nixt Office app for it.	Open it in Nixt Writer, Nixt Sheets or Nixt PDF.
“This file has no extension, so Nixt Slides cannot tell what it is.”	The file name doesn’t end in an extension such as `.pptx`.	Rename the file with the right extension and open it again.
“Nixt Slides has no editor for” followed by the extension	The file isn’t a presentation.	Open it in the app it belongs to.
“This file is not a readable Office package” followed by details	The file isn’t a valid `.pptx` package. It may be damaged, only partly downloaded, a different kind of file renamed to `.pptx`, or protected with a password.	Download or copy the file again. If it has a password, remove the password in PowerPoint and save it.
“This ZIP has no [Content_Types].xml, so it is not an Office document.”	The file is a ZIP archive but not a PowerPoint file.	Check you have the right file.
“This .pptx has no presentation part, so there is nothing to open.”	The file is an Office package without a presentation inside.	Check you have the right file, or re-save it from PowerPoint.
“Nixt Slides could not read” the file name “It may be damaged or only partly downloaded.” with “Details:”	Something in the file couldn’t be read.	Download or copy the file again. If it opens in PowerPoint, save it again there and retry.

If a file named with one extension turns out to contain a presentation, it opens and the status bar says so. That’s information only.

Saving problems

Symptom or message	What it means	What to do
“Could not save:” followed by details	The file couldn’t be written — for example the folder isn’t writable, the disk is full, or the file is locked by another app.	Use Save a copy as › PowerPoint presentation to save to a different folder, such as your Documents folder. Free up disk space if needed.
Save is unavailable and there’s a lock by the name	The presentation opened read-only.	Use Save a copy as, or press `⌘S` (`Ctrl+S`) and choose where to save.
The save dialog opens every time you press Save	The presentation is new, or opened read-only.	Save it once; a new presentation then saves in place. For a read-only one, see Files that open read-only.
You lost changes after the app closed	You chose Don’t save, or the app stopped unexpectedly.	Open the presentation again and choose Restore if unsaved work is offered. See Recovery copies.

The saved file looks different in PowerPoint

Symptom	Cause	What to do
A picture is stretched	Its frame was resized out of proportion, and PowerPoint stretches pictures to fill their frame.	In Nixt Slides, set the frame’s Width and Height back to the picture’s proportions in the slide inspector, and save again.

Text is hard to read or missing

Symptom	Cause	What to do
Text is hard to read	The text takes its colour from the template, or has no colour at all and is drawn dark or white to suit the shape’s fill or the slide’s background colour.	Select the shape and apply a Quick style, which gives the text a colour of its own. None keeps the shape without a fill or outline; the other styles add them.
Text is cut off	The text is taller or wider than its box.	Make the box bigger in the slide inspector, or shorten the text.
A font looks wrong	The font isn’t installed on this computer, so a substitute is used.	Install the font, or choose a pairing on Design › Fonts.

Editing

Symptom or message	What it means	What to do
A ribbon button is greyed out	It needs something first, such as a selected shape.	Hover over it: the tooltip says what it needs, such as “Select a shape first”, “Shift-click a second shape to line them up” or “Click a cell first”.
A value typed in the slide inspector didn’t apply	Values apply when you press `Return`.	Click in the field, type the value and press `Return` (`Enter`).
You can’t select the logo or band on a slide	It belongs to the slide master or layout.	Use View › Master views. See Editing the slide master.
The layout menu isn’t on Home › Slides	The presentation was created in Nixt Slides and hasn’t been saved and reopened.	Save the presentation, close it and open it again.
Animations don’t play on the canvas	Animations and transitions play in the slide show.	Press `F5` to present.
A shortcut does nothing	The cursor is in a text field, such as the notes pane or a slide inspector field, or the shortcut needs a shape to be selected first.	See Keyboard shortcuts.
An empty text box has vanished	An empty text box has no fill or outline.	Press `⌘A` (`Ctrl+A`) to select everything on the slide, or use Undo.

Slide show

Symptom or message	What it means	What to do
`F5` does nothing	On many Mac keyboards the function keys control the hardware; or the cursor is in a slide inspector field.	Press `Fn+F5`, or click Present in the title bar.
“Close the slide master first — this changes the deck, and the master is what every slide in it is built on.”	The slide master view is open.	Click Close master, then try again.
A slide is skipped	The slide is hidden.	Choose More › Show this slide on that slide.
Slides move on by themselves	The presentation has rehearsed timings, and advancing on timings is on.	Click Slide Show › Set up › Advance on the deck’s own timings to turn it off, or clear the timings.
The show won’t go past the last slide	The slide show stays on the last slide.	Press `Esc` to end it.
“That link is not a web address, so it was not opened:” followed by the address	Only `http://` and `https://` links open in the slide show.	Change the link to a web address.
“Could not open” followed by an address	Your computer couldn’t open the web address.	Check that a web browser is set up and the address is correct.
Clicking a link in the slide show does nothing	Only part of the shape’s text is linked, or its text links to more than one address.	Link the whole shape with Insert › Links.
The slide show doesn’t fill the screen	The slide show fills the app’s window.	On macOS choose View › Enter Full Screen; on Windows and Linux maximise the window.

Status bar messages

These messages appear in the status bar at the bottom of the window.

Message	What it means
“Saved to” and a location	The presentation was saved in place.
“Saved” and a file name	A copy or export was saved, or a new presentation was saved for the first time.
“Could not save:” and details	The save failed. See Saving problems.
“Restored the version from” and a time	You restored a version from Version history. Save to keep it.
“Restored unsaved work from” and a time	You restored a recovery copy. Save to keep it.
“Could not read the version history:” and details	The version history couldn’t be read. Your presentation isn’t affected.
“A presentation needs at least one slide.”	You tried to delete the only slide.
“Select more than one shape to group — shift-click a second one.”	You pressed `⌘G` with fewer than two shapes selected.
“Grouped.” and how many animations went with the shapes	Grouping removed the animations of the grouped shapes.
“Ungrouped. The animation belonged to the group, which is gone.”	Ungrouping removed the group’s animation.
“The shape is gone, and so is the animation that brought it on.”	Deleting a shape removed its animation.
“A table here tops out at 30 rows.” or “A table here tops out at 20 columns.”	The table is at its size limit.
“A table needs at least one row. Delete the table instead.” or “…at least one column…”	You tried to delete a table’s last row or column.
“Close the slide master first — …”	A slide command was refused while the slide master view is open.
“That link is not a web address, so it was not opened:” and an address	A link in the slide show wasn’t an `http://` or `https://` address.
“Could not open” and an address	A web link couldn’t be opened.
“Slide 3 of 12 (2 hidden) · 450 words”	The resting summary, shown when there’s no recent message.

Unexpected prompts

Prompt	What it means	What to do
Unsaved work from a time, when you open a presentation	A recovery copy newer than the file was found.	Choose Restore to get the work back, or Discard it.
Keep these timings? after a slide show	You ended a rehearsal.	Choose Keep to store the times, or Discard.