Data Assistant Warning

If you get a Data Assistant warning when you run PowerPoint 2007, here's what may be actually happening.

Data Assistant was something Microsoft provided for PowerPoint 2003 users so that they could insert and manage graphical data objects such as Visio drawings, and Excel charts and named ranges into PowerPoint presentations. They stopped providing the Data Assistant, and I'm guessing this has not been updated for PowerPoint 2007 -- you'll need to disable it.

In PowerPoint 2007, choose Office Button | PowerPoint Options, to bring up a dialog box of the same name. Click the Add-ins tab in the list on the left, and you'll find the Manage Add-ins dropdown box right at the bottom. Select both Add-ins and COM Add-ins, and disable any entries that look like Data Assistant.

You can also remove Data Assistant altogether from your computer:

1. Click the Start button in Windows, choose Control Panel, and then select the Add or Remove Programs option.
   
   
2. In the list of currently installed programs, click Microsoft Data Assistant 1.0, and then click Remove.
   
   
3. Follow the instructions to remove Microsoft Data Assistant 1.0 altogether.

Where is Send to PowerPoint?

Are you looking for the Send to PowerPoint option in Word 2007?

By default that's no longer shown in the menu, but you can add it to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT). Follow these steps:

1. Choose Office Button | Word Options to bring up a dialog box of the same name.
   
2. Select the Customize tab in the left pane.
   
3. In the All Commands category, select the Send to Microsoft Office PowerPoint option, click Add, and click OK.
   
4. You'll now find this option in the QAT.
   

You can also import Word files into PowerPoint. Select the Home tab of the Ribbon, press the down arrow under the New Slide option, and choose Slides from Outline. In the dialog box that comes up, select your Word document.

Where is Send to Word?

If you can't file the Send to Word option in PowerPoint 2007, don't worry -- it is still there.

Choose Office Button | Publish | Create Handouts in Microsoft Office Word.

Although it says handouts, it can also send outlines to Word.