Question 1

How Do I Install the Powerpoint Plugins?

Accepted Answer

Here's a generic step by step guide to install Powerpoint plugins.

#1 Download the file

The first step is to download the Plugin file and save it on your computer. Usually that's as simple as clicking the download link. You can find this on the download page that has been emailed to you, or in the member area if you are using a paid plugin.

After this you should have a file named BPT-Easy-Journals.zip, possibly including a version number, in the Downloads folder on your computer.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/BWgLerx0Mc/Plugin%20Install%20001%20-%20Zip%20File.jpg (Plugin Install 001 - Zip File.jpg)

#2 Extract the files

The next step is to extract the files from the zip file, or 'unzip' the file. You can do this by right-clicking the filename and then select "Extract Here" or "Extract To".

Warning: Do not just double click the filename. This will let you browse the contents (that's fine) without unpacking it. You cannot install the plugin unless the files have been extracted from the zip file.

In the screenshot below you can see the result of "Extract Here" - The zip file contains a folder "BPT-Easy-Journals" that will be created on your computer.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/2YHUR1GoPg/Plugin%20Install%20002%20-%20Folder.jpg (Plugin Install 002 - Folder.jpg)

#3 Find the Files

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/LAOOSDHeG2/Plugin%20Install%20003%20-%20Files.jpg (Plugin Install 003 - Files.jpg)

#4 Start the Setup

Warning: You'll need to keep this folder in the same place, otherwise Powerpoint won't be able to find the plugin files later.

Powerpoint will show you a confirmation message:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/vZACmHpdXP/Plugin%20Install%20004%20-%20Confirmation.jpg (Plugin Install 004 - Confirmation.jpg)

It will say "Publisher: Core Insights". That's the registered company name of BookPublisherTools.

After this step you can use the plugin in Powerpoint, as described in other tutorials.

#5 Troubleshooting

In 99% of the cases, the installation will work properly. However, if you find it doesn't work, here are the solutions to the most common problems.

Certificate not trusted

The software certificate is comparable to the certificates used on websites for https (the secure internet protocol). It is used to 'sign' the sofware and ensure that it has not been tampered with.

There are two reasons why this error may occur:

Depending on the Windows settings on your computer, you may need to manually save the certificate, before installing the plugin (or other BookPublisherTools software). You can find a guide here.
The certificate may have expired. This is not a problem for plugins that have already been installed, but it will be checked when you install a new plugin. This can be solved by downloading the newest version of the plugin. If that doesn't fix it, contact us.

Other errors

There have been a few other types of errors, all of which have been fixed by re-downloading or re-installing the plugin. If that doesn't work, please contact us.

Question 2

How do I create journals with Easy Journals?

Accepted Answer

Easy Journals

Easy Journals is a plugin for Powerpoint - it requires MS Windows and MS Powerpoint to be installed on your computer. It doesn't work with the cloud version of MS Office / Powerpoint.

If you haven't installed the plugin yet, you should do that first. There's a tutorial for downloading and installing the plugin here.

Applications

This plugin doesn't just create journals, you can use it for many other mix and merge applications, such as simple memes that consist of a text quote and a background image. Wherever you see 'journal' in this tutorial, you can replace it other products if that works better for you.

If you create journals, you could create a guided journal, or a journal with writing prompts, by setting up a text file with the text for each page and then use the plugin. If you want a small illustration at the top or bottom of each page, that's different on each page, you can select the list of images as well, before using the plugin.

You can even create coloring books this way, by adding a (large) placeholder for images on each page, and then use the plugin. This way all the images will be placed at the exact same location. (However, if the dimensions of the images are different, they may appear stretched).

It's very easy to do a test run, although it's best to use a limited text file (just 2 or 3 words or phrases). That way you can see the results, and use Ctrl-Z to quickly remove the new slides. (Using the plugin counts as a single action for Powerpoint, so you only need to press Ctrl-Z once, even if you have 100's of new slides).

Using Text and/or Images

With Easy Journals you can use text and/or images to quickly generate a journal.

You can use text, images, or both. The plugin will copy your 'template' slide, and replace the placeholders with words from your text file and/or images from the list of images you selected.

Click "Text File" to select the text file you want to use. This file should contain each word (or phrase) on a separate line.

You can choose the codes that need to be replaced. By default these are set to "{TEXT}" and "{IMAGE}". You can use all the Powerpoint styling options for the text, these will be applied to the new text as well. Images will be added as a 'fill' for the shape containing the code "{IMAGE}".

This screenshot illustrates how it works. Please don't be offended by the lack of content and styling, it's just showing the mechanics.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/hF6GHM1xIL/EJ%20001%20placeholder%20codes.jpg (EJ 001 placeholder codes.jpg)

The green arrows show how the codes are configured and added to the page.

The red arrows show how to set the content that will replace the codes.

After using the plugin (click "Go") the output could look like this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/REWnkc1Zr1/EJ%20002%20Rendered%20page.jpg (EJ 002 Rendered page.jpg)

Reminder: You will need to remove the template slide before uploading your journal to KDP or Etsy.

Page Setup with Easy Journals

There's one other (free) feature in Easy Journals: You can quickly set up the page format you need and add guides to indicate the margins.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Ta2wJYpIXu/EJ%20003%20Page%20Setup.jpg (EJ 003 Page Setup.jpg)

Using the button 'Get Current' it will retrieve the current settings from Powerpoint. These will be translated from the internal Powerpoint format (72 points per inch) to inches.

You can change the format to e.g. 8.5" by 11". Once you click "Set", the page (slide) format will be changed.

Powerpoint does not work with margins, because it's an app to create presentations, not books. However, you can easily use guides to help you out here: Just set the margins the way you want to and click "Add Guides". This will add four red guides - top, bottom, left, right.

It will also remove other red guides: Because the plugin doesn't know which guides were set as 'margins', it uses the color red for this purpose. Guides in other colors will not be affected.

Question 3

How to Add Page Numbers to Powerpoint Puzzle Books?

Accepted Answer

This short video tutorial will show you how to add page numbers to the master slides in Powerpoint. Besides page numbers you can use these master slides to add any kind of content you like.