FAQ

General

Installation

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Using Efficient Elements for presentations

Trouble shooting

 

 

Why do I need Efficient Elements for presentations?
Efficient Elements for presentations helps the user with creating exact and well structured presentations in very little time. As time becomes more and more costly the potential savings can be substantial.

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Where can I get Efficient Elements for presentations?
You can download a free 30-day trial version of Efficient Elements for presentations from our website. If you would like to continue using the product after the trial period, you can purchase a license in our web shop or through our order form.
Students and educational institutions are eligible for free licenses.

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Do Efficient Elements for presentations run under Windows Vista or Microsoft Windows 7?
Efficient Elements for presentations are compatible with Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Windows 7.

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Which are the versions of Microsoft PowerPoint that I can use Efficient Elements for presentations with?
You can use Efficient Elements for presentations with Microsoft PowerPoint 2003, Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 and Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 (32 bit version only). The new user interface introduced with Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 as well as some changes in functionality have made necessary small changes in Efficient Elements for presentations functionality as well. For details on these changes please refer to the 'User Guide'.

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How much does Efficient Elements for presentations cost?
The Efficient Elements for presentations license fee is charged per user and year and varies with the number of licenses ordered:

Number of licenses License fee1 per user and year
1 - 5 99.00 EUR
6 - 50 89.00 EUR
>50 79.00 EUR
1 excl. VAT (MwSt)

Please contact us at info@efficient-elements.com for further information.

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Do I need administrator privileges to install Efficient Elements for presentations?
No. Efficient Elements for presentations can be installed without administrator privileges. Please note that Efficient Elements is installed for the current user, not for all users on a machine.

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Can I install the software for all accounts on my machine at the same time?
No, Efficient Elements for presentations is installed for the current user only, not for all users on a machine. Each user needs to install and activate Efficient Elements for presentations using a personal license key. For product activation an internet connection is required.

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Why do I need to activate Efficient Elements for presentations?
In order to obtain full functionality of Efficient Elements for presentations, it is necessary to activate the product using your personal license key. To activate your license an internet connection is required.

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How do I activate Efficient Elements for presentations?
Once Efficient Elements for presentations has been installed, it will prompt you to enter your personal license key upon starting Microsoft PowerPoint. The computer will then establish a connection with our license server. If for some reason you should not be able to activate the product during installation you will be prompted the next time you start Microsoft PowerPoint. Should your company network not permit an automatic activation please click here.

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How often do I need to activate Efficient Elements for presentations?
Unless you re-install your computer or change hardware you only need to active your license once during the license period. Once the license period is expired, you will be prompted to activate Efficient Elements for presentations again. Until you re-activate your license, the functionality will be limited.

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How many times can I use my license key to activate my license?
You can use your license key as many times as you need to re-install Efficient Elements for presentations on your machine. Please make sure your personal license key does not get stolen or passed on to anyone. We will keep track of all installations and not tolerate license abuse.

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How do I install updates?
If you are in an corporate environment, updates may automatically be installed through your IT department. Please check with your IT department first before installing any update.
Updates will be available for download on our website. Please download the setup file and install it on top of your existing installation of Efficient Elements for presentations

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What are the minimum requirements to use Efficient Elements for presentations?
The requirements to run Efficient Elements for presentations are minimal. Any PC that fulfills the minimum requirements to run either Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows Vista and either Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 or Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 and provides approximately 15 MB of free disk space will be sufficiently equipped to handle Efficient Elements for presentations.

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Is Efficient Elements compatible with the 64-Bit version of Office 2010?
Currently, Efficient Elements is not compatible with the 64-Bit version of Office 2010. It will be supported in future versions, however. In the mean time, we recommend the use of the 32-Bit version of Office 2010, which is also what Microsoft recommends unless you have to work with Excel spreadsheets larger than 2GB. Please read this article for more details.

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How many users are allowed to use the same license?
Each license is valid for one user only. If you need more licenses please contact us at info@efficient-elements.com to obtain further licenses.
Please make sure your personal license key does not get stolen or passed on to anyone. We will keep track of all installations and not tolerate license abuse.

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Can one user install Efficient Elements for presentations on multiple computers?
Efficient Elements for presentations is licensed per user. The licensed user is entitled to install and activate the product on one machine / Microsoft Windows account. If you need to switch computer, you may uninstall the software on the previous computer and install it on the new computer.

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Can I use Efficient Elements for presentations after the license is expired?
The use of Efficient Elements for presentations is only permitted with a valid license. After the license has expired, the functionality of the Tools wil be limited until re-activation using a new license key.

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What do I do when the license is expired?
If you are in a corporate environment, please check with your IT department first, they may purchase and distribute new license keys centrally.
Otherwise, please contact us at info@efficient-elements.com to obtain a new license key.

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How can I acquire a license key?
You can download our order form from our web site. You will find our General Terms and Conditions attached to the order form. If you agree to our General Terms and Conditions, please fill in the order form, sign it, and send it back to us via fax. Once we have accepted your order, you will receive your license key(s) via e-mail and an invoice payable within 30 days to our German bank account.

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How do I show / hide the toolbars?
If the toolbars are not yet visible, simply move your cursor on top of any other toolbar and click the right mouse button. A list of all available toolbars will appear. Please select the three Efficient Elements for presentations toolbars. When selected, a checkmark should appear in the list on the left side of each toolbar.

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How do I move the toolbars?
Like any other toolbar you can just drag and drop the Efficient Elements for presentations toolbars by clicking and holding the left mouse button. When the toolbar is positioned in the desired location simply release the button. If the toolbar is originally embedded in in the toolbar section of the screen, you have to position the curson on top of the left side of the toolbar. If the toolbar is located somewhere else on the screen you can simply click in the top half of the toolbar to move it.

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Where do I find the 'Help' menu of Efficient Elements for presentations?
The 'Help' menu is located on the right side of the Efficient Elements for presentations toolbar. In addition you may get help by pressing and holding 'Ctrl + Shift' and clicking on the desired icon on the 'Efficiency Tools' toolbar. The 'Reference' entry corresponding to the icon will pop up automatically.

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How do I send feedback if I encounter a problem or have a suggestion?
For feedback, ideas or suggestions you can contact us using the 'Send Feedback' button on the 'Help' menu located on the right side of Efficient Elements for presentations toolbar. Your e-mail client should automatically open a new message. If this doesn't work (there is a known bug in Lotus Notes versions older than 7.0.3), please contact us at feedback@efficient-elements.com.

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How do I recommend the software to a friend or colleague?
For your convenience we included a 'Recommend to a friend' button in the 'Help' menu located in the right side of the Efficient Elements for presentations toolbar. The button will compose a new e-mail in your e-mail client with a pre-written text including all necessary information. If this doesn't work (there is a known bug in Lotus Notes versions older than 7.0.3), please recommend our product referring your friends or colleagues to our website at www.efficient-elements.com.

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Is it possible to customize Efficient Elements for presentations?
Yes, it is possible to further customize Efficient Elements for presentations to your corporate or personal needs. Please contact us at info@efficient-elements.com to discuss the details.

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Which part of Efficient Elements for presentations can be customized?
The 'Slide Wizard' can be fully customized in terms of menu structure and layout of the slide elements to fit your needs. For details please contact us at info@efficient-elements.com to receive an customization offer for your company.

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Can I perform customization myself?
Yes you can. Please contact us at info@efficient-elements.com to obtain more information.

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Does Efficient Elements perform customization for their customers?
Yes we do. Please contact us at info@efficient-elements.com for discussing your customization needs.

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Can I add graphs, symbols or other elements I frequently use to Efficient Elements for presentations?
Yes you can. Please contact us at info@efficient-elements.com for details on how to customize Efficient Elements for presentations or an individual customization offer.

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Can Efficient Elements for presentations be customized to match our corporate layout?
Yes you can. If you would like to customize Efficient Elements for presentations to match your corporate layout please contact us at info@efficient-elements.com.

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How can I add our company logo to the toolbar?
Please contact us at info@efficient-elements.com for details on how to customize Efficient Elements for presentations or an individual customization offer.

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How do I use Efficient Elements for presentations?
Please refer to the Efficient Elements for presentations 'Reference'. All features are explained in detail in an easily understandable manner. You will find the 'Reference' in the 'Help' menu which is located on the right hand side of the 'Efficiency Tools' toolbar. In addition you may get help by pressing and holding 'Ctrl + Shift' and clicking on the desired icon in the 'Efficiency Tools' toolbar. The 'Reference' entry corresponding to the icon will pop up automatically.

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I have received an error message, what should I do?
Error messages pop up if something unforeseen occurs. Please briefly describe the problem and what you did before you encountered the error message in the text box provided. Please also fill in the fields 'Name' and 'Contact' so that we can contact you in case we need more information. Our software specialists will fix the problem as soon as possible.

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I cannot find Efficient Elements for presentations toolbars, what can I do?
Please move the cursor on top of any toolbar and click the right mouse button. You should now be able to select Efficient Elements for presentations toolbars from the list. Please repeat this process until all Efficiency Tools toolbars are shown. You may move them to any location on the window you find convenient. If Efficient Elements for presentations are not listed in the toolbar list, please re-install the software or contact your administrator.

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Some icons on Efficient Elements for presentations toolbar are grayed out. How can I use them?
Some icons are only activated if a certain number or type of objects is selected. For details on how to use each of the functions, please refer to the 'Reference' which you will find in the 'Help' menu on the 'Efficiency Tools' toolbar.

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When I start Microsoft Office PowerPoint a pop-up appears asking me to activate Efficient Elements for presentations. What should I do?
When the license period is expired, it is necessary to reactivate the program. Please contact us to acquire a new activation code or contact your administrator to get the code for you. If your license is not expired yet, please enter the code again to perform the activation again. Your computer needs to be connected to the internet when performing the activation.

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When activating Efficient Elements for presentations I receive an error message from my local firewall or proxy server. What shall I do?
Please change your firewall settings to allow Efficient Elements for presentations to establish an internet connection. When in doubt, please contact your administrator.

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The 'Recommend to a friend' or 'Send feedback' feature does not work. What shall I do?
Some email programs, including older versions of Lotus Notes, do not support the execution of certain web links (i.e. mailto: links). For Lotus Notes this problem has been solved starting with version 7.0.3. If you experience problems with this feature please update to the newest Lotus Notes version.

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I have successfully installed Efficient Elements for presentations but when I start PowerPoint, nothing happens.
In some rare occasions, Microsoft PowerPoint may disable the Efficient Elements for presentations add-in in 'safe mode'. To activate the add-in again, go to 'Help', 'About Microsoft Office PowerPoint', 'Disabled Items', select 'Efficient Elements for presentations' and click 'Enable'.
After restarting PowerPoint Efficient Elements for presentations should load.

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