"Sorry, we couldn't find..." for PowerPoint Addin

Question

_{Saturday, July 15, 2017 4:48 AM}

Every time I attempt to open a particular ".ppam" file, I get the message "Sorry, we couldn't find [file]. Is it possible it was moved, renamed, or deleted?"

The answer is no--that is not possible.

• The .pptm it was made from opens/runs fine
• I've attempted resaving the ppam from the pptm--no dice
• The ppam is in a trusted location
• All macros are enabled
• I have not enabled any additional security settings (e.g. require trusted publisher)
• I've attempted just opening the file, as well as adding it through the AddIn dialog in PowerPoint
• Other ppam files do work. What could be wrong with this one?

All replies (4)

_{Saturday, July 15, 2017 6:10 AM ✅Answered}

After further investigation, it looks like .ppam files cannot have a "." in them. The problem was with having versions in the file name (e.g. v6.0). Removing the period resolves the issue.

_{Saturday, July 15, 2017 5:09 AM}

A few more notes:

• If I deleted all the slides, modules, and forms, and I still can't open a .ppam saved from it.
• If I create a new presentation and add a blank module, I can create a .ppam successfully.
• If I create a new presentation, export the old modules/forms and import them, I still can't open the .ppam

_{Saturday, July 15, 2017 5:57 AM}

Well, it's working now. I spent about an hour copying over individual subroutines into new files to see if that subroutine was causing the file to malfunction when saved as a .ppam. Sometimes the .ppam would open, sometimes it wouldn't. Eventually everything started working -- even the original file!

Based on what I've observed, it seems like saving as .ppam is potentially unstable. Since I was saving out as a ppam so often, I wrote a subroutine to automate it for me. Interestingly, every file save after creating this subroutine could be successfully opened--no idea if that's at all related.

One other point is, the original .ppam files I saved still do not open. However, using the IDENTICAL source pptm, I'm now able to save .ppam files successfully. Very frustrating.

_{Wednesday, July 19, 2017 8:01 AM}

After further investigation, it looks like .ppam files cannot have a "." in them. The problem was with having versions in the file name (e.g. v6.0). Removing the period resolves the issue.

Thank you for sharing your solutions and experience here. It will be very beneficial for other community members who have similar questions.

Regards,

Ethan Hua

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