by Kevin Siegel 
It's relatively simple to import a PowerPoint presentation into a Captivate project. You can import a presentation into a new project, or add PowerPoint slides to an existing project.
If you want to import the presentation into a new project, you can either select From Microsoft PowerPoint from the Create New area of the Welcome screen, or choose File > New Project > Project from MS PowerPoint.
After opening the PowerPoint presentation, Captivate will scan the presentation and the available slides will be presented in the Convert PowerPoint Presentation dialog box.
At this point, you have a serious decision to make, and it's about the Width and Height of the new Captivate project you will be creating once the PowerPoint import process is complete.
If you change the Width or Height without selecting Maintain aspect ratio, you could end up with slides that are out of proportion. However, if you select Maintain aspect ratio, and then change the value of the Width, the Height will automatically change to a proportional value, and vice versa.
The decision to select Maintain aspect ratio depends largely on the size of your other Captivate projects. If the size of other Captivate projects has already been determined, let's say that it is something like 722 x 533, and the size of an imported PowerPoint presentation is initially 960 x 720, selecting Maintain aspect ratio might not be a good idea. If you change the Width to 722, the Height will become 541, not 533. If you deselect Maintain aspect ratio and then change the Width and Height to match existing Captivate projects (722 x 533), the resulting slide quality might be so out of proportion, the image quality might not meet with your approval.
It sounds like you might be caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to whole Width and Height thing. If you're looking for a recommendation, I've got one for you a bit later.
Earlier I mentioned how you can create a new Captivate project using PowerPoint slides. But if you have already been working on a Captivate project, you can import a PowerPoint presentation by choosing File > Import > PowerPoint slides. After opening the PowerPoint presentation, you will see the alert dialog box below:
If you click the Yes button and allow the PowerPoint slides to be imported, the PowerPoint slides will be resized to match the size of your project (you won't have the option to change the Width or Height at all). Depending on the quality of the images used in the PowerPoint presentation you imported, the results you see in the published Captivate project might not be ideal.
So what's a developer to do to ensure the PowerPoint presentation matches the size of the Captivate project? I suggest that you resize the PowerPoint presentation before importing it into Captivate. That way there won't be a need to touch the Width or Height of the presentation during the import the process at all. For instance, if your Captivate project is 720 x 480, change the size of the PowerPoint presentation to 7.5 x 5. During the Captivate import process, the PowerPoint slides will change proportionally to 720 x 480.
If you want to learn how to change the size of a PowerPoint presentation (and see a handy PowerPoint to Captivate size conversion chart), read AJ's article.
Great idea — but didn’t work for me with either Powerpoint 2007 for Win or Powerpoint 2011 for Mac and Cp 5. Was able to resize .ppt using File->Page Set-Up, but interestingly, Powerpoint thumbnails (not screen view — that was fine) showed cut off slides, which is what Captivate imported, Tried 600X800, 1024X768. No luck. These were screen captures from a SME. Don’t know what resolution she used. Could that be the problem? Thanks
Great idea — but didn’t work for me with either Powerpoint 2007 for Win or Powerpoint 2011 for Mac and Cp 5. Was able to resize .ppt using File->Page Set-Up, but interestingly, Powerpoint thumbnails (not screen view — that was fine) showed cut off slides, which is what Captivate imported, Tried 600X800, 1024X768. No luck. These were screen captures from a SME. Don’t know what resolution she used. Could that be the problem? Thanks
Great idea — but didn’t work for me with either Powerpoint 2007 for Win or Powerpoint 2011 for Mac and Cp 5. Was able to resize .ppt using File->Page Set-Up, but interestingly, Powerpoint thumbnails (not screen view — that was fine) showed cut off slides, which is what Captivate imported, Tried 600X800, 1024X768. No luck. These were screen captures from a SME. Don’t know what resolution she used. Could that be the problem? Thanks