Once powerpoint starts to not respond can you fix it without closing it down?

[msrisotto]

I have left it hoping it will fix itself for at least 15 minutes and am definitely losing hope! Bugger bugger bugger I don't want to lose my work. Any advice??

If you press ctrl/alt/delete together to get up the task manager, you still have the option of cancelling and returning to the program without shutting it down.
I sometimes find that can help to unstick programs without closing them.

Thanks but I just tried it and it hasn't worked. Oh well.

Sorry, you might need to close it down then.

Usually you can only wait to see if the application catches up with itself (technical term), or close it down.