You are able to export tables and visualizations into editable charts in PowerPoint:
But there are technical details to keep in mind:
- Not all PowerPoint charts are supported
- Not all visualizations are available in PowerPoint
- Not all features on a visualization are possible in PowerPoint
- Headers may resize in editable tables in Excel and PowerPoint
- Updating a PowerPoint only changes data
Technical details
When exporting to an editable PowerPoint chart, we have to find a middle ground between what is possible in our software versus PowerPoint. Below are a few key points about potential differences:
Not all PowerPoint charts are supported
When linking a table of data to a chart in an existing PowerPoint (using a GUID in the Alt Text), the Chart Type cannot be a Combo chart
For a full list, see: Displayr Compatible PowerPoint Chart Deck. This includes: Newer PowerPoint Office 2016 Charts Treemap, Sunburst, Histogram, Box & Whisker, Waterfall, Funnel, Filled Map.
Not all visualizations are available in PowerPoint
Visualizations available in the software but not as a PowerPoint charts include, but are not limited to:
- Palm trees
- Funnels
- Geographic maps
Not all features on a visualization are possible in PowerPoint
Common visualization features in Q/Displayr that aren't built into PowerPoint charts include: hover, removing labels below a threshold, and coloring data labels per series colors.
Headers may resize in editable tables in Excel and PowerPoint
When tables are exported to an edited table, Excel and PowerPoint automatically size the columns, and thus, headers may not be wrapped as they are in Displayr. This applies to long words that are wrapped in Displayr but not to headers that have a carriage return added to manually put text on a new line.
Updating a PowerPoint only changes data
When you update an existing PowerPoint file (vs exporting a brand new file), Displayr essentially does "Paste as Values" for all of the linked outputs. Manual changes that you've done to the output in PowerPoint are maintained. Also, any new items that were not previously exported or linked to will not be included in the Update process. This means:
- For editable charts, it opens the Edit Data dialogue linked to the editable chart and pastes in the new underlying data.
- Similarly, tables are updated with just the new table values -- not formatting. If you have conditional shading and the like, you should export those Pages/outputs to a new PowerPoint file and copy over to quickly update the table shading.
- Text boxes are also just updated with the straight text. Placement, font formatting, and other styling remain as it was before the update.
- Images of charts, tables, shapes, and conditional images will be replaced with a new updated image.
Method
For Displayr: How to Export Editable PowerPoint Charts
For Q: How to Export to PowerPoint