You've done the analysis. It's now time to share the results with others. There are several ways to do this. A great option is to create a PowerPoint presentation using linked data from the Datarails database.

You can also create a live interaction between the PowerPoint and your data. For more on this, jump to the section, Create a Live Drill Down.

No more 'copy paste', no more broken links. Let's get started!

You must first install the PowerPoint Add-in. Learn how by visiting the article, PowerPoint Add-in Overview.

Learn the PowerPoint Ribbon

The ribbon has menu items split into these groups:

• Workflow Group
• Analytics Group
• Data Group
• Info Group
• User Group

Workflow Group

Analytics Group

Data Group

Info Group

User Group

Help

Link a Dashboard Widget to a PowerPoint

This will link a chart from your Dashboard and place it in a PowerPoint. The chart will show the latest data.

1. Make sure you are logged in and connected to the Dashboard.
2. Open PowerPoint.
3. From the PowerPoint Datarails ribbon, click File>Upload. Select the file.
4. When the file opens, click Submit. This creates a connection to the database and saves the file.
5. If you have an existing PowerPoint saved in the database, select it from the Dashboard and click Download Latest. If not, do step 2 above. The PowerPoint file will open.
6. With the PowerPoint file open, go back to the Dashboard.
7. Select the widget and click Edit>PowerPoint Link.
   
8. If the connection is successful, a message appears for a few seconds in top right of the screen.
   
   Go back to PowerPoint. Verify that you are still connected to the Dashboard. If you are, the Login/Logout toggle icon will show Logout.
9. From the ribbon, select Objects > Add. A new screen opens.
   • The Element Name and Value fields should auto populate.
10. Check the box Manage size manually.
    
11. Click OK. The chart will show in the PowerPoint.
12. Resize as needed.
13. Click Submit to save the file to the database. In the DataRails Info group on the ribbon, the filename will show.

Create a Live Drill Down

When you make the chart live, it mirrors the chart in the dashboard. This means that you can perform real-time drill-downs in your PowerPoint.

To drill down, you must have created the drill down in the widget in the Dashboard - see the article Drill Down: Dashboard

1. This section continues from the previous section. In PowerPoint, click the visual /chart that you have added.
2. Next, from the Datarails ribbon, click Live. A new version of the chart opens up over the existing (static) chart.
   
3. Click items on the legend or the chart to view the drill down.
4. Click Back to go back one step or click x to close and go back to the main PowerPoint screen.
5. Finally, click Submit to save the PowerPoint to the database.

Export Live Drill Downs to Excel

You can perform drill downs in PowerPoint and export to Excel.

1. In PowerPoint, click the chart object that is linked to the Dashboard.
2. From the Datarails ribbon, click Live. The chart opens as you see in the image.
3. Click a column (data values) that you want.
4. Click Export drill down List to Excel. The underlying data will be available in Excel.

Add Your Brand to PowerPoint

To add a logo, make sure your PowerPoint file is connected to a filebox. Then go to 'Objects' and choose 'Insert logo'.

When cloning a template that includes a PowerPoint file with a logo, the logo will automatically update to match the new organization.

Keep PowerPoint Synced

• Once you have submitted the file back to the database, the PowerPoint file with the linked widgets will automatically update to show the latest data when you next open it.
• If you want to bring in next month's data, then click Download Latest.

Publish to PowerPoint

To learn how to publish to PowerPoint, please visit the article, Publishing in Datarails.

Updated September 19, 2023 12:42