UPCOMING WEBINAR: Build it once. Use it again: Create reusable charts with AI Want to update your old PowerPoint file with new data? With Displayr, there's no copying and pasting updated data into charts and tables. Displayr can automatically update outputs that were previously exported from Displayr or outputs that were retroactively linked to outputs in Displayr (using a unique id called a GUID). When Displayr updates a PPT file, all the linked outputs have their data values refreshed. This means that the original table styles and any manual changes to formatting are maintained. This article describes how to update an existing PowerPoint document with updated data. The example shows how to update a PowerPoint with data through September 2017...
...with revised data through November 2017.
Requirements
- A PowerPoint document containing objects exported from Displayr, or a PowerPoint document containing objects retrospectively linked to a Displayr document. PowerPoint objects can be tables, charts, images, and text boxes.
- A corresponding Displayr document with updated data.
- See the Technical Details section below as well as our technical notes for exceptions and other important info about updating.
Method
1. Select the page(s) containing objects to be updated in the Report tree.
2. Go to Share > Export Report > PowerPoint.
3. Select Update Existing Document.
4. Drop your PowerPoint document into the blue dialog box, or click to browse and select the document.
5. Wait for the file to upload.
6. Select Export.
7. Open the newly created PowerPoint document. Data for all items that were previously exported/linked to outputs in Displayr will be updated.
Technical Details
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 made 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 dialog 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 they were before the update.
- Images of charts, tables, shapes, and conditional images will be replaced with a new updated image.
Next
How to Export a Document to PowerPoint
How to Export Editable PowerPoint Charts
How to Retrospectively Link PowerPoint Tables and Charts to Displayr Outputs
How to Use a PowerPoint Chart Style Template in a Displayr Export