PowerPoint Presentations User Guide

The ExForms Excel Add-in fills PowerPoint presentation placeholders with data from your spreadsheet — text, tables, charts, and images — and generates one presentation per record (one filled .pptx for each row of your parent table), the same per-record model used for Word and PDF. This guide covers creating templates, understanding placeholder conventions, classifying and mapping placeholders, naming the output files, and generating the filled presentations.

📖 This is a User Guide
This documentation explains how to use the Excel Add-in interface. A public PowerPoint API reference is not published yet.

Document-generation capacity and add-on packs
Filled PowerPoint output uses your account's document-generation allowance. Form add-on packs can extend that allowance without changing your base subscription, which is useful for recurring slide-deck generation, busy reporting periods, or Free-plan accounts that need extra output capacity.

What You Can Do

• Upload PowerPoint templates - Upload .pptx files with placeholders
• One presentation per record - ExForms generates a separate filled .pptx for each parent-table row
• Map Excel data - Connect named ranges, tables, charts, pivot tables, and images to placeholders
• Static vs per-record content - Mark a placeholder as the same in every presentation (logo, summary chart) or filled differently per record (each row's fields, its child rows, its image)
• Custom output file naming - Name each generated file from parent-table field values and custom text
• Download as ZIP - Get all filled presentations in a single ZIP file

How It Works

PowerPoint templates use placeholder tokens in text and Alt Text for tables and images. You create a presentation with placeholders, classify each Excel object, and map it to a placeholder. ExForms then produces one filled presentation per parent record.

Excel Workbook                PowerPoint Template       Filled Presentations (one per record)
──────────────────────        ──────────────────────    ─────────────────────────────────────
Parent table row     ─────→   {{CustomerName}}     ───→  Report_Acme.pptx
  + its child rows            Table Alt Text {{Lines}}   Report_Globex.pptx
  + its image                 Pic Alt Text {{Photo}}     Report_Initech.pptx
Named range/chart    ─────→   {{CompanyLogo}}      ───→  (same logo in every presentation)
(static, shared)

Two kinds of content:

Placeholder Conventions

PowerPoint uses different placeholder patterns depending on the content type:

Text Placeholders: {{FieldName}}

For text content, use double curly braces around the field name:

{{CompanyName}}
{{ReportDate}}
{{EmployeeName}}

Where to place text placeholders:

• In any text box or shape
• In titles and subtitles
• In content placeholders
• Inside table cells (for static templates)

💡 Important: The placeholder name is case-insensitive for matching. {{Title}} will match an Excel named range called title, Title, or TITLE.

Table Placeholders: Alt Text with {{TableName}}

For tables, set the Alt Text of the table shape to identify it:

1. Insert a sample table in PowerPoint (any size - it will be replaced)
2. Right-click the table → Edit Alt Text
3. Enter {{TableName}} (matching your Excel table name)

Alt Text: {{MetricsTable}}
Alt Text: {{SalesData}}

⚠️ How Tables Work: The placeholder table is completely replaced with a new table matching your Excel data dimensions. The original table's size and position are preserved, but its rows and columns are replaced with your actual data.

Image/Chart Placeholders: Alt Text with {{ImageName}}

For images and charts, set the Alt Text of a picture placeholder:

1. Insert a Picture Placeholder (Insert → Pictures → Picture Placeholder) OR insert any placeholder image
2. Right-click → Edit Alt Text
3. Enter {{ImageName}} (matching your Excel chart or shape name)

Alt Text: {{SalesChart}}
Alt Text: {{CompanyLogo}}
Alt Text: {{BackgroundImage}}

💡 Tip: You can use the built-in "Picture Placeholder" from slide layouts, or insert any image and set its Alt Text. Both work the same way.

Placeholder Summary Table

Creating a PowerPoint Template

Step 1: Add Text Placeholders

Type {{FieldName}} directly in any text box, title, or shape where you want text replaced.

Example slide title:

{{Title}}

Example content box:

Welcome to {{CompanyName}}!
Presented by {{PresenterName}} on {{PresentationDate}}

💡 Tip: You can have multiple placeholders in the same text box. Each one will be replaced independently.

Step 2: Add Table Placeholders

1. Insert → Table → Create a small sample table (e.g., 2×2)
2. Right-click the table border → Edit Alt Text
3. Enter {{YourTableName}} in the Alt Text field
4. The sample content doesn't matter - it will be completely replaced

Example:

With Alt Text: {{MetricsTable}}

⚠️ Important: When filled, this table will be deleted and replaced with a new table containing all your Excel data. The table position is preserved, but rows/columns match your Excel table exactly.

Step 3: Add Image/Chart Placeholders

Option A: Using Picture Placeholder (Recommended)

1. Go to View → Slide Master
2. Add a Picture Placeholder from the Insert menu
3. Exit Slide Master view
4. Right-click the placeholder → Edit Alt Text
5. Enter {{ChartName}} or {{ImageName}}

Option B: Using a Placeholder Image

1. Insert → Pictures → Insert any temporary image
2. Right-click the image → Edit Alt Text
3. Enter {{ChartName}} or {{ImageName}}
4. Resize and position as desired

The placeholder will be replaced with your Excel chart (captured as PNG) or image.

Step 4: Save as .pptx

Save your template as a standard PowerPoint document (.pptx format).

Template Requirements

When you upload a PowerPoint document, the add-in validates it:

What Gets Extracted

The add-in scans your presentation and extracts:

1. Text placeholders - Any {{FieldName}} in text boxes or shapes
2. Table placeholders - Tables with {{...}} in Alt Text
3. Image placeholders - Pictures/shapes with {{...}} in Alt Text

Mapping Placeholders to Excel

Excel Objects You Can Map

Two-stage mapping (classify, then map)

Because PowerPoint produces one presentation per record, mapping happens in two explicit stages. Nothing is guessed from names — you decide what each object is.

Stage 1 — Classify your Excel objects

The add-in scans the workbook and lists every named range, table, chart, pivot table, and image. For each one you choose its role:

Charts, pivot tables, named ranges, and images you mark as Static are filled identically into every generated presentation (e.g. a company logo or an overall summary chart). Per-record images come from a parent image column or a per-record image table.

Stage 2 — Map objects to placeholders

Once classified, map each object (or per-record field) to the placeholder that should receive it:

1. Find the placeholder in the mapping grid (the {{FieldName}} token, or the table/picture Alt Text name)
2. Choose the Excel object/field to bind to it
3. Save the multi-file mapping

Auto-map: the add-in pre-fills mappings where an Excel object name exactly matches a placeholder name (case-insensitive, with tbl_/_table variants). These are starting suggestions — review and adjust them; nothing is mapped on a partial/fuzzy match.

Image placeholders: distinct image placeholders in the template are listed so you can map each one to the workbook image (or per-record image column) it should show. Use the Select Images option to pick local image files when an image lives outside the workbook.

PowerPoint is multi-file only. Every PowerPoint template generates one presentation per record. (An older single-file mode is no longer offered in the interface.)

Bulleted & numbered lists

A placeholder can be filled with a bulleted or numbered list instead of a single line. The list grows or shrinks to match your data, and you choose the formatting in the add-in (PowerPoint can't carry it from Excel).

Where the list items come from (each is a single text value with one item per line — you never type line breaks yourself):

Setting the format. When you classify a named range as Static value or a table as Child list, a small format row appears: choose No list / Bulleted / Numbered, and optionally font size, color, bold, italic, and indent. ExForms applies that formatting to every generated item. (Leave it on "No list" to keep a plain single value.)

Tip: Map the list to a {{placeholder}} that sits on its own line in the template. The whole line is replaced by the list, one item per bullet/number.

Data Type Handling

Text (Named Ranges)

Single-cell named ranges replace {{placeholder}} tokens with their text value.

PowerPoint: Welcome to {{CompanyName}}!
Excel Named Range: CompanyName = "Acme Corp"
Result: Welcome to Acme Corp!

Tables

Tables with {{TableName}} in Alt Text are completely replaced with Excel table data.

Key behaviors:

• The placeholder table is deleted
• A new table is created at the same position
• The new table has the exact rows and columns from your Excel data
• All data including headers is inserted

Excel Table "MetricsTable":
| Metric | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|--------|----|----|----| 
| Sales  | 10 | 15 | 20 |
| Leads  | 50 | 60 | 70 |

Result: 3×4 table inserted at placeholder position

Charts (as Images)

Excel charts are captured as PNG images and inserted into picture placeholders.

Excel Chart: "SalesChart" (Bar chart)
PowerPoint: Picture with Alt Text {{SalesChart}}
Result: Chart image inserted, sized to match placeholder

Images/Shapes

Named shapes or images from Excel are inserted into picture placeholders.

Excel Shape: "CompanyLogo"
PowerPoint: Picture with Alt Text {{CompanyLogo}}
Result: Logo image inserted at placeholder position

Table Styles

When ExForms generates tables in your PowerPoint presentations, you can control how those tables look by using table styles. Table styles define colors, borders, header formatting, and row banding for your tables.

How Table Styles Work

1. Styles are extracted from your template - When you upload a PowerPoint file, ExForms reads all table styles defined in that file
2. You select a default style - During upload, you're prompted to choose which style to apply to generated tables
3. All generated tables use that style - Every table created from your Excel data will have this consistent look

Creating Custom Table Styles in PowerPoint

You can create custom table styles directly in PowerPoint and ExForms will extract them during upload:

Step 1: Create a Table in Your Template

1. Open your PowerPoint template file
2. Insert a table (Insert → Table)
3. Select the table to see the Table Design tab

Step 2: Customize the Table Style

1. In the Table Design tab, click the More arrow in the Table Styles gallery
2. Select New Table Style (at the bottom of the gallery)
3. In the dialog:
   • Give your style a descriptive name (e.g., "Corporate Blue Headers")
   • Customize each element:
     • Whole Table - Base font, borders
     • Header Row - Background color, font color
     • First/Last Column - Special column formatting
     • Banded Rows - Alternating row colors
   • Preview your changes
4. Click OK to save the style

Step 3: Apply the Style to a Placeholder Table

1. Create or select a table that will serve as your placeholder
2. Apply your custom style to this table
3. Set the table's Alt Text to your placeholder name (e.g., {{SalesData}})
4. Save your PowerPoint file

💡 Tip: The placeholder table will be replaced with actual data during generation, but its position and your selected default style will be preserved.

Selecting the Default Style During Upload

When you upload a PowerPoint template containing tables:

1. After the upload completes, a Style Selection dialog appears
2. You'll see a dropdown listing all table styles found in your file:
   • Built-in PowerPoint styles (e.g., "Light Style 2 - Accent 3")
   • Any custom styles you created
3. Select the style you want applied to all generated tables
4. Click Save to confirm your selection

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Select Default Table Style                             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  File: QuarterlyReport.pptx                             │
│                                                         │
│  Table Style: [Light Style 2 - Accent 3    ▼]           │
│                                                         │
│  Available styles:                                      │
│  • Light Style 1                                        │
│  • Light Style 2 - Accent 3 (recommended)               │
│  • Medium Style 2 - Accent 1                            │
│  • Corporate Blue Headers (custom)                      │
│                                                         │
│                              [Cancel]  [Save]           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Changing the Table Style Later

If you need to change the default style after upload:

1. Select the PowerPoint file in the template tree
2. Look for the Table Style dropdown in the file details panel
3. Select a different style
4. Click Save Changes

Best Practices for Table Styles

📝 Note: If no style is selected, ExForms uses "Light Style 2 - Accent 3" as the default, which provides a clean, professional look suitable for most business presentations.

Template Examples

Example 1: Title Slide

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                                 │
│            {{PresentationTitle}}                │
│                                                 │
│         Prepared by {{AuthorName}}              │
│              {{PresentationDate}}               │
│                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Example 2: Data Slide with Table

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  {{SlideTitle}}                                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                 │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────┐            │
│  │ [Table with Alt Text:           │            │
│  │  {{QuarterlyMetrics}}]          │            │
│  └─────────────────────────────────┘            │
│                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Example 3: Chart Slide

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  {{ChartTitle}}                                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                 │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────┐            │
│  │ [Picture Placeholder with       │            │
│  │  Alt Text: {{SalesChart}}]      │            │
│  └─────────────────────────────────┘            │
│                                                 │
│  {{ChartDescription}}                           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Best Practices

Template Design

1. Use descriptive placeholder names - {{QuarterlySales}} not {{Data1}}
2. Match Excel object names - Makes auto-mapping work automatically
3. Use Picture Placeholders for images - They resize correctly
4. Test with sample data - Verify layout before mass generation

Placeholder Naming

Excel Setup

1. Name your ranges - Select cells → Name Box → Enter name
2. Name your charts - Select chart → Format tab → Name Box
3. Name your tables - Click table → Table Design → Table Name
4. Keep names consistent - Match placeholder names exactly

Tables

1. Include headers in your Excel table - First row becomes table header
2. Keep tables simple - Complex formatting may not transfer
3. Size doesn't matter - Placeholder table is replaced entirely

Output File Naming

Because each parent record produces its own presentation, you control how those files are named — the same naming model used for Word and PDF.

Default naming

• File name: {OriginalFileName}{ID} — the template name plus the record number
• Subfolder name: {ID} — each record gets its own subfolder

Custom naming (naming editor)

Open the naming editor from Naming Options / the Edit link next to the file names. Naming is composed in two short steps:

1. Choose what to include — tick the parts you want from the available parent-table fields (e.g. {CustomerName}, {Date}), plus the built-in {OriginalFileName} and {ID}. To add literal text (a prefix or label), tick Custom text and type it in the box.
2. Set the order and separator — arrange the chosen parts in the order they should appear and pick a separator (dash, underscore, space, or none). Save.

Tip: If you don't include {ID} (or another value that's unique per row), ExForms appends a counter so files never overwrite each other.

Example: {CustomerName}-{Date}-{OriginalFileName} produces Acme-2026-01-15-Report.pptx.

Generating Filled Presentations

1. Select the template set from the tree view
2. Ensure Excel data is ready (the workbook associated with this set; the tree highlights the set linked to the open file)
3. Verify all placeholders are mapped (100% mapped)
4. Click "Send Data"
5. Download the ZIP — it contains one presentation per parent record

Output Structure

One filled .pptx per record, named by your naming pattern (mixed sets also include Word/PDF outputs):

filled_presentations.zip
├── PowerPoint/
│   ├── Report_Acme.pptx
│   ├── Report_Globex.pptx
│   └── Report_Initech.pptx
├── Word/
│   └── Contract_Acme.docx
└── PDF/
    └── 1/
        └── Form.pdf

(With the default {ID} subfolder pattern, each presentation is placed in its own numbered subfolder instead.)

Troubleshooting

Placeholder Not Detected

Cause: Placeholder syntax is incorrect or text is split across runs.

Fix:

1. Delete the placeholder text completely
2. Re-type {{FieldName}} in one action (don't edit character by character)
3. Save and re-upload

Table Not Replacing

Cause: Alt Text is not set correctly on the table.

Fix:

1. Click the table border to select the entire table
2. Right-click → Edit Alt Text
3. Ensure Alt Text is exactly {{TableName}} (including braces)
4. Save and re-upload

Image Not Inserting

Cause: Picture placeholder not detected or Alt Text missing.

Fix:

1. Ensure the shape is a picture or picture placeholder
2. Right-click → Edit Alt Text
3. Enter {{ImageName}} with correct braces
4. Save and re-upload

Text Placeholder Shows as {{FieldName}}

Cause: Placeholder was not mapped or mapping failed.

Fix:

1. Check that the placeholder appears in the mapping list
2. Verify it's mapped to an Excel object
3. Ensure the Excel object exists and has data

Chart Image Too Small/Large

Cause: Chart is captured at a fixed size.

Fix:

1. Size your placeholder image/picture appropriately
2. The chart will be scaled to fit the placeholder dimensions
3. Keep placeholders at reasonable aspect ratios (e.g., 4:3)

Same Data in Multiple Places

Expected behavior: If you use {{Title}} in multiple locations, they all receive the same value.

If unintended: Use unique placeholder names like {{SlideTitle}} and {{ReportTitle}}.

Comparison: Word vs PowerPoint

Need Help?

• PowerPoint API reference: not published yet
• For Word documents: Word Documents User Guide
• For PDF forms: PDF Forms User Guide
• For support: [email protected]