topic Re: What to do with Powerpoint?? in ArcGIS for Office Questions

What to do with Powerpoint??

LarsElmkær_Chwastek — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 12:42:58 GMT

Hi all,

Since ArcGIS for Office is no longer supported and replaces by ArcGIS for Excel, how can we then have interactive maps in a powerpoint presentation?

I've tried setting up an old installation of ArcGIS for Office on our Portal, but can't seem to get it to work..

Are there any other good ideas on how to get an interactive map into Porerpoint?

Thanks

Re: What to do with Powerpoint??

TracySchloss — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 13:08:47 GMT

This is probably not the solution you're looking for, but I have largely replaced any sort of slides with story maps. To take advantage of some of the smart graphic capabilities, I may stage some content on slides first, then export individual slides as image to add to my story. I choose story map formats that I can easily navigate through during my presentation. I've come to prefer it, since I can easily send the link after my presentation to the attendees, and they have all my content.

Re: What to do with Powerpoint??

AyanPalit — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 13:16:07 GMT

@LarsElmkær_Chwastek It is great that you are thinking of including interactive maps for presentations. In my practice, I have transitioned to using apps like ArcGIS StoryMaps, ArcGIS Dashboards or Instant Apps like Atlas. The specific use case will drive picking the best option among the different apps available.

Re: What to do with Powerpoint??

ThorbjørnSøndergaard — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 14:31:04 GMT

Hi Lars.

I've used Maps for Office a lot with Excel over the years, but the integration with Powerpoint newer hooked me that much, so for me it is not a big loss. As stated above, there was an issue when sharing the slides to others that did not have the integration installed or don't have an ArcGIS account.

The Storymap substitution is at good solution. But if it is just one interactive map I want to share, then I often end up publishing it in ArcGIS Online as a webapp and just put the share-URL into the slide for people to open the browser. Much similar to the Storymap-solution.

Re: What to do with Powerpoint??

Ian_Muehlenhaus — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 14:42:50 GMT

I don't have a solution to your direct question but... I'll offer yet another potential work-around. 🙂

Another option is to use ArcGIS Insights. Its new "Report Builder" feature allows you to create complex and scrolling interactive reports with dozens of maps and charts, etc. I now design most of my demos and presentations in ArcGIS Insights. When I'm done, I just share the interactive workbook with the audience.

Or you can then export the interactive maps, charts, and whatever else from ArcGIS Insights as individual iFrames to embed in Story Maps or any slide-deck software that accepts iFrame (e.g., slides.com).

Re: What to do with Powerpoint??

LarsElmkær_Chwastek — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 09:09:17 GMT

Hi all,

Thank you for your great suggestions. One thing that I probably should have explained a bit further is, that the end user is not a regular GIS user.

They want a map showing the desired data in their regular powerpoint presentation (that doesn't have anything to do with GIS). So I would probably have a hard time selling them a completely new program for their presentation 🙂

But just creating a simpel app and link to it, would probably be the best solution, although they really liked the integrated map in a slide idea.

Thanks for the input 🙂

Re: What to do with Powerpoint??

dcallaghan — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 14:31:03 GMT

Hi @LarsElmkær_Chwastek ,

Another potential workaround for you (although one I have not tested myself....), it is possible to add a PowerBI report into a PowerPoint:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-power-bi-powerpoint-add-in-about

Presumably, if the PowerBI report had an ArcGIS map in it then it would show up within the Powerpoint too.

I suspect you'd need to do a lot of testing to ensure your non-GIS users weren't alarmed by it though 😅

Re: What to do with Powerpoint??

LarsElmkær_Chwastek — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 06:46:11 GMT

Thanks for the suggestion which could also work.. I'm not sure if my colleagues have access to PowerBI, but if they do, it could be a fun solution to pursue 🙂

Thanks

Re: What to do with Powerpoint??

QuantitativeFuturist — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:29:37 GMT

@LarsElmkær_Chwastek I have a similar issue in that I want to export data into a powerpoint slide automatically and make that available to non technical users to be able to edit and reformat data as required. I think we will need to look at building a custom tool that uses the powerpoint API to push data into a slide. The MS/esri integrations have so much potential if they were implemented correctly to align to actual business requirements.