Leverage the Sprucely.io platform to create and embed interactive dashboards in Microsoft PowerPoint. This guide provides step-by-step instructions for defining input data, generating a Sprucely.io dashboard, and embedding it in your PowerPoint presentation.
An interactive PowerPoint dashboard keeps your data front and center during meetings and reviews. Instead of switching between spreadsheets and slides, you show everything in one place. Whether you need a sales overview, a project tracker, or a financial summary, good dashboard designs make the numbers easier to follow.
This guide will take you about 5-10 minutes.
Creating a Dashboard from Excel Data
The first step to building a PowerPoint dashboard is turning your raw data into a visual layout. We will use a sample Excel file from Sprucely.io's website to walk through the flow from data to dashboard. You can also use JSON or text files, or define a web stream source for live data analysis.
The flow follows the recommended way of importing data into Sprucely and generating a dashboard template automatically. You get a working dashboard for use with PowerPoint that you can customize — charts, layout, and styles — to fit your needs.
The video below provides a quick introduction to Sprucely.io and the steps needed to import data and generate a dashboard. Detailed instructions follow the video.
This video gives an introduction to Sprucely.io and how you can import data to create a Sprucely.io dashboard (1:25 mins)
Instructions:
1) Login to Sprucely.io - Open a browser and surf to www.sprucely.io. If you have not yet done so, go ahead and login.
3) Select source - We will use a web stream source for our example. Our sample Excel file is served directly from the Sprucely.io web server. In the Web Stream section, input the URL https://www.sprucely.io/supplychain.xlsx and click Connect. If you have a local file, drag and drop it from your File Explorer. Alternatively, select the file from the filesystem in the Local File section.
4) Configure source - In this step you can manually decide which data range to import from your data source. This is useful for importing a subset of the data. Use it to choose a specific sheet if your Excel document has multiple sheets. No configuration is required if you use our sample file. Sprucely.io automatically detects the ideal data range to import. Click Next to continue.
5) Configure dimensions - Give cues to Sprucely.io's insights engine and dashboard generator by setting priorities in this step. If you are using our sample file, there is no need to modify any of these settings. Click Next to continue.
6) Generate dashboard - Set a title of your dashboard and click Save to generate the dashboard template. Once completed, you are automatically routed to the dashboard editor page. You can modify the dashboard if you desire.
Embedding an Interactive Dashboard in Powerpoint
Once your dashboard is ready, embedding it in PowerPoint takes just a few steps. The embedded dashboard stays interactive — you can filter, and cross-compare the data during your presentation. No static screenshots needed.
Pushing dashboards from Sprucely.io into PowerPoint requires no downloads or application setup. The Sprucely.io add-in for PowerPoint is available in Office 365 and works with any recent desktop version of Microsoft Office. The following video highlights the key flow. Alternatively, follow the detailed instructions below.
This video showcases how you can embed a Sprucely.io dashboard with the Powerpoint add-in (1:10 mins)
Instructions:
1) Login to Sprucely.io - Open a browser and surf to www.sprucely.io. If you have not yet done so, go ahead and login.
3) Ensure the dashboard is shared - Ensure that your dashboard is published. If so, the Shared column will indicate Yes for this row. If not, select this dashboard entry. Click the Share button at the top of the table and follow the instructions.
5) Add a Sprucely.io PowerPoint add-in to your slide - In PowerPoint, find the Add-ins toolbar entry and click it. A dropdown dialog appears, including a My add-ins section. The Sprucely.io add-in is listed there for quick access after its first use. If you have not used the Sprucely.io add-in before, just type "sprucely" in the Find an add-in... search field and click on it when you find it. A new Sprucely.io object is automatically inserted into your current slide.
6) Insert the link into the PowerPoint add-in. Now paste the dashboard link (using Ctrl+V) into the Dashboard URL field. Press Save to complete the action.
7) You are ready to go!
Conclusion
We have shown how to build and embed interactive dashboards in your PowerPoint presentations in two steps. First, use Sprucely.io to create a dashboard from your Excel data. Then load the Sprucely.io PowerPoint add-in and embed the dashboard in your slide.
This approach gives you a dashboard PowerPoint template you can reuse and customize. Present multi-dimensional charts and interact with data live during your presentation. Use cross-filtering and group filtering to drill down on specific segments. This works well for sales reviews, project updates, financial reporting, or any scenario where your audience needs to see the numbers up close.
If you want to learn more about dashboard designs and layout principles, see our guide on creating effective dashboard designs in PowerPoint. For teams that use Google Slides instead of PowerPoint, many of the same data preparation steps apply — the main difference is in how you embed the final dashboard.
Sign up for free with Sprucely.io to get started. You can also check out our getting started guide or compare subscription plans first.
This article was first published 16th July 2024.
