Excel · Sync with PowerPoint
Send selections into PowerPoint from the model, then push refreshes to every open deck when assumptions change.
1. Export to PPT
Export to PPT is the Excel-side counterpart of PowerPoint’s Insert from Excel . Same linked-shape result; you stay in the workbook.
- Open the target deck in PowerPoint (leave it open).
- In Excel, select a chart, range, or PivotTable.
- On the Navifia tab, in Sync with PowerPoint, click Export to PPT, or open the split-button menu for a format. - Default shortcuts: Ctrl+Shift+E (EMF) · Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E (choose format).
- The linked shape lands on the active slide of the current Export target deck.
Formats (Excel menu)
| Menu label | Use when |
|---|---|
| As picture (EMF) | Default — ranges and charts |
| Chart as SVG | Vector chart (Microsoft 365) |
| Chart (editable) | Native Office chart in the deck |
| Range as table (slow) | Editable PowerPoint table from a range |
| PivotTable as table (slow) | Editable table from a PivotTable |
Not on this menu: Cell value as text (beta) is PowerPoint-side insert only. Once a text link exists, you can still refresh it with Push updates .
Save the workbook before you rely on durable links. An unsaved file makes path matching unreliable for later Push / Update.
2. Connect — which deck is the target?
Connect is a status check, not a picker.
- With one or more decks open in PowerPoint, click Connect on the Excel Navifia tab.
- Read the report: every open presentation is listed; the current Export/Insert target is marked.
- The report also notes that Push updates reaches all open decks listed — not only the Export target.
- To change the Export target, click into that deck in PowerPoint (make it the active presentation), then Export again. Connect itself does not switch targets.
3. Push updates
When you own the model, push is usually faster than walking each deck and clicking Update.
- Edit the Excel workbook (assumptions, numbers, chart data).
- Leave every deck that should refresh open in PowerPoint.
- On the Navifia tab, click Push updates (Ctrl+Shift+P). - Note: in PowerPoint the same chord is Check period — use the app you are in.
- Navifia scans every open deck for linked shapes whose source is this workbook and refreshes them — same sizing rules as PowerPoint Update, including Text (beta) links.
Save first: if the workbook is unsaved, Navifia offers to save (Excel’s Save As) before pushing. Declining cancels with an explanation rather than a silent failure.
Push vs Update — pick the side you are on
| Situation | Use |
|---|---|
| You just changed the model in Excel | Push updates — all open decks at once |
| You are reviewing one deck in PowerPoint | Update on a shape, Update all links in deck , or Excel Links |
| You need a clean outbound copy (no link tags / stamps) | PowerPoint: Finalize deck (not Push) — see Send & Finalize |
| You need to unlink shapes in the open deck | PowerPoint Excel Links: Break Links |
4. Quick sizing (slide widths)
Size tables and charts in Excel to Half page / Two-thirds page / Full page widths before they leave the model, so they land on-brand without drag-resize in PowerPoint.
Quick sizing
- Select the table or chart in Excel.
- Click Quick sizing — applies Half page immediately (no dialog; it does not cycle through sizes).
- Open the split-button menu to jump to Half page, Two-thirds page, or Full page, or to Custom column widths… / Configure sizing….
For tables, the first column is treated as labels and keeps its width; value columns share the remaining target width. Hidden and narrow spacer columns are left out of the automatic math. Charts resize by width only.
Custom column widths…
- Open the Quick sizing menu → Custom column widths….
- Type a width for each column (headers are listed). Watch the running total against the reference target.
- Apply — every column is explicit (including spacers).
Configure sizing…
- Open the Quick sizing menu → Configure sizing….
- Set Half page / Two-thirds page / Full page targets to match your template (inches or centimetres).
- Optionally set Intervals — spacer column width and row height that Ctrl+Shift+W / Ctrl+Shift+H toggle against the sheet’s default sizes. Quick sizing leaves interval-width columns alone when distributing target width.
Defaults ship at about 15.33 / 20.61 / 31.22 cm — override once for your firm template.
5. Recommended end-to-end workflow
- Size in Excel — Quick sizing / menu widths as needed.
- Connect — confirm the Export target if several decks are open.
- Export to PPT — place linked exhibits (or use Insert from Excel on the PowerPoint side — same result).
- Build the narrative in PowerPoint (layouts, stamps, indicators — later batches).
- Recut the model → Push updates.
- Run Check period / Check numbers in PowerPoint before send (Check).
- Finalize deck for a clean outbound copy — or Break Links only if you intend to unlink the open deck.
6. Troubleshooting
- Export landed in the wrong deck — click into the correct presentation in PowerPoint, then Export again. Use Connect to verify.
- Push did not refresh a shape — that shape’s source may be a different workbook file name, or PowerPoint was closed. Open the deck and check Excel Links status.
- Push asked to save — accept Save As so the path is stable; then Push runs again.
- Quick sizing asked to confirm an even split — the target width cannot be reached without shrinking columns unreasonably; confirm only if an even split is acceptable.
- **Ctrl+Shift+P did Check period — that chord is Push only in Excel; in PowerPoint it is Check period.
- Cloud workbook links look missing after close — reopen the file from OneDrive/SharePoint or ensure the sync client has a local copy (see PowerPoint chapter).