Replacing MS Chart in PowerPoint

[Guest]

Dear High-tech Superheros

I have developed a web reporting application that wraps a third-party charts
package.

My clients have asked about the possibility of producing interactive
PowerPoint decks out the reports I produce. By interactive, I mean the charts
cannot be images, but must function in a way similar to MS Chart.

I have looke through the "Create Add-in" documentation, and can create a
basic Add-in; but this doesn't seem to allow me to place an object on the
page in the same way that one can an MS Chart object or even a Text object.

So: Is there some way I build the eqivalent of an MS Chart object?

Any help would be greatfully accepted.

 

[Guest]

Check out www.xcelsius.com, they've created something similar with Flash.

I believe, in order for your object to be functional from within PowerPoint,
it has to be a registered ActiveX control. Check Control Toolbar, More
Controls (but I'll defer to my more learned colleagues on this one). See:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HP030854321033.aspx

 

[Guest]

Dear Glenna

Thanks very much for this prompt reply. I know generally that ActiveX
controls are probably the way forward for this problem.

However I cannot seem to find any basic information on how to build them
with Visual Studio 2005, nor how they would properly interface with
PowerPoint.

For example, presumably there are events that I need to handle as the user
does things like clicks through the PowerPoint Deck, changes the zoom factor,
double clicks on my object, and so on.

If you (or anyone else) could point me in a direction on this, I would
really appreciate it.

Regards

Brad

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Dear High-tech Superheros

I have developed a web reporting application that wraps a third-party charts
package.

My clients have asked about the possibility of producing interactive
PowerPoint decks out the reports I produce. By interactive, I mean the charts
cannot be images, but must function in a way similar to MS Chart.

I have looke through the "Create Add-in" documentation, and can create a
basic Add-in; but this doesn't seem to allow me to place an object on the
page in the same way that one can an MS Chart object or even a Text object.

So: Is there some way I build the eqivalent of an MS Chart object?

Silly question perhaps, but why "equivalent"?
Why not just build an MS Graph object? Add one to the slide, that is, then
automate MSGraph to do the needed formatting.

 

[Guest]

Dear Steve

The original application was a web-based reporting system that delivers
charts and gauges (via the third-party application produced by Dundas) that
look considerably better than the standard MS Chart offerings.

Our biggest client has asked for "dual delivery", that is, the same reports,
with a very similar look and feel as the web reports, but via PowerPoint. The
charts need to be interactive from the client's point of view, so that for
their own internal presentations they can suppress certain figures, change
scales and colours, and so on. So PowerPoint presentations with bitmaps
pasted in will not do the job.

Regards

Brad

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Dear Steve

The original application was a web-based reporting system that delivers
charts and gauges (via the third-party application produced by Dundas) that
look considerably better than the standard MS Chart offerings.

Our biggest client has asked for "dual delivery", that is, the same reports,
with a very similar look and feel as the web reports, but via PowerPoint. The
charts need to be interactive from the client's point of view, so that for
their own internal presentations they can suppress certain figures, change
scales and colours, and so on. So PowerPoint presentations with bitmaps
pasted in will not do the job.

OK ... I understood why bitmaps wouldn't work but now I see why MSGraph charts
won't do the job either.

Does Dundas offer an ActiveX version of their tools that would allow you to
embed chart objects in PPT? Or that would allow you to create your own OLE
server app that embeds charts in PPT once they're created in the Dundas charting
app?

 

[Guest]

Dear Steve,

Sorry for the delay; I've been away.

No, Dundas doesn't offer Active X versions. This is why I need to build my
own.

I already have quite a bit of a chart and gauge wrapper completed, as I
needed to build it for my Web reporting system.

So the question is simple: How do I build a self-registering ActiveX control
that can be run in situ on a PowerPoint slide, similar in embedded
functionality to MSGraph, but with my added features?

Regards

Brad

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

So the question is simple: How do I build a self-registering ActiveX control

that can be run in situ on a PowerPoint slide, similar in embedded
functionality to MSGraph, but with my added features?

I'm afraid I don't have an answer for that one ... you may also want ask it in
one or more of the general Office dev groups (Public.Office.Developer.Vba etc)