Excel in PowerPoint- why resized when edited?

[Albert Silverman]

This is something that I've always just worked around. In this case,
though, a person here expressed the feeling that it seemed like a
"bug", so I've been searching the web and the newsgroups for an answer
with no luck.

Simple problem: and imported Excel chart in PPT will resize itself when
you double-click to edit it and then close it (or when you edit the
chart in Excel and close it). The change in proportions and size will
happen even if you make no change to the chart.

I'm using a PPT master that has no graphic/chart placeholder- that's
not the issue. Let's say the chart is at 100% size as placed on the
PPT page. Whatever its actual measurements, once you open and close
it, those measurements are going to be different.

I've generally just figured that there was no point in expecting PPT to
behave like a page layout program, but maybe there really is a fix for
this. Thanks for the help.

m

 

[Albert Silverman]

Correction: this problem is not happening on my computer. Only on the
other person's. I'm trying to get Office version numbers from that
person now.

 

[Albert Silverman]

Correction 2: If I mess with the source data in any way, the chart
completely resizes.

 

[Albert Silverman]

And I don't have to mess with the data- if I just change the beginning
data point under the x-axis "scale" tab, the chart ends up resized and
distorted.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Correction: this problem is not happening on my computer. Only on the
other person's. I'm trying to get Office version numbers from that
person now.

Try linking instead of embedding the Excel content.

 

[Albert Silverman]

If I insert an Excel chart from a file (linked), then double-click on
the chart to edit it, change the data scale, close, the chart become
enormous- enlarges to fit the page. As if this weren't problem enough,
trying to size the thing from there is nearly impossible unless you
scale it down (reducing font sizes, etc.)- the chart on the PPT appears
to have no relation to the chart in Excel, size-wise.

This is a multi-page PPT with charts the exact same size from page to
page, positioned using guides. Font size must be constant, from page
to page. If you have a solution, consider all this and provide a bit
more detail. Thanks.

Oh, and I'm running Office 2002 SP-2 on XP. Thanks.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

If I insert an Excel chart from a file (linked), then double-click on
the chart to edit it, change the data scale, close, the chart become
enormous- enlarges to fit the page. As if this weren't problem enough,
trying to size the thing from there is nearly impossible unless you
scale it down (reducing font sizes, etc.)- the chart on the PPT appears
to have no relation to the chart in Excel, size-wise.

This is a multi-page PPT with charts the exact same size from page to
page, positioned using guides. Font size must be constant, from page
to page. If you have a solution, consider all this and provide a bit
more detail. Thanks.

Oh, and I'm running Office 2002 SP-2 on XP. Thanks.

Instead of inserting from file, try using this method:

Linking information from Excel
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00593.htm

Also, if you're not already doing so, I'd put the charts on individual
chartsheets in Excel rather than on worksheets.

 

[Albert Silverman]

Following your instructions, after I've put the chart in PowerPoint,
the very first double-click which reopens the chart in Excel also
resizes it. Sizing it from there is possible, but the chart gets
resized every time I open it after that. Over and over, Excel creates
a certain cinema-screen shape for the chart. It is also the case that
trying to size the chart to fit in a specific area in PowerPoint is
very difficult.

I've outlined my goals. There are four possible responses
1) Explain why what I aim to do can't be done
2) Explain that it can be done in a certain fashion, but I am being
prevented from doing it for a particular reason (old software, etc)
3) Provide a solution that considers my goals and actually works
4) Provide solutions that make no difference at all, or, in fact, make
my goal harder to accomplish

Right now, I've gotten two 4's.

As to whether you deserve such a harsh response, the fact that you fail
to acknowledge any of the specifics that I laid out makes it sound as
if you are providing cookie-cutter junk from a Microsoft solutions page
and are constrained from admitting where the program's nature and
controls are going to be hard to overcome. Please consider the
following that I said before- do you have a solution or not?:

"This is a multi-page PPT with charts the exact same size from page to
page, positioned using guides. Font size must be constant, from page
to page. If you have a solution, consider all this and provide a bit
more detail."

If you really want a gold star, you could state or direct me to a link
where you explain why PowerPoint is a bad page-layout program, and why
Microsoft decided they did not want the precision or complexity of a
Quark or InDesign. I really don't have a problem with that. I
wouldn't be asking this if there weren't a strong culture of thinking
that PowerPoint is good for everything.

Thanks.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

As to whether you deserve such a harsh response, the fact that you fail
to acknowledge any of the specifics that I laid out makes it sound as
if you are providing cookie-cutter junk from a Microsoft solutions page

Albert, I'm a volunteer, not an MS employee. I'm neither constrained in the
type of help I attempt to offer nor obliged to participate in discussions that
devolve into rudeness.

If you'd like to continue in this vein, you'll have to carry on w/o me.

If you want to look into why your system is doing something that mine doesn't
and if we can do so w/o further unpleasantness, I'd be happy to try to help.