We’ve recently made improvements to how Q creates and updates PowerPoint files.
Until now most Q users export to an open PowerPoint file, adding or updating slides as they go – this approach can be slow when dealing with larger files (and is somewhat bug-prone, due to the way Q “talks” to Microsoft Office). This approach is still available in the latest version, as “legacy” exporting. The new default option for PowerPoint exports is to save to a new or existing file, which is conversely faster and more stable. Users of Q5.11 may have experienced this technology already via the “PowerPoint Update Fast” button – this has now been integrated into to the main PowerPoint export function.
This video demonstrates fast PowerPoint in action, in the context of an overall workflow for building reports in PowerPoint using Q.
If you want to jump to specific aspects of the workflow, you can do so using these hyperlinks.
- Project set up.
- Initial PowerPoint export.
- Exporting to a pre-set template.
- Appending outputs to a report.
- Editing outputs in PowerPoint, to improve report layout.
- Updating a PowerPoint report with revised data.
- Controlling which table or chart elements are updated.
With a bit of workflow planning Q allows for a very efficient workflow when combined with PowerPoint – exporting and updating is faster and more reliable than ever before.
You can read more about the technical aspects of this feature update on our website here:
Exporting to PowerPoint – Q5.12
Automatic Updating of PowerPoint documents – Q5.12 Default
When you open Q you may be prompted to upgrade to the latest version, Q5.12 or later (you may then need to contact your IT team to update Q if you do not have administrative access to your computer). You can check your current version of Q in Help menu > About Q, and check to see if there is an update available in Help > Check for New Version of Q.
Please contact us if you require more assistance: [email protected]
