How to use Data Markers

Intro

This guide will explain the syntax and naming conventions of PowerPointWriter data markers, as well as data marker modifiers which can change how data is imported.

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Intro Definition Syntax Basic Syntax Allowed characters Ordinal Syntax Modifiers List of modifiers

Definition

A data marker is a string used as a placeholder for data that will be imported by PowerPointWriter's PowerPointTemplate object. Each data marker corresponds to a column in a data source. The data markers are added to the template in PowerPoint and then populated at run time using PowerPointTemplate.

Syntax

Basic Syntax

Data markers use the following syntax: %%=DataSourceName.ColumnName

DataSourceName is the name of the data source. This name is specified in code when the PowerPointTemplate.BindData method is called.

ColumnName is the name of the column that contains the value(s) to be imported. The column name must match the columns specified in code.

For more information on the types of data sources supported by PowerPointWriter and how to bind data to a template, see Importing a Single Row of Data and Importing Multiple Rows of Data.

Allowed characters

Additionally, the data source name and the column name must follow these rules:

Data source and column names must not include Unicode characters
Data source and column names must begin with a letter (A-Z, a-z).
Data source and column names may include the following characters only:
\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890_
Spaces are not allowed anywhere in a data marker

To use any Unicode character or spaces in data marker names, enclose the data source name or column name in brackets: %%=[DataSourceName].[ColumnName]

For example: %%=Products.[Sales Person] or %%=[Dat@ $ource].ColumnName

Ordinal Syntax

Ordinal syntax uses a 1-based numbering to associate data markers to data sources and columns. Ordinal syntax is as follows: %%=#<data source number>.#<column name number>

The data source number is based on the order in which the BindData method is called. The column number is based on the order of the columns in the data source. If there is no data associated with the data marker, then the data marker will be ignored and removed from the output file.

In the example %%=#3.#2, the data marker will be populated with values from the second column of data from the data source associated with the third BindData call. If there is no second column in the data source, or there is no third call to BindData, the data marker will be ignored.

Modifiers

Modifiers can effect how data is imported into the template file. Modifiers use the following syntax: %%=DataSourceName.ColumnName(modifier)

List of modifiers

Modifier	Behavior	Additional references
Continue	The continue modifier allows data to be imported onto multiple slides in a presentation. Set DataBindingProperties.MaxRowsPerSlide to limit the number of rows that can be imported on a slide and then use the continue modifier to continue importing the additional rows.	Fitting Data on to Multiple Slides
Image	The image modifier is used to import an image into a presentation. The image modifier has parameters that can control the dimensions and aspect ratio settings of the imported image.	Importing Images
Fieldname	The fieldname modifier will force PowerPointWriter to import the column name, rather than values. Use with ordinal syntax to import unknown column names: %%=#3.#2(fieldname).

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