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h2. Intro
{excerpt}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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h2. 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}}.
h2. Syntax
h4. 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].
h4. 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
h4. Ordinal syntax
Data markers can also be defined using *ordinal syntax*, which allows you to specify the data source and column names using numbers. This gives you flexibility if you don't know the names of your data columns or if you want to generalize a template.
Ordinal syntax is as follows: {{%%=<DataSourceNumber>.<ColNumber>}} where
* *DataSourceNumber* is a 1-based number that is determined by the order of the [BindData|PowerPointTemplate.BindData] method calls in the code. For example, %%=#2.#7 refers to the data source associated with the second call to BindData. // //
* *ColNumber* is a 1-based number that is determined by the order of the columns in the data source. For example, %%=#2.#7 refers to the 7th column in the second data source defined in the code.
Ordinal syntax can be used with regular syntax:
* %%=DataSource.#2
* %%=#3.ColName
See the _fieldname_ modifier below for more about importing column names with ordinal syntax.
h2. Modifiers
Modifiers can effect how data is imported into the template file. Modifiers use the following syntax: *%%=DataSourceName.ColumnName(modifier)*
h4. 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 import the column name from the data source, rather than the actual data. Use with ordinal syntax to dynamically import column names. | See ordinal syntax above. |
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