Intro

This guide will explain how to import a multiple rows of values into a PowerPoint presentation using data markers. This assumes a basic understanding of data markers.

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Binding Data

PowerPointTemplate has a single method for binding data to the data markers that are located in the template: PowerPointTemplate.BindData. Depending on the data source type and the number of rows in the data source, PowerPointWriter will either import a single row of data or import multiple rows by repeating sections of the presentation.

By default, every appearance of a data marker will be populated with the same data. For example, if %%=Header.CompanyLogo(image) appears on multiple slides, each data marker will be populated with the company logo. This behavior can be overwritten using data binding properties.

When importing multiple row of data, the data marker must be placed in a list entry or table row. The list or table will be expanded to contain all of the imported data.

Repeat Slide Behavior

DataBindingProperties

Data binding properties can be used to specify the way data is imported into the presentation.
To set the max number of rows to import onto each slide of the presentation use MaxRowsPerSlide. MaxRowsPerSlide will continue to import more rows of data as long as it can find a data marker with the 'continue' modifier. For more information see Fitting Data on to Multiple Slides

Types of Data Sources

Arrays of objects

Methods:

Arrays don't have built-in means to store column names. The user must specify the column names in a string array that is passed to PowerPointTemplate.BindData at run time.

PowerPointWriter will import all the rows in a multidimensional array (Object[,]) or a jagged array using built-in repeating behavior.

Two dimensional array:

          string[][] twodim = {
               new string[]{"Watertown", "MA", "02472"},
               new string[]{"Washington", "DC", "20036"}
               };
          string[] names = {"City", "State", "Zip"};
          pptt.BindData(twodim,
               names,
               "TwoDimArray",
          pptt.CreateDataBindingProperties());
          pptt.Process();
          pptt.Save(Page.Response,
               "ArrayBinding.pptx",
               false);
        
          Dim twodim()() As String = New String()() { _
               New String(){"Watertown", "MA", "02472"}, _
               New String(){"Washington", "DC", "20036"}, _
               }
          Dim names As String() = {"City", "State", "Zip"}
          pptt.BindData(twodim, _
               names, _
               "TwoDimArray", _
          pptt.CreateDataBindingProperties())
          pptt.Process()
          pptt.Save(Page.Response, _
              "ArrayBinding.pptx", _
               False)

Data Tables

To bind a DataTable to a template data marker call BindData using the following signature:

BindData(DataTable dt, String dataMarkerName, DataBindingPeoperties dataProps);

This signature takes a Datatable, the name of the data marker to which the data source should bind, and a collection Data Binding Properties. 

     //Create a data table
     DataTable states = new DataTable();
     dt.Columns.Add("State");
     dt.Columns.Add("Population");
     dt.Rows.Add(new object[] { "Connecticut", "3.6 million residents" });
     dt.Rows.Add(new object[] { "Maine", "1.3 million residents" });
     dt.Rows.Add(new object[] { "Massachusetts", "6.6 million residents" });

     //Create DataBindingProperties
     DataBindingProperties dataBindProps = pptt.CreateDataBindingProperties();

     //Bind the data
     pptt.BindData(states, "State Info", dataBindProps);