Export and import

Export takes a deck out of DataMind OS as a PowerPoint file, a PDF, notes pages, slide images or a .datamindslides deck file. Import brings a .datamindslides or PowerPoint file in as a new deck. Use this page when a deck has to leave DataMind OS, or when you want to start from a file you already have.

Export a deck

Click Export in the editor's top bar and choose one of these options. The file is built in your browser and downloads from there.

While a file is being built, its row shows progress, such as Building presentation..., Preparing pages..., Preparing notes pages..., Rendering slide images... or Building deck file....

Plain downloads never refresh the data: what you see on the slide is what the file contains. To export with fresh numbers, use Refresh data, then export.

Save a PDF

Download as PDF uses your browser's print dialog; choose to save as PDF there. The pages keep the slide's own proportions, not A4: every page is 7.5 inches tall and the width follows the slide's shape. Your browser suggests the deck's title as the file name.

The pages are a snapshot taken when the export starts, so you can keep editing the deck while the print dialog is open.

Download notes pages (PDF) uses the same dialog. Each page holds the slide in the top part and its speaker notes beneath. A slide without notes prints as the smaller slide alone.

Export slide images

1. Click Export > Download slide images....
2. Under Format, choose PNG or JPEG.
3. For JPEG, set Quality, from 10 to 100. The default is 90.
4. Under Slides, choose Current slide, Range or All slides. For Range, enter the first and last slide numbers. The range starts from the slide you are on when the dialog opens.
5. The dialog counts the files: {N} file(s) will download, one per slide. Click Download images.

Each selected slide downloads as its own image, rendered at the deck's full size. Files are named after the deck and the slide's own number, so exporting slides 5 to 8 of a deck titled Q3 review produces q3-review_slide-05.png through q3-review_slide-08.png.

• If the range describes no slides, Download images stays greyed out.
• If a slide cannot be captured, it is skipped and the rest still download. The warning names it: Slide {n} was not on the export sheet. or Slide {n} could not be exported: <message>. The toast reads Slide image export finished with warnings.
• If the selection resolves to no slides when the export starts, it stops with Nothing to export and The selection resolved to no slides of this deck.
• A YouTube element set to autoplay can come out as an empty box; an element showing a poster still exports normally.

Export with refreshed data

Refresh data, then export first reruns every element set to refresh by hand, then exports. Click Export > Refresh data, then export and choose PowerPoint (.pptx), PDF or Deck file (.datamindslides). While the queries run, the menu shows Refreshing data....

• It needs the right to edit the deck, on top of Export Deck.
• The refresh is one undo step, however many elements it touched.
• If some queries do not answer, the export still runs. A note reports it, for example 3 of 5 bound queries did not answer. The export keeps the values already on the slide.

To learn the refresh modes, read Fill slides from your data.

When an export finishes with warnings

Some effects live on screen only, and some pictures cannot be reached while the export runs. The file is still made, the warnings are deduplicated, and a toast lists what did not carry over:

• Backdrop blur is screen-only: a .pptx cannot express it, so any element carrying one is exported with the backdrop behind it unblurred.
• A text gradient is screen-only: a .pptx run cannot carry one, so the text is exported flat in the gradient's first stop colour.
• A picture that cannot be downloaded is linked in the file instead of embedded, so it shows only while its address is reachable. If it cannot be linked either, it is left out, and the warning names it.
• A video without an embeddable poster falls back to a poster or to a clickable area that links to the video.

The toast titles are PowerPoint export finished with warnings, PDF export finished with warnings and Slide image export finished with warnings. If an export fails instead, it reads PowerPoint export failed, PDF export failed, Deck file export failed or Slide image export failed.

Import a deck file

Use Import from file when a deck arrives as a .datamindslides file, for example from another DataMind OS.

1. On the Slides page, click New presentation and choose Import from file.
2. Click Choose file and pick a .datamindslides file. The Title fills from the file.
3. Choose the workspace, then click Create. The deck opens in the editor.

What to know about the file:

• It carries the deck document: slides, elements, theme, transitions and the list of the deck's pictures. Pictures travel as references, not as files.
• Because of that, pictures may show as missing after you import the file into another DataMind OS. A message such as This file refers to {n} pictures by path and does not include them, so they are not shown here. says so, and you may also see Some pictures are missing from this presentation. Add the pictures again from the deck's assets; see Images, video and deck assets.
• Pictures that were stored inside the file may be moved into the deck's assets after the import, marked Images moved to deck assets. If some could not be stored, a message says {n} pictures could not be stored as a deck asset and stayed inside the presentation file. Nothing was lost.
• Live query bindings that run as roles you do not hold are removed when the deck is imported. The deck still opens, and its charts keep the numbers from their last run. See Fill slides from your data.

If a deck file cannot be imported:

• The dialog shows That file could not be imported with "<file>" is not a .datamindslides file. The file is not a deck export; export the deck again and import the new file.
• The toast reads Presentation not imported with This file is too large to import: its pictures are stored inside the presentation. Open the deck it came from, export it again, and import the new file instead.
• Creating from the built-in template runs the same import path. If it cannot load, the dialog says Refresh and try again, or start from Blank.
• More messages are listed in Slides troubleshooting.

Import a PowerPoint file

1. On the Slides page, click New presentation and choose Import from PowerPoint.
2. Click Choose file and pick a .pptx file. The conversion runs in your browser.
3. Read the notes. A clean conversion shows none; otherwise the dialog shows a line such as Imported with 6 notes and lists what was approximated or skipped.
4. Check the Title, which comes from the file, choose the workspace, and click Create.

The imported deck follows the app theme, keeps the slide size of the file, and starts without a company logo. For what converts, what is skipped and every message the conversion can show, see Import from PowerPoint.

Permissions

• Export Deck lets you use every export option. Without it, the Export menu is greyed out and shows You do not have permission to export this deck.
• Refresh data, then export also needs the right to edit the deck.
• Add Deck lets you import a file. It is the same permission that lets you create a presentation.
• Emailing a deck on a schedule uses the same PowerPoint export, so the file people receive matches a manual export. See Email subscriptions.

See Slides permissions for every Slides permission.

Questions, answered

Can I export only one slide as an image?

Yes. Click Export > Download slide images..., leave Slides on Current slide, and click Download images.

Why is the Export menu greyed out?

Either your roles do not include Export Deck, no deck is open, or an export is already running. When the permission is missing, the menu shows You do not have permission to export this deck. See Slides permissions.

Does exporting refresh the numbers in my deck?

No. Plain downloads never refresh: what you see on screen is what the file contains. To send a deck with fresh numbers, use Refresh data, then export, which reruns the elements set to refresh by hand first. It needs edit rights on the deck, and the refresh is one undo step. See Fill slides from your data.

Can I edit the charts in PowerPoint?

Yes. Charts export as native PowerPoint charts, and each one carries its data in an embedded workbook.

How do I get a PDF?

Click Export > Download as PDF, then choose to save as PDF in your browser's print dialog.

Can I print my speaker notes?

Yes. Click Export > Download notes pages (PDF). Each page holds the slide and its notes, and a slide without notes prints as the smaller slide alone.

The PowerPoint export finished with warnings. Is the file usable?

Yes. The file is made. The warnings list what could not be carried over, such as backdrop blur or text gradients, which only show on screen. Read the list before you share the file.

How do I move a deck to another DataMind OS?

Click Export > Download as deck file (.datamindslides), then use Import from file in the other DataMind OS. The file references the pictures instead of containing them, so check the pictures after you import it.

Why are pictures missing after I import a deck file?

A .datamindslides file does not include the picture files, only references to them, so some pictures may show as missing after the import. Everything else arrives, and affected slides show a missing image box until you add the pictures again. See Images, video and deck assets.

Why did one slide fail to export as an image?

One slide that cannot be captured is skipped, the warning names it, and the rest still download. A YouTube element set to autoplay can also come out as an empty box; an element showing a poster still exports normally.