Exporting Tableau Dashboards to PowerPoint

As Tableau Developers, we hate to see our work flattened and shoved into a PowerPoint file. We love to see our work displayed in it's fullest, greatest ways - full of filters, parameters and tooltips for our users to play around with.

Occasionally, though, we have a few stubborn users who want to see the data in a familar format: PowerPoint. Your users likely have semi-valid excuses like: 

• "I need to take the dashboards on the road." 
• "I don't have a Tableau Server login." 
• "What's Tab-blue?" 

Or, perhaps they just are simply afraid of new technology. Regardless of the reason, you may find yourself in need of exporting a set of dashboards to PowerPoint.

How It's Done

Using a combination of PowerShell, Tabcmd and Microsoft's Interop Libraries (installed with PowerPoint), it is fairly simple to export your dashboards. I've attached a ZIP file containing the script I use to complete this process. It contains two important pieces:

1. GenPPT.ps1 - This is the main script. It runs the PowerShell processes to compile the PowerPoint. You will need to modify this to point to your dashboards and server.
2. AnalyticsPPTBase.pptx - This is the template for generating your PowerPoint file. Modify it to your look/feel. The second slide is a base for additional slides.

In GenPPT.ps1, you will see several variables you need to modify:

1. Line 8: Location of the PowerPoint folder
2. Line 11: Location of the server
3. Lines 17-19: List of dashboards to export. Add lines as needed. (Note: These need to be the sharable version of the URL, not the version with the # sign)
4. Lines 29-31: Credentials for logging onto the server
5. Lines 76-77: Optional title for pages

Upon modifying this information, you should be well on your way to exporting your dashboards as PowerPoint files!