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May 3, 2012

Tableau Tip: Embedding a Dashboard in PowerPoint in 8 simple steps (Yes, you read that right!)

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Yesterday I wrote about a method for embedding a presentation within a Tableau dashboard.  Of course, this spawned the opposite question:
Is there a way to embed a Tableau Dashboard in a PowerPoint presentation?
Good news!  The answer is YES!  Here’s how.

Step 1 – Install the LiveWeb PowerPoint add-in (instructions via LiveWeb)
  1. Download the add-in here
  2. Extract the contents of the zip to a folder
  3. Launch PowerPoint
  4. Click on Tools | Add-ins to bring up the add-ins window
  5. Click on Add to bring up the 'Add New PowerPoint Add-in' dialog box
  6. Navigate to the folder where the contents of the zip file was extracted and select 'LiveWeb.ppa' and click on OK.
  7. You might be prompted with the macro virus warning. Enable the macros. When the Add-in is properly loaded, it will display a 'X' against the add-in name.
That's it. You have successfully loaded the add-in.  You should see the LiveWeb add-in appear on the “Insert” tab of PowerPoint.


Step 2 – Go to your Tableau dashboard (either on Tableau Public or Tableau Server) and copy the URL link for the viz. 


You have two options for getting the URL for the viz.
  1. From the browser address
  2. Click on the Share button on the bottom left of the viz and copy the Email link

Step 3 – Go back to PowerPoint and click on the Web Page option on the LiveWeb add-in.  A wizard will appear.

Step 4 – Enter the URL for your viz from Step 2, click Add, then click Next





Step 5 – Choose the “Yes, refresh web page automatically” option.  This ensures that your viz updates live from the source (Public or Server) each time you launch the PowerPoint presentation.  Click Next. 


Step 6 – Choose the size and position of the viz in the slide.  I prefer 100% so that the viz is as big as possible, but the default is 90%.  Click Next.


Step 7 – Click Finish


You should receive the following message if you successfully embedded the web page.


Step 8 – Launch the presentation


Some notes and observations:
  1. The viz might be a bit slower to load than when viewed in Public or Server.  This viz took about 10 seconds to load.
  2. It can be tricky to get the mouse pointer to show up.  You’ll have to play around with it to see what I mean.
That’s it!  Good luck and enjoy!

28 comments :

  1. RobertMay 5, 2012 at 1:43 PM

    Andy,

    great article (as usual). Many thanks for sharing.
    I took the liberty to write a follow-up to your post describing how to embed Tableau visualizations into PowerPoint without using the LiveWeb add-in:

    Embed Tableau Visualizations in Power-Point

    I thought this might be helpful for people who – for whatever reason – can't use the add-in.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJanuary 30, 2013 at 3:21 AM

    Hi Andy,

    A quick question for embedding a presentation within a Tableau dashboard is it that we requir server. cant we give our local system path.

    I tryed to do but its not working. is there any solution on this.

    Regards
    Bhujang

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VizWizJanuary 30, 2013 at 4:19 AM

      What do you mean by local system path? The workbook itself?

      Delete
  3. ShalinJuly 10, 2013 at 8:27 AM

    Can you attach the file out here so we can download and have a look at the final product?

    Regards,
    Shalin

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJuly 17, 2013 at 7:24 PM

    I have the same problem as Bhujang. I'd like to embed a dashboard in ppt without any internet connectivity, ie via a local system path. Do you know if/how this is possible?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VizWizJuly 17, 2013 at 7:49 PM

      I would think that all you need to do is use the path to the file. I have not tested it.

      Delete
  5. Sonthonax...November 14, 2013 at 9:24 PM

    Hello Andy,
    Thanks for this forum. Have you attempted what Taryn is asking above yet?

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousNovember 26, 2013 at 12:08 AM

    Same problem as above. Can't we point the powerpoint to a local file on the c:Drive and how do i do it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. MatthewJanuary 30, 2014 at 8:08 PM

    I can get this to work only if I log in to the Tableau server when the first viz appears. Is there a way to specify login credentials in the URL? I will be deploying thin clients in my manufacturing area with metrics for the specific workcenters.

    ReplyDelete
  8. VizWizJanuary 30, 2014 at 8:26 PM

    There's no way that I'm aware of Matthew.

    ReplyDelete
  9. BrandonApril 11, 2014 at 5:40 PM

    I had trouble getting this to work with PowerPoint 2013. I had to use information on this page to get it to work: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2793374

    Now that I have it working, it asks me to log in to Server every time I run this, and it forgets by login credentials by the next slide. This is something that needs to be overcome if I am to use this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VizWizApril 11, 2014 at 6:55 PM

      Thanks for the feedback Brandon! This looks like a limitation on the Tableau Server side. Hopefully it'll be addressed.

      Delete
  10. AnonymousJune 17, 2014 at 10:15 PM

    Hi,
    I downloaded live web but after following all the steps to add the add-in I couldn't see 'live web' neither in insert tab nor in Add-Ins tab.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VizWizJuly 2, 2014 at 9:27 PM

      Nishant, that sounds like a PowerPoint bug. I would check with the LiveWeb developer and see they know the answer.

      Delete
  11. UnknownMarch 8, 2016 at 7:38 PM

    Hi Andy,

    According to the LiveWeb Documentation, LiveWeb won't work on Macs. Have you tried to embed a Tableau Viz into PPT on a Mac? Do you know any work arounds?

    Thanks!

    -Anja

    ReplyDelete
  12. UnknownMarch 21, 2016 at 11:59 AM

    Hi Andy. I really appreciate for sharing your know-how. And.. I have a question. I tried Live-Web and I also successed in embedding tableau dashboard in Powerpoint. But I have no idea how to print out Powerpoint in the state of my tableau dashboard is emdded. Whenever i tried to print out, the place where i embedding tableau is just blank. Can you help me about this problem?

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousMarch 30, 2017 at 9:08 PM

    Hi Andy, what if I created my dashboard with Tableau desktop. I want to embed an interactive dashboard, i.e. show all the details of certain data points, in my ppt.
    Bc it is a local file, I couldn't generate a URL for it. How would export the dashboard not as image, but in an interactive form ?
    Thanks a lot

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VizWizApril 8, 2017 at 6:33 PM

      You can't embed from Desktop with this technique. What I would recommend is you not use PPT at all. Do the entire presentation in Tableau instead.

      Delete
    2. VizWizApril 8, 2017 at 6:33 PM

      You can't embed from Desktop with this technique. What I would recommend is you not use PPT at all. Do the entire presentation in Tableau instead.

      Delete
  14. UnknownJune 14, 2017 at 8:06 AM

    Hi Andy,I'm trying to embed viz from Tableau online but I can't go beyond the login page...
    If I load viz from Tableau public I do see the viz , what I'm missing here ?

    Many Thanks in Advanced,
    Amit

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VizWizJune 14, 2017 at 10:17 AM

      Amit, you probably don't have public access set up on your Tableau Online account.

      Delete
  15. UnknownJune 14, 2017 at 12:31 PM

    I'm site administrator, can I change it or only Tableau?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VizWizJune 14, 2017 at 3:02 PM

      You'll need to check with Tableau. They may not offer a public login on Online.

      Delete
  16. UnknownAugust 21, 2017 at 9:07 AM

    Hello Andy,
    I was able to successfully embed the Tableau dashboard into ppt.
    But, the filters that are present in the dashboard are not seen in ppt.
    Can you please guide on what might be the reason for this.

    Thank You,
    Samruddhi K

    ReplyDelete
  17. JeffAugust 24, 2017 at 11:07 PM

    Hi Andy, you first wrote this in 2012. Is this still the best way to embed interactive Tableau views in Powerpoint? Cheers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VizWizAugust 25, 2017 at 8:19 AM

      I don't know because I don't use this technique anymore. Give it a try yourself and find out.

      Delete
  18. JasmineOctober 5, 2017 at 5:31 PM

    Does this work in Powerpoint Mac?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VizWizOctober 5, 2017 at 8:52 PM

      No, the add-in required isn’t available for Mac.

      Delete

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