How to insert a live Datazen dashboard into a PowerPoint slide

This is one of these posts where I’m reverting to my old “Radar O’Reilly” mode of having to simply figure out a way to get something done, by hook or crook.  That was often the missive I was given from the business – didn’t care how I got it done, just needed it done, as long as it wouldn’t get anyone arrested.  So with that in mind, I wanted to see if there was a simple way I could enable this (without getting arrested).

What made the most sense to me was to insert a web page into a PowerPoint slide and take advantage of Datazen’s public access support.  Since PowerPoint doesn’t support embedding a web page out of the box, I was going to install an add-in called LiveWeb, which allows you to do just that.  However, and this is important, Microsoft doesn’t recommend you do this for security reasons.  Microsoft gives you a workaround for this, but let’s see if we can’t find a better way (since I’m not looking to provide advice counter to that of my employer).

My next thought was – why not check the Office Apps Store to see if we have an official add-in?  If you haven’t used the Office App Store before, it’s an easy way to find apps, both free and paid, for your Office365 programs to use as add-ins.  To start using them in your next presentation –

1.  Go to the Insert Tab in PowerPoint.  You should see the Store Add-In in the ribbon.  Click it to open the App Store –

2.  A pop-up will open with the apps available in the store.  You can now run a search for the app you wish to use

Since I wanted to use a web viewer add-in for PowerPoint, I typed Web Viewer into the search bar and hit Enter.  And what do you know?  Microsoft has created an app to do exactly what I wanted to do.  And it’s free!

I added the app to my slide and then entered the Datazen dashboard address I wanted to include.  Since it’s configured for public access, I wasn’t prompted for my user credentials and it was added and worked.

And since it is treated like any other slide element, I was able to redo my slide accordingly.  Ta da – I’m able to add proper commentary and still have a fully interactive, live dashboard!

This wasn’t too tough after all, and I didn’t mess around with my registry to get it to work.  Success!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the rest of your weekend.