Charts and SmartArt in RixSlides are the two structured visuals: charts turn numbers into a picture with ChartTypeDialog and ChartDataDialog, and SmartArt turns relationships — processes, hierarchies, cycles — into a diagram you edit through its text. Both are native .pptx parts, so a chart or diagram you build here opens in PowerPoint exactly as it left, and the canvas renders them with the same fidelity as the rest of the deck.
Insert a chart
- Choose Insert, Chart. ChartTypeDialog opens with the type gallery.
- Pick the type that matches the question the audience will ask.
- ChartDataDialog opens next: enter categories, series names and values, or paste them from a sheet.
- Click apply and the chart renders on the canvas at full fidelity.
- To change data later, double-click the chart to reopen ChartDataDialog.
Pick a type in ChartTypeDialog
The type gallery covers the standard .pptx chart families:
| Family | Use it when the audience needs to see |
|---|---|
| Column and bar | Comparisons across categories |
| Line and area | Change over time or across a sequence |
| Pie and doughnut | Parts of one whole |
| Scatter | Correlation between two variables |
| Other specialized types | Stacked compositions, combinations and more |
A useful test: say the slide's takeaway sentence out loud and pick the type that would prove it. "Q3 beat every prior quarter" is a line chart; "support costs dominate" is a pie or doughnut; "each region grew" is a column chart.
Edit data in ChartDataDialog
ChartDataDialog is a small grid with series across and categories down:
- Type values directly, or paste a block from RixSheets.
- Rename series and categories — legend and axis labels update live.
- Add a series by extending the grid; the chart grows with it.
- The canvas re-renders on every apply, so you see the effect before you move on.
Keep charts honest: if a value changes in the source workbook, update the chart data dialog rather than eyeballing the axis.
Chart styling
Colors, legend position, data labels and axis formatting are edited from the chart's sidebar controls. If the deck uses a saved style template, new charts adopt its palette, which is the cheapest way to make ten charts feel like one report.
SmartArt diagrams
SmartArt answers a different need: structured relationships rather than quantities. Choose Insert, SmartArt, pick a layout family — list, process, cycle, hierarchy, matrix and more — and then edit the diagram through its text pane:
- Type an item in the text pane and the shape appears.
- Indent an item to nest it — a hierarchy grows downward, a process gains sub-steps.
- Reorder items and the diagram re-flows around them.
- Delete text and the shape disappears; the layout re-balances.
Because SmartArt is a native part, the diagram remains editable wherever the deck travels. Resist the urge to convert it to shapes unless you need a layout the families cannot express — once ungrouped, the automatic re-flow is gone.
Charts, SmartArt and the rest of the deck
Two pairing habits make these elements land:
- Pair a chart with a one-line takeaway in a text box above it — the chart proves, the sentence states.
- Animate the build, not the data. A simple entrance on the chart, or series-by-series, keeps attention on the story; see the animations guide for entrance and emphasis effects.
The slide QC agent will flag a chart label that overflows or a SmartArt block pushed off the slide, so run it before exporting.
What to explore next
- Tables guide when exact values matter more than the shape of the data.
- Animations and transitions to build charts and diagrams across clicks.
- Templates and styles for a chart palette that matches your brand.