Insert linked smartRush Item

Linked smartRush items connect Excel to PowerPoint and allow to automatically update reports.

Best practice

Use the Insert item tab of the smartRush taskpane when working in large teams. You can also use one of the other inserting options.

Related topics

• Live insert
• Quick insert
• Link Library

The Insert Item tab on the smartRush taskbar

After an Excel file has been connected to the report, eg by using the Manage files tab, the Insert item tab shows all smartRush items contained in the file.

The icon on the left side of each smartRush item indicates its type. Single cells (text items) show a blue cell, ranges show yellow ranges and charts show a chart symbol. The second column of the list shows the value of all smartRush text items. Please note the value shown here is the value from the last synchronisation. Values are synchronized when an update is performed or when files are synchronized manually. Values are also synchronized when items are inserted. For linked ranges and charts no values are shown as those are inserted as pictures. The last column in the list shows the worksheet the smartRush item is on. Synchronization works equivalent to synchronisation of values.

Above the list on the left side there is a dropdown menu showing all currently linked Excel files. If a file is selected here the list below will update to only show the items contained in the selected file. With the dropdown next to the file dropdown the list can be filtered to certain smartRush item types. This can be very helpful if an Excel file contains many smartRush items. Next to the two dropdown menus there is the Refresh button. Clicking this button will refresh all items from the currently selected file.

Insert a new item

With the Insert button on the top right the currently selected item can be inserted to the report. If the button is clicked the item is inserted with default settings, which means:

• Linked text: Format settings are set to default, which means cell content is inserted as shown in Excel
• Linked range: Size mode is set to Keep percentage and ratio and gridlines are set to Hide gridlines. Please see the section below on sizing mode and gridlines.
• Linked charts: Charts are inserted as enhanced metafiles and size mode is set to Keep percentage and ratio

If a smartRush item is selected in the list and the dropdown menu next to the Insert button is clicked detailed options for inserting the linked item are shown. Please note the options and the dropdown menu are different whether a text item, range or chart item is selected.

Options when inserting linked text items

Several predefined formats are available for linked text items directly when inserting them. Regional settings can also be applied directly. Please not that custom formats can only be set after the linked text item has been inserted.

The following options are available in the dropdown menu

• Note that these settings are kept after the dropdown menu is closed and are also applied if the Insert button is clicked
• Open file if closed: If this option is enabled smartRush will open the Excel file that contains the smartRush item to be inserted, if the file is closed.
• Keep file open: If this option is enabled smartRush will keep the file open after it had been opened. If this option is not enabled smartRush will automatically close the file after the item has been synchronized.
• Regional settings: This dropdown menu allows to select a region for the text format. The selected regional format will be applied to any of the formats chosen, including number formats as well as date / time formats. Default settings for number and date / time formats will be based on the system settings of the computer. These settings can be found in the control panel. Chosing regional settings is a great way to create aligned reports in foreign languages or when working together in international teams with different language settings. Please note the regional setting has to be chosen before any Insert button is clicked.

The following predefined formats are available:

• Default format: If this format is chosen the linked text item will be inserted as shown in Excel. Usually the applied format is the General format in Excel.
• Text: If this option is selected the linked item is inserted as text. There are no detailed options for inserting text. However, individual text formats can be set afterwards using the Format tab of the smartRush taskbar. Please have a look at the help article on Predefined and custom text formats.
• Number formats: Please have a look at the help article on Predefined and custom number formats
• Date / time formats: Please have a look at the help article on Predefined and custom date / time formats

Options when inserting linked ranges

Linked ranges are inserted as pictures and provide several options. If a range item is selected and the Insert button is hit the default settings will be applied if they have not been changed before. If the default settings have been changed these settings will be kept. Please note this does not apply to other inserting options.

• Open file if closed: The behaviour is similar to linked text items. Please have a look at the explanations at linked text items.
• Keep file open: The behaviour is similar to linked text items. Please have a look at the explanations at linked text items.
• Sizing mode: Pictures in smartRush offer a variety of sizing modes. Please have a look at the section on Sizing options below for further information.
• Gridlines: Linked ranges provide several different options on how to treat gridlines in Excel. Please have a look at the Gridline section below for further information.

Options when inserting linked charts

Linked charts are inserted as pictures and provide the following options. If a chart tem is selected and the Insert button is hit the default settings will be applied if they have not been changed before. If the default settings have been changed these settings will be kept. Please note this does not apply to other inserting options.

• Open file if closed: The behaviour is similar to linked text items. Please have a look at the explanations at linked text items.
• Keep file open: The behaviour is similar to linked text items. Please have a look at the explanations at linked text items.
• Sizing mode: Pictures in smartRush offer a variety of sizing modes. Please have a look at the section on Sizing options below for further information.
• File format: Linked charts provide to chose from different file types. Please have a look at the section on chart file types below for further information.

Sizing options for linked ranges and linked charts

When inserting linked ranges or linked charts several different sizing options are available that determine how the picture is treaten during updates. Sizes may change due to adjusted sizes of charts in Excel as well as indirectly through adjusted column widths or row heights.

• Original size: If this option is selected the picture will be inserted at 100% size and be resized accordingly if the size changed during an update.
• Keep percentage and ratio: This is the default option in smartRush. If this option is selected and the size changes during an update the percentage size will be kept equal. This means if the picture has been inserted at 100% size the picture will also have 100% size after the update. If the picture has been inserted at 80% size it will also have 80% size after the update. Width and height are resized to keep the original ratio of the picture. Please note that the dimensions of the picture may change during an update.
• Keep dimensions and ratio: Selecting this option will also keep the ratio constant. Instead of keeping the percentage constant smartRush will fit the new picture in the current dimensions. If the new picture is larger the picture will be scaled down to match the dimensions. If the new picture is smaller the picture will be inserted at 100% size. Pictures are scaled in a way that the larger dimension fits the old dimension. The smaller dimension will then automatically fit the old dimension. Please note that percentages may change during the update.
• Keep percentage: This option keeps percentages for width and height constant individually without keeping the ratio constant, if the ratio changed. Please note this may lead to stretching of pictures.
• Keep dimensions: This option will fit the new picture exactly into the current dimensions without keeping the ratio constant, if the ratio changed. Please note this may lead to stretching of pictures.

Gridline options for linked ranges

smartRush provides some options how gridlines in Excel should be treated when inserting linked ranges as pictures.

• Do not change gridlines: Selecting this option will keep the gridlines settings of Excel. If gridlines are shown in Excel they will also be visible in the linked range, if they are not shown in Excel they will not be shown on the smartRush linked range picture. Please note that gridline settings may change during an update if they have been changed in Excel.
• Hide gridlines: This ist the default option in smartRush. If this option is selected gridlines will always be hidden in the picture, regardless of the gridline settings in Excel.
• Show gridlines: If this option is selected gridlines will always be shown in the picture, regardless of the gridline settings in Excel.

File type options for linked charts

For linked charts smartRush offers to chose from two different graphical file formats.

• Enhanced Metafile (*.emf): This is the default option in smartRush. The linked chart will be inserted as EMF file. This option maximizes compatibility.
• Scalable vector graphic (*.svg): The linked chart will be inserted as SVG file.