Charts change going from PPT 2007 to PPT 2008+ keep source formatting?

[Ajaxxe]

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Processor: Intel Two issues that I'm hoping to get some help with...

The first:
Some of my charts display differently on the Mac than they do the PC. I can build a deck using PowerPoint 2007 on Windows, with charts built in Excel 2007 and pasted in preserving their source formatting. When I view the same deck on my Mac in PowerPoint 2008 some charts have "jumped." In particular, the plot areas of combination line/column charts with several lengthy text-labels along the x-axis seem to be wider than on the PC. It doesn't happen every time, and there does not appear to be a correlation between the number of labels along the x-axis. This wouldn't be quite so annoying if it didn't also put the plot area "behind" the legend (and render some overlaid shapes totally useless as they're now out of their proper alignment). If I copy this exact same file back the PC again, these same charts look just fine when viewed in PowerPoint 2007. I suspect it might be a difference in how the font for the labels is handled by the Mac, but I'm not sure. Any suggestions? Oddly enough, my client's shop is all Mac so this really matters.

The second issue came out while trying to sort out the first: how do you "keep source formatting" on a pasted chart in PowerPoint 2008? When I paste an Excel 2007 chart into PowerPoint 2007, I always have that little clipboard menu appear to the lower right of the pasted chart. I can then select "keep source formatting" so that the chart doesn't use the default template format. In the course of trying to sort out the first problem, I noticed there is no little clipboard menu appearing in PowerPoint 2008, even though I'm using the same template. How does one "keep source formatting" in this case?

Thank you so much for any help!

- A.

 

[Jim Gordon Mac MVP]

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Processor: Intel
Two issues that I'm hoping to get some help with...

The first:
Some of my charts display differently on the Mac than they do the PC. I
can build a deck using PowerPoint 2007 on Windows, with charts built in
Excel 2007 and pasted in preserving their source formatting. When I view
the same deck on my Mac in PowerPoint 2008 some charts have "jumped." In
particular, the plot areas of combination line/column charts with
several lengthy text-labels along the x-axis seem to be wider than on
the PC. It doesn't happen every time, and there does not appear to be a
correlation between the number of labels along the x-axis. This wouldn't
be quite so annoying if it didn't also put the plot area "behind" the
legend (and render some overlaid shapes totally useless as they're now
out of their proper alignment). If I copy this exact same file back the
PC again, these same charts look just fine when viewed in PowerPoint
2007. I suspect it might be a difference in how the font for the labels
is handled by the Mac, but I'm not sure. Any suggestions? Oddly enough,
my client's shop is all Mac so this really matters.

The second issue came out while trying to sort out the first: how do you
"keep source formatting" on a pasted chart in PowerPoint 2008? When I
paste an Excel 2007 chart into PowerPoint 2007, I always have that
little clipboard menu appear to the lower right of the pasted chart. I
can then select "keep source formatting" so that the chart doesn't use
the default template format. In the course of trying to sort out the
first problem, I noticed there is no little clipboard menu appearing in
PowerPoint 2008, even though I'm using the same template. How does one
"keep source formatting" in this case?

Thank you so much for any help!

- A.

Hello,

Regarding the first problem, it sure sounds like a font substitution
problem. Font handling is the same on Mac and PC. It sounds like the
exact same font that was used on the PC is not installed on the Mac.
When the exact font is missing, something close to it (or sometimes not
so close) is automatically substituted. When using fonts while you're
working on the Mac, notice the font groups on the font menu. Choose
Windows compatible fonts and you should be fine. I don't know if the PC
version has the ability to list Mac compatible fonts - probably not,
although I think there is a compatibility checking capability.

Regarding the pasting issue, what is the source of the chart? Excel,
PowerPoint, Word? Exactly what steps did you take?

Thanks.

-Jim

 

[Ajaxxe]

Hi Jim,

Thank you for getting back to me! All charts in this case were built in Excel and then pasted into PowerPoint.

On the first issue, I believe it's a font rendering discrepancy between PC and Macs. The charts used Calibri, which the Microsoft sites suggest is available in both PPT 07 and PPT 08, but I suspect may not render the same for whatever arcane OS-level reason. I edited the charts to add additional line-breaks within the cell so that there were no more than one or two words per line, and changed the font to Verdana instead of Calibri. Those revised charts look alright in both PPT 2007 and 2008.

The second question used the same pipeline: charts built in Excel and then copied/pasted into PowerPoint. When I do this on the PC in Office 2007, the chart defaults to the PPT template but I always see the clipboard-menu that lets me select "keep source formatting." When I try these same steps on my Mac, I paste an Excel chart into PowerPoint but I don't get the clipboard-menu. I also can't seem to find any options in the toolbox/panel that lets me achieve the same result. I'm stuck with the chart having defaulted to the PPT template's default palette.

I don't think there's another work-around for the first issue, but I can tell my chart-team to use Verdana instead from here on out. Is there any place in PowerPoint 2008 where I can find "keep source formatting" as an option for charts I paste in from Excel 2008?

Thanks!

- A.

 

[Jim Gordon Mac MVP]

Hi Jim,

Thank you for getting back to me! All charts in this case were built in
Excel and then pasted into PowerPoint.

On the first issue, I believe it's a font rendering discrepancy between
PC and Macs. The charts used Calibri, which the Microsoft sites suggest
is available in both PPT 07 and PPT 08, but I suspect may not render the
same for whatever arcane OS-level reason. I edited the charts to add
additional line-breaks within the cell so that there were no more than
one or two words per line, and changed the font to Verdana instead of
Calibri. Those revised charts look alright in both PPT 2007 and 2008.

The second question used the same pipeline: charts built in Excel and
then copied/pasted into PowerPoint. When I do this on the PC in Office
2007, the chart defaults to the PPT template but I always see the
clipboard-menu that lets me select "keep source formatting." When I try
these same steps on my Mac, I paste an Excel chart into PowerPoint but I
don't get the clipboard-menu. I also can't seem to find any options in
the toolbox/panel that lets me achieve the same result. I'm stuck with
the chart having defaulted to the PPT template's default palette.

I don't think there's another work-around for the first issue, but I can
tell my chart-team to use Verdana instead from here on out. Is there any
place in PowerPoint 2008 where I can find "keep source formatting" as an
option for charts I paste in from Excel 2008?

Thanks!

- A.

Hi,

I'm glad you found a font that works for you. I've had good luck with
both Calibri and Verdana, but there have been times when Verdana worked
just a smidge better cross platform than Calibri for me.

The paste button problem may be a bug. I tried and got the same result
that you did. I checked my PowerPoint preferences and I do have
Edit>Show Paste Options button chosen. Maybe someone else will weigh in
on this topic. Meanwhile, use Help > Send Feedback and let Microsoft
know the steps you took and that you expected the paste button to appear.

-Jim

 

[Jim Gordon Mac MVP]

Hi Jim,

Thank you for getting back to me! All charts in this case were built in
Excel and then pasted into PowerPoint.

On the first issue, I believe it's a font rendering discrepancy between
PC and Macs. The charts used Calibri, which the Microsoft sites suggest
is available in both PPT 07 and PPT 08, but I suspect may not render the
same for whatever arcane OS-level reason. I edited the charts to add
additional line-breaks within the cell so that there were no more than
one or two words per line, and changed the font to Verdana instead of
Calibri. Those revised charts look alright in both PPT 2007 and 2008.

The second question used the same pipeline: charts built in Excel and
then copied/pasted into PowerPoint. When I do this on the PC in Office
2007, the chart defaults to the PPT template but I always see the
clipboard-menu that lets me select "keep source formatting." When I try
these same steps on my Mac, I paste an Excel chart into PowerPoint but I
don't get the clipboard-menu. I also can't seem to find any options in
the toolbox/panel that lets me achieve the same result. I'm stuck with
the chart having defaulted to the PPT template's default palette.

I don't think there's another work-around for the first issue, but I can
tell my chart-team to use Verdana instead from here on out. Is there any
place in PowerPoint 2008 where I can find "keep source formatting" as an
option for charts I paste in from Excel 2008?

Thanks!

- A.

Just a follow-up. It seems that if I use the Scrapbook (View >
Scrapbook) the paste behavior is different (still no paste button,
though). Give the Scrapbook a try and see if you like it.

-Jim