Productivity tools

This chapter explains how to use various think-cell productivity tools. By default, you can find most think-cell productivity tools on the think-cell tab of the PowerPoint ribbon, which enables quick access to frequently used features.

If you have a customized ribbon and want to reset the think-cell tab to its default state, select Insert > think-cell > Tools > Reset think-cell Tab. If your installation of think-cell doesn't have the think-cell tab on the ribbon or you can't find some buttons on the think-cell tab, you can still access the productivity tools. For example, you can also access some of the productivity tools by selecting Insert > think-cell > Tools .

20.1 Set objects to the same size

Set multiple objects to the same height, width, or both. To match the size of objects, follow these steps:

1. Select two or more objects.
2. Set a selected object as the reference object. The reference object has a red dot at its center. To set a reference object, hover over an object until you see a red dot, then select the object.
3. Select think-cell > Layout and select Same Size , Same Height , or Same Width . Alternatively, select the objects, right-click to open the context menu, then select Same Height or Same Width . The selected objects will resize to match the reference object's dimensions.

If there are no think-cell elements in your selection, you can still select Same Size , Same Height , or Same Width . The resizing behavior will be the same as the built-in PowerPoint function. To use a reference object and the context menu, you must have a think-cell element in your selection. To learn more, see 3.4 Resizing elements, 3.5.1 Multi-selection, and 3.5.1.1 Reference element.

20.2 Align or distribute objects

Align objects to each other or to the slide. To align objects, select the objects, then select think-cell > Layout > Align or Shape Format > Arrange > Align and select how you want to align them:

• Align Left, Align Center, or Align Right
• Align Top, Align Middle, or Align Bottom
• Distribute Horizontally or Distribute Vertically

Note the following options when aligning or distributing objects:

• If you select a single object, it aligns to the slide.
• If you select multiple objects, you can set a selected object as the reference object. The reference object has a red dot at its center. To set a reference object, hover over an object until you see a red dot, then select the object.
• When you align objects to a reference object, the reference object itself will not move.

If there are no think-cell elements in your selection you can still select think-cell > Layout > Align. The alignment behavior will be the same as the built-in PowerPoint function. To use a reference object and the alignment behavior of think-cell, you must have a think-cell element in your selection. To learn more, see 3.5.1.1 Reference element and 3.7 Aligning and arranging.

20.3 Send or save slides

Send or save a selection of slides or a whole presentation. Combine your selected slides into a new PowerPoint presentation and share them easily.

Send slides

1. Select think-cell > Collaboration > Send Slides or Insert > think-cell > Tools > Send Slides .
2. To send specific slides, adjust your selection as you need while the dialog is open, then select Selected Slides. To send all slides, select Entire Presentation.
3. To create an email in your default email app, select Compose Email.
4. To copy the new presentation you want to send to your clipboard without creating an email, select Copy to Clipboard. This is particularly useful if think-cell doesn't support your email or messenger app.

Save slides

1. Select one or more slide thumbnails. Unlike with Send Slides, if you're using Windows, you need to select your slides first.
2. Select think-cell > Collaboration > Save Slides or Insert > think-cell > Tools > Save Slides .
3. Select Save.

After you save the slides, the new presentation opens for editing.

Choose options

When saving or sending slides, choose from the following options:

• Include Date and Time adds an ISO 8601 time stamp to the file name.
• Clean up the presentation before sending or saving. To learn more about cleaning up your presentation, see 20.4 Clean up sensitive information. When you send or save slides with think-cell, you can apply any of these clean-up options without affecting the original presentation.

When sending slides, choose from additional options:

• Add PDF attaches a .pdf of the presentation to your email, in addition to a PowerPoint document.
  • To send the presentation in .pdf format only, change the file extension in the file name to .pdf when sending the presentation.
  • To save the presentation in .pdf format only, select Save as type > PDF on Windows or Format > PDF on Mac when saving the presentation.
• Zip Attachment attaches the files in a compressed .zip folder.
• Add think-cell Link adds a link in the email to download think-cell. If the email recipient edits the presentation with think-cell, you don't need to reimport think-cell elements when you open the edited file. To learn more, see B.2 Reimporting think-cell elements from PowerPoint.

Send slides with Gmail

Windows only

To send slides with Gmail by default, set up think-cell Send With Gmail in your computer settings. This option is only available if think-cell has been installed with administrator rights. To learn more, see 2.2.1 Installing think-cell.

20.4 Clean up and sanitize

Remove sensitive information, comments, and other unwanted content to ensure your presentation is professional and secure. To clean up your presentation, select think-cell > Quality > Clean Up or Insert > think-cell > Tools > Clean Up . Choose to clean up the selected shapes, selected slide, or the entire presentation, then select from the following clean up options:

Option	Description
Check/Uncheck All	Selects or deselects all the options grouped under Remove the following objects.
Alt text	Removes alt text from objects. To learn more, see Microsoft Support.
Shape Locks	Unlocks any locked objects. To learn more, see Microsoft Support.
Animations	Removes animation effects, triggered animations, and motion paths. To learn more, see Microsoft Support.
Ink	Removes free-form ink objects. To learn more, see Microsoft Support.
Transitions	Removes transition effects. To learn more, see Microsoft Support.
Comments	Removes comments. To learn more, see Microsoft Support.
Presentation Notes	Removes content from the notes sections on slides. To learn more, see Microsoft Support.
Invisible and Off-Slide Content	Removes objects that are formatted as invisible or located outside the slide area. This option doesn't remove objects hidden behind other objects or objects that are invisible due to transparency or animation effects. To learn more, see Microsoft Support.
Hidden Slides	Removes hidden slides. To learn more, see Microsoft Support.
Document Properties and Personal Information	Removes metadata and personal information from the document properties. To learn more, see Microsoft Support.
Unused Slide Masters	Removes unused slide masters, including slide masters that are set to Preserve Master. To learn more, see Microsoft Support.
Unused Layouts	Removes unused slide layouts. To learn more, see Microsoft Support.
Custom XML Data	Removes custom XML data. To learn more, see Microsoft Learn.
Make invisible objects visible	Reveals hidden objects. Note that revealed objects may still be hidden behind other objects or located outside the slide area. To learn more, see Microsoft Support.
Sanitize Contents: Numbers	Replaces numbers with random numbers without affecting the shape and format of objects.

To make changes, select Apply. To make changes and close the dialog, select OK.

20.5 Scan chart data from images

Scan an image of a bar or column chart on your screen and use the scanned data in a think-cell chart or an Excel sheet. You can scan images from any source on your screen, such as websites, PDF documents, or applications.

20.5.1 Use the chart scanner in PowerPoint

To scan an image and use the scanned data in a think-cell chart, follow these steps:

1. In PowerPoint, create any chart except a scatter chart, a bubble chart, a Mekko chart with unit axis, and a Gantt chart.
2. Open the chart’s datasheet: double-click the chart, or select the chart and select Open Datasheet .
3. In the datasheet's toolbar, select Extract and Paste Numerical Data .
4. Move and resize the chart scanner window so that the capture area contains the image you want to scan. Include only the chart area, axes, and labels. Keep headers, references, and explanations outside the capture window.
5. Wait for the chart scanner window to finish scanning. When the chart scanner finishes scanning, it outlines the chart segments in red and the chart baseline in green, and enables the Fill Datasheet button.
6. To rescan the image, move or resize the chart scanner. If the chart scanner can't scan your image accurately, inform think-cell support by selecting Report Bad Scan.
7. To insert the scanned data into your datasheet, select Fill Datasheet. The chart updates to reflect the new data. Close the chart scanner.

Source: Giattino et al. 2024. "Annual global corporate investment in artificial intelligence, by type." Our World in Data.

You can format and edit the updated chart just like any other think-cell chart.

20.5.2 Use the chart scanner in Excel

To scan an image and use the scanned data in an Excel sheet, follow these steps:

1. In Excel, select the cell range where you want to insert the scanned data.
2. Select think-cell > Data > Chart Scanner or Insert > think-cell > Chart Scanner .
3. Move and resize the chart scanner window so that the capture area contains the image you want to scan. Include only the chart area, axes, and labels. Keep headers, references, and explanations outside the capture window.
4. Wait for the chart scanner to finish scanning. When the chart scanner finishes scanning, it outlines the chart segments in red and the chart baseline in green, and enables the Paste Into Excel button.
5. To rescan the image, move or resize the chart scanner window. If the chart scanner can't scan your image accurately, inform think-cell support by selecting Report Bad Scan.
6. To insert the scanned data into your Excel sheet, select Paste Into Excel. The Excel sheet updates to reflect the new data. Close the chart scanner.

You can analyze the data in Excel or link it to a think-cell element in PowerPoint. To learn more, see 21. Excel data links.

20.6 Insert symbols

Access all the frequently used symbols at a glance. To open the Symbols dialog, select think-cell > Text > Insert Symbol or Insert > think-cell > Tools > Insert Symbol . You can leave the dialog open as you continue to edit your presentation. To insert a symbol, open the Symbols dialog, place the text cursor in the desired location, then select a symbol in the dialog.

20.7 Change the proofing language

Change the proofing language of a text selection, slide, or the entire presentation. To change the proofing language, select some text or a shape, then select think-cell > Quality > Set Proofing Language or Review > Language > Set Proofing Language . Choose the proofing language you want, then select from the following options:

• All Text: Change the proofing language of the entire presentation without closing the dialog.
• Text on Slide: Change the proofing language of all the text on the current slide without closing the dialog.
• Default: Change the default proofing language for all new slides and presentations without closing the dialog.
• OK: Change the proofing language for your selected text only and close the dialog.

20.8 Replace and resize fonts

Replace fonts on a particular text, slide, or in the entire presentation. To replace fonts, select think-cell > Quality > Replace Fonts or Home > Editing > Replace Fonts , then select options from the following dropdown menus:

• Replace: Choose to replace all fonts or a specific font.
• with: Select the new font you want to use.
• Change size by: Adjust the font size of the new font you want to use.
• Restrict to: Choose to apply the new font to all the text or only to particular text, such as text using Asian characters.

Choose to replace fonts on the selected slide or in the entire presentation. To replace fonts, select Replace. To close the dialog, select Close.

20.9 Switch decimal symbols

Switch between a comma and a point as the decimal symbol in think-cell elements. To switch the decimal symbol, select think-cell > Quality > Decimal Symbol or Insert > think-cell > Tools > Switch Decimal Symbol . Choose to switch the decimal symbol on the selected slide or in the entire presentation, then select Point (123.4) or Comma (123,4).

Switch Decimal Symbol only affects text fields that have a number format control, such as automatically generated chart labels or text linked to an Excel cell that is formatted as a number. To learn more, see 6.5.3 Number format and 21.5 Creating Text Linked to Excel.

20.10 Display file name or file path on slides

Displaying file names or paths on your slides can help you identify projects if you have specific documentation guidelines in your organization. You can add a text box to the slide master that always displays the file name or file path on all slides. You can also add a text box to the slide layout to only display the file name or path on slides that use the slide layout. The content of the text box updates automatically when the file name or path changes, as long as you open the file in PowerPoint with think-cell activated.

To add a text box that shows the file name or path, follow these steps:

1. Switch to the Slide Master view by selecting View > Master > Slide Master.
2. Select where you want to display the file name or path on. For example, to display the file name or path on the title slide of your presentation, select the title slide layout. To display the file name or path on every slide, select the slide master.
3. Insert any element that can contain text, such as a text box. Enter some text and apply the text formatting you want. When you save the file, think-cell replaces the text you entered with the file name or path.
4. Right-click the text box and select View Alt Text, or select Shape Format > Accessibility > Alt Text.
5. In the Alt Text dialog, enter one of the following:

Alt Text	What think-cell will display on slides
casecode	The file name and extension. Example: ABC123_Analysis_V1.pptx
CASECODE	The file name and extension in capitals. Example: ABC123_ANALYSIS_V1.PPTX
casename	The file name. Example: ABC123_Analysis_V1
CASENAME	The file name in capitals. Example: ABC123_ANALYSIS_V1
casepath	The full file path and extension. Example: C:\Users\jsmith\EU\SorLock Co.\Analysis\ABC123_Analysis_V1.pptx
CASEPATH	The full file path and extension in capitals. Example: C:\USERS\JSMITH\EU\SORLOCK CO.\ANALYSIS\ABC123_ANALYSIS_V1.PPTX

6. When you save the file, the file name or path appears on your slides.