page static_html.xsl pptgen

Presentation Generation

The presentation to be generated is defined in an xml presentation manifest. The manifest contains:

• PPT to use as presentation template
• An ordered set of slides to be added to the presentation
• Embedded or URL referenced data for dynamic slides
• Final destination of presentation (email, file, etc)

Implementation

The toolkit is geared towards developers of in-house or customer-facing reporting and business communications applications. The sample web site included with the toolkit can be used to quickly develop the capability to deliver dynamic, data-driven, customized presentations. The generator is implemented in .NET as a class which can be used either as a library or as a web service.

When used in a web-based presentation application, the generator creates an HTA document which runs on the users desktop to orchestrate the composition of the presentation. The only client-side requirements are Internet Explorer and PowerPoint.

Server-side generation is also available. A SOAP web service consumes presentation manifests which are then asynchronously processed. The generated presentation can be emailed to the desired recipients, or saved to the file system.