Flourish is here to help you elevate your presentations through data storytelling in all formats, including Microsoft PowerPoint. Using our Flourish Studio PowerPoint add-in, you can bring your Flourish visualizations to life in PowerPoint – with full interactivity and animation preserved.
You can find it here, in the Microsoft app store, and it works in PowerPoint online and desktop versions.
Warning: For a seamless experience, we recommend using the desktop version of the PowerPoint app instead of the online one.
Our add-in enables you to access your Flourish projects library without ever leaving PowerPoint, select a project, and embed it into your presentation with just a handful of clicks.
TIP: The Flourish PowerPoint add-in is available only for users on our Presenter, Publisher or Enterprise plans.
To add a Flourish project to a PowerPoint presentation:
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Install the add-in
In PowerPoint, head to the Add-ins menu at the top right of the screen, search for Flourish Studio and click Add.
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Log in to Flourish
Once you install the add-in, a landing screen will appear. In it, click the Insert Flourish project button.
And then, proceed to log in to Flourish.
If you are a free user (newsroom and legacy personal plans included) you will be promted to upgrade.
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Choose your Flourish project
If you are in one of our paid plans, you will be able to see and choose from a list of your Flourish projects.
Click on the Flourish project you want to add to the PowerPoint presentation and select Insert.
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Your project is embedded
After you insert your project, it now lives on your PowerPoint presentation.
Without losing any of its interactivity, as demonstrated below.
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Move, replace or edit your chart
By moving the mouse close to the edge of the project container, you are able to move it around and resize it.
Additionally, by clicking the three dots on the top left of the Flourish project, you can choose to replace the project or open it in Flourish if you want to edit it.
Please note that in case the project is used in other designs, a warning note will appear. If you choose to create a copy of the chart, you will have to manually replace the original chart in the PowerPoint presentation.
After you are done with your edits, click refresh. Your Flourish project in PowerPoint now reflects the latest version!
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Revoke chart access through Flourish
Back on the Flourish editor, you can also add the chart to another PowerPoint presentation or to revoke PowerPoint access.
When you choose the latter, a confirmation screen will appear. If you are sure you want to revoke access, click Yes, revoke PowerPoint access.
Charts embedded in a PowerPoint presentation whose access has been revoked, will display a 'Project not found' message and appear as shown below. So it would be best to remove them from the presentation.
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Optional: add the PowerPoint add-in through Flourish
You can also add the PowerPoint add-in to PowerPoint directly from Flourish, through the Export & Publish options.
You just have to choose Export to PowerPoint and then Add to PowerPoint, which will take you to the Microsoft AppSource page of the Flourish Studio PowerPoint add-in.
TIP: Due to add-in backend limitations, transparent backgrounds display as white. You can set a background color in Flourish as a workaround.
FAQ
Q: Can I use the Flourish add-in for MS PowerPoint offline?
A: Unfortunately, no. This type of add-in requires internet connectivity.
Q: What happens if I lose internet? Will my project stop displaying?
A: If your connection to the internet is interrupted, a fallback static image of the visualization will be displayed instead.
Q: Do I need the Flourish PowerPoint add-in to just view the Flourish project?
A: Yes, if someone shared a PowerPoint presentation that contains a Flourish project with you, you will need to install the Flourish PowerPoint add-in, to see the Flourish chart. If the add-in is not installed, a static image of the interactive chart will be displayed.
Q: My organisation prevents me from using PowerPoint add-ins - what can I do?
A: If your organisation's IT policy prevents you from installing add-ins, you will see a Microsoft error message: "Microsoft 365 has been configured to prevent individual acquisition and execution of Office Store Add-ins."
A fallback static image of the visualization is displayed so you will be able to still see the content. You can reach out to the IT admins of your organisation and explore if they could whitelist the Flourish Studio PowerPoint add-in or PowerPoint content add-ins in general.
Q: Will I be able to just see the charts if my organisation's security policies prevent me from using this?
A: You will see a Microsoft error message: "Microsoft 365 has been configured to prevent individual acquisition and execution of Office Store Add-ins." A fallback static image of the visualization is displayed so you will still be able to see the content, but without interactivity.
Q: Some of the chart elements appear duplicated - how to I fix this?
A: When presenting on a Mac with a retina display, axis ticks and other chart elements may appear duplicated after switching slides and returning. This appears to be a long-running Microsoft platform bug affecting numerous content add-ins in full-screen presentation mode on high-density displays.
As a workaround, you can use Browsed by an individual (window) mode instead of full screen: go to Slide Show → Set Up Show and select this option under Show type.
To further mitigate the issue, you can add additional bottom padding to charts in Flourish through the layout settings to reduce the visual impact of the duplication, as chart elements near the bottom of the frame are most affected.