What’s a Waterfall Chart?
Waterfall Charts in PowerPoint
What are Ampler, or Ampler Charts?
Waterfall Chart Types
Inserting a Waterfall Chart Using Ampler
Entering Your Data
Editing the Waterfall Directly on the Slide
Linking to Excel
Formatting and Brand Consistency
When NOT to Use a Waterfall Chart
Key Takeaways
Conclusion

What’s a Waterfall Chart?

A waterfall chart shows the cumulative effect of sequentially positive and negative values. Each column represents a distinct category, and the chart builds from a starting base value, with each subsequent column either rising or falling depending on whether the value it represents is positive or negative. The final column shows the cumulative total.

Figure 1, below, shows a basic waterfall chart.

Figure 1: A simple waterfall chart

Popularized by McKinsey, the waterfall chart has collected quite a few nicknames over the years: bridge chart, cascade chart, and the rather evocative flying bricks chart, a nod to those floating columns that seem to defy gravity. As nicknames go, flying bricks is hard to beat.

The chart itself has earned its place in financial analysis, project management, and business consulting. Profit and loss breakdowns, budget versus actuals, revenue bridge analysis, inventory flow, cost reduction scenarios: if your job is to show how a number gets from point A to point B with a few stops in between, the waterfall chart is almost always the right vehicle for the journey.

You May Also Like: Creating Gantt Charts in PowerPoint Using Ampler

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Waterfall Charts in PowerPoint

Here is something worth knowing: while PowerPoint does include a native waterfall chart option, it is limited in customization and visual polish. Adjusting totals, subtotals, connector lines, and colors requires manual intervention.

And those limitations have a cost. You spend time adjusting floating bars, nudging connector lines, and color-coding positive and negative columns manually, and then the numbers change. Back to square one. Ampler changes that entirely, bringing purpose-built waterfall chart functionality into PowerPoint without the manual acrobatics. Subtotals and totals are calculated automatically, connector lines toggle on with a single click, and every visual element is customizable without workarounds.

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What are Ampler, or Ampler Charts?

What happens when consultants who spent years wishing PowerPoint was better, decide to fix it themselves? You get Ampler. Built by ex-Bain consultants, the suite brings consulting-grade charting into Microsoft 365 without the workarounds. Ampler Charts is the charting-focused subset of the suite, purpose-built for the chart types that define professional presentations: Gantt, Mekko, combination charts, and waterfall charts.

Great tools should not cost a fortune, and Ampler takes that seriously. The Ampler Charts-only plan is priced at €12 per month, making professional-grade charting accessible without a significant budget commitment. For those who live and work across Microsoft Office, the full Ampler Suite at €30 per month brings the same gains to Excel, Word, and Outlook.

Ampler is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, a city that gave the world both Hans Christian Andersen and a reputation for clean, purposeful design. There may be something in that tradition that found its way into Ampler’s approach to charts.

Before we proceed further, a word of thanks. Reviews like this one only come together with the help of people who are genuinely invested in what they have built. Sune Høj Kodahl was generous with his time and thorough in his responses throughout this review.

Curious to see it in action? A trial version of both Ampler and Ampler Charts is available directly from the Ampler website, and there is no better way to appreciate what it does than to build a chart yourself.

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Waterfall Chart Types

Ampler supports two waterfall chart types:

• Build-up: Think of a build-up waterfall as counting what you earned. You start with nothing, add your salary, your bonus, your side income, and watch the total climb. The build-up waterfall works the same way: it opens at a base value and accumulates upward, making it ideal for showing how individual components contribute to a final total. Fun fact: this is the format McKinsey used most often in client presentations to show revenue growth drivers.
• Build-down: The build-down is the other side of that story. Think of it as reading your payslip. You start with a promising gross salary and then watch it shrink as taxes, deductions, and contributions do their work. The build-down waterfall opens at a total and works downward, making it the right choice when you need to show how costs, deductions, or losses reduce a starting figure.

Does that make the build-up inherently positive and the build-down negative? Not at all. The mood depends entirely on the data, not the direction. A build-up can tell a cautionary tale: showing how costs accumulate to an unexpectedly high total is hardly an uplifting story, even if the bars move upward. A build-down can be equally positive: starting with gross revenue and showing how efficiently a business converts it to net profit with minimal deductions is a story worth telling. The direction reflects the structure of the data, not the sentiment behind it. Choose the type that fits your data and the story you want to tell, then proceed to insert.

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Inserting a Waterfall Chart Using Ampler

Creating a waterfall chart in PowerPoint using Ampler is straightforward. The steps below walk you through the full process, from setting up your slide to placing the chart. Follow these steps to get started:

1. Launch PowerPoint with the Ampler or Ampler Charts add-in active. You will typically see a slide with a Title and Content layout. We will now change our slide layout to Title Only. To do so, access the Home tab of the Ribbon. Next, click on the Slide Layout button, highlighted in blue within Figure 2, below. In the ensuing drop-down gallery, choose the Title Only option, highlighted in red within Figure 2.

The data used in this waterfall chart is dummy data, and you will have to input your own data to make a waterfall chart that’s relevant to you. We explore how to do so in the next section.

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Entering Your Data

You will now populate this waterfall chart with your own data, using an Excel datasheet.

When entering values in the datasheet, follow these rules:

• The starting value must go in the Total cell at the beginning of the datasheet, highlighted in red within Figure 9, below.
• Positive values go in cells within the Increase row, highlighted in blue.
• Negative values go in cells within the Decrease cell, entered as negative numbers, highlighted in green.
• To add an intermediate subtotal column at any point in the chart, add an “e” to the Total series cell at that position, highlighted in orange.
• To add a final cumulative total column at the end of the chart, add a “t” to the Total series cell at the end of the datasheet, highlighted in purple.
• All values in the Total row in the Excel sheet are called base/total values. It doesn’t matter whether they are Start, Intermediate, or End totals.

Figure 9: Add waterfall chart values in the datasheet

The chart updates in real time as you enter data. The cumulative total is calculated automatically. Close the Excel datasheet and the chart is ready to show and edit further in PowerPoint.

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Editing the Waterfall Directly on the Slide

One of Ampler’s more practical features is direct on-slide editing. For waterfall charts, this is true for almost everything other than the actual data itself, which you will have to edit using the datasheet, as explained in the preceding section.

To make formatting edits, click any column with the primary mouse button to select it. Doing so brings up two floating panes. The topmost one provides access to formatting options, highlighted in red within Figure 10, below. The bottom one, highlighted in blue, reverses the series order shown in the chart legend.

Figure 10: Primary click options

We explored clicking on a specific chart element such as a column. Let us now select the entire waterfall chart and click. Doing so will bring up the two floating panes you see in Figure 11, below. The top pane, highlighted in red, contains formatting options. The other pane, highlighted in blue, contains several other options, most of which are accessible through easy, drop-down lists.

Figure 11: Primary click options for the entire chart

Right-clicking a selected chart element brings up a contextual menu. To see options that apply to the entire chart, click the chart edge to select it first, then right-click. The resulting menu, shown highlighted in red within Figure 12, below, covers the full range of chart-level settings.

Figure 12: Right click options for a waterfall chart

Right-clicking different elements of the chart produces different menus. On an individual column, the menu offers options to change its type, color, or label. At the chart level, the same right-click approach controls connector lines, axis scales, and the visibility of chart elements.

You can also open the Excel datasheet using the Open datasheet option highlighted in blue within Figure 12, above. Also, if you need to delete the entire chart, you can click the Delete chart option, highlighted in orange. There’s also the Establish Excel link option, highlighted in green that we explore in the next section.

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Linking to Excel

Here is a question worth asking before you start typing: do you already have this data in Excel? If the answer is yes, put the keyboard down. There is no need to enter the same numbers twice. Click on the waterfall chart, and you will see the Establish Excel link option, highlighted in green within Figure 11. Alternatively, right-click, and you will see the Establish Excel link option, highlighted in green within Figure 12. Click on any of these options, and an Establish Excel link window opens, shown in Figure 13, below.

Figure 13: Establish Excel link window

If you already had an Excel sheet open with suitable data, the Establish Excel link window would have auto populated all fields for you. But this is an easy problem to resolve. Close this Establish Excel link window, open your Excel sheet, select your data, and then within PowerPoint, summon the Establish Excel link window. Ampler will now auto-detect the data, as shown in the Establish Excel link window in Figure 14, below.

Figure 14: Waterfall chart linked to existing Excel data

You cannot use any data to create a waterfall chart. So, do note that data needs to be in a format that can be relevant to a waterfall chart.

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Formatting and Brand Consistency

Ampler gives you precise control over every visual element of your waterfall chart. Here is how to approach formatting:

1. Colors

The most widely accepted color convention for waterfall charts uses green for positive columns, red for negative columns, and a neutral tone such as grey or dark navy for base and total columns. This three-color system is deliberate: green and red carry immediate directional meaning for most audiences, while the neutral base and total columns anchor the chart without competing visually with the movement bars. Using more than three colors is generally discouraged in consulting and financial presentation contexts, as it introduces visual noise without adding analytical value. The convention is so well established that audiences familiar with waterfall charts will often read the chart by color before reading the labels.

To change column colors, click any column on the chart to select. Do note that if you select any of the base/total columns, the other base/column columns will also be selected, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 15, below. The same is true for positive and negative columns as well.

Figure 15: Selected base and total columns

Then, carefully click on any of these columns to bring up a floating pane similar to PowerPoint’s Mini Toolbar, as shown highlighted in green, within Figure 16, below. Next, click the downward arrow within the Fill Color button, as shown highlighted in blue.

Figure 16: Change fill color for a column

Doing so brings up PowerPoint’s default Theme colors, as shown in Figure 17, below. You can choose a new color or even click on the handy Eyedropper option, highlighted in red within Figure 17. This works like PowerPoint’s Eyedropper option.

Figure 17: Theme colors and Eyedropper option

Positive and negative columns should be color-coded differently to make the direction of each change immediately clear to the audience. This is one of the five best practices for waterfall charts and something Ampler makes straightforward with a single click.

2. Connector Lines

Imagine reading a sentence with all the spaces removed. The words are all there, but making sense of them takes considerably more effort. Connector lines in a waterfall chart work like those spaces: they give the audience a clear visual pause between each column, making it easy to follow the sequence from left to right without losing track.

In usability studies on financial charts, connector lines consistently reduce the time it takes audiences to correctly interpret a waterfall chart. Follow these steps to explore how you can use connectors:

1. Right-click the chart and select the Waterfall connectors option in the resultant menu, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 18, below. If it is already active, don’t deactivate this option.

3. Annotations

A waterfall chart already tells a story. Ampler adds four annotations that act like the narrator, pointing out what matters and saying it in numbers:

• CAGR arrows show the compound annual growth rate between two points on the chart. Think of average speed on a road trip. You did not drive at exactly 80 km/h the whole way, with traffic and snack stops along the way. But the average tells you the steady pace that would have got you from A to B within the same time. A CAGR arrow does that for growth. It smooths out the bumps and gives you one steady yearly rate.
• Total differences show the overall change from the first column to the last. This is the elevator ride from the ground floor to the top floor. You skip the stairs in between and see only how far you traveled from start to finish.
• Level differences show how big the change is between two specific columns. Picture two steps on a staircase and a tape measure held between them. You are not asking how the staircase got there. You are asking how much higher one step sits than the other. Pick any two columns, and the level difference gives you the gap.
• Value lines draw a horizontal line across the chart at a value you choose. Think of the pass mark on an exam paper. One line shows at a glance which columns clear it and which fall short. Use it for a target, a budget, or a break-even point.

Used together, the four annotations answer different questions: how fast it grew, how far apart two moments are, where it all ended up, and how it compares with the number that matters.

These annotations can be added directly from the right-click menu, with all four options visible at the top of the menu, highlighted in red within Figure 23, below.

Figure 23: Annotation options for waterfall charts

These are all useful when you want to surface a key insight directly on the chart rather than in a separate text box. That said, one or two annotations is usually enough. Using all four at once risks saying too many things simultaneously, which can dilute the chart’s core message.

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When NOT to Use a Waterfall Chart

A waterfall chart is a specialist, not a generalist. It does one thing well: showing how a number moves from point A to point B through a series of ups and downs. Ask it to do anything else and it starts to struggle. Here is when to call in a substitute:

• When trends over time matter. Waterfall charts are not time machines. If the story is about how something changed across months or years, a line chart handles that job.
• When category comparison matters. If you are comparing five products, three regions, or two teams, a bar chart gives each one equal footing. A waterfall chart would force a sequential story onto data that has no natural sequence.
• When composition matters. There is a difference between what changed a total and what makes up a total. If you want to show the latter, a stacked chart is the right call. A waterfall chart shows the journey; a stacked chart shows the destination’s contents.
• When there are more than 12 adjustments. Fun fact: research on working memory suggests that most people can hold around seven items in their head at once. A waterfall chart with 15 bars pushes well past that limit. When the bridge gets that long, group the smaller items or consider a different chart entirely.

Knowing when not to use a waterfall chart is half the battle. The other half is having the right alternative ready. Ampler supports all the chart types listed above, along with a full range of others, which means switching to the right chart for your data never requires leaving the add-in.

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Key Takeaways

Waterfall charts are simple in concept. A number goes in, things happen to it, and a number comes out. Ampler keeps that simplicity intact on the slide.

Native PowerPoint can produce a waterfall chart. It just takes longer than it should, and the result needs attention every time the data changes. Ampler removes both problems. For anyone who presents financial or operational data regularly, the time saved on formatting and recalculation adds up quickly. The Charts-only plan costs €12 per month, which is a fair price for a tool that pays for itself on the first chart.

Here are some takeaways:

• Waterfall charts show how a value changes from start to finish. Build-up versions emphasize accumulation, and build-down versions emphasize deductions.
• Ampler automates subtotals, connectors, and formatting.
• Excel linking removes manual updates.
• Chart-design best practices improve audience comprehension.

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Conclusion

A well-built waterfall chart does not need much explanation. The numbers speak, the colors direct the eye, and the audience follows without being led. Ampler is built around that idea: that the chart should do the work, and the process of building it should stay out of the way. For anyone who presents financial or operational data regularly, that is worth something.

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The post Creating Waterfall Charts in PowerPoint Using Ampler appeared first on PowerPoint Notes.

So, You Want to Show Off a Floor Plan (Without Losing Your Mind)
Where the Idea Came From?
Download and Installation
How SimpleDim Works
1. Set Scale
2. Set Scale from Line
Too Many Cooks, One Scale
More CAD Options
More Thoughts
The Bottom Line

So, You Want to Show Off a Floor Plan (Without Losing Your Mind)

Picture this. You’re in a meeting, and someone says, “Can you just pull up the warehouse layout real quick?”

Suddenly, everyone’s staring at you like you’re supposed to conjure a blueprint out of thin air. Here’s the dirty little secret: CAD software (the professional tool for this exact job) is basically a Formula 1 race car. Powerful, precise, and completely useless if you don’t know how to drive it. Most people outside the engineering department have never been seated in the driver’s seat. Half the time, they can’t even get the car out of the garage, because CAD files are notoriously fussy about how they are opened.

This is where SimpleDim strolls in, hands in pockets, looking suspiciously relaxed. Instead of asking you to learn a whole new race car, it takes the dimensioning and layout tricks CAD is famous for and tucks them neatly into PowerPoint. Yes, that PowerPoint. The one already open on your laptop, the one you’ve used since college, the one that doesn’t require a manual thicker than a phone book. Think of it like getting race-car handling in the family sedan you already know how to park.

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Where the Idea Came From?

Paul’s background is in supply chain, distribution, and logistics. He did not set out to build software. He was building PowerPoint presentations that tested different layout configurations, and he kept switching to Excel to calculate dimensions and check his drawings. That extra step became the starting point for SimpleDim. He wanted dimensioning tools “like you see in AutoCAD,” built into the program that most people already have open.

You May Also Like: SimpleDim CAD Add-in for PowerPoint: Conversation with Paul Lukehart

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Download and Installation

SimpleDim offers a free 3-day trial, available for download from their website, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 1, below. Three days isn’t much time, so install it only when you’re ready to start testing right away. That way, you get the full value of the trial period.

Figure 1: Download a trial version of SimpleDim

Once installed, you will see the new SimpleDim tab of the Ribbon, highlighted in red within Figure 2, below.

Figure 2: SimpleDim tab of the Ribbon

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How SimpleDim Works

The foundation of SimpleDim is a scale setting. You define what one inch or centimeter on the slide equals in real-world units (meters or feet), whatever fits. From there, shapes can be drawn to exact dimensions. Notably, this dimensioning also works on ordinary PowerPoint shapes that weren’t drawn through SimpleDim’s own tools, including freeform shapes, where you can pull area, perimeter, and adjustable-precision linear measurements.

There are two ways to set such a scale, and which you choose depends on what you are trying to achieve.

The first option, Set Scale, is for content you create in SimpleDim within PowerPoint, and the second option, Set Scale from Line, is for CAD drawings you import from external sources, such as a PDF floor plan. Let us understand these better.

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1. Set Scale

Use this option when you know the real-world size you want one slide inch (or centimeter) to represent.

1. Open the slide you want to draw on. The scale applies to one slide at a time, so repeat these steps on any other slide you want to use with SimpleDim.
2. Go to the SimpleDim tab on the Ribbon and click on the Set Scale button, highlighted in red within Figure 3, below.

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2. Set Scale from Line

While the Set Scale option works best for new drawings you create in PowerPoint, the second option, Set Scale from Line, is best suited when you have a drawing, such as a PDF floor plan, and you know one real distance from it.

1. Place the image of your CAD drawing on the slide. To do so, your image has to be in a graphic file format that PowerPoint can insert. These include PNG, JPEG, TIF, BMP, etc. Figure 8, below shows an image inserted on your slide.

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Too Many Cooks, One Scale

Big CAD layouts rarely belong to one person. An operations manager sketches the warehouse, a consultant tweaks the racking, an engineer checks the dock doors, and the client asks for “just one more option” before lunch. Everyone needs to work on the same drawing. And everyone needs to agree on what one inch on the slide actually means.

That is where things go wrong. If one person thinks a slide is 1:50 and another assumes 1:100, the layout looks fine, and the numbers are all wrong. It is like two cooks sharing a recipe, where one measures in cups and the other in liters.

SimpleDim handles this with tags. Think of the luggage tag on a suitcase. It stays on the bag no matter which plane, truck, or conveyor belt the bag rides. SimpleDim attaches the scale to each slide in the same way. Share the presentation over Teams or any cloud storage, and the tag travels with the slide.

So, when two people both have SimpleDim, they open the file and see the same scale on every slide. They can swap changes back and forth over Teams or cloud storage without retyping a single number. Nobody has to ask, “Wait, what scale are we on?”

What if a colleague does not have SimpleDim? They can still open the presentation and edit it like any other PowerPoint file. They just cannot draw to scale with the add-in’s tools. It is like being allowed into the kitchen but not handed the measuring cups.

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More CAD Options

A few commands within the Tools group bring SimpleDim closer to real CAD functionality, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 18, below.

Figure 18: More CAD options

These are marked in Figure 18, above, and explained below:

A. Array

Think of the Array tool as a cookie cutter with perfect manners. Instead of cutting one cookie, then nudging the cutter over and hoping you’ve left the same gap each time, you tell SimpleDim how many copies you want and how far apart they should sit, as you can see in Figure 19, below.

Figure 19: Create array using SimpleDim

SimpleDim achieves this task in one go, rows and columns lined up like soldiers on parade. That makes it ideal for racking, column lines, or anything else that repeats across a layout. Drawing 40 identical rack blocks by hand is a good way to lose an afternoon and your patience. With Array, it takes a few seconds.

You can also opt to group all shapes created in this new array, if you select the suitably named Group Shapes option, highlighted in red within Figure 19, above.

B. Offset

Offset is a CAD staple, and AutoCAD has long had an Offset command of its own. SimpleDim brings the same idea into the PowerPoint you already know how to use. Think of Offset as a very obedient shadow. You tell it, “Stand exactly 5 meters to the left of me,” and it does, with no wobbling, no squinting, and no “that looks about right.” Figure 20, below, shows options in the Offset dialog box, where you can set X and Y offsets. Note that you can also set negative offsets, and you can check the Delete original shape(s) option, highlighted in red within Figure 20, if you want the offset shape to replace the original shape.

Figure 20: Offset shapes using SimpleDim

Without the Offset option, you would drag a copy of a shape across the slide and nudge it until it looked close enough. That is like hanging a picture frame by eye and stepping back three times to check. Of course, you can use PowerPoint’s size and position options, but those would only work with centimeters or inches. SimpleDim’s Offset is the tape measure and the spirit level in one. Type the distance, and the copy lands exactly where it should. It is handy for aisle widths, setbacks, clearances, or any gap that has to be right. When a gap needs to be exact, guessing is expensive.

C. Mirror

Think of Mirror as the paper heart trick from school. You fold a sheet, unfold it, and both sides match perfectly. Mirror does the same for your shapes. You draw a line with two clicks, as shown in Figure 21, below.

Figure 21: Mirror objects in any direction

Based on your line, SimpleDim creates a reflected copy on the other side, as shown in Figure 22, below. The fold can run in any direction: up and down, side to side, or at an angle.

Figure 22: Reflected copy

So, if you have designed one half of a warehouse, you do not need to redraw the other half. Mirror it, and the dock doors, racking blocks, and aisles all land on the opposite or any other side, perfectly matched. Mirror works with individual, multiple, and grouped objects.

D. Count

Think of Count as the teacher who counts heads on a school trip. Nobody wants to point at each child and mumble numbers, and nobody trusts a “looks about right” when a bus is about to leave. Count does the headcount for you, and it gets the number right every time. Select one or any number of objects on the slide, then click Count. You can also use the Ctrl + A keyboard shortcut to select all objects on your slide. SimpleDim finds every matching object and reports the total, as shown in Figure 23, below.

Figure 23: Count in SimpleDim

Notice the Copy button highlighted in red within Figure 23, above. Clicking on this button copies a tab-delimited list of all slide objects to the clipboard.

E. Name Block

Every shape in PowerPoint has a unique name, and these names can be as mundane as Rectangle 3 or similar, which makes no sense in a CAD environment. So, this Name Block option lets you rename shapes and slide objects to something more sensible, such as Storage Area. To use this option, first select a single slide object. This option does not work if you have multiple slide objects or even a group selected. Next, click on the Name Block button. You will see the Name Block dialog box, shown in Figure 24, below.

Figure 24: Name Block dialog box

You can now overwrite the name with something more descriptive. Do note that renaming slide objects using the Name Block option is almost the same as renaming slide objects in PowerPoint’s Selection Pane.

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More Thoughts

SimpleDim makes the most sense when you see it in a real project. Paul described one. A client supplied a PDF floor plan, which his team pinned to the slide background. On top of it, they built several racking layout options, complete with area calculations and shape counts. The client reviewed each configuration and picked one, without a formal CAD drawing at that stage.

The format helped. The work lived in PowerPoint, so Paul could share it live over Teams or Zoom and settle questions on the call. There was no waiting for file exports or engineer revisions.

The tool has a clear boundary. It cannot bring native AutoCAD geometry into PowerPoint as editable shapes. For now, you export the drawing as an image, a screen capture, or a PDF, then place it on the slide as a reference to trace or annotate.

Paul’s own evolution points to the same practical mindset. SimpleDim grew out of what he needed for his consulting work in warehouse and distribution program management, the field covered by his firm, PL Programs, and by his book Practical Floor Supervision, used in Auburn University’s supply chain curriculum.

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The Bottom Line

Think of AutoCAD as a professional kitchen: huge, powerful, and built for trained chefs. SimpleDim is the well-organized kitchen drawer at home. It will not cater a banquet for 500, and it does not try to. It does help you whip up something accurate, shareable, and presentable without enrolling in culinary school. If you work in operations, consult for a living, or have never touched CAD, that is exactly what you need. It also happens inside the one application almost everyone already has open.

Here is the neat part. SimpleDim does not care whether the thing on your slide is a CAD drawing or just a plain old PowerPoint shape. A rectangle you drew five minutes ago gets the same treatment. Its CAD-style tools, Array, Offset, and Mirror, work on regular slide objects too. Copy a shape 40 times in a perfect row, place a copy exactly 5 meters away, or flip a design across a line. These are tricks PowerPoint never learned on its own.

So, SimpleDim hits two birds with one stone. You get CAD-style precision for imported drawings, and you get power tools for everyday slide editing. It is a Swiss Army knife for your slides: small, handy, and always in your pocket.

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The post Exploring SimpleDim CAD Add-in for PowerPoint appeared first on PowerPoint Notes.

You have your presentation ready. The slides are prepared, and they include charts, tables, bullet points, and photos. You have rehearsed several times and feel comfortable with the content and flow. So, why does it feel like it’s falling a little flat?

Here is how to connect with your listeners and give your talk the energy it needs.

1. Humanize your data

Look at your visuals and find a place where you can share a relevant experience of your own. For example, if you are talking about the impact of incentives on productivity, don’t just throw numbers at your audience. Instead, talk about how incentives work at home with your children and their allowance. This not only adds a little humor but also brings the data to life.

2. Tell a business story

If you are presenting a chart that tracks your division’s revenue over time, tell a story about the actions that led to a sudden spike in revenue in a particular month. This engages the audience by bringing your point to life. Plus, you give them an inside view of the situation.

3. Add an example

Real-life examples can be very convincing. If you are suggesting a particular course of action, you could say something like, “Look what happened to Company X when it did what we proposed. Its revenues increased by 28%!” Or ask someone in the room, “Juan, you had this experience at your last company. Can you tell us about it?”

4. Present a “what if” scenario

Use this tool with care, but it can create an emotional connection with your audience. When showing a chart of month-over-month sales increases, you could say, “Imagine if we could continue this trend for the next 12 months. Wouldn’t that be spectacular?” If you are talking about a product launch, you could say, “What if we could launch this product in six months rather than nine? Wouldn’t that be amazing?”

5. Share a personal story appropriate to your presentation

Start identifying experiences in your life that make for an interesting story. Tell the story with emotion. Keep it short and make sure it relates to one of the messages in your presentation. Here are two example stories:

Story 1: Go Home — You are Going to Fail

I spent my junior year abroad at a French university. I had studied only two years of French. Upon arriving, I spent six weeks in an intensive French class. At the end, the director brought me into his office. He said, “You have to go home. You don’t understand French well enough. You will fail at the university.”

I replied, “I’m not going home.”

He said, “I’m not responsible when you fail.”

For two months, I copied the notes from my French friends. I got a French boyfriend who did not want to learn English. Guess what? At the end of the year, I received A’s in all my classes. (Tie back to your presentation: I know some people believe this project is going to fail. I’m going to show you how we will succeed just as I did in France.)

Story 2: The Misunderstood Number

In a beautiful art gallery specializing in unique sculpture and crystals, I was chatting with the gallery owner who appeared to know a lot about his pieces. A person who the owner recognized came in carrying a box. He said, “This is a very special piece.”

Upon seeing it, the gallery owner became visibly interested and asked, “What’s the price?”

The seller said, “Twelve.”

The gallery owner thought and said, “I’m interested but don’t have the cash. I can get it at the bank tomorrow.”

After some further discussion, the seller said, “I’ll take five now and you can pay the balance by check.”

The gallery owner said, “I think I have five thousand in the safe.”

The seller of the piece was shocked and said, “I’m not asking for twelve thousand. I’m asking for one thousand two hundred.”

Of course, they did the deal. (Tie back to your presentation: The story shows how one needs to be clear about a number. So, for example, if you are making a presentation recommending a company but its proposal contains facts or numbers that are not clear, you could say: “This proposal is not clear about some numbers. For next steps I suggest we call the company to clarify what its offer actually means.”)

Write your own!

Choose two to three ways you can connect with your audience by humanizing your data, telling a business story, adding an example or presenting a “what if.”

  Claudyne Wilder runs a boutique presentation business. Wilder Presentations offers Get to the Message presentation workshops and consulting services to organizations ranging from Fortune 500 pharmaceutical firms to community-based non-profits. Claudyne is the creator of TorchMetrics, an innovative online tool that operates on your device as a customized speaking coach.

With a Masters in organizational development, Claudyne coaches on including the right content with the right number of details as well as on message-oriented slides and persuasive, engaging delivery. Having extensively studied Argentine Tango for over ten years, she brings the idea of “connection” to her clients to help them more passionately engage with their audience.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.

The post Add a Story or Example for More Connection appeared first on PowerPoint Notes.

The Problem with Remembering and Reading Scripts
Who’s Behind ScriptAssist?
What ScriptAssist Actually Does
The Word Review Workflow
The AI and Voice Features
Who Should Use ScriptAssist?
Pricing and Support
Conclusion

The Problem with Remembering and Reading Scripts

A few years ago, a colleague of mine was mid-pitch on a video call with investors when his toddler wandered into the frame demanding a snack. In that instant, his train of thought scattered, and he had to find his way back mid-sentence with ten faces on a grid waiting. Anyone would have lost their place. If you present on video calls often enough, you’ve had your own version of that moment, some distraction that has nothing to do with how prepared you are, and everything to do with how unpredictable a live video call can be.

Most of us cope with one of two strategies, and neither one is great.

1. Memorize the script, and you’re one interruption away from an unintended distraction. And that translates to the confused, blank stare.
2. Read from paper notes, and you solve the memory problem but create a new one: your eyes keep dropping down, and on camera, that looks a lot like someone who’d rather be reading than talking to you. There’s a reason political debate coaches spend so much time on this. Eye contact reads as confidence even when the words underneath are shaky, and its absence reads as nerves even when the words are perfect.

PowerPoint has an answer of sorts in Presenter view, which puts your notes on a second screen while your slides go out to the room. It’s a genuinely useful feature, and it has been for years. But think about when it was built. Presenter view was designed for a world of conference rooms and projectors, where the “audience” sat several feet away and couldn’t see your eyes flick sideways even if they tried. Put that same feature to work on a video call, and the whole illusion falls apart. Everyone can see exactly where you’re looking, and everyone can tell it isn’t at them.

ScriptAssist, a new product from SlideSource was built to close that specific gap. To ensure you know how it fares, we spent time going through what ScriptAssist does, how it works, and who it’s really built for.

ScriptAssist is available in two tiers: Standard and Pro. Standard covers the hidden on-camera teleprompter, all presentation modes, the Word review round-trip, and presentation timing. Pro adds the AI Script Assistant and VoiceSync on top of that.

You May Also Like: ScriptAssist: Conversation with Bob Befus

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Who’s Behind ScriptAssist?

SlideSource is not a startup guessing at a problem. They’ve spent nearly three decades preparing presentations for pharma and biotech teams, the kind of audiences (think FDA advisory panels) where a badly delivered line can cost more than embarrassment.

Think of the difference between a surgeon who has spent thirty years in the operating room and someone who has just finished watching medical videos online. Both might know the steps, but only one of them knows what actually happens when something goes wrong mid-procedure and there’s no room for a second guess. SlideSource is the veteran surgeon here. The company has spent close to three decades working with pharma and biotech teams, preparing presentations for FDA advisory committees, medical-legal-regulatory reviews, and other rooms where every word on a slide gets scrutinized before it’s said out loud, the presentation equivalent of a review board checking every step before signing off.

Our contact at SlideSource for this review was Bob Befus. Thank you, Bob.

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What ScriptAssist Actually Does

At the foundational level, ScriptAssist is a teleprompter for PowerPoint. It works with speaker notes already sitting in your deck and turns them into a script window next to your webcam. The result is that you read naturally, looking all the while at your camera (where your script overlay also shows up), and let your audience assume you simply remember all of this. What they don’t see is the script itself.

That detail matters more than it sounds. Most teleprompter tools put your script on a second screen or in a floating window, so the moment you share your whole screen on Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet, your audience can catch a glimpse of it, unless you share only part of your screen instead. ScriptAssist hides the script window at the operating system level, so it works no matter which meeting app you use, and you can share your entire screen without worrying about your script showing up in the frame or the recording. Do note though that you need to be using Windows 11 or Windows 10 (higher than update 2004) to hide the script window.

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Using ScriptAssist

Let us now do a brief walkthrough on using ScriptAssist:

1. Assuming you have already installed ScriptAssist, click on its icon on your desktop or the Start menu to launch ScriptAssist. Do note that there is no need to run PowerPoint at the same time because ScriptAssist interacts with PowerPoint behind the scenes. Figure 1, below, shows the ScriptAssist opening screen.

We’ve covered a simple workflow, one part of what ScriptAssist can do. Next, we’ll look at some useful options that make your ScriptAssist experience more productive.

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The Word Review Workflow

Picture this. You’ve finally finished your notes, and now it needs three people to bless it before you’re allowed near a microphone. Legal wants a look. Medical affairs want to take a look. Compliance wants a look as well. The old-fashioned way to handle this goes something like this: copy your script into a Word document, email it around, wait for everyone’s comments to trickle back, and then manually retype every single edit into your slide notes while praying you’re working from the final version and not the one your colleague accidentally reopened from three weeks ago.

ScriptAssist skips all of that. One click exports your entire script into a clean, properly formatted Word document, and you get to decide how it looks. Choose a font size, decide whether thumbnails of your slides appear alongside the text, and even where those thumbnails sit on the page. Your reviewers mark it up with Track Changes, the same tool sitting in their toolbar already, so nobody needs to learn anything new.

When their edits are ready, ScriptAssist compares the reviewed Word document with the PowerPoint speaker notes and identifies the changes. The user can then review those changes and decide which ones to accept back into the PowerPoint notes.

To use this feature, go to the Export to Word and Import from Word options in ScriptAssist’s File menu, highlighted in red within Figure 12, below.

Figure 12: Work with notes using Microsoft Word

If you’ve never had to send a script through three layers of review before you’re allowed to present it, none of this may sound like a big deal. If you have, you already know exactly what problem just got solved.

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The AI and Voice Features

The Pro tier throws in two extra tricks, and both are worth understanding properly rather than skimming past.

The first is the AI Script Assistant, and it’s off by default, tucked away in Settings until you decide to switch it on. To do so, use the File | Settings menu option. In the resultant Settings dialog box, select the AI Script Training tab in the left pane, shown highlighted in red within Figure 13, below.

Figure 13: Enable AI Script Training

Next, select the check-box for Enable the AI Script Assistant, shown highlighted in blue within Figure 13, above. You can now click the OK button and get back to ScriptAssist. Once this option is enabled, you will see the new Improve with AI button within ScriptAssist, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 14, below.

Figure 14: Improve your notes with AI

If your slide has no notes, the same Improve with AI button will be called Draft with AI. Click whichever button shows up, and you will find a suggestion, as shown in Figure 15, below. The amazing part is not just the suggestion, but that you can now tweak this suggestion and fine-tune it to your needs. If you are happy with the suggestion, you can click the Accept button, highlighted in green within Figure 15. Alternatively, you can use the two drop-down options for Tone and Length, highlighted in red and blue respectively in Figure 15.

Figure 15: Accept or fine-tune AI suggestions

You pick a Tone: conversational, formal, or energetic, and a Length: brief, standard, or detailed. Then something interesting happens: ScriptAssist improves or writes a natural, first-person script based on what’s actually on that slide. Think of it less like a ghostwriter taking over and more like a colleague handing you a suggestion. You can Accept it, edit it by tying within the text area, or hit the Regenerate button and try a different tone, slide by slide, for as long as you like. The final wording is always yours.

The second trick is VoiceSync, and the first time you try it, it feels a little like a magic trick. It listens to you speak and scrolls the script to match your pace automatically. Lose your place, get interrupted, speak faster or slower than usual, it doesn’t matter. If you land on a line that isn’t actually in your script, it simply pauses and waits for you to catch back up. You’ll find it tucked inside the On-Camera Script and Teleprompter Mode views, and you can flip it on with a single keystroke, the letter V.

Now here’s the detail that separates VoiceSync from basically everything else out there. When you install ScriptAssist, it downloads a language model straight onto your own computer. Neither your voice nor your script ever travels to the internet. Compare that to the one other tool out there with similar voice-following functionality, which needs an internet connection and a cloud model to work at all, meaning it’s useless the moment you lose Wi-Fi. If you’re presenting board numbers, unreleased clinical data, or a deal that hasn’t closed yet, knowing your words never leave your laptop is not a small detail.

And because it’s fully offline, VoiceSync turns ScriptAssist into more than a presenting tool. It has become a rehearsal tool too. Stuck on a flight to the meeting where you’re supposed to deliver this thing? No Wi-Fi required. Just open your laptop and run through it in the air.

It’s worth noting that while VoiceSync runs locally and never sends audio to the cloud. However, the AI Script Assistant uses Azure OpenAI and requires an internet connection to work.

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Who Should Use ScriptAssist?

ScriptAssist is aimed squarely at people whose job depends on looking prepared on camera. Consultants pitching clients, sales teams working a close, executives delivering board updates, trainers running repeatable sessions, and scientific or medical presenters who need to get every detail exactly right. It’s also worth a look for anyone doing regular webinars who wants to sound natural instead of reading aloud.

If you rarely present on video calls, or if your presentations are casual enough that stumbling over a line doesn’t matter, this might be more tool than you need. But for anyone presenting in situations where credibility is on the line, the value proposition is clear.

Also, the screen-share hiding technology it relies on is Windows-specific, so there’s no Mac version yet.

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Pricing and Support

ScriptAssist offers two plans, Standard and Pro, and both start with a 7-day free trial of the full product. A payment method is required to start the trial, but you won’t be charged during the trial period, and cancelling is a one-click action inside the app, with no need to email support. Standard covers the hidden on-camera teleprompter, all presentation modes, the Word review round-trip, and presentation timing. Pro adds the AI Script Assistant and VoiceSync.

The Standard version costs $15 per month, and the Pro version is for $24 a month. With an annual purchase, rates drop to $12 and $19. For support, they provide email support, and there is an online User Guide that is continuously updated.

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Conclusion

What impresses most isn’t just the teleprompter idea, because ScriptAssist goes far beyond. Its tools like the Word review workflow. Building a review pipeline that legal and medical teams actually use is no mean task. Plus, there are minute details that SlideSource has added within this tool, such as minimizing the overlay and changing its opacity. There’s so much to like, and we have not looked at many other ScriptAssist options to ensure that this review doesn’t get too long.

The privacy approach backs that up. Local processing, no training on your content, nothing sent unless you ask. In a market full of vague AI tools, that specificity stands out.

If you’re on Windows and you present in situations when looking prepared genuinely matters, ScriptAssist is worth so much. We would encourage you to get that free trial week. Set up your deck, run through a real presentation with it, and see whether it changes how you show up on camera.

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The post Exploring ScriptAssist appeared first on PowerPoint Notes.

What’s a Gantt Chart?
Gantt Charts in PowerPoint
What are Ampler, or Ampler Charts?
Inserting a Gantt Chart Using Ampler
Editing the Gantt Directly on the Slide
Linking to Excel
Milestones and Anchors
Formatting and Brand Consistency
Saving and Reusing Layouts
The Practical Case for Ampler
Conclusion

What’s a Gantt Chart?

A Gantt chart works as a master checklist for virtually any project: a product launch, a construction schedule, a marketing campaign, or even a conference. In an event planning context, for instance, it lists every task (booking the venue, sending invites, arranging catering), tells you when each one needs to happen (timeline), and makes sure you don’t print the attendee badges before the registration deadline has passed (dependencies or anchors).

If any of these terms sound different, don’t worry. We will explain them as they come up.

First conceived up by Henry Gantt in the early 1900s, this humble variation of the bar chart has outlasted fax machines, overhead projectors, and at least three generations of project management software. If you work in consulting, corporate planning, or any role where projects involve more than one human being, a well-built Gantt chart is the difference between a presentation that earns nods and one that earns confused silence.

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Gantt Charts in PowerPoint

Here is something worth knowing: native PowerPoint has never officially supported Gantt charts. Not in PowerPoint 97, not in PowerPoint 2016, not even in the latest Microsoft 365 or Copilot version. Every Gantt chart you have ever seen built in PowerPoint is, technically, a workaround dressed up in a suit.

And those workarounds have a cost. You spend an hour wrestling a stacked bar chart into something that vaguely resembles a Gantt chart, adjust the colors, nudge the labels, and then your project dates change. Back to square one. Yes, Ampler changes that roundabout workaround entirely, bringing built-in Gantt chart functionality into PowerPoint without the manual acrobatics.

Ampler is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, a city that also gave the world Lego, known worldwide for its simple, modular building blocks.

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What are Ampler, or Ampler Charts?

Ampler is an add-in suite for Microsoft 365 applications built by ex-Bain consultants. They also provide the Ampler Charts add-in, which is a subset of Ampler. Both options contain charting tools used in consulting, but not available in the native Office environment. The result is an add-in that covers all the chart types that matter most in professional presentations: waterfall, Mekko, combination charts, and yes, Gantt charts.

The Ampler Charts-only plan is priced at €12 per month, making it one of the more affordable options among PowerPoint charting add-ins. For those who work extensively across Microsoft Office, the full Ampler Suite at €30 per month extends the same productivity gains to Excel, Word, and Outlook.

Before we dive in, a quick word about the team behind Ampler. Our primary contact for this review was Sune Høj Kodahl, and we are grateful for his patience in answering our many questions. We also thank Morten Gadegaard for his prompt and helpful responses throughout the review process.

Users can download a trial version of Ampler or Ampler Charts directly from the Ampler website.

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Inserting a Gantt Chart Using Ampler

Follow these steps to get started with Gantt charts in PowerPoint using Ampler:

1. Launch PowerPoint with the Ampler or Ampler Charts add-in active. You typically will see a slide with a Title and Content layout. We will now change our slide layout to Title Only. To do so, access the Home tab of the Ribbon. Next, click on the Slide Layout button, highlighted in blue within Figure 1, below. In the ensuing drop-down gallery, choose the Title Only option, highlighted in red within Figure 1.

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Editing the Gantt Directly on the Slide

One of Ampler’s more practical features is direct on-slide editing. Click any Gantt element and move your cursor to the edge that you want to enlarge or reduce. You will see the Plus cursor, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 8, below. Drag this cursor to shift dates or adjust duration. This is a useful capability during live and interactive review sessions where plans change on the spot, and you do not have time to bring up the datasheet. When finer adjustments are needed, opening the datasheet is always an option.

Figure 8: Drag to resize activities and tasks

For non-numerical values such as tasks and activities, you can select and overtype easily, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 9, below. The best part is that these direct edits get updated in the datasheet as well.

Figure 9: Edit directly on the Gantt chart

Right-clicking the chart, or even any individual chart element brings up a contextual menu. To select the entire Ampler chart, click on the edge of the chart so that it is selected. Then, carefully right-click so that you see a contextual format menu with choices that influence the overall chart, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 10, below.

Figure 10: Right-click menu for the entire chart

Similarly, you will see different contextual menus, depending upon what you right-click. If you right-click on a single Activity (task), you will see options highlighted in red within Figure 11, below. You can add activities and row separators and delete activities.

Figure 11: Right-click menu for a selected activity

You can similarly bring up contextual menus that toggle borders, set the date range, and choose which scales and separators are displayed.

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Linking to Excel

What if you already have all the data to create a Gantt chart within an Excel spreadsheet? Do you need to type in the data again within your Ampler chart? Not really, because Ampler can connect directly to it. Left-click on the Gantt chart, and you will see the menu shown in Figure 12, below. Click on the Establish Excel link option, highlighted in red within Figure 12. A window opens where you highlight the relevant data range in your Excel file. Once you return to PowerPoint, the Gantt chart updates to reflect that data.

Figure 12: Establish Excel link option

The Establish Excel link option is also available in the right-click menu, shown in Figure 10, earlier on this page. Keeping the chart current is straightforward: after updating your Excel file, right-click the Gantt chart. In the ensuing menu, select Refresh linked data, highlighted in red within Figure 13, below. The same menu offers a Break Excel link option, highlighted in blue, for when the connection is no longer needed. If you need to point the chart to a different Excel file, the Modify Excel link option, highlighted in green, handles that as well.

Figure 13: Refresh, modify, or break Excel links

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Milestones and Anchors

Ampler’s Gantt charts can include milestones. Milestones are typically displayed as diamonds on the chart and indicate important deadlines or deliverables. In a conference planning project, for example, a milestone might mark the date by which all speaker confirmations must be received. It sits on the timeline as a single point rather than a duration bar, which makes it visually distinct and easy to spot during a presentation.

Follow these steps to add a milestone in your Ampler Gantt chart:

1. Right-click on the point where you want to add a milestone. In the resultant menu, choose the Milestone option, shown highlighted in red within Figure 14, below.

Ampler allows you to link two activities so that the end of one activity is directly related to the beginning of another activity. In simple terms, this means that if you increase the time taken for the previous activity, the start time of the subsequent activity is automatically adjusted. To make this apparent in a Gantt chart, Ampler can anchor processes and bars.

Follow these steps to understand better:

1. Select an activity bar in your Gantt chart, and you will see handles, as shown in Figure 17, below. Click the rightmost handle, as shown highlighted in red.

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Formatting and Brand Consistency

Ampler gives you precise control over every visual element of your Gantt chart. Here is how to approach formatting:

1. Colors

Click any element on the chart to select it. Doing so brings up a floating pane similar to PowerPoint’s Mini Toolbar, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 20, below.

Figure 20: Floating pane

Within this floating pane, you will find the Color option, highlighted in blue within Figure 20, above. Click on this option to bring up PowerPoint’s default Theme colors, as shown in Figure 21, below. You can choose a new color, or even click on the handy Eyedropper option, highlighted in red within Figure 21. This works like PowerPoint’s Eyedropper option.

Figure 21: Theme colors and Eyedropper option

2. Borders

Ampler includes an option to show or hide left and right borders on the Gantt chart, which gives the chart a cleaner, less boxed appearance when needed. In fact, this is the default option.

If you want to show left and right borders, right-click on the entire chart, and you will see the floating pane, shown highlighted in red within Figure 22, below.

Figure 22: Show left and right borders

Now, click on the Show left and right borders button, highlighted in blue within Figure 22, above.

3. Labels and indentation

You can indent labels, especially those in the Activity pane on the left to group sub-tasks under a parent activity. The resultant indents create a sense of hierarchy.

To do so, click on any label, and you can see the contextual pane shown highlighted in red within Figure 23, below.

Figure 23: Indent your labels

Click the Increase indentation option, highlighted in blue within Figure 23, above, to indent the text within the label rightwards. You also have a similar Decrease indentation option, highlighted in green. Notice that this same pane also provides options to set Activity levels and add Bullets.

4. Company themes

Here is a scenario every consultant knows. You finish a Gantt chart at midnight, send it to a colleague, and get it back the next morning in the wrong shade of blue with a different font. Brand consistency in presentations is one of those problems that sounds minor until it isn’t. Ampler’s Company Settings feature solves it quietly and permanently.

Configure your organization’s colors, typography, and chart themes once, and every chart built in Ampler, including Gantt charts, inherits that visual identity automatically. No reminders, no corrections, no midnight emails.

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Saving and Reusing Layouts

Here is something most PowerPoint users have experienced at least once. You build a beautiful Gantt chart, get the colors right, nail the font size, and then three weeks later you need another one and cannot remember how you did it. Or you don’t want to spend so much time making the same choices. Back to square one. Ampler’s Save Chart Layout feature puts an end to that particular frustration. Save your preferred design once and it is available every time, ready to populate with new project data without touching the formatting.

Follow these steps to use the Save Chart Layout option:

1. Select the chart that you want to save the layout for and click once on the edge of the chart. You will see the pane that you see in Figure 24, below. Now click on the Chart layout drop-down, shown highlighted in red within Figure 24.

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The Practical Case for Ampler

Creating a Gantt chart in native PowerPoint is possible but tedious. The same chart in Ampler takes a fraction of the time, looks significantly better, and is far easier to maintain as plans change. The Excel link alone justifies the add-in for anyone who updates project timelines regularly.

At €12 per month for the Charts-only plan, Ampler is one of the more affordable dedicated PowerPoint charting tools available. For consultants, project managers, and anyone who presents project plans with any frequency, it is a practical upgrade worth considering.

Gantt charts tell a story: where a project starts, where it ends, what happens in between, and who is responsible for what. Ampler makes sure that the story is told clearly, consistently, and without unnecessary effort.

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Conclusion

Gantt charts have been a staple of project planning for over a century, and yet PowerPoint has never officially supported them. Ampler closes that gap cleanly and efficiently. Whether you are linking to an existing Excel file, dragging tasks to adjust timelines on the fly, or applying company-wide brand settings across every chart, the experience is noticeably smoother than anything native PowerPoint can offer. For consultants, project managers, and presenters who work with project timelines regularly, Ampler makes a compelling case for itself, one Gantt chart at a time.

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The post Creating Gantt Charts in PowerPoint Using Ampler appeared first on PowerPoint Notes.

Introduction
Why Ampler Charts?
Downloading and Installing Ampler Charts
First Impressions and Using Ampler Charts
Three-Area Functionality
Pricing and Licensing
Final Thoughts

Introduction

Walk into any consulting firm or planning meeting, and you’ll probably find someone fixing a chart in PowerPoint. It could be a Gantt chart where the timelines no longer align, a waterfall chart that shifts every time a statistic changes, or a Mekko chart that took so long to build that nobody wants to edit it again.

Some of that may sound a little exaggerated, but the larger point still stands. For years, presentation professionals have looked for tools that make chart creation easier and less time-consuming. That’s where Ampler Charts steps in.

Developed by the team at Ampler, the Ampler Charts add-in is a subset of the larger Ampler add-in and is designed to make it easier to build business charts directly inside PowerPoint. Instead of moving between different applications or spending time adjusting shapes manually, users can create and edit charts within a more structured workflow.

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Why Ampler Charts?

So, why do you need Ampler Charts? Why not use the charting options built inside PowerPoint? The answer lies not so much in what PowerPoint can do, but in how the role of business charts has changed over time. PowerPoint’s built-in charting tools work well for many situations, but today’s business users often need something more flexible. In most organizations, charts are edited repeatedly as numbers change, timelines move, and presentations evolve right up to the final meeting. Older presentations often relied on simple bar and pie charts that were built mainly to display information. Today, charts are expected to do much more. They need to be editable, easy to update, and ready to fit into fast-moving presentation workflows. Ampler Charts seems to have been built with that reality in mind.

Before we proceed, a brief note about Ampler. The company is based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Our primary contact for this review was Sune Høj Kodahl, and we also had the opportunity to speak with Morten Gadegaard, who demonstrated the product and answered many questions. Our thanks to both Sune and Morten for their assistance during the review process.

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Downloading and Installing Ampler Charts

Users can download a trial version of the Ampler Charts installer directly from the Ampler website, as shown in Figure 1, below.

Figure 1: Ampler Charts download

The setup wizard guides users through the installation with minimal complexity. If you install the entire suite or Ampler for PowerPoint, you can see the Ampler tab on the PowerPoint Ribbon. Notice the Ampler Charts option within this tab, highlighted in red within Figure 2, below.

Figure 2: Ampler tab of the Ribbon

On the other hand, if you install only Ampler Charts, you will find the Ampler Charts group in the Home tab of the Ribbon, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 3, below.

Figure 3: Ampler Charts group in the Home tab

The activation process for Ampler Charts is simple, particularly for users working with trial or licensed versions.

Organizations with managed IT policies may need administrator involvement during deployment. For most individual users, however, the installation process should present few challenges.

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First Impressions and Using Ampler Charts

Ampler Charts focuses heavily on business and consulting-style charts, including:

Gantt charts
Waterfall charts
Mekko charts
Timeline visuals
Strategy diagrams
Project planning charts

As shown in Figure 3, previously on this page, Ampler Charts can also create familiar chart types such as column, bar, line, doughnut, and pie charts. Its primary value, however, lies in business and project-oriented charts that are more time-consuming to build in PowerPoint and can be created more efficiently using Ampler Charts. Also, after spending time with the product, it becomes clear that the experience is not just about the charts themselves, but also about how efficiently they fit into the PowerPoint workflow.

For example, creating a Gantt chart becomes a guided process. You start with a Gantt chart already in place, as shown in Figure 4, below.

Figure 4: Basic Gantt chart template in place

Creating any chart typically follows a simple pattern. You insert a chart, enter or link the data, and then refine the presentation using formatting and annotation tools.

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Three-Area Functionality

Most of the functionality in Ampler Charts is organized around a straightforward workflow. First, select the chart type you want to create and click on the slide to insert it. Once the chart has been added, you can access the relevant tools through the following options:

1. Left-click (or primary mouse-click) for formatting,
2. Right-click (or secondary mouse-click) for chart decoration and annotations, and
3. Access the datasheet for managing the underlying numbers.

As with many Office applications, the menus in Ampler Charts are contextual. The options you see depend on what you select. Clicking the chart boundary provides access to chart-level settings, while selecting elements such as axes, labels, or bars exposes options specific to those parts of the chart.

Once you understand this structure, navigating the product becomes quite intuitive. Users define tasks, timelines, and milestones through structured inputs, and the software handles much of the visual formatting automatically. This reduces the endless alignment adjustments that PowerPoint users know all too well.

Let us now individually look at the functionality features using the same basic Gantt chart we created:

1. Using the Left-click Menu

When you select a chart element, Ampler Charts displays a set of contextual options, as shown in Figure 5, below.

Figure 5: Left-click options for Ampler Charts

Depending on the element selected, you may see two flyout menus. The smaller flyout, highlighted in red within Figure 5, above, serves a purpose similar to PowerPoint’s Mini Toolbar and primarily provides text formatting options.

The larger flyout, highlighted in green, contains a wider range of chart-specific settings and commands. Many of these options include drop-down lists with predefined values, making it easy to apply changes without having to enter settings manually. As you make changes, the chart updates immediately, allowing you to see the results and refine the formatting as needed.

2. Using the Right-click Menu

The right-click menu is also context-sensitive. Select either the chart as a whole or a specific chart element, and then right-click to access the relevant options, as shown in Figure 6, below.

Figure 6: Right-click options for Ampler Charts

You will then find options to make some chart elements visible or invisible, as shown highlighted in green within Figure 6, above. You also find the Establish Excel link, that lets you connect this chart to data from an existing Excel source.

3. Access datasheet

Even if you do not want to link to an existing Excel sheet, all Ampler charts have a datasheet at the backend that contains data that reflects in the chart. To view this datasheet, you can click on the Open datasheet option, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 6.

Doing so brings up the Excel sheet shown in Figure 7, below. Do note that you really don’t have to edit values in the Excel sheet, and almost anything can be edited directly inside the chart. However, it is great that you can choose what works best for you: editing on the chart itself or editing values within the Excel sheet.

Figure 7: Edit inside the chart or within Excel

It is these simple touches that have been created for everyday chart creators that set Ampler Charts apart. Business users rarely create charts purely for artistic reasons. Charts exist to communicate decisions, strategies, timelines, and risks. Ampler Charts seem to be designed with this practical mindset in mind. The focus is less about decorative visual flair and more about clarity, speed, and editability.

And editability matters enormously. Anyone who has ever received “just one small change” from a client minutes before a presentation understands the importance of charts that can adapt quickly without falling apart visually.

The interface itself is modern and relatively approachable. Experienced PowerPoint users will likely become comfortable quickly, since it rarely appears that you are not using PowerPoint. This seamless integration with PowerPoint is great for new users, although they may still require a short learning curve to understand the product’s large repertoire of options.

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Pricing and Licensing

At €12 per month for the standalone charting product, Ampler Charts is clearly aimed at users who create business charts regularly rather than occasional PowerPoint users. For consultants, analysts, project managers, and presentation specialists who spend significant time building and updating charts, the value proposition is less about the subscription cost and more about the time saved on recurring chart revisions. The value comes from reducing repetitive chart maintenance rather than simply creating the initial chart faster.

One more thing worth noting: Ampler Charts is competitively priced. It may, in fact, be the most affordable charting add-in for PowerPoint. Worth noting: Ampler has an AI offering in the pipeline, per Sune.

While Ampler Charts can be licensed as a standalone product, prospective customers should also consider the broader Ampler Suite. At €30 per month, the suite includes additional productivity tools across Microsoft Office and may offer greater value for users who work extensively within PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Outlook. That said, starting with Ampler Charts alone is a sensible way to evaluate the platform and determine whether it meets your needs.

For occasional presenters, the investment may feel significant. For users who create and update charts regularly, however, the value proposition is easier to understand, particularly when chart revisions are a frequent part of the workflow.

There is also a broader consideration. Many organizations are looking to reduce the number of add-ins and productivity tools they support across Microsoft Office. In that context, Ampler Suite’s wider product portfolio may be of interest to companies that prefer a more integrated approach rather than relying on multiple standalone solutions.

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Final Thoughts

As with any productivity tool, the value of Ampler Charts depends largely on how you work. If chart creation and maintenance are a regular part of your workflow, the product offers a structured approach that can save both time and effort.

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