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What Are Snapshot Presentations?
You have built the perfect dynamic slide. It pulls in live sales figures, updates the product image automatically, and even adjusts the chart based on the latest quarterly results. It is a masterpiece of automation. But now, you need to email it to a client who doesn’t have the INSYNCR plugin, or you need to upload 500 product cards to your website as simple JPEG images.
This is where the “Snapshot” feature transforms from a convenience into a necessity.
While INSYNCR’s power lies in live data connections, the real world often demands static, portable formats. The Snapshot feature bridges this gap, allowing you to instantly convert your data-driven templates into standard PowerPoint slides or high-quality image files.
In this guide, we will walk you through how to generate static slides and explore the powerful “Export to Images” sub-function that turns your presentation into a content factory.
The Logic Behind the Snapshot
Before diving into the buttons and menus, it is helpful to understand what a “Snapshot” actually does.
When you look at an INSYNCR slide linked to a database, you are seeing a live view. If you change the row in your database, the slide changes. A Snapshot breaks this link. It takes the current state of the slide—with all its text, images, and colors populated for a specific data row—and “bakes” it into a permanent, unchangeable copy.
This is crucial for:
- Archiving: Saving a record of a report exactly as it looked on a specific date.
- Sharing: Sending slides to colleagues who don’t have access to your internal databases.
- Mass Production: Generating hundreds of unique assets from a single template.
How to Generate Static Slides
The primary function of the Snapshot button is to create a new PowerPoint file containing static versions of your slides. This is perfect for creating a “read-only” version of your deck.
Step 1: Prepare Your Template
Ensure your slide is set up correctly with all the necessary data links. If you want to generate a batch of slides (e.g., one slide for every employee), make sure you have enabled Scrolling for your data connection in the INSYNCR ribbon.
Step 2: Enable Data Scrolling
To enable data scrolling, open the INSYNCR ribbon in your PowerPoint interface. Locate the Data Connections section and click on the connection you want to scroll through. Next, check the box labeled Enable Scrolling. This option allows INSYNCR to cycle through your data records while generating slides. Be sure to review your data source to confirm that it includes all the records you need for your batch. Once scrolling is enabled, you can proceed with generating your static slides, knowing that each record will create a unique slide.
Step 3: The Snapshot Button
- Navigate to the INSYNCR tab.
- In the Presentation group, click the main Snapshot button.
Step 4: Choose Your Output
INSYNCR will present you with options to generate the presentation. You can typically choose to generate a single file containing all the “looped” slides (e.g., 50 slides for 50 employees) or individual files for each row.
Once you click generate, INSYNCR cycles through your data, updates the slide for each row, creates a static copy, and compiles them into a new presentation. The result is a standard .pptx file that anyone can open, edit, or view without needing plugins or data access.
The Power of "Export to Images"
While generating PowerPoint slides is useful, sometimes you don’t need a presentation at all. You need pictures.
Maybe you are generating social media cards for a marketing campaign, creating thumbnails for a video library, or building a digital catalog where each page needs to be a separate JPG.
Hidden under the Snapshot menu is a sub-function called Export to Images. This tool completely bypasses the need to save a PowerPoint file and exports your slides directly as image files.
Here is how to use this powerful feature effectively.
Accessing the Tool
Click the small arrow or dropdown option under the Snapshot button and select Export to Images. A dedicated settings window will appear, giving you granular control over the output.
1. Naming Your Files Automatically
When you generate 100 images, you do not want them named Slide1.jpg, Slide2.jpg, etc. You want them named meaningfully, like Product_A.jpg or John_Doe.jpg.
In the Column for Filename field, you can select a column from your data source. INSYNCR will use the text in that column to name each resulting image file.
- Example: If you select the “SKU” column, your images will be named
SKU-1001.jpg,SKU-1002.jpg, etc.
You can further refine this in the Filename Formatting section:
- Prefix/Suffix: Add static text before or after the dynamic name. For example, adding a prefix of
Q1-would result in filenames likeQ1-SKU-1001.jpg. - Sample: The window shows a live preview (e.g.,
78.jpg) so you know exactly what your files will look like before you hit generate.
2. Controlling Image Quality and Size
PowerPoint slides are vector-based, meaning they can be scaled up or down. When exporting to images, you need to define the resolution.
- File Format: Choose between standard formats like JPG (best for photos) or PNG (best for text and transparent backgrounds).
- Resize to: By default, INSYNCR might export at the slide’s native size. By checking the Resize to box, you can force the output to specific dimensions, such as
1920pxwidth for Full HD screens or1080pxby1080pxfor Instagram posts.
3. Managing the Target Folder
If you run this process weekly, you might want to clean out the old files first.
- Target Folder: Browse to select where the images will be saved.
- Clean Up: The checkbox “First delete all subfolders and files from target folder” is a handy utility that wipes the destination folder clean before generating new images, ensuring you don’t have a mix of old and new files.
4. Generate and Watch
Click OK. You will see a progress bar titled “Generating snapshot” as INSYNCR loops through your data. In the background, it updates the slide, renders it as an image, names it according to your rules, and saves it to your folder.
Real-World Use Cases for Image Export
Why would you choose images over slides? Here are three scenarios where the Export to Images feature shines.
The Digital Signage Playlist
The Scenario: You manage 20 TV screens in a corporate office. The software that runs the screens only accepts image files, not PowerPoint decks.
The Fix: You build your “Employee Birthdays” slides in PowerPoint linked to an HR list. Using Export to Images, you instantly generate 20 JPGs—one for each birthday this month—at exactly 1920×1080 resolution, ready to upload to the screens.
The E-Commerce Product Feed
The Scenario: You have 5,000 products. You need a “product card” image for each one to display on a distributor’s portal.
The Fix: Instead of hiring a designer to make 5,000 graphics, you design one master slide. You link the product photo, price, and description to your inventory database. Then, using Export to Images, you batch-generate all 5,000 cards overnight, naming them by their UPC code for easy matching.
Social Media Content scaling
The Scenario: You want to tweet a “Quote of the Day” every morning for a month.
The Fix: You have a spreadsheet of 30 quotes. You create a visually stunning template in PowerPoint. With one click, you export 30 high-resolution PNGs, perfectly sized for Twitter, and schedule them all in your social media tool.
Conclusion
The Snapshot feature is the production engine of INSYNCR. It takes the concept of “data linking” and pushes it into the realm of “content manufacturing.” Whether you need a static PowerPoint file for a client meeting or a folder full of 1,000 JPGs for a website, Snapshot handles the repetitive work for you.
By mastering the Export to Images settings, you can ensure that your output is not just accurate, but perfectly formatted, named, and sized for whatever platform comes next. Stop taking screenshots; start manufacturing content.
