PowerPoint 2007 Chart Templates

I have been working in data visualization for over 8 years and one of my biggest problems has been with report generation, where a lot of tasks needed to be repeated/duplicated—like creating charts in Ms PowerPoint. The worst was re-creating the same type of chart and format exactly the same way again and again to match documentation standards.

My life changed, after I figured out how to create customized chart templates in PowerPoint. Things were so much easier when it came to creating charts, that I could spend the time saved on something else—like checking my Facebook page ;)

Here, I would like to share with you how to create, use and install a custom chart template.

1. Creating and Saving Templates

• In PowerPoint, go to "Insert" ribbon and click on "Chart" button under "Illustrations" group.
• Select preferred chart type an d click "OK." I have used a clustered column chart for this illustration.


• You will get a chart like this with the default colors of your current template. Apply the formatting that you prefer. Below is my sample chart after formatting:



• Now that you're done with formatting the chart, it's time to save the chart as a template. To do so you need to:
  
  
  • Click on the chart, go to "Design" ribbon under "Chart Tools," click on "Save As Template" button in the "Type" group.
  • In the "Save Chart Template" dialog box, choose a name and click "Save." Make sure to keep the ".crtx." file extension. The chart template will be saved in:
    
    • Windows Vista/7:
      "C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\Charts\"
    • Windows XP:
      "C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates\Charts\"
    
    You will need to replace "username" with your username.

2. Using Chart Templates

• To insert a chart from the template that you just created, go to "Insert" ribbon and click on "Chart" button under "Illustrations" group.
• Then click on the "Templates" menu item from the left panel.




• Here you can see the chart template that you created appears on the write panel. Double-click on the template icon to insert the chart.

3. Installing Custom Chart Templates on a Different Computer

• To install chart templates onto another PC, go to the following folder in your computer, depending on your operating system:
  
  • Windows Vista/7:
    "C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\"
  • Windows XP:
    "C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates\"
  You will need to replace "username" with your username.


• Copy the "Charts" folder that you find into a portable drive (E.g., USB thumb drive).
• On the other computer, go to the same folder path mentioned above depending on your operating system and paste the "Charts" folder there.
• To insert a custom chart template in PowerPoint, follow step 2.

You can use templates like this across the MS Office suite to make professional looking documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc., without wasting a lot of time repeating tedious formatting and style tasks.
If you have any question or recommendation, please leave a comment.