PowerPoint Template - Create

Create an SMP PowerPoint template to design the layout of the SMP PowerPoint Template Report. The SMP PowerPoint template must be created before running the report. You can create the following template types:

  • Profile template -Produces a profile view from a succession task. Note: The corresponding succession task must contain a Profile step, otherwise the report will contain no data.
  • Grid template - Produces the employees from a succession task on a metric grid.
  • Successor template - Produces the employees on a succession plan for an incumbent.

You can use the same template in multiple tasks that include the same fields. Tags used in the template must exist in your portal and the template and tag names must match. If a tag is used in a template that does not exist in the portal, this causes an error and you cannot use the template until it is fixed.

The template will consist of tags that correspond to fields in the system that are within a SMP task. Tags in a template must be used in the SMP task in order for the data to populate. See Create PowerPoint Template - Inserting Tags.

Tag Management

To create a useful SMP PowerPoint Template, you must be familiar with the SMP PowerPoint tags that exist for your portal. To view and manage your SMP PowerPoint tags, go to Admin > Succession, and then select SMP PowerPoint Tag Management.

The available PowerPoint tags are within three categories: User Tags, Resume Tags, and Performance/Succession tags. You can expand and collapse each section to view the tags and you can also search for and filter the tags using the search feature at the top of the page.

The Profile and Successor template can contain all available tags, as long as they are used in the SMP task. The Grid template can only contain a tag corresponding to a metric grid field and that metric grid field must be used within the SMP task.

Build a Template

In building a template, you create a layout scheme using features of PowerPoint, including text boxes, tables, font formatting, and background colors. All PowerPoint templates must be created in Microsoft Office 2007 or newer. If the Office 2007 compatibility pack is installed, older versions of PowerPoint may be able to save in 2007 format. The file extension must be .pptx (e.g., SuccessionTemplate.pptx).

When adding tags to your template:

  • Tags must always be wrapped in a special code, <%TAG.NAME%>, in order to function properly. For example, if the tag is USER.NAME, the tag should be added to the template as <%USER.NAME%>. This wrapper identifies the text as a smart tag, so the system knows to replace the tag with the appropriate value for the user.
  • Enter the tag exactly as it appears on the SMP PowerPoint Tag Management page, including periods.
  • Tags are always upper-case.
  • Do not add any additional spaces.

There are some additional rules which apply specifically to successor templates as opposed to profile or grid templates. For successor templates, there are more technical requirements that must be followed for PowerPoint to present the data properly. For successor templates:

  • Incumbent text boxes must be grouped together and only one incumbent can be listed on a slide.
  • A table must be created for the successors, and the number of cells in the table controls the number of successors that appear on the page for the incumbent and how those successors are organized on the page.
  • All successor data you wish to be visible must be entered in the upper-left cell of the table without text boxes. You may enter both labels and tags in to the table cell, but the layout options are limited because you cannot use text boxes.

On the Profile template, each employee profile will appear on a separate slide. Up to 2 slides can be created for a profile on the Profile template. The functionality cannot support multiple profiles on a single slide within the Profile template. The Profile template should be created based on how a single employee profile will appear.

The Grid and Successor templates must contain only one slide.

Recommendation for Template Creation

  • Insert tags in the template in a logical manner that is intuitive and readable to the audience.
  • Plan your layout prior to creating the template.
  • Apply tag attributes to specific tags on the template.

Template Validation

While the template is being validated, the system checks the following items:

  • Template must be in PowerPoint 2007 format or newer.
  • Template type must match the selected template type option when creating the report.
  • There may only be one slide in the template.
  • All tags used in the template must match the tags that exist in the system.
  • All tags used in the template must be used in the selected SMP task for the report.
  • If any tag attributes are used in the template, they must be used in the correct format. See Create PowerPoint Template - Inserting Tags.