How can I implement automation in my presentation creation process?

With Presentation Builder Automation, you can generate complete, customized slide decks using a simple form.

Managers define the structure using placeholders, and end users just answer a few questions. Based on those answers, the right slides and content are automatically added.

It’s a fast and consistent way to create tailored presentations — like sales decks or onboarding materials — without having to start from scratch every time.

Watch the video below to see the setup in action, or follow the simple step-by-step instructions provided:

Step 0: Plan Your Presentation

Decide which presentation to automate and why.

Example: A sales deck tailored to each client’s name, industry, region, and services.

Step 1: (Optional) Add Placeholders

Placeholders mark where dynamic content will appear—like client names, logos, or images. To begin adding placeholders, first download the presentation in Manager version.

Steps to add placeholders:

• Text Placeholder: Type a name in [square brackets] directly on the slide (e.g., [Client Name]) to create a new placeholder. Or, insert an existing one from your library:

1.) Open the Manage dropdown in the add-in.

2.) Click Placeholder Identifiers.

3.) Find the identifier you want to use and insert it into the slide.

• Image Placeholder:

1.) Go to Manage → Placeholder Identifiers → From the placeholder type dropdown select Image → Create New Identifier

2.) Name it (e.g., [Cover Image]) and click Create.

3.) Select the image on your slide, hover over the identifier in the add-in, and click “Click to link” to connect them.

• Icon/Logo Placeholder:

1.) Go to Manage → Placeholder Identifiers → From the placeholder type dropdown select Icon → Create New Identifier

2.) Name it (e.g., [Client logo]) and click Create.

3.) Select the icon element on your slide, hover over the identifier in the add-in, and click “Click to link” to connect them.

Once all relevant placeholders are set, update your presentation to save your changes

Step 2: Convert to Presentation Builder

Switch the presentation type to Presentation Builder in Presentation Settings. This allows logic to be applied to slides and placeholders.

Step 3: Create Variable Slide Groups

Think of variable slide groups as slide placeholders—they let you control which slides appear based on user input.

Steps to create variable groups:

1. Go to the All Slides tab.
2. Click Create Variable Group.

3. Give it a clear name.
4. Filter slides using labels if needed.
5. Decide if multi-selection or skipping steps is allowed.
6. Click Save.

Step 4: Build the Form

Forms collect user input that drives the presentation logic.

Steps to create a form:

1. Go to Variable Slides → within the Associated Forms section → click Add New
2. Name the form.
3. Add questions and answers. For example: Where is the client located? EMEA, APAC, America
4. Add conditional logic for follow-up questions if needed. To do this, hover over the question and click the Logic icon. Then click “Add New” and define when the question should be shown or hidden.

5. Once your form is complete, click the Preview button in the top-right corner to test how it works.

Step 5: Apply Logic to the Variable Slide Groups

Steps to apply slide logic:

1. Go to the Variable Slides tab → Scroll down to the table of variable groups → In the Logic column, hover over "No logic yet" for the group you want to configure → Click "Click to Edit" → Then select "Add New."

2. Give your logic a clear name.
3. Set conditions based on the relevant form question(s) and answers.
4. Example: Insert "Ocean Freight" slide if the user selects Ocean Freight or All Services.
5. Define the conditions for each answer (and question). Once finished, close the logic window and continue applying logic to the remaining variable groups where relevant.

Step 6: Apply Logic to Placeholders

Automate text, images, and logos based on form answers.

Steps to apply placeholder logic:

1. Go to the Placeholders & Forms tab within the presentation editor view.

2. Hover over the placeholder you want to apply logic to → click the Logic icon that appears → then select Add New.

3. Select the relevant form question.
4. Set conditions to either automatically insert content (e.g., industry text, service images), skip content, or allow end-users to select or fill in the placeholder during the download process.

In case of an image or icon placeholder logic you have a few options for how images are handled:

• Let end users select images manually from the full list of company images.
• Filter which images users can select from using labels.
• Skip the insertion of an image
• Or, as I will show in this case, automatically insert specific images based on user responses.

In case of a standard text placeholder, you can:

• Let users enter the information manually, just like usual.
• Automatically insert names or data you’ve configured, based on the user’s form responses.
• Leave the placeholder empty if no input is needed.

Example Setup:

1. Start by selecting the question:

“Which specific service is the client interested in?”

• If the user selects “Air Freight”, I want a specific image to be inserted with an airplane on it.
• Click Select, browse the image library, and choose the image you'd like to appear.

2. next i need to Add a new condition using the same question:

“Which specific service is the client interested in?”

Then i just Repeat this process for the other services:

• Ocean Freight
• Land Freight
• Warehouse Management
• AcmePortIQ (Digital Platform)

Once complete, the platform will automatically insert the appropriate image into the placeholder based on the user's selections.

And finally Let me also quickly show you how logic can be applied to a text placeholder, using the client’s industry as an example.

1. Hover over the text placeholder and click the Logic icon.
2. If no logic has been set yet, click Add New to create one.
3. Choose the relevant question from your form—in this case, the Client Industry question.
4. For each industry option (e.g. Consumer Electronics, Food & Beverage, Healthcare, Fashion E-Commerce), set up a condition so the correct text is inserted automatically.

For instance in this case:

• If Consumer Electronics is selected, the placeholder will insert the text “Consumer Electronics”.
• If Fashion E-Commerce is selected, it will insert “Fashion E-Commerce”, and so on.

This allows your presentation to be customized with minimal manual input from users.

Once you’re done setting up all the logics for your variable slide groups and placeholders, test the full experience to make sure your form automation works correctly. Just click the Preview button in the top-right corner to simulate the user experience— and that’s it!

Updated on: 08/19/2025