How do static deck publishers work?

A static deck publisher is a special presentation type that works like a presentation builder but stays in draft, hidden from end users. You build it once with placeholders, forms, and variable content, then use it to generate static, frozen presentations on demand — each one an independent document with the values you entered baked in.

Example: every month you deliver a status report deck where only the client name, period, and key figures change. You set the master deck up as a static deck publisher with placeholders for those values. On the first of each month you click Create static version, fill in this month's numbers, and SlideHub produces a finished, frozen copy — named, stored alongside your other presentations, and safe from any later edits to the static deck publisher.

How do I set up a static deck publisher?

1. In the left sidebar, click Manage assets and open the presentation you want to use as the static deck publisher.
2. Open the presentation's options and find the presentation type selector. Choose Static deck publisher (marked with a lightning bolt icon). SlideHub describes it as: "Works like a presentation builder, but outputs are static at the time of generation. End user do not have access to this file but only accessable to static file. Changes to the blueprint never affect genearted static files."
3. When you pick this type, SlideHub automatically sets the presentation to draft. This is by design — a static deck publisher is a production tool for admins, never something end users see in search or the task pane.
4. Build the variable content the same way you would for a presentation builder. The static deck publisher editor — titled Edit static deck publisher — has tabs for Labels, All Slides, Variable slides & forms, placeholders & forms, and Static results.
5. To find your static deck publishers later, go to Manage assets, open the Automation section, and select the Static Deck Publishers tab. The overview lists each publisher with its Static slides, Variable groups, Results, and Downloads counts, and a search box to filter by name.

Tip: If you already have a presentation builder, you can switch it to a static deck publisher (or back) without losing your variable slides — SlideHub keeps them when moving between the two types. Switching to any other type discards the variable slides, and SlideHub asks you to confirm first.

How do I generate a static version?

1. Open the static deck publisher from the Static Deck Publishers tab and go to its Static results tab. You'll see all presentations generated from this static deck publisher, or No static versions yet if there are none.
2. Click Create static version in the top right. (If the button is greyed out, the static deck publisher is still syncing a recent change — wait for it to finish.) The Create static version dialog opens.
3. Under Keep placeholders live (optional), tick any placeholders that should stay editable in the new document. As SlideHub puts it: "Selected placeholders stay editable in the new document. Everything else is filled in the next step and frozen."
4. Review the info box telling you what won't carry over — for example "The new document is a frozen copy. 2 variable groups, 1 form, 3 logic rules will not carry over." The generated document keeps the slides and content, but the static deck publisher's automation stays with the publisher.
5. Under Save as, choose A new presentation or Replace an existing presentation. If you choose to replace, a presentation picker appears so you can select which one.
6. Enter a name in the New visual label / name field — for example Q1 2026 Report (Final).
7. Click Fill & create static version. A fill form opens with every placeholder, form, and variable group from the static deck publisher (except the ones you chose to keep live). Enter the values for this version — they're baked into the document permanently. If the static deck publisher has nothing to fill, the button simply reads Create static version and skips this step.
8. SlideHub shows Creating static version, this might take several seconds for larger files... and then adds the new document to the Static results list with status Syncing. Once processing finishes, the status changes to Ready and you can open the result from its row.

What happens to the generated presentation?

The generated document is a regular presentation, fully independent of the static deck publisher:

• Frozen content: All filled values are baked in. Editing the static deck publisher afterwards never changes documents you've already generated.
• Read-only slides: The slides in the generated presentation are protected from editing, so the frozen version stays the version you approved.
• Live placeholders: Any placeholders you chose to keep stay editable, so users can still personalise those specific fields when using the document.
• Independent lifecycle: The generated presentation survives even if you later delete the static deck publisher. It records which publisher it came from, but there is no live link between them.

Because the result is an ordinary presentation, everything you can normally do applies — publish it to end users, organise it with labels, or share it externally with How does Send & Track work?.

Who can use static deck publishers?

Static deck publishers are an admin tool. Anyone in your company or team with permission to manage assets can create publishers and generate static versions. End users never see the publishers themselves — only the finished presentations you choose to publish. If you don't see the Automation section in Manage assets, your role doesn't include asset management — ask an account Owner for access.

Static deck publishers follow the same scoping as other assets: a company-scoped publisher lives in the company vault, and a team-scoped publisher is visible only inside that team.

When should I use a static deck publisher instead of a presentation builder?

Both share the same building blocks, but they solve different problems:

• Presentation builder: End users generate their own customised decks on demand. The builder is published and visible, and every generated deck is a one-off download.
• Static deck publisher: Admins generate official, versioned documents from a hidden template. Each result is stored in SlideHub as a frozen presentation that can itself be published, tracked, and reused.

Reach for a static deck publisher when the output needs to be a managed asset — recurring reports, approved client packages, quarterly updates — rather than a one-time download. If your placeholders are backed by structured data, combining the static deck publisher with How do I create and manage Data Tables? keeps the fill step fast and consistent.

How much do static deck publishers cost?

Static deck publishers are included in your SlideHub subscription and generating static versions does not consume Pre-Paid Credits. Design work on the underlying slides is priced as usual — see How much does a task cost?.

Updated on: 06/12/2026