Kurt Dupont is the CEO of PresentationPoint , the online shop for PowerPoint presentations with dynamic, real-time elements. The add-ons offered there allow, for example, the display of current news or live weather data on presentation slides. The displayed information is automatically updated via RSS feed during the presentation.

We spoke with Mr. Dupont about the advantages and applications of dynamic PowerPoint elements.

1. How did you come up with the idea of ​​integrating dynamic elements into PowerPoint?

We teamed up with our friends at PresentationLoad. Their designers create unique templates for PowerPoint users. Our company, PresentationPoint, focuses more on the technical aspects and working with data. So we came up with the idea of ​​collaborating to develop new and simple solutions that many people can use for real-time information displays. We handle the technical side and implement the add-on features for PowerPoint. PresentationLoad then contributes templates to showcase the potential of these new packages.

Take Dynamic TIME, for example. With it, you can instruct PowerPoint to display the current time. Until now, there hasn't been a way to insert a clock, countdown, or timer (e.g., for a ten-minute break during a presentation) directly into PowerPoint. Dynamic TIME offers all of this combined with a visually appealing design.

And following TIME, we created NEWS for live RSS news feeds and WEATHER for dynamic weather reports on PowerPoint slides. This allows anyone to display news and weather on an information screen in their business premises or waiting areas. Companies also use television screens for their products and announcements. To generate interest, integrate live news and weather reports.

Video about Dynamic WEATHER:

2. What is the difference between Dynamic ELEMENTS and DataPoint?

In principle, the Dynamic ELEMENTS products are isolated subsystems of DataPoint. DataPoint already allows you to link to a wide variety of data sources. Take weather data, for example. Raw weather information is often transmitted as an XML file. While DataPoint can link to XML files in general, the software doesn't assign meaning to individual fields.

Dynamic WEATHER works differently. Here, we know which XML service or folder we are linking to. The only variables are location or city and degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit. We then know which column displays the current temperature. We also know the weather forecast icon for tomorrow and the following days.

And because we know which element we're linking to, we can use proper names and instructions, which is much more user-friendly. This means our add-ons can also be used by people unfamiliar with the technology. With Dynamic WEATHER, we still link to XML files in the background, but no one has to deal with XML. That's the major advantage of Dynamic ELEMENT add-ons compared to DataPoint.

If, for example, you want to display sales or production figures from your company or your database, you will of course need to use a more generic tool like DataPoint, which is ideal for linking to any type of data source.

3. Would you say that Dynamic ELEMENTS are only suitable for displays at trade fair presentations of larger organizations and billboards in public places, or can they also be used on a "smaller scale"?

It can be observed that a wide variety of businesses, from large factories to small corner shops, are now embracing the principle of digital communication. Handwritten notices on paper, taped to walls, are outdated and unprofessional. These days, screens, picture frames, or iPads are used because they are inexpensive, but above all because they project a much more professional image to guests and customers.

4. What was the purpose of creating the website www.PresentationLand.com?

To explain this, I first need to briefly discuss how DataPoint works. With our DataPoint Enterprise Edition, you get a command-line tool that you can use to present snapshots of your data. DataPoint presentations are statistical visualizations using real-time data. So, when you open the presentation, the information updates automatically. For example, imagine you need an updated presentation every morning for your sales team, or a report for the weekly management meeting about the various projects currently underway in your company. With DataPoint, your data is always up to date.

PresentationLand.com is a veritable showcase for our DataPoint generation tool, illustrating the described feature by generating approximately 50 newspaper presentations from various countries and several weather presentations. We reproduce these new presentations hourly and completely automatically on a server—that's a thousand presentations daily. You can select a country, choose a newspaper from that country, and then download a PowerPoint presentation with the latest information from that newspaper, just as if you were reading the website or the newspaper itself in PowerPoint format. And that's what it's all about—using PowerPoint to present information. Nobody wants to look at summaries and final reports in Excel. PowerPoint, on the other hand, is designed precisely for that: presenting.

5. Are there any new live add-ons or similar software currently planned?

Our most recently released product was Dynamic WALL, which allows you to ideally present PowerPoint slides on a video wall consisting of multiple monitors. Imagine, for example, a large slide displaying the menu and price list for a takeaway or fast-food restaurant, distributed across several screens.

We have some ideas for future add-ons, but right now we are quite busy supporting our customers with the ideas they themselves bring forward and developing new features that they want integrated into existing products.

Thank you for the interview! Further information about Dynamic ELEMENTS can be found here or in our shop .