Heron PowerPoint Add-in

The Heron PowerPoint Add-in helps improve productivity for anyone working in PowerPoint. We have collected all the most frequently used functions and made them available with a single click. We have also developed a bunch of special features to make every day work even more efficient. Here are some of the main features:

  • Agenda pages (recurring agenda with updates that cascade to all related slides)
  • Dynamic links (allows you to cascade changes on one slide to all related slides with just a click)
  • Update proofing language for the whole presentation with one click
  • Save or Send (mail) selected slides  (both as pdf and original file type)
  • Special shape formatting support like:
    • Expand shape to next shape
    • Merge text boxes
    • Split text boxes (each line as separate box)
    • Swap position of shapes
    • Adjust angle of chevrons
    • Apply one shapes format to all selected shapes
  • Easy updating of document properties to facilitate better document management (helping immensely with finding and reusing)
  • Special support for process mapping
    • Insert swim lane chart template
    • Move swim lane (including all shapes) up or down
    • Align shapes vertically in their respective swim lane
  • Some special shapes and cool stuff
    • Harvey balls
    • Hand drawn circles for highlighting parts of the slide
    • Stamps for “Draft”, “Illustrative”, “For Discussion”
    • Turn text into shapes with a click
    • Jigsaw puzzle pieces (2×2) with text boxes
    • Select a picture and turn it into a jigsaw puzzle (2×2 pieces)
    • Select a map chart into vector elements to be used as any shape

I want it! What do I need to do next?

Just head over to the download page and download the zip file. Have a look at the video clip below for directions how to get it installed (1 minute effort). 

How to install the Add-in:

Q: Do I need Administrator privileges on my computer to install this?

A: Most likely not. Adding an Add-in to an Office application is not the same as installing a new application. You just need to put the file in the right location and let PowerPoint know about it.

Q: What are the system requirements?

A: This product has been tested on a 64 bit Windows system with PowerPoint version 15 and 16 (2013 and 365). Two functions rely on PowerPoint functionality that is not available in PowerPoint 2013, but besides those functions (vectorize text and vectorize a map chart) everything works fine also on 2013. We have not tested this on a 32 bit machine (not easy to find one nowadays).  

Q: Where can I get support if something is not working?

A: We use our LinkedIn Group “Excellence For You” for all discussions and support matters. Please join the group to make sure you don’t miss out on any updates or new features being released. 

Q: Why are you giving this away? Can I really trust this?

A: One of the foundations Heron Consulting is built on is the close collaboration and teamwork we have with our clients. This also goes all the way in terms of us sharing the tools and methodologies we use in our every day work. And why should we limit this sharing to only our clients when we can share it with everyone?

Q: What if I want my own customized version of this tool or if I want personalized training?

A: We are more than happy to help you out with that as well of course. Just contact us on info@heronconsulting.se or thomas.hager@heronconsulting.se.

Walkthrough of all key features