Text Box Tables (aka Marvin Table) for PowerPoint

Many of our McKinsey alumni customers used Marvin Tables in PowerPoint slides at McKinsey. Text Box Tables in PowerPoint are made up of a series of text boxes, rather than standard PowerPoint Tables (the difference is that PowerPoint Tables insert onto the slide as a single object with rows and columns). Since adding features for Box Tables in PowerPoint, we've received feedback that many customers prefer using box tables given the extra flexibility in formatting (in PowerPoint box tables make it easier to control the spacing between cells).

There are several features in PPT Productivity add-in for PowerPoint that relate to Box tables:

• PPT Productivity's Deconstruct Tables into Text Boxes feature lets you convert a PowerPoint table into text boxes.
• The Create Table from Text Boxes feature lets you convert a text box table into a standard PowerPoint table.
• The Box Table template gallery in the PPT Productivity Slide Library contains a number of common Table layouts created using text boxes, rather than the standard PowerPoint table format.
• The Group by Row and Group by Column features lets you group your Box tables by columns or rows for easy manipulation

PPT Productivity users with a Power Tools license (including anyone using the Free trial) already have access to download the Downloadable Slide and Shape Libraries which contain ~2200 slides and shapes for easy reuse, including the Box table template gallery.

PPT Productivity Box Table Template Library

Using the Box Table template gallery for PowerPoint is easy! Find the layout you need by either scrolling through the more than 60 Box Table designs, using Slide Library search or via Keyboard Shortcuts. Simply click the image of the box table template required. The selected Box Table template will paste onto your PowerPoint slide instantly. Note that your PowerPoint presentation template's colors will be applied automatically when the table is pasted into your presentation (make sure ‘apply source formatting’ at the bottom of the Slide Library panel is unchecked). 

The new Box Table template library is available in both 16:9 widescreen and 4:3 slide size layouts. It's available for all PPT Productivity Power Tools users including those using the free 30 day trial.

To download the Box Tables library, simply click the ‘Select Libraries’ button at the top of the PPT Productivity Slide Library Toolbar in PowerPoint. This will launch the ‘Filter Galleries’ dialogue box. Click the ‘Download New Libraries’ button. There you will see the list of available PPT Productivity shape galleries to download. Check the box next to ‘Box Tables – Widescreen’ (for 16:9 slide size) or ‘Box Tables’ (for 4:3 slide size) and hit ok. The new Box Table gallery will download in seconds and be available in your Slide Library for immediate use.

Tip - if you only ever work with one slide width, simply deselect the other format using the Select Libraries... button. This will remove non preferred sizes from display in your Slide Library (they will be hidden, not deleted - you can add them back if ever needed).

Don’t forget – you can also save your own preferred box table layouts or any other slide or shape for easy access via the Slide Library. Learn more about downloading slides and shapes to your Slide Library

More relevant PPT Productivity features for McKinsey Alumni

If you're a McKinsey alumni who is missing the PowerPoint features of the Marvin Toolbar, we think you'll also love PPT Productivity's other features including McKinsey aligned shortcut keys , status stamps (aka status stickers) and sticky notes. Read more about the favorite features of McKinsey alums.

Let us know what’s on your PowerPoint ‘wish list’ !   If you’re enjoying the time saving Box table gallery and our 180+ other features, let your colleagues and friends know about PPT Productivity!