Working Solution for Worksheet Resizing

What this page is about

Fix Excel worksheet OLE resizing in presentations: two ways to keep object frames consistent—scale the frame or the sheet—across the PPT and PPTX formats.

Note

It has been observed that Excel worksheets embedded as OLE objects in a PowerPoint presentation through Aspose components are resized to an unspecified scale after the first activation. This behavior creates a noticeable visual difference in the presentation between the pre- and post-activation states of the OLE object. We have investigated this issue in detail and provided a solution, which is covered in this article.

Background

In the article Manage OLE, we explained how to add an OLE frame to a PowerPoint presentation using Aspose.Slides for Python via Java. To address the object preview issue, we assigned an image of the selected worksheet area to the OLE object frame. In the output presentation, when you double-click the OLE object frame displaying the worksheet image, the Excel workbook is activated. End users can make any desired changes to the actual Excel workbook and then return to the slide by clicking outside the activated Excel workbook. The size of the OLE object frame will change when the user returns to the slide. The resizing factor will vary depending on the size of the OLE object frame and the embedded Excel workbook.

Cause of Resizing

Since the Excel workbook has its own window size, it tries to retain its original size upon first activation. On the other hand, the OLE object frame has its own size. According to Microsoft, when the Excel workbook is activated, Excel and PowerPoint negotiate the size to ensure it maintains the correct proportions as part of the embedding process. The resizing occurs based on the differences between the Excel window size and the OLE object frame’s size and position.

Working Solution

There are two possible solutions to avoid the resizing effect.

Scale the OLE frame size in the PowerPoint presentation to match the height and width of the desired number of rows and columns in the OLE frame.
Keep the OLE frame size constant and scale the size of the participating rows and columns to fit within the selected OLE frame size.

Scale the OLE Frame Size

In this approach, we will learn how to set the OLE frame size of the embedded Excel workbook to match the cumulative size of the participating rows and columns in the Excel worksheet.

Suppose we have a template Excel sheet and want to add it to a presentation as an OLE frame. In this scenario, the size of the OLE object frame will first be calculated based on the cumulative row heights and column widths of the participating rows and columns in the workbook. Then, we will set the size of the OLE frame to this calculated value. To avoid the red “EMBEDDED OLE OBJECT” message for the OLE frame in PowerPoint, we will also capture an image of the desired portions of the rows and columns in the workbook and set it as the OLE frame image.

import jpype
import asposecells
import asposeslides

if not jpype.isJVMStarted():
    jpype.startJVM()

from asposecells.api import Workbook, ImageOrPrintOptions, ImageType, SheetRender, CellsUnitType
from asposecells.api import SaveFormat as CellsSaveFormat
from asposeslides.api import Presentation, OleEmbeddedDataInfo, SaveFormat

ByteArrayInputStream = jpype.JClass("java.io.ByteArrayInputStream")
ByteArrayOutputStream = jpype.JClass("java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream")


def create_ole_image(cell_range, image_resolution):
    page_setup = cell_range.getWorksheet().getPageSetup()
    page_setup.setPrintArea(cell_range.getAddress())
    page_setup.setLeftMargin(0)
    page_setup.setRightMargin(0)
    page_setup.setTopMargin(0)
    page_setup.setBottomMargin(0)
    page_setup.clearHeaderFooter()

    image_options = ImageOrPrintOptions()
    image_options.setImageType(ImageType.PNG)
    image_options.setVerticalResolution(image_resolution)
    image_options.setHorizontalResolution(image_resolution)
    image_options.setOnePagePerSheet(True)
    image_options.setOnlyArea(True)

    sheet_render = SheetRender(cell_range.getWorksheet(), image_options)
    image_stream = ByteArrayOutputStream()
    try:
        sheet_render.toImage(0, image_stream)
        image_data = image_stream.toByteArray()
        return ByteArrayInputStream(image_data)
    finally:
        image_stream.close()


start_row, row_count = 0, 10
start_column, column_count = 0, 13
worksheet_index = 0
image_resolution = 96

workbook = Workbook("sample.xlsx")
try:
    worksheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(worksheet_index)

    # Set the displayed size when the workbook is used as an OLE object in PowerPoint.
    last_row = start_row + row_count - 1
    last_column = start_column + column_count - 1
    workbook.getWorksheets().setOleSize(start_row, last_row, start_column, last_column)

    cell_range = worksheet.getCells().createRange(start_row, start_column, row_count, column_count)

    image_stream = create_ole_image(cell_range, image_resolution)
    try:
        # Get the width and height of the OLE image in points.
        image_io = jpype.JClass("javax.imageio.ImageIO")
        image = image_io.read(image_stream)
        frame_width = image.getWidth() * 72.0 / image_resolution
        frame_height = image.getHeight() * 72.0 / image_resolution

        # Use the modified workbook.
        ole_stream = ByteArrayOutputStream()
        try:
            workbook.save(ole_stream, CellsSaveFormat.XLSX)
            workbook_data = ole_stream.toByteArray()
        finally:
            ole_stream.close()

        presentation = Presentation()
        try:
            slide = presentation.getSlides().get_Item(0)

            # Add the OLE image to the presentation resources.
            image_stream.reset()
            ole_image = presentation.getImages().addImage(image_stream)

            # Create the OLE object frame.
            data_info = OleEmbeddedDataInfo(workbook_data, "xlsx")
            ole_frame = slide.getShapes().addOleObjectFrame(10.0, 10.0, frame_width, frame_height, data_info)
            ole_frame.getSubstitutePictureFormat().getPicture().setImage(ole_image)
            ole_frame.setObjectIcon(False)

            presentation.save("output.pptx", SaveFormat.Pptx)
        finally:
            presentation.dispose()
    finally:
        image_stream.close()
finally:
    workbook.dispose()

Scale the Cell Range Size

In this approach, we will learn how to scale the heights of the participating rows and the widths of the participating columns to match a custom OLE frame size.

Suppose we have a template Excel sheet and want to add it to a presentation as an OLE frame. In this scenario, we will set the size of the OLE frame and scale the size of the rows and columns that participate in the OLE frame area. We will then save the workbook to a stream to apply the changes and convert it to a byte array for adding it to the OLE frame. To avoid the red “EMBEDDED OLE OBJECT” message for the OLE frame in PowerPoint, we will also capture an image of the desired portions of the rows and columns in the workbook and set it as the OLE frame image.

import jpype
import asposecells
import asposeslides

if not jpype.isJVMStarted():
    jpype.startJVM()

from asposecells.api import Workbook, ImageOrPrintOptions, ImageType, SheetRender, CellsUnitType
from asposecells.api import SaveFormat as CellsSaveFormat
from asposeslides.api import Presentation, OleEmbeddedDataInfo, SaveFormat

ByteArrayInputStream = jpype.JClass("java.io.ByteArrayInputStream")
ByteArrayOutputStream = jpype.JClass("java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream")


def create_ole_image(cell_range, image_resolution):
    page_setup = cell_range.getWorksheet().getPageSetup()
    page_setup.setPrintArea(cell_range.getAddress())
    page_setup.setLeftMargin(0)
    page_setup.setRightMargin(0)
    page_setup.setTopMargin(0)
    page_setup.setBottomMargin(0)
    page_setup.clearHeaderFooter()

    image_options = ImageOrPrintOptions()
    image_options.setImageType(ImageType.PNG)
    image_options.setVerticalResolution(image_resolution)
    image_options.setHorizontalResolution(image_resolution)
    image_options.setOnePagePerSheet(True)
    image_options.setOnlyArea(True)

    sheet_render = SheetRender(cell_range.getWorksheet(), image_options)
    image_stream = ByteArrayOutputStream()
    try:
        sheet_render.toImage(0, image_stream)
        image_data = image_stream.toByteArray()
        return ByteArrayInputStream(image_data)
    finally:
        image_stream.close()


def scale_cell_range(cell_range, width, height):
    # The expected width and height of the cell range are in points.
    range_width = cell_range.getWidth()
    range_height = cell_range.getHeight()
    cells = cell_range.getWorksheet().getCells()

    for i in range(cell_range.getColumnCount()):
        column_index = cell_range.getFirstColumn() + i
        column_width = cells.getColumnWidth(column_index, False, CellsUnitType.POINT)
        new_column_width = column_width * width / range_width
        width_in_inches = new_column_width / 72.0
        cells.setColumnWidthInch(column_index, width_in_inches)

    for i in range(cell_range.getRowCount()):
        row_index = cell_range.getFirstRow() + i
        row_height = cells.getRowHeight(row_index, False, CellsUnitType.POINT)
        new_row_height = row_height * height / range_height
        height_in_inches = new_row_height / 72.0
        cells.setRowHeightInch(row_index, height_in_inches)


start_row, row_count = 0, 10
start_column, column_count = 0, 13
worksheet_index = 0
image_resolution = 96
frame_width, frame_height = 400.0, 100.0
workbook = Workbook("sample.xlsx")
try:
    worksheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(worksheet_index)

    # Set the displayed size when the workbook is used as an OLE object in PowerPoint.
    last_row = start_row + row_count - 1
    last_column = start_column + column_count - 1
    workbook.getWorksheets().setOleSize(start_row, last_row, start_column, last_column)

    cell_range = worksheet.getCells().createRange(start_row, start_column, row_count, column_count)
    # Scale the cell range to fit the frame size.
    scale_cell_range(cell_range, frame_width, frame_height)
    image_stream = create_ole_image(cell_range, image_resolution)
    try:

        # Use the modified workbook.
        ole_stream = ByteArrayOutputStream()
        try:
            workbook.save(ole_stream, CellsSaveFormat.XLSX)
            workbook_data = ole_stream.toByteArray()
        finally:
            ole_stream.close()

        presentation = Presentation()
        try:
            slide = presentation.getSlides().get_Item(0)

            # Add the OLE image to the presentation resources.
            image_stream.reset()
            ole_image = presentation.getImages().addImage(image_stream)

            # Create the OLE object frame.
            data_info = OleEmbeddedDataInfo(workbook_data, "xlsx")
            ole_frame = slide.getShapes().addOleObjectFrame(10.0, 10.0, frame_width, frame_height, data_info)
            ole_frame.getSubstitutePictureFormat().getPicture().setImage(ole_image)
            ole_frame.setObjectIcon(False)

            presentation.save("output.pptx", SaveFormat.Pptx)
        finally:
            presentation.dispose()
    finally:
        image_stream.close()
finally:
    workbook.dispose()

Conclusion

Note

There are two approaches to fix the worksheet resizing issue. The selection of the appropriate approach depends on the specific requirements and use case. Both approaches work the same way, whether the presentations are created from a template or from scratch. Additionally, there is no limit on the size of the OLE object frame in this solution.

FAQ

Why does an embedded Excel worksheet change size when first activated in PowerPoint?

This happens because Excel tries to maintain the original window size when activated, while the OLE object frame in PowerPoint has its own dimensions. PowerPoint and Excel negotiate the size to maintain aspect ratio, which can cause the resizing.

Is it possible to prevent this resizing issue entirely?

Yes. By scaling the OLE frame to fit the Excel cell range size or scaling the cell range to fit the desired OLE frame size, you can prevent unwanted resizing.

Which scaling method should I use, OLE frame scaling or cell range scaling?

Select OLE frame scaling if you want to maintain the original Excel row and column sizes. Select cell range scaling if you want a fixed size for the OLE frame in your presentation.

Will these solutions work if my presentation is based on a template?

Yes. Both solutions work for presentations created from templates and from scratch.

Is there a limit to the size of the OLE frame when using these methods?

No. You can make the OLE object frame any size as long as you set the scale appropriately.

Is there a way to avoid the “EMBEDDED OLE OBJECT” placeholder text in PowerPoint?

Yes. By taking a snapshot of the target Excel cell range and setting it as the OLE frame’s placeholder image, you can display a custom preview image in place of the default placeholder.

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Working Solution for Worksheet Resizing

What this page is about

Note

Background

Cause of Resizing

Working Solution

Scale the OLE Frame Size

Scale the Cell Range Size

Conclusion

Note

FAQ

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