table2pptx: Export Table to Microsoft PowerPoint Format (PPTX)
In summata: Publication-Ready Summary Tables and Forest Plots

table2pptx

R Documentation

Export Table to Microsoft PowerPoint Format (PPTX)

Description

Converts a data frame, data.table, or matrix to a Microsoft PowerPoint slide (.pptx) with a formatted table using the flextable and officer packages. Creates presentation-ready slides with extensive control over table formatting, positioning, and layout. Tables can be further edited in PowerPoint after creation. Ideal for creating data-driven presentations and conference talks.

Usage

table2pptx(
  table,
  file,
  caption = NULL,
  font_size = 10,
  font_family = "Arial",
  format_headers = TRUE,
  bold_significant = TRUE,
  bold_variables = FALSE,
  p_threshold = 0.05,
  indent_groups = FALSE,
  condense_table = FALSE,
  condense_quantitative = FALSE,
  zebra_stripes = FALSE,
  dark_header = FALSE,
  width = NULL,
  align = NULL,
  template = NULL,
  layout = "Title and Content",
  master = "Office Theme",
  left = 0.5,
  top = 1.5,
  return_ft = FALSE,
  ...
)

Arguments

`table`	Data frame, data.table, or matrix to export. Can be output from `desctable()`, `survtable()`, `fit()`, `uniscreen()`, `fullfit()`, `compfit()`, `multifit()`, or any tabular data.
`file`	Character string specifying the output PPTX filename. Must have `.pptx` extension. Example: `"results.pptx"`, `"Slide1.pptx"`.
`caption`	Character string. Optional title displayed in the slide's title placeholder or as text box above the table. Default is `NULL`.
`font_size`	Numeric. Base font size in points for table content. Default is 10. Typical range for presentations: 10-14 points. Larger than print documents for visibility at distance.
`font_family`	Character string. Font family name for the table. Must be installed on the system. Default is `"Arial"`. Common presentation fonts: `"Calibri"`, `"Helvetica"`, `"Arial"`.
`format_headers`	Logical. If `TRUE`, formats column headers by italicizing statistical notation ("n", "p") and improving readability. Default is `TRUE`.
`bold_significant`	Logical. If `TRUE`, applies bold formatting to p-values below the significance threshold. Makes important results stand out in presentations. Default is `TRUE`.
`bold_variables`	Logical. If `TRUE`, variable names are displayed in bold. Default is `FALSE`.
`p_threshold`	Numeric. Threshold for bold p-value formatting. Only used when `bold_significant = TRUE`. Default is 0.05.
`indent_groups`	Logical. If `TRUE`, indents factor levels under their parent variable, creating hierarchical display. Useful for categorical variables. Default is `FALSE`.
`condense_table`	Logical. If `TRUE`, condenses table to essential rows only. Automatically sets `indent_groups = TRUE`. Crucial for fitting content on slides. Default is `FALSE`.
`condense_quantitative`	Logical. If `TRUE`, condenses continuous and survival variables into single rows while preserving all categorical variable rows (including binary). Only applies to descriptive tables from `desctable()`. Automatically sets `indent_groups = TRUE`. Unlike `condense_table`, this does not collapse binary categorical variables. Default is `FALSE`.
`zebra_stripes`	Logical. If `TRUE`, applies alternating row shading to different variables for visual grouping. Improves readability during presentations. Default is `FALSE`.
`dark_header`	Logical. If `TRUE`, creates dark background with light text for header row. Provides strong contrast visible from distance. Default is `FALSE`.
`width`	Numeric. Table width in inches. If `NULL` (default), auto-fits to slide width (approximately 9 inches for standard 10-inch slide with margins). Specify for exact control.
`align`	Character vector specifying column alignment. Options: `"left"`, `"center"`, or `"right"`. If `NULL` (default), automatically determines based on content.
`template`	Character string. Path to custom PPTX template file. If `NULL` (default), uses officer's default blank template. Use to match corporate branding or conference themes.
`layout`	Character string. Name of slide layout to use from template. Default is `"Title and Content"`. Common layouts: `"Title and Content"` - Standard layout [default] `"Blank"` - Empty slide for maximum control `"Title Only"` - Title area only `"Two Content"` - Title with two content areas
`master`	Character string. Name of slide master to use. Default is `"Office Theme"`. Varies by template. Check template for available masters.
`left`	Numeric. Horizontal position from left edge of slide in inches. Default is 0.5. Standard slide is 10 inches wide.
`top`	Numeric. Vertical position from top edge of slide in inches. Default is 1.5 (leaves room for title). Standard slide is 7.5 inches tall. Adjust based on table size and layout.
`return_ft`	Logical. If `TRUE`, returns the flextable object directly for further customization. If `FALSE` (default), returns invisibly with flextable object as attribute. See Details for usage. Default is `FALSE`.
`...`	Additional arguments passed to `read_pptx`.

Details

Package Requirements:

Requires:

flextable - Table creation and formatting
officer - PowerPoint manipulation

Install: install.packages(c("flextable", "officer"))

Slide Dimensions:

Standard PowerPoint slide:

Width: 10 inches (25.4 cm)
Height: 7.5 inches (19.05 cm)
Aspect ratio: 4:3 (standard) or 16:9 (widescreen)

Safe content area (with margins):

Width: ~9 inches
Height: ~6 inches (accounting for title)

Positioning:

The left and top parameters control table placement:

(0, 0) = Top-left corner of slide
Default (0.5, 1.5) = Standard position with title room
Center: left = (10 - table_width) / 2

When caption is provided:

Attempts to use title placeholder (if layout supports)
Falls back to text box above table
Automatically adjusts table position downward

Slide Layouts:

Different layouts serve different purposes:

Title and Content (default):

Has title and content placeholders
Caption goes in title area
Table in content area
Most common for data slides

Blank:

No predefined areas
Maximum flexibility
Use absolute positioning (left, top)
Good for custom layouts

Title-Only:

Title area only
Large space for table
Good for data-heavy slides

Custom Templates:

Use organizational or conference templates:

table2pptx(table, "branded.pptx",
         template = "company_template.pptx",
         layout = "Content Layout",  # Name from template
         master = "Company Theme")   # Name from template

To find layout and master names in template:

pres <- officer::read_pptx("template.pptx")
officer::layout_summary(pres)

Multiple Slides:

Creating presentations with multiple tables:

# Each call creates new presentation - combine after
table2pptx(table1, "slide1.pptx", caption = "Results Part 1")
table2pptx(table2, "slide2.pptx", caption = "Results Part 2")

# Then manually combine in PowerPoint, or:
# Use officer to create multi-slide presentation
pres <- officer::read_pptx()

# Add first table
ft1 <- table2pptx(table1, "temp1.pptx", return_ft = TRUE)
pres <- officer::add_slide(pres)
pres <- officer::ph_with(pres, ft1, 
                         location = officer::ph_location(left = 0.5, top = 1.5))

# Add second table
ft2 <- table2pptx(table2, "temp2.pptx", return_ft = TRUE)
pres <- officer::add_slide(pres)
pres <- officer::ph_with(pres, ft2,
                         location = officer::ph_location(left = 0.5, top = 1.5))

print(pres, target = "combined.pptx")

Further Customization:

Access the flextable object for advanced formatting:

ft <- table2pptx(table, "base.pptx", return_ft = TRUE)

# Customize
ft <- flextable::color(ft, j = "p-value", color = "red")
ft <- flextable::bg(ft, i = 1, bg = "yellow")
ft <- flextable::bold(ft, i = ~ estimate > 0, j = "estimate")

# Save to new slide
pres <- officer::read_pptx()
pres <- officer::add_slide(pres)
pres <- officer::ph_with(pres, ft, 
                         location = officer::ph_location(left = 0.5, top = 1.5))
print(pres, target = "custom.pptx")

Value

Behavior depends on return_ft:

return_ft = FALSE

Invisibly returns a list with:

file - Path to created file
caption - Caption/title text
layout - Layout name used
master - Master name used
template - Template path (if provided)
position - List with left and top coordinates

Flextable accessible via attr(result, "flextable")

return_ft = TRUE

Directly returns the flextable object

Always creates a .pptx file at the specified location.

Examples

# Create example data
data(clintrial)
data(clintrial_labels)
tbl <- desctable(clintrial, by = "treatment",
    variables = c("age", "sex"), labels = clintrial_labels)

# Basic PowerPoint export
if (requireNamespace("flextable", quietly = TRUE) &&
    requireNamespace("officer", quietly = TRUE)) {
  table2pptx(tbl, file.path(tempdir(), "example.pptx"))
}


old_width <- options(width = 180)
# Load data
data(clintrial)
data(clintrial_labels)

# Create regression table
results <- fit(
   data = clintrial,
   outcome = "os_status",
   predictors = c("age", "sex", "treatment"),
   labels = clintrial_labels
)

# Example 1: Basic PowerPoint slide
table2pptx(results, file.path(tempdir(), "results.pptx"))

# Example 2: With title
table2pptx(results, file.path(tempdir(), "titled.pptx"),
        caption = "Multivariable Regression Results")

# Example 3: Larger font for visibility
table2pptx(results, file.path(tempdir(), "large_font.pptx"),
        font_size = 12,
        caption = "Main Findings")

# Example 4: Condensed for slide space
table2pptx(results, file.path(tempdir(), "condensed.pptx"),
        condense_table = TRUE,
        caption = "Key Results")

# Example 5: Dark header for emphasis
table2pptx(results, file.path(tempdir(), "dark.pptx"),
        dark_header = TRUE,
        caption = "Risk Factors")

# Example 6: With zebra stripes
table2pptx(results, file.path(tempdir(), "striped.pptx"),
        zebra_stripes = TRUE)

# Example 7: Blank layout with custom positioning
table2pptx(results, file.path(tempdir(), "blank.pptx"),
        layout = "Blank",
        left = 1,
        top = 1.5,
        width = 8)

# Example 8: Get flextable for customization
ft <- table2pptx(results, file.path(tempdir(), "base.pptx"), return_ft = TRUE)

# Customize the returned flextable object
ft <- flextable::color(ft, j = "p-value", color = "darkred")

# Example 9: Presentation-optimized table
table2pptx(results, file.path(tempdir(), "presentation.pptx"),
        caption = "Main Analysis Results",
        font_size = 11,
        condense_table = TRUE,
        zebra_stripes = TRUE,
        dark_header = TRUE,
        bold_significant = TRUE)

# Example 10: Descriptive statistics slide
desc <- desctable(
   data = clintrial,
   by = "treatment",
   variables = c("age", "sex", "bmi"),
   labels = clintrial_labels
)

table2pptx(desc, file.path(tempdir(), "baseline.pptx"),
        caption = "Baseline Characteristics",
        font_size = 10)

# Example 11: Conference presentation style
table2pptx(results, file.path(tempdir(), "conference.pptx"),
        caption = "Study Outcomes",
        font_family = "Calibri",
        font_size = 14,  # Large for big rooms
        dark_header = TRUE,
        condense_table = TRUE)

options(old_width)

summata documentation built on May 7, 2026, 5:07 p.m.