Hi Peter,
Thank you for what you've provided. I would elaborate on the three key points you make.

I am wondering about some of these really big charts fitting into Word. There are some charts with 20 categories that spill past the slide. They're responses to questions and cover 2004 and on. The years take up space but it's the number of categories that can really hog space. The charts are to go into a Word final report.

Selecting the objects and then right-clicking to Save as Picture is new to me and very useful. I imagine this is a two step process: first import the chart and then import the objects? Or turn it all into a Picture? I'm trying to imagine that.

Lastly, what I call "shells" are placeholders I created in the data sheet for the upcoming 2008 data. Someone else is suppose to be able to come in and just type in the new data without any prior design knowledge. So, I'm wondering if they should type in their data in PowerPoint and then have me transfer it for them into Word. They can't somehow do that themselves, can they? Once it's in Word, it becomes a Format Picture, right?

What I see is having the charts prepared to fit into Word and then have the same charts be ready to fit into a separate PowerPoint show. I'm not sure if I might need to have two separate sets for these purposes. I also need to make sure I keep a set that remains fully editable for future use. This sounds like possibly three sets. Would you think so?

Thanks so much for your help! I appreciate it and look forward to your comments.

Well, the problem I have is that, as you can see, I'm a novice and I'm dealing with work done on charts by a previous designer. All the charts he worked on are in a PowerPoint file and so far I've added a placeholder for 2008 and I've experimented with resizing the charts and then adjusting the objects related to each chart. The charts they wanted cut in half to fit two slides have already been determined. The rest stay big. I can see from last year's PowerPoint show and last year's Word document that they have no problem displaying a lot of categories.

I do like your idea of doing all of this in Excel but that, I think, is beyond the scope of this project. There's too much here for me to come in and recreate in Excel. I'm not confident about that and there isn't enough time for me to do that. I think using the existing material and adjusting as needed is the way to go and I'm still struggling with how that will finally come about.

Looking at the Word 158 page final report from last year, there are about 16 fairly big charts ranging from 5 to 9 categories that cover years starting with 2004. They are given ample room, whether landscape or portrait. Looking at the PowerPoint 56 slide final presentation from last year, which is all landscape of course, there are about 7 big charts ranging from 7 to 9 categories. I see where some of these same charts display in landscape in PowerPoint and portrait in Word.

I've already played around with attempting to recreate one these charts within PowerPoint by following the specs in one of these charts and I'm getting odd results. So, that alone is very discouraging.

Well, that's not an option because I'm getting this second hand. The place I work at was contracted out to make the charts look pretty and ready to have the new data dropped into them. The firm that contracted us out is creating the reports for their client. Whoever designed or worked on the charts the last time around is long gone. So, basically, everyone I'm working with doesn't know or care to know about PowerPoint and I'm expected to just make it happen.

From all you've read, wouldn't it make sense to adjust the charts I have as best I can and have one set for Word, one set for Powerpoint, and leave one updated set in PowerPoint for the next guy to update? That's the best I can figure.

Yes, these are bar graphs. The charts are already made up and cover 2004 to 2007 and I've inserted a placeholder for 2008 in the data sheet. I can speak with the client but she wouldn't know anything beyond the fact that she's supplied the PowerPoint files to the company I work for. This is a small company I work for and I've only been there two months. It is assumed that I'm learning as I go but then results are expected too. If I start fumbling about with Excel now, which they've never mentioned, it might be too much for them--and for me.

Ultimately, I definitely accept your help but I don't think I'll be able to use it this time simply because there are so many charts to sort through and it would seem, especially at my novice level, it would be wise to work with resizing the charts that I now find myself with. From what I see, they have been updating the data sheet in PowerPoint and that's all they know--then again, maybe I'm not seeing something. I do understand what you're saying.