Preparation of Flow Cytometry Figures Using FlowJo and ... A Few Notes On PowerPoint (Part 3)

Part 1 (FlowJo) | Part 2 (Canvas) | Part 3 (PowerPoint)

Finally, I finish up with a few comments on using PowerPoint for preparing flow cytometry figures. My comments are brief, as I've already made clear my bias against using PowerPoint as the tool for this job.

But, if you insist....

Use FlowJo Version 4.5 or Later

First off, if you're going to use PowerPoint for any layout of figures from FlowJo, use FlowJo 4.5 or later. FlowJo 4.5 dramatic improves how PowerPoint handles graphs imported from FlowJo.

Resizing Flow Figures in PowerPoint

When you import batch output containing more than a few plots from FlowJo into Canvas or PowerPoint, it is highly likely that the plots will cover more than one page or slide, if the page setup is set at 100%. In Canvas, I recommended that you decrease the scale of the page in the Page Setup dialog box, as opposed to scaling the flow plots, either separately, or as a group. In PowerPoint, rescaling the page does not appear to do anything with respect to how the plots fit on the slide/page, at least as far as I can tell. Therefore, it is necessary to scale the flow plots themselves (this is one of several reasons I don't like PowerPoint for this task, since it's not all that reproducible unless you are very careful).

When scaling the plots in PowerPoint, it is almost certainly best to do it immediately after you've imported the PICT file, when the plots are still all grouped together. First, decrease the size of the PowerPoint slide area (the zoom level) to 25%. Then, simply click-hold on one corner of the plot set, and drag the mouse so that the plot set is the appropriate size. Finally, resize the PowerPoint slide area so that it is set to "fit". Only now should you ungroup the plots.

Using Guides in PowerPoint

PowerPoint also has useful snap-to guides like Canvas, but you access them in a different way. Here's how to do it:

1. Select the command "View -> Guides" (command-G; ⌘-G). This will add exactly one set of perpindicular "cross-hair guides to the document.
2. Additional guides are added by "option-dragging" on an existing guide to duplicate it. In contrast to Canvas, new guides are not added by dragging from a ruler. If you want to drag a guide to a place that is off the grid, you will also have to hold down the command key (⌘) will dragging it; if you hold down both option-command and drag, you will drag a new guide to where you want it.