PACStacker PowerPoint Plugin

How to Use

Download a printable version (DOC).

Instructions on Stack Creation and Modification

Creating a new stack

  1. Open a PowerPoint presentation.
  2. From the Tools dropdown menu, select "Insert Image Stack…". This opens up an "Edit Image Stack" dialog box. By default this window will be empty.
  3. Within this dialog box you will need to select a series of images for the stack. (This set of images will in general be a set of JPEG images that have been converted over from a DICOM format.) By clicking the "Add Files" button, you will be prompted to select the desired images from a folder. Once you have selected the correct folder, you can either select all the images or a few. To select all the images, either highlight them all or use the keyboard shortcut "ctrl+a". If you only need a few of the images, you can hold down the "ctrl" key and individually select the needed images. Click the "Open" button to import the selected images into the "Edit Image Stack" window.
  4. The selected image file names now appear in the "Stack Files" section of the "Edit Image Stack" dialog box. The first image of the stack is previewed in the "Preview/Crop Stack" section. Highlighting a different file name will result in previewing of that image.
  5. To remove an image from the stack, highlight the corresponding image file name and press the "Clear Selected" button. To remove all images from the stack, press the "Clear All" button. To rearrange the order of the images, select the relevant image file name and use the "Move Up" or "Move Down" button. Use the "Add Files" button to add additional images to the stack.
  6. If you would like to crop the image set, you should do so now. Do this by clicking the sets of arrows on the corners of the previewed image. The arrows adjust the crop by moving panes over the image to show how much is being cropped.
  7. You have the option to show the image number, which will appear to the right of your series as you are scrolling through it during a presentation. To have an image stack display this number, check the "Show Image Number When Scrolling" box.
  8. Once the image stack is to your liking, click "Save Stack" which will embed the stack into the current PowerPoint slide.

Resizing/moving a stack within a PowerPoint slide

  • The image stack is useable just as if it were a single normal image. To move an image stack, click and drag the visible first image of the image stack. To resize the image stack, click on the visible image and you will then see eight white bullets surrounding the stack. Click on any bullet to change the image size; this will resize the entire image stack. IMPORTANT: In order to keep everything proportionate, you should select one of the corner bullets and hold down the "Shift" key as you are resizing.

Deleting/duplicating a stack within PowerPoint

  • The entire stack can be removed in the same way as any object in PowerPoint, by selecting the stack and pressing the "Delete" key. Similarly, the entire stack can be copied and pasted into the same or another slide in the same way as any object in PowerPoint (i.e., select the image stack, right-click to select "Copy" and then right-click and select "Paste" on this or any other slide).

Changing contents of the stack after stack creation

  • Click on a stack. (When you see eight white bullets surrounding the stack, you know that the stack is selected.) Under the "Tools" dropdown menu, select "Edit Image Stack". This will reopen the "Edit Image Stack" dialog box. Any changes made will be reflected in the selected stack.

Linking stacks

More than one stack may exist on the same slide. These multiple stacks can be linked to scroll simultaneously. To do this, select the first stack by left-clicking over the stack's image and then select the second stack by holding down "Ctrl" while left clicking over the other stack. Then, under the "Tools" drop down menu, select "Link Selected Stacks". The sets will now scroll in unison. When one stack is scrolled, the linked stack will scroll simultaneously.

Instructions for Stack Use During PowerPoint Presentation

  • When opening a presentation that contains a stack or stacks of images, you may be prompted by a window asking if you want to enable macros. You must select "Enable Macros" in order to enable scrolling of image stacks. NOTE: Although the PACStacker application needs to be installed to create or modify image stacks, it does not need to be installed for viewing stacks in presentation mode.
  • In order to view and scroll through stacks, you must be in PowerPoint's presentation mode, which you can start by either using the "F5" key on the keyboard or by selecting "Slide Show" from the "View" drop down menu. (In slide editor mode, the stacks just appear as single images.) When you get to a slide with an image stack, move the mouse over the displayed image of the image stack. A grey box should appear around the image stack. If this gray box does not appear, move the mouse to the corner of the screen and back over the image stack. Once the grey box has appeared, you can manipulate the stack.
    • To scroll through the stack, you can hold down either the left mouse button or the "Shift" key and move the cursor up and down.
    • To change the window and level of the stack, hold the "ctrl" key down and move the cursor from left to right to change the window and up and down to change the level. (Note that you will not have the full grayscale depth of a DICOM image.) Typing the letter "C" while the mouse is over an image stack will reset the stack to its original window and level setting. If the plug-in stops working, try moving the mouse out of the stack and then back over it to regain function.