Meta Content

Meta Content is a Macabacus tool that enhances PowerPoint library content with metadata for improved discovery and organization. For example, let Macabacus serve as your tombstone management solution.

Meta Content is similar to regular library content, except that metadata describing the content is published to libraries alongside the content itself to facilitate discovery in the Library pane. The types of Meta Content available and some of their use cases are:

Meta Slides, which are similar to regular slides but published with metadata for filtering in the Library pane, with use cases including credentials, case studies, and biographies;

Meta Shapes, which are similar to regular shapes but published with metadata for filtering in the Library pane, with use cases such as tombstones; and

Archived Decks, which are completed presentations archived in libraries and published with metadata for filtering in the Library pane, with use cases including client pitches and conference presentations.

Access Meta Content just like any other library content—using the Macabacus' Library pane.

To find Meta Content relevant to your presentation, expand the Filters section at the top of the Library pane and apply the desired filters. For example, you can filter for case studies based on specific date ranges, deal values, industry sectors, or specific advisory roles your firm played (e.g., lead bookrunner). The available filtering options are determined by how you or your administrator have configured Macabacus.

Use the Search bar at the top of the Library pane as another way to filter results. Macabacus will search any text that appears in content for matches. Note that the search bar does not search Meta Content data—use filters for that.

Once you have filtered your Meta Content as desired, use the links at the bottom of the Filters section to sort them by any available field. For example, in pitchbooks, tombstones are usually sorted by transaction date or deal value in descending order.

When inserting four or more Meta Shapes, Macabacus prompts you for how you want to lay them out on your slide, and offers several arrangement options.

Meta Shapes involving image files are inserted onto your slide as pictures at the size intended for use, and subsequent resizing may lead to undesirable image distortion.

Before using Meta Content as described above, you must configure the Data Group’s fields, and then publish the content to a Macabacus library, generally in that order. These steps are described in more detail below.

The first step in using Meta Content with Macabacus is to configure the fields that store data and provide filtering/sorting options for end users. Think of these fields as columns in a database that must be filled in for each piece of Meta Content you publish. Common fields for Meta Content include deal size, closing date, advisory role, and industry, among others.

To configure Meta Content fields, open the Library Manager dialog and go to the Library Data section. Here, you can create a new Data Group under the type of content you want to organize (e.g., Meta Shapes, Meta Slides, Archived Decks). Macabacus also provides several sample Data Groups with pre-populated fields, which you can edit or remove as needed.

Give careful consideration to the Meta Content fields you select and the options presented when configuring these fields. If you are creating a library of Meta Content for use across your company, be sure to solicit input from the business units that will be working with the content. Remember that these fields will be primarily used by end users to filter content in the Library pane, so adding more fields than necessary for filtering purposes can lead to adverse performance consequences and make publishing Meta Content more burdensome.

Available data types for fields are as follows: a) Boolean; b) Date; c) Decimal; d) Integer; e)List; f)Text

Fields with the "List" data type allow users to select from predefined options when publishing and filtering Meta Content, so carefully consider which list options you specify.

Although you can require certain fields to be populated when publishing Meta Content, be mindful that some information, such as the closing date or deal value, may be unknown when dealing with pending transactions. Therefore, it is important to carefully consider which fields should be mandatory.

You can add, remove, and edit fields after publishing tombstones, but keep in mind the following:

• When adding a new field, the field will be blank for previously published tombstones until retroactively populated in the Library Data dialog.
• Removing a field will also delete any data associated with that field from the library.
• Editing an existing field (e.g., changing its name or list options) will not impact tombstone data.

After making changes to Meta Shape fields, be sure to republish shared settings as described below, if applicable.

If your organization uses Meta Content in a shared Macabacus library, you must publish the Meta Content fields (i.e., schema) as shared settings. To do this, open the Share Settings from the Macabacus > Settings menu, and select Metadata Schema, and then proceed with publishing the Meta Content as described elsewhere in this documentation.

To modify Meta Content fields in the Library Manager dialog, you must be a Macabacus or Windows administrator.

Once you have created your Meta Content (e.g., Meta Slides or Meta Shapes) in PowerPoint, follow these steps to publish it:

1. Select the shape if you are publishing a Meta Shape.
2. Open the Library Manager .
3. Navigate to the relevant Meta Content enabled group.
4. Click the Publish to Group button to open a dialog that prompts you for information about the published content based on your defined Meta Content fields. Required inputs are marked accordingly in the Library Manager dialog (see Configuring Meta Content).
5. Populate the required data.
6. Click the Publish button to publish the Meta Content to the library of your choosing.

After publishing, you may need to restart PowerPoint for the Meta Content to appear in your library.

Macabacus supports bulk publishing for Meta Shapes (e.g., tombstones) and Meta Slides, making it easier to manage and publish large quantities of content paired with staged data. Follow the steps below to prepare your shapes or slides, stage your data, and publish efficiently.

Step 1: Prepare Meta Shapes or Meta Slides

For Meta Shapes

• Create and Finalize Meta Shapes: Design your shapes in PowerPoint, ensuring they’re grouped and ready.
• Assign UIDs: Use the Selection Pane in PowerPoint to append each shape or group with a unique identifier (UID) in this format: UID=TA-12345 ; example: You could name the shape Tombstone UID=TA-12345.
• When publishing per Step 3, if the first shape in the presentation includes a UID in accordance with the above step, Macabacus will detect the UID and automatically opt for bulk publishing.

For Meta Slides

• Prepare Your Presentation: Ensure all slides you wish to bulk publish are finalized.
• Add the UID to the File Name: Include the UID directly in the file name (e.g., UID=TA-12345.pptx ). Publish the open presentation as a collection (per step 3), and Macabacus will pair the UID to the staged data.

UID Guidelines

• UIDs are not case-sensitive.
• Allowed characters: Letters (any case), numbers, underscores, and hyphens.

Step 2: Stage Your Data

Prepare Your Excel File:

• Include columns (i.e., fields) that match the fields configured per your schema.
• Add a column for UID , ensuring it matches the identifiers assigned in Step 1.

Configure the Library Manager:

• Verify the Meta Shapes or Meta Slides schema is set up with the necessary fields.
• Publish your fields as shared settings using the Shared Settings dialog.
• Note: The UID field is detected automatically by Macabacus and does not need to be manually added to the Metadata Schema via the Library Manager.

Step 3: Bulk Publish Meta Shapes or Meta Slides

• Open the Library Manager and navigate to Meta Shapes or Meta Slides.
• Click the Data button and then Stage to detect your open Excel file.

In the Stage Data dialog:

• Verify fields are correctly mapped to the columns in your spreadsheet.
• Click Stage to import the data.

Publish your Meta Content:

• For Meta Shapes, Macabacus will pair the UIDs from all your shape names with the corresponding data rows.
• For Meta Slides, Macabacus will pair the UID from the published presentation to the corresponding row of metadata.

FAQs - Bulk Publishing

1. Do I need to manually match UIDs?

No, Macabacus automatically pairs UIDs from your shapes or slides with staged data rows.

2. Can UIDs include special characters?

UIDs can only include letters (any case), numbers, underscores, and hyphens.

3. What if a UID doesn’t match?

Macabacus will skip any shapes, slides, or rows where the UIDs do not match exactly. Double-check for accuracy.

See below for an example video on bulk publishing meta shapes:

The Library Data dialog provides a convenient way to view and edit all your library data and can be accessed by pressing the Data  button when viewing a meta content enabled group within the Library Assets section of the Library Manager.

To preserve data integrity, Macabacus will not apply changes described below until the Commit  button is pressed. Macabacus will then prompt, asking if you’re sure you want to commit changes. Upon pressing OK , you will then be prompted to type in ‘save’ to apply the changes to your library data.

Edit data by selecting the desired cell and clicking into its contents or keying F2 .

Delete any piece of Meta Content by selecting the content (if in Data View), or thumbnail (if in Thumbnail View) and press the delete button at the bottom of the dialog box. Deleting a row of data or a thumbnail will delete the related content and its respective metadata from the Library.

Export data to a new Excel workbook by checking the desired tombstone rows and clicking the Export button.

Import metadata from the active Excel workbook into the preconfigured fields. For each field, select the applicable column that contains the desired data input. Staged data can be deleted after import by pressing the Unstage button.

To modify tombstone data in the Tombstone Data dialog, you must be a Macabacus or Windows administrator.

_{This documentation refers to the latest Macabacus version. Some features and descriptions of these features may not apply to older versions of Macabacus. Update your Macabacus software to take advantage of the latest features.}