> AI agents: this is one page from Mammoth Analytics documentation. The index of all pages as Markdown is https://mammoth.io/docs/llms.txt. Append `.md` to any docs URL, or send `Accept: text/markdown`, to get Markdown.

# Turn a dashboard into a doc, PDF report or slide deck

> Turn a Mammoth dashboard into a doc or slide deck: doc type, length, PDF paper size, editing sections and slides, speaker notes, Redo with AI and Motion stories.

A dashboard can also be written up as a **Doc** (a narrative read top to bottom) or presented as **Slides** (one idea per slide). Both read the same data as the dashboard: charts stay live and numbers stay locked to your data, while the words are written for the format. Switch format in the editor under **Design** → **Format**, then save it; anyone who can edit the dashboard can do this.

For how to switch and save a format, see [Switch a dashboard to slides, a doc or Q&A](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/themes/#switch-a-dashboard-to-slides-a-doc-or-qa). You can also pick Doc or Slides when you [create a dashboard](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/create/).

## Choose a doc type: Investigation, Trend or Recap

Switch the format to **Doc**. Under **Design** → **Format**, **Page structure** sets the doc type:

| Option | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Investigation** (default) | Starts from a surprising finding and works toward an explanation. |
| **Trend** | Follows a metric over time and what moved it. |
| **Recap** | A summary of what changed this period. |

## Set the doc's shape, length and PDF paper size

These settings are also under **Design** → **Format**:

| Setting | Options |
| --- | --- |
| **Shape** | **Page** (default): a written narrative, read top to bottom. **Poster**: a single tall, banded canvas with big stats, like an infographic, built to share. |
| **Length** | **Brief**: a compact digest of what matters now. **Standard** (default): a focused article. **Full**: a long-form, multi-section document. |
| **Surface** | **Web** (default): a scrolling page. **PDF**: the same layout on paper pages, built to print. |
| **Paper size** | Shown for **PDF** only. **A4** (210 × 297 mm) or **US Letter** (8.5 × 11 in). The default follows your browser's region: US Letter in the US, Canada and Mexico, A4 elsewhere. |
| **Section nav** | Shown for **Web** only. **On** (default) shows a left rail linking to each section, so readers can jump around a long document. **Off** hides it. |

Choosing **Poster** sets the surface to Web and hides **Length**, **Surface** and **Paper size**.

For example, to print a board report on A4, set **Shape** to **Page**, **Surface** to **PDF** and **Paper size** to **A4**.

## Edit the text of a doc

Open the **Content** panel in any of these ways:

- Click **Edit doc** at the top of the page on the canvas.
- Click an empty part of the page, or click a section.

To change words in place, double-click the summary, a finding or a takeaway on the page. Numbers stay locked to your data.

## Reorder, remove and restore doc sections

The **Sections** list in the panel shows every section.

- Use the up and down arrows on a section's row to move it.
- Use its remove button to take it out.
- A removed section shows as a chip, for example "+ Key drivers". Click it to bring the section back.

## Rewrite a doc section from its brief

Select a section to open its card:

| Control | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Section title** | The section's heading. |
| **Section brief** | What the section should say. The brief steers the rewrite. |
| **Rewrite section to match** | Rewrites the section from the brief. Every number stays grounded in your data; charts may change to match. |
| Add lines | Add **Text**, **Bullets**, **Chart** or **KPI strip** (four KPI cards derived live from your data). |
| **Swap** / **Remove** | Swap a chart, or remove a line. |

The rewrite shows as a **Proposed rewrite** ("Every number verified against your data"). Click **Apply** to keep it, **Try again** for another version, or **Discard**.

A section built as a derived table can't be rewritten line by line: its rows re-derive from the data.



## Choose a slide deck type

Switch the format to **Slides**, then pick a **Page structure** under **Design** → **Format**:

| Option | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Executive review** (default) | A few slides, big takeaways. |
| **Pitch deck** | A narrative arc: problem, data, ask. |
| **Data walkthrough** | A slide per chart with talking points. |
| **Motion** | A full-bleed chart that plays through time while grounded captions narrate. Needs a date. See [Build a Motion story](#build-a-motion-story-that-plays-a-chart-through-time). |

## Edit slides, slide types and speaker notes

1. Click a slide on the canvas (**Edit slide** shows on hover). The **Content** panel opens with the list of slides.
2. Click a slide in the list to jump to it.
3. Double-click text on the slide to edit it.

| Control | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Drag to reorder** handle, up and down arrows | Change the slide order. |
| Delete button | Removes the slide. A **Slide removed** notice offers **Undo**. |
| Slide type chips | Change the slide's layout: **Stat**, **Chart**, **Bullets**, **Split**, **Summary**, **Section**, **Callout**, **Compare** or **KPIs**. |
| Chart dropdown | Picks the chart the slide shows. Only on Chart and Split slides, when the deck has more than one chart. |
| **Redraft with AI** | Rewrites that slide's words, keeping the numbers grounded. |
| **Speaker notes** | Notes for the presenter. They never show on the slide. |
| **Add slide** | Adds a slide of any of the nine types. |

Charts and numbers stay grounded in your data whatever you change.

## Rewrite a whole doc or deck with Redo with AI

**Redo with AI** sits at the top of the **Content** panel for both docs and slides.

1. Click **Redo with AI**.
2. Optionally describe what to change, for example "lead with churn risk, make it punchier". Leave it empty to regenerate as is.
3. Click **Redo**. You see "Writing your story…" while it runs.

What it rewrites depends on the format:

| Format | What Redo with AI rewrites |
| --- | --- |
| **Doc** | The prose. |
| **Slides**, with a slide selected | That slide. |
| **Slides**, with no slide selected | The whole deck. It may reorder, retype, add, delete or redraft slides. |

Charts keep using your live data and numbers stay locked.

## Build a Motion story that plays a chart through time

A Motion story is a deck where one chart plays through time, with captions that narrate what changes. It needs a date column: without one, the **Motion** card is disabled ("Needs a date field — this dataset doesn't have one.").

1. Switch the format to **Slides** and pick **Motion** as the page structure.
2. Under **Design** → **Format**, use the **Motion chart** picker to pick a chart type. A type that doesn't fit your data shows why, for example "Needs a location column".
3. Click the narration on the canvas to open the **Motion story** panel ("Narration that paces the playhead").

### Motion story panel options

| Group | Controls |
| --- | --- |
| **Chart** | Bar, Bars, Ranking, Line race, Bubble, Scatter, Map, Globe, Treemap, Surface. Unavailable types say what they need (a date, category, location or number column, or two category columns). |
| **Data** | **Measure** (or **X axis**, **Y axis** and **Size** for bubble and scatter), **Breakdown** and **2nd breakdown**. |
| **Timeline** | **Date column**, **Granularity**, **Each frame shows** (Auto, **Running total**: everything up to that date, **Each period**, or **Rolling**: the last three periods together), and **Plays** **From** / **To** or **Full range**. It shows how many frames the story has. |
| **Storytelling** | **Follow** (one entity, or "Nobody — show everyone"), **Start speed** (0.5×, 1×, 2×, 4×), **Pause on key moments**, **Same time last year** (needs at least a year of data), **Camera**, **Show trails** and **Show legend** (bubble and scatter only), **3D depth**, a size control (Small, Medium, Large), and **Date label** (Automatic, Centre watermark, With narration, Hidden). |
| **Events** | **Add event** with an **Event date** and a short **Event** text (up to 80 characters), for example "Price change". **Delete event** removes it. An event outside the story's dates won't show. |
| **Narration** | Beats. Each beat covers a stretch of time (from and to) and has a caption: what the viewer should watch. Use **Add beat**, **Move beat up**, **Move beat down** and **Delete beat**. |

The value chips in captions are locked to your data: edit the words, not the numbers.



To share a published Motion story as a video, use **Share as video**. See [Publish and share a dashboard](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/share-and-export/share-a-dashboard/).

## Add a cover to a doc or deck

In the Doc and Slides formats the cover is part of the document rather than a page. Click it to edit it. See [Title band and cover page](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/title-band-and-cover/).

## Limits

- **Paper size** is for the **PDF** surface only; **Section nav** is for **Web** only.
- **Poster** docs are Web only and have no **Length** setting.
- Motion stories need a date column. **Same time last year** needs at least a year of data.
- Motion events: up to 80 characters of text.
- A derived-table section can't be rewritten line by line.

## Related

- [Change a dashboard's theme](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/themes/): switch and save the format.
- [Title band and cover page](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/title-band-and-cover/): cover types and backdrops for docs and slides.
- [Edit with AI in the dashboard editor](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/editor/): the AI chat and History.
- [Give the AI context](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/context/): steer the words with your definitions and goals.
- [Publish and share a dashboard](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/share-and-export/share-a-dashboard/): share a deck or a Motion video.

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Source: https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboards/docs-and-slides.md · Updated: 2026-11-08