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How To Automate PowerPoint Using Visual FoxPro

Article ID: 230154 - View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q230154

SUMMARY

This article demonstrates how to automate Microsoft PowerPoint using Visual FoxPro 6.0.

By using automation in PowerPoint, you can programmatically print, display slides, and do most of the things you can do interactively. Follow these steps to build and run a Visual FoxPro automation example:

Start Visual FoxPro 6.0 and choose New... from the File menu.
Select Project as the file type, click New file, and name the project PptTest.
In the Project Manager for your project, click on Programs under the Code entry in the tree, then click the New... button.

Paste the following code into the Program1 window:

 * Start PowerPoint
   PptApp = CreateObject("Powerpoint.Application")
	
 * Add a presentation
   PptPres = PptApp.Presentations.Add(1)

 * Add a slide	
   PptSlide1 = PptPres.Slides.Add(1,2)
	
 * Add some text...
   PptSlide1.Shapes(1).TextFrame.TextRange.Text = "My first slide"
   PptSlide1.Shapes(2).TextFrame.TextRange.Text = "Automating Powerpoint is easy" + Chr(13) + "Using FoxPro is fun!"
	
 * Add another slide, with a chart
   PptSlide2 = PptPres.Slides.Add(2,5)

 * Add some text
   PptSlide2.Shapes(1).TextFrame.TextRange.Text = "Slide 2's topic"
   PptSlide2.Shapes(1).TextFrame.TextRange.Text = "You can create and use charts in your Powerpoint slides!"

 * Add a chart where the old one is...
   With PptSlide2.Shapes(3)
      cTop = .Top
      cWidth = .Width
      cHeight = .Height
      cLeft = .Left
      .Delete
   EndWith
	
   PptSlide2.Shapes.AddOLEObject(cLeft, cTop, cWidth, cHeight, "MSGraph.Chart")

 * Add another slide, with an Organization chart
   PptSlide3 = PptPres.Slides.Add(3,7)
	
 * Add some text
   PptSlide3.Shapes(1).TextFrame.TextRange.Text = "The rest is only limited by your Imagination"

 * Add an Org chart where old one is...
   With PptSlide3.Shapes(2)
      cTop = .Top
      cWidth = .Width
      cHeight = .Height
      cLeft = .Left
      .Delete
   EndWith
	
    &&  PptSlide3.Shapes.AddOLEObject(cLeft, cTop, cWidth, cHeight, "OrgPlusWOPX.4")
    &&  Uncomment the above line if you have the correct file.


 * Setup slide show properties...
   With PptPres.Slides.Range.SlideShowTransition
      .EntryEffect = 513
      .AdvanceOnTime = 1
      .AdvanceTime = 5
   EndWith

 * Prepare and run slide-show!
   With PptPres.SlideShowSettings
      .ShowType = 3
      .LoopUntilStopped = 1
      .RangeType = 1
      .AdvanceMode = 2
      .Run
   EndWith

 * Sleep so user can watch the show...
   Wait window "Waiting for slide show to finish..." TIMEOUT 16

 * Stop the slide show
   PptPres.SlideShowWindow.View.Exit

 * Clean up
   PptApp.Quit
   Release PptSlide3
   Release PptSlide2
   Release PptSlide1
   Release PptPres
   Release PptApp

Choose File/Save (CTRL+S) and save the program as PptTest.
Run the program (CTRL+E).

The example creates an example PowerPoint presentation, plays a slide show for 16 seconds, then cleans up. The code is commented carefully to explain what each code segment does.