HOWTO: Automate PowerPoint Using Visual C++ w/MFC

• The Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC), included with:
  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Editions, versions 5.0, 6.0
• Microsoft PowerPoint 97 For Windows

SUMMARY

This article demonstrates how to automate Microsoft PowerPoint using Visual C++ and Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC).

MORE INFORMATION

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 the automation example:

1. Create a new dialog-based MFC EXE project.



2. Add a button to your dialog box and a BN_CLICKED-handler for it.



3. Open ClassWizard (Ctrl+W), click the Automation tab, click Add Class, and select From a type library.



4. Go to the directory where you installed Office (for example, C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office) and choose Msppt8.olb.



5. Select all the classes it finds, and click OK to get back to your project. ClassWizard has generated some automation "wrapper classes" from the PowerPoint type library and created the files Msppt8.h and Msppt8.cpp.



6. Add the following code to your button handler:




// Start PowerPoint.
_Application app;
COleException e;
if(!app.CreateDispatch("Powerpoint.Application", &e)) {
   CString str;
   str.Format("CreateDispatch() failed w/err 0x%08lx", e.m_sc),
   AfxMessageBox(str, MB_SETFOREGROUND);
   return;
}

// Make it visible.
app.SetVisible(TRUE);

// Get Presentations collection and add a new presentation.
Presentations presSet(app.GetPresentations());
_Presentation pres(presSet.Add(TRUE));

// Get Slides collection and add a new slide.
Slides slideSet(pres.GetSlides());
_Slide slide1(slideSet.Add(1, 2));

// Add text to slide, by navigating the slide as follows:
// slide1.shapes(#).TextFrame.TextRange.Text
{
   Shapes shapes(slide1.GetShapes());
   Shape shape(shapes.Item(COleVariant((long)1)));
   TextFrame textFrame(shape.GetTextFrame());
   TextRange textRange(textFrame.GetTextRange());
   textRange.SetText("My first slide");
}
{
   Shapes shapes(slide1.GetShapes());
   Shape shape(shapes.Item(COleVariant((long)2)));
   TextFrame textFrame(shape.GetTextFrame());
   TextRange textRange(textFrame.GetTextRange());
   textRange.SetText("Automating PowerPoint is easy\r\n"
      "Using Visual C++ is powerful!");
}

// Add another slide with a chart.
_Slide slide2(slideSet.Add(2, 5));

// Add text to slide as before.
{
   Shapes shapes(slide2.GetShapes());
   Shape shape(shapes.Item(COleVariant((long)1)));
   TextFrame textFrame(shape.GetTextFrame());
   TextRange textRange(textFrame.GetTextRange());
   textRange.SetText("Slide 2's topic");
}
{
   Shapes shapes(slide2.GetShapes());
   Shape shape(shapes.Item(COleVariant((long)2)));
   TextFrame textFrame(shape.GetTextFrame());
   TextRange textRange(textFrame.GetTextRange());
   textRange.SetText("You can create and use charts "
      "in your PowerPoint slides!");
}

// Add a chart where the default one was created.
{
   // First get coordinates of old chart.
   float cTop, cWidth, cHeight, cLeft;
   Shapes shapes(slide2.GetShapes());
   Shape shape(shapes.Item(COleVariant((long)3)));
   cTop = shape.GetTop();
   cWidth = shape.GetWidth();
   cHeight = shape.GetHeight();
   cLeft = shape.GetLeft();

   // Delete original chart.
   shape.Delete();

   // Now add our own back where old one was.
   Shape tmpShape(shapes.AddOLEObject(cLeft, cTop, cWidth, cHeight,
      "MSGraph.Chart", "", 0, "", 0, "", 0));
}

// Add another slide, with an Organization chart.
_Slide slide3(slideSet.Add(3, 7));

// Add text to slide as before.
{
   Shapes shapes(slide3.GetShapes());
   Shape shape(shapes.Item(COleVariant((long)1)));
   TextFrame textFrame(shape.GetTextFrame());
   TextRange textRange(textFrame.GetTextRange());
   textRange.SetText("The rest is only limited by your Imagination");
}
// Add a chart where the default one was created.
{
   // First get coordinates of old chart.
   float cTop, cWidth, cHeight, cLeft;
   Shapes shapes(slide3.GetShapes());
   Shape shape(shapes.Item(COleVariant((long)2)));
   cTop = shape.GetTop();
   cWidth = shape.GetWidth();
   cHeight = shape.GetHeight();
   cLeft = shape.GetLeft();

   // Delete original chart.
   shape.Delete();

   // Now add our own back where old one was.
   Shape tmpShape(shapes.AddOLEObject(cLeft, cTop, cWidth, cHeight,
      "OrgPlusWOPX.4", "", 0, "", 0, "", 0));
}

// Setup slide show properties.
for(int i=1; i<=3; i++) {
   _Slide slide(slideSet.Item(COleVariant((long)i)));
   SlideShowTransition sst(slide.GetSlideShowTransition());
   sst.SetEntryEffect(513); // Random.
   sst.SetAdvanceOnTime(TRUE);
   sst.SetAdvanceTime(5.0); // 5-seconds per slide.
}
// Prepare and run a slide show.
{
   SlideShowSettings sss(pres.GetSlideShowSettings());
   sss.SetShowType(3); // Kiosk.
   sss.SetLoopUntilStopped(TRUE);
   sss.SetRangeType(1); // Show all.
   sss.SetAdvanceMode(2); // Use slide timings.
   SlideShowWindow ssw(sss.Run()); // Run show.
}

// Sleep so user can watch slide show.
::Sleep(15000);

// Tell PowerPoint to quit.
app.Quit(); 

7. Add the following lines just before the implementing your button handler:




#include "msppt8.h"

// Ole initialization class.
class OleInitClass {
public:
   OleInitClass() {
      OleInitialize(NULL);
   }
   ~OleInitClass() {
      OleUninitialize();
   }
};
// This global class calls OleInitialize() at
// application startup, and calls OleUninitialize()
// at application exit.
OleInitClass g_OleInitClass; 

8. Compile and run.

REFERENCES

For additional information about automating Microsoft Office applications from Visual C++, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q196776 FAQ: Office Automation Using Visual C++

© Microsoft Corporation 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Contributions by Joe Crump, Microsoft Corporation

Additional query words: IDispatch LPDISPATCH CComPtr import

Keywords          : kbAutomation kbMFC kbVC500 kbVC600 kbPowerPt kbGrpDSO 
Version           : WINDOWS:97; winnt:5.0,6.0
Platform          : WINDOWS winnt 
Issue type        : kbhowto 

Last Reviewed: March 27, 1999