PPT: Sample VB Code to Group Objects Together

Last reviewed: March 13, 1998
Article ID: Q163566
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 98 Macintosh Edition
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

This article contains a sample Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro (Sub procedure) that groups together all shapes on the current slide, excluding placeholders.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/default.asp

Sample Visual Basic Procedure

   Sub GroupObjects()

      ' Dimension the variables.
      Dim shapeObject As shape
      Dim lSlideNumber As Long
      Dim strPrompt, strTitle As String
      Dim ShapeList() As String
      Dim count As Long

      ' Initialize the counter.
      count = 0

      ' Make sure PowerPoint is in slide view.
      If ActiveWindow.ViewType <> ppViewSlide Then

         ' Set up the error message.
         strPrompt = "You must be in slide view to run this macro." _
            & " Change to slide view and run the macro again."
         strTitle = "Not In Slide View"

         ' Display the error message.
         MsgBox strPrompt, vbExclamation, strTitle

         ' Stop the macro.
         End

      End If

      ' Get the current slide number.
      lSlideNumber = ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange.SlideNumber

      ' Loop through the shapes on the slide.
      For Each shapeObject In _
         ActivePresentation.Slides(lSlideNumber).Shapes

         ' See whether shape is a placeholder.
         If shapeObject.Type <> msoPlaceholder Then

            ' Increment count if the shape is not a placeholder.
            count = count + 1

            ' Get the name of the shape and store it in the ShapeList
            ' array.
            ReDim Preserve ShapeList(1 To count)
            ShapeList(count) = shapeObject.Name

         End If

      Next shapeObject

      ' If more than 1 object (excluding a placeholder object) is found,
      ' group the objects.
      If count > 1 Then
         With ActivePresentation.Slides(lSlideNumber).Shapes

            ' Group the shapes together.
            .Range(ShapeList()).Group.Select
         End With
      Else

         Select Case count

            ' One shape found.
            Case 1

               ' Set up the message.
               strPrompt = "Only one shape found." _
                  & " You need at least two shapes to group."
               strTitle = "One Shape Available"

            ' Zero shapes found.
            Case 0

               ' Set up the message.
               strPrompt = "No shapes found. You need to have at " _
                  & "least two shapes, excluding placeholders."
               strTitle = "No Shapes Available"

            ' An error occurred.
            Case Else

               ' Set up the message.
               strPrompt = "The macro found an error it could not correct."
               strTitle = "Error"

         End Select

         ' Display the message.
         MsgBox strPrompt, vbExclamation, strTitle

      End If

   End Sub

REFERENCES

For more information about creating Visual Basic for Applications macros, click the Office Assistant in Microsoft PowerPoint, type "how to create a macro," click Search, and then click to view "Create a macro in Visual Basic Editor."

For more information about running Visual Basic for Applications macros, click the Office Assistant in Microsoft PowerPoint, type "how to run a macro," click Search, and then click to view "Run a macro."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If the Assistant is not able to answer your query, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q176476
   TITLE     : OFF: Office Assistant Not Answering Visual Basic Questions

For more information about getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q163435
   TITLE     : VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for
               Applications


Additional query words: 8.00 ppt8 vba vbe macppt mac_ppt ppt98 powerpt
Keywords : kbcode kbmacro kbprg kbdta kbdtacode kbpptvba
Version : WINDOWS:97; MACINTOSH:98
Platform : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Hardware : MAC x86
Issue type : kbhowto


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Last reviewed: March 13, 1998
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