Creating PowerPoint add-ins

[Yura Zakalyuzhny]

I would highly appreciate if someone could point to the resources related to
creating add-ins for PowerPoint 2004. There is some info available regarding
PowerPoint 98 but it is not sufficient.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I would highly appreciate if someone could point to the resources related to
creating add-ins for PowerPoint 2004. There is some info available regarding
PowerPoint 98 but it is not sufficient.

If you plan to use VBA, the VBA version hasn't changed since 98; the PPT
object model may have expanded to make some new features available but some
features may not be exposed.

Creating addins is the same for all versions 98 and onward.

What add'l information were you looking for?

================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[Yura Zakalyuzhny]

Steve,

Thanks for the asnwer. There was a problem that after enabling add-in which
adds custom toolbar to Powerpoint both PP v.X and 2004 crashed until
displaying Project Gallery on startup was disabled. I don't know if this is
known issue but, anyway.

 

[Yura Zakalyuzhny]

Steve,

Thanks for the asnwer. There was a problem that after enabling add-in which
adds custom toolbar to Powerpoint both PP v.X and 2004 crashed until
displaying Project Gallery on startup was disabled. I don't know if this is
known issue but, anyway.

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur]

I don't know if this is
known issue but, anyway.

Out of curiosity: does trashing the Carbon registration database
(~/Library/Preferences/Microsoft) also prevents the crash ??

Corentin

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Steve,

Thanks for the asnwer. There was a problem that after enabling add-in which
adds custom toolbar to Powerpoint both PP v.X and 2004 crashed until
displaying Project Gallery on startup was disabled. I don't know if this is
known issue but, anyway.

Not to me, but then I don't know that much <g>

But can you isolate the problem further ... for example, load the addin manually
after PPT has started up, let it create its toolbar, don't make the toolbar
temporary and don't have Auto_Close delete the toolbar.

Then what happens at restart, when the addin doesn't need to create the toolbar
at startup?

================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[ecrichlow]

Funny, I was just checking in to look for some hints on getting around
this very problem, and here it is being discussed rather recently.

It looks like the original poster never responded to the last
suggestions. I can tell you that it makes no difference. However, I
think the situation may be more specific than how he laid it out.

In my case, because I need to know when certain events happen, like a
slideshow starting or a new slide being changed to, (in design or
slideshow mode,) and because Mac PowerPoint doesn't support events, my
AddIn runs a constant loop, checking for changes like those I just
mentioned.

What happens is, when the Project Gallery is enabled, I can click
around on the various controls in that window, but clicking on "Cancel"
or "Open" does absolutely nothing. The window can never be dismissed
and the application has to be force quit. I have noted, however, that
if one selects one of those buttons almost immediately after the
Project Gallery window opens up, (presumably before the AddIn has a
chance to be started,) it works.

My guess is that, when the Project Gallery is enabled, PowerPoint is in
some kind of "not fully started" state, and as a result, maybe I'm
preventing events from getting through to the Project Gallery the way
they should be. I don't know why this would be, since I'm using
"DoEvents" liberally to make sure other aspects of PowerPoint continue
to function while my AddIn is running, but there's something that's
keeping those buttons on the window from being processed.

At first I just accepted it as a requirement of using our AddIn, but
after over a year in the wild and a few customer complaints, it's
becoming a big issue again.

....Eric...

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Interesting. I've done one or two fairly complicated addins for Mac PPT and am
pretty sure I had the project gallery enabled (this would've been mac versions 98
through X, though not 2004) and no problems there.

But I wasn't trying to do anything in the way of event handling as you are. That may
be the key in your case.

Funny, I was just checking in to look for some hints on getting around
this very problem, and here it is being discussed rather recently.

It looks like the original poster never responded to the last
suggestions. I can tell you that it makes no difference. However, I
think the situation may be more specific than how he laid it out.

In my case, because I need to know when certain events happen, like a
slideshow starting or a new slide being changed to, (in design or
slideshow mode,) and because Mac PowerPoint doesn't support events, my
AddIn runs a constant loop, checking for changes like those I just
mentioned.

What happens is, when the Project Gallery is enabled, I can click
around on the various controls in that window, but clicking on "Cancel"
or "Open" does absolutely nothing. The window can never be dismissed
and the application has to be force quit. I have noted, however, that
if one selects one of those buttons almost immediately after the
Project Gallery window opens up, (presumably before the AddIn has a
chance to be started,) it works.

My guess is that, when the Project Gallery is enabled, PowerPoint is in
some kind of "not fully started" state, and as a result, maybe I'm
preventing events from getting through to the Project Gallery the way
they should be. I don't know why this would be, since I'm using
"DoEvents" liberally to make sure other aspects of PowerPoint continue
to function while my AddIn is running, but there's something that's
keeping those buttons on the window from being processed.

At first I just accepted it as a requirement of using our AddIn, but
after over a year in the wild and a few customer complaints, it's
becoming a big issue again.

....Eric...

================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================