How to select links in sequence using Powerpoint

Question

I have split a very large Powerpoint presentation (1.6Gb) into several smaller presentation files, due to performance issues with our corporate network. I have created an index page on the first presentation which uses links to open the other files.

I would like to run through the files in the index in sequence, as if I had one big presentation. Once the previous presentation has finished, step back to the index page, and with a click (or after a few seconds) start the next presentation in the index list.

I can't seem to find a function in the automation section which will do this.

Answer 1

Hi,

You can use VBA code to help you get the result, try this following steps:

1. Create a Macro:
   • Open PowerPoint and press Alt + F11 to open the VBA editor.
   • In the left pane, find your presentation and right-click on it, then select Insert > Module.
   • In the module, enter the following code:

          Sub OpenNextPresentation()
              Dim pptApp As Object
              Dim pptPres As Object
              Dim indexSlide As Object
              Dim nextFile As String
              
              ' Set PowerPoint application object
              Set pptApp = CreateObject("PowerPoint.Application")
              
              ' Open the index presentation
              Set pptPres = pptApp.Presentations.Open("C:\path\to\index\presentation.pptx")
              
              ' Get the index slide
              Set indexSlide = pptPres.Slides(1) ' Assuming the index slide is the first slide
              
              ' Get the next file path (based on your index slide setup)
              nextFile = indexSlide.Shapes(1).TextFrame.TextRange.Text ' Assuming the file path is in the first shape
              
              ' Open the next presentation
              pptApp.Presentations.Open nextFile
              
              ' Wait a few seconds, then close the current presentation and return to the index slide
              Application.Wait (Now + TimeValue("00:00:05"))
              pptApp.Presentations(nextFile).Close
              pptPres.SlideShowWindow.View.GotoSlide (1) ' Return to the index slide
          End Sub
     

2. Run the Macro:
   • Close the VBA editor and return to PowerPoint.
   • Press Alt + F8 to open the macro dialog box, select OpenNextPresentation, and run it.

This macro will open the next presentation listed on your index slide, wait a few seconds, close it, and return to the index slide. You can adjust the waiting time and the way the file paths are retrieved based on your specific setup.

Just checking in to see if the information was helpful. Please let us know if you would like further assistance.

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