Get the titles of all the slides in a presentation

This topic shows how to use the classes in the Open XML SDK for Office to get the titles of all slides in a presentation programmatically.

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Getting a PresentationDocument Object

In the Open XML SDK, the PresentationDocument class represents a presentation document package. To work with a presentation document, first create an instance of the PresentationDocument class, and then work with that instance. To create the class instance from the document call the Open method that uses a file path, and a Boolean value as the second parameter to specify whether a document is editable. To open a document for read-only, specify the value false for this parameter as shown in the following using statement. In this code, the presentationFile parameter is a string that represents the path for the file from which you want to open the document.

C#

// Open the presentation as read-only.
using (PresentationDocument presentationDocument = PresentationDocument.Open(presentationFile, false))

Visual Basic

' Open the presentation as read-only.
Using presentationDocument As PresentationDocument = PresentationDocument.Open(presentationFile, False)

With v3.0.0+ the Close() method has been removed in favor of relying on the using statement. This ensures that the Dispose() method is automatically called when the closing brace is reached. The block that follows the using statement establishes a scope for the object that is created or named in the using statement, in this case presentationDocument.

Basic Presentation Document Structure

The basic document structure of a PresentationML document consists of a number of parts, among which is the main part that contains the presentation definition. The following text from the ISO/IEC 29500 specification introduces the overall form of a PresentationML package.

The main part of a PresentationML package starts with a presentation root element. That element contains a presentation, which, in turn, refers to a slide list, a slide master list, a notes master list, and a handout master list. The slide list refers to all of the slides in the presentation; the slide master list refers to the entire slide masters used in the presentation; the notes master contains information about the formatting of notes pages; and the handout master describes how a handout looks.

A handout is a printed set of slides that can be provided to an audience.

As well as text and graphics, each slide can contain comments and notes, can have a layout, and can be part of one or more custom presentations. A comment is an annotation intended for the person maintaining the presentation slide deck. A note is a reminder or piece of text intended for the presenter or the audience.

Other features that a PresentationML document can include the following: animation, audio, video, and transitions between slides.

A PresentationML document is not stored as one large body in a single part. Instead, the elements that implement certain groupings of functionality are stored in separate parts. For example, all authors in a document are stored in one authors part while each slide has its own part.

ISO/IEC 29500: 2016

The following XML code example represents a presentation that contains two slides denoted by the IDs 267 and 256.

    <p:presentation xmlns:p="…" … > 
       <p:sldMasterIdLst>
          <p:sldMasterId
             xmlns:rel="https://…/relationships" rel:id="rId1"/>
       </p:sldMasterIdLst>
       <p:notesMasterIdLst>
          <p:notesMasterId
             xmlns:rel="https://…/relationships" rel:id="rId4"/>
       </p:notesMasterIdLst>
       <p:handoutMasterIdLst>
          <p:handoutMasterId
             xmlns:rel="https://…/relationships" rel:id="rId5"/>
       </p:handoutMasterIdLst>
       <p:sldIdLst>
          <p:sldId id="267"
             xmlns:rel="https://…/relationships" rel:id="rId2"/>
          <p:sldId id="256"
             xmlns:rel="https://…/relationships" rel:id="rId3"/>
       </p:sldIdLst>
           <p:sldSz cx="9144000" cy="6858000"/>
       <p:notesSz cx="6858000" cy="9144000"/>
    </p:presentation>

Using the Open XML SDK, you can create document structure and content using strongly-typed classes that correspond to PresentationML elements. You can find these classes in the namespace. The following table lists the class names of the classes that correspond to the sld, sldLayout, sldMaster, and notesMaster elements.

PresentationML Element	Open XML SDK Class	Description
<sld/>	Slide	Presentation Slide. It is the root element of SlidePart.
<sldLayout/>	SlideLayout	Slide Layout. It is the root element of SlideLayoutPart.
<sldMaster/>	SlideMaster	Slide Master. It is the root element of SlideMasterPart.
<notesMaster/>	NotesMaster	Notes Master (or handoutMaster). It is the root element of NotesMasterPart.

Sample Code

The following sample code gets all the titles of the slides in a presentation file. For example you can use the following foreach statement in your program to return all the titles in the presentation file located at the first argument.

C#

foreach(string title in GetSlideTitles(args[0]))
{
    Console.WriteLine(title);
}

Visual Basic

For Each title As String In GetSlideTitles(args(0))
    Console.WriteLine(title)
Next

The result would be a list of the strings that represent the titles in the presentation, each on a separate line.

Following is the complete sample code in both C# and Visual Basic.

C#

// Get a list of the titles of all the slides in the presentation.
static IList<string> GetSlideTitles(string presentationFile)
{
    // Open the presentation as read-only.
    using (PresentationDocument presentationDocument = PresentationDocument.Open(presentationFile, false))
    {
        IList<string>? titles = GetSlideTitlesFromPresentation(presentationDocument);

        return (IList<string>)(titles ?? Enumerable.Empty<string>());
    }
}

// Get a list of the titles of all the slides in the presentation.
static IList<string>? GetSlideTitlesFromPresentation(PresentationDocument presentationDocument)
{
    // Get a PresentationPart object from the PresentationDocument object.
    PresentationPart? presentationPart = presentationDocument.PresentationPart;

    if (presentationPart is not null && presentationPart.Presentation is not null)
    {
        // Get a Presentation object from the PresentationPart object.
        Presentation presentation = presentationPart.Presentation;

        if (presentation.SlideIdList is not null)
        {
            List<string> titlesList = new List<string>();

            // Get the title of each slide in the slide order.
            foreach (var slideId in presentation.SlideIdList.Elements<SlideId>())
            {
                if (slideId.RelationshipId is null)
                {
                    continue;
                }

                SlidePart slidePart = (SlidePart)presentationPart.GetPartById(slideId.RelationshipId!);

                // Get the slide title.
                string title = GetSlideTitle(slidePart);

                // An empty title can also be added.
                titlesList.Add(title);
            }

            return titlesList;
        }

    }

    return null;
}

// Get the title string of the slide.
static string GetSlideTitle(SlidePart slidePart)
{
    if (slidePart is null)
    {
        throw new ArgumentNullException("presentationDocument");
    }

    // Declare a paragraph separator.
    string? paragraphSeparator = null;

    if (slidePart.Slide is not null)
    {
        // Find all the title shapes.
        var shapes = from shape in slidePart.Slide.Descendants<Shape>()
                     where IsTitleShape(shape)
                     select shape;

        StringBuilder paragraphText = new StringBuilder();

        foreach (var shape in shapes)
        {
            var paragraphs = shape.TextBody?.Descendants<D.Paragraph>();
            if (paragraphs is null)
            {
                continue;
            }

            // Get the text in each paragraph in this shape.
            foreach (var paragraph in paragraphs)
            {
                // Add a line break.
                paragraphText.Append(paragraphSeparator);

                foreach (var text in paragraph.Descendants<D.Text>())
                {
                    paragraphText.Append(text.Text);
                }

                paragraphSeparator = "\n";
            }
        }

        return paragraphText.ToString();
    }

    return string.Empty;
}

// Determines whether the shape is a title shape.
static bool IsTitleShape(Shape shape)
{
    PlaceholderShape? placeholderShape = shape.NonVisualShapeProperties?.ApplicationNonVisualDrawingProperties?.GetFirstChild<PlaceholderShape>();

    if (placeholderShape is not null && placeholderShape.Type is not null && placeholderShape.Type.HasValue)
    {
        return placeholderShape.Type == PlaceholderValues.Title || placeholderShape.Type == PlaceholderValues.CenteredTitle;
    }

    return false;
}

Visual Basic

' Get a list of the titles of all the slides in the presentation.
Function GetSlideTitles(presentationFile As String) As IList(Of String)
    ' Open the presentation as read-only.
    Using presentationDocument As PresentationDocument = PresentationDocument.Open(presentationFile, False)
        Dim titles As IList(Of String) = GetSlideTitlesFromPresentation(presentationDocument)

        Return If(titles, Enumerable.Empty(Of String)().ToList())
    End Using
End Function

' Get a list of the titles of all the slides in the presentation.
Function GetSlideTitlesFromPresentation(presentationDocument As PresentationDocument) As IList(Of String)
    ' Get a PresentationPart object from the PresentationDocument object.
    Dim presentationPart As PresentationPart = presentationDocument.PresentationPart

    If presentationPart IsNot Nothing AndAlso presentationPart.Presentation IsNot Nothing Then
        ' Get a Presentation object from the PresentationPart object.
        Dim presentation As Presentation = presentationPart.Presentation

        If presentation.SlideIdList IsNot Nothing Then
            Dim titlesList As New List(Of String)()

            ' Get the title of each slide in the slide order.
            For Each slideId As SlideId In presentation.SlideIdList.Elements(Of SlideId)()
                If slideId.RelationshipId Is Nothing Then
                    Continue For
                End If

                Dim slidePart As SlidePart = CType(presentationPart.GetPartById(slideId.RelationshipId), SlidePart)

                ' Get the slide title.
                Dim title As String = GetSlideTitle(slidePart)

                ' An empty title can also be added.
                titlesList.Add(title)
            Next

            Return titlesList
        End If
    End If

    Return Nothing
End Function

' Get the title string of the slide.
Function GetSlideTitle(slidePart As SlidePart) As String
    If slidePart Is Nothing Then
        Throw New ArgumentNullException(NameOf(slidePart))
    End If

    ' Declare a paragraph separator.
    Dim paragraphSeparator As String = Nothing

    If slidePart.Slide IsNot Nothing Then
        ' Find all the title shapes.
        Dim shapes = From shape In slidePart.Slide.Descendants(Of Shape)()
                     Where IsTitleShape(shape)
                     Select shape

        Dim paragraphText As New StringBuilder()

        For Each shape In shapes
            Dim paragraphs = shape.TextBody?.Descendants(Of D.Paragraph)()
            If paragraphs Is Nothing Then
                Continue For
            End If

            ' Get the text in each paragraph in this shape.
            For Each paragraph In paragraphs
                ' Add a line break.
                paragraphText.Append(paragraphSeparator)

                For Each text In paragraph.Descendants(Of D.Text)()
                    paragraphText.Append(text.Text)
                Next

                paragraphSeparator = vbLf
            Next
        Next

        Return paragraphText.ToString()
    End If

    Return String.Empty
End Function

' Determines whether the shape is a title shape.
Function IsTitleShape(shape As Shape) As Boolean
    Dim placeholderShape As PlaceholderShape = shape.NonVisualShapeProperties?.ApplicationNonVisualDrawingProperties?.GetFirstChild(Of PlaceholderShape)()

    If placeholderShape IsNot Nothing AndAlso placeholderShape.Type IsNot Nothing AndAlso placeholderShape.Type.HasValue Then
        Return placeholderShape.Type = PlaceholderValues.Title OrElse placeholderShape.Type = PlaceholderValues.CenteredTitle
    End If

    Return False
End Function

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See also

Open XML SDK class library reference