Move a slide to a new position in a presentation

This topic shows how to use the classes in the Open XML SDK for Office to move a slide to a new position in a presentation programmatically.

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Getting a Presentation 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(String, Boolean) method that uses a file path, and a Boolean value as the second parameter to specify whether a document is editable. In order to count the number of slides in a presentation, it is best to open the file for read-only access in order to avoid accidental writing to the file. To do that, specify the value false for the Boolean 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))
    {
        // Insert other code here.
    }

Visual Basic

    ' Open the presentation as read-only.
    Using presentationDocument As PresentationDocument = PresentationDocument.Open(presentationFile, False)
        ' Insert other code here.
    End Using

The using statement provides a recommended alternative to the typical .Open, .Save, .Close sequence. It ensures that the Dispose method (internal method used by the Open XML SDK to clean up resources) 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.

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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 comments in a document are stored in one comment part while each slide has its own part.

© ISO/IEC29500: 2008.

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 DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Presentation 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.

How the Sample Code Works

In order to move a specific slide in a presentation file to a new position, you need to know first the number of slides in the presentation. Therefore, the code in this topic is divided into two parts. The first is counting the number of slides, and the second is moving a slide to a new position.

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Counting the Number of Slides

The sample code for counting the number of slides consists of two overloads of the method CountSlides. The first overload uses a string parameter and the second overload uses a PresentationDocument parameter. In the first CountSlides method, the sample code opens the presentation document in the using statement. Then it passes the PresentationDocument object to the second CountSlides method, which returns an integer number that represents the number of slides in the presentation.

C#

    // Pass the presentation to the next CountSlides method
    // and return the slide count.
    return CountSlides(presentationDocument);

Visual Basic

    ' Pass the presentation to the next CountSlides method
    ' and return the slide count.
    Return CountSlides(presentationDocument)

In the second CountSlides method, the code verifies that the PresentationDocument object passed in is not null, and if it is not, it gets a PresentationPart object from the PresentationDocument object. By using the SlideParts the code gets the slideCount and returns it.

C#

    // Check for a null document object.
    if (presentationDocument == null)
    {
        throw new ArgumentNullException("presentationDocument");
    }

    int slidesCount = 0;

    // Get the presentation part of document.
    PresentationPart presentationPart = presentationDocument.PresentationPart;

    // Get the slide count from the SlideParts.
    if (presentationPart != null)
    {
        slidesCount = presentationPart.SlideParts.Count();
    }
    // Return the slide count to the previous method.
    return slidesCount;

Visual Basic

    ' Check for a null document object.
    If presentationDocument Is Nothing Then
        Throw New ArgumentNullException("presentationDocument")
    End If

    Dim slidesCount As Integer = 0

    ' Get the presentation part of document.
    Dim presentationPart As PresentationPart = presentationDocument.PresentationPart

    ' Get the slide count from the SlideParts.
    If presentationPart IsNot Nothing Then
        slidesCount = presentationPart.SlideParts.Count()
    End If
    ' Return the slide count to the previous method.
    Return slidesCount

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Moving a Slide from one Position to Another

Moving a slide to a new position requires opening the file for read/write access by specifying the value true to the Boolean parameter as shown in the following using statement. The code for moving a slide consists of two overloads of the MoveSlide method. The first overloaded MoveSlide method takes three parameters: a string that represents the presentation file name and path and two integers that represent the current index position of the slide and the index position to which to move the slide respectively. It opens the presentation file, gets a PresentationDocument object, and then passes that object and the two integers, from and to, to the second overloaded MoveSlide method, which performs the actual move.

C#

    // Move a slide to a different position in the slide order in the presentation.
    public static void MoveSlide(string presentationFile, int from, int to)
    {
        using (PresentationDocument presentationDocument = PresentationDocument.Open(presentationFile, true))
        {
            MoveSlide(presentationDocument, from, to);
        }
    }

Visual Basic

    ' Move a slide to a different position in the slide order in the presentation.
    Public Shared Sub MoveSlide(ByVal presentationFile As String, ByVal [from] As Integer, ByVal [to] As Integer)
        Using presentationDocument As PresentationDocument = PresentationDocument.Open(presentationFile, True)
            MoveSlide(presentationDocument, From, [to])
        End Using
    End Sub

In the second overloaded MoveSlide method, the CountSlides method is called to get the number of slides in the presentation. The code then checks if the zero-based indexes, from and to, are within the range and different from one another.

C#

    public static void MoveSlide(PresentationDocument presentationDocument, int from, int to)
    {
        if (presentationDocument == null)
        {
            throw new ArgumentNullException("presentationDocument");
        }

        // Call the CountSlides method to get the number of slides in the presentation.
        int slidesCount = CountSlides(presentationDocument);

        // Verify that both from and to positions are within range and different from one another.
        if (from < 0 || from >= slidesCount)
        {
            throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("from");
        }

        if (to < 0 || from >= slidesCount || to == from)
        {
            throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("to");
        }

Visual Basic

    Public Shared Sub MoveSlide(ByVal presentationDocument As PresentationDocument, ByVal [from] As Integer, ByVal [to] As Integer)
        If presentationDocument Is Nothing Then
            Throw New ArgumentNullException("presentationDocument")
        End If

        ' Call the CountSlides method to get the number of slides in the presentation.
        Dim slidesCount As Integer = CountSlides(presentationDocument)

        ' Verify that both from and to positions are within range and different from one another.
        If
            From < 0 OrElse
            From >= slidesCount Then
            Throw New ArgumentOutOfRangeException("from")
        End If

        If [to] < 0 OrElse
            From >= slidesCount OrElse [to] =
            From Then
            Throw New ArgumentOutOfRangeException("to")
        End If

A PresentationPart object is declared and set equal to the presentation part of the PresentationDocument object passed in. The PresentationPart object is used to create a Presentation object, and then create a SlideIdList object that represents the list of slides in the presentation from the Presentation object. A slide ID of the source slide (the slide to move) is obtained, and then the position of the target slide (the slide after which in the slide order to move the source slide) is identified.

C#

    // Get the presentation part from the presentation document.
    PresentationPart presentationPart = presentationDocument.PresentationPart;

    // The slide count is not zero, so the presentation must contain slides.            
    Presentation presentation = presentationPart.Presentation;
    SlideIdList slideIdList = presentation.SlideIdList;

    // Get the slide ID of the source slide.
    SlideId sourceSlide = slideIdList.ChildElements[from] as SlideId;

    SlideId targetSlide = null;

    // Identify the position of the target slide after which to move the source slide.
    if (to == 0)
    {
        targetSlide = null;
    }
    else if (from < to)
    {
        targetSlide = slideIdList.ChildElements[to] as SlideId;
    }
    else
    {
        targetSlide = slideIdList.ChildElements[to - 1] as SlideId;
    }

Visual Basic

    ' Get the presentation part from the presentation document.
    Dim presentationPart As PresentationPart = presentationDocument.PresentationPart

    ' The slide count is not zero, so the presentation must contain slides.            
    Dim presentation As Presentation = presentationPart.Presentation
    Dim slideIdList As SlideIdList = presentation.SlideIdList

    ' Get the slide ID of the source slide.
    Dim sourceSlide As SlideId = TryCast(slideIdList.ChildElements(From), SlideId)

    Dim targetSlide As SlideId = Nothing

    ' Identify the position of the target slide after which to move the source slide.
    If to = 0 Then
        targetSlide = Nothing
    ElseIf From < to Then
        targetSlide = TryCast(slideIdList.ChildElements(to), SlideId)
    Else
        targetSlide = TryCast(slideIdList.ChildElements(to - 1), SlideId)
    End If

The Remove method of the SlideID object is used to remove the source slide from its current position, and then the InsertAfter method of the SlideIdList object is used to insert the source slide in the index position after the target slide. Finally, the modified presentation is saved.

C#

    // Remove the source slide from its current position.
    sourceSlide.Remove();

    // Insert the source slide at its new position after the target slide.
    slideIdList.InsertAfter(sourceSlide, targetSlide);

    // Save the modified presentation.
    presentation.Save();

Visual Basic

    ' Remove the source slide from its current position.
    sourceSlide.Remove()

    ' Insert the source slide at its new position after the target slide.
    slideIdList.InsertAfter(sourceSlide, targetSlide)

    ' Save the modified presentation.
    presentation.Save()

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Sample Code

Following is the complete sample code that you can use to move a slide from one position to another in the same presentation file. For instance, you can use the following call in your program to move a slide from position 0 to position 1 in a presentation file named "Myppt11.pptx".

C#

    MoveSlide(@"C:\Users\Public\Documents\Myppt11.pptx", 0, 1);

Visual Basic

    MoveSlide("C:\Users\Public\Documents\Myppt11.pptx", 0, 1)

After you run the program, check your presentation file to see the new positions of the slides.

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

C#

using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Packaging;
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Presentation;
using System;
using System.Linq;

CountSlides(args[0]);

// Counting the slides in the presentation.
static int CountSlides(string presentationFile)
{
    // Open the presentation as read-only.
    using (PresentationDocument presentationDocument = PresentationDocument.Open(presentationFile, false))
    {
        // Pass the presentation to the next CountSlides method
        // and return the slide count.
        return CountSlidesFromPresentation(presentationDocument);
    }
}

// Count the slides in the presentation.
static int CountSlidesFromPresentation(PresentationDocument presentationDocument)
{
    int slidesCount = 0;

    // Get the presentation part of document.
    PresentationPart? presentationPart = presentationDocument.PresentationPart;

    // Get the slide count from the SlideParts.
    if (presentationPart is not null)
    {
        slidesCount = presentationPart.SlideParts.Count();
    }

    // Return the slide count to the previous method.
    return slidesCount;
}

// Move a slide to a different position in the slide order in the presentation.
static void MoveSlide(string presentationFile, int from, int to)
{
    using (PresentationDocument presentationDocument = PresentationDocument.Open(presentationFile, true))
    {
        MoveSlideFromPresentation(presentationDocument, from, to);
    }
}
// Move a slide to a different position in the slide order in the presentation.
static void MoveSlideFromPresentation(PresentationDocument presentationDocument, int from, int to)
{
    if (presentationDocument is null)
    {
        throw new ArgumentNullException("presentationDocument");
    }

    // Call the CountSlides method to get the number of slides in the presentation.
    int slidesCount = CountSlidesFromPresentation(presentationDocument);

    // Verify that both from and to positions are within range and different from one another.
    if (from < 0 || from >= slidesCount)
    {
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("from");
    }

    if (to < 0 || from >= slidesCount || to == from)
    {
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("to");
    }

    // Get the presentation part from the presentation document.
    PresentationPart? presentationPart = presentationDocument.PresentationPart;

    // The slide count is not zero, so the presentation must contain slides.            
    Presentation? presentation = presentationPart?.Presentation;

    if (presentation is null)
    {
        throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(presentation));
    }

    SlideIdList? slideIdList = presentation.SlideIdList;

    if (slideIdList is null)
    {
        throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(slideIdList));
    }

    // Get the slide ID of the source slide.
    SlideId? sourceSlide = slideIdList.ChildElements[from] as SlideId;

    if (sourceSlide is null)
    {
        throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(sourceSlide));
    }

    SlideId? targetSlide = null;

    // Identify the position of the target slide after which to move the source slide.
    if (to == 0)
    {
        targetSlide = null;
    }
    else if (from < to)
    {
        targetSlide = slideIdList.ChildElements[to] as SlideId;
    }
    else
    {
        targetSlide = slideIdList.ChildElements[to - 1] as SlideId;
    }

    // Remove the source slide from its current position.
    sourceSlide.Remove();

    // Insert the source slide at its new position after the target slide.
    slideIdList.InsertAfter(sourceSlide, targetSlide);

    // Save the modified presentation.
    presentation.Save();
}

Visual Basic

Imports DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Packaging
Imports DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Presentation


Module MyModule

    Sub Main(args As String())
    End Sub

    ' Count the slides in the presentation.
    Public Function CountSlides(ByVal presentationFile As String) As Integer

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

            ' Pass the presentation to the next CountSlide method
            ' and return the slide count.
            Return CountSlides(presentationDocument)
        End Using
    End Function
    ' Count the slides in the presentation.
    Public Function CountSlides(ByVal presentationDocument As PresentationDocument) As Integer

        ' Check for a null document object.
        If (presentationDocument Is Nothing) Then
            Throw New ArgumentNullException("presentationDocument")
        End If
        Dim slidesCount As Integer = 0

        ' Get the presentation part of the document.
        Dim presentationPart As PresentationPart = presentationDocument.PresentationPart
        If (((presentationPart) IsNot Nothing) AndAlso ((presentationPart.Presentation) IsNot Nothing)) Then

            ' Get the Presentation object from the presentation part.
            Dim presentation As Presentation = presentationPart.Presentation
            If ((presentation.SlideIdList) IsNot Nothing) Then

                ' Get the slide count from the slide ID list.
                slidesCount = presentation.SlideIdList.Elements.Count()

            End If
        End If

        ' Return the slide count to the previous function.
        Return slidesCount
    End Function
    ' Move a slide to a different position in the slide order in the presentation.
    Public Sub MoveSlide(ByVal presentationFile As String, ByVal from As Integer, ByVal moveTo As Integer)
        Dim presentationDocument As PresentationDocument = presentationDocument.Open(presentationFile, True)

        Using (presentationDocument)
            MoveSlide(presentationDocument, from, moveTo)
        End Using

    End Sub
    ' Move a slide to a different position in the slide order in the presentation.
    Public Sub MoveSlide(ByVal presentationDocument As PresentationDocument, ByVal from As Integer, ByVal moveTo As Integer)
        If (presentationDocument Is Nothing) Then
            Throw New ArgumentNullException("presentationDocument")
        End If

        ' Use the CountSlides sample to get the number of slides in the presentation.
        Dim slidesCount As Integer = CountSlides(presentationDocument)

        ' Verify that both from and to positions are within range and different from one another.
        If ((from < 0) OrElse (from >= slidesCount)) Then
            Throw New ArgumentOutOfRangeException("from")
        End If

        If ((moveTo < 0) _
                    OrElse ((from >= slidesCount) _
                    OrElse (moveTo = from))) Then
            Throw New ArgumentOutOfRangeException("moveTo")
        End If

        ' Get the presentation part from the presentation document.
        Dim presentationPart As PresentationPart = presentationDocument.PresentationPart

        ' The slide count is not zero, so the presentation must contain slides. 
        Dim presentation As Presentation = presentationPart.Presentation
        Dim slideIdList As SlideIdList = presentation.SlideIdList

        ' Get the slide ID of the source slide.
        Dim sourceSlide As SlideId = CType(slideIdList.ChildElements(from), SlideId)
        Dim targetSlide As SlideId = Nothing

        ' Identify the position of the target slide after which to move the source slide.
        If (moveTo = 0) Then
            targetSlide = Nothing
        ElseIf (from < moveTo) Then
            targetSlide = CType(slideIdList.ChildElements(moveTo), SlideId)
        Else
            targetSlide = CType(slideIdList.ChildElements((moveTo - 1)), SlideId)
        End If

        ' Remove the source slide from its current position.
        sourceSlide.Remove()

        ' Insert the source slide at its new position after the target slide.
        slideIdList.InsertAfter(sourceSlide, targetSlide)

        ' Save the modified presentation.
        presentation.Save()

    End Sub
End Module

See also

• Open XML SDK class library reference