How do you work with simple arrays in VBA?

PPT 2003/2007

I'm trying to understand arrays. I just want to capture the slides
currently selected and then running some actions on each of them,
which causes the selection to be lost, so I have to capture the slide
numbers before the action loop.

Likewise, I'm trying to do the same with selected shapes on a slide,
where I want to run a loop for each selected shape, but in doing so I
loose the selection so I need to first capture the selected shapes
names (I guess) and then run on all of them.

I've read and tried several things but it escapes me. Can someone show
me how this is done? Here's a feeble attempt I made...

Sub TestArray()

Dim iSldSelCnt As Integer
iSldSelCnt = ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange.Count

Dim iSldSelNum() As Integer
ReDim iSldSelNum(iSldSelCnt - 1) As Integer

Dim iSld As Long
iSld = 0

Dim oSld As Slide
For Each oSld In ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange
iSldSelNum(iSld) = oSld.SlideNumber
iSld = iSld + 1
Next oSld

ActivePresentation.Slides(iSldSelNum).Shapes.AddSh ape _
Type:=msoShapeRectangle, _
Left:=50, Top:=50, Width:=100, Height:=200

'ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange(iSldSelNum).Sha pes.AddShape _
' Type:=msoShapeRectangle, _
' Left:=50, Top:=50, Width:=100, Height:=200

End Sub


Thanks,
-Melina

Don't use selection to do what you want. It is rarely a good idea. I have a
section in my book about arrays that might help you understand them.

Instead of:

For Each oSld In ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange

Try

For Each oSld In ActivePresentation.Slides

Or if you have to do this with selected slides, get your parameters at the
beginning, such as:

start = ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange(1).SlideIndex
end = ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange.Count

For i = start To End

....


Next i

Sorry, I have class in 10 minutes so I don't have time to look over this any
more. One more quick thing. Put the Dim at the top of the procedure and keep
the ReDim where it is.

--David

On 12/2/09 4:01 PM, in article
, "Mel"
wrote:

PPT 2003/2007

I'm trying to understand arrays. I just want to capture the slides
currently selected and then running some actions on each of them,
which causes the selection to be lost, so I have to capture the slide
numbers before the action loop.

Likewise, I'm trying to do the same with selected shapes on a slide,
where I want to run a loop for each selected shape, but in doing so I
loose the selection so I need to first capture the selected shapes
names (I guess) and then run on all of them.

I've read and tried several things but it escapes me. Can someone show
me how this is done? Here's a feeble attempt I made...

Sub TestArray()

Dim iSldSelCnt As Integer
iSldSelCnt = ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange.Count

Dim iSldSelNum() As Integer
ReDim iSldSelNum(iSldSelCnt - 1) As Integer

Dim iSld As Long
iSld = 0

Dim oSld As Slide
For Each oSld In ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange
iSldSelNum(iSld) = oSld.SlideNumber
iSld = iSld + 1
Next oSld

ActivePresentation.Slides(iSldSelNum).Shapes.AddSh ape _
Type:=msoShapeRectangle, _
Left:=50, Top:=50, Width:=100, Height:=200

'ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange(iSldSelNum).Sha pes.AddShape _
' Type:=msoShapeRectangle, _
' Left:=50, Top:=50, Width:=100, Height:=200

End Sub


Thanks,
-Melina

--
David M. Marcovitz
Author of _Powerful PowerPoint for Educators_
http://www.PowerfulPowerPoint.com/
Microsoft PowerPoint MVP
Associate Professor, Loyola University Maryland

The challenge is I need loop through objects in just the slides I
select, not all of slides. So, out of 10 slides I selected slides 2,
4, and 8. I need to loop through objects only on those slides. As I do
the actions on one slide, the other slides selected loose their
selection and PPT can find the next slide in the selection because
it's now de-selected. The same happens with selected shapes, I
noticed. When I select 3 out 7 of my slide shapes, once I start
working with them, deleting, replacing, etc, PPT deselects the other
shapes. Is there a way to make the routine collect the slide numbers
or shape names in the selection beforehand and then loop through each
of those?

Thanks,
-Melina

On Dec 2, 3:21*pm, David Marcovitz wrote:
Don't use selection to do what you want. It is rarely a good idea. I have a
section in my book about arrays that might help you understand them.

Instead of:

For Each oSld In ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange

Try

For Each oSld In ActivePresentation.Slides

Or if you have to do this with selected slides, get your parameters at the
beginning, such as:

start = ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange(1).SlideIndex
end = ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange.Count

For i = start To End

...

Next i

Sorry, I have class in 10 minutes so I don't have time to look over this any
more. One more quick thing. Put the Dim at the top of the procedure and keep
the ReDim where it is.

--David

On 12/2/09 4:01 PM, in article
, "Mel"



wrote:
PPT 2003/2007

I'm trying to understand arrays. I just want to capture the slides
currently selected and then running some actions on each of them,
which causes the selection to be lost, so I have to capture the slide
numbers before the action loop.

Likewise, I'm trying to do the same with selected shapes on a slide,
where I want to run a loop for each selected shape, but in doing so I
loose the selection so I need to first capture the selected shapes
names (I guess) and then run on all of them.

I've read and tried several things but it escapes me. Can someone show
me how this is done? Here's a feeble attempt I made...

Sub TestArray()

*Dim iSldSelCnt As Integer
*iSldSelCnt = ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange.Count

*Dim iSldSelNum() As Integer
*ReDim iSldSelNum(iSldSelCnt - 1) As Integer

*Dim iSld As Long
*iSld = 0

*Dim oSld As Slide
*For Each oSld In ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange
* iSldSelNum(iSld) = oSld.SlideNumber
* iSld = iSld + 1
*Next oSld

*ActivePresentation.Slides(iSldSelNum).Shapes.AddS hape _
* Type:=msoShapeRectangle, _
* Left:=50, Top:=50, Width:=100, Height:=200

'ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange(iSldSelNum).Sha pes.AddShape _
' Type:=msoShapeRectangle, _
' Left:=50, Top:=50, Width:=100, Height:=200

End Sub

Thanks,
-Melina

--
David M. Marcovitz
Author of _Powerful PowerPoint for Educators_http://www.PowerfulPowerPoint.com/
Microsoft PowerPoint MVP
Associate Professor, Loyola University Maryland

I tried learning about using collections instead of arrays and wrote
the following which in my tests collected slide numbers and shape
names and looped through them after the selection was deselected. Any
comments on using collections as opposed to arrays like I'm doing
below?

Thanks,
Melina

Sub WorkSelectedSlidesDeselected()
Dim oSld As Slide
Dim oSldNum As Variant
Dim SelectedSlides As New Collection
Dim oPrez As Presentation
Set oPrez = ActivePresentation

'Note current selected slides
For Each oSld In ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange
SelectedSlides.Add oSld.SlideNumber
Next oSld

'Loose slide selection
oPrez.Slides(1).Select

'Loop through originally selected slides anyway
For Each oSldNum In SelectedSlides
ActivePresentation.Slides(oSldNum).Shapes.AddLabel _
(Orientation:=msoTextOrientationHorizontal, _
Left:=100, Top:=100, Width:=60, Height:=150) _
.TextFrame.TextRange.Text = "Hello world."
Next oSldNum

End Sub

Sub WorkSelectedShapesDeselected()
Dim oShp As Shape
Dim oShpNm As Variant
Dim SelectedShapes As New Collection
Dim oPrez As Presentation
Set oPrez = ActivePresentation
Dim iCurrSld As Long
iCurrSld = ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange.SlideNumber

'Note current selected shapes
For Each oShp In ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange
SelectedShapes.Add oShp.Name
Next oShp

'Loose shape selection
ActiveWindow.Selection.Unselect

'Loop through originally selected shapes anyway
For Each oShpNm In SelectedShapes
oPrez.Slides(iCurrSld).Shapes(oShpNm).Flip msoFlipHorizontal
Next oShpNm

End Sub



On Dec 2, 3:01*pm, Mel wrote:
PPT 2003/2007

I'm trying to understand arrays. I just want to capture the slides
currently selected and then running some actions on each of them,
which causes the selection to be lost, so I have to capture the slide
numbers before the action loop.

Likewise, I'm trying to do the same with selected shapes on a slide,
where I want to run a loop for each selected shape, but in doing so I
loose the selection so I need to first capture the selected shapes
names (I guess) and then run on all of them.

I've read and tried several things but it escapes me. Can someone show
me how this is done? Here's a feeble attempt I made...

Sub TestArray()

*Dim iSldSelCnt As Integer
*iSldSelCnt = ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange.Count

*Dim iSldSelNum() As Integer
*ReDim iSldSelNum(iSldSelCnt - 1) As Integer

*Dim iSld As Long
*iSld = 0

*Dim oSld As Slide
*For Each oSld In ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange
* iSldSelNum(iSld) = oSld.SlideNumber
* iSld = iSld + 1
*Next oSld

*ActivePresentation.Slides(iSldSelNum).Shapes.AddS hape _
* Type:=msoShapeRectangle, _
* Left:=50, Top:=50, Width:=100, Height:=200

'ActiveWindow.Selection.SlideRange(iSldSelNum).Sha pes.AddShape _
' Type:=msoShapeRectangle, _
' Left:=50, Top:=50, Width:=100, Height:=200

End Sub

Thanks,
-Melina