Is it possible to create Powerpoint files?

[ssims]

1) Is it possible to create a powerpoint file with asp.net? I've
Googled it and can't seem to find a definitive guide.

2) If it is possible to create a powerpoint file with asp.net, is it
possible to pull exisiting slides together in a certain order rather
than creating the slides from scratch?

Thanks,
-Sean

 

[Mark Rae]

1) Is it possible to create a powerpoint file with asp.net? I've
Googled it and can't seem to find a definitive guide.

2) If it is possible to create a powerpoint file with asp.net, is it
possible to pull exisiting slides together in a certain order rather
than creating the slides from scratch?

It certainly is. There are two ways you could do it:

1) Use the Office XML file format:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...52-3547-420a-a412-00a2662442d9&displaylang=en
or
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...80-f2c0-4b80-9ad1-2cb0c300aef9&displaylang=en

depending on your version of Office. This will allow you to create
PowerPoint files of any complexity of content. It is completely free but,
depending on your level of expertise with XML, you might find it a little
challenging...

2) Use Aspose:
http://www.aspose.com/Products/Aspose.Slides/Default.aspx

It's not free, but is incredibly easy to use, and will allow you to do
everything that you require.

Under no circumstances consider using Office Automation, as it is not
designed to operate server-side:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q257757#kb2

 

[ssims]

It doesn't appear that Powerpoint supports the Office XML format...
from the 2003 link, "This download contains documentation on a number
of XML schemas for Microsoft® Office 2003 Editions including Microsoft
Office Word 2003, Microsoft Office Excel 2003, Microsoft Office
InfoPath® 2003, and Microsoft Office Visio® 2003 schemas. It also
includes schema information for Microsoft Office OneNote® 2003,
Microsoft Office Project 2003, and Microsoft Office Research
Services." I also don't see an option to save as XML from
Powerpoint. I guess I'll have to check out the commercial
option...though I really wish I could find a free option.

 

[Mark Rae]

It doesn't appear that Powerpoint supports the Office XML format...
from the 2003 link

Apologies - my mistake...

I guess I'll have to check out the commercial option...though I really
wish I could find a free option.

Well, there may be other options depending on what you're actually trying to
do...

Is it absolutely 100% imperative that ASP.NET creates the PowerPoint
files...?

 

[ssims]

The general idea is, upload a variety of slides (200ish)...

Person logs in via the web, selects slides 1-5, 25, 37, 42 and clicks
Generate and a PPT file is generated for them.

I've been looking for any way to do this for almost 2 days, and it
seems that the only way anyone has found to do it is through
Automation.

-Sean

 

[Ily]

Hi

This is exactly the app that we have done

We used Aspose.Slides..

A user would upload a file and an image would be created for each
slide (aspose.slides can do this also)

If a new presentation was needed, you could simply say I want slides
1, 2, 10 and 11 in either pdf or powerpoint format and it worked.

The kind of issues we had, was that to generate a pdf or a ppt, takes
a lot of memory if the ppts are large and contain a lot of images.
Generating a pdf can also be quite slow.

Under any circumstances do not consider using office to do this. It
doesnt scale well, you end up with powerpoint .exes remaining in
memory and eventually the whole thing crashes on top of you. Not what
you want for a application!

 

[Mark Rae]

I've been looking for any way to do this for almost 2 days, and it
seems that the only way anyone has found to do it is through
Automation.

Please re-read (or even read for the first time) the link to the Microsoft
page which advises you strongly not to do this - that page wasn't written
for a joke, or to make your life difficult...

If you go down the Automation route, there is a very high probability that
it won't work at all in a production environment...

 

[Mark Rae]

We used Aspose.Slides..

Of course.

Under any circumstances do not consider using office to do this. It
doesnt scale well, you end up with powerpoint .exes remaining in
memory and eventually the whole thing crashes on top of you. Not what
you want for a application!

It seems that, no matter how many times people are told this, they really
won't believe it until their app crashes...

 

[Juan T. Llibre]

re:

It seems that, no matter how many times people are told this

You should have a template or snippet to send in your warnings about that regularly.
Save some time that way...

<vbg>

 

[ssims]

I wasn't planning on using Automation...just stating that that seems
to be the only way to do it documented on the web. If Aspose can do
it for profit, why can't we do it using .Net or some other programming
language?

-Sean

 

[Mark Rae]

re:

You should have a template or snippet to send in your warnings about that
regularly.
Save some time that way...

<vbg>

LOL! I usually just copy and paste from the previous one... ;-)

 

[Mark Rae]

If Aspose can do it for profit, why can't we do it using .Net or some
other programming
language?

You absolutely can do it yourself if you really want to, exactly the same
way Aspose does it... I.e. open up a PowerPoint file in a hex editor and
work out the file format... That's what Aspose did. Of course, it took them
years and years of cumulative developer time - that's what you're paying for
when you buy an Aspose licence...

The same argument applies to all .NET assemblies... E.g. you don't have to
use ADO.NET for your database work if you don't want to - nobody's stopping
you writing your own library for this... It just so happens that Microsoft
include ADO.NET in the Framework, but don't include a native .NET assembly
for manipulating Office files. Why they don't do this is, of course, a
totally different argument - the simple fact is, they don't...

Big though the .NET Framework is, there are thousands and thousands of
pieces of functionality which aren't included - that's where bespoke
development comes in. You can either write it yourself or use a 3rd-party
solution. Some of these are free and/or open source - others aren't...
Aspose have spotted this gap in the market, and have filled it - you don't
have to use their solution if you don't want to...