Using VBA to Paste Excel Chart with Data into PowerPoint - excel

Question

Answer: TL;DR: pasting a chart with embedded data takes a long time so you have to install a delay to prevent vba from moving on before the paste operation completes.
Question:I'm trying to paste an excel chart with embedded data into a powerpoint presentation. The only thing I am getting hung up on is referring to and positioning the chart in ppt once it has been pasted.
Dim newPowerPoint As PowerPoint.Application
ActiveSheet.ChartObjects("Chart 1").Activate
ActiveChart.ChartArea.Copy
newPowerPoint.CommandBars.ExecuteMso ("PasteExcelChartDestinationTheme")
Since I need to paste multiple charts into single slides, repositioning them is necessary. I try to do that with this piece of code:
newPowerPoint.ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange.Left = 0
but am always met with the error: "Method 'ShapeRange' of object 'Selection' failed".
What's particularly odd is that running the code from start to finish results in this error, but stepping through the code using the F8 key does not.
I have tried every way I can think of to move this chart around but I am totally stuck. Does anyone know how I can do this? Also, please keep in mind that is necessary that the chart have data in it (I can't paste the chart as a picture and I would strongly prefer that the data not be linked).
Thanks,
Steve
edit new modified code with multiple chart objects. I needed to add an if conditional:
If activeSlide.Shapes.Count = 1 Then
GoTo NextiLoop
End If
for additional chart objects because the delay pasting chart 2 makes the loop name chart 1 "pptcht2" since chart2 did not exist yet.
Sub CreatePPT()
Dim newPowerPoint As PowerPoint.Application
Dim activeSlide As PowerPoint.Slide
Dim cht1 As Excel.ChartObject
Dim Data As Excel.Worksheet
Dim pptcht1 As PowerPoint.Shape
Dim iLoopLimit As Long
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
'Look for existing instance
On Error Resume Next
Set newPowerPoint = GetObject(, "PowerPoint.Application")
On Error GoTo 0
'Let's create a new PowerPoint
If newPowerPoint Is Nothing Then
Set newPowerPoint = New PowerPoint.Application
End If
'Make a presentation in PowerPoint
If newPowerPoint.Presentations.Count = 0 Then
newPowerPoint.Presentations.Add
End If
'Show the PowerPoint
newPowerPoint.Visible = True
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
'Add a new slide where we will paste the chart
newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides.Add _
newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides.Count + 1, ppLayoutText
newPowerPoint.ActiveWindow.View.GotoSlide _
newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides.Count
Set activeSlide = newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides _
(newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides.Count)
activeSlide.Shapes(1).Delete
activeSlide.Shapes(1).Delete
'ActiveSheet.ChartObjects("Chart 1").Activate
Set Data = ActiveSheet
Set cht1 = Data.ChartObjects("Share0110")
Set cht2 = Data.ChartObjects("SOW0110")
Set cht3 = Data.ChartObjects("PROP0110")
cht1.Copy
newPowerPoint.CommandBars.ExecuteMso "PasteExcelChartDestinationTheme"
DoEvents
On Error Resume Next
Do
DoEvents
Set pptcht1 = activeSlide.Shapes(activeSlide.Shapes.Count)
If Not pptcht1 Is Nothing Then Exit Do
iLoopLimit = iLoopLimit + 1
If iLoopLimit > 100 Then Exit Do
Loop
On Error GoTo 0
Debug.Print "iLoopLimit = " & iLoopLimit
With pptcht1
.Left = 25
.Top = 150
End With
iLoopLimit = 0
'ActiveSheet.ChartObjects("Chart 2").Activate
'Set Data = ActiveSheet
cht2.Copy
newPowerPoint.CommandBars.ExecuteMso "PasteExcelChartDestinationTheme"
DoEvents
On Error Resume Next
Do
DoEvents
If activeSlide.Shapes.Count = 1 Then
GoTo NextiLoop
End If
Set pptcht2 = activeSlide.Shapes(activeSlide.Shapes.Count)
If Not pptcht2 Is Nothing Then Exit Do
NextiLoop:
iLoopLimit = iLoopLimit + 1
If iLoopLimit > 100 Then Exit Do
Loop
On Error GoTo 0
Debug.Print "iLoopLimit = " & iLoopLimit
With pptcht2
.Left = 275
.Top = 150
End With
iLoopLimit = 0
AppActivate ("Microsoft PowerPoint")
Set activeSlide = Nothing
Set newPowerPoint = Nothing
End Sub
edit: OLD not working code:
Sub CreatePPT()
Dim newPowerPoint As PowerPoint.Application
Dim activeSlide As PowerPoint.Slide
Dim cht As Excel.ChartObject
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
'Look for existing instance
On Error Resume Next
Set newPowerPoint = GetObject(, "PowerPoint.Application")
On Error GoTo 0
'Let's create a new PowerPoint
If newPowerPoint Is Nothing Then
Set newPowerPoint = New PowerPoint.Application
End If
'Make a presentation in PowerPoint
If newPowerPoint.Presentations.Count = 0 Then
newPowerPoint.Presentations.Add
End If
'Show the PowerPoint
newPowerPoint.Visible = True
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
'Add a new slide where we will paste the chart
newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides.Add newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides.Count + 1, ppLayoutText
newPowerPoint.ActiveWindow.View.GotoSlide newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides.Count
Set activeSlide = newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides(newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides.Count)
activeSlide.Shapes(1).Delete
activeSlide.Shapes(1).Delete
'ActiveSheet.ChartObjects("Chart 1").Activate
Set Data = ActiveSheet
Set cht1 = Data.ChartObjects("Chart 1")
cht1.Copy
newPowerPoint.CommandBars.ExecuteMso ("PasteExcelChartDestinationTheme")
Set pptcht1 = newPowerPoint.ActiveWindow.Selection
With pptcht1
.Left = 0
End With
AppActivate ("Microsoft PowerPoint")
Set activeSlide = Nothing
Set newPowerPoint = Nothing
End Sub

Answer 1

Do yourself a favor and enter this as the first line of the code module:
Option Explicit
This will force you to declare all variables. You have a lot of undeclared variables, including a couple that are almost the same as the few you did declare. Then go to VBA's Tools menu > Options, and check the Require Variable Declaration on the first tab of the dialog, which will put Option Explicit at the top of every new module.
Declare the shape as a PowerPoint.Shape, then find it using this, since any newly added shape is the last one on the slide:
Set pptcht1 = activeSlide.Shapes(activeSlide.Shapes.Count)
The following line first of all does not need the parentheses, despite the poorly written Microsoft Help article. Second, it takes a long time to run. Excel is already trying to move the shape long before the shape has been created. DoEvents is supposed to help with this by making Excel wait until everything else happening on the computer is finished, but the line is still too slow.
newPowerPoint.CommandBars.ExecuteMso ("PasteExcelChartDestinationTheme")
So I cobbled together a little loop that tries to set the variable to the shape, and keeps looping until the shape is finished being created.
On Error Resume Next
Do
DoEvents
Set pptcht1 = activeSlide.Shapes(activeSlide.Shapes.Count)
If Not pptcht1 Is Nothing Then Exit Do
iLoopLimit = iLoopLimit + 1
If iLoopLimit > 100 Then Exit Do
Loop
On Error GoTo 0
In a small number of tests, I found that the loop would have to run 20 to 60 times. I also crashed PowerPoint a few times. Weird.
I'm sure there are better ways to paste the copied chart and keep the slide's color theme, but off the top of my head I don't know one.
This is unreliable, since the application caption changes with different versions of Office (and again the parentheses are not needed):
AppActivate ("Microsoft PowerPoint")
Use this instead:
AppActivate newPowerPoint.Caption
So your whole code becomes:
` Sub CreatePPT()
Dim newPowerPoint As PowerPoint.Application
Dim activeSlide As PowerPoint.Slide
Dim cht1 As Excel.ChartObject
Dim Data As Excel.Worksheet
Dim pptcht1 As PowerPoint.Shape
Dim iLoopLimit As Long
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
'Look for existing instance
On Error Resume Next
Set newPowerPoint = GetObject(, "PowerPoint.Application")
On Error GoTo 0
'Let's create a new PowerPoint
If newPowerPoint Is Nothing Then
Set newPowerPoint = New PowerPoint.Application
End If
'Make a presentation in PowerPoint
If newPowerPoint.Presentations.Count = 0 Then
newPowerPoint.Presentations.Add
End If
'Show the PowerPoint
newPowerPoint.Visible = True
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
'Add a new slide where we will paste the chart
newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides.Add _
newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides.Count + 1, ppLayoutText
newPowerPoint.ActiveWindow.View.GotoSlide _
newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides.Count
Set activeSlide = newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides _
(newPowerPoint.ActivePresentation.Slides.Count)
activeSlide.Shapes(1).Delete
activeSlide.Shapes(1).Delete
'ActiveSheet.ChartObjects("Chart 1").Activate
Set Data = ActiveSheet
Set cht1 = Data.ChartObjects("Chart 1")
cht1.Copy
newPowerPoint.CommandBars.ExecuteMso "PasteExcelChartDestinationTheme"
DoEvents
On Error Resume Next
Do
DoEvents
Set pptcht1 = activeSlide.Shapes(activeSlide.Shapes.Count)
If Not pptcht1 Is Nothing Then Exit Do
iLoopLimit = iLoopLimit + 1
If iLoopLimit > 100 Then Exit Do
Loop
On Error GoTo 0
Debug.Print "iLoopLimit = " & iLoopLimit
With pptcht1
.Left = 0
End With
AppActivate newPowerPoint.Caption
Set activeSlide = Nothing
Set newPowerPoint = Nothing
End Sub`