Create, read and edit a PowerPoint file in .NET MAUI

2 Dec 20248 minutes to read

Syncfusion® Essential® Presentation is a .NET MAUI PowerPoint library used to create, read, and edit PowerPoint documents programmatically without Microsoft PowerPoint or interop dependencies. Using this library, you can create a PowerPoint document in .NET MAUI.

Prerequisites:
To create .NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI) apps, you need the latest versions of Visual Studio 2022 and .NET 6. For more details, refer here.

Steps to create PowerPoint file in .NET MAUI

Step 1: Create a new C# .NET MAUI app. Select .NET MAUI App (Preview) from the template and click the Next button.

Step 2: Enter the project name and click Create.

Step 3: Install the Syncfusion.Presentation.NET NuGet package as a reference to your project from NuGet.org.

NOTE

Starting with v16.2.0.x, if you reference Syncfusion® assemblies from trial setup or from the NuGet feed, you also have to add “Syncfusion.Licensing” assembly reference and include a license key in your projects. Please refer to this link to know about registering Syncfusion® license key in your application to use our components.

Step 4: Add a new button to the MainPage.xaml as shown below.

C#

<ContentPage xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/dotnet/2021/maui"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
             x:Class="CreatePowerPoint.MainPage"
             BackgroundColor="{DynamicResource SecondaryColor}">
    <ScrollView>
        <Grid RowSpacing="25" RowDefinitions="Auto,Auto,Auto,Auto,*"
              Padding="{OnPlatform iOS='30,60,30,30', Default='30'}">
            <Button 
                Text="Create Presentation"
                FontAttributes="Bold"
                Grid.Row="0"
                SemanticProperties.Hint="Creates Presentation you click"
                Clicked="CreatePresentation"
                HorizontalOptions="Center" />
        </Grid>
    </ScrollView>
</ContentPage>

Step 5: Include the following namespaces in the MainPage.xaml.cs file.

C#

using Syncfusion.Presentation;
using System.IO;
using System.Reflection;

Step 6: Add a new action method CreatePresentation in MainPage.xaml.cs and include the below code snippet to create a PowerPoint file.

C#

//Creates a new instance of the PowerPoint Presentation file.
using IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Create();
//Adds a new slide to the file and apply background color.
ISlide slide = pptxDoc.Slides.Add(SlideLayoutType.TitleOnly);
//Specifies the fill type and fill color for the slide background.
slide.Background.Fill.FillType = FillType.Solid;
slide.Background.Fill.SolidFill.Color = ColorObject.FromArgb(232, 241, 229);

//Adds title content to the slide by accessing the title placeholder of the TitleOnly layout-slide.
IShape titleShape = slide.Shapes[0] as IShape;
titleShape.TextBody.AddParagraph("Company History").HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignmentType.Center;

//Adds description content to the slide by adding a new TextBox.
IShape descriptionShape = slide.AddTextBox(53.22, 141.73, 874.19, 77.70);
descriptionShape.TextBody.Text = "IMN Solutions PVT LTD is the software company, established in 1987, by George Milton. The company has been listed as the trusted partner for many high-profile organizations since 1988 and got awards for quality products from reputed organizations.";

//Adds bullet points to the slide.
IShape bulletPointsShape = slide.AddTextBox(53.22, 270, 437.90, 116.32);
//Adds a paragraph for a bullet point.
IParagraph firstPara = bulletPointsShape.TextBody.AddParagraph("The company acquired the MCY corporation for 20 billion dollars and became the top revenue maker for the year 2015.");
//Formats how the bullets should be displayed.
firstPara.ListFormat.Type = ListType.Bulleted;
firstPara.LeftIndent = 35;
firstPara.FirstLineIndent = -35;
//Adds another paragraph for the next bullet point.
IParagraph secondPara = bulletPointsShape.TextBody.AddParagraph("The company is participating in top open source projects in automation industry.");
//Formats how the bullets should be displayed.
secondPara.ListFormat.Type = ListType.Bulleted;
secondPara.LeftIndent = 35;
secondPara.FirstLineIndent = -35;

Assembly assembly = typeof(MainPage).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
string resourcePath = "CreatePowerPoint.Resources.Presentation.Image.png";
//Gets a picture as stream.
Stream pictureStream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resourcePath);
//Adds the picture to a slide by specifying its size and position.
slide.Shapes.AddPicture(pictureStream, 499.79, 238.59, 364.54, 192.16);

//Adds an auto-shape to the slide.
IShape stampShape = slide.Shapes.AddShape(AutoShapeType.Explosion1, 48.93, 430.71, 104.13, 80.54);
//Formats the auto-shape color by setting the fill type and text.
stampShape.Fill.FillType = FillType.None;
stampShape.TextBody.AddParagraph("IMN").HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignmentType.Center;

//Saves the presentation to the memory stream.
using MemoryStream stream = new();
pptxDoc.Save(stream);
stream.Position = 0;
//Saves the memory stream as file.
SaveService saveService = new();
saveService.SaveAndView("Sample.pptx", "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation", stream);

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

By executing the program, you will get the PowerPoint slide as follows.

Read and edit a PowerPoint file in .NET MAUI

You can edit an existing PowerPoint file using this library. The below code snippet demonstrates accessing a shape from a slide and changing the text within it.

C#

//Opens an existing PowerPoint presentation.
Assembly assembly = typeof(MainPage).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
//Opens an existing PowerPoint presentation.
using IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open(assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("Sample.pptx"));
//Gets the first slide from the PowerPoint presentation.
ISlide slide = pptxDoc.Slides[0];
//Gets the first shape of the slide.
IShape shape = slide.Shapes[0] as IShape;
//Modifies the text of the shape.
if (shape.TextBody.Text == "Company History")
    shape.TextBody.Text = "Company Profile";
//Saves the presentation to the memory stream.
using MemoryStream stream = new();
pptxDoc.Save(stream);
stream.Position = 0;
//Saves the memory stream as file.
SaveService saveService = new();
saveService.SaveAndView("Output.pptx", "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation", stream);

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Helper files for .NET MAUI

Download the helper files from this link and add them into the mentioned project. These helper files allow you to save the stream as a physical file and open the file for viewing.

Folder Name	File Name	Summary
.NET MAUI Project	SaveService.cs	Represent the base class for save operation.
Windows	SaveWindows.cs	Save implementation for Windows.
Android	SaveAndroid.cs	Save implementation for Android device.
Mac Catalyst	SaveMac.cs	Save implementation for Mac Catalyst device.
iOS	SaveIOS.cs	Save implementation for iOS device.
	PreviewControllerDS.cs QLPreviewItemFileSystem.cs	Helper classes for viewing the PowerPoint file in iOS device.

Click here to explore the rich set of Syncfusion® PowerPoint Library (Presentation) features.

An online sample link to create a PowerPoint Presentation in ASP.NET Core.