Create, read and edit a PowerPoint file in Windows Forms

21 Jul 202612 minutes to read

You can create or edit a PowerPoint file in Windows Forms with .NET PowerPoint Library. The below are the steps.

The Syncfusion.Presentation.WinForms package supports .NET Framework 4.6.2 and later. The examples in this topic use the latest stable version of the package.

Create a PowerPoint file in Windows Forms

Prerequisites:

  • Visual Studio 2022.
  • Install .NET desktop development workload with the necessary .NET Framework SDK (4.6.2 or later).

Step 1: Create a new C# Windows Forms application project.

Create Windows Forms project

Step 2: Install the Syncfusion.Presentation.WinForms NuGet package as a reference to your Windows Forms project from NuGet.org.

Install Presentation Winforms Nuget

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 3: After installing the Syncfusion.Presentation.WinForms nuget package, the following assemblies are included in our project.

  • Syncfusion.Compression.Base
  • Syncfusion.Licensing
  • Syncfusion.OfficeChart.Base
  • Syncfusion.Presentation.Base

Step 4: The following code snippets demonstrate how to create a PowerPoint Presentation in Windows Forms platform. Place this code inside an event handler (for example, a button Click handler or the Form1_Load method). Add the following using statements at the top of the file:

using System.IO;
using Syncfusion.Presentation;

Create Presentation instance:

//Create a new instance of PowerPoint Presentation file
IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Create();

Add a new slide

//Add a new slide to file and apply background color
ISlide slide = pptxDoc.Slides.Add(SlideLayoutType.TitleOnly);

Apply Background

//Specify 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);

Add title content:

//Add 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;

Add description content:

//Add 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 received awards for quality products from reputed organizations.";

Add bullet points:

//Add bullet points to the slide
IShape bulletPointsShape = slide.AddTextBox(53.22, 270, 437.90, 116.32);
//Add 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.");
//Format how the bullets should be displayed
firstPara.ListFormat.Type = ListType.Bulleted;
firstPara.LeftIndent = 35;
firstPara.FirstLineIndent = -35;
// Add another paragraph for the next bullet point
IParagraph secondPara = bulletPointsShape.TextBody.AddParagraph("The company is participating in top open source projects in automation industry.");
//Format how the bullets should be displayed
secondPara.ListFormat.Type = ListType.Bulleted;
secondPara.LeftIndent = 35;
secondPara.FirstLineIndent = -35;

Add an image:

//Gets a picture as stream and adds it to a slide by specifying its size and position.
Stream pictureStream = File.Open("Image.png", FileMode.Open);
slide.Shapes.AddPicture(pictureStream, 499.79, 238.59, 364.54, 192.16);

You can download the image used in the sample from here.

Add a shape:

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

Save and close the presentation:

//Save the PowerPoint Presentation 
pptxDoc.Save("Sample.pptx");
//Close the PowerPoint presentation
pptxDoc.Close();

Step 5: Build the project.

Click on Build → Build Solution or press Ctrl+Shift+B to build the project.

Step 6: Run the project.

Click the Start button (green arrow) or press F5 to run the app.

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

The output of the above code example will generate the below PowerPoint slide.

Windows Forms Output

Prerequisites:

Step 1: Open JetBrains Rider and create a new Windows Forms Application project.

  • Launch JetBrains Rider.
  • Click New Solution on the welcome screen.

Launch JetBrains Rider

  • In the New Solution dialog, select Project Type as Desktop.
  • Enter a project name and specify the location.
  • Select the target framework as Full Framework and choose the desired version.
  • Select Template as Windows Forms App.
  • Click Create.

Creating a new Windows Forms App in JetBrains Rider

Step 2: Install the NuGet package from NuGet.org.

  • Click the NuGet icon in the Rider toolbar and type Syncfusion.Presentation.WinForms in the search bar.
  • Ensure that nuget.org is selected as the package source.
  • Select the latest Syncfusion.Presentation.WinForms NuGet package from the list.
  • Click the + (Add) button to add the package.

Select the Syncfusion.Presentation.WinForms NuGet package

  • Click the Install button to complete the installation.

Install the Syncfusion.Presentation.WinForms NuGet package

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 3: After installing the Syncfusion.Presentation.WinForms nuget package, the following assemblies are included in our project.

  • Syncfusion.Compression.Base
  • Syncfusion.Licensing
  • Syncfusion.OfficeChart.Base
  • Syncfusion.Presentation.Base

Step 4: The following code snippets demonstrate how to create a PowerPoint Presentation in Windows Forms platform. Place this code inside an event handler (for example, a button Click handler or the Form1_Load method). Add the following using statements at the top of the file:

using System.IO;
using Syncfusion.Presentation;

Create Presentation instance:

//Create a new instance of PowerPoint Presentation file
IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Create();

Add a new slide

//Add a new slide to file and apply background color
ISlide slide = pptxDoc.Slides.Add(SlideLayoutType.TitleOnly);

Apply Background

//Specify 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);

Add title content:

//Add 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;

Add description content:

//Add 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 received awards for quality products from reputed organizations.";

Add bullet points:

//Add bullet points to the slide
IShape bulletPointsShape = slide.AddTextBox(53.22, 270, 437.90, 116.32);
//Add 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.");
//Format how the bullets should be displayed
firstPara.ListFormat.Type = ListType.Bulleted;
firstPara.LeftIndent = 35;
firstPara.FirstLineIndent = -35;
// Add another paragraph for the next bullet point
IParagraph secondPara = bulletPointsShape.TextBody.AddParagraph("The company is participating in top open source projects in automation industry.");
//Format how the bullets should be displayed
secondPara.ListFormat.Type = ListType.Bulleted;
secondPara.LeftIndent = 35;
secondPara.FirstLineIndent = -35;

Add an image:

//Gets a picture as stream and adds it to a slide by specifying its size and position.
Stream pictureStream = File.Open("Image.png", FileMode.Open);
slide.Shapes.AddPicture(pictureStream, 499.79, 238.59, 364.54, 192.16);

You can download the image used in the sample from here.

Add a shape:

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

Save and close the presentation:

//Save the PowerPoint Presentation 
pptxDoc.Save("Sample.pptx");
//Close the PowerPoint presentation
pptxDoc.Close();

Step 5: Build the project.

Click the Build button in the toolbar or press Ctrl+Shift+B to build the project.

Step 6: Run the project.

Click the Run button (green arrow) in the toolbar or press F5 to run the app.

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

The output of the above code example will generate the below PowerPoint slide.

Windows Forms Output

Read and edit a PowerPoint file in Windows Forms

You can edit an existing PowerPoint file using this library. This example assumes that an existing Sample.pptx file is present in the application’s working/output directory. The following code snippet demonstrates accessing a shape from a slide and changing its text.

//Opens an existing PowerPoint presentation.
IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open("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;
//Change the text of the shape
if(shape.TextBody.Text == "Company History")
    shape.TextBody.Text = "Company Profile";
//Saves the Presentation to the file system.
pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx");
//Close the PowerPoint presentation
pptxDoc.Close();

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Looking for the full .NET PowerPoint Library component overview, features, pricing, and documentation? Visit the .NET PowerPoint Library page.

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