Working with Find and Replace

30 Aug 202424 minutes to read

.NET PowerPoint library allows you to search for a particular text that you want to change and replace it with another text in the PowerPoint presentation.

  • You can replace either the first occurrence or all the occurrences of the text with another text in all PowerPoint slides and elements such as shape, textbox, table, SmartArt, etc.
  • You can replace the text in a specific slide, notes slide, master slide, or layout slide.
  • You can replace the text by matching the case, whole word, and all occurrences or the first occurrence alone.
  • You can also replace the content that spans across several lines.

Find and replace in PowerPoint presentation

You can find text in a PowerPoint presentation and replace it with other text.

The following code example illustrates how to find all occurrences of a particular text and replace it with other text in a PowerPoint presentation.

//Opens an existing presentation.           
FileStream inputStream = new FileStream("Sample.pptx", FileMode.Open);
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open(inputStream))
{
    //Finds all the occurrences of a particular text in the PowerPoint presentation
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = pptxDoc.FindAll("product", false, false);
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text as a single text part
        ITextPart textPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart();
        //Replaces the text
        textPart.Text = "Service";
    }
    //Saves the PowerPoint Presentation as a stream
    FileStream outputStream = new FileStream("Output.pptx", FileMode.Create);
    pptxDoc.Save(outputStream);
    //Releases all resources of the stream
    outputStream.Dispose();
    //Closes the Presentation instance
    pptxDoc.Close();
}
//Opens an existing presentation.
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx"))
{
    //Finds all the occurrences of a particular text in the PowerPoint presentation
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = pptxDoc.FindAll("product", false, false);
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text as a single text part
        ITextPart textPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart();
        //Replaces the text
        textPart.Text = "Service";
    }
    //Saves the Presentation
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx");
}
'Opens an existing presentation.
Using pptxDoc As IPresentation = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx")
    'Finds all the occurrences of a particular text in the PowerPoint presentation
    Dim textSelections As ITextSelection() = pptxDoc.FindAll("product", False, False)
    For Each textSelection As ITextSelection In textSelections
        'Gets the found text as a single text part
        Dim textPart As ITextPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart()
        'Replaces the text
        textPart.Text = "Service"
    Next
    'Saves the Presentation	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx")
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Match case

You can find and replace the text by matching the case also.

The following code example illustrates how to find all occurrences of a particular text by matching the case.

//Opens an existing presentation.           
FileStream inputStream = new FileStream("Sample.pptx", FileMode.Open);
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open(inputStream))
{
    bool matchCase = true;
    bool wholeWord = false;
    //Finds all the occurrences of a particular text which matches the given casing
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = pptxDoc.FindAll("product", matchCase, wholeWord);
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text as a single text part
        ITextPart textPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart();
        //Replaces the text
        textPart.Text = "Service";
    }
    //Saves the PowerPoint Presentation as a stream
    FileStream outputStream = new FileStream("Output.pptx", FileMode.Create);
    pptxDoc.Save(outputStream);
    //Releases all resources of the stream
    outputStream.Dispose();
    //Closes the Presentation instance
    pptxDoc.Close();
}
//Opens an existing presentation.
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx"))
{
    bool matchCase = true;
    bool wholeWord = false;
    //Finds all the occurrences of a particular text which matches the given casing
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = pptxDoc.FindAll("product", matchCase, wholeWord);
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text as a single text part
        ITextPart textPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart();
        //Replaces the text
        textPart.Text = "Service";
    }
    //Saves the Presentation	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx");
}
'Opens an existing presentation.
Using pptxDoc As IPresentation = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx")
    Dim matchCase = True
    Dim wholeWord = False
    'Finds all the occurrences of a particular text which matches the given casing
    Dim textSelections As ITextSelection() = pptxDoc.FindAll("product", matchCase, wholeWord)
    For Each textSelection As ITextSelection In textSelections
        'Gets the found text as a single text part
        Dim textPart As ITextPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart()
        'Replaces the text
        textPart.Text = "Service"
    Next
    'Saves the Presentation	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx")
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Whole words only

You can find and replace the text by matching whole word only.

The following code example illustrates how to find all occurrences of a particular text by matching the whole word.

//Opens an existing presentation.           
FileStream inputStream = new FileStream("Sample.pptx", FileMode.Open);
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open(inputStream))
{
    bool matchCase = false;
    bool wholeWord = true;
    //Finds all the occurrences of a given whole word
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = pptxDoc.FindAll("product", matchCase, wholeWord);
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text as a single text part
        ITextPart textPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart();
        //Replaces the text
        textPart.Text = "Service";
    }
    //Saves the PowerPoint Presentation as a stream
    FileStream outputStream = new FileStream("Output.pptx", FileMode.Create);
    pptxDoc.Save(outputStream);
    //Releases all resources of the stream
    outputStream.Dispose();
    //Closes the Presentation instance
    pptxDoc.Close();
}
//Opens an existing presentation.
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx"))
{
    bool matchCase = false;
    bool wholeWord = true;
    //Finds all the occurrences of a given whole word
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = pptxDoc.FindAll("product", matchCase, wholeWord);
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text as a single text part
        ITextPart textPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart();
        //Replaces the text
        textPart.Text = "Service";
    }
    //Saves the Presentation
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx");
}
'Opens an existing presentation.
Using pptxDoc As IPresentation = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx")
    Dim matchCase = False
    Dim wholeWord = True
    'Finds all the occurrences of a given whole word
    Dim textSelections As ITextSelection() = pptxDoc.FindAll("product", matchCase, wholeWord)
    For Each textSelection As ITextSelection In textSelections
        'Gets the found text as a single text part
        Dim textPart As ITextPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart()
        'Replaces the text
        textPart.Text = "Service"
    Next
    'Saves the Presentation
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx")
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Find and replace the first occurrence

You can find only the first occurrence of the text and replace it with other text.

The following code example illustrates how to find the first occurrence of particular text and replace it with other text.

//Opens an existing presentation.           
FileStream inputStream = new FileStream("Sample.pptx", FileMode.Open);
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open(inputStream))
{
    //Finds the first occurrence of a particular text in the PowerPoint presentation
    ITextSelection textSelection = pptxDoc.Find("product", false, false);
    //Gets the found text as a single text part
    ITextPart textPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart();
    //Replaces the text
    textPart.Text = "Service";
    //Saves the PowerPoint Presentation as a stream
    FileStream outputStream = new FileStream("Output.pptx", FileMode.Create);
    pptxDoc.Save(outputStream);
    //Releases all resources of the stream
    outputStream.Dispose();
    //Closes the Presentation instance
    pptxDoc.Close();
}
//Opens an existing presentation.
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx"))
{
    //Finds the first occurrence of a particular text in the PowerPoint presentation
    ITextSelection textSelection = pptxDoc.Find("product", false, false);
    //Gets the found text as a single text part
    ITextPart textPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart();
    //Replaces the text
    textPart.Text = "Service";
    //Saves the Presentation	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx");
}
'Opens an existing presentation.
Using pptxDoc As IPresentation = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx")
    'Finds the first occurrence of a particular text in the PowerPoint presentation
    Dim textSelection As ITextSelection = pptxDoc.Find("product", False, False)
    'Gets the found text as a single text part
    Dim textPart As ITextPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart()
    'Replaces the text
    textPart.Text = "Service"
    'Saves the Presentation	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx")
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Find and replace using Regex

You can find either the first occurrence or all the occurrences of a pattern of text in a PowerPoint presentation using the Find or FindAll method and replace it with other text.

The following code example illustrates how to find all the occurrences of a pattern of text using the Regex and replace it with other text.

//Load or open a PowerPoint Presentation.
using (FileStream inputStream = new FileStream("Sample.pptx", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.ReadWrite))
{
    //Open an existing PowerPoint presentation.
    using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open(inputStream))
    {
        //Find all the occurrences of a given pattern of text in the PowerPoint presentation using Regex.
        ITextSelection[] textSelections = pptxDoc.FindAll(new Regex("{[A-Za-z]+}"));
        foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
        {
            //Get the found text as a single text part.
            ITextPart textPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart();
            //Replace the text.
            textPart.Text = "Service";
        }
        //Saves the Presentation.
        using (FileStream outputStream = new FileStream("Output.pptx", FileMode.Create, FileAccess.ReadWrite))
        {
            pptxDoc.Save(outputStream);
        }      
    }
}
//Opens an existing presentation.
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx"))
{
    //Find all the occurrences of a given pattern of text in the PowerPoint presentation using Regex.
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = pptxDoc.FindAll(new Regex("{[A-Za-z]+}"));
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text as a single text part.
        ITextPart textPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart();
        //Replaces the text.
        textPart.Text = "Service";
    }
    //Saves the Presentation.
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx");
}
'Opens an existing presentation.
Using pptxDoc As IPresentation = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx")
    'Find all the occurrences of a given pattern of text in the PowerPoint presentation using Regex.
    Dim textSelections As ITextSelection() = pptxDoc.FindAll(new Regex("{[A-Za-z]+}"))
    For Each textSelection As ITextSelection In textSelections
        'Gets the found text as a single text part.
        Dim textPart As ITextPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart()
        'Replaces the text.
        textPart.Text = "Service"
    Next
    'Saves the Presentation.	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx")
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

NOTE

When searching for text within a master slide in the presentation, it is recommended to use the IPresentation.FindAll API instead of the ISlide.FindAll API.

Find and replace in specific slide

You can find all occurrences of a text in a specific PowerPoint slide (slide, notes slide, master slide, or layout slide) and replace it with other text.

The following code example illustrates how to find all occurrences of a particular text and replace them with other text in a specific slide.

//Opens an existing presentation.           
FileStream inputStream = new FileStream("Sample.pptx", FileMode.Open);
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open(inputStream))
{
    ISlide slide = pptxDoc.Slides[0];
    //Finds all the occurrences of a particular text in the specific slide
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = slide.FindAll("product", false, false);
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text as a single text part
        ITextPart textPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart();
        //Replaces the text
        textPart.Text = "Service";
    }
    //Saves the PowerPoint Presentation as a stream
    FileStream outputStream = new FileStream("Output.pptx", FileMode.Create);
    pptxDoc.Save(outputStream);
    //Releases all resources of the stream
    outputStream.Dispose();
    //Closes the Presentation instance
    pptxDoc.Close();
}
//Opens an existing presentation.
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx"))
{
    ISlide slide = pptxDoc.Slides[0];
    //Finds all the occurrences of a particular text in the specific slide
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = slide.FindAll("product", false, false);
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text as a single text part
        ITextPart textPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart();
        //Replaces the text
        textPart.Text = "Service";
    }
    //Saves the Presentation	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx");
}
'Opens an existing presentation.
Using pptxDoc As IPresentation = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx")
    Dim slide As ISlide = pptxDoc.Slides(0)
    'Finds all the occurrences of a particular text in the specific slide
    Dim textSelections As ITextSelection() = slide.FindAll("product", False, False)
    For Each textSelection As ITextSelection In textSelections
        'Gets the found text as a single text part
        Dim textPart As ITextPart = textSelection.GetAsOneTextPart()
        'Replaces the text
        textPart.Text = "Service"
    Next
    'Saves the Presentation	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx")
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Find and highlight in PowerPoint presentation

.NET PowerPoint library allows you to find all the occurrences of a text in the PowerPoint presentation and highlight it.

The following code example illustrates how to find all the occurrences of a particular text and highlight it.

//Opens an existing presentation.           
FileStream inputStream = new FileStream("Sample.pptx", FileMode.Open);
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open(inputStream))
{
    //Finds all the occurrences of a particular text in the PowerPoint presentation
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = pptxDoc.FindAll("product", false, false);
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text containing text parts
        foreach (ITextPart textPart in textSelection.GetTextParts())
        {
            //Sets highlight color
            textPart.Font.HighlightColor = ColorObject.Yellow;
        }
    }
    //Saves the PowerPoint Presentation as a stream
    FileStream outputStream = new FileStream("Output.pptx", FileMode.Create);
    pptxDoc.Save(outputStream);
    //Releases all resources of the stream
    outputStream.Dispose();
    //Closes the Presentation instance
    pptxDoc.Close();
}
//Opens an existing presentation.
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx"))
{
    //Finds all the occurrences of a particular text in the PowerPoint presentation
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = pptxDoc.FindAll("product", false, false);
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text containing text parts
        foreach (ITextPart textPart in textSelection.GetTextParts())
        {
            //Sets highlight color
            textPart.Font.HighlightColor = ColorObject.Yellow;
        }
    }
    //Saves the Presentation	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx");
}
'Opens an existing presentation.
Using pptxDoc As IPresentation = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx")
    'Finds all the occurrences of a particular text in the PowerPoint presentation
    Dim textSelections As ITextSelection() = pptxDoc.FindAll("product", False, False)
    For Each textSelection As ITextSelection In textSelections
        'Gets the found text containing text parts
        For Each textPart As ITextPart In textSelection.GetTextParts()
            'Sets highlight color
            textPart.Font.HighlightColor = ColorObject.Yellow
        Next
    Next
    'Saves the Presentation	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx")
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Find and highlight using Regex

You can find either the first occurrence or all the occurrences of a pattern of text in a PowerPoint presentation using the Find or FindAll method and highlight it.

The following code example illustrates how to find all the occurrences of a pattern of text using a Regex and highlight it.

//Load or open a PowerPoint Presentation.
using (FileStream inputStream = new FileStream("Sample.pptx", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.ReadWrite))
{
    //Open an existing PowerPoint presentation.
    using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open(inputStream))
    {
        //Find all the occurrences of a given pattern of text in the PowerPoint presentation using Regex.
        ITextSelection[] textSelections = pptxDoc.FindAll(new Regex("{[A-Za-z]+}"));
        foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
        {
            //Get the found text containing text parts.
            foreach (ITextPart textPart in textSelection.GetTextParts())
            {
                //Set highlight color.
                textPart.Font.HighlightColor = ColorObject.Yellow;
            }
        }
        //Saves the Presentation.
        using (FileStream outputStream = new FileStream("Output.pptx", FileMode.Create, FileAccess.ReadWrite))
        {
            pptxDoc.Save(outputStream);
        }    
    }
}
//Opens an existing presentation.
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx"))
{
    //Find all the occurrences of a given pattern of text in the PowerPoint presentation using Regex.
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = pptxDoc.FindAll(new Regex("{[A-Za-z]+}"));
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text containing text parts.
        foreach (ITextPart textPart in textSelection.GetTextParts())
        {
            //Sets highlight color.
            textPart.Font.HighlightColor = ColorObject.Yellow;
        }
    }
    //Saves the Presentation.	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx");
}
'Opens an existing presentation.
Using pptxDoc As IPresentation = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx")
    'Find all the occurrences of a given pattern of text in the PowerPoint presentation using Regex.
    Dim textSelections As ITextSelection() = pptxDoc.FindAll(new Regex("{[A-Za-z]+}"))
    For Each textSelection As ITextSelection In textSelections
        'Gets the found text containing text parts.
        For Each textPart As ITextPart In textSelection.GetTextParts()
            'Sets highlight color.
            textPart.Font.HighlightColor = ColorObject.Yellow
        Next
    Next
    'Saves the Presentation.	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx")
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Find and highlight in a specific slide

You can find all the occurrences of a text in a specific PowerPoint slide (slide, notes slide, master slide, or layout slide) and highlight the found text.

The following code example illustrates how to find all the occurrences of a particular text and highlight it in specific slide.

//Opens an existing presentation.           
FileStream inputStream = new FileStream("Sample.pptx", FileMode.Open);
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open(inputStream))
{
    ISlide slide = pptxDoc.Slides[0];
    //Finds all the occurrences of a particular text in the specific slide
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = slide.FindAll("product", false, false);
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text containing text parts
        foreach (ITextPart textPart in textSelection.GetTextParts())
        {
            //Sets highlight color
            textPart.Font.HighlightColor = ColorObject.Yellow;
        }
    }
    //Saves the PowerPoint Presentation as a stream
    FileStream outputStream = new FileStream("Output.pptx", FileMode.Create);
    pptxDoc.Save(outputStream);
    //Releases all resources of the stream
    outputStream.Dispose();
    //Closes the Presentation instance
    pptxDoc.Close();
}
//Opens an existing presentation.
using (IPresentation pptxDoc = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx"))
{
    ISlide slide = pptxDoc.Slides[0];
    //Finds all the occurrences of a particular text in the specific slide
    ITextSelection[] textSelections = slide.FindAll("product", false, false);
    foreach (ITextSelection textSelection in textSelections)
    {
        //Gets the found text containing text parts
        foreach (ITextPart textPart in textSelection.GetTextParts())
        {
            //Sets highlight color
            textPart.Font.HighlightColor = ColorObject.Yellow;
        }
    }
    //Saves the Presentation	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx");
}
'Opens an existing presentation.
Using pptxDoc As IPresentation = Presentation.Open("Sample.pptx")
    Dim slide As ISlide = pptxDoc.Slides(0)
    'Finds all the occurrences of a particular text in the specific slide
    Dim textSelections As ITextSelection() = slide.FindAll("product", False, False)
    For Each textSelection As ITextSelection In textSelections
        'Gets the found text containing text parts
        For Each textPart As ITextPart In textSelection.GetTextParts()
            'Sets highlight color
            textPart.Font.HighlightColor = ColorObject.Yellow
        Next
    Next
    'Saves the Presentation	
    pptxDoc.Save("Output.pptx")
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

See Also