Use PowerPoint Presentation

UiPath.Presentation.Activities.PowerPointApplicationScope

Lets you select a PowerPoint presentation to use in the automation. After you add the activity and indicate the file, add the PowerPoint activities to perform on the presentation inside this activity. If the specified file does not exist, it can be created by the automation.

You can add UI Automation activities directly in the Use PowerPoint File activity to quickly automate the interface of PowerPoint. For this to work, you need to have the PowerPoint file open on your machine.

Configuring the Activity

In the Body of the Activity

• PowerPoint file - Click Browse next to the field, and then browse to and select a PowerPoint file to use in the automation.

  To create a new file when the automation is executed, browse to the folder where to create it, enter the file name, and make sure to select the Create if needed option.

  If you need to work with a file with a dynamic name, you can provide the file path using one of the options in the Plus menu on the right side of the field. For example, select a cell in the Project Notebook where the file path can be extracted daily using the provided formulas, or select Ask when run to enter the path of the file when executing the project. Alternatively, you can work with a remote PowerPoint file by inputting the SharePoint URL of the file.

• Reference as - Enter a name by which to refer to the file in the automation project.
• Save changes - Saves the presentation on each change caused by an activity. If disabled, the changes are saved only after all the activities added inside Use PowerPoint Presentation are executed. This option is selected by default.
• Create if not exists - When selected, if the specified presentation file does not exist, a new presentation is created. When not selected, an error occurs if the presentation file cannot be found. This option is not selected by default.

• Template file - When you use this activity to create a new file, or the path in the Presentation file field is dynamic, you can select this option to use another PowerPoint file with the same structure at design time. The data in the template file is available for selection from the Plus menu in activities added inside Use PowerPoint Presentation, enabling you to easily configure them by selecting slides, placeholders, or layouts directly from StudioX.

  After you select this option, click Browse to select the file to use as a template.

  Note: The template file is used only at design time and no content is copied from its slide master. When the automation is executed, it processes the file defined in the Presentation file field.

Properties Panel

Common

• DisplayName - The name displayed for the activity in the Designer panel.

File

• Edit password - The password required for editing the PowerPoint presentation, if the file is password-protected.
• Password - The password required for opening the PowerPoint presentation, if the file is password-protected.
• Path - The path to the PowerPoint presentation. If the file does not exist and you select the Create new file option, the file is created when the automation is executed.

Misc

• Private - If selected, the values of variables and arguments are no longer logged at Verbose level.

Options

• Auto save - See Save changes in the body of the activity.
• Create new file - See Create if not exists in the body of the activity.
• Read only - If selected, the specified presentation is opened in Read-Only mode. Selecting this check box enables you to perform data extraction operations in a file which is locked for editing or has an edit password. This option is not selected by default.
• Use template file - See Template file in the body of the activity.