Jeremiah McNicholsPartnership for Environmental Education and Rural Healthjmcnichols@gmail.com

PowerPoint Toolbar CreatorInstructions and Foundation Code

Overview

• Generate or collect macros to be used in your new toolbar. Edit the provided macro code in the Visual Basic Editor (Alt+F11) to create the structure of your toolbar.

• Edit each button’s image, ToolTip, name, and assigned macro. Compile the project to check for errors.

• Save your finished file as a presentation first (using a new name), then as a .ppa file.

• Load the new toolbar and select it to be added to your workspace.

• Unload the toolbar if you would like to prevent it from loading.

You can always navigate to a specific step of these instructions anywhere you see these color-coded icons.

Creating the toolbar

• Record, write, or copy the macros you would like to use in your toolbar. If copying, paste them into the Visual Basic Editor (Alt+F11), making sure to keep it separate from the code that is already there.

• Select Tools > Macros > Run Macro, select the “Auto_Open” macro and click “Edit” to view the toolbar code.

• For each macro you would like to make into a button, copy and paste the designated section of the code (shown below) to create a sequence of buttons.

• Change text in the capitalized sections to designate the button title, FaceID (button image) number, and ToolTip (mouse hover), and add the name of the Macro to run when the button is clicked.

• To view available FaceID icons, download Shyam Pillai’s FaceID Browser (http://skp.mvps.org/faceid.htm). Follow the instructions to load the toolbar (yes, it is an Add-In!). When you roll over the FaceIDs in the Add-In, the FaceID number will be displayed.

• Delete the apostrophe at the beginning of the Button “.Style” line if you would like the button image to display, or the apostrophe at the beginning of the Caption “.Style” line if you would like text to display.

• On the Debug menu, click “Compile VBAProject.” The toolbar will not compile if there are any errors; if you follow the included code strictly, the only likely errors will occur if you forget to change some required text or one of your macros does not function properly.

• When your project successfully compiles, click Alt+F11 to return to this presentation view.

Creating the toolbar

Saving the file

• Click File > Save As and save the file as a presentation with an appropriate name (it is recommended that you not save over the Add-In Creator file).

• Click File > Save As and select PowerPoint Add-In (*.ppa) in the Save As Type list.

• Type the name for your Add-In in the File Name field and click Save. Add-In files are stored in a default location (C:\ Program Files \ Microsoft Office \ Office) but you can save it anywhere you like.

Loading the toolbar

• On the Tools menu, click “Add-Ins,” and then “Add New.”

• Select the Add-In file you created. If you do not see it, click “Add New” and browse to locate and select the .ppa file.

• The “Auto_Open” command should now run, opening the toolbar.

• As long as the Add-In is loaded, it will open whenever you open PowerPoint. If you close it, it will be available through the Menu bar in the View > Toolbars list.

Unloading the toolbar

• On the Tools menu, click “Add-Ins.”

• Uncheck the checkbox next to the name of your Add-In.