Question

I am currently trying to create a Powerpoint (2010) SLide Master with VBA and am running into some challenges.

1) Is it possible to assign names to the Placeholders in the Templates so that the object is addressable via this name in the presentation afterwards? I have tried to assign names with <.Name="..."> which doesn’t seem to work. The objects in the actual presentation based on those Layouts still have random default names.

2) How do I assign names to CustomLayouts?

3 How do I load a really blank SlideMaster / the CustomLayouts within it?

PS: I am not sure about the templates tag, are those other templates?

Answer 1

Is it possible to assign names to the Placeholders in the Templates so that the object is addressable via this name in the presentation afterwards? I have tried to assign names with <.Name="..."> which doesn’t seem to work. The objects in the actual presentation based on those Layouts still have random default names.

In other words, though you can rename a shape on one of the master layouts, when you base a slide on that layout, the shapes on the slides still have different names? That’s the way PPT works. What are you trying to accomplish by “pre-setting” the names of shapes on slides? Perhaps there’s another way of getting there.

2) How do I assign names to CustomLayouts?

Manually:

View | Slide Master
Rightclick the layout’s thumbnail and choose Rename Layout

Via VBA, ex: change the name of the first layout in the first slide master:

With ActivePresentation.Designs(1).SlideMaster
  .CustomLayouts(1).Name = "No longer named Title"
End With

3 How do I load a really blank SlideMaster / the CustomLayouts within it?

I don’t understand the question. More detail, please?