tough question re: modifying signed vba code

[Guest]

All,

I'm working on a Powerpoint automation project that I'd like to work like
this:

I've created a Powerpoint presentation that serves as a base "template."
This .ppt contains a number of vba macros

I have a seperate application that pulls in data from a db, and passes that
data to the PPT template using vbscript running in the windows script host.
This script also executes the macros in the PPT to format all the data.

Once the data is passed and formatted, the PPT template should "save as" a
copy of itself under a new name - this file is the finished report. The
template itself remains unchanged, for the next time I run the application.

Last, I'd like to remove the macros from the finished report.

Here's the problem I've run into: because the PPT uses macros, the
automation failed (the security warning requires a user response, and I want
the app to run without user intervention). So, I tried to solve this problem
by signing the vba, and requiring users to trust the signing certificate.
This works great, EXCEPT...

when the user runs the app, the step in the program that removes the macros
fails, b/c they're digitally signed, and the user doesn't have the signing
key.

So, bottom line - is there any way to distribute an application that BOTH:

- uses signed macros to elimiate the security warning
- allows the macros to be removed?

Many thanks in advance for your advice and expertise!

Cheers,
Matt Stuehler

 

[Shyam Pillai]

Matt,
I am curious. What is the purpose of having the macros in the template if
you intend remove it from the PPT after generating a presentation based on
that template? Can't your code reside in an add-in and use the template
minus the macros to generate the presentation.

 

[Guest]

Shyam,

Many thanks for your response!

Here's where I reveal my ignorance, but maybe readers of this forum will
find this discussion helpful...

The goal of the project is to create a monthly sales report. The users want
the report in PPT format. My job is to get a bunch of data from a db, and
load it into a pre-existing PPT, which has a bunch of pre-existing slides,
tables, and charts.

The whole presentation is about 60 pages, and there are about 2,000
datapoints, so I've found that using vbscript automation takes TOO long.

So, the half-baked solution I've come up with is this:

The pre-existing PPT "template" has a bunch of macros - their job is just to
format the data that's passed in. However, once they've done their job, and
the PPT is resaved as "FebruaryReport.ppt" for distribution to users, I don't
want the macros in that file.

It sound's like "add-ins" could be a better solution, except I don't have
any idea how they work?

Are they better for a job like this? How do they work?

Of course, if this is too broad a subject, no worries if you cannot reply.

Thanks again!

Cheers,
Matt

 

[Guest]

Shyam,

Please ignore my previous post - after your suggestion about using Add-ins,
I did a bit of googling and found your excellent site:

http://skp.mvps.org/ppafaq.htm

It looks like this should be more than enough to get me going!

Many thanks for your guidance!

Cheers,
Matt Stuehler