Plan The Macro

Just as you shouldn't jump into a presentation without knowing what you want to say, you shouldn't just start recording macros for the sake of recording. Ideally, you should figure out what the basic steps your macros need to perform. Then build each step. Once you have all the steps built and tested , you should combine them into one process.

Larry knows what he wants the macros to do to his presentation. Before he starts to record his macro, he needs to plan the steps that actually need to happen in order to make the changes. Larry comes up with the following steps for his macro:

1. Select the old client name

2. Replace the old client name with the new client name

3. Select the dummy client contact information

4. Replace it with the new client contact information

5. Select the dummy client goals

6. Replace them with the new client goals

When Larry looked at the steps, he realized each pair of steps could be done at the same time. This chapter will work through the creation process for Larry's macros.

I recommend you create a blank presentation and save it as DummyClient.ppt and work along. This way, you don't have to worry about messing up any of your existing material, but you will still be able to learn how to create simple macros. You can always add your macro to other presentations later. Or, as you will learn at the end of the chapter, you can create an add-in containing the macros.

What Should "Dummyclient.Ppt" Look Like?

When the entire process is done, DummyClient.ppt needs to have slides with summary client information and goal information in the presentation. The final presentation should have the slides in Figure 17-1 and Figure 17-2:

• A title slide with has a client name of "New Client, Inc." and contact information such as a person's name, address and phone number

  
  Figure 17-1: Client Title Slide

• A content slide with a placeholder for the goals

  
  Figure 17-2: Goal Content Slide

If you want to create these slides so you can see what the macros will do, go ahead. Just be sure the presentation where you create the macros contains only a blank slide to become the title slide and a slide with the title "Project Goals." The goals themselves will be added to the blank text placeholder by the macro you'll create.