Vector - PowerPoint Ribbon Add-in

A Think-cell inspired PowerPoint add-in for inserting professional charts with one click.

Overview

Vector is a PowerPoint Add-in (PPAM) that adds a custom "Vector" tab to the ribbon, providing quick access to chart insertion tools. Built using the same PPAM approach that Think-cell uses for deep PowerPoint integration.

Features

• Custom Ribbon Tab: Appears before the Home tab for easy access
• One-Click Charts: Insert bar, column, line, pie, area, scatter, and combo charts
• Auto-Centered: Charts are automatically centered on the slide
• Sample Data: Charts come pre-populated with editable sample data
• Native Integration: Uses PowerPoint's native chart API for full compatibility

Project Structure

vector/
├── Vector.ppam                    # Final add-in file (after build)
├── Vector_template.pptm           # Template for VBA import
├── Vector_ribbon_only.ppam        # Ribbon-only version (no VBA)
├── src/
│   ├── customUI/
│   │   └── customUI14.xml        # Ribbon definition (Office 2010+)
│   ├── vba/
│   │   └── Module1.bas           # VBA chart insertion code
│   └── assets/
│       └── icons/                # Custom button icons (future)
├── Scripts/
│   ├── build-ppam.py            # Build script
│   └── install.sh               # macOS installer
└── README.md

Quick Start

1. Build the Add-in

python Scripts/build-ppam.py

This creates:

• Vector_template.pptm - Template with ribbon (needs VBA import)
• Vector_ribbon_only.ppam - Ribbon-only version

2. Add VBA Code

1. Open Vector_template.pptm in PowerPoint
2. Press Alt+F11 (Windows) or Tools > Macro > Visual Basic Editor (Mac)
3. In VBA Editor: File > Import File → select src/vba/Module1.bas
4. Close VBA Editor
5. File > Save As → choose "PowerPoint Add-in (.ppam)" → name it Vector.ppam

3. Install

./Scripts/install.sh

Or manually copy Vector.ppam to:

• macOS: ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Add-Ins/
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Microsoft\AddIns\

4. Enable in PowerPoint

1. Open PowerPoint
2. Tools > PowerPoint Add-Ins...
3. Click + or Browse...
4. Select Vector.ppam
5. Click OK

The Vector tab should now appear in your ribbon!

Available Charts

Button	Chart Type	Description
Bar	Clustered Bar	Horizontal bar chart
Column	Clustered Column	Vertical column chart
Line	Line	Line chart with markers
Pie	Pie	Standard pie chart
Area	Area	Filled area chart
Scatter	XY Scatter	Scatter plot
Combo	Column + Line	Dual-axis combo chart

Requirements

• PowerPoint: 2016 or later (Windows/Mac)
• VBA: Must be enabled (if Think-cell works, VBA is already enabled)

How It Works

PPAM Structure

A PPAM file is a ZIP archive with Office Open XML structure:

Vector.ppam (ZIP)
├── [Content_Types].xml           # MIME types
├── _rels/.rels                   # Package relationships
├── ppt/
│   ├── presentation.xml          # Empty presentation
│   ├── vbaProject.bin            # Compiled VBA code
│   └── _rels/presentation.xml.rels
└── customUI/
    └── customUI14.xml            # Ribbon definition

Ribbon Definition

The ribbon XML (customUI14.xml) defines:

• Custom tab position (before Home)
• Button groups and icons
• Callback function names

VBA Callbacks

When a button is clicked, PowerPoint calls the corresponding VBA function:

• InsertBarChart(control As IRibbonControl)
• Uses Shapes.AddChart2() to insert native charts
• Charts are fully editable with PowerPoint's chart tools

Development

Modifying the Ribbon

Edit src/customUI/customUI14.xml:

<button id="btnNewChart" label="My Chart" size="large"
        imageMso="ChartTypeColumnClustered"
        onAction="InsertMyChart"/>

Available imageMso values: Office ImageMso Gallery

Adding New Chart Types

1. Add button to customUI14.xml
2. Add callback sub to Module1.bas:

Sub InsertMyChart(control As IRibbonControl)
    InsertChart xlColumnStacked, "My Chart"
End Sub

Rebuilding

After changes:

1. Run python Scripts/build-ppam.py
2. Re-import VBA into the template
3. Save as PPAM
4. Reinstall

Troubleshooting

Ribbon doesn't appear

• Ensure the add-in is listed in Tools > PowerPoint Add-Ins
• Check the box next to Vector to enable it
• Restart PowerPoint

Buttons don't work

• VBA may not be imported - check VBA Editor for the module
• Enable macros in Trust Center settings

"Cannot run the macro" error

• VBA is not enabled in PowerPoint
• Go to Preferences > Security & Privacy > Enable VBA macros

License

MIT License

Credits

Inspired by Think-cell's ribbon integration approach.