Pasted Shape not seen as “Latest” Shape

Question

I\'m in the process of automating the production of a PowerPoint report from and Excel spreadsheet. I\'ve got the process working up until I paste a table.

I\'m pasting

Answer 1

'Shapes.Count' ≠ Shape Index# !

The .Count is not the same as the upper limit of current shape .Index numbers.

The numbering system is easier understood by listing all the shapes within the document:

Sub ListShapes()
    'hit CTRL+G to view output in Immediate Window
    Dim sh As Shape, sld As Slide, idx As Long
    Set sld = ActivePresentation.Slides(1) '<-- change to your slide number
    For Each sh In sld.Shapes
        idx = idx + 1
        Debug.Print "Shape ID#" & sh.Id, "Index #" & idx, "Name: " & sh.Name
    Next sh
    Debug.Print "Count of shapes: " & sld.Shapes.Count
End Sub

^{NOTE: There is alternative code for Excel at the bottom of this post!}

To demonstrate, we can add shapes to a new document:

• First, add one rectangle manually by clicking Insert (on the ribbon)
• [If using Excel, click Illustrations], then Shapes, and the rectangle symbol.
• Draw the shape, then hit Ctrl+C to copy it, and hit Ctrl+C four times to paste 4 copies.

• Run the above procedure, and the output will be:

  Shape ID#2 Index #1 Name: Rectangle 1
Shape ID#3 Index #2 Name: Rectangle 2
Shape ID#4 Index #3 Name: Rectangle 3
Shape ID#5 Index #4 Name: Rectangle 4
Shape ID#6 Index #5 Name: Rectangle 5
Count of shapes: 5         

Note that the Index is not a property of this object, but it counted in order that Excel's storing the shapes in memory (same as the order returned by the For Each..Next statement.

• You can prove this by running:

  Debug.Print ActivePresentation.Slides(1).Shapes(5).Name  
  

  ...which in this case return Rectangle 5.

Another way to understand how Excel is storing the shapes is with the Watch Window. Add a breakline or Stop in the middle of the loop, then highlight ws.Shapes, right-click it, choose Add Watch... and click OK. Browse through the tree to discover the varies properties/attributes of the shapes within the document.

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• Next, if we delete the "middle rectangle" and run the above procedure again, we will get:

  Shape ID#2 Index #1 Name: Rectangle 1
Shape ID#3 Index #2 Name: Rectangle 2
Shape ID#5 Index #3 Name: Rectangle 4
Shape ID#6 Index #4 Name: Rectangle 5
Count of shapes: 4         

The ID and Name of remaining shapes do not change, but the Index is renumbered to reflect the new "order".

...thus to return the name Rectangle 5 we now need to use:

Debug.Print ActivePresentation.Slides(1).Shapes(4).Name  

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Referring to shapes (including controls)

When you refer to a shape by number, like .Shapes(