A macro is often thought of as a set of mouse and keyboard actions that one recorded to do things like type a name and address. The macro is given a name, assigned a keystroke sequence, or assigned to a toolbar button so that by issuing the key sequence, or by clicking the button the set of actions would be carried out. Visual Basic for Applications extends the traditional macro capability greatly beyond a simple set of recorded actions.

Visual Basic for Applications is a programming language that is supported throughout most of Microsoft's Office products like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Visual Basic permits one to write routines that interact with an application like PowerPoint to alter the way it looks, or behaves. Each routine is given a unique name. Users can, for example, activate one of these routines by clicking on a Visual Basic control. Visual Basic routines stored in modules are also accessible to PowerPoint authors. Specifically named routines will appear in the list of Macros associated the ActionSettings of a shape that appears on a slide. The PowerPoint author can choose to have a particular Visual Basic routine execute as the result of some user either moving the mouse pointer over a shape, or as a result of clicking on the shape.

Visual Basic Controls are objects like Command Buttons, Text Boxes, Drop-down Lists, etc. that you can place (embed) on a slide in your slideshow. These embedded controls respond to mouse actions, and can be used to activate named Visual Basic routines. In spite of the terminology that refers to the VB controls as being embedded, they actually intercept any mouse clicks and process them before PowerPoint does. The Macintosh implementation of PowerPoint does not support the use of embedded controls.

Visual Basic routines can be grouped together and saved as a named module. In general, modules can be imported into any PowerPoint presentation to afford it the benefits provided by its routines. More than one module can be imported into a PowerPoint slideshow. Once imported, the modules are included in the slideshow thereafter by simply saving the slideshow. The routines in the modules are available to embedded controls, to special Visual Basic entities called UserForms, and to PowerPoint as macros associated with ActionSettings.

UserForms are collections of Visual Basic Controls (things like Command Buttons and Text Boxes) and Visual Basic routines. UserForms, like modules, can be imported into PowerPoint slideshows. UserForms appear as separate windows that float over the application like PowerPoint, and provide a user interface. The UserForm, once opened, takes control over the slideshow. Control (your ability to interact directly with PowerPoint) will be given back to PowerPoint either by closing the UserForm or by ending the slideshow. The UserForm will close if you jump to another slideshow or other application. A UserForm can refer to routines that may exist in other modules, and if they do, those modules must also be imported into the same slideshow as the UserForm. A module, or UserForm that refers to routines or elements that haven't been included in a slideshow will cause errors, or will simply not work.

Windows 95 and newer will support all of the enhancements I cite below. In the case of the text-to speech, Microsoft Agent Technology, the Agent must be properly installed on the computer the slideshow is expected to run on, and the Agent Control must be embedded somewhere in the slideshow. The Agent will not work on a Macintosh. The Mac does not support the placement of Visual Basic controls directly into a slide. Version X of PowerPoint for Macintosh will support UserForms, so scanning support can be included in slideshows intended for Macintosh, with some limitations.

While Visual Basic activity takes place the PowerPoint slideshow is on hold. This means that Custom Animations will not occur until after the Visual Basic action concludes. So, if you want to use Custom Animations and provide scanning support, you will need to use a method that lets you jump from the scanning supported slideshow to the animated slideshow and back. On the Macintosh, at this time, it is not possible to jump from a scanning slideshow to another slideshow, and back without losing scanning control.

The Templates that have the Setup Slide and scan buttons can be used to link to other scanning shapes slideshows with the same layout. If you uncheck the macro virus protection the switch user will be able to transition between slideshows without the macro warning popping up.

The templates that offer access to scan controls on UserForms can't link to other scanning slideshows, but they can offer support for keyboard input. Keyboard input support allows for direct access to the Mouse Click Action Settings for the first nine scan shapes on any slide. Keyboard input can be used to control a two-switch scan, and provide word or phrase input to fill-in boxes.

First, decide what features you want. Use the following table to ascertain what modules (* .bas files), UserForms (*.frm and associated *.frx files), and other Technology you will need to support features you want. Next, either use the recommended template (*.ppt files), or export the desired modules from the templates described below and then imoprt the modules and/or UserForms into your pre-existing slideshow. When importing UserForm files, the *.frx file will be automatically loaded when you load the *.frm file. Both the *.frx and *.frm files should therefore be in the same directory.

Open one of the PowerPoint scanning shapes templates described below. From the PowerPoint Tools menu select Macro and then Visual Basic Editor. When the Visual Basic Editor opens you should see a small panel on the left side of the Visual Basic Editor named Project- VBAProject. Inside this panel you will note that there are folders - one named Modules, and, possibly, one named Forms. Inside these folders you will perhaps see modules or forms that are described in the table below. If you right click one of the item inside on of the folders you can select the Export option that appears in the menu that opens. You can import the exported elements into your slideshow by opening your slideshow and going into the Visual Basic Editor. Next, from the File menu select Import File and import each module or form you need. Once the modules are imported the macros defined in them will be available as options when setting ActionSettings for shapes in your slideshow.