Auto-populate from Droplist to textbox/shape on every page

[BatmanFan67]

Hey guys, super new to the forum - this is my first post!

I am fairly capable with VBA in Excel, so if the solution here involves VBA I am all good with that.

The Scenario:

I have an office full of users who struggle with the basic concepts of PowerPoint - case in point: I created a PPT template and had two people come to me and complain there was no black second page to use - only a main title. No the sharpest bunch.

What I hope to do is semi-automate a process - all our slides need to have a releasability label applied top and bottom (ie UNCLASSIFIED / SECRET / PROTECTED) - I could just get them to use the footer but that's a little too complex.

My Solution:
A drop list with all the suitable variables for them to select - it could sit above the first slide so it is not visible during presentation, or be hidden after selection (but they may need to adjust if after so hiding may not work)

When an option is selected from the drop list it populates a textbox or shape (I understand a shape might be easier to control) at the top and bottom of the page, like a header and footer.

Foreseen problems:
How will this work for additional slides added AFTER the selection is made. Will all the text/shapes need to have the same name.
How do I change the selection to upgade or downgrade a classification (unhide the hidden droplist?).
Will I need the empty shapes in place in the slide master and title master
I understand Auto_Open() doesn't work easily in PPT and I cannot load add-ins to our systems due to network restrictions, so initiating the change will require user interaction.

Any help here will be greatly appreciated.

[John Wilson]

Combo Boxes in PowerPoint don't work in Edit mode so you will have problems.

Are you using 2007 / 2010??

If so the best answer (except for an AddIn which would definitely be the best answer) is to add XML to create a drop selection in the Ribbon when the presentation is opened. This is going to be too complex to explain here though but if you search for RibbonX you will find pages. There's also a good book "Ribbon X Customizing the office 2007 Ribbon" Martin, Puls and Hennig. Maybe a fair learning curve but it's the best solution.

If this is a commercial need we are happy to help professionally but I'm afraid there would be a charge!

john ATSIGN pptalchemy.co.uk

[BatmanFan67]

Sorry guys - we are stuck with Office2003, should have mentioned that up front.

It's a defence organisation and even though I wear a uniform and have a 'regular' job, I am also expected to be the IT Support & IT Dev guy as well.

[John Wilson]

An AddIn that creates a drop menu is probably the only solution here.

If you want to play with the idea download this ppa. Open a test presentation first and double click the ppa to temporarily add it for testing. There should be a new menu.
Download