Powerpoint VBA - Presentation.Slides(index) giving "Object doesn't support property error"

Question

I am trying to create a custom Powerpoint toolbar that generates a toolbar of useful layouts that I am saving in a 'templates.pptx' deck as I come across them.

The templates.pptx has a series of sections in it, and I am adding the slides into the respective sections. I want the VBA to:

1. Be given a specific section (in the example below, section #1)
2. find all the slides in that section
3. Loop over each slide and generate an XML button into a string, which is passed back into the toolbar on load

Process menu calls getProcessContent on load:

Sub getProcessContent()
    Dim xml As String
    xml = generateXML(1)
    MsgBox (xml)
    getProcessContent = xml

End Sub

This calls a generic generate XML function that takes a section ID parameter

Function generateXML(sectionId)
    Dim template As presentation
    Dim path As String
    Dim xml As String
    Dim sectionName As String
    Dim Slide As Integer
    Dim slideObj As Slide
    Dim slideTitle As String
    
    'Load template layouts
    'path = AddIns("km_ppt_toolbar").path
    path = "[HIDDEN]\ppt toolbar\v2"
    Set template = Presentations.Open(path & "\templates.pptx")
    
    'Generate blank XML string
    xml = ""
    
    FirstSlide = template.SectionProperties.FirstSlide(sectionId)
    
    Lastslide = (FirstSlide + template.SectionProperties.SlidesCount(sectionId) - 1)
    
    For Slide = FirstSlide To Lastslide
        ' Add a button for each slide
        Set slideObj = template.Slides(Slide)
        slideTitle = slideObj.Shapes.Title.TextFrame.TextRange.Text
    
        slideXML = "<button id=""" & slide & """ label=""" & slideTitle & """ imageMso=""HappyFace"" size=""normal"" onAction=""InsertSlide " & slide & """ />"
        xml = xml & slideXML
    Next Slide
    
    presentation.Close
    
    generateXML = xml
    
End Function

When I run the getProcessContent sub, I get a Run Time Error on the first slide in the For loop, highlighting the slideObj = presentation.Slides(Slide) line saying "Object doesn't support this property or method"

Answer 1

So @FunThomas helped point me in the right direction on this one, essentially my use of set or not was, shall we say, wacky...

Fixing the function in question, then threw up another challenge, which I fixed having read a few more bits on the DynamicMenu element.

Final working set of functions are below. These now generate the XML correctly. Unfortunately the buttons are not displaying in my menu currently. This is an issue, I'm sure, with my XML text and not the function's themselves. Once I figure it out, I will post an update.

' Have to add in IRibbonControl and returnedVal bits in order to pass XML back to ribbon
Sub getProcessContent(control As IRibbonControl, ByRef returnedVal)
    Dim xml As String
    xml = generateXML(1)
    returnedVal = xml
End Sub

Function generateXML(sectionId)
    Dim template As presentation
    Dim path As String
    Dim xml As String
    Dim sectionName As String
    Dim Slide As Integer
    Dim slideObj As Slide
    Dim slideTitle As String
    
    'Load template layouts
    'path = AddIns("km_ppt_toolbar").path
    path = "[HIDDEN]\ppt toolbar\v2"
    Set template = Presentations.Open(path & "\templates.pptx")
    
    'Generate blank XML string [EDIT - added menu schema]
    xml = "<menu xmlns=""http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2009/07/customui"">"
    
    FirstSlide = template.SectionProperties.FirstSlide(sectionId)
    
    Lastslide = (FirstSlide + template.SectionProperties.SlidesCount(sectionId) - 1)
    
    For Slide = FirstSlide To Lastslide
        ' Add a button for each slide
        Set slideObj = template.Slides(Slide)
        slideTitle = slideObj.Shapes.Title.TextFrame.TextRange.Text
    
        slideXML = "<button id=""" & Slide & _
            """ label=""" & slideTitle & _
            """ onAction=""InsertSlide " & Slide & """ />"
            
        xml = xml & slideXML
    Next Slide
    
    ' Add menu close tag
    xml = xml & "</menu>"
    
    template.Close
    
    generateXML = xml
    
End Function