Performance metrics with large PowerPoint files in C# and VB.NET

GemBox.Presentation is a PowerPoint component that follows .NET design guidelines and best practices. It represents PowerPoint files in-memory through its rich content model that contains slides, frames, shapes, drawings, etc. It has optimized memory consumption, allocation, while not jeopardizing the efficiency and speed of the execution.

The following example shows how you can use BenchmarkDotNet to track the performance of GemBox.Presentation using the provided input PowerPoint file with 15 slides of various content. The file should cover any typical PowerPoint requirements; it includes different kinds of elements (like shapes, images, and tables) and PowerPoint features (like notes, media, and actions).

Measuring performance of reading, writing, and iterating through PowerPoint files in C# and VB.NET — Screenshot of GemBox.Presentation performance measurements

C#
VB.NET

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using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using BenchmarkDotNet.Attributes;
using BenchmarkDotNet.Engines;
using BenchmarkDotNet.Jobs;
using BenchmarkDotNet.Running;
using GemBox.Presentation;

[SimpleJob(RuntimeMoniker.Net80)]
[SimpleJob(RuntimeMoniker.Net48)]
public class Program
{
    private PresentationDocument presentation;
    private readonly Consumer consumer = new Consumer();

    public static void Main()
    {
        BenchmarkRunner.Run<Program>();
    }

    [GlobalSetup]
    public void SetLicense()
    {
        // If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        // If using Free version and example exceeds its limitations, use Trial or Time Limited version:
        // https://www.gemboxsoftware.com/presentation/examples/free-trial-professional/901

        this.presentation = PresentationDocument.Load("RandomSlides.pptx");
    }

    [Benchmark]
    public PresentationDocument Reading()
    {
        return PresentationDocument.Load("RandomSlides.pptx");
    }

    [Benchmark]
    public void Writing()
    {
        using (var stream = new MemoryStream())
            this.presentation.Save(stream, new PptxSaveOptions());
    }

    [Benchmark]
    public void Iterating()
    {
        this.LoopThroughAllDrawings().Consume(this.consumer);
    }

    public IEnumerable<Drawing> LoopThroughAllDrawings()
    {
        foreach (var slide in this.presentation.Slides)
            foreach (var drawing in slide.Content.Drawings.All())
                yield return drawing;
    }
}

Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.IO
Imports BenchmarkDotNet.Attributes
Imports BenchmarkDotNet.Engines
Imports BenchmarkDotNet.Jobs
Imports BenchmarkDotNet.Running
Imports GemBox.Presentation

<SimpleJob(RuntimeMoniker.Net80)>
<SimpleJob(RuntimeMoniker.Net48)>
Public Class Program

    Private presentation As PresentationDocument
    Private ReadOnly consumer As Consumer = New Consumer()

    Public Shared Sub Main()
        BenchmarkRunner.Run(Of Program)()
    End Sub

    <GlobalSetup>
    Public Sub SetLicense()
        ' If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY")

        ' If using Free version and example exceeds its limitations, use Trial or Time Limited version:
        ' https://www.gemboxsoftware.com/presentation/examples/free-trial-professional/901

        Me.presentation = PresentationDocument.Load("RandomSlides.pptx")
    End Sub

    <Benchmark>
    Public Function Reading() As PresentationDocument
        Return PresentationDocument.Load("RandomSlides.pptx")
    End Function

    <Benchmark>
    Public Sub Writing()
        Using stream = New MemoryStream()
            Me.presentation.Save(stream, New PptxSaveOptions())
        End Using
    End Sub

    <Benchmark>
    Public Sub Iterating()
        Me.LoopThroughAllDrawings().Consume(Me.consumer)
    End Sub

    Public Iterator Function LoopThroughAllDrawings() As IEnumerable(Of Object)
        For Each slide In Me.presentation.Slides
            For Each drawing In slide.Content.Drawings.All()
                Yield drawing
            Next
        Next
    End Function

End Class

Benchmarks for 10,000 PowerPoint slides

The more content you have, the more memory you'll need. The amount of content you can handle depends on a few factors, like the machine's available memory, the application's architecture (32-bit or 64-bit), the targeted .NET platform (.NET Core or .NET Framework), etc.

The following benchmark chart provide the results of working with PowerPoint files with up to 10 thousand slides. It shows a steady and linear increase in time with an increased number of slides. For more information, see the resulting performance measurements in the 10_Thousand_Slides_Performance.xlsx file.

Benchmark chart of time that's required for reading and writing PowerPoint files with up to 10 thousand slides — Benchmark chart of elapsed time for 10 thousand slides

Next steps

GemBox.Presentation is a .NET component that enables you to read, write, edit, convert, and print presentation files from your .NET applications using one simple API.

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Performance metrics with large PowerPoint files in C# and VB.NET

Benchmarks for 10,000 PowerPoint slides

See also

Next steps