Create PowerPoint (PPTX) or PDF file on Azure

GemBox.Presentation is a standalone .NET component that's ideal for web applications because of its fast performance and thread safety when working with multiple PresentationDocument objects.

GemBox.Presentation can be used on various platforms including Azure Functions and Azure App Services.

Azure Functions

To create an Azure function, search for "Azure Functions" in a new project dialog.

Screenshot of Visual Studio project type selection

To avoid any potential issues with GemBox.Presentation, we recommend using the newer versions of Azure Functions (v3 or above). The following is an Azure function project file:

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<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
    <AzureFunctionsVersion>v4</AzureFunctionsVersion>
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
  </PropertyGroup>
  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="GemBox.Presentation" Version="*" />
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Azure.Functions.Worker" Version="1.20.0" />
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Azure.Functions.Worker.Extensions.Http" Version="3.1.0" />
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Azure.Functions.Worker.Sdk" Version="1.16.4" />
  </ItemGroup>
  <ItemGroup>
    <None Update="host.json">
      <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
    </None>
    <None Update="local.settings.json">
      <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
      <CopyToPublishDirectory>Never</CopyToPublishDirectory>
    </None>
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

The following example shows how you can create a PowerPoint presentation using GemBox.Presentation in an Azure Function.

C#
VB.NET

View on GitHub

using GemBox.Presentation;
using Microsoft.Azure.Functions.Worker;
using Microsoft.Azure.Functions.Worker.Http;
using System.IO;
using System.Net;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class GemBoxFunction
{
    [Function("GemBoxFunction")]
    public async Task<HttpResponseData> Run([HttpTrigger(AuthorizationLevel.Anonymous, "get")] HttpRequestData req)
    {
        // If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        var presentation = new PresentationDocument();
        var slide = presentation.Slides.AddNew(SlideLayoutType.Custom);

        var textBox = slide.Content.AddTextBox(ShapeGeometryType.Rectangle, 2, 2, 5, 4, LengthUnit.Centimeter);
        var paragraph = textBox.AddParagraph();
        paragraph.AddRun("Hello World!");

        var fileName = "Output.pptx";
        var options = SaveOptions.Pptx;

        using var stream = new MemoryStream();
        presentation.Save(stream, options);
        var bytes = stream.ToArray();

        var response = req.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.OK);
        response.Headers.Add("Content-Type", options.ContentType);
        response.Headers.Add("Content-Disposition", "attachment; filename=" + fileName);
        await response.Body.WriteAsync(bytes, 0, bytes.Length);
        return response;
    }
}

Imports GemBox.Presentation
Imports Microsoft.Azure.Functions.Worker
Imports Microsoft.Azure.Functions.Worker.Http
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Net
Imports System.Threading.Tasks

Public Class GemBoxFunction
    <[Function]("GemBoxFunction")>
    Public Async Function Run(<HttpTrigger(AuthorizationLevel.Anonymous, "get")> req As HttpRequestData) As Task(Of HttpResponseData)

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

        Dim presentation As New PresentationDocument()
        Dim slide = presentation.Slides.AddNew(SlideLayoutType.Custom)

        Dim textBox = slide.Content.AddTextBox(ShapeGeometryType.Rectangle, 2, 2, 5, 4, LengthUnit.Centimeter)
        Dim paragraph = textBox.AddParagraph()
        paragraph.AddRun("Hello World!")

        Dim fileName = "Output.pptx"
        Dim options = SaveOptions.Pptx

        Using stream As New MemoryStream()
            presentation.Save(stream, options)
            Dim bytes = stream.ToArray()

            Dim response = req.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.OK)
            response.Headers.Add("Content-Type", options.ContentType)
            response.Headers.Add("Content-Disposition", "attachment; filename=" & fileName)
            Await response.Body.WriteAsync(bytes, 0, bytes.Length)
            Return response
        End Using

    End Function
End Class

Generated PowerPoint presentation (PPTX format) from Azure Functions — Screenshot of PowerPoint file created with Azure function

Note that saving to an XPS currently works only on Azure Functions that target .NET Framework 4.8.

Azure App Services

App Service is a fully managed platform for building, deploying and scaling web apps. GemBox.Presentation can be used from applications that run on an App Service.

To build an ASP.NET Core application, check out our ASP.NET Core example.

To publish an application to Azure App service you need to:

1. Pick Azure as publish target.

Screenshot of Visual Studio target selection

2. Pick Azure App Service as a specific target.

Screenshot of Visual Studio specific target selection

3. Specify existing App Service or create a new one.

Screenshot of Visual Studio specific App Service selection

Using full functionality of GemBox.Presentation in an App Service application requires adjustments explained in detail on Supported Platforms help page.

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.

Download Buy

Create PowerPoint (PPTX) or PDF file on Azure

Azure Functions

Azure App Services

See also

Next steps