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Build Your First SaaS: Making Powerpoints with JS using pptxgenjs - Episode 14 (walkthrough)

3 min read 12 hours ago
Published on Dec 21, 2024 This response is partially generated with the help of AI. It may contain inaccuracies.

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Introduction

In this tutorial, we will learn how to build your first Software as a Service (SaaS) product by creating PowerPoint presentations using JavaScript with the library pptxgenjs. This walkthrough is tailored for beginners and will guide you through the process of generating presentations programmatically, making it a useful skill for automating report generation or creating dynamic presentations.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Project

Before you start coding, you need to set up your development environment.

  1. Create a new directory for your project:

    • Open your terminal and run:
      mkdir pptxgenjs-saas
cd pptxgenjs-saas

  2. Initialize a new Node.js project:

    • Run the following command:
      npm init -y

  3. Install pptxgenjs:

    • Use npm to install the library:
      npm install pptxgenjs

  4. Set up your HTML file:

    • Create an index.html file and include the following basic structure:
      <!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>PPTXGenJS Example</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Generate PowerPoint with JavaScript</h1>
    <button id="generate">Generate Presentation</button>
    <script src="node_modules/pptxgenjs/dist/pptxgen.js"></script>
    <script src="script.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

  5. Create a JavaScript file:

    • Make a script.js file where you will write your JavaScript code.

Step 2: Writing Your Presentation Code

Now that your environment is set up, it's time to write the code to generate a PowerPoint presentation.

  1. Initialize the PowerPoint presentation:

    • Open script.js and add the following code:
      const pptx = new PptxGenJS();

  2. Add a slide:

    • Create a new slide in your presentation:
      let slide = pptx.addSlide();

  3. Add content to the slide:

    • Insert a title and a subtitle:
      slide.addText('Hello World!', { x: 1, y: 1, fontSize: 24 });
slide.addText('This is my first slide created with pptxgenjs!', { x: 1, y: 2, fontSize: 18 });

  4. Add functionality to the button:

    • Modify your script.js to generate the presentation when the button is clicked:
      document.getElementById('generate').addEventListener('click', function() {
    pptx.writeFile({ fileName: 'Presentation.pptx' });
});

Step 3: Running Your Application

With everything in place, it's time to see your application in action.

  1. Open your index.html file in a web browser.
  2. Click the "Generate Presentation" button.
  3. Download the generated PowerPoint when prompted.

Conclusion

You have successfully built a simple SaaS product that generates PowerPoint presentations using JavaScript and pptxgenjs. This tutorial covered setting up your project, writing the code to create slides and add content, and generating the presentation.

As next steps, consider enhancing your application by:

  • Adding more slides and content types (images, charts).
  • Creating a user interface to customize presentations.
  • Deploying your application online for broader access.

Feel free to explore the pptxgenjs documentation for more advanced features and capabilities. Happy coding!

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