Setting up PowerPoint Automation Services for SharePoint 2013

1. Setting up Word Automation Services for SharePoint 2013
2. Setting up PowerPoint Automation Services for SharePoint 2013
3. Converting a Library’s Word Documents to PDF
4. Converting a Library’s PowerPoint documents to PDF
5. Using ITextSharp to Merge PDF’s into one
6. Using ITextSharp to create basic PDF page from item property

Microsoft PowerPoint Automation Services is a new feature of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013. Using PowerPoint Automation Services, you can convert PowerPoint (.pptx and .ppt) file to supported document formats (.pptx, .pdf, .xps, .jpg and .png).This blog post will walk you through the steps of setting up your SharePoint 2013 on premise farm to use PowerPoint Automation Services. Unlike with Word Automation Services, this cannot be configured from inside Central Admin.

To create this service PowerShell must be used. This feature is not available with SharePoint Online.Before you start, ensure in your AD you have created a service account. Mine is called PowerPointAutomation.

1. Open up a PowerShell command window or PowerShell ISE.
2. First we need to create the Managed Account in SharePoint. This can either be done by directly in SharePoint Central Admin by registering a new Managed Account https://<CentralAdminUrl>/_admin/ManagedAccounts.aspx
   
   Or we can do it with PowerShell

   add-pssnapin Microsoft.SharePoint.Powershell
   
   $cred = Get-Credential
   New-SPManagedAccount -Credential $cred
   

   When run, this will display a Credential box, put in here your Service account and password

   

   Your Managed Account will now be registered with SharePoint.

3. Now we can run the following script to create the PowerPoint Automation Service and Proxy. (Remember to change your service account)

   add-pssnapin Microsoft.SharePoint.Powershell
   
   #Create a new Service Application Pool Account
   New-SPServiceApplicationPool -Name "PowerPointAutomationAppPool" -Account cc\PowerPointAutomation
   #Get the Service Application pool
   $pool = Get-SPServiceApplicationPool | where {$_.Name -like "PowerPointAuto*"}
   #Create the PowerPoint Conversion Service
   $ppt = New-SPPowerPointConversionServiceApplication "PowerPoint Conversion Service" -ApplicationPool $pool
   #Create the Proxy for Service
   New-SPPowerPointConversionServiceApplicationProxy "PowerPoint Conversion Service Proxy" -ServiceApplication $ppt –AddToDefaultGroup
   

   Once complete your powershell window should look similar to mine below.

   

   Also if you navigate in Central Administration back to your Service Applications, you will now see the PowerPoint Conversion Service Application and Proxy within the list.
   

4. For the PowerPoint Conversion Service to work, you will need create a new folder called PowerPointConversion on the server running the PowerPoint Conversion Service in the following location. C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\SharePoint. This folder directory is a hidden folder and you will need to show Hidden items in the ribbon of explorer to see it.
   
   
   
5. Once you have created this folder, view the security on this folder (Right click folder, click Properties, view the Security Tab) and give WSS_WPG Modify permissions. This will allow the Web Application pool service account to create folders and files within the newly created PowerPointConversion folder, which is required to convert a PowerPoint document.
6. Lastly in Central Administration, under system Settings click on Manage Services on Server, and ensure that you have started PowerPoint Conversion Service.

In Part 4 of these blog posts I will demo how to code against the PowerPoint Automation Services to convert PowerPoint Documents to PDF.