Release 0.8.0 - slide.getElement(...) no longer works with tables

[HerbertV]

with the previous release 0.7.4:
I used silde.getElement(...) on all elements to check if they exist.

Since I updated to 0.8.0:
silde.getElement(...) no longer finds tables

[singerla]

Hi @HerbertV , thanks for reporting!

I'm trying to reproduce with the default test pptx templates:

  const pres = automizer
    .loadRoot(`RootTemplate.pptx`)
    .load(`SlideWithTables.pptx`)

  pres.addSlide('SlideWithTables.pptx', 1, async (slide) => {
    const elements = await slide.getAllElements()
    const eleInfo = await slide.getElement(elements[0].name)
    console.log(eleInfo)
  });

But the table info is read as expected:

{
  name: 'TableDefault',
  id: 'EFC74B4C-D832-409B-9CF4-73C1EFF132D8',
  creationId: 'EFC74B4C-D832-409B-9CF4-73C1EFF132D8',
  nameIdx: 0,
  type: 'table',
  ....

v0.8.0 added the possibility to find shapes by name and nameIdx - in case there is more than one shape with the same name on a slide. I could imagine this might cause the problem.

Also, there were a lot of changes concerning placholders which might have been related to this issue. Please test with the latest commit if the problem still exists.

Otherwise, could you please provide some more info? Are you selecting by shape name or creationId?

[HerbertV]

Sorry for the late reply.

First i use:

• Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2021 MSO (Version 2510 Build 16.0.19328.20190) 64 Bit
• NodeJs v22.16.0

I digged in deeper into the issue:
slide.getElement( elementname ) works in 0,8.0 only if the name does not contain a "-"
e.g.:
"featuresTable" is found by the function but not "features-table"

So I renamed my tables and no longer used "-" in names.
But it still cannot modify the table when i use:

await slide.modifyElement( "featuresTable", modify.setTable(...) );

So I used your code from above to get all element names:

const elements = await slide.getAllElements()
logger.warn(" -> slide has " + elements.length + " elements: " + JSON.stringify(elements,null,2) );

And got this errors in my backend:

TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'localName')
at XmlSlideHelper.getElementType (...\node_modules\pptx-automizer\dist\helper\xml-slide-helper.js:385:39)
at XmlPlaceholderHelper.getPlaceholderInfo (...\node_modules\pptx-automizer\dist\helper\xml-placeholder-helper.js:247:63)
at XmlSlideHelper.getElementInfo (...\node_modules\pptx-automizer\dist\helper\xml-slide-helper.js:149:59)
at ...\node_modules\pptx-automizer\dist\helper\xml-slide-helper.js:110:49
at Array.forEach ()
at XmlSlideHelper.getAllElements (...\node_modules\pptx-automizer\dist\helper\xml-slide-helper.js:109:24)
at Slide. (...\node_modules\pptx-automizer\dist\classes\has-shapes.js:82:35)
at Generator.next ()
at fulfilled (...\node_modules\pptx-automizer\dist\classes\has-shapes.js:5:58)

Error: Failed to retrieve elements: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'localName')
at XmlSlideHelper.getAllElements (...\node_modules\pptx-automizer\dist\helper\xml-slide-helper.js:115:19)
at Slide. (...\node_modules\pptx-automizer\dist\classes\has-shapes.js:82:35)
at Generator.next ()
at fulfilled (...\node_modules\pptx-automizer\dist\classes\has-shapes.js:5:58)

Hope this helps.

[singerla]

The TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'localName') has been resolved by v0.8.1.

Regarding dashes in shape names: I was trying to reproduce the behaviour, but everything works with dashes. The only thing i could imagine is the way we determine wether a given string selector is a creationId or a shape name:

  // Determine whether a given string is a creationId or a shape name
  // Example creationId: '{EFC74B4C-D832-409B-9CF4-73C1EFF132D8}'
  static isElementCreationId(selector: string) {
    return selector.indexOf('{') === 0 && selector.split('-').length === 5;
  }

You would need four dashes to get it confused.

Please let me know if your issue still exists in v0.8.1!

[HerbertV]

Perfekt I tested 0.8.1 and now the tables work as before.

Thanks a lot!