PowerPoint vba group shapes using Shape objects, not shape names - vba

Question

I've written some code that formats text. The code doesn't work if user has put the cursor in a shape that is part of a group of shapes, the solution for which is to ungroup the shapes.
I want to regroup the shapes after executing the formatting code.
I am able to store the underlying shapes as objects, as well as their names. But, the normal approach to grouping (using shape names) doesn't work, because there can be multiple instances of those shape names on a given slide. E.g. this doesn't work as there could be multiple instances of "textbox" on the slide:
Set TempShapeGroup = TempSlide.Shapes.Range(Array("textbox", "header", "separator")).Group
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/vba/api/powerpoint.shaperange.group
But, I have the shape objects stored in an array, the crux of which is this (the object 'TempShape' is the group of shapes):
Dim ShapesArray() As Shape
ReDim ShapesArray(1 To TempShape.GroupItems.Count)
For i = 1 To TempShape.GroupItems.Count
Set ShapesArray(i) = TempShape.GroupItems.Item(i)
Next i
So, what I want to do is recreate the group of shapes, using the array of shape objects, so something to the effect of the below would be ideal:
Set MyShapesGroup= ShapesArray.Group
But any way to group shapes using Shape objects would be fine.
TIA

Answer 1

Here's some starter code that you can modify into a function that'll return a reference to the paragraph that contains the current selection cursor. It doesn't really need all the debug.print stuff, of course, but that might help to illustrate the object hierarchy:
Sub WhereIsTheCursor()
Dim oRng As TextRange
Dim oParentRange As TextRange
Dim x As Long
Dim lSelStart As Long
Dim lSelLen As Long
With ActiveWindow.Selection.TextRange
' find the selection start relative to first character in shape
lSelStart = .Start
' lSelLen = .Length
Debug.Print TypeName(.Parent)
Debug.Print TypeName(.Parent.Parent)
Debug.Print TypeName(.Parent.Parent.Parent)
Debug.Print .Paragraphs.Count
Set oRng = .Characters(.Start, .Length)
Debug.Print oRng.Text
' Reference the overall shape's textrange
Set oParentRange = .Parent.Parent.TextFrame.TextRange
' For each paragraph in the range ...
For x = 1 To oParentRange.Paragraphs.Count
' is the start of the selection > the start of the paragraph?
If lSelStart > oParentRange.Paragraphs(x).Start Then
' is the start < the start + length of the paragraph?
If lSelStart < oParentRange.Paragraphs(x).Start _
+ oParentRange.Paragraphs(x).Length Then
' bingo!
MsgBox "The cursor is in paragraph " & CStr(x)
End If
End If
Next
End With
End Sub

Answer 2

Not sure I'm completely understanding the problem, but this may help:
If the user has selected text within a shape, it doesn't really matter whether the shape is part of a group or not. You may need to test the .Selection.Type and handle things differently depending on whether the .Type is text or shaperange. Example:
Sub FormatCurrentText()
If ActiveWindow.Selection.Type = ppSelectionText Then
With ActiveWindow.Selection.TextRange
.Font.Name = "Algerian"
End With
End If
End Sub