# Group Presentation Shapes on Android

> Learn to group and ungroup shapes in PowerPoint decks using Aspose.Slides for Android—fast, step-by-step guide with free Java code.

Source: https://docs.aspose.com/slides/androidjava/group/
Updated: 2026-08-05


## **Overview**

This article explains how to work with group shapes in Aspose.Slides. It shows how to add a group shape to a slide, place shapes inside it, and save the updated presentation. It also demonstrates how to access shapes stored inside a group and read their `AlternativeText` values. In addition, the article briefly covers related group-shape capabilities such as nested groups, z-order, and locking options.

## **Add a Group Shape**
Aspose.Slides support working with group shapes on slides. This feature helps developers support richer presentations. Aspose.Slides for Android via Java supports adding or accessing group shapes. It is possible to add shapes to an added group shape to populate it or access any property of group shape. To add a group shape to a slide using Aspose.Slides for Android via Java:

1. Create an instance of the [Presentation](https://reference.aspose.com/slides/androidjava/com.aspose.slides/Presentation) class.
1. Obtain the reference of a slide by using its Index
1. Add a group shape to the slide.
1. Add the shapes to the added group shape.
1. Save the modified presentation as a PPTX file.

The example below adds a group shape to a slide.

```java
import com.aspose.slides.*;

// Instantiate Presentation class
Presentation pres = new Presentation();
try {
    // Get the first slide
    ISlide sld = pres.getSlides().get_Item(0);

    // Accessing the shape collection of slides
    IShapeCollection slideShapes = sld.getShapes();

    // Adding a group shape to the slide
    IGroupShape groupShape = slideShapes.addGroupShape();
    
    // Adding shapes inside Added group shape
    groupShape.getShapes().addAutoShape(ShapeType.Rectangle, 300, 100, 100, 100);
    groupShape.getShapes().addAutoShape(ShapeType.Rectangle, 500, 100, 100, 100);
    groupShape.getShapes().addAutoShape(ShapeType.Rectangle, 300, 300, 100, 100);
    groupShape.getShapes().addAutoShape(ShapeType.Rectangle, 500, 300, 100, 100);

    // Adding group shape frame
    groupShape.setFrame(new ShapeFrame(100, 300, 500, 40, NullableBool.False, NullableBool.False, 0));

    // Write the PPTX file to disk
    pres.save("GroupShape.pptx", SaveFormat.Pptx);
} finally {
    if (pres != null) pres.dispose();
}
```

## **Access the AltText Property**
This topic shows simple steps, complete with code examples, for adding a group shape and accessing AltText property of group shapes on slides. To access AltText of a group shape in a slide using Aspose.Slides for Android via Java:

1. Instantiate [Presentation](https://reference.aspose.com/slides/androidjava/com.aspose.slides/Presentation) class that represents PPTX file.
1. Obtain the reference of a slide by using its Index.
1. Accessing the shape collection of slides.
1. Accessing the group shape.
1. Accessing the [AlternativeText](https://reference.aspose.com/slides/androidjava/com.aspose.slides/IShape#getAlternativeText--) property.

The example below accesses alternative text of group shape.

```java
import com.aspose.slides.*;

// Instantiate Presentation class that represents PPTX file
Presentation pres = new Presentation("AltText.pptx");
try {
    // Get the first slide
    ISlide sld = pres.getSlides().get_Item(0);
    
    for (int i = 0; i < sld.getShapes().size(); i++)
    {
        // Accessing the shape collection of slides
        IShape shape = sld.getShapes().get_Item(i);
    
        if (shape instanceof GroupShape)
        {
            // Accessing the group shape.
            IGroupShape grphShape = (IGroupShape)shape;
            for (int j = 0; j < grphShape.getShapes().size(); j++)
            {
                IShape shape2 = grphShape.getShapes().get_Item(j);
                
                // Accessing the AltText property
                System.out.println(shape2.getAlternativeText());
            }
        }
    }
} finally {
    if (pres != null) pres.dispose();
}
```

## **FAQ**

### Is nested grouping (a group inside a group) supported?

Yes. [GroupShape](https://reference.aspose.com/slides/androidjava/com.aspose.slides/groupshape/) has a [getParentGroup](https://reference.aspose.com/slides/androidjava/com.aspose.slides/shape/#getParentGroup--) method, which directly indicates hierarchy support (a group can be a child of another group).

### How do I control the group’s z-order relative to other objects on the slide?

Use the [GroupShape](https://reference.aspose.com/slides/androidjava/com.aspose.slides/groupshape/)’s [getZOrderPosition](https://reference.aspose.com/slides/androidjava/com.aspose.slides/shape/#getZOrderPosition--) method to inspect its position in the display stack.

### Can I prevent moving/editing/ungrouping?

Yes. The group’s lock section is exposed via [getGroupShapeLock](https://reference.aspose.com/slides/androidjava/com.aspose.slides/groupshape/#getGroupShapeLock--), which lets you restrict operations on the object.