Group Presentation Shapes in Java

Add a Group Shape

Aspose.Slides support working with group shapes on slides. This feature helps developers support richer presentations. Aspose.Slides for 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 Java:

1. Create an instance of the Presentation class.
2. Obtain the reference of a slide by using its Index
3. Add a group shape to the slide.
4. Add the shapes to the added group shape.
5. Save the modified presentation as a PPTX file.

The example below adds a group shape to a slide.

// 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 Java:

1. Instantiate Presentation class that represents PPTX file.
2. Obtain the reference of a slide by using its Index.
3. Accessing the shape collection of slides.
4. Accessing the group shape.
5. Accessing the AlternativeText property.

The example below accesses alternative text of group shape.

// 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 has a 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’s 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 GroupShapeLock, which lets you restrict operations on the object.