Manage Bulleted and Numbered Lists in Presentations Using JavaScript

Overview

Aspose.Slides for Node.js via Java lets you create and format bulleted and numbered lists in PowerPoint and OpenDocument presentations. A list item is a paragraph whose bullet settings are controlled through its paragraph format.

Use the Paragraph class to access paragraph-level list settings. The main entry point is Paragraph.getParagraphFormat().getBullet(), which returns a BulletFormat object. With this object, you can set the bullet type, symbol, picture, color, size, numbering style, and starting number.

This article shows how to:

• create a bulleted list with a custom symbol
• create a picture bullet
• create a multilevel list by setting paragraph depth
• create a numbered list
• inspect and change list formatting in an existing presentation

Create a Bulleted List

To create a bulleted list, add Paragraph objects to a TextFrame and set BulletFormat.setType to BulletType.Symbol. You can then set BulletFormat.setChar, BulletFormat.getColor, and BulletFormat.setHeight to control the bullet appearance.

The following JavaScript code demonstrates how to create a bulleted list in a slide:

function createParagraph(text, bulletColor) {
    const paragraph = new aspose.slides.Paragraph();
    const paragraphFormat = paragraph.getParagraphFormat();
    const bulletFormat = paragraphFormat.getBullet();

    bulletFormat.setType(java.newByte(aspose.slides.BulletType.Symbol));
    bulletFormat.setChar(java.newChar("*"));
    paragraphFormat.setIndent(15);
    bulletFormat.setBulletHardColor(java.newByte(aspose.slides.NullableBool.True));
    bulletFormat.getColor().setColor(bulletColor);
    bulletFormat.setHeight(100);
    paragraph.setText(text);

    return paragraph;
}

const presentation = new aspose.slides.Presentation();
try {
    const slide = presentation.getSlides().get_Item(0);
    const autoShape = slide.getShapes().addAutoShape(aspose.slides.ShapeType.Rectangle, 20, 20, 200, 50);

    const textFrame = autoShape.getTextFrame();
    textFrame.getParagraphs().clear();

    const bulletColor = java.newInstanceSync("java.awt.Color", 205, 92, 92);

    const paragraph1 = createParagraph("The first paragraph", bulletColor);
    textFrame.getParagraphs().add(paragraph1);

    const paragraph2 = createParagraph("The second paragraph", bulletColor);
    textFrame.getParagraphs().add(paragraph2);

    presentation.save("symbol_bullets.pptx", aspose.slides.SaveFormat.Pptx);
} finally {
    presentation.dispose();
}

The result:

Create a Numbered List

Use numbered lists when the order of items matters. Set BulletFormat.setType to BulletType.Numbered. You can also choose a numbering format with BulletFormat.setNumberedBulletStyle or set BulletFormat.setNumberedBulletStartWith when the list should start from a value other than 1.

The following JavaScript code shows how to create a numbered list in a slide:

const presentation = new aspose.slides.Presentation();
try {
    const slide = presentation.getSlides().get_Item(0);
    const autoShape = slide.getShapes().addAutoShape(aspose.slides.ShapeType.Rectangle, 20, 20, 90, 80);

    const textFrame = autoShape.getTextFrame();
    textFrame.getParagraphs().clear();

    const paragraph1 = new aspose.slides.Paragraph();
    paragraph1.getParagraphFormat().getBullet().setType(java.newByte(aspose.slides.BulletType.Numbered));
    paragraph1.setText("Apple");
    textFrame.getParagraphs().add(paragraph1);

    const paragraph2 = new aspose.slides.Paragraph();
    paragraph2.getParagraphFormat().getBullet().setType(java.newByte(aspose.slides.BulletType.Numbered));
    paragraph2.setText("Orange");
    textFrame.getParagraphs().add(paragraph2);

    const paragraph3 = new aspose.slides.Paragraph();
    paragraph3.getParagraphFormat().getBullet().setType(java.newByte(aspose.slides.BulletType.Numbered));
    paragraph3.setText("Banana");
    textFrame.getParagraphs().add(paragraph3);

    presentation.save("numbered_bullets.pptx", aspose.slides.SaveFormat.Pptx);
} finally {
    presentation.dispose();
}

The result:

Create a Picture Bullet

Aspose.Slides allows you to replace a regular bullet symbol with an image. Picture bullets work best with simple images that remain readable at a small size, such as icons or small transparent PNG files.

Ideally, if you plan to replace the regular bullet symbol with an image, it’s best to choose a simple graphic with a transparent background. Such images work well as custom bullet symbols.

Keep in mind that the image will be scaled down to a very small size. For that reason, we strongly recommend selecting an image that remains clear and visually effective when used as a bullet in a list.

To create a picture bullet, add an image to Presentation with Presentation.getImages().addImage and assign the returned PPImage object to BulletFormat.getPicture().setImage. Set BulletFormat.setType to BulletType.Picture before assigning the image.

Let’s say we have an “image.png”:

The following JavaScript code shows how to create picture bullets in a slide:

function createParagraph(text, image) {
    const paragraph = new aspose.slides.Paragraph();
    const paragraphFormat = paragraph.getParagraphFormat();
    const bulletFormat = paragraphFormat.getBullet();

    bulletFormat.setType(java.newByte(aspose.slides.BulletType.Picture));
    bulletFormat.getPicture().setImage(image);
    paragraphFormat.setIndent(15);
    bulletFormat.setHeight(100);
    paragraph.setText(text);

    return paragraph;
}

const presentation = new aspose.slides.Presentation();
let image = null;
try {
    const slide = presentation.getSlides().get_Item(0);
    const autoShape = slide.getShapes().addAutoShape(aspose.slides.ShapeType.Rectangle, 20, 20, 200, 50);

    const textFrame = autoShape.getTextFrame();
    textFrame.getParagraphs().clear();

    image = aspose.slides.Images.fromFile("image.png");
    const bulletImage = presentation.getImages().addImage(image);

    const paragraph1 = createParagraph("The first paragraph", bulletImage);
    textFrame.getParagraphs().add(paragraph1);

    const paragraph2 = createParagraph("The second paragraph", bulletImage);
    textFrame.getParagraphs().add(paragraph2);

    presentation.save("picture_bullets.pptx", aspose.slides.SaveFormat.Pptx);
} finally {
    if (image !== null) {
        image.dispose();
    }
    presentation.dispose();
}

The result:

Create a Multilevel List

Use ParagraphFormat.setDepth to place list items on different levels. Level 0 is the top level, level 1 is nested below it, and so on.

The following JavaScript code shows how to create a multilevel bulleted list:

const presentation = new aspose.slides.Presentation();
try {
    const slide = presentation.getSlides().get_Item(0);
    const autoShape = slide.getShapes().addAutoShape(aspose.slides.ShapeType.Rectangle, 20, 20, 260, 110);

    const textFrame = autoShape.getTextFrame();
    textFrame.getParagraphs().clear();

    const paragraph1 = new aspose.slides.Paragraph();
    paragraph1.getParagraphFormat().setDepth(java.newShort(0));
    paragraph1.setText("My text - Depth 0");
    textFrame.getParagraphs().add(paragraph1);

    const paragraph2 = new aspose.slides.Paragraph();
    paragraph2.getParagraphFormat().setDepth(java.newShort(1));
    paragraph2.setText("My text - Depth 1");
    textFrame.getParagraphs().add(paragraph2);

    const paragraph3 = new aspose.slides.Paragraph();
    paragraph3.getParagraphFormat().setDepth(java.newShort(2));
    paragraph3.setText("My text - Depth 2");
    textFrame.getParagraphs().add(paragraph3);

    const paragraph4 = new aspose.slides.Paragraph();
    paragraph4.getParagraphFormat().setDepth(java.newShort(3));
    paragraph4.setText("My text - Depth 3");
    textFrame.getParagraphs().add(paragraph4);

    presentation.save("multilevel_bullets.pptx", aspose.slides.SaveFormat.Pptx);
} finally {
    presentation.dispose();
}

The result:

Change an Existing List

To change list formatting in an existing presentation, access the target paragraph and update its ParagraphFormat.getBullet settings. The same properties used to create lists can be used to inspect or modify lists loaded from a PPT, PPTX, or ODP file.

The following JavaScript code changes the first paragraph in a text frame to use a numbered list style:

const presentation = new aspose.slides.Presentation("input.pptx");
try {
    const slide = presentation.getSlides().get_Item(0);
    const autoShape = slide.getShapes().get_Item(0);
    const paragraph = autoShape.getTextFrame().getParagraphs().get_Item(0);

    const paragraphFormat = paragraph.getParagraphFormat();
    const bulletFormat = paragraphFormat.getBullet();

    bulletFormat.setType(java.newByte(aspose.slides.BulletType.Numbered));
    bulletFormat.setNumberedBulletStyle(java.newByte(aspose.slides.NumberedBulletStyle.BulletRomanUCPeriod));
    bulletFormat.setNumberedBulletStartWith(java.newShort(1));
    paragraphFormat.setMarginLeft(30);
    paragraphFormat.setIndent(-20);

    presentation.save("updated_list.pptx", aspose.slides.SaveFormat.Pptx);
} finally {
    presentation.dispose();
}

FAQ

Can bulleted and numbered lists be exported to PDF or images?

Yes. Aspose.Slides preserves list formatting when the target format supports the corresponding text layout and bullet features.

Can I edit lists in existing presentations?

Yes. Load the presentation, access the target paragraph, inspect or update its ParagraphFormat.getBullet settings, and save the presentation.

Can lists contain non-Latin text?

Yes. List item text can contain Unicode characters, so you can create lists in multilingual presentations. Make sure the fonts used in the presentation support the characters you need.