Manage Bulleted and Numbered Lists in Presentations Using PHP

What this page is about

Learn how to create and format bulleted, picture, multilevel, and numbered lists in PowerPoint and OpenDocument presentations using Aspose.Slides for PHP via Java.

Overview

Aspose.Slides for PHP 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::getParagraphFormat method to access paragraph-level list settings. The main entry point is ParagraphFormat::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
read actual list markers and numbers alongside paragraph text

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 PHP code demonstrates how to create a bulleted list in a slide:

use aspose\slides\BulletType;
use aspose\slides\NullableBool;
use aspose\slides\Paragraph;
use aspose\slides\Presentation;
use aspose\slides\SaveFormat;
use aspose\slides\ShapeType;

function createParagraph($paragraphText)
{
    $paragraph = new Paragraph();
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->setType(BulletType::Symbol);
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->setChar("*");
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->setIndent(15);
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->setBulletHardColor(NullableBool::True);
    $bulletColor = new Java("java.awt.Color", 205, 92, 92);
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->getColor()->setColor($bulletColor);
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->setHeight(100);
    $paragraph->setText($paragraphText);
    return $paragraph;
}

$presentation = new Presentation();
try {
    $slide = $presentation->getSlides()->get_Item(0);

    $autoShape = $slide->getShapes()->addAutoShape(ShapeType::Rectangle, 20, 20, 200, 50);

    $textFrame = $autoShape->getTextFrame();
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->clear();

    $paragraph1 = createParagraph("The first paragraph");
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->add($paragraph1);

    $paragraph2 = createParagraph("The second paragraph");
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->add($paragraph2);

    $presentation->save("symbol_bullets.pptx", SaveFormat::Pptx);
} finally {
    $presentation->dispose();
}

The result:

The symbol bullets

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 PHP code shows how to create a numbered list in a slide:

use aspose\slides\BulletType;
use aspose\slides\Paragraph;
use aspose\slides\Presentation;
use aspose\slides\SaveFormat;
use aspose\slides\ShapeType;

$presentation = new Presentation();
try {
    $slide = $presentation->getSlides()->get_Item(0);

    $autoShape = $slide->getShapes()->addAutoShape(ShapeType::Rectangle, 20, 20, 90, 80);

    $textFrame = $autoShape->getTextFrame();
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->clear();

    $paragraph1 = new Paragraph();
    $paragraph1->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->setType(BulletType::Numbered);
    $paragraph1->setText("Apple");
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->add($paragraph1);

    $paragraph2 = new Paragraph();
    $paragraph2->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->setType(BulletType::Numbered);
    $paragraph2->setText("Orange");
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->add($paragraph2);

    $paragraph3 = new Paragraph();
    $paragraph3->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->setType(BulletType::Numbered);
    $paragraph3->setText("Banana");
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->add($paragraph3);

    $presentation->save("numbered_bullets.pptx", SaveFormat::Pptx);
} finally {
    $presentation->dispose();
}

The result:

The numbered bullets

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.

Note

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::getImages and assign the returned PPImage object to BulletFormat::getPicture. Set BulletFormat::setType to BulletType::Picture before assigning the image.

Let’s say we have an “image.png”:

A picture for the bullets

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

use aspose\slides\BulletType;
use aspose\slides\Images;
use aspose\slides\Paragraph;
use aspose\slides\Presentation;
use aspose\slides\SaveFormat;
use aspose\slides\ShapeType;

function createParagraph($paragraphText, $bulletImage)
{
    $paragraph = new Paragraph();
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->setType(BulletType::Picture);
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->getPicture()->setImage($bulletImage);
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->setIndent(15);
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->setHeight(100);
    $paragraph->setText($paragraphText);
    return $paragraph;
}

$presentation = new Presentation();
try {
    $slide = $presentation->getSlides()->get_Item(0);

    $autoShape = $slide->getShapes()->addAutoShape(ShapeType::Rectangle, 20, 20, 200, 50);

    $textFrame = $autoShape->getTextFrame();
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->clear();

    $image = Images::fromFile("image.png");
    $bulletImage = $presentation->getImages()->addImage($image);

    $paragraph1 = createParagraph("The first paragraph", $bulletImage);
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->add($paragraph1);

    $paragraph2 = createParagraph("The second paragraph", $bulletImage);
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->add($paragraph2);

    $presentation->save("picture_bullets.pptx", SaveFormat::Pptx);
} finally {
    $presentation->dispose();
}

The result:

The picture bullets

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 PHP code shows how to create a multilevel bulleted list:

use aspose\slides\Paragraph;
use aspose\slides\Presentation;
use aspose\slides\SaveFormat;
use aspose\slides\ShapeType;

$presentation = new Presentation();
try {
    $slide = $presentation->getSlides()->get_Item(0);

    $autoShape = $slide->getShapes()->addAutoShape(ShapeType::Rectangle, 20, 20, 260, 110);

    $textFrame = $autoShape->getTextFrame();
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->clear();

    $paragraph1 = new Paragraph();
    $paragraph1->getParagraphFormat()->setDepth(0);
    $paragraph1->setText("My text - Depth 0");
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->add($paragraph1);

    $paragraph2 = new Paragraph();
    $paragraph2->getParagraphFormat()->setDepth(1);
    $paragraph2->setText("My text - Depth 1");
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->add($paragraph2);

    $paragraph3 = new Paragraph();
    $paragraph3->getParagraphFormat()->setDepth(2);
    $paragraph3->setText("My text - Depth 2");
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->add($paragraph3);

    $paragraph4 = new Paragraph();
    $paragraph4->getParagraphFormat()->setDepth(3);
    $paragraph4->setText("My text - Depth 3");
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->add($paragraph4);

    $presentation->save("multilevel_bullets.pptx", SaveFormat::Pptx);
} finally {
    $presentation->dispose();
}

The result:

The multilevel list

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 PHP code changes the first paragraph in a text frame to use a numbered list style:

use aspose\slides\BulletType;
use aspose\slides\NumberedBulletStyle;
use aspose\slides\Presentation;
use aspose\slides\SaveFormat;

$presentation = new Presentation("input.pptx");
try {
    $slide = $presentation->getSlides()->get_Item(0);

    $autoShape = $slide->getShapes()->get_Item(0);

    $paragraph = $autoShape->getTextFrame()->getParagraphs()->get_Item(0);
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->setType(BulletType::Numbered);
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->setNumberedBulletStyle(NumberedBulletStyle::BulletRomanUCPeriod);
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->getBullet()->setNumberedBulletStartWith(1);
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->setMarginLeft(30);
    $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->setIndent(-20);

    $presentation->save("updated_list.pptx", SaveFormat::Pptx);
} finally {
    $presentation->dispose();
}

Read Actual Bullet Values

When extracting presentation content, keep list markers alongside paragraph text. Call ParagraphFormat::getEffective and access ParagraphFormatEffectiveData::getBullet to obtain the effective bullet format. Check its getType before reading getActualBulletValue.

For numbered lists, distinguish these three values:

getNumberedBulletStyle determines the format, such as Arabic numbers followed by a period or lowercase letters followed by a period.
getNumberedBulletStartWith specifies the starting number for a group of numbered paragraphs.
getActualBulletValue returns the formatted marker for a particular paragraph. For example, the second item in a list starting at 5 returns 6..

Preserve getDepth with each paragraph to retain its nesting level. The actual marker does not encode the full hierarchy: a nested item can return c. rather than a combined label such as 6.c..

The following self-contained example creates lists, saves them to a presentation, and reloads the presentation to report each paragraph’s text, depth, bullet type, and actual value. The small blue picture marker is created from inline SVG.

use aspose\slides\BulletType;
use aspose\slides\FillType;
use aspose\slides\NullableBool;
use aspose\slides\NumberedBulletStyle;
use aspose\slides\Paragraph;
use aspose\slides\Presentation;
use aspose\slides\SaveFormat;
use aspose\slides\ShapeType;
use aspose\slides\SlideSizeScaleType;
use aspose\slides\SvgImage;

$presentation = new Presentation();
try {
    $presentation->getSlideSize()->setSize(720, 440, SlideSizeScaleType::DoNotScale);
    $slide = $presentation->getSlides()->get_Item(0);

    $shape = $slide->getShapes()->addAutoShape(ShapeType::Rectangle, 30, 20, 660, 400);
    $shape->getFillFormat()->setFillType(FillType::NoFill);
    $shape->getLineFormat()->getFillFormat()->setFillType(FillType::NoFill);

    $textFrame = $shape->getTextFrame();
    $textFrame->getParagraphs()->clear();

    // Create a picture marker without an external image file.
    $svg = new SvgImage("<svg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' width='16' height='16'><rect width='16' height='16' rx='4' fill='#0078D4'/></svg>");
    $bulletImage = $presentation->getImages()->addImage($svg);

    $black = new Java("java.awt.Color", 0, 0, 0);
    $addParagraph = function ($text, $depth, $type, $start, $style) use ($textFrame, $bulletImage, $black) {
        $paragraph = new Paragraph();
        $paragraph->setText($text);

        $format = $paragraph->getParagraphFormat();
        $format->setDepth($depth);
        $format->setMarginLeft(30 + $depth * 40);
        $format->setIndent(-28);
        $format->setSpaceAfter(8);
        $format->getDefaultPortionFormat()->setFontHeight(22);
        $format->getDefaultPortionFormat()->getFillFormat()->setFillType(FillType::Solid);
        $format->getDefaultPortionFormat()->getFillFormat()->getSolidFillColor()->setColor($black);
        $format->getBullet()->setType($type);
        $format->getBullet()->setBulletHardColor(NullableBool::True);
        $format->getBullet()->getColor()->setColor($black);
        if ($type == BulletType::Numbered) {
            $format->getBullet()->setNumberedBulletStyle($style);
            $format->getBullet()->setNumberedBulletStartWith($start);
        } else if ($type == BulletType::Symbol) {
            $format->getBullet()->setChar("\u{2022}");
        } else if ($type == BulletType::Picture) {
            $format->getBullet()->getPicture()->setImage($bulletImage);
        }

        $textFrame->getParagraphs()->add($paragraph);
    };

    $addParagraph("First item", 0, BulletType::Numbered, 5, NumberedBulletStyle::BulletArabicPeriod);
    $addParagraph("Second item", 0, BulletType::Numbered, 5, NumberedBulletStyle::BulletArabicPeriod);
    $addParagraph("Nested item", 1, BulletType::Numbered, 3, NumberedBulletStyle::BulletAlphaLCPeriod);
    $addParagraph("Next nested item", 1, BulletType::Numbered, 3, NumberedBulletStyle::BulletAlphaLCPeriod);
    $addParagraph("Deep item", 2, BulletType::Numbered, 4, NumberedBulletStyle::BulletRomanLCPeriod);
    $addParagraph("Back to top level", 0, BulletType::Numbered, 5, NumberedBulletStyle::BulletArabicPeriod);
    $addParagraph("Symbol marker", 0, BulletType::Symbol, 1, NumberedBulletStyle::BulletArabicPeriod);
    $addParagraph("No bullet", 0, BulletType::None, 1, NumberedBulletStyle::BulletArabicPeriod);
    $addParagraph("Picture marker", 0, BulletType::Picture, 1, NumberedBulletStyle::BulletArabicPeriod);
    $presentation->save("actual_bullet_values.pptx", SaveFormat::Pptx);
} finally {
    $presentation->dispose();
}

$loadedPresentation = new Presentation("actual_bullet_values.pptx");
try {
    $loadedShape = $loadedPresentation->getSlides()->get_Item(0)->getShapes()->get_Item(0);
    echo "Text | Depth | Type | Actual value\n";
    $paragraphs = $loadedShape->getTextFrame()->getParagraphs();
    for ($i = 0; $i < java_values($paragraphs->getCount()); $i++) {
        $paragraph = $paragraphs->get_Item($i);
        $bullet = $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->getEffective()->getBullet();
        switch (java_values($bullet->getType())) {
            case BulletType::Numbered:
            case BulletType::Symbol:
                $marker = $bullet->getActualBulletValue();
                break;
            case BulletType::None:
                $marker = "null (no bullet)";
                break;
            case BulletType::Picture:
                $marker = "null (image required)";
                break;
            default:
                $marker = "unsupported bullet type";
                break;
        }
        $typeNames = [BulletType::Numbered => "Numbered", BulletType::Symbol => "Symbol", BulletType::None => "None", BulletType::Picture => "Picture"];
        $typeName = $typeNames[java_values($bullet->getType())] ?? "Unknown";
        echo $paragraph->getText() . " | " . $paragraph->getParagraphFormat()->getDepth() . " | " . $typeName . " | " . $marker . "\n";
    }
} finally {
    $loadedPresentation->dispose();
}

The source lists are shown below.

Lists starting at 5, nested letter and Roman-number items, a symbol marker, a paragraph without a bullet, and a blue picture marker

The report matches the markers displayed in PowerPoint:

Text | Depth | Type | Actual value
First item | 0 | Numbered | 5.
Second item | 0 | Numbered | 6.
Nested item | 1 | Numbered | c.
Next nested item | 1 | Numbered | d.
Deep item | 2 | Numbered | iv.
Back to top level | 0 | Numbered | 7.
Symbol marker | 0 | Symbol | •
No bullet | 0 | None | null (no bullet)
Picture marker | 0 | Picture | null (image required)

For BulletType::None and BulletType::Picture, getActualBulletValue returns null, not an empty string. Handle these types separately: the former has no marker, while the latter requires extracting the bullet image separately. A picture bullet cannot be reproduced solely by extracting a text marker.

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.

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