Manage Presentation Comments in Python

What this page is about

Manage presentation comments with Aspose.Slides for Python via .NET: add, read, edit, reply to, and remove comments in PowerPoint presentations.

Overview

This article explains how to manage presentation comments with Aspose.Slides for Python via .NET. It introduces the main comment-related types and demonstrates how to add comments to slides, access existing comments, work with replies and modern comments, and remove comments from a presentation.

The examples cover common review and collaboration scenarios in PowerPoint, such as assigning comments to authors, reading comment text and metadata, building reply chains, and removing selected comments or all comments.

In PowerPoint, comments appear as annotations on slides. Selecting a comment displays its text and related discussion.

Why Add Comments to Presentations?

You can use comments to provide feedback and collaborate with colleagues when reviewing presentations.

Aspose.Slides for Python via .NET provides the following APIs for working with comments:

The Presentation class, which provides access to the presentation’s comment authors.
The CommentCollection class, which represents the comments associated with an individual author.
The Comment class, which provides information about a comment, including its author, creation time, position, and text.
The CommentAuthor class, which provides information about an author, including their name, initials, and associated comments.

Add Slide Comments

The following example shows how to add comments to slides in a PowerPoint presentation:

from datetime import datetime

import aspose.pydrawing as draw
import aspose.slides as slides

with slides.Presentation() as presentation:
    first_slide = presentation.slides[0]
    second_slide = presentation.slides.add_empty_slide(presentation.layout_slides[0])
    author = presentation.comment_authors.add_author("Jawad", "MF")
    position = draw.PointF(0.2, 0.2)
    created_time = datetime.now()

    author.comments.add_comment("Hello Jawad, this is a slide comment", first_slide, position, created_time)
    author.comments.add_comment("Hello Jawad, this is the second slide comment", second_slide, position, created_time)

    comments = first_slide.get_slide_comments(author)
    if len(comments) > 0:
        first_comment = comments[0]
        print(first_comment.text)

        comment_text = first_comment.author.comments[0].text
        print(comment_text)

    presentation.save("Comments_out.pptx", slides.export.SaveFormat.PPTX)

Access Slide Comments

The following example shows how to access existing comments in a PowerPoint presentation:

import aspose.slides as slides

with slides.Presentation("Comments1.pptx") as presentation:
    for author in presentation.comment_authors:
        for comment in author.comments:
            print("Slide: " + str(comment.slide.slide_number))
            print("Comment: " + comment.text)
            print("Author: " + comment.author.name)
            print("Posted at: " + str(comment.created_time))
            print()

Reply to Comments

A parent comment is the original comment at the top of a reply hierarchy. The parent_comment property of the Comment class lets you get or set the parent of a comment.

The following example shows how to add replies and inspect the resulting comment hierarchy:

from datetime import datetime

import aspose.pydrawing as draw
import aspose.slides as slides

with slides.Presentation() as presentation:
    slide = presentation.slides[0]
    position = draw.PointF(10, 10)
    created_time = datetime.now()

    author1 = presentation.comment_authors.add_author("Author_1", "A.A.")
    comment1 = author1.comments.add_comment("comment 1", slide, position, created_time)

    author2 = presentation.comment_authors.add_author("Author_2", "B.B.")
    reply1 = author2.comments.add_comment("reply 1 for comment 1", slide, position, created_time)
    reply1.parent_comment = comment1

    reply2 = author2.comments.add_comment("reply 2 for comment 1", slide, position, created_time)
    reply2.parent_comment = comment1

    sub_reply = author1.comments.add_comment("subreply 3 for reply 2", slide, position, created_time)
    sub_reply.parent_comment = reply2

    author2.comments.add_comment("comment 2", slide, position, created_time)
    comment3 = author2.comments.add_comment("comment 3", slide, position, created_time)

    reply3 = author1.comments.add_comment("reply 4 for comment 3", slide, position, created_time)
    reply3.parent_comment = comment3

    comments = slide.get_slide_comments(None)
    for current_comment in comments:
        comment = current_comment
        while comment.parent_comment is not None:
            print("\t", end="")
            comment = comment.parent_comment

        print(current_comment.author.name + ": " + current_comment.text)

    presentation.save("parent_comment.pptx", slides.export.SaveFormat.PPTX)

    comment1.remove()
    presentation.save("remove_comment.pptx", slides.export.SaveFormat.PPTX)

Warning

When the remove method of the Comment class is used to delete a comment, all replies to that comment are also deleted.
If the parent_comment property creates a circular reference, a PptxEditException is thrown.

Add Modern Comments

Modern comments can be associated with the slide itself, with a specific shape, or with a text range inside an AutoShape. The CommentCollection.add_modern_comment method accepts a Shape argument in addition to the slide and comment-marker coordinates.

When None is passed for the shape argument, the comment is a slide-level comment. Its marker is positioned by the supplied coordinates, but it is not associated with a particular shape, so ModernComment.shape returns None. When a Shape is supplied, the comment is anchored to that shape. The coordinates still define the position of the comment marker on the slide, while the shape association can be retrieved through ModernComment.shape.

Anchor a Modern Comment to a Shape

The following example creates both a slide-level modern comment and a modern comment anchored to a specific AutoShape. It then reads the associated shape from each comment.

from datetime import datetime

import aspose.pydrawing as draw
import aspose.slides as slides

with slides.Presentation() as presentation:
    slide = presentation.slides[0]
    author = presentation.comment_authors.add_author("Reviewer", "RV")
    shape = slide.shapes.add_auto_shape(slides.ShapeType.RECTANGLE, 50, 50, 300, 80)
    shape.name = "Revenue title"
    shape.text_frame.text = "Quarterly revenue"

    created_time = datetime.now()
    slide_comment_position = draw.PointF(20, 20)
    shape_comment_position = draw.PointF(60, 60)
    slide_comment = author.comments.add_modern_comment("Review the overall slide layout.", slide, None, slide_comment_position, created_time)
    shape_comment = author.comments.add_modern_comment("Check this title.", slide, shape, shape_comment_position, created_time)

    print(slide_comment.shape is None)
    print(shape_comment.shape.name)

    presentation.save("modern_comments.pptx", slides.export.SaveFormat.PPTX)

Anchor Comments to Different Shape Types

Any slide object derived from Shape can be used as a shape anchor. Common examples include AutoShape, PictureFrame, GroupShape, Connector, and GraphicalObject instances such as charts.

The following example creates several common shape types and associates a modern comment with each one.

import base64
from datetime import datetime

import aspose.pydrawing as draw
import aspose.slides as slides

with slides.Presentation() as presentation:
    slide = presentation.slides[0]
    author = presentation.comment_authors.add_author("Reviewer", "RV")
    created_time = datetime.now()

    auto_shape = slide.shapes.add_auto_shape(slides.ShapeType.RECTANGLE, 20, 20, 180, 60)
    auto_shape.text_frame.text = "AutoShape"
    auto_shape_comment_position = draw.PointF(30, 30)
    author.comments.add_modern_comment("Comment on an AutoShape.", slide, auto_shape, auto_shape_comment_position, created_time)

    image_base64 = "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAIAAAACCAIAAAD91JpzAAAAFklEQVR4nGP8//8/AwMDEwMDAwMDAwAkBgMB/DXemwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg=="
    image_data = base64.b64decode(image_base64)
    image = presentation.images.add_image(image_data)
    picture_frame = slide.shapes.add_picture_frame(slides.ShapeType.RECTANGLE, 220, 20, 120, 80, image)
    picture_comment_position = draw.PointF(230, 30)
    author.comments.add_modern_comment("Comment on a picture.", slide, picture_frame, picture_comment_position, created_time)

    group_shape = slide.shapes.add_group_shape()
    group_shape.shapes.add_auto_shape(slides.ShapeType.RECTANGLE, 0, 0, 80, 40)
    group_shape.shapes.add_auto_shape(slides.ShapeType.ELLIPSE, 100, 0, 80, 40)
    group_comment_position = draw.PointF(40, 150)
    author.comments.add_modern_comment("Comment on a group.", slide, group_shape, group_comment_position, created_time)

    connector = slide.shapes.add_connector(slides.ShapeType.STRAIGHT_CONNECTOR1, 220, 150, 140, 40)
    connector_comment_position = draw.PointF(240, 150)
    author.comments.add_modern_comment("Comment on a connector.", slide, connector, connector_comment_position, created_time)

    chart = slide.shapes.add_chart(slides.charts.ChartType.CLUSTERED_COLUMN, 400, 20, 250, 180)
    chart_comment_position = draw.PointF(420, 40)
    author.comments.add_modern_comment("Comment on a graphical object.", slide, chart, chart_comment_position, created_time)

    presentation.save("modern_comment_shape_types.pptx", slides.export.SaveFormat.PPTX)

Anchor a Comment to Text and Set Its Status

For a modern comment associated with an AutoShape, ModernComment.text_selection_start specifies the starting position of the selected text in the shape’s text frame, while ModernComment.text_selection_length specifies the length of the selection. Together, these properties associate the comment with a specific text range inside the AutoShape.

The ModernComment.status property can be read or updated with a value from the ModernCommentStatus enumeration:

NOT_DEFINED — no specific modern-comment status is defined.
ACTIVE — the comment is active.
RESOLVED — the comment has been resolved.
CLOSED — the comment is closed.

The following example creates a shape-anchored modern comment, associates it with a text selection, marks it as resolved, saves the presentation, and verifies the values after reopening the file.

from datetime import datetime

import aspose.pydrawing as draw
import aspose.slides as slides

output_file = "modern_comment_text_anchor.pptx"
shape_text = "Review the quarterly revenue forecast."
selected_text = "quarterly revenue"
expected_selection_start = shape_text.index(selected_text)

with slides.Presentation() as presentation:
    slide = presentation.slides[0]
    shape = slide.shapes.add_auto_shape(slides.ShapeType.RECTANGLE, 50, 50, 400, 100)
    shape.name = "Forecast text"
    shape.text_frame.text = shape_text

    author = presentation.comment_authors.add_author("Reviewer", "RV")
    comment_position = draw.PointF(60, 60)
    comment = author.comments.add_modern_comment("Verify this forecast wording.", slide, shape, comment_position, datetime.now())
    comment.text_selection_start = expected_selection_start
    comment.text_selection_length = len(selected_text)
    comment.status = slides.ModernCommentStatus.RESOLVED

    presentation.save(output_file, slides.export.SaveFormat.PPTX)

with slides.Presentation(output_file) as reopened_presentation:
    reopened_slide = reopened_presentation.slides[0]
    reopened_comments = reopened_slide.get_slide_comments(None)

    for reopened_comment in reopened_comments:
        if not isinstance(reopened_comment, slides.ModernComment):
            continue

        shape_matches = reopened_comment.shape.name == "Forecast text"
        selection_start_matches = reopened_comment.text_selection_start == expected_selection_start
        selection_length_matches = reopened_comment.text_selection_length == len(selected_text)
        status_matches = reopened_comment.status == slides.ModernCommentStatus.RESOLVED

        print("Shape anchor preserved: " + str(shape_matches))
        print("Text selection start preserved: " + str(selection_start_matches))
        print("Text selection length preserved: " + str(selection_length_matches))
        print("Resolved status preserved: " + str(status_matches))

Inspect Existing Modern Comments

To inspect an existing presentation, check which comments are ModernComment instances, then examine ModernComment.shape, ModernComment.text_selection_start, ModernComment.text_selection_length, and ModernComment.status. A None shape indicates a slide-level comment. For an AutoShape anchor, the text-selection properties identify the associated range in the shape’s text frame.

import aspose.slides as slides

with slides.Presentation("comments.pptx") as presentation:
    for slide in presentation.slides:
        comments = slide.get_slide_comments(None)
        for comment in comments:
            if not isinstance(comment, slides.ModernComment):
                continue

            print("Slide: " + str(slide.slide_number))
            print("Text: " + comment.text)
            print("Status: " + str(comment.status))

            shape = comment.shape
            if shape is None:
                print("Anchor: slide level")
            else:
                print("Anchor shape: " + shape.name)
                print("Anchor type: " + type(shape).__name__)

                if isinstance(shape, slides.AutoShape):
                    print("Text selection start: " + str(comment.text_selection_start))
                    print("Text selection length: " + str(comment.text_selection_length))

            print()

Remove Comments

Remove All Comments and Comment Authors

The following example shows how to remove all comments and comment authors from a presentation:

import aspose.slides as slides

with slides.Presentation("example.pptx") as presentation:
    for author in presentation.comment_authors:
        author.comments.clear()

    presentation.comment_authors.clear()
    presentation.save("example_out.pptx", slides.export.SaveFormat.PPTX)

Remove Specific Comments

The following example shows how to remove specific comments from a slide:

from datetime import datetime

import aspose.pydrawing as draw
import aspose.slides as slides

with slides.Presentation() as presentation:
    slide = presentation.slides[0]
    author = presentation.comment_authors.add_author("Author", "A")
    created_time = datetime.now()

    first_comment_position = draw.PointF(0.2, 0.2)
    second_comment_position = draw.PointF(0.3, 0.2)
    author.comments.add_comment("comment 1", slide, first_comment_position, created_time)
    author.comments.add_comment("comment 2", slide, second_comment_position, created_time)

    for comment_author in presentation.comment_authors:
        comments_to_remove = []
        comments = slide.get_slide_comments(comment_author)

        for comment in comments:
            if comment.text == "comment 1":
                comments_to_remove.append(comment)

        for comment in comments_to_remove:
            comment_author.comments.remove(comment)

    presentation.save("pres.pptx", slides.export.SaveFormat.PPTX)

FAQ

Does Aspose.Slides support a resolved status for modern comments?

Yes. ModernComment.status can be read and set with a ModernCommentStatus value, including RESOLVED. The status is stored in the presentation and can be read again after the file is reopened.

Are threaded discussions (reply chains) supported, and is there a nesting limit?

Yes. Each comment can reference its parent comment, enabling reply chains. The API does not define a specific nesting-depth limit.

In what coordinate system is a comment marker’s position defined on a slide?

The marker position is defined by floating-point coordinates in the slide coordinate system, allowing you to place it precisely on the slide.

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