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# Busy Developers' Guide to HSLF drawing layer

### Index of Features

- How to create a new presentation and add new slides to it
- How to retrieve or change slide size
- How to get shapes contained in a particular slide
- Drawing a shape on a slide
- How to work with pictures
- How to set slide title
- How to work with slide/shape background
- How to create bulleted lists
- Hyperlinks
- Tables
- How to remove shapes
- How to retrieve embedded OLE objects
- How to retrieve embedded sounds
- How to create shapes of arbitrary geometry
- Shapes and Graphics2D
- How to convert slides into images
- Headers / Footers

### Features

#### New Presentation

//create a new empty slide show
HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow();
//add first slide
HSLFSlide s1 = ppt.createSlide();
//add second slide
HSLFSlide s2 = ppt.createSlide();
//save changes in a file
FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("slideshow.ppt");
ppt.write(out);
out.close();

#### How to retrieve or change slide size

HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow(new HSLFSlideShowImpl("slideshow.ppt"));
//retrieve page size. Coordinates are expressed in points (72 dpi)
java.awt.Dimension pgsize = ppt.getPageSize();
int pgx = pgsize.width; //slide width
int pgy = pgsize.height; //slide height
//set new page size
ppt.setPageSize(new java.awt.Dimension(1024, 768));
//save changes
FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("slideshow.ppt");
ppt.write(out);
out.close();

#### How to get shapes contained in a particular slide

The following code demonstrates how to iterate over shapes for each slide.

HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow(new HSLFSlideShowImpl("slideshow.ppt"));
// get slides
for (HSLFSlide slide : ppt.getSlides()) {
for (HSLFShape sh : slide.getShapes()) {
// name of the shape
String name = sh.getShapeName();
// shapes's anchor which defines the position of this shape in the slide
java.awt.Rectangle anchor = sh.getAnchor();
if (sh instanceof Line) {
Line line = (Line) sh;
// work with Line
} else if (sh instanceof HSLFAutoShape) {
HSLFAutoShape shape = (HSLFAutoShape) sh;
// work with AutoShape
} else if (sh instanceof HSLFTextBox) {
HSLFTextBox shape = (HSLFTextBox) sh;
// work with TextBox
} else if (sh instanceof HSLFPictureShape) {
HSLFPictureShape shape = (HSLFPictureShape) sh;
// work with Picture
}
}
}

#### Drawing a shape on a slide

Warning
To work with graphic objects HSLF uses Java2D classes that may throw exceptions if graphical environment is not available. In case if graphical environment is not available, you must tell Java that you are running in headless mode and set the following system property: java.awt.headless=true (either via -Djava.awt.headless=true startup parameter or via System.setProperty("java.awt.headless", "true")).

When you add a shape, you usually specify the dimensions of the shape and the position of the upper left corner of the bounding box for the shape relative to the upper left corner of the slide. Distances in the drawing layer are measured in points (72 points = 1 inch).

HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow();
HSLFSlide slide = ppt.createSlide();
//Line shape
Line line = new Line();
line.setAnchor(new java.awt.Rectangle(50, 50, 100, 20));
line.setLineColor(new Color(0, 128, 0));
line.setLineCompound(LineCompound.DOUBLE);
slide.addShape(line);
//TextBox
HSLFTextBox txt = new HSLFTextBox();
txt.setText("Hello, World!");
txt.setAnchor(new java.awt.Rectangle(300, 100, 300, 50));
// use TextRun to work with the text format
HSLFTextParagraph tp = txt.getTextParagraphs().get(0);
tp.setAlignment(TextAlign.RIGHT);
HSLFTextRun rt = tp.getTextRuns().get(0);
rt.setFontSize(32.);
rt.setFontFamily("Arial");
rt.setBold(true);
rt.setItalic(true);
rt.setUnderlined(true);
rt.setFontColor(Color.red);
slide.addShape(txt);
// Autoshape
// 32-point star
HSLFAutoShape sh1 = new HSLFAutoShape(ShapeType.STAR_32);
sh1.setAnchor(new java.awt.Rectangle(50, 50, 100, 200));
sh1.setFillColor(Color.red);
slide.addShape(sh1);
//Trapezoid
HSLFAutoShape sh2 = new HSLFAutoShape(ShapeType.TRAPEZOID);
sh2.setAnchor(new java.awt.Rectangle(150, 150, 100, 200));
sh2.setFillColor(Color.blue);
slide.addShape(sh2);
FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("slideshow.ppt");
ppt.write(out);
out.close();

#### How to work with pictures

Currently, HSLF API supports the following types of pictures:

- Windows Metafiles (WMF)
- Enhanced Metafiles (EMF)
- JPEG Interchange Format
- Portable Network Graphics (PNG)
- Macintosh PICT

HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow(new HSLFSlideShowImpl("slideshow.ppt"));
// extract all pictures contained in the presentation
int idx = 1;
for (HSLFPictureData pict : ppt.getPictureData()) {
// picture data
byte[] data = pict.getData();
PictureData.PictureType type = pict.getType();
String ext = type.extension;
FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("pict_" + idx + ext);
out.write(data);
out.close();
idx++;
}
// add a new picture to this slideshow and insert it in a new slide
HSLFPictureData pd = ppt.addPicture(new File("clock.jpg"), PictureData.PictureType.JPEG);
HSLFPictureShape pictNew = new HSLFPictureShape(pd);
// set image position in the slide
pictNew.setAnchor(new java.awt.Rectangle(100, 100, 300, 200));
HSLFSlide slide = ppt.createSlide();
slide.addShape(pictNew);
// now retrieve pictures containes in the first slide and save them on disk
idx = 1;
slide = ppt.getSlides().get(0);
for (HSLFShape sh : slide.getShapes()) {
if (sh instanceof HSLFPictureShape) {
HSLFPictureShape pict = (HSLFPictureShape) sh;
HSLFPictureData pictData = pict.getPictureData();
byte[] data = pictData.getData();
PictureData.PictureType type = pictData.getType();
FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("slide0_" + idx + type.extension);
out.write(data);
out.close();
idx++;
}
}
FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("slideshow.ppt");
ppt.write(out);
out.close();

#### How to set slide title

HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow();
HSLFSlide slide = ppt.createSlide();
HSLFTextBox title = slide.addTitle();
title.setText("Hello, World!");
// save changes
FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("slideshow.ppt");
ppt.write(out);
out.close();

Below is the equivalent code in PowerPoint VBA:

Set myDocument = ActivePresentation.Slides(1)
myDocument.Shapes.AddTitle.TextFrame.TextRange.Text = "Hello, World!"

#### How to modify background of a slide master

HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow();
HSLFSlideMaster master = ppt.getSlideMasters().get(0);
HSLFFill fill = master.getBackground().getFill();
HSLFPictureData pd = ppt.addPicture(new File("background.png"), PictureData.PictureType.PNG);
fill.setFillType(HSLFFill.FILL_PICTURE);
fill.setPictureData(pd);

#### How to modify background of a slide

HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow();
HSLFSlide slide = ppt.createSlide();
// This slide has its own background.
// Without this line it will use master's background.
slide.setFollowMasterBackground(false);
HSLFFill fill = slide.getBackground().getFill();
HSLFPictureData pd = ppt.addPicture(new File("background.png"), PictureData.PictureType.PNG);
fill.setFillType(HSLFFill.FILL_PATTERN);
fill.setPictureData(pd);

#### How to modify background of a shape

HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow();
HSLFSlide slide = ppt.createSlide();
HSLFShape shape = new HSLFAutoShape(ShapeType.RECT);
shape.setAnchor(new java.awt.Rectangle(100, 100, 200, 200));
HSLFFill fill = shape.getFill();
fill.setFillType(HSLFFill.FILL_SHADE);
fill.setBackgroundColor(Color.red);
fill.setForegroundColor(Color.green);
slide.addShape(shape);

#### How to create bulleted lists

HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow();
HSLFSlide slide = ppt.createSlide();
HSLFTextBox shape = new HSLFTextBox();
HSLFTextParagraph tp = shape.getTextParagraphs().get(0);
tp.setBullet(true);
tp.setBulletChar('\u263A'); //bullet character
tp.setIndent(0.); //bullet offset
tp.setLeftMargin(50.); //text offset (should be greater than bullet offset)
HSLFTextRun rt = tp.getTextRuns().get(0);
shape.setText(
"January\r" +
"February\r" +
"March\r" +
"April");
rt.setFontSize(42.);
slide.addShape(shape);
shape.setAnchor(new java.awt.Rectangle(50, 50, 500, 300)); //position of the text box in the slide
slide.addShape(shape);
FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("bullets.ppt");
ppt.write(out);
out.close();

#### How to read hyperlinks from a slide show

FileInputStream is = new FileInputStream("slideshow.ppt");
HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow(is);
is.close();
for (HSLFSlide slide : ppt.getSlides()) {
//read hyperlinks from the text runs
for (List<HSLFTextParagraph> txt : slide.getTextParagraphs()) {
for (HSLFTextParagraph para : txt) {
for (HSLFTextRun run : para) {
HSLFHyperlink link = run.getHyperlink();
if (link != null) {
String title = link.getLabel();
String address = link.getAddress();
String text = run.getRawText();
}
}
}
}
//in PowerPoint you can assign a hyperlink to a shape without text,
//for example to a Line object. The code below demonstrates how to
//read such hyperlinks
for (HSLFShape sh : slide.getShapes()) {
if (sh instanceof HSLFSimpleShape) {
HSLFHyperlink link = ((HSLFSimpleShape)sh).getHyperlink();
if(link != null) {
String title = link.getLabel();
String address = link.getAddress();
}
}
}
}

#### How to create tables

//table data
String[][] data = {
{"INPUT FILE", "NUMBER OF RECORDS"},
{"Item File", "11,559"},
{"Vendor File", "300"},
{"Purchase History File", "10,000"},
{"Total # of requisitions", "10,200,038"}
};
HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow();
HSLFSlide slide = ppt.createSlide();
//create a table of 5 rows and 2 columns
HSLFTable table = new HSLFTable(5, 2);
for (int i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
for (int j = 0; j < data[i].length; j++) {
HSLFTableCell cell = table.getCell(i, j);
cell.setText(data[i][j]);
HSLFTextRun rt = cell.getTextParagraphs().get(0).getTextRuns().get(0);
rt.setFontFamily("Arial");
rt.setFontSize(10.);
cell.setVerticalAlignment(VerticalAlignment.MIDDLE);
cell.setHorizontalCentered(true);
}
}
//set table borders
Line border = table.createBorder();
border.setLineColor(Color.black);
border.setLineWidth(1.0);
table.setAllBorders(border);
//set width of the 1st column
table.setColumnWidth(0, 300);
//set width of the 2nd column
table.setColumnWidth(1, 150);
slide.addShape(table);
table.moveTo(100, 100);
FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("hslf-table.ppt");
ppt.write(out);
out.close();

#### How to remove shapes from a slide

for (HSLFShape shape : slide.getShapes()) {
// remove the shape
boolean ok = slide.removeShape(shape);
if (ok) {
// the shape was removed. Do something.
}
}

#### How to retrieve embedded OLE objects

for (HSLFShape shape : slide.getShapes()) {
if (shape instanceof OLEShape) {
OLEShape ole = (OLEShape) shape;
HSLFObjectData data = ole.getObjectData();
String name = ole.getInstanceName();
if ("Worksheet".equals(name)) {
HSSFWorkbook wb = new HSSFWorkbook(data.getData());
} else if ("Document".equals(name)) {
HWPFDocument doc = new HWPFDocument(data.getData());
}
}
}

#### How to retrieve embedded sounds

FileInputStream is = new FileInputStream(args[0]);
HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow(is);
is.close();
for (HSLFSoundData sound : ppt.getSoundData()) {
// save *WAV sounds on disk
if (sound.getSoundType().equals(".WAV")) {
FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream(sound.getSoundName());
out.write(sound.getData());
out.close();
}
}

#### How to create shapes of arbitrary geometry

HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow();
HSLFSlide slide = ppt.createSlide();
java.awt.geom.GeneralPath path = new java.awt.geom.GeneralPath();
path.moveTo(100, 100);
path.lineTo(200, 100);
path.curveTo(50, 45, 134, 22, 78, 133);
path.curveTo(10, 45, 134, 56, 78, 100);
path.lineTo(100, 200);
path.closePath();
HSLFFreeformShape shape = new HSLFFreeformShape();
shape.setPath(path);
slide.addShape(shape);

#### How to draw into a slide using Graphics2D

Warning
Current implementation of the PowerPoint Graphics2D driver is not fully compliant with the java.awt.Graphics2D specification. Some features like clipping, drawing of images are not yet supported.
HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow();
HSLFSlide slide = ppt.createSlide();
// draw a simple bar graph
// bar chart data.
// The first value is the bar color,
// the second is the width
Object[] def = new Object[]{
Color.yellow, new Integer(100),
Color.green, new Integer(150),
Color.gray, new Integer(75),
Color.red, new Integer(200),
};
// all objects are drawn into a shape group so we need to create one
HSLFGroupShape group = new HSLFGroupShape();
// define position of the drawing in the slide
Rectangle bounds = new java.awt.Rectangle(200, 100, 350, 300);
// if you want to draw in the entire slide area then define the anchor
// as follows:
// Dimension pgsize = ppt.getPageSize();
// java.awt.Rectangle bounds = new java.awt.Rectangle(0, 0,
// pgsize.width, pgsize.height);
group.setAnchor(bounds);
slide.addShape(group);
// draw a simple bar chart
Graphics2D graphics = new PPGraphics2D(group);
int x = bounds.x + 50, y = bounds.y + 50;
graphics.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 10));
for (int i = 0, idx = 1; i < def.length; i += 2, idx++) {
graphics.setColor(Color.black);
int width = ((Integer) def[i + 1]).intValue();
graphics.drawString("Q" + idx, x - 20, y + 20);
graphics.drawString(width + "%", x + width + 10, y + 20);
graphics.setColor((Color) def[i]);
graphics.fill(new Rectangle(x, y, width, 30));
y += 40;
}
graphics.setColor(Color.black);
graphics.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 14));
graphics.draw(bounds);
graphics.drawString("Performance", x + 70, y + 40);
FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("hslf-graphics2d.ppt");
ppt.write(out);
out.close();

#### Export PowerPoint slides into java.awt.Graphics2D

HSLF provides a way to export slides into images. You can capture slides into java.awt.Graphics2D object (or any other) and serialize it into a PNG or JPEG format. Please note, although HSLF attempts to render slides as close to PowerPoint as possible, the output may look differently from PowerPoint due to the following reasons:

- Java2D renders fonts differently vs PowerPoint. There are always some differences in the way the font glyphs are painted
- HSLF uses java.awt.font.LineBreakMeasurer to break text into lines. PowerPoint may do it in a different way.
- If a font from the presentation is not available, then the JDK default font will be used.

Current Limitations:

- Some types of shapes are not yet supported (WordArt, complex auto-shapes)
- Only Bitmap images (PNG, JPEG, DIB) can be rendered in Java

FileInputStream is = new FileInputStream("slideshow.ppt");
HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow(is);
is.close();
Dimension pgsize = ppt.getPageSize();
int idx = 1;
for (HSLFSlide slide : ppt.getSlides()) {
BufferedImage img = new BufferedImage(pgsize.width, pgsize.height, BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_RGB);
Graphics2D graphics = img.createGraphics();
// clear the drawing area
graphics.setPaint(Color.white);
graphics.fill(new Rectangle2D.Float(0, 0, pgsize.width, pgsize.height));
// render
slide.draw(graphics);
// save the output
FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("slide-" + idx + ".png");
javax.imageio.ImageIO.write(img, "png", out);
out.close();
idx++;
}

### How to extract Headers / Footers from an existing presentation

FileInputStream is = new FileInputStream("slideshow.ppt");
HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow(is);
is.close();
// presentation-scope headers / footers
HeadersFooters hdd = ppt.getSlideHeadersFooters();
if (hdd.isFooterVisible()) {
String footerText = hdd.getFooterText();
}
// per-slide headers / footers
for (HSLFSlide slide : ppt.getSlides()) {
HeadersFooters hdd2 = slide.getHeadersFooters();
if (hdd2.isFooterVisible()) {
String footerText = hdd2.getFooterText();
}
if (hdd2.isUserDateVisible()) {
String customDate = hdd2.getDateTimeText();
}
if (hdd2.isSlideNumberVisible()) {
int slideNUm = slide.getSlideNumber();
}
}

### How to set Headers / Footers

HSLFSlideShow ppt = new HSLFSlideShow();
// presentation-scope headers / footers
HeadersFooters hdd = ppt.getSlideHeadersFooters();
hdd.setSlideNumberVisible(true);
hdd.setFootersText("Created by POI-HSLF");

by Yegor Kozlov