Busy Developers' Guide to HSLF drawing layer

• 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

    //create a new empty slide show
    SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow();

    //add first slide
    Slide s1 = ppt.createSlide();

    //add second slide
    Slide s2 = ppt.createSlide();
    
    //save changes in a file
    FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("slideshow.ppt");
    ppt.write(out);
    out.close();
                 

    SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow(new HSLFSlideShow("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();
                  

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

  SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow(new HSLFSlideShow("slideshow.ppt"));
  //get slides 
  Slide[] slide = ppt.getSlides();
  for (int i = 0; i < slide.length; i++){
    Shape[] sh = slide[i].getShapes();
    for (int j = 0; j < sh.length; j++){
      //name of the shape
      String name = sh[j].getShapeName();

      //shapes's anchor which defines the position of this shape in the slide
      java.awt.Rectangle anchor = sh[j].getAnchor();

      if (sh[j] instanceof Line){
        Line line = (Line)sh[j];
        //work with Line
      } else if (sh[j] instanceof AutoShape){
        AutoShape shape = (AutoShape)sh[j];
        //work with AutoShape
      } else if (sh[j] instanceof TextBox){
        TextBox shape = (TextBox)sh[j];
        //work with TextBox
      } else if (sh[j] instanceof Picture){
        Picture shape = (Picture)sh[j];
        //work with Picture
      }
    }
  }
                  

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).

  SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow();

  Slide 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.setLineStyle(Line.LINE_DOUBLE);
  slide.addShape(line);

  //TextBox
  TextBox txt = new TextBox();
  txt.setText("Hello, World!");
  txt.setAnchor(new java.awt.Rectangle(300, 100, 300, 50));

  //use RichTextRun to work with the text format
  RichTextRun rt = txt.getTextRun().getRichTextRuns()[0];
  rt.setFontSize(32);
  rt.setFontName("Arial");
  rt.setBold(true);
  rt.setItalic(true);
  rt.setUnderlined(true);
  rt.setFontColor(Color.red);
  rt.setAlignment(TextBox.AlignRight);

  slide.addShape(txt);

  //Autoshape
  //32-point star
  AutoShape sh1 = new AutoShape(ShapeTypes.Star32);
  sh1.setAnchor(new java.awt.Rectangle(50, 50, 100, 200));
  sh1.setFillColor(Color.red);
  slide.addShape(sh1);

  //Trapezoid
  AutoShape sh2 = new AutoShape(ShapeTypes.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();
                    
                  

Currently, HSLF API supports the following types of pictures:

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

  SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow(new HSLFSlideShow("slideshow.ppt"));

  //extract all pictures contained in the presentation
  PictureData[] pdata = ppt.getPictureData();
  for (int i = 0; i < pdata.length; i++){
    PictureData pict = pdata[i];

    // picture data
    byte[] data = pict.getData();

    int type = pict.getType();
    String ext;
    switch (type){
      case Picture.JPEG: ext=".jpg"; break;
      case Picture.PNG: ext=".png"; break;
      case Picture.WMF: ext=".wmf"; break;
      case Picture.EMF: ext=".emf"; break;
      case Picture.PICT: ext=".pict"; break;
      default: continue;
    }
    FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("pict_"+i + ext);
      out.write(data);
      out.close();

  }

  // add a new picture to this slideshow and insert it in a  new slide
  int idx = ppt.addPicture(new File("clock.jpg"), Picture.JPEG);

  Picture pict = new Picture(idx);

  //set image position in the slide
  pict.setAnchor(new java.awt.Rectangle(100, 100, 300, 200));

  Slide slide = ppt.createSlide();
  slide.addShape(pict);

  //now retrieve pictures containes in the first slide and save them on disk
  slide = ppt.getSlides()[0];
  Shape[] sh = slide.getShapes();
  for (int i = 0; i < sh.length; i++){
    if (sh[i] instanceof Picture){
      Picture pict = (Picture)sh[i];
      PictureData pictData = pict.getPictureData();
      byte[] data = pictData.getData();
      int type = pictData.getType();
      if (type == Picture.JPEG){
        FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("slide0_"+i+".jpg");
        out.write(data);
        out.close();
      } else if (type == Picture.PNG){
        FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("slide0_"+i+".png");
        out.write(data);
        out.close();
      }
    }
  }

  FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("slideshow.ppt");
  ppt.write(out);
  out.close();

                    

    SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow();
    Slide slide = ppt.createSlide();
    TextBox 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!"
                  

        SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow();
        SlideMaster master = ppt.getSlidesMasters()[0];

        Fill fill = master.getBackground().getFill();
        int idx = ppt.addPicture(new File("background.png"), Picture.PNG);
        fill.setFillType(Fill.FILL_PICTURE);
        fill.setPictureData(idx);
                  

        SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow();
        Slide slide = ppt.createSlide();
        
        //This slide has its own background. 
        //Without this line it will use master's background.
        slide.setFollowMasterBackground(false);
        Fill fill = slide.getBackground().getFill();
        int idx = ppt.addPicture(new File("background.png"), Picture.PNG);
        fill.setFillType(Fill.FILL_PATTERN);
        fill.setPictureData(idx);
                  

        SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow();
        Slide slide = ppt.createSlide();
        
        Shape shape = new AutoShape(ShapeTypes.Rectangle);
        shape.setAnchor(new java.awt.Rectangle(100, 100, 200, 200));
        Fill fill = shape.getFill();
        fill.setFillType(Fill.FILL_SHADE);
        fill.setBackgroundColor(Color.red);
        fill.setForegroundColor(Color.green);
        
        slide.addShape(shape);
                  

  SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow();

  Slide slide = ppt.createSlide();

  TextBox shape = new TextBox();
  RichTextRun rt = shape.getTextRun().getRichTextRuns()[0];
  shape.setText(
          "January\r" +
          "February\r" +
          "March\r" +
          "April");
  rt.setFontSize(42);
  rt.setBullet(true);
  rt.setBulletOffset(0);  //bullet offset
  rt.setTextOffset(50);   //text offset (should be greater than bullet offset)
  rt.setBulletChar('\u263A'); //bullet character
  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();
                

    FileInputStream is = new FileInputStream("slideshow.ppt");
    SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow(is);
    is.close();

    Slide[] slide = ppt.getSlides();
    for (int j = 0; j < slide.length; j++) {

        //read hyperlinks from the text runs
        TextRun[] txt = slide[j].getTextRuns();
        for (int k = 0; k < txt.length; k++) {
            String text = txt[k].getText();
            Hyperlink[] links = txt[k].getHyperlinks();
            if(links != null) for (int l = 0; l < links.length; l++) {
                Hyperlink link = links[l];
                String title = link.getTitle();
                String address = link.getAddress();
                String substring = text.substring(link.getStartIndex(), link.getEndIndex()-1); //in ppt end index is inclusive
            }
        }

        //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
        Shape[] sh = slide[j].getShapes();
        for (int k = 0; k < sh.length; k++) {
            Hyperlink link = sh[k].getHyperlink();
            if(link != null)  {
                String title = link.getTitle();
                String address = link.getAddress();
            }
        }
    }
                

      //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"}
      };

      SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow();

      Slide slide = ppt.createSlide();
      //create a table of 5 rows and 2 columns
      Table table = new Table(5, 2);
      for (int i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
          for (int j = 0; j < data[i].length; j++) {
              TableCell cell = table.getCell(i, j);
              cell.setText(data[i][j]);

              RichTextRun rt = cell.getTextRun().getRichTextRuns()[0];
              rt.setFontName("Arial");
              rt.setFontSize(10);

              cell.setVerticalAlignment(TextBox.AnchorMiddle);
              cell.setHorizontalAlignment(TextBox.AlignCenter);
          }
      }

      //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();
    
                    

        Shape[] shape = slide.getShapes();
        for (int i = 0; i < shape.length; i++) {
    
            //remove the shape
            boolean ok = slide.removeShape(shape[i]);
            if(ok){
              //the shape was removed. Do something.
            }
        }
                    

        Shape[] shape = slide.getShapes();
        for (int i = 0; i < shape.length; i++) {
            if (shape[i] instanceof OLEShape) {
                OLEShape ole = (OLEShape) shape[i];
                ObjectData 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());
                }
            }
        }
                    

        FileInputStream is = new FileInputStream(args[0]);
        SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow(is);
        is.close();

        SoundData[] sound = ppt.getSoundData();
        for (int i = 0; i < sound.length; i++) {
            //save *WAV sounds on disk
            if(sound[i].getSoundType().equals(".WAV")){
                FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream(sound[i].getSoundName());
                out.write(sound[i].getData());
                out.close();
            }
        }
                    

        SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow();
        Slide 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();
        
        Freeform shape = new Freeform();
        shape.setPath(path);
        slide.addShape(shape);
                    

        SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow();
        Slide 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

        ShapeGroup group = new ShapeGroup();
        //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();

                   

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 avaiable, 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");
        SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow(is);
        is.close();
        
        Dimension pgsize = ppt.getPageSize();

        Slide[] slide = ppt.getSlides();
        for (int i = 0; i < slide.length; i++) {

            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[i].draw(graphics);

            //save the output
            FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("slide-"  + (i+1) + ".png");
            javax.imageio.ImageIO.write(img, "png", out);
            out.close();
        }

                  

          FileInputStream is = new FileInputStream("slideshow.ppt");
          SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow(is);
          is.close();
          Slide[] slides = ppt.getSlides();

          //presentation-scope headers / footers
          HeadersFooters hdd = ppt.getSlideHeadersFooters();
          if(hdd.isFooterVisible()) {
              String footerText = hdd.getFooterText();
          }

          //per-slide headers / footers
          for (int i=0; i < slides.length; i++){
              HeadersFooters hdd2 = slides[i].getHeadersFooters();
              if(hdd2.isFooterVisible()) {
                  String footerText = hdd2.getFooterText();
              }
              if(hdd2.isUserDateVisible()) {
                 String customDate = hdd2.getDateTimeText();
              }
              if(hdd2.isSlideNumberVisible()){
                  int slideNUm = slides[i].getSlideNumber();
              }

          }
                

          SlideShow ppt = new SlideShow();

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