Aspose.Slides FOSS
Java
Developer Guide
Comments and Notes

Working with Comments and Speaker Notes — Aspose.Slides FOSS for Java

Aspose.Slides FOSS for Java supports two types of annotations: threaded slide comments (visible in review mode) and speaker notes (visible in Presenter View and the Notes pane).

Threaded Comments

Comments are attached to a slide and associated with an author. The prs.getCommentAuthors() collection manages all authors; each author has a getComments() collection for adding and reading comments.

Add a Comment 

import org.aspose.slides.foss.Presentation;
import org.aspose.slides.foss.PointF;
import org.aspose.slides.foss.SaveFormat;
import java.time.LocalDateTime;

try (Presentation prs = new Presentation()) {
    // Create a comment author with initials
    var author = prs.getCommentAuthors().addAuthor("Jane Smith", "JS");

    var slide = prs.getSlides().get(0);

    // Add a comment at position (2.0, 2.0) inches from the slide top-left
    author.getComments().addComment(
        "Please review the figures on this slide",
        slide,
        new PointF(2.0f, 2.0f),
        LocalDateTime.now()
    );

    prs.save("commented.pptx", SaveFormat.PPTX);
}

The PointF position is in inches from the top-left corner of the slide. Multiple comments can be added to the same slide by calling addComment() again.

Multiple Authors and Comments 

import org.aspose.slides.foss.Presentation;
import org.aspose.slides.foss.PointF;
import org.aspose.slides.foss.SaveFormat;
import java.time.LocalDateTime;

try (Presentation prs = new Presentation()) {
    var author1 = prs.getCommentAuthors().addAuthor("Alice Brown", "AB");
    var author2 = prs.getCommentAuthors().addAuthor("Bob Davis", "BD");

    var slide = prs.getSlides().get(0);

    author1.getComments().addComment("Initial draft", slide, new PointF(1.0f, 1.0f), LocalDateTime.now());
    author2.getComments().addComment("Approved", slide, new PointF(3.0f, 1.0f), LocalDateTime.now());

    prs.save("multi-author.pptx", SaveFormat.PPTX);
}

Read Comments from an Existing File 

import org.aspose.slides.foss.Presentation;

try (Presentation prs = new Presentation("commented.pptx")) {
    for (int a = 0; a < prs.getCommentAuthors().size(); a++) {
        var author = prs.getCommentAuthors().get(a);
        System.out.println("Author: " + author.getName() + " (" + author.getInitials() + ")");
        for (int c = 0; c < author.getComments().size(); c++) {
            var comment = author.getComments().get(c);
            System.out.println("  " + comment.getText());
        }
    }
}

Speaker Notes

Speaker notes are stored on a per-slide basis via a NotesSlide object. Access it through slide.getNotesSlideManager().

Add Speaker Notes to a Slide 

import org.aspose.slides.foss.Presentation;
import org.aspose.slides.foss.ShapeType;
import org.aspose.slides.foss.SaveFormat;

try (Presentation prs = new Presentation()) {
    var slide = prs.getSlides().get(0);
    slide.getShapes().addAutoShape(ShapeType.RECTANGLE, 50, 50, 400, 200);

    // Create the notes slide and set text
    var notes = slide.getNotesSlideManager().addNotesSlide();
    notes.getNotesTextFrame().setText(
        "Mention the Q3 revenue increase on this slide. Emphasize the 24% growth."
    );

    prs.save("with-notes.pptx", SaveFormat.PPTX);
}

Simpler Notes Example 

import org.aspose.slides.foss.Presentation;
import org.aspose.slides.foss.ShapeType;
import org.aspose.slides.foss.SaveFormat;

try (Presentation prs = new Presentation()) {
    var slide = prs.getSlides().get(0);
    slide.getShapes().addAutoShape(ShapeType.RECTANGLE, 100, 100, 500, 250)
         .addTextFrame("Main Content");

    var notes = slide.getNotesSlideManager().addNotesSlide();
    notes.getNotesTextFrame().setText("These are the speaker notes for this slide.");

    prs.save("notes.pptx", SaveFormat.PPTX);
}

Check Whether a Notes Slide Already Exists

getNotesSlideManager().getNotesSlide() returns null if no notes slide has been created yet:

import org.aspose.slides.foss.Presentation;

try (Presentation prs = new Presentation("existing.pptx")) {
    for (int i = 0; i < prs.getSlides().size(); i++) {
        var slide = prs.getSlides().get(i);
        var existingNotes = slide.getNotesSlideManager().getNotesSlide();
        if (existingNotes != null) {
            String text = existingNotes.getNotesTextFrame().getText();
            System.out.println("Slide " + (i + 1) + " notes: " + text);
        } else {
            System.out.println("Slide " + (i + 1) + ": no notes");
        }
    }
}

Add Notes to Multiple Slides 

import org.aspose.slides.foss.Presentation;
import org.aspose.slides.foss.ShapeType;
import org.aspose.slides.foss.SaveFormat;

String[] noteTexts = {
    "Opening remarks: introduce the agenda.",
    "Key metrics: emphasize Q4 results.",
    "Closing: call to action.",
};

try (Presentation prs = new Presentation()) {
    // Add slides 2 and 3
    var layout = prs.getSlides().get(0).getLayoutSlide();
    prs.getSlides().addEmptySlide(layout);
    prs.getSlides().addEmptySlide(layout);

    for (int i = 0; i < prs.getSlides().size(); i++) {
        var slide = prs.getSlides().get(i);
        slide.getShapes().addAutoShape(ShapeType.RECTANGLE, 50, 50, 600, 300)
             .addTextFrame("Slide " + (i + 1));
        var n = slide.getNotesSlideManager().addNotesSlide();
        n.getNotesTextFrame().setText(noteTexts[i]);
    }

    prs.save("all-notes.pptx", SaveFormat.PPTX);
}

See Also