Frequently Asked Questions

How do I install Aspose.Slides FOSS?

Add the Maven dependency to your pom.xml. Java 11 or later is required.

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.aspose.slides.foss</groupId>
  <artifactId>aspose-slides-foss</artifactId>
  <version>1.0.0</version>
</dependency>

Verify the installation:

import org.aspose.slides.foss.Presentation;

Presentation prs = new Presentation();
try {
    System.out.println("Slides: " + prs.getSlides().size());
} finally {
    prs.dispose();
}

No Microsoft Office or other system runtime is required.

Why must I call `dispose()` on Presentation?

The Presentation class manages internal OPC package resources. Without calling dispose(), those resources are not released, which can cause memory leaks or file locks. Always use try-finally:

Presentation prs = new Presentation("input.pptx");
try {
    // work here
    prs.save("output.pptx", SaveFormat.PPTX);
} finally {
    prs.dispose();
}

Alternatively, use try-with-resources since Presentation implements AutoCloseable:

try (Presentation prs = new Presentation("input.pptx")) {
    prs.save("output.pptx", SaveFormat.PPTX);
}

What file formats can I save to?

Only PPTX is supported:

import org.aspose.slides.foss.SaveFormat;

prs.save("output.pptx", SaveFormat.PPTX);

Export to PDF, HTML, SVG, or image formats (PNG, JPEG) is not available in this edition.

Can I open `.ppt` (old PowerPoint 97-2003) files?

No. Only .pptx (Office Open XML) files are supported. Legacy .ppt binary format is not handled by this library.

How do I access slides?

Slides are a zero-based collection accessible via prs.getSlides():

ISlide firstSlide = prs.getSlides().get(0);
int slideCount = prs.getSlides().size();

How do I add a second slide?

Use prs.getSlides().addEmptySlide() with a layout:

try (Presentation prs = new Presentation()) {
    ILayoutSlide layout = prs.getLayoutSlides().get(0);
    prs.getSlides().addEmptySlide(layout);
    ISlide slide2 = prs.getSlides().get(1);
    prs.save("two-slides.pptx", SaveFormat.PPTX);
}

How do I set the slide background color?

Access the slide background fill format:

import org.aspose.slides.foss.FillType;
import org.aspose.slides.foss.Color;

ISlide slide = prs.getSlides().get(0);
slide.getBackground().getFillFormat().setFillType(FillType.SOLID);
slide.getBackground().getFillFormat().getSolidFillColor().setColor(
    Color.fromArgb(255, 230, 240, 255)
);

How do I use `NullableBool`?

NullableBool is a tri-state enum used for formatting properties. Use NullableBool.TRUE (not Java’s true) for bold, italic, and similar properties:

import org.aspose.slides.foss.NullableBool;

fmt.setFontBold(NullableBool.TRUE);
fmt.setFontItalic(NullableBool.FALSE);

Why does setting text color have no effect?

You must also set fillType to FillType.SOLID before assigning the color:

import org.aspose.slides.foss.FillType;
import org.aspose.slides.foss.Color;

fmt.getFillFormat().setFillType(FillType.SOLID);
fmt.getFillFormat().getSolidFillColor().setColor(Color.fromArgb(255, 200, 0, 0));

Can I use charts or SmartArt?

No. Charts, SmartArt, OLE objects, animations, transitions, hyperlinks, VBA macros, and digital signatures are not implemented in this edition and raise UnsupportedOperationException.

Is the library thread-safe?

Each Presentation object is independent. Creating and using separate Presentation instances from separate threads is safe as long as you do not share a single Presentation object across threads without external synchronization.

How do I embed an image?

Read the image bytes and add them to prs.getImages(), then create a PictureFrame:

import org.aspose.slides.foss.ShapeType;

byte[] imageData = java.nio.file.Files.readAllBytes(
    java.nio.file.Paths.get("logo.png")
);
IPPImage image = prs.getImages().addImage(imageData);
slide.getShapes().addPictureFrame(ShapeType.RECTANGLE, 50, 50, 200, 150, image);

Frequently Asked Questions