One useful application of the Google Slides API is to merge information from one or more data sources into a templated slide deck.
This page outlines how you can take data from an external source and insert it into an existing template presentation. The concept is similar to that of a mail merge using a word processor and spreadsheet.
There are several reasons why this approach is useful:
-
It's easy for designers to fine-tune a presentation's design using the Google Slides editor. This is much easier than tuning parameters in your app to set the rendered slide design.
-
Separating content from presentation is a well-known design principle with many benefits.
A basic recipe
Here's an example of how you can use the Slides API to merge data into a presentation:
-
Create your presentation as you want it to appear using placeholder content to help you with the design.
-
For each content element you'll be inserting, replace the placeholder content with a tag. Tags are text boxes or shapes with a unique string. Be sure to use strings that are unlikely to occur normally. For example,
{{account-holder-name}}might be a good tag. -
In your code, use the Google Drive API to make a copy of the presentation.
-
In your code, use the Slides API's
batchUpdatemethod, with a set ofreplaceAllTextrequests, to perform all the text substitutions throughout the presentation. UsereplaceAllShapesWithImagerequests to perform image substitutions throughout the presentation.
Once you've created a deck with tags in it, be sure to make a copy and use the Slides API to manipulate the copy. Don't use the Slides API to manipulate your primary "template" copy!
The following sections include code snippets that illustrate some of this process. You can also view the above video to see a complete example (Python) combining several of the concepts from the individual sections below.
Merge text
You can use a replaceAllText
request to replace all instances of a given text string in a
presentation with new text. For merges, this is simpler than
finding and replacing each instance of text individually. One reason this is the
most sophisticated approach is that page element IDs are difficult to predict,
especially as collaborators refine and maintain the template
presentation.
Example
This example uses the Drive API to copy a template presentation, making a new instance of the presentation. Then it uses the Google Sheets API to read data from a Sheets spreadsheet, and finally uses the Slides API to update the new presentation.
The example takes data from 3 cells in one row of a named range in the
spreadsheet. It then substitutes that data into the presentation wherever
the strings {{customer-name}}
, {{case-description}}
, or {{total-portfolio}}
occur.
Apps Script
slides/api/Snippets.gs
/** * Use the Sheets API to load data, one record per row. * @param {string} templatePresentationId * @param {string} dataSpreadsheetId * @returns {*[]} */ function textMerging ( templatePresentationId , dataSpreadsheetId ) { let responses = []; const dataRangeNotation = 'Customers!A2:M6' ; try { let values = SpreadsheetApp . openById ( dataSpreadsheetId ). getRange ( dataRangeNotation ). getValues (); // For each record, create a new merged presentation. for ( let i = 0 ; i < values . length ; ++ i ) { const row = values [ i ]; const customerName = row [ 2 ]; // name in column 3 const caseDescription = row [ 5 ]; // case description in column 6 const totalPortfolio = row [ 11 ]; // total portfolio in column 12 // Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. const copyTitle = customerName + ' presentation' ; let copyFile = { title : copyTitle , parents : [{ id : 'root' }] }; copyFile = Drive . Files . copy ( copyFile , templatePresentationId ); const presentationCopyId = copyFile . id ; // Create the text merge (replaceAllText) requests for this presentation. const requests = [{ replaceAllText : { containsText : { text : '{{customer-name}}' , matchCase : true }, replaceText : customerName } }, { replaceAllText : { containsText : { text : '{{case-description}}' , matchCase : true }, replaceText : caseDescription } }, { replaceAllText : { containsText : { text : '{{total-portfolio}}' , matchCase : true }, replaceText : totalPortfolio + '' } }]; // Execute the requests for this presentation. const result = Slides . Presentations . batchUpdate ({ requests : requests }, presentationCopyId ); // Count the total number of replacements made. let numReplacements = 0 ; result . replies . forEach ( function ( reply ) { numReplacements += reply . replaceAllText . occurrencesChanged ; }); console . log ( 'Created presentation for %s with ID: %s' , customerName , presentationCopyId ); console . log ( 'Replaced %s text instances' , numReplacements ); } } catch ( err ) { // TODO (Developer) - Handle exception console . log ( 'Failed with error: %s' , err . error ); } };
Go
slides/snippets/presentations.go
// Use the Sheets API to load data, one record per row. dataRangeNotation := "Customers!A2:M6" sheetsResponse , _ := sheetsService . Spreadsheets . Values . Get ( dataSpreadsheetId , dataRangeNotation ). Do () values := sheetsResponse . Values // For each record, create a new merged presentation. for _ , row := range values { customerName := row [ 2 ].( string ) caseDescription := row [ 5 ].( string ) totalPortfolio := row [ 11 ].( string ) // Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. copyTitle := customerName + " presentation" file := drive . File { Title : copyTitle , } presentationFile , _ := driveService . Files . Copy ( templatePresentationId , & file ). Do () presentationId := presentationFile . Id // Create the text merge (replaceAllText) requests for this presentation. requests := [] * slides . Request {{ ReplaceAllText: &slides.ReplaceAllTextRequest{ ContainsText: &slides.SubstringMatchCriteria{ Text: "{{customer-name} } ", MatchCase: true, }, ReplaceText: customerName, }, }, { ReplaceAllText: &slides.ReplaceAllTextRequest{ ContainsText: &slides.SubstringMatchCriteria{ Text: " {{case-description} } ", MatchCase: true, }, ReplaceText: caseDescription, }, }, { ReplaceAllText: &slides.ReplaceAllTextRequest{ ContainsText: &slides.SubstringMatchCriteria{ Text: " {{total-portfolio} } " , MatchCase : true , }, ReplaceText : totalPortfolio , }, }} // Execute the requests for this presentation. body := & slides . BatchUpdatePresentationRequest { Requests : requests , } response , _ := slidesService . Presentations . BatchUpdate ( presentationId , body ). Do ()
Java
slides/snippets/src/main/java/TextMerging.java
import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonError ; import com.google.api.client.googleapis.json.GoogleJsonResponseException ; import com.google.api.client.http.HttpRequestInitializer ; import com.google.api.client.http.javanet.NetHttpTransport ; import com.google.api.client.json.gson.GsonFactory ; import com.google.api.services.drive.Drive ; import com.google.api.services.drive.model.File ; import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.Sheets ; import com.google.api.services.sheets.v4.model.ValueRange ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.Slides ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.SlidesScopes ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.model.BatchUpdatePresentationRequest ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.model.BatchUpdatePresentationResponse ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.model.ReplaceAllTextRequest ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.model.Request ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.model.Response ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.model.SubstringMatchCriteria ; import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter ; import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials ; import java.io.IOException ; import java.util.ArrayList ; import java.util.Arrays ; import java.util.List ; /* Class to demonstrate the use of Slides Text Merging API */ public class TextMerging { /** * Changes specified texts with data from spreadsheet. * * @param templatePresentationId - id of the presentation. * @param dataSpreadsheetId - id of the spreadsheet containing data. * @return merged presentation id * @throws IOException - if credentials file not found. */ public static List<BatchUpdatePresentationResponse> textMerging ( String templatePresentationId , String dataSpreadsheetId ) throws IOException { /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment. TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */ GoogleCredentials credentials = GoogleCredentials . getApplicationDefault () . createScoped ( Arrays . asList ( SlidesScopes . PRESENTATIONS , SlidesScopes . DRIVE , SlidesScopes . SPREADSHEETS )); HttpRequestInitializer requestInitializer = new HttpCredentialsAdapter ( credentials ); // Create the slides API client Slides service = new Slides . Builder ( new NetHttpTransport (), GsonFactory . getDefaultInstance (), requestInitializer ) . setApplicationName ( "Slides samples" ) . build (); // Create the drive API client Drive driveService = new Drive . Builder ( new NetHttpTransport (), GsonFactory . getDefaultInstance (), requestInitializer ) . setApplicationName ( "Slides samples" ) . build (); // Create the sheets API client Sheets sheetsService = new Sheets . Builder ( new NetHttpTransport (), GsonFactory . getDefaultInstance (), requestInitializer ) . setApplicationName ( "Slides samples" ) . build (); List<BatchUpdatePresentationResponse> responses = new ArrayList <> ( 5 ); // Use the Sheets API to load data, one record per row. String dataRangeNotation = "Customers!A2:M6" ; ValueRange sheetsResponse = sheetsService . spreadsheets (). values () . get ( dataSpreadsheetId , dataRangeNotation ). execute (); List<List<Object> > values = sheetsResponse . getValues (); try { // For each record, create a new merged presentation. for ( List<Object> row : values ) { String customerName = row . get ( 2 ). toString (); // name in column 3 String caseDescription = row . get ( 5 ). toString (); // case description in column 6 String totalPortfolio = row . get ( 11 ). toString (); // total portfolio in column 12 // Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. String copyTitle = customerName + " presentation" ; File content = new File (). setName ( copyTitle ); File presentationFile = driveService . files (). copy ( templatePresentationId , content ). execute (); String presentationId = presentationFile . getId (); // Create the text merge (replaceAllText) requests for this presentation. List<Request> requests = new ArrayList <> (); requests . add ( new Request () . setReplaceAllText ( new ReplaceAllTextRequest () . setContainsText ( new SubstringMatchCriteria () . setText ( "{{customer-name}}" ) . setMatchCase ( true )) . setReplaceText ( customerName ))); requests . add ( new Request () . setReplaceAllText ( new ReplaceAllTextRequest () . setContainsText ( new SubstringMatchCriteria () . setText ( "{{case-description}}" ) . setMatchCase ( true )) . setReplaceText ( caseDescription ))); requests . add ( new Request () . setReplaceAllText ( new ReplaceAllTextRequest () . setContainsText ( new SubstringMatchCriteria () . setText ( "{{total-portfolio}}" ) . setMatchCase ( true )) . setReplaceText ( totalPortfolio ))); // Execute the requests for this presentation. BatchUpdatePresentationRequest body = new BatchUpdatePresentationRequest (). setRequests ( requests ); BatchUpdatePresentationResponse response = service . presentations (). batchUpdate ( presentationId , body ). execute (); // Count total number of replacements made. int numReplacements = 0 ; for ( Response resp : response . getReplies ()) { numReplacements += resp . getReplaceAllText (). getOccurrencesChanged (); } // Prints the merged presentation id and count of replacements. System . out . println ( "Created merged presentation for " + customerName + " with ID: " + presentationId ); System . out . println ( "Replaced " + numReplacements + " text instances." ); } } catch ( NullPointerException ne ) { System . out . println ( "Text not found to replace with image." ); } catch ( GoogleJsonResponseException e ) { // TODO(developer) - handle error appropriately GoogleJsonError error = e . getDetails (); if ( error . getCode () == 404 ) { System . out . printf ( "Presentation not found with id '%s'.\n" , templatePresentationId ); } else { throw e ; } } return responses ; } }
JavaScript
slides/snippets/slides_text_merging.js
function textMerging ( templatePresentationId , dataSpreadsheetId , callback ) { // Use the Sheets API to load data, one record per row. const responses = []; const dataRangeNotation = 'Customers!A2:M6' ; try { gapi . client . sheets . spreadsheets . values . get ({ spreadsheetId : dataSpreadsheetId , range : dataRangeNotation , }). then (( sheetsResponse ) = > { const values = sheetsResponse . result . values ; // For each record, create a new merged presentation. for ( let i = 0 ; i < values . length ; ++ i ) { const row = values [ i ]; const customerName = row [ 2 ]; // name in column 3 const caseDescription = row [ 5 ]; // case description in column 6 const totalPortfolio = row [ 11 ]; // total portfolio in column 12 // Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. const copyTitle = customerName + ' presentation' ; const request = { name : copyTitle , }; gapi . client . drive . files . copy ({ fileId : templatePresentationId , requests : request , }). then (( driveResponse ) = > { const presentationCopyId = driveResponse . result . id ; // Create the text merge (replaceAllText) requests for this presentation. const requests = [{ replaceAllText : { containsText : { text : '{{customer-name}}' , matchCase : true , }, replaceText : customerName , }, }, { replaceAllText : { containsText : { text : '{{case-description}}' , matchCase : true , }, replaceText : caseDescription , }, }, { replaceAllText : { containsText : { text : '{{total-portfolio}}' , matchCase : true , }, replaceText : totalPortfolio , }, }]; // Execute the requests for this presentation. gapi . client . slides . presentations . batchUpdate ({ presentationId : presentationCopyId , requests : requests , }). then (( batchUpdateResponse ) = > { const result = batchUpdateResponse . result ; responses . push ( result . replies ); // Count the total number of replacements made. let numReplacements = 0 ; for ( let i = 0 ; i < result . replies . length ; ++ i ) { numReplacements += result . replies [ i ]. replaceAllText . occurrencesChanged ; } console . log ( `Created presentation for ${ customerName } with ID: ${ presentationCopyId } ` ); console . log ( `Replaced ${ numReplacements } text instances` ); if ( responses . length === values . length ) { // callback for the last value if ( callback ) callback ( responses ); } }); }); } }); } catch ( err ) { document . getElementById ( 'content' ). innerText = err . message ; return ; } }
Node.js
slides/snippets/slides_text_merging.js
/** * Adds data from a spreadsheet to a template presentation. * @param {string} templatePresentationId The template presentation ID. * @param {string} dataSpreadsheetId The data spreadsheet ID. */ async function textMerging ( templatePresentationId , dataSpreadsheetId ) { const { GoogleAuth } = require ( 'google-auth-library' ); const { google } = require ( 'googleapis' ); const auth = new GoogleAuth ({ scopes : [ 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/presentations' , 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive' , 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets' , ], }); const slidesService = google . slides ({ version : 'v1' , auth }); const sheetsService = google . sheets ({ version : 'v4' , auth }); const driveService = google . drive ({ version : 'v2' , auth }); // Use the Sheets API to load data, one record per row. const responses = []; const dataRangeNotation = 'A2:M6' ; try { const sheetsResponse = await sheetsService . spreadsheets . values . get ({ spreadsheetId : dataSpreadsheetId , range : dataRangeNotation , }); const values = sheetsResponse . data . values ; // For each record, create a new merged presentation. for ( let i = 0 ; i < values . length ; ++ i ) { const row = values [ i ]; const customerName = row [ 2 ]; // name in column 3 const caseDescription = row [ 5 ]; // case description in column 6 const totalPortfolio = row [ 11 ]; // total portfolio in column 12 // Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. const copyTitle = customerName + ' presentation' ; let requests = { name : copyTitle , }; const driveResponse = await driveService . files . copy ({ fileId : templatePresentationId , requests , }); const presentationCopyId = driveResponse . data . id ; // Create the text merge (replaceAllText) requests for this presentation. requests = [ { replaceAllText : { containsText : { text : '{{customer-name}}' , matchCase : true , }, replaceText : customerName , }, }, { replaceAllText : { containsText : { text : '{{case-description}}' , matchCase : true , }, replaceText : caseDescription , }, }, { replaceAllText : { containsText : { text : '{{total-portfolio}}' , matchCase : true , }, replaceText : totalPortfolio , }, }, ]; // Execute the requests for this presentation. const batchUpdateResponse = await slidesService . presentations . batchUpdate ( { presentationId : presentationCopyId , resource : { requests , }, }, ); const result = batchUpdateResponse . data ; // Count the total number of replacements made. let numReplacements = 0 ; for ( let i = 0 ; i < result . replies . length ; ++ i ) { numReplacements += result . replies [ i ]. replaceAllText . occurrencesChanged ; } console . log ( `Created presentation for ${ customerName } with ID: ` + presentationCopyId , ); console . log ( `Replaced ${ numReplacements } text instances` ); return result ; } } catch ( err ) { // TODO (developer) - Handle exception throw err ; } }
PHP
slides/snippets/src/SlidesTextMerging.php
< ?php use Google\Client; use Google\Service\Drive; use Google\Service\Slides; use Google\Service\Slides\Request; function textMerging($templatePresentationId, $dataSpreadsheetId) { /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment. TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */ $client = new Google\Client(); $client->useApplicationDefaultCredentials(); $client->addScope(Google\Service\Drive::DRIVE); $slidesService = new Google_Service_Slides($client); $driveService = new Google_Service_Drive($client); $sheetsService = new Google_Service_Sheets($client); try { $responses = array(); // Use the Sheets API to load data, one record per row. $dataRangeNotation = 'Customers!A2:M6'; $sheetsResponse = $sheetsService->spreadsheets_values->get($dataSpreadsheetId, $dataRangeNotation); $values = $sheetsResponse['values']; // For each record, create a new merged presentation. foreach ($values as $row) { $customerName = $row[2]; // name in column 3 $caseDescription = $row[5]; // case description in column 6 $totalPortfolio = $row[11]; // total portfolio in column 12 // Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. $copy = new Google_Service_Drive_DriveFile(array( 'name' => $customerName . ' presentation' )); $driveResponse = $driveService->files->copy($templatePresentationId, $copy); $presentationCopyId = $driveResponse->id; // Create the text merge (replaceAllText) requests for this presentation. $requests = array(); $requests[] = new Google_Service_Slides_Request(array( 'replaceAllText' => array( 'containsText' => array( 'text' => '{{customer-name}}', 'matchCase' => true ), 'replaceText' => $customerName ) )); $requests[] = new Google_Service_Slides_Request(array( 'replaceAllText' => array( 'containsText' => array( 'text' => '{{case-description}}', 'matchCase' => true ), 'replaceText' => $caseDescription ) )); $requests[] = new Google_Service_Slides_Request(array( 'replaceAllText' => array( 'containsText' => array( 'text' => '{{total-portfolio}}', 'matchCase' => true ), 'replaceText' => $totalPortfolio ) )); // Execute the requests for this presentation. $batchUpdateRequest = new Google_Service_Slides_BatchUpdatePresentationRequest(array( 'requests' => $requests )); $response = $slidesService->presentations->batchUpdate($presentationCopyId, $batchUpdateRequest); $responses[] = $response; // Count the total number of replacements made. $numReplacements = 0; foreach ($response->getReplies() as $reply) { $numReplacements += $reply->getReplaceAllText()->getOccurrencesChanged(); } printf("Created presentation for %s with ID: %s\n", $customerName, $presentationCopyId); printf("Replaced %d text instances.\n", $numReplacements); } return $responses; } catch (Exception $e) { echo 'Message: ' . $e->getMessage(); } }
Python
slides/snippets/slides_text_merging.py
import google.auth from googleapiclient.discovery import build from googleapiclient.errors import HttpError def text_merging ( template_presentation_id , data_spreadsheet_id ): """ Run Text merging the user has access to. Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment. TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for guides on implementing OAuth2 for the application. """ creds , _ = google . auth . default () # pylint: disable=maybe-no-member try : service = build ( "slides" , "v1" , credentials = creds ) sheets_service = build ( "sheets" , "v4" , credentials = creds ) drive_service = build ( "drive" , "v3" , credentials = creds ) # Use the Sheets API to load data, one record per row. data_range_notation = "Customers!A2:M6" sheets_response = ( sheets_service . spreadsheets () . values () . get ( spreadsheetId = data_spreadsheet_id , range = data_range_notation ) . execute () ) values = sheets_response . get ( "values" ) # For each record, create a new merged presentation. for row in values : customer_name = row [ 2 ] # name in column 3 case_description = row [ 5 ] # case description in column 6 total_portfolio = row [ 11 ] # total portfolio in column 12 # Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. copy_title = customer_name + " presentation" body = { "name" : copy_title } drive_response = ( drive_service . files () . copy ( fileId = template_presentation_id , body = body ) . execute () ) presentation_copy_id = drive_response . get ( "id" ) # Create the text merge (replaceAllText) requests # for this presentation. requests = [ { "replaceAllText" : { "containsText" : { "text" : "{{customer-name}}" , "matchCase" : True , }, "replaceText" : customer_name , } }, { "replaceAllText" : { "containsText" : { "text" : "{{case-description}}" , "matchCase" : True , }, "replaceText" : case_description , } }, { "replaceAllText" : { "containsText" : { "text" : "{{total-portfolio}}" , "matchCase" : True , }, "replaceText" : total_portfolio , } }, ] # Execute the requests for this presentation. body = { "requests" : requests } response = ( service . presentations () . batchUpdate ( presentationId = presentation_copy_id , body = body ) . execute () ) # Count the total number of replacements made. num_replacements = 0 for reply in response . get ( "replies" ): if reply . get ( "occurrencesChanged" ) is not None : num_replacements += reply . get ( "replaceAllText" ) . get ( "occurrencesChanged" ) print ( "Created presentation for " f " { customer_name } with ID: { presentation_copy_id } " ) print ( f "Replaced { num_replacements } text instances" ) except HttpError as error : print ( f "An error occurred: { error } " ) return error if __name__ == "__main__" : # Put the template_presentation_id, data_spreadsheet_id # of slides text_merging ( "10QnVUx1X2qHsL17WUidGpPh_SQhXYx40CgIxaKk8jU4" , "17eqFZl_WK4WVixX8PjvjfLD77DraoFwMDXeiHB3dvuM" , )
Ruby
slides/snippets/lib/file_snippets.rb
# Use the Sheets API to load data, one record per row. data_range_notation = 'Customers!A2:M6' sheets_response = sheets_service . get_spreadsheet_values ( data_spreadsheet_id , data_range_notation ) values = sheets_response . values # For each record, create a new merged presentation. values . each do | row | customer_name = row [ 2 ] # name in column 3 case_description = row [ 5 ] # case description in column 6 total_portfolio = row [ 11 ] # total portfolio in column 12 # Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. copy_title = customer_name + ' presentation' body = Google :: Apis :: SlidesV1 :: Presentation . new body . title = copy_title drive_response = drive_service . copy_file ( template_presentation_id , body ) presentation_copy_id = drive_response . id # Create the text merge (replace_all_text) requests for this presentation. requests = [] << { replace_all_text : { contains_text : { text : '{{customer-name}}' , match_case : true }, replace_text : customer_name } } << { replace_all_text : { contains_text : { text : '{{case-description}}' , match_case : true }, replace_text : case_description } } << { replace_all_text : { contains_text : { text : '{{total-portfolio}}' , match_case : true }, replace_text : total_portfolio } } # Execute the requests for this presentation. req = Google :: Apis :: SlidesV1 :: BatchUpdatePresentationRequest . new ( requests : requests ) response = slides_service . batch_update_presentation ( presentation_copy_id , req )
Merge images
You can also merge images into your presentation using a replaceAllShapesWithImage
request. This request replaces all instances of shapes containing the
provided text string with the provided image. The request automatically
positions and scales the image to fit within the tag shape's bounds while
preserving the image's aspect ratio.
Example
This example uses the Google Drive API to copy a template presentation, making
a new instance of the presentation. Then it uses the Slides API to find
any shape with the text {{company-logo}}
and replace it with a company logo image. The request also replaces any
shape with the text {{customer-graphic}}
with a different image.
Apps Script
slides/api/Snippets.gs
/** * Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. * @param {string} templatePresentationId * @param {string} imageUrl * @param {string} customerName * @returns {*} */ function imageMerging ( templatePresentationId , imageUrl , customerName ) { const logoUrl = imageUrl ; const customerGraphicUrl = imageUrl ; const copyTitle = customerName + ' presentation' ; let copyFile = { title : copyTitle , parents : [{ id : 'root' }] }; try { copyFile = Drive . Files . copy ( copyFile , templatePresentationId ); const presentationCopyId = copyFile . id ; // Create the image merge (replaceAllShapesWithImage) requests. const requests = [{ replaceAllShapesWithImage : { imageUrl : logoUrl , imageReplaceMethod : 'CENTER_INSIDE' , containsText : { text : '{{company-logo}}' , matchCase : true } } }, { replaceAllShapesWithImage : { imageUrl : customerGraphicUrl , imageReplaceMethod : 'CENTER_INSIDE' , containsText : { text : '{{customer-graphic}}' , matchCase : true } } }]; // Execute the requests for this presentation. let batchUpdateResponse = Slides . Presentations . batchUpdate ({ requests : requests }, presentationCopyId ); let numReplacements = 0 ; batchUpdateResponse . replies . forEach ( function ( reply ) { numReplacements += reply . replaceAllShapesWithImage . occurrencesChanged ; }); console . log ( 'Created merged presentation with ID: %s' , presentationCopyId ); console . log ( 'Replaced %s shapes with images.' , numReplacements ); return batchUpdateResponse ; } catch ( err ) { // TODO (Developer) - Handle exception console . log ( 'Failed with error: %s' , err . error ); } };
Go
slides/snippets/presentations.go
// Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. copyTitle := customerName + " presentation" file := drive . File { Title : copyTitle , } presentationFile , _ := driveService . Files . Copy ( templatePresentationId , & file ). Do () presentationId := presentationFile . Id // Create the image merge (replaceAllShapesWithImage) requests. requests := [] * slides . Request {{ ReplaceAllShapesWithImage: &slides.ReplaceAllShapesWithImageRequest{ ImageUrl: logoURL, ReplaceMethod: "CENTER_INSIDE", ContainsText: &slides.SubstringMatchCriteria{ Text: "{{company-logo} } ", MatchCase: true, }, }, }, { ReplaceAllShapesWithImage: &slides.ReplaceAllShapesWithImageRequest{ ImageUrl: customerGraphicURL, ReplaceMethod: " CENTER_INSIDE ", ContainsText: &slides.SubstringMatchCriteria{ Text: " {{customer-graphic} } ", MatchCase: true, }, }, }} // Execute the requests for this presentation. body := &slides.BatchUpdatePresentationRequest{Requests: requests} response, _ := slidesService.Presentations.BatchUpdate(presentationId, body).Do() // Count total number of replacements made. var numReplacements int64 = 0 for _, resp := range response.Replies { numReplacements += resp.ReplaceAllShapesWithImage.OccurrencesChanged } fmt.Printf(" Created merged presentation with ID % s \ n ", presentationId) fmt.Printf(" Replaced % d shapes instances with images . \ n " , numReplacements )
Java
slides/snippets/src/main/java/ImageMerging.java
import com.google.api.client.http.HttpRequestInitializer ; import com.google.api.client.http.javanet.NetHttpTransport ; import com.google.api.client.json.gson.GsonFactory ; import com.google.api.services.drive.Drive ; import com.google.api.services.drive.model.File ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.Slides ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.SlidesScopes ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.model.BatchUpdatePresentationRequest ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.model.BatchUpdatePresentationResponse ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.model.Request ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.model.Response ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.model.ReplaceAllShapesWithImageRequest ; import com.google.api.services.slides.v1.model.SubstringMatchCriteria ; import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter ; import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials ; import java.io.IOException ; import java.util.ArrayList ; import java.util.Arrays ; import java.util.List ; /* Class to demonstrate the use of Slides Image Merging API */ public class ImageMerging { /** * Changes specified texts into images. * * @param templatePresentationId - id of the presentation. * @param imageUrl - Url of the image. * @param customerName - Name of the customer. * @return merged presentation id * @throws IOException - if credentials file not found. */ public static BatchUpdatePresentationResponse imageMerging ( String templatePresentationId , String imageUrl , String customerName ) throws IOException { /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment. TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */ GoogleCredentials credentials = GoogleCredentials . getApplicationDefault () . createScoped ( Arrays . asList ( SlidesScopes . PRESENTATIONS , SlidesScopes . DRIVE )); HttpRequestInitializer requestInitializer = new HttpCredentialsAdapter ( credentials ); // Create the slides API client Slides service = new Slides . Builder ( new NetHttpTransport (), GsonFactory . getDefaultInstance (), requestInitializer ) . setApplicationName ( "Slides samples" ) . build (); // Create the drive API client Drive driveService = new Drive . Builder ( new NetHttpTransport (), GsonFactory . getDefaultInstance (), requestInitializer ) . setApplicationName ( "Slides samples" ) . build (); // Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. String copyTitle = customerName + " presentation" ; File content = new File (). setName ( copyTitle ); File presentationFile = driveService . files (). copy ( templatePresentationId , content ). execute (); String presentationId = presentationFile . getId (); // Create the image merge (replaceAllShapesWithImage) requests. List<Request> requests = new ArrayList <> (); requests . add ( new Request () . setReplaceAllShapesWithImage ( new ReplaceAllShapesWithImageRequest () . setImageUrl ( imageUrl ) . setImageReplaceMethod ( "CENTER_INSIDE" ) . setContainsText ( new SubstringMatchCriteria () . setText ( "{{company-logo}}" ) . setMatchCase ( true )))); // Execute the requests. BatchUpdatePresentationRequest body = new BatchUpdatePresentationRequest (). setRequests ( requests ); BatchUpdatePresentationResponse response = service . presentations (). batchUpdate ( presentationId , body ). execute (); int numReplacements = 0 ; try { // Count total number of replacements made. for ( Response resp : response . getReplies ()) { numReplacements += resp . getReplaceAllShapesWithImage (). getOccurrencesChanged (); } // Prints the merged presentation id and count of replacements. System . out . println ( "Created merged presentation with ID: " + presentationId ); System . out . println ( "Replaced " + numReplacements + " shapes instances with images." ); } catch ( NullPointerException ne ) { System . out . println ( "Text not found to replace with image." ); } return response ; } }
JavaScript
slides/snippets/slides_image_merging.js
function imageMerging ( templatePresentationId , imageUrl , customerName , callback , ) { const logoUrl = imageUrl ; const customerGraphicUrl = imageUrl ; // Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. const copyTitle = customerName + ' presentation' ; try { gapi . client . drive . files . copy ({ fileId : templatePresentationId , resource : { name : copyTitle , }, }) . then (( driveResponse ) = > { const presentationCopyId = driveResponse . result . id ; // Create the image merge (replaceAllShapesWithImage) requests. const requests = [ { replaceAllShapesWithImage : { imageUrl : logoUrl , replaceMethod : 'CENTER_INSIDE' , containsText : { text : '{{company-logo}}' , matchCase : true , }, }, }, { replaceAllShapesWithImage : { imageUrl : customerGraphicUrl , replaceMethod : 'CENTER_INSIDE' , containsText : { text : '{{customer-graphic}}' , matchCase : true , }, }, }, ]; // Execute the requests for this presentation. gapi . client . slides . presentations . batchUpdate ({ presentationId : presentationCopyId , requests : requests , }) . then (( batchUpdateResponse ) = > { let numReplacements = 0 ; for ( let i = 0 ; i < batchUpdateResponse . result . replies . length ; ++ i ) { numReplacements += batchUpdateResponse . result . replies [ i ]. replaceAllShapesWithImage . occurrencesChanged ; } console . log ( `Created merged presentation with ID: ${ presentationCopyId } ` , ); console . log ( `Replaced ${ numReplacements } shapes with images.` ); if ( callback ) callback ( batchUpdateResponse . result ); }); }); } catch ( err ) { document . getElementById ( 'content' ). innerText = err . message ; return ; } }
Node.js
slides/snippets/slides_image_merging.js
/** * Add an image to a template presentation. * @param {string} templatePresentationId The template presentation ID. * @param {string} imageUrl The image URL * @param {string} customerName A customer name used for the title */ async function imageMerging ( templatePresentationId , imageUrl , customerName ) { const { GoogleAuth } = require ( 'google-auth-library' ); const { google } = require ( 'googleapis' ); const auth = new GoogleAuth ({ scopes : [ 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/presentations' , 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive' , ], }); const slidesService = google . slides ({ version : 'v1' , auth }); const driveService = google . drive ({ version : 'v2' , auth }); const logoUrl = imageUrl ; const customerGraphicUrl = imageUrl ; // Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. const copyTitle = customerName + ' presentation' ; try { const driveResponse = await driveService . files . copy ({ fileId : templatePresentationId , resource : { name : copyTitle , }, }); const presentationCopyId = driveResponse . data . id ; // Create the image merge (replaceAllShapesWithImage) requests. const requests = [ { replaceAllShapesWithImage : { imageUrl : logoUrl , replaceMethod : 'CENTER_INSIDE' , containsText : { text : '{{company-logo}}' , matchCase : true , }, }, }, { replaceAllShapesWithImage : { imageUrl : customerGraphicUrl , replaceMethod : 'CENTER_INSIDE' , containsText : { text : '{{customer-graphic}}' , matchCase : true , }, }, }, ]; // Execute the requests for this presentation. const batchUpdateResponse = await slidesService . presentations . batchUpdate ({ presentationId : presentationCopyId , resource : { requests , }, }); let numReplacements = 0 ; for ( let i = 0 ; i < batchUpdateResponse . data . replies . length ; ++ i ) { numReplacements += batchUpdateResponse . data . replies [ i ]. replaceAllShapesWithImage . occurrencesChanged ; } console . log ( `Created merged presentation with ID: ${ presentationCopyId } ` ); console . log ( `Replaced ${ numReplacements } shapes with images.` ); return batchUpdateResponse . data ; } catch ( err ) { // TODO (developer) - Handle exception throw err ; } }
PHP
slides/snippets/src/SlidesImageMerging.php
< ?php use Google\Client; use Google\Service\Drive; use Google\Service\Slides; use Google\Service\DriveFile; use Google\Service\Slides\Request; function imageMerging($templatePresentationId, $imageUrl, $customerName) { /* Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment. TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for guides on implementing OAuth2 for your application. */ $client = new Google\Client(); $client->useApplicationDefaultCredentials(); $client->addScope(Google\Service\Drive::DRIVE); $slidesService = new Google_Service_Slides($client); $driveService = new Google_Service_Drive($client); // Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. $copy = new Google_Service_Drive_DriveFile([ 'name' => $customerName . ' presentation' ]); $driveResponse = $driveService->files->copy($templatePresentationId, $copy); $presentationCopyId = $driveResponse->id; // Create the image merge (replaceAllShapesWithImage) requests. $requests[] = new Google_Service_Slides_Request([ 'replaceAllShapesWithImage' => [ 'imageUrl' => $imageUrl, 'replaceMethod' => 'CENTER_INSIDE', 'containsText' => [ 'text' => '{{company-logo}}', 'matchCase' => true ] ] ]); $requests[] = new Google_Service_Slides_Request([ 'replaceAllShapesWithImage' => [ 'imageUrl' => $imageUrl, 'replaceMethod' => 'CENTER_INSIDE', 'containsText' => [ 'text' => '{{customer-graphic}}', 'matchCase' => true ] ] ]); // Execute the requests. $batchUpdateRequest = new Google_Service_Slides_BatchUpdatePresentationRequest([ 'requests' => $requests ]); $response = $slidesService->presentations->batchUpdate($presentationCopyId, $batchUpdateRequest); // Count the total number of replacements made. $numReplacements = 0; foreach ($response->getReplies() as $reply) { $numReplacements += $reply->getReplaceAllShapesWithImage()->getOccurrencesChanged(); } printf("Created presentation for %s with ID: %s\n", $customerName, $presentationCopyId); printf("Replaced %d shapes with images.\n", $numReplacements); return $response; }
Python
slides/snippets/slides_image_merging.py
import google.auth from googleapiclient.discovery import build from googleapiclient.errors import HttpError def image_merging ( template_presentation_id , image_url , customer_name ): """image_merging require template_presentation_id, image_url and customer_name Load pre-authorized user credentials from the environment. TODO(developer) - See https://developers.google.com/identity for guides on implementing OAuth2 for the application. """ creds , _ = google . auth . default () # pylint: disable=maybe-no-member try : slides_service = build ( "slides" , "v1" , credentials = creds ) drive_service = build ( "drive" , "v3" , credentials = creds ) logo_url = image_url customer_graphic_url = image_url # Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. copy_title = customer_name + " presentation" drive_response = ( drive_service . files () . copy ( fileId = template_presentation_id , body = { "name" : copy_title }) . execute () ) presentation_copy_id = drive_response . get ( "id" ) # Create the image merge (replaceAllShapesWithImage) requests. requests = [] requests . append ( { "replaceAllShapesWithImage" : { "imageUrl" : logo_url , "replaceMethod" : "CENTER_INSIDE" , "containsText" : { "text" : "{{company-logo}}" , "matchCase" : True , }, } } ) requests . append ( { "replaceAllShapesWithImage" : { "imageUrl" : customer_graphic_url , "replaceMethod" : "CENTER_INSIDE" , "containsText" : { "text" : "{{customer-graphic}}" , "matchCase" : True , }, } } ) # Execute the requests. body = { "requests" : requests } response = ( slides_service . presentations () . batchUpdate ( presentationId = presentation_copy_id , body = body ) . execute () ) # Count the number of replacements made. num_replacements = 0 for reply in response . get ( "replies" ): # add below line if reply . get ( "occurrencesChanged" ) is not None : # end tag num_replacements += reply . get ( "replaceAllShapesWithImage" ) . get ( "occurrencesChanged" ) print ( f "Created merged presentation with ID: { presentation_copy_id } " ) print ( f "Replaced { num_replacements } shapes with images" ) except HttpError as error : print ( f "An error occurred: { error } " ) print ( "Images is not merged" ) return error return response if __name__ == "__main__" : # Put the template_presentation_id, image_url and customer_name image_merging ( "10QnVUx1X2qHsL17WUidGpPh_SQhXYx40CgIxaKk8jU4" , "https://www.google.com/images/branding/" "googlelogo/2x/googlelogo_color_272x92dp.png" , "Fake Customer" , )
Ruby
slides/snippets/lib/file_snippets.rb
# Duplicate the template presentation using the Drive API. copy_title = customer_name + ' presentation' body = Google :: Apis :: SlidesV1 :: Presentation . new body . title = copy_title drive_response = drive_service . copy_file ( template_presentation_id , body ) presentation_copy_id = drive_response . id # Create the image merge (replace_all_shapes_with_image) requests. requests = [] << { replace_all_shapes_with_image : { image_url : logo_url , replace_method : 'CENTER_INSIDE' , contains_text : { text : '{{company-logo}}' , match_case : true } } } << { replace_all_shapes_with_image : { image_url : customer_graphic_url , replace_method : 'CENTER_INSIDE' , contains_text : { text : '{{customer-graphic}}' , match_case : true } } } # Execute the requests. req = Google :: Apis :: SlidesV1 :: BatchUpdatePresentationRequest . new ( requests : requests ) response = slides_service . batch_update_presentation ( presentation_copy_id , req ) # Count the number of replacements made. num_replacements = 0 response . replies . each do | reply | num_replacements += reply . replace_all_shapes_with_image . occurrences_changed end puts "Created presentation for #{ customer_name } with ID: #{ presentation_copy_id } " puts "Replaced #{ num_replacements } shapes with images"
Replace specific text box or image instances
The replaceAllText
and replaceAllShapesWithImage
requests are useful for replacing tags throughout a presentation, but
sometimes you only need to replace elements according to another criteria, such
as being located on a specific slide.
In these cases, you must retrieve the IDs of the tag shapes you want to replace. For text replacements, you delete the existing text in those shapes and then insert the new text (see the sample Edit text in a specified shape ).
Image replacements are more complex. To merge in an image, you need to:
- Get the tag shape's ID.
- Copy the size and transform information from the tag.
- Add your image to the page, using the size and transform information.
- Delete the tag shape.
Preserving the image's aspect ratio while scaling it to the desired size might require some care, as described in the following section. Also see this sample: Replace a shape tag with an image .
Preserve aspect ratio
When you create images using the Slides API, aspect fits are based only on the
image size, not on the size and transform data. The size data you provide
in the createImage
request is considered to be the desired size of the image. The API fits the
image's aspect ratio to this desired size, then applies the provided transform.
When replacing a tag with an image, you preserve the image's aspect ratio by setting the image's size and scaling as follows:
- width: set to the product of the tag's
widthandscaleX - height: set to the product of the tag's
heightandscaleY - scale_x: set to
1 - scale_y: set to
1
This causes the Slides API to aspect fit the image according to the
tag's visual size, rather than its non-scaled size (see Replace a shape tag with an image
).
Setting the scaling parameters to 1
prevents the image from being scaled
twice.
This arrangement ensures the image's aspect ratio is preserved, and prevents the image from exceeding the size of the tag shape. The image has the same center point as the tag shape.
Manage templates
For template presentations the application defines and owns, create the template using a dedicated account representing the application. Service accounts are a good choice and avoid complications with Google Workspace policies that restrict sharing.
When you create instances of presentations from templates, always use end-user credentials. This gives users full control over the resulting presentation and prevents scaling issues related to per-user limits in Google Drive.
To create a template using a service account, perform the following steps with the application credentials:
- Create a presentation using presentations.create in the Slides API.
- Update the permissions to allow the presentation recipients to read it using permissions.create in the Drive API.
- Update the permissions to allow template authors to write to it using permissions.create in the Drive API.
- Edit the template as required.
To create an instance of the presentation, perform the following steps with the user credentials:
- Create a copy of the template using files.copy in the Drive API.
- Replace values using presentation.batchUpdate in the Slides API.
