ShapeBase class

ShapeBase class

Base class for objects in the drawing layer, such as an AutoShape, freeform, OLE object, ActiveX control, or picture. To learn more, visit the Working with Shapes documentation article.

Remarks

This is an abstract class. The two derived classes that you can instantiate are Shape and GroupShape.

A shape is a node in the document tree.

If the shape is a child of a Paragraph object, then the shape is said to be “top-level”. Top-level shapes are measured and positioned in points.

A shape can also occur as a child of a GroupShape object when several shapes are grouped. Child shapes of a group shape are positioned in the coordinate space and units defined by the ShapeBase.coord_size and ShapeBase.coord_origin properties of the parent group shape.

A shape can be positioned inline with text or floating. The positioning method is controlled using the ShapeBase.wrap_type property.

When a shape is floating, it is positioned relative to something (e.g the current paragraph, the margin or the page). The relative positioning of the shape is specified using the ShapeBase.relative_horizontal_position and ShapeBase.relative_vertical_position properties.

A floating shape be positioned explicitly using the ShapeBase.left and ShapeBase.top properties or aligned relative to some other object using the ShapeBase.horizontal_alignment and ShapeBase.vertical_alignment properties.

Inheritance: ShapeBaseCompositeNodeNode

Properties

NameDescription
allow_overlapGets or sets a value that specifies whether this shape can overlap other shapes.
alternative_textDefines alternative text to be displayed instead of a graphic.
anchor_lockedSpecifies whether the shape’s anchor is locked.
aspect_ratio_lockedSpecifies whether the shape’s aspect ratio is locked.
behind_textSpecifies whether the shape is below or above text.
bottomGets the position of the bottom edge of the containing block of the shape.
boundsGets or sets the location and size of the containing block of the shape.
bounds_in_pointsGets the location and size of the containing block of the shape in points, relative to the anchor of the topmost shape.
bounds_with_effectsGets final extent that this shape object has after applying drawing effects. Value is measured in points.
can_have_imageReturns True if the shape type allows the shape to have an image.
coord_originThe coordinates at the top-left corner of the containing block of this shape.
coord_sizeThe width and height of the coordinate space inside the containing block of this shape.
countGets the number of immediate children of this node.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
custom_node_idSpecifies custom node identifier.
(Inherited from Node)
distance_bottomReturns or sets the distance (in points) between the document text and the bottom edge of the shape.
distance_leftReturns or sets the distance (in points) between the document text and the left edge of the shape.
distance_rightReturns or sets the distance (in points) between the document text and the right edge of the shape.
distance_topReturns or sets the distance (in points) between the document text and the top edge of the shape.
documentGets the document to which this node belongs.
(Inherited from Node)
fillGets fill formatting for the shape.
first_childGets the first child of the node.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
flip_orientationSwitches the orientation of a shape.
fontProvides access to the font formatting of this object.
glowGets glow formatting for the shape.
has_child_nodesReturns True if this node has any child nodes.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
heightGets or sets the height of the containing block of the shape.
height_relativeGets or sets the value that represents the percentage of shape’s relative height.
horizontal_alignmentSpecifies how the shape is positioned horizontally.
hrefGets or sets the full hyperlink address for a shape.
is_compositeReturns True if this node can contain other nodes.
(Inherited from Node)
is_decorativeGets or sets the flag that specifies whether the shape is decorative in the document.
is_delete_revisionReturns true if this object was deleted in Microsoft Word while change tracking was enabled.
is_groupReturns True if this is a group shape.
is_horizontal_ruleReturns True if this shape is a horizontal rule.
is_imageReturns True if this shape is an image shape.
is_inlineA quick way to determine if this shape is positioned inline with text.
is_insert_revisionReturns true if this object was inserted in Microsoft Word while change tracking was enabled.
is_layout_in_cellGets or sets a flag indicating whether the shape is displayed inside a table or outside of it.
is_move_from_revisionReturns True if this object was moved (deleted) in Microsoft Word while change tracking was enabled.
is_move_to_revisionReturns True if this object was moved (inserted) in Microsoft Word while change tracking was enabled.
is_signature_lineIndicates that shape is a SignatureLine.
is_top_levelReturns True if this shape is not a child of a group shape.
is_word_artReturns True if this shape is a WordArt object.
last_childGets the last child of the node.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
leftGets or sets the position of the left edge of the containing block of the shape.
left_relativeGets or sets the value that represents shape’s relative left position in percent.
markup_languageGets MarkupLanguage used for this graphic object.
nameGets or sets the optional shape name.
next_siblingGets the node immediately following this node.
(Inherited from Node)
node_typeGets the type of this node.
(Inherited from Node)
parent_nodeGets the immediate parent of this node.
(Inherited from Node)
parent_paragraphReturns the immediate parent paragraph.
previous_siblingGets the node immediately preceding this node.
(Inherited from Node)
rangeReturns a Range object that represents the portion of a document that is contained in this node.
(Inherited from Node)
reflectionGets reflection formatting for the shape.
relative_horizontal_positionSpecifies relative to what the shape is positioned horizontally.
relative_horizontal_sizeGets or sets the value of shape’s relative size in horizontal direction.
relative_vertical_positionSpecifies relative to what the shape is positioned vertically.
relative_vertical_sizeGets or sets the value of shape’s relative size in vertical direction.
rightGets the position of the right edge of the containing block of the shape.
rotationDefines the angle (in degrees) that a shape is rotated. Positive value corresponds to clockwise rotation angle.
screen_tipDefines the text displayed when the mouse pointer moves over the shape.
shadow_formatGets shadow formatting for the shape.
shape_typeGets the shape type.
size_in_pointsGets the size of the shape in points.
targetGets or sets the target frame for the shape hyperlink.
titleGets or sets the title (caption) of the current shape object.
topGets or sets the position of the top edge of the containing block of the shape.
top_relativeGets or sets the value that represents shape’s relative top position in percent.
vertical_alignmentSpecifies how the shape is positioned vertically.
widthGets or sets the width of the containing block of the shape.
width_relativeGets or sets the value that represents the percentage of shape’s relative width.
wrap_sideSpecifies how the text is wrapped around the shape.
wrap_typeDefines whether the shape is inline or floating. For floating shapes defines the wrapping mode for text around the shape.
z_orderDetermines the display order of overlapping shapes.

Methods

NameDescription
accept(visitor)Accepts a visitor.
(Inherited from Node)
accept_end(visitor)When implemented in a derived class, calls the VisitXXXEnd method of the specified document visitor.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
accept_start(visitor)When implemented in a derived class, calls the VisitXXXStart method of the specified document visitor.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
adjust_with_effects(source)Adds to the source rectangle values of the effect extent and returns the final rectangle.
append_child(new_child)Adds the specified node to the end of the list of child nodes for this node.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
clone(is_clone_children)Creates a duplicate of the node.
(Inherited from Node)
fetch_inherited_shape_attr(key)Reserved for system use. IShapeAttrSource.
fetch_shape_attr(key)Reserved for system use. IShapeAttrSource.
get_ancestor(ancestor_type)Gets the first ancestor of the specified object type.
(Inherited from Node)
get_ancestor(ancestor_type)Gets the first ancestor of the specified NodeType.
(Inherited from Node)
get_child(node_type, index, is_deep)Returns an Nth child node that matches the specified type.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
get_child_nodes(node_type, is_deep)Returns a live collection of child nodes that match the specified type.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
get_direct_shape_attr(key)Reserved for system use. IShapeAttrSource.
get_shape_renderer()Creates and returns an object that can be used to render this shape into an image.
get_text()Gets the text of this node and of all its children.
(Inherited from Node)
index_of(child)Returns the index of the specified child node in the child node array.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
insert_after(new_child, ref_child)Inserts the specified node immediately after the specified reference node.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
insert_before(new_child, ref_child)Inserts the specified node immediately before the specified reference node.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
local_to_parent(value)Converts a value from the local coordinate space into the coordinate space of the parent shape.
next_pre_order(root_node)Gets next node according to the pre-order tree traversal algorithm.
(Inherited from Node)
node_type_to_string(node_type)A utility method that converts a node type enum value into a user friendly string.
(Inherited from Node)
prepend_child(new_child)Adds the specified node to the beginning of the list of child nodes for this node.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
previous_pre_order(root_node)Gets the previous node according to the pre-order tree traversal algorithm.
(Inherited from Node)
remove()Removes itself from the parent.
(Inherited from Node)
remove_all_children()Removes all the child nodes of the current node.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
remove_child(old_child)Removes the specified child node.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
remove_shape_attr(key)Reserved for system use. IShapeAttrSource.
remove_smart_tags()Removes all SmartTag descendant nodes of the current node.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
select_nodes(xpath)Selects a list of nodes matching the XPath expression.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
select_single_node(xpath)Selects the first Node that matches the XPath expression.
(Inherited from CompositeNode)
set_shape_attr(key, value)Reserved for system use. IShapeAttrSource.
to_string(save_format)Exports the content of the node into a string in the specified format.
(Inherited from Node)
to_string(save_options)Exports the content of the node into a string using the specified save options.
(Inherited from Node)

Examples

Shows how to insert a floating image to the center of a page.

doc = aw.Document()
builder = aw.DocumentBuilder(doc)

# Insert a floating image that will appear behind the overlapping text and align it to the page's center.
shape = builder.insert_image(IMAGE_DIR + "Logo.jpg")
shape.wrap_type = aw.drawing.WrapType.NONE
shape.behind_text = True
shape.relative_horizontal_position = aw.drawing.RelativeHorizontalPosition.PAGE
shape.relative_vertical_position = aw.drawing.RelativeVerticalPosition.PAGE
shape.horizontal_alignment = aw.drawing.HorizontalAlignment.CENTER
shape.vertical_alignment = aw.drawing.VerticalAlignment.CENTER

doc.save(ARTIFACTS_DIR + "Image.create_floating_page_center.docx")

See Also