a:bodyPr (Body Properties)

Defines text body properties like wrapping, margins, rotation, and vertical anchoring.

Parent elements

Child elements

Description

a:bodyPr specifies formatting properties for text bodies in DrawingML shapes. It is defined in ECMA-376 Part 1 §20.1.2.27.

It controls:

Text wrapping mode (square, none)
Vertical anchoring (top, center, bottom)
Internal margins (left, right, top, bottom insets)
Text rotation and skew
Auto-fit options (resize text to fit, etc.)
3D scene for text (for special effects)

Attributes

Attribute	Type	Possible Values	Description
`rot`	`ST_Angle`	Integer in degrees × 60000 (e.g., `2700000` = 90° × 60000). May be negative.	Rotation angle in 60,000ths of a degree.
`flipH`	`xsd:boolean`	0 \| 1	Flip text horizontally.
`flipV`	`xsd:boolean`	0 \| 1	Flip text vertically.
`anchor`	`ST_TextAnchoringType`	`t` (top), `ctr` (center), `b` (bottom), `just` (justified), `dist` (distributed)	Vertical text anchor point.
`anchorCtr`	`xsd:boolean`	0 \| 1	Center text box vertically within bounds.
`wrap`	`ST_TextWrappingType`	`none`, `square`	Text wrapping behavior.
`rtlCol`	`xsd:boolean`	0 \| 1	Use right-to-left column layout.
`lIns`	`ST_Coordinate32`	Non-negative integer in EMUs	Left inset/margin.
`tIns`	`ST_Coordinate32`	Non-negative integer in EMUs	Top inset/margin.
`rIns`	`ST_Coordinate32`	Non-negative integer in EMUs	Right inset/margin.
`bIns`	`ST_Coordinate32`	Non-negative integer in EMUs	Bottom inset/margin.
`numCol`	`ST_TextColumnCount`	1 to 16	Number of text columns.
`spcCol`	`ST_Coordinate32`	Non-negative integer in EMUs	Space between columns.
`rtlCol`	`xsd:boolean`	0 \| 1	Column flow direction (RTL).

Examples

Text Body with Square Wrapping and Center Anchoring

<a:bodyPr anchor="ctr" wrap="square" lIns="45720" tIns="22860" rIns="45720" bIns="22860"/>

using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Drawing;

var bodyPr = new BodyProperties
{
    Anchor = TextAnchoringTypeValues.Center,
    Wrap = TextWrappingTypeValues.Square,
    LeftInset = 45720,
    TopInset = 22860,
    RightInset = 45720,
    BottomInset = 22860
};

Rotated Text Body with Top Anchoring

<a:bodyPr rot="2700000" anchor="t" anchorCtr="true" wrap="square" lIns="91440" tIns="45720" rIns="91440" bIns="45720"/>

var bodyPr = new BodyProperties
{
    Rotation = 2700000,  // 90 degrees
    Anchor = TextAnchoringTypeValues.Top,
    AnchorCenter = true,
    Wrap = TextWrappingTypeValues.Square,
    LeftInset = 91440,
    TopInset = 45720,
    RightInset = 91440,
    BottomInset = 45720
};

Text Body with Multiple Columns and Right-to-Left Layout

<a:bodyPr anchor="t" wrap="none" numCol="3" spcCol="228600" rtlCol="true" lIns="45720" rIns="45720"/>

var bodyPr = new BodyProperties
{
    Anchor = TextAnchoringTypeValues.Top,
    Wrap = TextWrappingTypeValues.None,
    ColumnCount = 3,
    ColumnSpacing = 228600,
    RightToLeftColumns = true,
    LeftInset = 45720,
    RightInset = 45720
};

Notes

Inset values (lIns, tIns, rIns, bIns) are in EMUs; 914400 EMUs = 1 inch.
Rotation angle is in 60,000ths of a degree; divide display degrees by 1 and multiply by 60000 to convert.
Text wrapping “square” allows text to wrap within the shape bounds; “none” prevents wrapping.
The anchor attribute determines vertical positioning: t (top), ctr (center), b (bottom).
Multiple columns are useful for newspaper-style text layouts; numCol ranges 1–16.
The permitted child elements and attribute values depend on the surrounding OOXML part and the schema version in use.
In practice, DrawingML content is usually generated from higher-level shape or picture APIs rather than built manually element-by-element.
When this element appears inside a document package, it is typically linked by relationships or contained in a drawing part that is referenced from a shape or graphic object.