PPTX Skill

PPTX Skill

Quick Reference

| Task | Guide | |------|-------| | Read/analyze content | `python -m markitdown presentation.pptx` | | Edit or create from template | Read [editing.md](editing.md) | | Create from scratch | Read [pptxgenjs.md](pptxgenjs.md) |

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Reading Content

# Text extraction
python -m markitdown presentation.pptx

# Visual overview
python scripts/thumbnail.py presentation.pptx

# Raw XML
python scripts/office/unpack.py presentation.pptx unpacked/

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Editing Workflow

**Read [editing.md](editing.md) for full details.**

• Analyze template with `thumbnail.py`
• Unpack → manipulate slides → edit content → clean → pack

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Creating from Scratch

**Read [pptxgenjs.md](pptxgenjs.md) for full details.**

Use when no template or reference presentation is available.

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Design Ideas

**Don't create boring slides.** Plain bullets on a white background won't impress anyone. Consider ideas from this list for each slide.

Before Starting

• **Pick a bold, content-informed color palette**: The palette should feel designed for THIS topic. If swapping your colors into a completely different presentation would still "work," you haven't made specific enough choices.
• **Dominance over equality**: One color should dominate (60-70% visual weight), with 1-2 supporting tones and one sharp accent. Never give all colors equal weight.
• **Dark/light contrast**: Dark backgrounds for title + conclusion slides, light for content ("sandwich" structure). Or commit to dark throughout for a premium feel.
• **Commit to a visual motif**: Pick ONE distinctive element and repeat it — rounded image frames, icons in colored circles, thick single-side borders. Carry it across every slide.

Color Palettes

Choose colors that match your topic — don't default to generic blue. Use these palettes as inspiration:

| Theme | Primary | Secondary | Accent | |-------|---------|-----------|--------| | **Midnight Executive** | `1E2761` (navy) | `CADCFC` (ice blue) | `FFFFFF` (white) | | **Forest & Moss** | `2C5F2D` (forest) | `97BC62` (moss) | `F5F5F5` (cream) | | **Coral Energy** | `F96167` (coral) | `F9E795` (gold) | `2F3C7E` (navy) | | **Warm Terracotta** | `B85042` (terracotta) | `E7E8D1` (sand) | `A7BEAE` (sage) | | **Ocean Gradient** | `065A82` (deep blue) | `1C7293` (teal) | `21295C` (midnight) | | **Charcoal Minimal** | `36454F` (charcoal) | `F2F2F2` (off-white) | `212121` (black) | | **Teal Trust** | `028090` (teal) | `00A896` (seafoam) | `02C39A` (mint) | | **Berry & Cream** | `6D2E46` (berry) | `A26769` (dusty rose) | `ECE2D0` (cream) | | **Sage Calm** | `84B59F` (sage) | `69A297` (eucalyptus) | `50808E` (slate) | | **Cherry Bold** | `990011` (cherry) | `FCF6F5` (off-white) | `2F3C7E` (navy) |

For Each Slide

**Every slide needs a visual element** — image, chart, icon, or shape. Text-only slides are forgettable.

**Layout options:**

• Two-column (text left, illustration on right)
• Icon + text rows (icon in colored circle, bold header, description below)
• 2x2 or 2x3 grid (image on one side, grid of content blocks on other)
• Half-bleed image (full left or right side) with content overlay

**Data display:**

• Large stat callouts (big numbers 60-72pt with small labels below)
• Comparison columns (before/after, pros/cons, side-by-side options)
• Timeline or process flow (numbered steps, arrows)

**Visual polish:**

• Icons in small colored circles next to section headers
• Italic accent text for key stats or taglines

Typography

**Choose an interesting font pairing** — don't default to Arial. Pick a header font with personality and pair it with a clean body font.

| Header Font | Body Font | |-------------|-----------| | Georgia | Calibri | | Arial Black | Arial | | Calibri | Calibri Light | | Cambria | Calibri | | Trebuchet MS | Calibri | | Impact | Arial | | Palatino | Garamond | | Consolas | Calibri |

| Element | Size | |---------|------| | Slide title | 36-44pt bold | | Section header | 20-24pt bold | | Body text | 14-16pt | | Captions | 10-12pt muted |

Spacing

• 0.5" minimum margins
• 0.3-0.5" between content blocks
• Leave breathing room—don't fill every inch

Avoid (Common Mistakes)

• **Don't repeat the same layout** — vary columns, cards, and callouts across slides
• **Don't center body text** — left-align paragraphs and lists; center only titles
• **Don't skimp on size contrast** — titles need 36pt+ to stand out from 14-16pt body
• **Don't default to blue** — pick colors that reflect the specific topic
• **Don't mix spacing randomly** — choose 0.3" or 0.5" gaps and use consistently
• **Don't style one slide and leave the rest plain** — commit fully or keep it simple throughout
• **Don't create text-only slides** — add images, icons, charts, or visual elements; avoid plain title + bullets
• **Don't forget text box padding** — when aligning lines or shapes with text edges, set `margin: 0` on the text box or offset the shape to account for padding
• **Don't use low-contrast elements** — icons AND text need strong contrast against the background; avoid light text on light backgrounds or dark text on dark backgrounds
• **NEVER use accent lines under titles** — these are a hallmark of AI-generated slides; use whitespace or background color instead

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QA (Required)

**Assume there are problems. Your job is to find them.**

Your first render is almost never correct. Approach QA as a bug hunt, not a confirmation step. If you found zero issues on first inspection, you weren't looking hard enough.

Content QA

python -m markitdown output.pptx

Check for missing content, typos, wrong order.

**When using templates, check for leftover placeholder text:**

python -m markitdown output.pptx | grep -iE "xxxx|lorem|ipsum|this.*(page|slide).*layout"

If grep returns results, fix them before declaring success.

Visual QA

**⚠️ USE SUBAGENTS** — even for 2-3 slides. You've been staring at the code and will see what you expect, not what's there. Subagents have fresh eyes.

Convert slides to images (see [Converting to Images](#converting-to-images)), then use this prompt:

Visually inspect these slides. Assume there are issues — find them.

Look for:
- Overlapping elements (text through shapes, lines through words, stacked elements)
- Text overflow or cut off at edges/box boundaries
- Decorative lines positioned for single-line text but title wrapped to two lines
- Source citations or footers colliding with content above
- Elements too close (< 0.3" gaps) or cards/sections nearly touching
- Uneven gaps (large empty area in one place, cramped in another)
- Insufficient margin from slide edges (< 0.5")
- Columns or similar elements not aligned consistently
- Low-contrast text (e.g., light gray text on cream-colored background)
- Low-contrast icons (e.g., dark icons on dark backgrounds without a contrasting circle)
- Text boxes too narrow causing excessive wrapping
- Leftover placeholder content

For each slide, list issues or areas of concern, even if minor.

Read and analyze these images:
1. /path/to/slide-01.jpg (Expected: [brief description])
2. /path/to/slide-02.jpg (Expected: [brief description])

Report ALL issues found, including minor ones.

Verification Loop

• Generate slides → Convert to images → Inspect
• **List issues found** (if none found, look again more critically)
• Fix issues
• **Re-verify affected slides** — one fix often creates another problem
• Repeat until a full pass reveals no new issues

**Do not declare success until you've completed at least one fix-and-verify cycle.**

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Converting to Images

Convert presentations to individual slide images for visual inspection:

python scripts/office/soffice.py --headless --convert-to pdf output.pptx
pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 output.pdf slide

This creates `slide-01.jpg`, `slide-02.jpg`, etc.

To re-render specific slides after fixes:

pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 -f N -l N output.pdf slide-fixed

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Dependencies

• `pip install "markitdown[pptx]"` - text extraction
• `pip install Pillow` - thumbnail grids
• `npm install -g pptxgenjs` - creating from scratch
• LibreOffice (`soffice`) - PDF conversion (auto-configured for sandboxed environments via `scripts/office/soffice.py`)
• Poppler (`pdftoppm`) - PDF to images