powerpoint

name	powerpoint
description	Create, read, edit, and inspect PowerPoint decks (.pptx) with python-pptx: build slides from scratch or from a user-supplied template, add/read/edit titles, bullets, tables, images, and native charts, read and write speaker notes, and delete/duplicate/reorder slides. Use whenever the user wants to make, open, modify, extract text from, or restructure a .pptx deck — not a markdown outline in chat. For a one-off simple report that also spans Word/Excel, see document-report-authoring.
category	output

PowerPoint (.pptx) authoring & editing

Use this skill whenever a real .pptx file is the deliverable, or when the user wants to read, edit, or restructure an existing deck: extract slide text, change titles/bullets, add or remove slides, add tables/images/charts, or read and write speaker notes.

Reply in Chinese unless the user clearly uses another language.

python-pptx is installed in this environment (import pptx, version 1.x). matplotlib is not installed — use python-pptx's native chart API (see Charts).

Workflow

1. Clarify the deliverable only if ambiguous (new deck vs. edit existing, which slides, what content). If the user already gave the data/outline, go straight to authoring.
2. Write a small Python script using python-pptx, run it with the tool runner, and save to a clear path (e.g. deck.pptx). Never hand-write the OOXML.
3. Verify before claiming done: reopen the saved file and read back a slide count / a title / a note. Report the absolute output path.
4. If the deck should be delivered over a channel (Telegram/Feishu), emit the [SEND:path] marker so the file is sent, not just described.

Create a deck from scratch

from pptx import Presentation
from pptx.util import Inches, Pt

prs = Presentation()                         # blank deck, 4:3 by default

# title slide (layout 0)
s = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[0])
s.shapes.title.text = "2026 Q2 运营报告"
s.placeholders[1].text = "数据团队 · 2026-07"   # subtitle placeholder

# bullet slide (layout 1 = Title and Content)
s = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[1])
s.shapes.title.text = "本季度要点"
tf = s.placeholders[1].text_frame
tf.text = "收入同比 +18%"                       # first bullet
for line in ["新客占比提升", "退款率下降至 2.1%"]:
    p = tf.add_paragraph()
    p.text = line
    p.level = 1                              # indent level (0-based)

prs.save("deck.pptx")

• One idea per slide. Title → agenda → content slides → summary.
• Standard layout indices: 0 title, 1 title+content, 5 title only, 6 blank.
• slide.shapes.title is the title placeholder; other placeholders are reached via slide.placeholders[idx]. The body/content placeholder is usually index 1.

16:9 vs 4:3

The default template is 4:3. For widescreen set the slide size before adding slides:

from pptx.util import Inches
prs.slide_width = Inches(13.333)
prs.slide_height = Inches(7.5)

Slide size is in EMU; Inches(...) / Pt(...) from pptx.util convert for you. Read the current size with prs.slide_width, prs.slide_height.

Read / extract from an existing deck

from pptx import Presentation

prs = Presentation("deck.pptx")
print("slides:", len(prs.slides))
for i, slide in enumerate(prs.slides):
    title = slide.shapes.title.text if slide.shapes.title else ""
    print(f"--- slide {i}: {title!r} ---")
    for shape in slide.shapes:
        if shape.has_text_frame:
            for para in shape.text_frame.paragraphs:
                text = "".join(run.text for run in para.runs)
                if text:
                    print("  " * (para.level + 1), text)
        if shape.has_table:
            for row in shape.table.rows:
                print("   |", " | ".join(c.text for c in row.cells))
    if slide.has_notes_slide:
        print("  [notes]", slide.notes_slide.notes_text_frame.text)

• Guard slide.shapes.title — it can be None on layouts without a title.
• Text lives in runs inside paragraphs; shape.text_frame.text joins them with \n, but reading run-by-run preserves indent (para.level) and lets you inspect formatting.
• Check shape.has_text_frame, shape.has_table, shape.has_chart before accessing each.

Edit an existing deck

Open, mutate, save (usually back to the same path or a new one):

prs = Presentation("deck.pptx")

# change a title
prs.slides[0].shapes.title.text = "新标题"

# replace body bullets on slide 1
tf = prs.slides[1].placeholders[1].text_frame
tf.clear()                                   # drops all but keeps one empty paragraph
tf.text = "第一条"
tf.add_paragraph().text = "第二条"

# tweak a run's formatting
run = prs.slides[0].shapes.title.text_frame.paragraphs[0].runs[0]
run.font.bold = True
run.font.size = Pt(40)

prs.save("deck.pptx")

• text_frame.clear() leaves one empty paragraph — set .text on it or via .paragraphs[0], don't expect zero paragraphs.
• Setting shape.text_frame.text = "..." replaces all paragraphs with a single one; use add_paragraph() to keep multiple.

Speaker notes

slide = prs.slides[0]
slide.notes_slide.notes_text_frame.text = "开场先讲背景，再进数据"   # write (creates notes if absent)

if slide.has_notes_slide:                                          # read (don't create)
    print(slide.notes_slide.notes_text_frame.text)

• Accessing slide.notes_slide creates a notes slide if one doesn't exist. To only read without creating, gate on slide.has_notes_slide first.

Tables, images, charts

from pptx.util import Inches
from pptx.chart.data import CategoryChartData
from pptx.enum.chart import XL_CHART_TYPE

s = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[5])   # title only
s.shapes.title.text = "数据"

# table
rows, cols = 3, 2
tbl = s.shapes.add_table(rows, cols, Inches(1), Inches(1.5), Inches(6), Inches(2)).table
tbl.cell(0, 0).text, tbl.cell(0, 1).text = "月份", "收入"

# image
s.shapes.add_picture("chart.png", Inches(1), Inches(4), width=Inches(4))

# native chart (preferred over a matplotlib image)
data = CategoryChartData()
data.categories = ["4月", "5月", "6月"]
data.add_series("收入", (120, 135, 158))
s.shapes.add_chart(XL_CHART_TYPE.COLUMN_CLUSTERED,
                   Inches(1), Inches(1.5), Inches(6), Inches(4), data)

Native charts stay editable inside PowerPoint and need no image file — prefer them over matplotlib (which isn't installed here anyway).

Delete / duplicate / reorder slides

python-pptx has no public API for these; operate on the slide-id list XML. Deleting a slide's id entry removes it from the deck:

def delete_slide(prs, index):
    """Remove the slide at `index` from the presentation."""
    id_lst = prs.slides._sldIdLst           # <p:sldIdLst> element
    id_lst.remove(list(id_lst)[index])

def move_slide(prs, old_index, new_index):
    """Reorder: move the slide at old_index to new_index."""
    id_lst = prs.slides._sldIdLst
    slides = list(id_lst)
    id_lst.remove(slides[old_index])
    id_lst.insert(new_index, slides[old_index])

• prs.slides._sldIdLst is a private attribute but the standard, well-known way to do this; it's an lxml element you can .remove() / .insert().
• delete_slide orphans the underlying slide part (small file bloat) but produces a valid deck. That's acceptable; don't over-engineer a full part cleanup unless the user needs it.
• There's no clean built-in duplicate; if asked, the pragmatic path is to rebuild the target slide's content on a new add_slide(...) rather than deep-copying XML parts.

Templates

• Build from scratch by default. Only reuse a template when the user supplies one and asks — do not assume any local .pptx template exists.
• To use a supplied template, open it as the base and add slides using its layouts:

prs = Presentation("brand-template.pptx")    # inherits its theme, master, layouts
layout = prs.slide_layouts[1]                # template's own layouts
prs.slides.add_slide(layout)

• Layout indices vary per template — enumerate them first: for i, l in enumerate(prs.slide_layouts): print(i, l.name).
• To save a deck as a reusable starting point, just keep the .pptx; a .potx template file is rarely needed for agent workflows.

Chinese text

python-pptx uses the theme/master fonts, so CJK usually renders fine without the w:eastAsia gymnastics that Word needs. If the user reports uneven Chinese glyphs, set the East-Asian font on the run explicitly:

from pptx.oxml.ns import qn

run.font.name = "微软雅黑"                       # sets <a:latin> (Latin font) only
rpr = run._r.get_or_add_rPr()
ea = rpr.find(qn("a:ea"))
if ea is None:
    ea = rpr.makeelement(qn("a:ea"), {})       # add the East-Asian font child element
    rpr.append(ea)
ea.set("typeface", "微软雅黑")                   # <a:ea typeface="..."> alongside <a:latin>

PowerPoint uses the DrawingML namespace (a:), unlike Word's WordprocessingML (w:), and the East-Asian font is an <a:ea> child element of the run properties — not an attribute. Do not use run.font._rPr.set(qn("a:eastAsia"), ...); that sets a meaningless attribute and Word/ PowerPoint ignore it.

Common pitfalls

• Don't output a markdown outline when the user asked for a file. Produce the real .pptx.
• slide.shapes.title can be None on title-less layouts — guard before .text.
• text_frame.text = ... flattens to one paragraph; use add_paragraph() for multiple.
• Reading slide.notes_slide creates a notes slide — gate reads on has_notes_slide.
• No public delete/reorder — go through prs.slides._sldIdLst (see above).
• Layout indices differ by template — enumerate slide_layouts instead of assuming 0/1/5/6.
• Verify before claiming done: reopen the saved deck, read back slide count / a title. Report the absolute output path.

See also [[document-report-authoring]] for multi-format Word/PPT/Excel reports, and [[structured-output-tables]] for when tabular output belongs in chat vs a file.