pptx

name	pptx
description	Use this skill any time a .pptx file is involved — creating slide decks, reading or extracting content from presentations, editing existing slides, or converting between formats. Trigger whenever the user mentions 'deck', 'slides', 'presentation', or references a .pptx filename.
version	0.1.0
compatibility	Requires: pip install python-pptx markitdown[pptx] Pillow. System: apt install libreoffice poppler-utils

PPTX Skill

Quick Reference

Task	Approach	Script
Read/extract text	markitdown	python -m markitdown presentation.pptx
Visual overview	thumbnail grid	python scripts/thumbnail.py deck.pptx
Create from scratch	python-pptx	See below
Edit existing	python-pptx load → modify → save	See below
Edit XML directly	unpack → edit → pack	See references/editing.md
Clean orphans	remove unreferenced files	python scripts/clean.py unpacked/
Convert to images	LibreOffice → pdftoppm	See below

Reading Content

python -m markitdown presentation.pptx
python scripts/thumbnail.py presentation.pptx    # visual grid

Creating Presentations with python-pptx

Basic deck

from pptx import Presentation
from pptx.util import Inches, Pt, Emu
from pptx.dml.color import RGBColor
from pptx.enum.text import PP_ALIGN

prs = Presentation()
prs.slide_width = Inches(13.333)   # 16:9 widescreen
prs.slide_height = Inches(7.5)

# Title slide
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[6])  # blank layout
txBox = slide.shapes.add_textbox(Inches(1), Inches(2.5), Inches(11), Inches(2))
tf = txBox.text_frame
p = tf.paragraphs[0]
p.text = "Presentation Title"
p.font.size = Pt(44)
p.font.bold = True
p.font.color.rgb = RGBColor(0x1E, 0x27, 0x61)
p.alignment = PP_ALIGN.CENTER

prs.save("output.pptx")

Slide with image and text columns

slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[6])

# Left column: text
txBox = slide.shapes.add_textbox(Inches(0.8), Inches(1.2), Inches(5.5), Inches(5))
tf = txBox.text_frame
tf.word_wrap = True
p = tf.paragraphs[0]
p.text = "Key Insight"
p.font.size = Pt(28)
p.font.bold = True

p2 = tf.add_paragraph()
p2.text = "Supporting details go here with context and evidence."
p2.font.size = Pt(16)
p2.space_before = Pt(12)

# Right column: image
slide.shapes.add_picture("chart.png", Inches(7), Inches(1), Inches(5.5), Inches(5))

Tables

rows, cols = 4, 3
table_shape = slide.shapes.add_table(rows, cols, Inches(1), Inches(1.5), Inches(11), Inches(4))
table = table_shape.table

# Headers
headers = ["Metric", "Q1", "Q2"]
for i, h in enumerate(headers):
    cell = table.cell(0, i)
    cell.text = h
    for p in cell.text_frame.paragraphs:
        p.font.bold = True
        p.font.size = Pt(14)
        p.font.color.rgb = RGBColor(0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF)
    cell.fill.solid()
    cell.fill.fore_color.rgb = RGBColor(0x1E, 0x27, 0x61)

# Data rows
data = [["Revenue", "$1.2M", "$1.5M"], ["Growth", "12%", "15%"], ["Users", "5,000", "6,200"]]
for r, row_data in enumerate(data):
    for c, val in enumerate(row_data):
        table.cell(r + 1, c).text = val

Charts

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

chart_data = CategoryChartData()
chart_data.categories = ['Q1', 'Q2', 'Q3', 'Q4']
chart_data.add_series('Revenue', (1.2, 1.5, 1.8, 2.1))
chart_data.add_series('Profit', (0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.7))

chart_frame = slide.shapes.add_chart(
    XL_CHART_TYPE.COLUMN_CLUSTERED,
    Inches(1), Inches(1.5), Inches(11), Inches(5),
    chart_data
)

Shapes and backgrounds

from pptx.enum.shapes import MSO_SHAPE

# Colored rectangle background
shape = slide.shapes.add_shape(MSO_SHAPE.RECTANGLE, Inches(0), Inches(0), Inches(13.333), Inches(7.5))
shape.fill.solid()
shape.fill.fore_color.rgb = RGBColor(0x1E, 0x27, 0x61)
shape.line.fill.background()  # no border

# Accent shape
accent = slide.shapes.add_shape(MSO_SHAPE.RECTANGLE, Inches(0.8), Inches(6.5), Inches(2), Inches(0.08))
accent.fill.solid()
accent.fill.fore_color.rgb = RGBColor(0xF9, 0x61, 0x67)
accent.line.fill.background()

Design Guidelines

Color Palettes — pick one that matches the topic

Theme	Primary	Secondary	Accent
Midnight Executive	1E2761	CADCFC	FFFFFF
Forest & Moss	2C5F2D	97BC62	F5F5F5
Coral Energy	F96167	F9E795	2F3C7E
Warm Terracotta	B85042	E7E8D1	A7BEAE
Ocean Gradient	065A82	1C7293	21295C
Charcoal Minimal	36454F	F2F2F2	212121

Typography

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

Layout Principles

• Every slide needs a visual element — image, chart, icon, or shape. No text-only slides.
• Vary layouts — alternate between two-column, full-bleed image, grid, and callout layouts.
• Large stat callouts — big numbers at 60–72pt with small labels below.
• 0.5" minimum margins, 0.3–0.5" between content blocks.
• Left-align body text — center only titles.
• Dark backgrounds for title/conclusion, light for content slides.

Avoid

• Repeating the same layout across slides
• Default blue — pick colors that match the topic
• Text-only slides without visual elements
• Low-contrast text or icons
• Accent lines under titles (looks AI-generated)

Editing Existing Presentations

from pptx import Presentation

prs = Presentation("existing.pptx")
for slide in prs.slides:
    for shape in slide.shapes:
        if shape.has_text_frame:
            for paragraph in shape.text_frame.paragraphs:
                for run in paragraph.runs:
                    if "OLD TEXT" in run.text:
                        run.text = run.text.replace("OLD TEXT", "NEW TEXT")
prs.save("modified.pptx")

Converting to Images

libreoffice --headless --convert-to pdf output.pptx
pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 output.pdf slide
# Creates slide-01.jpg, slide-02.jpg, etc.

QA Checklist

1. Extract text: python -m markitdown output.pptx — check for missing/wrong content
2. Convert to images and visually inspect every slide
3. Check for: overlapping elements, text overflow, low contrast, uneven spacing, leftover placeholders
4. Fix issues, re-render, re-inspect — first render is rarely perfect