beamer-ppt

name	beamer-ppt
description	Create Beamer-style academic PPTX presentations using python-pptx. Produces publication-quality .pptx files with navy-blue Metropolis theme (16:9, frame title bars, progress bar) for conference talks, job market presentations, and seminar slides. Called by /present command.

Beamer-ppt-Creator

Purpose

This skill generates professional academic PPTX presentations that faithfully replicate the visual style of LaTeX Beamer (Metropolis theme). Output is a .pptx file that can be opened, edited, and presented directly in PowerPoint or LibreOffice Impress — no LaTeX installation required.

When to Use

• Called by /present command to produce the final slides/slides.pptx
• Preparing conference, seminar, or job market slides
• Converting a completed economics paper into a slide deck

Design Principles

• One idea per slide — split if content overflows
• Minimum 20pt for body text; 24pt for frame titles
• Consistent palette — navy blue primary, one accent color only
• Figures over tables — embed PNG images at ≥ 200 DPI
• Last slide = Takeaways, never "Questions?"

---

Implementation

This skill executes Python code using python-pptx. Always install dependencies first:

pip install python-pptx pdf2image --break-system-packages
apt-get install -y poppler-utils 2>/dev/null || true

Color Palettes by Theme

Theme	Title Bar bg	Accent	Slide bg
A. Metropolis (default)	RGB(0, 35, 82) navy	RGB(180, 30, 30) red	RGB(245, 245, 245) light gray
B. Minimal (job market)	RGB(0, 35, 82) navy	RGB(0, 35, 82) navy	RGB(255, 255, 255) white
C. Madrid (traditional)	RGB(31, 73, 125) dark blue	RGB(189, 152, 44) gold	RGB(255, 255, 255) white

Core Helper Functions

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

# ── Presentation setup ───────────────────────────────────────────
prs = Presentation()
prs.slide_width  = Inches(13.33)   # 16:9 widescreen (Beamer aspectratio=169)
prs.slide_height = Inches(7.5)

# ── Color definitions (Metropolis theme) ─────────────────────────
NAVY  = RGBColor(0, 35, 82)
RED   = RGBColor(180, 30, 30)
LGRAY = RGBColor(245, 245, 245)
WHITE = RGBColor(255, 255, 255)
BLACK = RGBColor(30, 30, 30)
MGRAY = RGBColor(100, 100, 100)


def add_bg(slide, prs, color):
    """Full-slide background rectangle."""
    shape = slide.shapes.add_shape(
        1, 0, 0, prs.slide_width, prs.slide_height)
    shape.fill.solid()
    shape.fill.fore_color.rgb = color
    shape.line.fill.background()
    return shape


def add_frame_title(slide, prs, text, bg=NAVY, fg=WHITE):
    """Navy title bar (1.1 in tall) — mimics Beamer \\frametitle."""
    bar = slide.shapes.add_shape(
        , , , prs.slide_width, Inches())
    bar.fill.solid()
    bar.fill.fore_color.rgb = bg
    bar.line.fill.background()
    tf = bar.text_frame
    tf.word_wrap = 
    tf.margin_left = Inches()
    tf.margin_top  = Inches()
    p = tf.paragraphs[]
    p.text = text
    p.font.bold  = 
    p.font.size  = Pt()
    p.font.color.rgb = fg
    p.alignment  = PP_ALIGN.LEFT


 ():
    
    h   = Inches()
    top = prs.slide_height - h
    
    track = slide.shapes.add_shape(
        , , top, prs.slide_width, h)
    track.fill.solid()
    track.fill.fore_color.rgb = RGBColor(, , )
    track.line.fill.background()
    
    filled_w = (prs.slide_width * current / (total, ))
     filled_w > :
        bar = slide.shapes.add_shape(, , top, filled_w, h)
        bar.fill.solid()
        bar.fill.fore_color.rgb = color
        bar.line.fill.background()


 ():
    
    slide.notes_slide.notes_text_frame.text = notes_text

Slide Factory Functions

# ── 1. Title slide ───────────────────────────────────────────────
def make_title_slide(prs, title, subtitle, author, institute, date_line):
    slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[6])
    add_bg(slide, prs, NAVY)

    def _tb(left, top, w, h):
        tb = slide.shapes.add_textbox(
            Inches(left), Inches(top), Inches(w), Inches(h))
        tb.text_frame.word_wrap = True
        return tb.text_frame

    # Paper title
    tf = _tb(1, 1.7, 11.33, 2.0)
    p = tf.paragraphs[0]
    p.text = title; p.font.bold = True
    p.font.size = Pt(34); p.font.color.rgb = WHITE
    p.alignment = PP_ALIGN.CENTER

    # Subtitle
    if subtitle:
        p2 = tf.add_paragraph()
        p2.text = subtitle; p2.font.size = Pt(20)
        p2.font.color.rgb = LGRAY; p2.alignment = PP_ALIGN.CENTER

    # Author + institute
    tf2 = _tb(1, 4.3, 11.33, 1.4)
    p3 = tf2.paragraphs[0]
    p3.text = author; p3.font.size = Pt(18)
    p3.font.color.rgb = WHITE; p3.alignment = PP_ALIGN.CENTER
    p4 = tf2.add_paragraph()
    p4.text = institute; p4.font.size = Pt(15)
    p4.font.color.rgb = LGRAY; p4.alignment = PP_ALIGN.CENTER

    # Date / conference
    tf3 = _tb(1, 6.1, 11.33, 0.8)
    p5 = tf3.paragraphs[0]
    p5.text = date_line; p5.font.size = Pt(13)
    p5.font.color.rgb = LGRAY; p5.alignment = PP_ALIGN.CENTER
    return slide


# ── 2. Content slide (bullet list) ──────────────────────────────
 ():
    
    slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[])
    add_bg(slide, prs, bg)
    add_frame_title(slide, prs, title)

    tb = slide.shapes.add_textbox(
        Inches(), Inches(), Inches(), Inches())
    tf = tb.text_frame; tf.word_wrap = 
     i, (lvl, text)  (bullets):
        p = tf.paragraphs[i]  i ==   tf.add_paragraph()
        p.text = text; p.level = lvl
        p.font.size = Pt(  lvl ==   )
        p.font.color.rgb = BLACK
        p.space_before = Pt(  lvl ==   )

     current  total:
        add_progress_bar(slide, prs, current, total)
     slide



 ():
    slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[])
    add_bg(slide, prs, LGRAY)
    add_frame_title(slide, prs, title)

    slide.shapes.add_picture(
        img_path,
        left=Inches(), top=Inches(),
        width=Inches(), height=Inches())

     caption:
        cap = slide.shapes.add_textbox(
            Inches(), Inches(), Inches(), Inches())
        cap.text_frame.paragraphs[].text = caption
        cap.text_frame.paragraphs[].font.size = Pt()
        cap.text_frame.paragraphs[].font.color.rgb = MGRAY

     current  total:
        add_progress_bar(slide, prs, current, total)
     slide



 ():
    
    slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[])
    add_bg(slide, prs, LGRAY)
    add_frame_title(slide, prs, title)

    nc = (headers); nr = (rows) + 
    tbl = slide.shapes.add_table(
        nr, nc,
        Inches(), Inches(),
        Inches(), Inches()).table

    
     j, h  (headers):
        c = tbl.cell(, j)
        c.text = h
        c.text_frame.paragraphs[].font.bold = 
        c.text_frame.paragraphs[].font.size = Pt()
        c.text_frame.paragraphs[].font.color.rgb = WHITE
        c.fill.solid(); c.fill.fore_color.rgb = NAVY

    
     i, row  (rows):
         j, val  (row):
            c = tbl.cell(i + , j)
            c.text = (val)
            c.text_frame.paragraphs[].font.size = Pt()
             highlight_last_col  j == nc - :
                c.text_frame.paragraphs[].font.bold = 

     footnote:
        fn = slide.shapes.add_textbox(
            Inches(), Inches(), Inches(), Inches())
        fn.text_frame.paragraphs[].text = footnote
        fn.text_frame.paragraphs[].font.size = Pt()
        fn.text_frame.paragraphs[].font.color.rgb = MGRAY

     current  total:
        add_progress_bar(slide, prs, current, total)
     slide



 ():
    
    slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[])
    add_bg(slide, prs, LGRAY)
    add_frame_title(slide, prs, title)

     col_bullets, left_offset  [(left_bullets, ),
                                      (right_bullets, )]:
        tb = slide.shapes.add_textbox(
            Inches(left_offset), Inches(),
            Inches(), Inches())
        tf = tb.text_frame; tf.word_wrap = 
         i, (lvl, text)  (col_bullets):
            p = tf.paragraphs[i]  i ==   tf.add_paragraph()
            p.text = text; p.level = lvl
            p.font.size = Pt(  lvl ==   )
            p.font.color.rgb = BLACK
            p.space_before = Pt(  lvl ==   )

     current  total:
        add_progress_bar(slide, prs, current, total)
     slide

PDF → PNG Conversion (for figures from /plot)

import subprocess

def pdf_to_png(pdf_path, dpi=200):
    """Convert PDF figure to PNG for embedding in PPTX."""
    png_base = pdf_path.replace(".pdf", "")
    try:
        subprocess.run(
            ["pdftoppm", "-r", str(dpi), "-png", "-singlefile",
             pdf_path, png_base],
            check=True, capture_output=True)
        return png_base + ".png"
    except (subprocess.CalledProcessError, FileNotFoundError):
        # Fallback: pdf2image
        from pdf2image import convert_from_path
        imgs = convert_from_path(pdf_path, dpi=dpi)
        png_path = png_base + ".png"
        imgs[0].save(png_path, "PNG")
        return png_path

Save, Export PDF & Verify

import subprocess

def save_and_verify(prs, output_path, export_pdf=True):
    """Save PPTX, optionally export PDF via LibreOffice, then verify."""
    os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(output_path), exist_ok=True)
    prs.save(output_path)

    # ── Verify PPTX ──────────────────────────────────────────────
    check = Presentation(output_path)
    n = len(check.slides)
    assert n > 0, "PPTX is empty — check slide generation."
    print(f"✅ PPTX saved : {output_path}")
    print(f"   {n} slides | {os.path.getsize(output_path) // 1024} KB")

    # ── Export PDF ───────────────────────────────────────────────
    pdf_path = None
    if export_pdf:
        pdf_path = _pptx_to_pdf(output_path)

    return output_path, pdf_path


def _pptx_to_pdf(pptx_path):
    """Convert PPTX → PDF using LibreOffice headless."""
    out_dir = os.path.dirname(pptx_path)
    try:
        result = subprocess.run(
            ["libreoffice", "--headless", "--convert-to", "pdf",
             "--outdir", out_dir, pptx_path],
            capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=120
        )
        pdf_path = pptx_path.replace(".pptx", ".pdf")
        if os.path.exists(pdf_path):
            print(f"✅ PDF exported: ")
            ()
             pdf_path
        :
            ()
            ()
             
     FileNotFoundError:
        ()
        ()
        ()
        ()
         
     subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
        ()
        ()
         

---

Slide Structure by Presentation Type

Slide Section	15-min conf (≤15)	45-min seminar (≤30)	Job market (≤20)
Title	1	1	1
Motivation	1–2	2–3	2–3
This Paper	1	1	1
Related Lit	—	1–2	1–2
Data	1	2	2
Identification	2	3–4	3
Main Results	3	5–7	4–5
Robustness	1	2–3	2
Heterogeneity	—	2–3	1–2
Takeaways	1	1	1

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Best Practices

1. One message per slide — split if content overflows
2. Use figures over tables — embed PNG at ≥ 200 DPI
3. Bold the preferred specification column in regression tables
4. Add speaker notes to every key slide via add_speaker_notes()
5. Prepare appendix slides for anticipated Q&A
6. Timing: budget 1.5 min/slide; final slide must be Takeaways

Common Pitfalls

• ❌ Too much text (max 5 bullets per slide, max 10 words per bullet)
• ❌ Tables with more than 4 columns
• ❌ Ending with "Thank you / Questions?" — use Takeaways instead
• ❌ Embedding low-resolution images (< 150 DPI looks blurry on projectors)
• ❌ Skipping the "This Paper" preview slide