| name | pptx_original |
| description | Use this skill any time a .pptx file is involved in any way — as input, output, or both. This includes: creating slide decks, pitch decks, or presentations; reading, parsing, or extracting text from any .pptx file (even if the extracted content will be used elsewhere, like in an email or summary); editing, modifying, or updating existing presentations; combining or splitting slide files; working with templates, layouts, speaker notes, or comments. Trigger whenever the user mentions "deck," "slides," "presentation," or references a .pptx filename, regardless of what they plan to do with the content afterward. If a .pptx file needs to be opened, created, or touched, use this skill. |
| license | Proprietary. LICENSE.txt has complete terms |
PPTX Skill
Quick Reference
| Task | Guide |
|---|
| Read/analyze content | python -m markitdown presentation.pptx |
| Edit or create from template | Read editing.md |
| Create from scratch | Read pptxgenjs.md |
Reading Content
python -m markitdown presentation.pptx
python scripts/thumbnail.py presentation.pptx
python scripts/office/unpack.py presentation.pptx unpacked/
Editing Workflow
Read editing.md for full details.
- Analyze template with
thumbnail.py
- Unpack → manipulate slides → edit content → clean → pack
Creating from Scratch
Read pptxgenjs.md for full details. Use when no template or reference presentation is available.
Design Principles
Before Starting
- Pick a bold, content-informed color palette: if swapping your colors into a different presentation would still "work," your choices aren't specific enough
- Dominance over equality: one color dominates (60–70%), 1–2 supporting tones, one sharp accent
- Dark/light contrast: dark backgrounds for title + conclusion slides, light for content ("sandwich" structure)
- Commit to a visual motif: pick one distinctive element and repeat it (rounded image frames, icons in colored circles, thick single-side borders)
Color Palettes
| Theme | Primary | Secondary | Accent |
|---|
| Midnight Executive | 1E2761 (navy) | CADCFC (ice blue) | FFFFFF |
| Forest & Moss | 2C5F2D (forest) | 97BC62 (moss) | F5F5F5 |
| Coral Energy | F96167 (coral) | F9E795 (gold) | 2F3C7E |
| Warm Terracotta | B85042 (terracotta) | E7E8D1 (sand) | A7BEAE |
| Ocean Gradient | 065A82 (deep blue) | 1C7293 (teal) | 21295C |
| Charcoal Minimal | 36454F (charcoal) | F2F2F2 (off-white) | 212121 |
| Teal Trust | 028090 (teal) | 00A896 (seafoam) | 02C39A |
| Berry & Cream | 6D2E46 (berry) | A26769 (dusty rose) | ECE2D0 |
| Sage Calm | 84B59F (sage) | 69A297 (eucalyptus) | 50808E |
| Cherry Bold | 990011 (cherry) | FCF6F5 (off-white) | 2F3C7E |
Per-Slide Guidelines
Every slide needs a visual element — image, chart, icon, or shape.
Layout options:
- Two-column (text left, illustration right)
- Icon + text rows (icon in colored circle, bold header, description below)
- 2×2 or 2×3 grid with content blocks
- Half-bleed image with content overlay
Data display:
- Large stat callouts (60–72pt numbers with small labels)
- Comparison columns (before/after, pros/cons)
- Timeline or process flow (numbered steps, arrows)
Typography
Choose a header font with personality paired with a clean body font:
| Header | Body |
|---|
| Georgia | Calibri |
| Arial Black | Arial |
| Cambria | Calibri |
| Trebuchet MS | Calibri |
| Palatino | Garamond |
| 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
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Repeating the same layout across slides — vary columns, cards, and callouts
- Centering body text — left-align paragraphs and lists; center only titles
- Insufficient size contrast — titles need 36pt+ to stand out from 14–16pt body
- Defaulting to blue — pick colors reflecting the specific topic
- Inconsistent spacing — choose 0.3" or 0.5" gaps and use consistently
- Styling one slide but leaving the rest plain — commit fully or keep it simple throughout
- Text-only slides — add images, icons, charts, or visual elements
- Missing text box padding — when aligning lines/shapes with text edges, set
margin: 0 or offset to account for padding
- Low-contrast elements — icons and text both need strong contrast against background
- Accent lines under titles — these read as AI-generated; use whitespace or background color instead
QA (Required)
Approach QA as a bug hunt. Your first render is almost never correct.
Content QA
python -m markitdown output.pptx
python -m markitdown output.pptx | grep -iE "xxxx|lorem|ipsum|this.*(page|slide).*layout"
Fix any leftover placeholder text before declaring success.
Visual QA
Use subagents for visual inspection — even for 2–3 slides. Fresh eyes catch what you miss after staring at code.
Convert slides to images (see below), then have the subagent inspect with this prompt:
Visually inspect these slides. Assume there are issues — find them.
Look for:
- Overlapping elements (text through shapes, stacked elements)
- Text overflow or cut off at edges/box boundaries
- Elements too close (< 0.3" gaps) or uneven spacing
- Insufficient margin from slide edges (< 0.5")
- Low-contrast text or icons
- Text boxes too narrow causing excessive wrapping
- Leftover placeholder content
For each slide, list issues found.
Verification Loop
- Generate slides → convert to images → inspect
- List issues found
- Fix issues
- Re-verify affected slides — one fix often creates another problem
- Repeat until a full pass reveals no new issues
Complete at least one fix-and-verify cycle before declaring success.
Converting to Images
python scripts/office/soffice.py --headless --convert-to pdf output.pptx
pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 output.pdf slide
pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 -f N -l N output.pdf slide-fixed
Dependencies
pip install "markitdown[pptx]" — text extractionpip install Pillow — thumbnail gridsnpm install -g pptxgenjs — creating from scratch- LibreOffice (
soffice) — PDF conversion (auto-configured via scripts/office/soffice.py)
- Poppler (
pdftoppm) — PDF to images
