pptx

name	pptx
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; 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.
dependencies	{"commands":["python3"],"tools":["skillScriptTool","skillFileTool","delegateToAgent"]}
platforms	["macos","linux","windows"]

Important: All scripts/ paths are relative to this skill directory. Use run_skill_script tool to execute scripts, or run with: cd {this_skill_dir} && python scripts/...

PPTX Skill

Prerequisites

• markitdown[pptx]: text extraction from presentations
• Pillow: thumbnail grid generation
• pptxgenjs (npm install -g pptxgenjs): creating presentations from scratch
• LibreOffice (soffice): presentation-to-PDF conversion
• pdftoppm (poppler-utils): PDF-to-image conversion for thumbnail/visual workflows
• If pdftoppm is unavailable, a Python fallback path may use pdf2image.

Quick Reference

Task	Guide
Read/analyze content	python -m markitdown presentation.pptx
Edit or create from template	Unpack → manipulate → pack workflow
Create from scratch	Use pptxgenjs (npm)

---

Reading Content

# Text extraction
python -m markitdown presentation.pptx

# Visual overview (thumbnail grid)
python scripts/thumbnail.py presentation.pptx

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

---

Editing Workflow

1. Analyze template with thumbnail.py
2. Unpack: python scripts/office/unpack.py presentation.pptx unpacked/
3. Add/remove slides: python scripts/add_slide.py unpacked/ --source <slide_num>
4. Edit XML content in unpacked/ppt/slides/
5. Clean orphans: python scripts/clean.py unpacked/
6. Pack: python scripts/office/pack.py unpacked/ output.pptx --original presentation.pptx

Adding Slides

# Duplicate an existing slide
python scripts/add_slide.py unpacked/ --source 2

# Add from layout template
python scripts/add_slide.py unpacked/ --layout 1

Cleaning Up

# Remove orphaned slides, unreferenced media, update content types
python scripts/clean.py unpacked/

Creating Thumbnails

# Create thumbnail grid of all slides
python scripts/thumbnail.py presentation.pptx

# Customize output
python scripts/thumbnail.py presentation.pptx --output thumbs.png --cols 4

---

Creating from Scratch

Use pptxgenjs (Node.js) when no template is available. Install: npm install -g pptxgenjs

---

Design Ideas

Don't create boring slides. Plain bullets on a white background won't impress anyone.

Before Starting

• Pick a bold, content-informed color palette: should feel designed for THIS topic
• Dominance over equality: One color should dominate (60-70%), with 1-2 supporting tones
• Dark/light contrast: Dark backgrounds for title + conclusion, light for content
• Commit to a visual motif: Pick ONE distinctive element and repeat it

Color Palettes

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.

Layout options:

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

Data display:

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

Typography

Header Font	Body Font
Georgia	Calibri
Arial Black	Arial
Calibri	Calibri Light
Cambria	Calibri
Trebuchet MS	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

Avoid (Common Mistakes)

• Don't repeat the same layout across slides
• Don't center body text - left-align paragraphs and lists
• Don't skimp on size contrast
• Don't default to blue - pick topic-appropriate colors
• Don't create text-only slides - add visual elements
• Don't forget text box padding
• NEVER use accent lines under titles - hallmark of AI-generated slides

---

QA (Required)

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

Content QA

python -m markitdown output.pptx

Check for missing content, typos, wrong order. Check for leftover placeholder text:

python -m markitdown output.pptx | grep -iE "xxxx|lorem|ipsum"

Visual QA

Convert slides to images, then inspect:

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

Look for: overlapping elements, text overflow, low-contrast text, uneven gaps, insufficient margins.

Subagent Visual QA (Fresh Eyes)

For high-stakes presentations, delegate a visual inspection to a separate agent that has NOT seen the creation process. A fresh pair of eyes catches issues the author missed.

delegateToAgent(
  agentName="strong-agent",
  task="[Visual QA Request] Inspect the attached presentation slides as a fresh reviewer.
You have no context about how these were made — treat it as if seeing them for the first time.

Slides location: <path to slide images or pptx>

Check for:
1. Any slide where text is cut off or overflows the frame
2. Low contrast (e.g., light text on light background)
3. Repeated layouts — more than 2 slides with identical structure
4. Text-only slides with no visual element
5. Accent lines under slide titles (hallmark of AI-generated slides)
6. Any leftover placeholder text (XXXX, lorem, [insert here])
7. Font size below 14pt in body text

For each issue, state: slide number, issue type, what you see.
If everything looks clean, say so explicitly."
)

Act on the subagent's findings before declaring the presentation complete.

Verification Loop

1. Generate slides -> Convert to images -> Inspect
2. List issues found
3. Fix issues
4. Re-verify affected slides
5. Repeat until clean
6. (High-stakes) Run subagent visual QA for a fresh-eyes check

---

Converting to Images

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

Creates slide-01.jpg, slide-02.jpg, etc.