| name | document-pptx |
| description | Create/edit .pptx presentations with charts, templates, and speaker notes. Use when asked for pitch decks, QBR decks, or slide automation. |
| allowed-tools | Bash, Read, Write, Glob, Grep |
Document PPTX Skill - Quick Reference
This skill enables creation and editing of PowerPoint presentations programmatically. Claude should apply these patterns when users need to generate pitch decks, reports, training materials, or automate presentation workflows.
Modern Best Practices (Jan 2026):
- One slide = one takeaway; design the deck around a decision or audience goal.
- Cite numbers (definition + timeframe + source) and keep a single source of truth for charts.
- Accessibility: slide titles, reading order, contrast, and meaningful alt text; follow your org's standard (often WCAG 2.2 AA / EN 301 549).
- Version decks and enforce review loops (avoid "final_final_v7.pptx").
Quick Reference
| Task | Tool/Library | Language | When to Use |
|---|
| Create PPTX | python-pptx | Python | Presentations, slide decks |
| Create PPTX | PptxGenJS | Node.js | Server-side generation |
| Template-driven | PPTX-Automizer | Node.js | Corporate branding, template injection |
| Templates | python-pptx | Python | Master slides, themes |
| Charts | python-pptx | Python | Data visualizations |
| Extract content | python-pptx | Python | Parse existing decks |
Selection guide
- Prefer PPTX-Automizer when you have a branded .pptx template and need to "inject data into slides".
- Prefer python-pptx in Python-heavy pipelines (reporting, notebooks, ETL).
- Prefer PptxGenJS in Node.js pipelines (server-side generation, web apps).
Core Operations
Create Presentation (Python)
from pptx import Presentation
prs = Presentation()
title_layout = prs.slide_layouts[0]
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(title_layout)
title = slide.shapes.title
subtitle = slide.placeholders[1]
title.text = "Q4 2025 Business Review"
subtitle.text = "Presented by Product Team"
bullet_layout = prs.slide_layouts[1]
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(bullet_layout)
slide.shapes.title.text = "Key Highlights"
body = slide.placeholders[1]
tf = body.text_frame
tf.text = "Revenue grew 25% YoY"
p = tf.add_paragraph()
p.text = "Customer base expanded to 10,000+"
p.level = 0
p = tf.add_paragraph()
p.text = "New enterprise tier launched"
p.level = 1
notes_slide = slide.notes_slide
notes_slide.notes_text_frame.text = "Emphasize the enterprise growth story here."
prs.save('presentation.pptx')
Create Presentation (Node.js)
import pptxgen from 'pptxgenjs';
async function main() {
const pptx = new pptxgen();
pptx.author = 'Product Team';
pptx.title = 'Q4 Business Review';
let slide = pptx.addSlide();
slide.addText('Q4 2025 Business Review', {
x: 1, y: 2, w: '80%',
fontSize: 36, bold: true, color: '363636',
align: 'center',
});
slide.addText('Presented by Product Team', {
x: 1, y: 3.5, w: '80%',
fontSize: 18, color: '666666',
align: 'center',
});
slide = pptx.addSlide();
slide.addText('Key Highlights', {
x: 0.5, y: 0.5, w: '90%',
fontSize: 28, bold: true,
});
slide.addText([
{ text: 'Revenue grew 25% YoY', options: { bullet: true } },
{ text: 'Customer base expanded to 10,000+', options: { bullet: true } },
{ text: 'New enterprise tier launched', options: { bullet: true, indentLevel: 1 } },
], { x: 0.5, y: 1.5, w: '90%', fontSize: 18 });
slide = pptx.addSlide();
slide.addChart(pptx.ChartType.bar, [
{ name: 'Sales', labels: ['Q1', 'Q2', 'Q3', 'Q4'], values: [100, 150, 180, 225] },
], { x: 1, y: 1.5, w: 8, h: 4 });
await pptx.writeFile({ fileName: 'presentation.pptx' });
}
main();
Add Charts (Python)
from pptx import Presentation
from pptx.util import Inches
from pptx.chart.data import CategoryChartData
from pptx.enum.chart import XL_CHART_TYPE
prs = Presentation()
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[6])
chart_data = CategoryChartData()
chart_data.categories = ['Q1', 'Q2', 'Q3', 'Q4']
chart_data.add_series('Revenue', (100, 150, 180, 225))
chart_data.add_series('Expenses', (80, 90, 100, 110))
x, y, cx, cy = Inches(1), Inches(1.5), Inches(8), Inches(5)
chart = slide.shapes.add_chart(
XL_CHART_TYPE.COLUMN_CLUSTERED,
x, y, cx, cy,
chart_data
).chart
chart.has_legend = True
chart.legend.include_in_layout = False
prs.save('charts.pptx')
Add Images and Tables
from pptx import Presentation
from pptx.util import Inches
prs = Presentation()
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[6])
slide.shapes.add_picture('logo.png', Inches(0.5), Inches(0.5), width=Inches(2))
rows, cols = 4, 3
table = slide.shapes.add_table(rows, cols, Inches(1), Inches(2), Inches(8), Inches(3)).table
table.cell(0, 0).text = 'Product'
table.cell(0, 1).text = 'Sales'
table.cell(0, 2).text = 'Growth'
data = [
('Widget A', '$1.2M', '+25%'),
('Widget B', '$800K', '+15%'),
('Widget C', '$500K', '+40%'),
]
for row_idx, (product, sales, growth) in enumerate(data, 1):
table.cell(row_idx, 0).text = product
table.cell(row_idx, 1).text = sales
table.cell(row_idx, 2).text = growth
prs.save('images_and_tables.pptx')
Extract Content
from pptx import Presentation
prs = Presentation('existing.pptx')
for slide_num, slide in enumerate(prs.slides, 1):
print(f"\n--- Slide {slide_num} ---")
for shape in slide.shapes:
if shape.has_text_frame:
for paragraph in shape.text_frame.paragraphs:
print(paragraph.text)
if shape.has_table:
table = shape.table
for row in table.rows:
row_text = [cell.text for cell in row.cells]
print(row_text)
Slide Layout Reference
| Layout Index | Name | Use Case |
|---|
| 0 | Title Slide | Opening, section dividers |
| 1 | Title and Content | Standard bullet slides |
| 2 | Section Header | Section transitions |
| 3 | Two Content | Side-by-side comparison |
| 4 | Comparison | Pros/cons, before/after |
| 5 | Title Only | Custom content placement |
| 6 | Blank | Full creative control |
| 7 | Content with Caption | Image + description |
Presentation Structure Patterns
Pitch Deck (10 slides)
PITCH DECK STRUCTURE
1. Title (company, tagline)
2. Problem (pain point)
3. Solution (your product)
4. Market Size (TAM/SAM/SOM)
5. Business Model (how you make money)
6. Traction (metrics, growth)
7. Team (founders, advisors)
8. Competition (landscape)
9. Financials (projections)
10. Ask (funding, next steps)
Quarterly Review (8 slides)
QUARTERLY REVIEW STRUCTURE
1. Title + Agenda
2. Executive Summary (KPIs dashboard)
3. Revenue & Growth
4. Product Updates
5. Customer Highlights
6. Challenges & Learnings
7. Next Quarter Goals
8. Q&A
Do / Avoid (Dec 2025)
Do
- Use a slide narrative plan (title + 1-sentence takeaway + supporting visual).
- Put the executive summary up front for decision decks.
- Keep speaker notes aligned with slide takeaways.
Avoid
- Dense slides with multiple messages.
- Uncited numbers or charts without definitions.
- Pixelated screenshots and unreadable tables.
What Good Looks Like
- Narrative: each slide has a 1-sentence takeaway and supports a single decision or insight.
- Structure: opening executive summary + clear arc (problem -> insight -> recommendation -> next steps).
- Data hygiene: charts show units, timeframes, sources, and consistent axes.
- Design: consistent typography, spacing, and contrast; no "wall of text" slides.
- Accessibility: reading order set and meaningful alt text where needed.
Optional: AI / Automation
Use only when explicitly requested and policy-compliant.
- Draft slide headlines and speaker notes; humans verify accuracy and tone.
- Generate chart code from data; humans verify labels, units, and sources.
Navigation
Resources
Templates
Related Skills
Fact-Checking
- Use web search/web fetch to verify current external facts, versions, pricing, deadlines, regulations, or platform behavior before final answers.
- Prefer primary sources; report source links and dates for volatile information.
- If web access is unavailable, state the limitation and mark guidance as unverified.
