pptx

name	pptx
summary	PowerPoint PPTX creation, editing, inspection, and accessibility workflows.
description	Use when creating, editing, inspecting, extracting, or quality-checking Microsoft PowerPoint .pptx presentations, including slides, layouts, charts, images, metadata, and accessibility.

PPTX

Purpose

Use this skill for Microsoft PowerPoint .pptx work: creating presentations, editing existing decks, extracting slide content, inspecting structure, adding images/charts/tables, preparing data-driven decks, and checking presentation quality or accessibility.

When to Use

Use this skill when the user asks to:

• Create or modify a .pptx deck.
• Generate presentation slides from data, notes, outlines, documents, or reports.
• Inspect slides, layouts, placeholders, images, notes, metadata, or embedded media.
• Add or update tables, charts, screenshots, logos, speaker notes, or slide titles.
• Check PowerPoint accessibility, including reading order, alt text, titles, contrast, tables, and media captions.
• Convert presentation content into an outline, summary, or another document format.

Do Not Use When

Do not use this skill for:

• Spreadsheet-only work; use the XLSX skill.
• Word document work; use the DOCX skill.
• PDF extraction or PDF assembly; use the PDF skill.
• Image generation alone unless the image is being placed into a presentation.
• Requests that only ask for presentation advice and do not require file creation, editing, inspection, or quality checks.

Core Workflow

1. Clarify the task type: create, edit, inspect, extract, summarize, validate, or convert.
2. Preserve originals. If editing an existing file, write a new output file instead of overwriting the input.
3. Inspect existing decks before editing:

   python scripts/pptx_inspect.py input.pptx --json
   

4. Choose the right workflow:
   • Creation/editing: read references/pptx_workflows.md.
   • Accessibility/quality review: read references/pptx_accessibility.md.
5. Prefer template/layout placeholders over manually positioned text boxes when building slides.
6. Validate the output by reopening or inspecting the generated .pptx.
7. Report the output filename, what changed, and any limitations or manual checks needed.

Tool and Library Guidance

• Prefer python-pptx for creating, reading, and updating .pptx files when it is available.
• Use the bundled scripts/pptx_inspect.py for read-only structural inspection without external dependencies.
• If python-pptx is unavailable and package installation is not allowed, use standard-library ZIP/XML inspection for extraction and analysis; explain any creation/editing limitation.
• Do not assume PowerPoint is installed. Workflows should run in a headless Python environment when possible.

Quality Requirements

For generated or edited decks:

• Every slide should have a unique, meaningful title, visible or accessibility-preserving hidden.
• Use built-in layouts and placeholders when possible.
• Keep slides concise; avoid crowding and tiny fonts.
• Add alt text or surrounding explanatory text for meaningful visuals.
• Mark purely decorative visuals as decorative when the authoring environment supports it.
• Use readable fonts, sufficient contrast, and descriptive hyperlink text.
• Use simple tables with headers; avoid tables for layout.
• For media, include captions/transcripts or state that they require manual verification.
• Include speaker notes when the user needs presenter guidance or visual descriptions.

Output Requirements

When creating or editing files:

• Save the output as a new .pptx file.
• Summarize slide count, major sections, and notable design/accessibility choices.
• List any manual checks that cannot be fully verified programmatically, especially reading order, contrast, alt-text quality, animations, and media captions.