| name | standard-4-3-layout-skill |
| description | Must be read before creating, relaying out, or repairing standard 4:3 Oh My PPT pages. Defines square-ish presentation layout, two-zone and 2x2 structures, chart/table budgeting, column discipline, plus catalog and checklist references for 1600x1200 canvases. |
Standard 4:3 Layout Skill
This skill is the layout source of truth for standard-4-3 pages, usually 1600x1200.
A 4:3 page is a square-ish presentation canvas. It supports readable talk-track slides, balanced data + insight pairs, compact matrices, and diagrams with generous margins. Its best layouts use depth through hierarchy, not by spreading many columns across the width.
Deep details live in the references:
references/catalog.md - named 4:3 presentation patterns and 1600x1200 zone skeletons.references/checklist.md - P0/P1/P2 structural self-check for delivery.
Preflight
Before writing HTML, decide:
- Message - the one sentence this slide should make the audience remember.
- Primary object - chart, table, matrix, diagram, hero number, conclusion block, image, or comparison.
- Reading path - title/claim -> primary object -> interpretation/action.
- Density - low for cover/quote/hero number, medium for most slides, high only for compact tables or matrices.
- Pattern - choose one structure from
references/catalog.md before writing HTML.
- Budget - estimate width and height together; 4:3 failures are often width pressure, not only height pressure.
Use the canvas dimensions from the prompt. If custom dimensions are supplied, preserve the same square-ish relationships.
Canvas Grammar
- Favor one-column, two-zone, 2x2, or center + rail structures.
- Two real content columns are usually enough. Three columns work only for short metric chips or labels.
- Keep side margins and gutters generous enough for projection readability.
- Use row-based tables and grouped insight rows when information has several dimensions.
- Use grid/flex document flow for text-bearing modules. Absolute positioning is only for background accents, connector lines, and non-text decoration.
- Body copy, ordinary labels, and card descriptions must be at least 24px (Tailwind
text-2xl is 24px, or use style="font-size:24px" / text-[24px]); headings must be at least 32px (text-3xl or larger); auxiliary source/footer text must be at least 16px (text-base or text-[16px]). These floors compensate for the smaller fit-scale a 1200h canvas gets in presentation mode — text-lg/text-xl (18px/20px) are too small here, do not use them for body copy.
Pattern Quick Lookup
| Intent | Patterns |
|---|
| main + support | title-plus-two-zone · center-concept-rails |
| data | chart-insight-pair · compact-table-rows |
| framework | matrix-2x2 |
| visual | diagram-plus-takeaways |
Use references/catalog.md for the full structure recipe before writing a new or heavily repaired page.
Height And Width Budget
Calculate before writing:
- Canvas: usually 1600px wide x 1200px tall.
- Outer padding: commonly 64-112px total per axis.
- Title/subtitle: usually 80-140px after wrapping.
- Gaps between zones.
- Footer/source/reserve: 40-72px when present.
- Remaining area is the body slot.
Then budget width: subtract horizontal padding and gaps, then check whether each column, chart label, table cell, or matrix quadrant has enough readable width.
For charts, reserve a specific frame height and keep the @ppt-chart-height=N marker aligned with the h-[Npx] class. In a two-zone layout, columns share width, not height; each column still uses the same vertical body slot.
Repair And Self-check
- If the page feels cramped, reduce real content columns or convert to rows / 2x2.
- If hierarchy is flat, promote one object to primary and compress the rest into rails, chips, or rows.
- If a table is clipped, keep only key columns or turn dimensions into grouped insight rows.
- If a timeline or process lacks space, use stacked phases or compact sequence bands.
- If a support zone is mostly empty, shrink it or give the primary object more space.
- Before delivery, run
references/checklist.md.
