| 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. Trigger whenever the user mentions 'deck', 'slides', 'presentation', or references a .pptx filename. Covers: create from scratch with python-pptx, read/extract with markitdown, edit via XML unpack/pack workflow, visual QA. |
| metadata | {"openclaw":{"emoji":"📊","always":true,"install":[{"id":"uv","kind":"uv","packages":["python-pptx>=0.6.23","markitdown[pptx]","Pillow"],"label":"Install pptx dependencies (uv)"}]}} |
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 python-pptx.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 python-pptx.md for full details.
Use when no template or reference presentation is available.
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: The palette should feel designed for THIS topic. If swapping your colors into a completely different presentation would still "work," you haven't made specific enough choices.
- Dominance over equality: One color should dominate (60-70% visual weight), with 1-2 supporting tones and one sharp accent. Never give all colors equal weight.
- Dark/light contrast: Dark backgrounds for title + conclusion slides, light for content ("sandwich" structure). Or commit to dark throughout for a premium feel.
- Commit to a visual motif: Pick ONE distinctive element and repeat it — rounded image frames, icons in colored circles, thick single-side borders. Carry it across every slide.
Color Palettes
Choose colors that match your topic — don't default to generic blue:
| 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. Text-only slides are forgettable.
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 (full left or right side) with content overlay
Data display:
- Large stat callouts (big numbers with small labels below)
- Comparison columns (before/after, pros/cons)
- Timeline or process flow (numbered steps, arrows)
Typography
Choose an interesting font pairing — don't default to Arial:
| Header Font | Body Font |
|---|
| Georgia | Calibri |
| Arial Black | Arial |
| Calibri | Calibri Light |
| Cambria | Calibri |
| Palatino | Garamond |
| Element | Size |
|---|
| Slide title | 36-44pt bold |
| Section header | 20-24pt bold |
| Body text | 14-16pt |
| Captions | 10-12pt muted |
Avoid (Common Mistakes)
- Don't repeat the same layout — vary columns, cards, and callouts across slides
- Don't center body text — left-align paragraphs and lists; center only titles
- Don't default to blue — pick colors that reflect the specific topic
- Don't create text-only slides — add images, icons, charts, or visual elements
- NEVER use accent lines under titles — hallmark of AI-generated slides; use whitespace or background color instead
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|this.*(page|slide).*layout"
Visual QA
Use subagents — even for 2-3 slides. You've been staring at the code and will see what you expect, not what's there.
Convert slides to images (see Converting to Images), then use this prompt:
Visually inspect these slides. Assume there are issues — find them.
Look for:
- Overlapping elements (text through shapes, lines through words)
- Text overflow or cut off at edges/box boundaries
- Elements too close (< 0.3" gaps) or sections nearly touching
- Insufficient margin from slide edges (< 0.5")
- Columns or similar elements not aligned consistently
- Low-contrast text or icons
- Leftover placeholder content
For each slide, list issues or areas of concern, even if minor.
Report ALL issues found, including minor ones.
Verification Loop
- Generate slides → Convert to images → Inspect
- List issues found (if none found, look again more critically)
- Fix issues
- Re-verify affected slides — one fix often creates another problem
- Repeat until a full pass reveals no new issues
Do not declare success until you've completed at least one fix-and-verify cycle.
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.
To re-render specific slides after fixes:
pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 -f N -l N output.pdf slide-fixed
Dependencies
uv pip install "python-pptx>=0.6.23" "markitdown[pptx]" Pillow
brew install libreoffice poppler
python-pptx — create and edit .pptx programmaticallymarkitdown[pptx] — text extraction from .pptxPillow — thumbnail generation- LibreOffice (
soffice) — PDF conversion for visual QA
- Poppler (
pdftoppm) — PDF to images
