Google Slides Template Migration

Google Slides Template Migration

Use this skill when the user has:

• a source deck whose content should be kept
• a target template deck whose visual system should be adopted

This is not the same as cleanup or template surgery.

• For local polish, prefer google-slides-visual-iteration.
• For fixing a broken repeated pattern inside one deck, prefer google-slides-template-surgery.
• Use this skill when the right answer is to rebuild slides from the template, not keep nudging the old layout.
• When the content comes from notes, a changelog, or another generated source, outline what each slide should say before choosing a template slide.

Required Tooling

Confirm the runtime exposes:

• get_presentation or get_presentation_text
• get_slide
• get_slide_thumbnail
• batch_update

If the user is starting from a local .pptx, also confirm import_presentation.

Core Workflow

1. Identify the two decks.

• Source deck: the content to preserve.
• Template deck: the company deck or branded presentation whose layout language should be reused.

2. Plan the target slide story before editing.

• Build or confirm an outline of what each migrated slide should communicate.
• For each slide, write down its narrative job, must-keep content, likely density, and whether it needs an image, chart, grid, or mostly text.
• If a source slide is trying to do two jobs at once, such as summary plus evidence, split it in the outline before choosing a template pattern.

3. Read both decks before editing.

• Build a slide inventory for the source deck.
• Build a pattern inventory for the template deck.
• Use thumbnails, not just JSON, to understand the template’s real visual system.

4. Map source slides to template archetypes.

• Classify source slides into a small set of types such as title, section divider, agenda, metrics, 2-column content, image-heavy, quote, or appendix.
• Match by narrative job and density first, then by visual similarity.
• Find the closest matching template slide for each type.
• Read ./references/slide-archetype-mapping.md when deciding the mapping.

5. Duplicate from the template, not from the source.

• Prefer duplicating the closest matching template slide and then adapting it.
• Do not try to “convert” the old slide in place when a clean template pattern already exists.

6. Port content into the duplicated template slide.

• Replace title and body text.
• Move charts, images, and supporting copy into the template structure.
• Preserve the message and evidence, but let the template control spacing, hierarchy, and visual rhythm.
• Fill the template with intention. Do not leave a slide or major text box looking half-empty unless the template clearly calls for airy whitespace.

7. Verify every migrated slide with thumbnails.

• Re-check the migrated slide after each content port.
• If porting the content required visible local cleanup, run visual-change-loop on that slide before moving on.
• If content does not fit the template cleanly, split it into multiple slides instead of overcrowding the layout.

8. Finish with a deck-wide consistency pass.

• Normalize title treatment, image sizing, section-divider behavior, and spacing rhythm across the migrated deck.

Migration Rules

• Decide what each slide needs to say before deciding what template slide to use.
• The template is the source of truth for layout, margins, hierarchy, and decorative style.
• The source deck is the source of truth for content.
• Preserve content by default; do not silently drop claims, bullets, data, or charts just to make the slide fit.
• Choose the template slide that matches the slide's narrative job and content density, not the one that merely looks close at first glance.
• When a source slide is denser than the template pattern allows, split the content across multiple template-based slides.
• Avoid excessive whitespace inside major text or content regions. If a box or slide feels underfilled, choose a better template archetype, combine related content, or rewrite the outline rather than leaving a weak composition.
• If no template archetype fits cleanly, split the source content or flag the slide for human design judgment instead of forcing a bad fit.
• Keep the migration deterministic. One source slide should map to one explicit template archetype or a deliberate split.

Preferred Strategy

Use this order:

1. Migrate a small representative set first.

• Start by validating the outline and archetype choices, not by bulk-copying content.
• Title slide
• One section divider
• One dense content slide
• One image or chart slide

2. Verify that the template mapping is working.

• If those look good, continue with the rest of the deck.
• If not, adjust the archetype mapping before bulk migration.

3. Roll out by slide family.

• Migrate all section dividers together.
• Then title/content slides.
• Then charts/images.
• Then appendix or oddballs.

What To Avoid

• Do not restyle the old deck slide by slide with ad hoc geometry edits if the template already has a clean pattern.
• Do not paste fresh content into an arbitrary template slide before deciding the slide's job and density.
• Do not force all source slides into one template layout.
• Do not keep decorative source shapes unless they are required content.
• Do not accept a migrated slide that is on-brand but less legible than the source.

Verification Standard

A migration pass is only done when:

• the migrated slide is visibly consistent with the company template
• the source content still exists and is readable
• no clipping, overlap, or awkward density was introduced
• the main content areas feel intentionally filled rather than sparse by accident
• sibling slides of the same type look like they belong in the same deck
• any slide that needed visible local cleanup was carried through visual-change-loop until the third fresh review

References

Read these before migrating beyond the first few slides:

• ./references/migration-playbook.md
• ./references/slide-archetype-mapping.md