PPTX

Office Open XML Technical Reference for PowerPoint

Important: Read this entire document before starting. Critical XML schema rules and formatting requirements are covered throughout. Incorrect implementation can create invalid PPTX files that PowerPoint cannot open.

Technical Guidelines

Schema Compliance

• Element ordering in <p:txBody>: <a:bodyPr>, <a:lstStyle>, <a:p>
• Whitespace: Add xml:space='preserve' to <a:t> elements with leading/trailing spaces
• Unicode: Escape characters in ASCII content: " becomes “
• Images: Add to ppt/media/, reference in slide XML, set dimensions to fit slide bounds
• Relationships: Update ppt/slides/_rels/slideN.xml.rels for each slide's resources
• Dirty attribute: Add dirty="0" to <a:rPr> and <a:endParaRPr> elements to indicate clean state

Presentation Structure

Basic Slide Structure

<!-- ppt/slides/slide1.xml -->
<p:sld>
  <p:cSld>
    <p:spTree>
      <p:nvGrpSpPr>...</p:nvGrpSpPr>
      <p:grpSpPr>...</p:grpSpPr>
      <!-- Shapes go here -->
    </p:spTree>
  </p:cSld>
</p:sld>

Text Box / Shape with Text

<p:sp>
  <p:nvSpPr>
    <p:cNvPr id="2" name="Title"/>
    <p:cNvSpPr>
      <a:spLocks noGrp="1"/>
    </p:cNvSpPr>
    <p:nvPr>
      <p:ph type="ctrTitle"/>
    </p:nvPr>
  </p:nvSpPr>
  <p:spPr>
    <a:xfrm>
      <a:off x="838200" y="365125"/>
      <a:ext cx="7772400" cy="1470025"/>
    </a:xfrm>
  </p:spPr>
  <p:txBody>
    <a:bodyPr/>
    <a:lstStyle/>
    <a:p>
      <a:r>
        <a:t>Slide Title</a:t>
      </a:r>
    </a:p>
  </p:txBody>
</p:sp>

Text Formatting

<!-- Bold -->
<a:r>
  <a:rPr b="1"/>
  <a:t>Bold Text</a:t>
</a:r>

<!-- Italic -->
<a:r>
  <a:rPr i="1"/>
  <a:t>Italic Text</a:t>
</a:r>

<!-- Underline -->
<a:r>
  <a:rPr u="sng"/>
  <a:t>Underlined</a:t>
</a:r>

<!-- Highlight -->
<a:r>
  <a:rPr>
    <a:highlight>
      <a:srgbClr val="FFFF00"/>
    </a:highlight>
  </a:rPr>
  <a:t>Highlighted Text</a:t>
</a:r>

<!-- Font and Size -->
<a:r>
  <a:rPr sz="2400" typeface="Arial">
    <a:solidFill>
      <a:srgbClr val="FF0000"/>
    </a:solidFill>
  </a:rPr>
  <a:t>Colored Arial 24pt</a:t>
</a:r>

<!-- Complete formatting example -->
<a:r>
  <a:rPr lang="en-US" sz="1400" b="1" dirty="0">
    <a:solidFill>
      <a:srgbClr val="FAFAFA"/>
    </a:solidFill>
  </a:rPr>
  <a:t>Formatted text</a:t>
</a:r>

Lists

<!-- Bullet list -->
<a:p>
  <a:pPr lvl="0">
    <a:buChar char="•"/>
  </a:pPr>
  <a:r>
    <a:t>First bullet point</a:t>
  </a:r>
</a:p>

<!-- Numbered list -->
<a:p>
  <a:pPr lvl="0">
    <a:buAutoNum type="arabicPeriod"/>
  </a:pPr>
  <a:r>
    <a:t>First numbered item</a:t>
  </a:r>
</a:p>

<!-- Second level indent -->
<a:p>
  <a:pPr lvl="1">
    <a:buChar char="•"/>
  </a:pPr>
  <a:r>
    <a:t>Indented bullet</a:t>
  </a:r>
</a:p>

Shapes

<!-- Rectangle -->
<p:sp>
  <p:nvSpPr>
    <p:cNvPr id="3" name="Rectangle"/>
    <p:cNvSpPr/>
    <p:nvPr/>
  </p:nvSpPr>
  <p:spPr>
    <a:xfrm>
      <a:off x="1000000" y="1000000"/>
      <a:ext cx="3000000" cy="2000000"/>
    </a:xfrm>
    <a:prstGeom prst="rect">
      <a:avLst/>
    </a:prstGeom>
    <a:solidFill>
      <a:srgbClr val="FF0000"/>
    </a:solidFill>
    <a:ln w="25400">
      <a:solidFill>
        <a:srgbClr val="000000"/>
      </a:solidFill>
    </a:ln>
  </p:spPr>
</p:sp>

<!-- Rounded Rectangle -->
<p:sp>
  <p:spPr>
    <a:prstGeom prst="roundRect">
      <a:avLst/>
    </a:prstGeom>
  </p:spPr>
</p:sp>

<!-- Circle/Ellipse -->
<p:sp>
  <p:spPr>
    <a:prstGeom prst="ellipse">
      <a:avLst/>
    </a:prstGeom>
  </p:spPr>
</p:sp>

Images

<p:pic>
  <p:nvPicPr>
    <p:cNvPr id="4" name="Picture">
      <a:hlinkClick r:id="" action="ppaction://media"/>
    </p:cNvPr>
    <p:cNvPicPr>
      <a:picLocks noChangeAspect="1"/>
    </p:cNvPicPr>
    <p:nvPr/>
  </p:nvPicPr>
  <p:blipFill>
    <a:blip r:embed="rId2"/>
    <a:stretch>
      <a:fillRect/>
    </a:stretch>
  </p:blipFill>
  <p:spPr>
    <a:xfrm>
      <a:off x="1000000" y="1000000"/>
      <a:ext cx="3000000" cy="2000000"/>
    </a:xfrm>
    <a:prstGeom prst="rect">
      <a:avLst/>
    </a:prstGeom>
  </p:spPr>
</p:pic>

Tables

<p:graphicFrame>
  <p:nvGraphicFramePr>
    <p:cNvPr id="5" name="Table"/>
    <p:cNvGraphicFramePr>
      <a:graphicFrameLocks noGrp="1"/>
    </p:cNvGraphicFramePr>
    <p:nvPr/>
  </p:nvGraphicFramePr>
  <p:xfrm>
    <a:off x="1000000" y="1000000"/>
    <a:ext cx="6000000" cy="2000000"/>
  </p:xfrm>
  <a:graphic>
    <a:graphicData uri="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/drawingml/2006/table">
      <a:tbl>
        <a:tblGrid>
          <a:gridCol w="3000000"/>
          <a:gridCol w="3000000"/>
        </a:tblGrid>
        <a:tr h="500000">
          <a:tc>
            <a:txBody>
              <a:bodyPr/>
              <a:lstStyle/>
              <a:p>
                <a:r>
                  <a:t>Cell 1</a:t>
                </a:r>
              </a:p>
            </a:txBody>
          </a:tc>
          <a:tc>
            <a:txBody>
              <a:bodyPr/>
              <a:lstStyle/>
              <a:p>
                <a:r>
                  <a:t>Cell 2</a:t>
                </a:r>
              </a:p>
            </a:txBody>
          </a:tc>
        </a:tr>
      </a:tbl>
    </a:graphicData>
  </a:graphic>
</p:graphicFrame>

Slide Layouts

<!-- Title Slide Layout -->
<p:sp>
  <p:nvSpPr>
    <p:nvPr>
      <p:ph type="ctrTitle"/>
    </p:nvPr>
  </p:nvSpPr>
  <!-- Title content -->
</p:sp>

<p:sp>
  <p:nvSpPr>
    <p:nvPr>
      <p:ph type="subTitle" idx="1"/>
    </p:nvPr>
  </p:nvSpPr>
  <!-- Subtitle content -->
</p:sp>

<!-- Content Slide Layout -->
<p:sp>
  <p:nvSpPr>
    <p:nvPr>
      <p:ph type="title"/>
    </p:nvPr>
  </p:nvSpPr>
  <!-- Slide title -->
</p:sp>

<p:sp>
  <p:nvSpPr>
    <p:nvPr>
      <p:ph type="body" idx="1"/>
    </p:nvPr>
  </p:nvSpPr>
  <!-- Content body -->
</p:sp>

File Updates

When adding content, update these files:

ppt/_rels/presentation.xml.rels:

<Relationship Id="rId1" Type="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/slide" Target="slides/slide1.xml"/>
<Relationship Id="rId2" Type="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/slideMaster" Target="slideMasters/slideMaster1.xml"/>

ppt/slides/_rels/slide1.xml.rels:

<Relationship Id="rId1" Type="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/slideLayout" Target="../slideLayouts/slideLayout1.xml"/>
<Relationship Id="rId2" Type="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/image" Target="../media/image1.png"/>

[Content_Types].xml:

<Default Extension="png" ContentType="image/png"/>
<Default Extension="jpg" ContentType="image/jpeg"/>
<Override PartName="/ppt/slides/slide1.xml" ContentType="application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.slide+xml"/>

ppt/presentation.xml:

<p:sldIdLst>
  <p:sldId id="256" r:id="rId1"/>
  <p:sldId id="257" r:id="rId2"/>
</p:sldIdLst>

docProps/app.xml: Update slide count and statistics

<Slides>2</Slides>
<Paragraphs>10</Paragraphs>
<Words>50</Words>

Slide Operations

Adding a New Slide

When adding a slide to the end of the presentation:

1. Create the slide file (ppt/slides/slideN.xml)
2. Update [Content_Types].xml: Add Override for the new slide
3. Update ppt/_rels/presentation.xml.rels: Add relationship for the new slide
4. Update ppt/presentation.xml: Add slide ID to <p:sldIdLst>
5. Create slide relationships (ppt/slides/_rels/slideN.xml.rels) if needed
6. Update docProps/app.xml: Increment slide count and update statistics (if present)

Duplicating a Slide

1. Copy the source slide XML file with a new name
2. Update all IDs in the new slide to be unique
3. Follow the "Adding a New Slide" steps above
4. CRITICAL: Remove or update any notes slide references in _rels files
5. Remove references to unused media files

Reordering Slides

1. Update ppt/presentation.xml: Reorder <p:sldId> elements in <p:sldIdLst>
2. The order of <p:sldId> elements determines slide order
3. Keep slide IDs and relationship IDs unchanged

Example:

<!-- Original order -->
<p:sldIdLst>
  <p:sldId id="256" r:id="rId2"/>
  <p:sldId id="257" r:id="rId3"/>
  <p:sldId id="258" r:id="rId4"/>
</p:sldIdLst>

<!-- After moving slide 3 to position 2 -->
<p:sldIdLst>
  <p:sldId id="256" r:id="rId2"/>
  <p:sldId id="258" r:id="rId4"/>
  <p:sldId id="257" r:id="rId3"/>
</p:sldIdLst>

Deleting a Slide

1. Remove from ppt/presentation.xml: Delete the <p:sldId> entry
2. Remove from ppt/_rels/presentation.xml.rels: Delete the relationship
3. Remove from [Content_Types].xml: Delete the Override entry
4. Delete files: Remove ppt/slides/slideN.xml and ppt/slides/_rels/slideN.xml.rels
5. Update docProps/app.xml: Decrement slide count and update statistics
6. Clean up unused media: Remove orphaned images from ppt/media/

Note: Don't renumber remaining slides - keep their original IDs and filenames.

Common Errors to Avoid

• Encodings: Escape unicode characters in ASCII content: " becomes “
• Images: Add to ppt/media/ and update relationship files
• Lists: Omit bullets from list headers
• IDs: Use valid hexadecimal values for UUIDs
• Themes: Check all themes in theme directory for colors

Validation Checklist for Template-Based Presentations

Before Packing, Always:

• Clean unused resources: Remove unreferenced media, fonts, and notes directories
• Fix Content_Types.xml: Declare ALL slides, layouts, and themes present in the package
• Fix relationship IDs:
  • Remove font embed references if not using embedded fonts
• Remove broken references: Check all _rels files for references to deleted resources

Common Template Duplication Pitfalls:

• Multiple slides referencing the same notes slide after duplication
• Image/media references from template slides that no longer exist
• Font embedding references when fonts aren't included
• Missing slideLayout declarations for layouts 12-25
• docProps directory may not unpack - this is optional