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 pptxgenjs.md |
Reading Content
# Text extraction
python -m markitdown presentation.pptx
# Visual overview
python scripts/thumbnail.py presentation.pptx
# Raw XML
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 pptxgenjs.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. Consider ideas from this list for each slide.
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. Use these palettes as inspiration:
| 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 (image on one side, grid of content blocks on other)
- Half-bleed image (full left or right side) with content overlay
Data display:
- Large stat callouts (big numbers 60-72pt with small labels below)
- Comparison columns (before/after, pros/cons, side-by-side options)
- Timeline or process flow (numbered steps, arrows)
Visual polish:
- Icons in small colored circles next to section headers
- Italic accent text for key stats or taglines
Typography
Choose an interesting font pairing — don't default to Arial. Pick a header font with personality and pair it with a clean body font.
| Header Font | Body Font |
|---|---|
| Georgia | Calibri |
| Arial Black | Arial |
| Calibri | Calibri Light |
| Cambria | Calibri |
| Trebuchet MS | Calibri |
| Impact | Arial |
| Palatino | Garamond |
| Consolas | Calibri |
| Element | Size |
|---|---|
| Slide title | 36-44pt bold |
| Section header | 20-24pt bold |
| Body text | 14-16pt |
| Captions | 10-12pt muted |
Spacing
- 0.5" minimum margins
- 0.3-0.5" between content blocks
- Leave breathing room—don't fill every inch
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 skimp on size contrast — titles need 36pt+ to stand out from 14-16pt body
- Don't default to blue — pick colors that reflect the specific topic
- Don't mix spacing randomly — choose 0.3" or 0.5" gaps and use consistently
- Don't style one slide and leave the rest plain — commit fully or keep it simple throughout
- Don't create text-only slides — add images, icons, charts, or visual elements; avoid plain title + bullets
- Don't forget text box padding — when aligning lines or shapes with text edges, set
margin: 0on the text box or offset the shape to account for padding - Don't use low-contrast elements — icons AND text need strong contrast against the background; avoid light text on light backgrounds or dark text on dark backgrounds
- NEVER use accent lines under titles — these are a hallmark of AI-generated slides; use whitespace or background color instead
QA (Required)
Assume there are problems. Your job is to find them.
Your first render is almost never correct. Approach QA as a bug hunt, not a confirmation step. If you found zero issues on first inspection, you weren't looking hard enough.
Content QA
python -m markitdown output.pptx
Check for missing content, typos, wrong order.
When using templates, check for leftover placeholder text:
python -m markitdown output.pptx | grep -iE "xxxx|lorem|ipsum|this.*(page|slide).*layout"
If grep returns results, fix them before declaring success.
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. Subagents have fresh eyes.
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, stacked elements)
- Text overflow or cut off at edges/box boundaries
- Decorative lines positioned for single-line text but title wrapped to two lines
- Source citations or footers colliding with content above
- Elements too close (< 0.3" gaps) or cards/sections nearly touching
- Uneven gaps (large empty area in one place, cramped in another)
- Insufficient margin from slide edges (< 0.5")
- Columns or similar elements not aligned consistently
- Low-contrast text (e.g., light gray text on cream-colored background)
- Low-contrast icons (e.g., dark icons on dark backgrounds without a contrasting circle)
- Text boxes too narrow causing excessive wrapping
- Leftover placeholder content
For each slide, list issues or areas of concern, even if minor.
Read and analyze these images:
1. /path/to/slide-01.jpg (Expected: [brief description])
2. /path/to/slide-02.jpg (Expected: [brief description])
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
Convert presentations to individual slide images for visual inspection:
python scripts/office/soffice.py --headless --convert-to pdf output.pptx
pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 output.pdf slide
This 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
pip install "markitdown[pptx]"- text extractionpip install Pillow- thumbnail gridsnpm install -g pptxgenjs- creating from scratch- LibreOffice (
soffice) - PDF conversion (auto-configured for sandboxed environments viascripts/office/soffice.py) - Poppler (
pdftoppm) - PDF to images