PPTX

Important: All scripts/ paths are relative to this skill directory. Use run_skill_script tool to execute scripts, or run with: cd {this_skill_dir} && python scripts/...

PPTX Skill

Prerequisites

• markitdown[pptx]: text extraction from presentations
• Pillow: thumbnail grid generation
• pptxgenjs (npm install -g pptxgenjs): creating presentations from scratch
• LibreOffice (soffice): presentation-to-PDF conversion
• pdftoppm (poppler-utils): PDF-to-image conversion for thumbnail/visual workflows
• If pdftoppm is unavailable, a Python fallback path may use pdf2image.

Quick Reference

Reading Content

# Text extraction
python -m markitdown presentation.pptx

# Visual overview (thumbnail grid)
python scripts/thumbnail.py presentation.pptx

# Raw XML access
python scripts/office/unpack.py presentation.pptx unpacked/

Editing Workflow

1. Analyze template with thumbnail.py
2. Unpack: python scripts/office/unpack.py presentation.pptx unpacked/
3. Add/remove slides: python scripts/add_slide.py unpacked/ --source <slide_num>
4. Edit XML content in unpacked/ppt/slides/
5. Clean orphans: python scripts/clean.py unpacked/
6. Pack: python scripts/office/pack.py unpacked/ output.pptx --original presentation.pptx

Adding Slides

# Duplicate an existing slide
python scripts/add_slide.py unpacked/ --source 2

# Add from layout template
python scripts/add_slide.py unpacked/ --layout 1

Cleaning Up

# Remove orphaned slides, unreferenced media, update content types
python scripts/clean.py unpacked/

Creating Thumbnails

# Create thumbnail grid of all slides
python scripts/thumbnail.py presentation.pptx

# Customize output
python scripts/thumbnail.py presentation.pptx --output thumbs.png --cols 4

Creating from Scratch

Use pptxgenjs (Node.js) when no template is available. Install: npm install -g pptxgenjs

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: should feel designed for THIS topic
• Dominance over equality: One color should dominate (60-70%), with 1-2 supporting tones
• Dark/light contrast: Dark backgrounds for title + conclusion, light for content
• Commit to a visual motif: Pick ONE distinctive element and repeat it

Color Palettes

For Each Slide

Every slide needs a visual element - image, chart, icon, or shape.

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 with content overlay

Data display:

• Large stat callouts (big numbers 60-72pt with small labels below)
• Comparison columns (before/after, pros/cons)
• Timeline or process flow (numbered steps, arrows)

Typography

Spacing

• 0.5" minimum margins
• 0.3-0.5" between content blocks
• Leave breathing room

Avoid (Common Mistakes)

• Don't repeat the same layout across slides
• Don't center body text - left-align paragraphs and lists
• Don't skimp on size contrast
• Don't default to blue - pick topic-appropriate colors
• Don't create text-only slides - add visual elements
• Don't forget text box padding
• NEVER use accent lines under titles - hallmark of AI-generated slides

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"

Visual QA

Convert slides to images, then inspect:

python scripts/office/soffice.py --headless --convert-to pdf output.pptx
pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 output.pdf slide

Look for: overlapping elements, text overflow, low-contrast text, uneven gaps, insufficient margins.

Subagent Visual QA (Fresh Eyes)

For high-stakes presentations, delegate a visual inspection to a separate agent that has NOT seen the creation process. A fresh pair of eyes catches issues the author missed.

delegateToAgent(
  agentName="strong-agent",
  task="[Visual QA Request] Inspect the attached presentation slides as a fresh reviewer.
You have no context about how these were made — treat it as if seeing them for the first time.

Slides location: <path to slide images or pptx>

Check for:
1. Any slide where text is cut off or overflows the frame
2. Low contrast (e.g., light text on light background)
3. Repeated layouts — more than 2 slides with identical structure
4. Text-only slides with no visual element
5. Accent lines under slide titles (hallmark of AI-generated slides)
6. Any leftover placeholder text (XXXX, lorem, [insert here])
7. Font size below 14pt in body text

For each issue, state: slide number, issue type, what you see.
If everything looks clean, say so explicitly."
)

Act on the subagent's findings before declaring the presentation complete.

Verification Loop

1. Generate slides -> Convert to images -> Inspect
2. List issues found
3. Fix issues
4. Re-verify affected slides
5. Repeat until clean
6. (High-stakes) Run subagent visual QA for a fresh-eyes check

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.