Google Slides Red Hat Advanced

Google Slides — Red Hat Advanced Playbook

Fixes for known pitfalls when building on the Red Hat template. Read the primary skill (google-slides-presentation) first — this skill extends it with error recovery and complex workflows.

Layout IDs Change on Copy

After gws drive files copy, every object ID changes. Discover layout IDs from the copied presentation:

import json, subprocess

r = subprocess.run(['gws', 'slides', 'presentations', 'get',
    '--params', json.dumps({
        'presentationId': PRES_ID,
        'fields': 'layouts(objectId,layoutProperties(name,displayName))'
    })], capture_output=True, text=True)

lines = r.stdout.strip().split('\n')
start = next((i for i,l in enumerate(lines) if l.strip().startswith('{')), 0)
data = json.loads('\n'.join(lines[start:]))

for layout in data.get('layouts', []):
    props = layout.get('layoutProperties', {})
    print(f"{layout['objectId']:30s} {props.get('name',''):20s} {props.get('displayName','')}")

Use the CUSTOM layout for clean blank slides. predefinedLayout: "BLANK" does NOT exist in this template — always use explicit layoutId.

Inherited Element Cleanup

Custom slides inherit elements from master → layout → slide. You will see decorative images, red blobs, placeholder text boxes (SLIDES_API* prefix), and patterns from the master.

The Background Rectangle Technique

Add a full-page opaque RECTANGLE to every custom slide, sent to the back:

def add_background_rect(reqs, slide_id, color):
    rid = uid()
    reqs.append({"createShape": {"objectId": rid, "shapeType": "RECTANGLE",
        "elementProperties": {"pageObjectId": slide_id,
            "size": {"width": {"magnitude": inches(13.33), "unit": "EMU"},
                     "height": {"magnitude": inches(7.5), "unit": "EMU"}},
            "transform": {"scaleX": 1, "scaleY": 1,
                          "translateX": 0, "translateY": 0, "unit": "EMU"}}}})
    reqs.append({"updateShapeProperties": {"objectId": rid,
        "shapeProperties": {
            "shapeBackgroundFill": {"solidFill": {
                "color": {"rgbColor": color}, "alpha": 1.0}},
            "outline": {"propertyState": "NOT_RENDERED"}},
        "fields": "shapeBackgroundFill,outline"}})
    reqs.append({"updatePageElementsZOrder": {
        "pageElementObjectIds": [rid], "operation": "SEND_TO_BACK"}})
    return rid

• Light-background slides → WHITE fill
• Dark-background slides (dividers, closing) → GRAY_95 fill

Using white on dark slides makes white text invisible.

Delete Layout Decorative Elements (Optional)

Clean the layout once if many slides share it:

# Query layout elements, find images/decorative shapes, then:
reqs = [{"deleteObject": {"objectId": eid}} for eid in elements_to_remove]

Delete SLIDES_API Placeholders

for el in slide.get('pageElements', []):
    if el['objectId'].startswith('SLIDES_API'):
        reqs.append({"deleteObject": {"objectId": el['objectId']}})

Logo Management

Background rectangles cover the inherited Red Hat logo. You must manually add the logo to every custom slide.

Get a Working Logo URL

Template URLs are NOT publicly accessible for createImage on a copied presentation. Extract the sourceUrl from an existing image element in the same presentation:

for el in slide.get('pageElements', []):
    img = el.get('image', {})
    if img:
        logo_url = img.get('sourceUrl', '')

Standard Logo Position (Bottom-Right)

LOGO_W = inches(1.5)
LOGO_H = inches(0.5)
LOGO_X = inches(11.5)
LOGO_Y = inches(6.8)

Light vs Dark Logos

• Light-background slides → dark Red Hat logo (from light master/layout)
• Dark-background slides → white/reverse Red Hat logo (from dark master/layout)

Extract both URLs from different layouts in the copied template.

API Gotchas

Outline Weight Cannot Be Zero

# WRONG — API rejects this
{"outline": {"weight": {"magnitude": 0, "unit": "PT"}}}

# CORRECT — hides the outline
{"outline": {"propertyState": "NOT_RENDERED"}}

createImage URL Must Be Accessible

createImage fetches the URL server-side. Template-internal URLs with ?key=<template-key> only work within that presentation. Get the URL from an existing image element in the copy (see Logo Management above).

Text Styling on Empty Shapes

Never call updateTextStyle on a shape with no text:

if text:
    reqs.append({"insertText": {"objectId": sid, "text": text}})
    reqs.append({"updateTextStyle": {"objectId": sid, ...}})

gws CLI Output Parsing

Always skip non-JSON lines (keyring messages):

lines = result.stdout.strip().split('\n')
start = next((i for i,l in enumerate(lines) if l.strip().startswith('{')), 0)
data = json.loads('\n'.join(lines[start:]))

Hybrid Workflow: API + Playwright Import

For decks merging existing presentations with custom slides:

Custom Slides → API

Build title, agenda, divider, comparison, and closing slides via batchUpdate. Full control over content and layout.

Existing Decks → Playwright Import

Import existing presentations using Google Slides' native Import Slides feature via Playwright browser automation. This preserves perfect visual fidelity — fonts, images, colors, and layout are handled by Google's rendering engine.

1. Open the target presentation in browser
2. File → Import slides
3. Search for the source deck by name
4. Select desired slides (or "Select all")
5. Click "Import slides"
6. Repeat for each source deck

API element-by-element copy loses formatting fidelity. Always prefer native import for existing content.

After Import: Reorder Slides

Imported slides appear at the end. Use updateSlidesPosition:

for i, slide_id in enumerate(final_order):
    reqs.append({"updateSlidesPosition": {
        "slideObjectIds": [slide_id],
        "insertionIndex": i
    }})

Font Size Standards

At 13.33" × 7.5" page size, minimum 12pt for any visible text:

• Slide title: 30-36pt (Red Hat Display, Bold)
• Section heading: 26-32pt (Red Hat Display, Bold)
• Body text: 14-16pt sparse, 12-14pt dense
• Subtitle: 16-22pt (Red Hat Text)
• Table/comparison: 12-15pt depending on content volume
• Badge/label: 14-18pt (Red Hat Text, Bold)
• Numbered circles: 18-20pt (Red Hat Display, Bold, white on red)
• Footer/confidential: 12-14pt

Rebuild vs Patch

When a slide needs significant changes (font overhaul, layout restructure), delete all elements and rebuild from scratch:

reqs = [{"deleteObject": {"objectId": eid}} for eid in element_ids]
# Then recreate with corrected dimensions, fonts, spacing
# Re-add background rectangle
# Re-add logo

This avoids cascading text range index issues and produces clean output.