Easyslides Distill

EasySlides PPTX Distill

This Skill is the plugin-local entry point for turning a source PowerPoint into an inspectable, reusable EasySlides template. It is a staged operation:

1. Graph the native OOXML source into factual parts, relationships, objects, geometry, text, and assets.
2. Distill that evidence into identity, geometry, primitives, slots, patterns, and risks.
3. Generalize the accepted identity into semantic layout families, capacity-bounded named slots, and renderable component/symbol assets.

The canonical production surface is deliberately small and evidence-driven: three to five stable page shells. cover, content, and ending are required; toc and chapter are optional and are materialized only when the source deck provides evidence for them. Source pages are evidence, not runtime layouts. Repeated content forms are grouped into body_variants.json; repeated visual primitives become component or symbol assets. A distillation that exposes one public SVG per source slide fails this policy unless it is explicitly marked as a source-evidence or mirror candidate.

The first pass must preserve the source identity. It is not a redesign pass and it is not a one-off PPTX fill operation. A completed distillation has three deliberately separate layers: source evidence, a source-faithful review candidate, and a content-free semantic production family. A mechanical copy of the source slide roster is never the production template.

The reusable layer must not retain source-specific titles, body copy, data, photos, or logos in replaceable slots. Fixed chrome remains protected.

When to Use

Use this Skill when the request contains any of these intents:

• make this PPT/PPTX into an EasySlides template;
• extract the visual language or component assets from a PPTX;
• create a mirror or slot-guided mirror template;
• preserve the source page structure while replacing material;
• explain which parts of a source deck are fixed chrome and which are content slots;
• verify that a distilled template can accept a second, unrelated material set.

Use the regular easyslides route instead when the user wants a new story, allows page count or order to change, or only wants a one-off native PPTX fill.

Required Repository Reading

From the repository root, read these files before running the workflow:

1. SKILL.md
2. ARCHITECTURE.md
3. workflows/routing.md
4. workflows/pptx-to-easyslides-template.md
5. the repository PPTX workflow or the installed pptx skill
6. workflows/create-template.md
7. workflows/template-asset-bank.md
8. references/template-designer.md

The repository files are authoritative for commands and current output names. Do not create a second export backend or silently bypass the existing SVG, shape IR, DrawingML, and native PPTX paths.

Distillation Model

Every source deck must be described with the following machine-readable ideas. They may be represented in distilled_spec.json, template_language.md, and the generated contract sidecars:

• identity_must_preserve: palette, typography, page ratio, chrome, recurring labels, visual rhythm, cover/ending treatment, and other source identity;
• structural_primitives: rails, headers, title bars, section numerals, dividers, cards, axes, chart frames, image masks, markers, and footer rules;
• slot_candidates: title, subtitle, body, list, table, chart, image, label, caption, quote, page marker, and other material-bearing slots;
• adaptable_patterns: page roles and repeatable compositions that may accept new material;
• forbidden_drift: changes that would make a claimed source-faithful template visibly become a different design;
• template_language: concise natural-language rules for future generation;
• adaptation_strategy: classic, mirror, or slot-guided mirror behavior, including density and overflow policy;
• source_geometry_risks: authored oddities, placeholder artifacts, clipping, unsupported effects, rotation, crop, opacity, and other risks that must not be mistaken for freeform slots.

Rendered source pages are the visual truth. Prose summaries and object-level metadata are evidence, not a replacement for rendered inspection.

Workflow

1. Establish the source workspace

Use the canonical plugin command from the repository root. It creates evidence and the faithful review draft; it does not promote assets by default:

python scripts/easyslides.py distill "path\to\source.pptx" --template-id my_template

The hub delegates this route to scripts/pptx_template_distill.py; use the hub so plugin discovery and CLI help stay aligned.

When a reference workspace already exists, use the command's documented --from-existing-source form instead of importing the source twice. Keep the raw source and imported assets under:

templates/reference/template_asset_sources/<template_id>/

The source workspace should contain manifest.json, source_graph.json, distill_manifest.json, rendered or extracted assets, SVG evidence, and a contact sheet whenever the command supports them.

For a source graph without the full template build, use:

python scripts/pptx_source_graph.py "path\to\source.pptx" --output tmp\source_graph.json

The graph is factual. It intentionally leaves object classification as unknown; semantic component registration belongs to the next phase.

2. Read the evidence before generalizing

Inspect the generated contact sheet and the source render evidence. Then read:

• distilled_spec.json
• source_graph.json
• distill_manifest.json
• identity_spec.json
• layout_spec.json
• component_catalog.json
• slot_contracts.json
• asset_provenance.json
• adaptation_policy.json
• review_queue.json
• design_system_pack.json
• component_registry_fragment.json
• projection_manifest.json
• template_language.md
• adaptation_strategy.json
• source_geometry_risks.json
• editable_rebuild_plan.json

Confirm which elements are fixed chrome and which are material slots. Preserve rotated side labels, decorative words, CONTENTS or equivalent section labels, section numerals, page markers, cover geometry, and ending geometry unless the user explicitly asks to replace them.

3. Build the evidence-driven shell profile

The runtime template lives under:

templates/layouts/<template_id>/

It must contain the three required shell SVGs plus optional toc and chapter shell SVGs when the source evidence supports them, plus:

• design_spec.md
• layouts.json
• page_catalog.json
• story_structure.json
• rules.md
• body_variants.json
• source_page_roster.json
• contract sidecars generated by scripts/template_contract_pack.py

Use the existing repository command to create or refresh the draft. The command must select one source exemplar for each active shell, preserve all source pages in the reference workspace, and group content pages by visual form and density. Do not synthesize a missing TOC or chapter page, and do not add a new public page because a source slide has a different title or evidence arrangement.

The generated layouts.json must declare:

{
  "global_contract": {
    "canonical_shell_policy": "evidence_driven_three_to_five_stable_shells",
    "canonical_shell_minimum": 3,
    "canonical_shell_limit": 5,
    "required_shell_roles": ["cover", "content", "ending"],
    "optional_shell_roles": ["toc", "chapter"],
    "active_shell_roles": ["cover", "content", "ending"]
  },
  "body_variants": "body_variants.json",
  "source_page_roster": "source_page_roster.json"
}

The contract pack rejects missing required shells, more than five public pages, unsupported optional shells, or missing source roster/variant sidecars.

Each body variant must also declare how it uses reusable components. New output uses ordered component_refs objects with stable asset_id, unique instance_id, semantic role, contiguous order, required, and slot_bindings. Bare component names in the legacy components field remain readable, but new distillation output must not write them. A variant with no component dependencies writes component_refs: [] and an explicit open composition mode.

Validate this relationship independently:

python scripts/body_variant_contract.py templates/layouts/my_template --json

4. Build the source-scoped review candidate and asset evidence

First run the complete distillation promotion gate. Only when its promotion_report.json has status=pass and promotable=true may the source-scoped candidate be materialized:

python scripts/easyslides.py distill "path\to\source.pptx" --template-id my_template --promote-assets

It produces:

templates/layouts/<template_id>/                 # evidence-driven 3-5-shell runtime layer
templates/layouts/<template_id>_reusable/        # source-scoped review candidate
templates/components/source_templates/<id>_kit/  # source-scoped asset evidence
templates/reference/template_asset_sources/<id>/ # evidence and contracts

The asset kit includes component_asset_manifest.json for repeated visual components and symbol_asset_manifest.json for repeated shapes, connectors, groups, and other symbol-like primitives. Only assets with an actual renderable SVG fragment belong in component/symbol manifests. Unknown, metadata-only, or one-off objects remain in review_queue.json and are not silently promoted.

The default command is equivalent to the former no-promotion mode. The compatibility flag remains accepted:

python scripts/easyslides.py distill "path\to\source.pptx" --template-id my_template --no-promote-assets

The source-scoped candidate is never automatically registered as a main template. It must remain evidence or be generalized into the same evidence-driven shell family with layouts.json, body_variants.json, named data-slot bindings, explicit capacities, and a fail-closed template_status.json. Render material through:

python scripts/easyslides.py semantic-render templates/layouts/my_semantic_template plans/deck_plan.json --out svg_output
python scripts/easyslides.py template-gate templates/layouts/my_semantic_template --pptx exports/review.pptx --report reports/production_gate.json

Production rendering must bind exact slot names. DOM-order text replacement, source page numbers, and a fixed source slide count are forbidden routing signals.

5. Apply the editable geometry contract

For every editable text box, preserve the source geometry in the SVG or IR:

• data-pptx-textbox="true"
• data-pptx-box-x
• data-pptx-box-y
• data-pptx-box-w
• data-pptx-box-h
• data-pptx-valign

Text inside a compact control is a shape-plus-text unit. Single-line control text is vertically middle-aligned. Multiline labels are centered as a group when the source design centers the control as a whole. A text box must not be visually top-heavy inside its rectangle: its text center must align with the container's vertical center, subject to the source's explicit baseline or optical adjustment.

Preserve parent transforms, direction, rotation, crop, opacity, gradients, shadows, and layer order. If an SVG transform produces negative extents, emit legal positive PPTX extents plus the corresponding flipH or flipV; never write invalid negative PPTX dimensions.

6. Separate fixed chrome from material

Treat fixed chrome as protected geometry. Treat candidate slots as constrained material inputs with role, density, maximum lines, and overflow policy.

Do not promote these to slots merely because they contain text or images:

• source-authored garbled or placeholder-like text;
• decorative words and section labels;
• navigation rails and page markers;
• cover and ending marks;
• geometry whose placement depends on a source-specific crop or transform.

The graph and derived contracts must retain this hard geometry invariant:

eligible_text_center_y == container_center_y

Optical or baseline exceptions must be explicit in a later slot contract with a reason and adjustment. They are never implicit permission to leave text top-aligned inside a centered container.

For tight list or table slots, adapt content to the declared capacity and reject visible ellipses or accidental clipping. If a slot cannot accept the material, change the page pattern or report the overflow rather than silently shrinking everything.

7. Project Declared Slots

Build the renderer mapping after the semantic contracts exist:

python scripts/pptx_projection.py build templates/reference/template_asset_sources/my_template --template-id my_template

The source_template_projection renderer targets SVG and replaces only declared slots. Convert the projected SVG through the existing scripts/svg_to_pptx.py path when a native PPTX is required. A missing slot element is a blocking projection failure; do not fall back to arbitrary text insertion.

Acceptance Gates

Before visual promotion, run the shell-shape gate:

python scripts/template_contract_pack.py templates/layouts/my_template --check

For a production distillation, this must report 3-5 public layouts, with cover, content, and ending required. toc and chapter may appear only when supported by source evidence. The source page count may be larger, but it must appear only in source_page_roster.json; extra forms must be represented by body_variants.json or asset manifests.

Run the focused checks from the repository root. Use the exact current command help if an option has changed:

python scripts/template_contract_pack.py templates/layouts/my_template --check
python scripts/svg_quality_checker.py templates/layouts/my_template
python scripts/template_geometry_qa.py templates/layouts/my_template --report tmp/my_template_geometry_svg.json --json
python scripts/svg_to_pptx.py templates/layouts/my_template --only native -t none -a none -o tmp/my_template_review.pptx
python scripts/validate_pptx_text_layout.py tmp/my_template_review.pptx --report tmp/my_template_text_layout_report.json
python scripts/template_geometry_qa.py templates/layouts/my_template --pptx tmp/my_template_review.pptx --report tmp/my_template_geometry_pptx.json --json
python scripts/visual_measure_gate.py --template-dir templates/layouts/my_template --pptx tmp/my_template_review.pptx --report tmp/my_template_visual_measure_report.json

For the complete Phase 5 promotion decision, run the orchestration gate from the reference workspace and runtime template directory:

python scripts/pptx_distill_promotion_gate.py templates/reference/template_asset_sources/my_template templates/layouts/my_template --pptx tmp/my_template_review.pptx --source-render-dir tmp/source_render_png --generated-render-dir tmp/generated_render_png --out tmp/my_template_promotion_gate --json

It writes promotion_report.json plus the focused child reports. A missing PPTX, render diff, or cross-material run is review_required; it is never treated as promotion success. The report is promotable only when every gate passes.

For a reusable template, run the cross-material smoke test with a different material set:

python scripts/template_material_smoke_test.py templates/layouts/my_template --out tmp/my_template_material_smoke --force --forbidden-keyword SOURCE_SPECIFIC_TERM
python scripts/svg_quality_checker.py tmp/my_template_material_smoke
python scripts/template_geometry_qa.py tmp/my_template_material_smoke --report tmp/my_template_material_smoke_geometry_svg.json --json
python scripts/svg_to_pptx.py tmp/my_template_material_smoke --only native -t none -a none -o tmp/my_template_material_smoke.pptx
python scripts/validate_pptx_text_layout.py tmp/my_template_material_smoke.pptx --report tmp/my_template_material_smoke_text_layout.json

If PowerPoint or LibreOffice is available, render both source and generated PPTX files and compare their PNGs:

python scripts/render_pptx_png.py source_template.pptx --out tmp/source_render_png --report tmp/source_render_png_report.json
python scripts/render_pptx_png.py tmp/my_template_review.pptx --out tmp/generated_render_png --report tmp/generated_render_png_report.json
python scripts/pptx_visual_diff.py tmp/source_render_png tmp/generated_render_png --out tmp/my_template_visual_diff

The following are blocking failures:

• CONTROL-TEXT-VERTICAL-MISALIGN
• PPTX-CONTROL-TEXT-VERTICAL-MISALIGN
• PPTX-TEXT-CONTAINER-OVERFLOW
• PPTX-INVALID-NEGATIVE-EXTENT
• ellipsized_material_text
• failed SVG or exported-PPTX geometry QA

The acceptance claim has two parts:

1. Faithful reconstruction: the generated draft preserves colors, transparency, crop, rotation, alignment, layer order, and non-overlap against source-rendered evidence.
2. Cross-material reuse: a second topic can replace material while fixed chrome, page roles, cover/ending identity, and declared geometry remain intact.

For a semantic production family, add the final gate:

python scripts/easyslides.py template-gate templates/layouts/my_semantic_template --pptx tmp/my_semantic_template_review.pptx --report tmp/my_semantic_template_production_gate.json --promote

Do not use --promote until the contact sheet has been visually reviewed and the review decision is recorded. review_required is not success.

Handoff Format

Report the result in Chinese and include:

• source PPTX path and slide count;
• template_id;
• reference and runtime template folders;
• identity traits that are preserved;
• template language and fidelity risks;
• adaptation mode and overflow policy;
• source geometry risks;
• page roles and slot inventory;
• SVG, PPTX, text-layout, material-smoke, and render-diff status;
• warnings and the next action.

Never claim that a source deck has been distilled solely because a PPTX file was copied or its colors were patched. Distillation is complete only when the source evidence, reusable language, slot contract, geometry QA, and handoff are all present.