PPTX Skill

Quick Reference

| Task | Guide | |------|-------| | Read/analyze content | python -m markitdown presentation.pptx | | Edit or create from template | See editing guide | | Create from scratch | See pptxgenjs guide |

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

1. Analyze template with thumbnail.py
2. Unpack > manipulate slides > edit content > clean > pack

Creating from Scratch

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
• Don't forget text box padding -- when aligning lines or shapes with text edges, set margin: 0 on the text box
• Don't use low-contrast elements -- icons AND text need strong contrast
• NEVER use accent lines under titles -- use whitespace or background color instead

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.

When using templates, check for leftover placeholder text:

python -m markitdown output.pptx | grep -iE "xxxx|lorem|ipsum|this.*(page|slide).*layout"

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, then visually inspect for:

• Overlapping elements
• Text overflow or cut off
• Low-contrast text or icons
• Uneven gaps
• Leftover placeholder content

Verification Loop

1. Generate slides > Convert to images > Inspect
2. List issues found (if none found, look again more critically)
3. Fix issues
4. Re-verify affected slides
5. 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.

Dependencies

• pip install "markitdown[pptx]" - text extraction
• pip install Pillow - thumbnail grids
• npm install -g pptxgenjs - creating from scratch
• LibreOffice (soffice) - PDF conversion
• Poppler (pdftoppm) - PDF to images