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 python-pptx.md

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Reading Content

# Text extraction
python -m markitdown presentation.pptx

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

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

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Editing Workflow

Read editing.md for full details.

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

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Creating from Scratch

Read python-pptx.md for full details.

Use when no template or reference presentation is available.

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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: 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:

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
• Half-bleed image (full left or right side) with content overlay

Data display:

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

Typography

Choose an interesting font pairing — don't default to Arial:

Header Font	Body Font
Georgia	Calibri
Arial Black	Arial
Calibri	Calibri Light
Cambria	Calibri
Palatino	Garamond

Element	Size
Slide title	36-44pt bold
Section header	20-24pt bold
Body text	14-16pt
Captions	10-12pt muted

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 default to blue — pick colors that reflect the specific topic
• Don't create text-only slides — add images, icons, charts, or visual elements
• NEVER use accent lines under titles — hallmark of AI-generated slides; use whitespace or background color instead

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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|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.

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)
- Text overflow or cut off at edges/box boundaries
- Elements too close (< 0.3" gaps) or sections nearly touching
- Insufficient margin from slide edges (< 0.5")
- Columns or similar elements not aligned consistently
- Low-contrast text or icons
- Leftover placeholder content

For each slide, list issues or areas of concern, even if minor.
Report ALL issues found, including minor ones.

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 — one fix often creates another problem
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.

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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.

To re-render specific slides after fixes:

pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 -f N -l N output.pdf slide-fixed

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Dependencies

# Core Python libraries
uv pip install "python-pptx>=0.6.23" "markitdown[pptx]" Pillow

# System tools (macOS)
brew install libreoffice poppler

• python-pptx — create and edit .pptx programmatically
• markitdown[pptx] — text extraction from .pptx
• Pillow — thumbnail generation
• LibreOffice (soffice) — PDF conversion for visual QA
• Poppler (pdftoppm) — PDF to images