Skill: PowerPoint to Page

Convert PowerPoint presentations to Obsidian Page notes with text extraction, tables, and images.

When to Use

This skill should be invoked when the user:

• Asks to "convert a PowerPoint to a page note"
• Mentions "/pptx-to-page" explicitly
• Wants to import a presentation into the vault
• Needs to extract slides as images for viewing in Obsidian
• Has a .pptx or .ppt file to process

Parameters

• PPTX Path: Path to the PowerPoint file (can be in Downloads, vault, or anywhere)
• Page Title (optional): Custom title for the Page note (defaults to presentation filename)
• Mode (optional): quick (default) or visual
  • quick: Fast docling extraction with text, tables, embedded images
  • visual: Full slide rendering as PNG images (requires LibreOffice)

Process

Step 1: Locate the PowerPoint File

If the user provides a partial path or just a filename:

1. Check ~/Downloads/ first
2. Check vault +Attachments/ folder
3. Ask user for full path if not found

Step 2: Choose Processing Mode

Ask the user (or infer from context):

Quick Mode (default - recommended for most uses):

• Uses docling for fast text/table extraction
• Uses python-pptx for speaker notes and embedded images
• Processing time: ~1 second for 50 slides
• Best for: searchable content, meeting notes, documentation

Visual Mode (when visual fidelity needed):

• Uses LibreOffice to render full slide images
• Processing time: 1-2 minutes for 50 slides
• Best for: design reviews, exact visual reference

Step 3: Quick Mode Processing (Docling)

from pathlib import Path
from docling.document_converter import DocumentConverter
from pptx import Presentation
import os

def process_pptx_quick(pptx_path, output_dir, title):
    """Quick mode: docling + python-pptx extraction"""

    # 1. Docling for text and tables
    converter = DocumentConverter()
    result = converter.convert(pptx_path)
    doc = result.document

    markdown_content = doc.export_to_markdown()
    tables_count = len(doc.tables) if hasattr(doc, 'tables') else 0
    pictures_count = len(doc.pictures) if hasattr(doc, 'pictures') else 0

    # 2. python-pptx for speaker notes and embedded images
    prs = Presentation(pptx_path)
    speaker_notes = []
    embedded_images = []

    for slide_num, slide in enumerate(prs.slides, 1):
        # Extract speaker notes
        if slide.has_notes_slide:
            notes = slide.notes_slide.notes_text_frame.text.strip()
            if notes:
                speaker_notes.append((slide_num, notes))

        # Extract embedded images
        for shape in slide.shapes:
            if hasattr(shape, "image"):
                img = shape.image
                img_filename = f"{title} - Slide {slide_num:02d} - Image {len(embedded_images)+1}.{img.ext}"
                img_path = output_dir / img_filename
                with open(img_path, "wb") as f:
                    f.write(img.blob)
                embedded_images.append((slide_num, img_filename))

    return {
        'markdown': markdown_content,
        'tables_count': tables_count,
        'pictures_count': pictures_count,
        'speaker_notes': speaker_notes,
        'embedded_images': embedded_images,
        'slide_count': len(prs.slides)
    }

Step 4: Visual Mode Processing (LibreOffice)

Only use if visual mode requested. Check dependencies first:

# Check for LibreOffice (for PPTX to PDF conversion)
which soffice || brew install --cask libreoffice

# Check for poppler (for PDF to image conversion)
which pdftoppm || brew install poppler

# Check for Python libraries
python3 -c "import pdf2image" 2>&1 || pip3 install pdf2image

Then convert PPTX → PDF → PNG images at 200 DPI.

Step 5: Create Page Note

Quick Mode Output Format:

---
type: Page
title: <Presentation Title>
created: YYYY-MM-DD
modified: YYYY-MM-DD
tags:
  - presentation
  - slides
  - pdf-import
sourceType: PPTX
processedWith: docling
slides: <count>
tables: <count>
---

# <Presentation Title>

> Extracted from `<original-filename.pptx>` using docling

**Slides**: <count> | **Tables**: <count> | **Images**: <count>

---

## Content

<docling markdown output - includes headings, text, tables>

---

## Speaker Notes

### Slide 3
<notes content>

### Slide 7
<notes content>

---

## Embedded Images

### Slide 1
![[<title> - Slide 01 - Image 1.png]]

### Slide 4
![[<title> - Slide 04 - Image 1.jpg]]
![[<title> - Slide 04 - Image 2.png]]

---

## Related

- [[<linked meeting note if applicable>]]

Visual Mode Output Format:

---
type: Page
title: <Presentation Title>
created: YYYY-MM-DD
modified: YYYY-MM-DD
tags:
  - presentation
  - slides
sourceType: PPTX
processedWith: libreoffice
slides: <count>
---

# <Presentation Title>

Source: `<original-pptx-filename>`

Total Slides: <count>

---

## Slide 1

![[<title> - Slide 01.png]]

---

## Slide 2

![[<title> - Slide 02.png]]

---

...

Step 6: Link to Context (if applicable)

Ask the user if they want to link this page to:

• A specific meeting note (most common for presentations)
• A project note
• An ADR (if it's architecture-related)

Suggest adding it to the meeting note's "Slides" section.

Mode Selection Guide

Use Case	Recommended Mode
Meeting notes reference	Quick
Technical documentation	Quick
Searchable archive	Quick
Design review	Visual
Exact visual reference needed	Visual
Large presentations (50+ slides)	Quick
Offline/slow machine	Quick

Success Message

Quick Mode:

✅ Page note created: `Page - <title>.md`
📊 Slides processed: <count>
📋 Tables extracted: <count>
🖼️ Embedded images saved: <count> to +Attachments/
💬 Speaker notes captured: <count> slides
⚡ Processing time: <X.XX> seconds
🔗 Link in meeting notes with: `[[Page - <title>]]`

Visual Mode:

✅ Page note created: `Page - <title>.md`
📊 Total slides rendered: <count>
🖼️ Slide images saved to: +Attachments/
⏱️ Processing time: <X> minutes
🔗 Link in meeting notes with: `[[Page - <title>]]`

Error Handling

Common errors and solutions:

1. PPTX not found: Ask user for correct path
2. Docling import error: pip3 install docling
3. python-pptx import error: pip3 install python-pptx
4. LibreOffice missing (visual mode): brew install --cask libreoffice
5. poppler missing (visual mode): brew install poppler
6. Corrupted PPTX: Inform user, suggest opening in PowerPoint first
7. Password-protected: Cannot process, ask user to remove password

Performance Comparison

Presentation Size	Quick Mode	Visual Mode
10 slides	~0.2 sec	~20 sec
25 slides	~0.4 sec	~50 sec
50 slides	~0.8 sec	~2 min
100 slides	~1.5 sec	~4 min

Examples

Example 1: Quick Mode (Default)

User: /pptx-to-page ~/Downloads/Project_Update.pptx

Example 2: Visual Mode

User: /pptx-to-page SAP_Architecture.pptx visual

Example 3: With Meeting Link

User: Convert the Datasphere presentation and add it to today's meeting note

Example 4: With Custom Title

User: Convert SAP_BTP_2026.pptx to a page called "Cloud Platform Architecture 2026"

Integration with Other Skills

This skill works well with:

• /meeting - Add presentation to meeting notes
• /project-status - Include project presentations
• /adr - Attach architecture diagrams from slides
• /weekly-summary - Reference key slides in summaries

Dependencies

Quick Mode (minimal):

• docling - Text and table extraction
• python-pptx - Speaker notes and embedded images

Visual Mode (additional):

• LibreOffice - PPTX to PDF conversion
• poppler (pdftoppm) - PDF to PNG conversion
• pdf2image - Python wrapper for poppler

Notes

• Quick mode is ~100x faster than visual mode
• Quick mode extracts actual text (searchable, copyable)
• Visual mode preserves exact slide appearance
• Always copy the original PPTX to +Attachments/ for reference
• Speaker notes are only available via python-pptx (both modes can include them)
• Consider using quick mode first, then visual mode for specific slides if needed