openxjarvis/pptx

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