PPTX Skill
Purpose
Provides expertise in programmatic PowerPoint presentation creation, editing, and automation. Specializes in using python-pptx (Python) and PptxGenJS (JavaScript) for generating dynamic slide decks and automating presentation workflows.
When to Use
- Generating presentations programmatically
- Creating slides from data sources
- Modifying existing PowerPoint files
- Building automated report generators
- Adding charts and tables to slides
- Applying templates and branding
- Extracting content from presentations
- Batch processing multiple presentations
Quick Start
Invoke this skill when:
- Creating PowerPoint files from code
- Automating slide generation
- Modifying existing PPTX files
- Building presentation templates
- Extracting data from slides
Do NOT invoke when:
- PDF generation → use
/pdf-skill - Word documents → use
/docx-skill - Excel files → use
/xlsx-skill - Manual presentation design → use appropriate design tools
Decision Framework
PPTX Operation?
├── Generate from Scratch
│ ├── Python → python-pptx
│ └── JavaScript → PptxGenJS
├── Modify Existing
│ └── python-pptx (read + modify)
├── Template-Based
│ └── Load template, fill placeholders
└── Extract Content
└── python-pptx for reading
Core Workflows
1. Presentation Generation (python-pptx)
- Install python-pptx
- Create Presentation object
- Add slides from layouts
- Add content (text, images, tables)
- Apply formatting
- Save presentation
2. Chart Creation
- Prepare data for chart
- Create chart data object
- Add chart to slide
- Configure chart type and options
- Style chart elements
- Position and size appropriately
3. Template-Based Generation
- Create master template with placeholders
- Load template in code
- Identify placeholder shapes
- Replace placeholder content
- Add dynamic slides as needed
- Save as new file
Best Practices
- Use slide layouts from the template
- Keep text within placeholder boundaries
- Use appropriate chart types for data
- Maintain consistent styling
- Test output in PowerPoint
- Handle missing fonts gracefully
Anti-Patterns
| Anti-Pattern | Problem | Correct Approach | |--------------|---------|------------------| | Ignoring layouts | Inconsistent formatting | Use slide layouts | | Hardcoded positions | Layout breaks | Use placeholders | | Too much text per slide | Unreadable | Limit content, use bullets | | Missing templates | Reinventing styling | Create reusable templates | | No error handling | Corrupted files | Validate and handle errors |