/slides

name: slides
description: Create and edit presentation slide decks (`.pptx`) with PptxGenJS, bundled layout helpers, and render/validation utilities. Use when tasks involve building a new PowerPoint deck, recreating slides from screenshots/PDFs/reference decks, modifying slide content while preserving editable output, adding charts/diagrams/visuals, or diagnosing layout issues such as overflow, overlaps, and font substitution.
license: MIT

Slides

Overview

Use PptxGenJS for slide authoring. Do not use `python-pptx` for deck generation unless the task is inspection-only; keep editable output in JavaScript and deliver both the `.pptx` and the source `.js`.

Keep work in a task-local directory. Only copy final artifacts to the requested destination after rendering and validation pass.

Bundled Resources

• `assets/pptxgenjs_helpers/`: Copy this folder into the deck workspace and import it locally instead of reimplementing helper logic.
• `scripts/render_slides.py`: Rasterize a `.pptx` or `.pdf` to per-slide PNGs.
• `scripts/slides_test.py`: Detect content that overflows the slide canvas.
• `scripts/create_montage.py`: Build a contact-sheet style montage of rendered slides.
• `scripts/detect_font.py`: Report missing or substituted fonts as LibreOffice resolves them.
• `scripts/ensure_raster_image.py`: Convert SVG/EMF/HEIC/PDF-like assets into PNGs for quick inspection.
• `references/pptxgenjs-helpers.md`: Load only when you need API details or dependency notes.

Workflow

1. Inspect the request and determine whether you are creating a new deck, recreating an existing deck, or editing one. 2. Set the slide size up front. Default to 16:9 (`LAYOUT_WIDE`) unless the source material clearly uses another aspect ratio. 3. Copy `assets/pptxgenjs_helpers/` into the working directory and import the helpers from there. 4. Build the deck in JavaScript with an explicit theme font, stable spacing, and editable PowerPoint-native elements when practical. 5. Run the bundled scripts from this skill directory or copy the needed ones into the task workspace. Render the result with `render_slides.py`, review the PNGs, and fix layout issues before delivery. 6. Run `slides_test.py` for overflow checks when slide edges are tight or the deck is dense. 7. Deliver the `.pptx`, the authoring `.js`, and any generated assets that are required to rebuild the deck.

Authoring Rules

• Set theme fonts explicitly. Do not rely on PowerPoint defaults if typography matters.
• Use `autoFontSize`, `calcTextBox`, and related helpers to size text boxes; do not use PptxGenJS `fit` or `autoFit`.
• Use bullet options, not literal `•` characters.
• Use `imageSizingCrop` or `imageSizingContain` instead of PptxGenJS built-in image sizing.
• Use `latexToSvgDataUri()` for equations and `codeToRuns()` for syntax-highlighted code blocks.
• Prefer native PowerPoint charts for simple bar/line/pie/histogram style visuals so reviewers can edit them later.
• For charts or diagrams that PptxGenJS cannot express well, render SVG externally and place the SVG in the slide.
• Include both `warnIfSlideHasOverlaps(slide, pptx)` and `warnIfSlideElementsOutOfBounds(slide, pptx)` in the submitted JavaScript whenever you generate or substantially edit slides.
• Fix all unintentional overlap and out-of-bounds warnings before delivering. If an overlap is intentional, leave a short code comment near the relevant element.

Recreate Or Edit Existing Slides

• Render the source deck or reference PDF first so you can compare slide geometry visually.
• Match the original aspect ratio before rebuilding layout.
• Preserve editability where possible: text should stay text, and simple charts should stay native charts.
• If a reference slide uses raster artwork, use `ensure_raster_image.py` to generate debug PNGs from vector or odd image formats before placing them.

Validation Commands

Examples below assume you copied the needed scripts into the working directory. If not, invoke the same script paths relative to this skill folder.

# Render slides to PNGs for review
python3 scripts/render_slides.py deck.pptx --output_dir rendered

# Build a montage for quick scanning
python3 scripts/create_montage.py --input_dir rendered --output_file montage.png

# Check for overflow beyond the original slide canvas
python3 scripts/slides_test.py deck.pptx

# Detect missing or substituted fonts
python3 scripts/detect_font.py deck.pptx --json

Load `references/pptxgenjs-helpers.md` if you need the helper API summary or dependency details.