/thesis-defense-pptx

name: thesis-defense-pptx
description: Create, polish, and quality-check editable undergraduate or graduate thesis defense PowerPoint decks from a local thesis PDF/LaTeX project and an existing PPTX template. Use when the user asks for a formal defense PPT, thesis presentation, academic答辩PPT, template-matched PPTX, or local PowerPoint deck generation with visual inspection.

Thesis Defense PPTX

Use this skill for local, editable `.pptx` thesis defense decks that must follow a supplied university/lab/company PowerPoint template.

Operating Principles

• Platform: Windows + Microsoft PowerPoint for COM-driven cloning, export, and overflow inspection. On macOS/Linux, use the python-pptx-only parts and skip COM-based quality gates.
• Treat the visual template as the source of truth. Preserve its cover, colors, fonts, navigation, card styles, logos, and slide proportions unless the user explicitly asks to redesign.
• Read the thesis source first: PDF, LaTeX, figures, old PPT, experiment scripts, tables, and captions. Do not generate from topic/title alone when source files exist.
• Build a source-asset inventory before placing images: extract `\includegraphics` entries and captions from the final TeX/PDF, then use only thesis-cited figures or images the user explicitly approves. Do not carry over pictures from a template, old progress deck, or draft figure folder merely because they look relevant.
• Prefer copying native template slides and replacing content over rebuilding from blank slides.
• Keep slides concise and presentation-oriented. Convert thesis prose into defense talking points.
• Preserve the template's font sizes and hierarchy by default. For projection readability, first shorten text, split dense slides, or use the template's larger existing layouts; only change font sizes locally when the template itself provides no readable fit.
• Always generate an editable `.pptx`, not only an outline, image deck, PDF, or HTML.
• Always run a visual quality gate before final response: export slide images, inspect a contact sheet plus key full-size slide screenshots, check text overflow, check stale template words/images, and verify the PPTX opens.

Recommended Workflow

1. Identify inputs:

• thesis project path or full thesis document
• visual template PPTX
• optional old defense/report PPTX
• output directory and desired filename

2. Extract thesis context:

• Use `scripts/extract_thesis_context.py` to summarize PDF/TeX text and list candidate figures.
• Read source files directly when details matter: abstract, introduction, method, experiments, results, conclusion.
• Create an explicit list of final-thesis figures from `\includegraphics` and captions. Treat this as the allow-list for PPT images unless the user requests new visuals.
• Collect defense-critical facts: problem, motivation, modeling, algorithms, experimental setup, baselines, metrics, key results, limitations, future work.

3. Analyze the template:

• Export template slides to PNG if PowerPoint is available.
• Inspect cover, TOC, navigation, section, body/card, chart/image, summary, and closing slide styles.
• Note fonts, font sizes, red/brand color, card dimensions, line widths, and spacing.

4. Build a native template skeleton:

• Use PowerPoint COM (`scripts/clone_template_deck.ps1`) when PowerPoint is installed.
• Copy or duplicate original template slides in the needed order.
• Use python-pptx only to replace content and add images/shapes after the skeleton is valid.

5. Fill content:

• Use 12-16 slides for undergraduate defense unless user specifies otherwise.
• Typical order: cover, TOC, background, problem definition, work summary, system/method, modeling, implementation, experiment setup, training/results, comparison, robustness/multi-seed, innovation/limitations, summary/outlook, thanks.
• Use final-thesis figures first and verify each inserted picture against the source-asset inventory. If a picture is from a template or old deck and is not thesis-cited, replace it or remove it.
• Keep dense tables limited to headline metrics; move detailed prose into verbal notes or omit. Prefer one message per slide, large existing template placeholders, metric cards, and short bullets over shrinking text or adding small multi-column tables.
• Match the template's typography before changing sizes: preserve title/body/table/navigation sizing where possible, and use content reduction or slide splitting before manual font scaling.

6. Quality gate:

• Export final PPTX to PNG with `scripts/export_pptx_png.ps1`.
• Create a contact sheet with `scripts/make_contact_sheet.py`.
• Run `scripts/inspect_pptx_overflow.ps1`.
• Run `scripts/scan_pptx_text.py` for slide count and stale template terms.
• Inspect the contact sheet manually, then open any risky slide full-size. COM overflow is not sufficient: also check visible clipping, text crossing card borders, small text caused by overfilling, stale template images, image aspect ratios, and text/card overlap.
• Check stale template text, placeholders, wrong names/dates, wrong navigation labels, red active-nav white text, and non-thesis images accidentally inherited from the template or old progress deck.
• Fix and repeat until the exported deck is clean.

7. Final response:

• Give the full output path, total slide count, main changes, validation performed, and any unresolved manual confirmations.

Script Usage

Extract thesis context:

python scripts/extract_thesis_context.py --input "D:\path\to\thesis" --output "D:\path\to\thesis_context.md"

Clone template slides into a native skeleton:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts/clone_template_deck.ps1 `
  -Template "D:\path\template.pptx" `
  -Output "D:\path\output.pptx" `
  -SlideSequence "1,2,3,4,4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15"

In this example slide 4 is deliberately reused as a sub-section p