creating-presentations

PPTX Processing

.pptx is a ZIP archive of XML and resources. Choose workflow by intent.

Workflow Decision

Intent	Workflow	Reference
Read text	markitdown → markdown	thumbnails-and-conversion.md
Analyze layout / comments / theme	unpack → raw XML	thumbnails-and-conversion.md
Create new from scratch	html2pptx	html2pptx.md + design-patterns.md
Create using template	rearrange + inventory + replace	template-workflow.md
Edit existing slides	unpack → OOXML → pack	ooxml.md
Visual review	thumbnail grids	thumbnails-and-conversion.md

Iron Rules

• Color choice is design — see palettes.md, state your approach BEFORE code.
• Web-safe fonts only — Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Georgia, Courier New, Verdana, Tahoma, Trebuchet MS, Impact.
• Layout matches content count — 2 items → 2 columns; 3 → 3; never force.
• Validate visually — always generate thumbnails after creation, inspect for cutoff/overlap/contrast.

Create New (without template) — html2pptx

1. MANDATORY — READ ENTIRE FILE: html2pptx.md. NEVER set range limits.
2. Create HTML per slide (e.g., 720pt × 405pt for 16:9)
   • Use <p>, <h1>–<h6>, <ul>, <ol>
   • class="placeholder" for chart/table areas (gray bg for visibility)
   • CRITICAL: Rasterize gradients & icons as PNG via Sharp first, then reference in HTML
   • Use full-slide or two-column layout for charts/tables — never vertical stack
3. Run scripts/html2pptx.js to convert
   • html2pptx() per HTML file
   • Charts/tables via PptxGenJS API on placeholders
   • pptx.writeFile() to save
4. Visual validation — python scripts/thumbnail.py output.pptx workspace/thumbnails --cols 4
   • Inspect for: text cutoff, overlap, positioning, contrast
   • Adjust HTML margins/spacing/colors, regenerate, repeat

Create with Template

See template-workflow.md for full 7-step workflow (extract → inventory → outline → rearrange → inventory text → generate replacements → apply).

Edit Existing Presentation

1. MANDATORY — READ ENTIRE FILE: ooxml.md (~500 lines). NEVER set range limits.
2. python ooxml/scripts/unpack.py <file> <dir>
3. Edit XML (primarily ppt/slides/slide{N}.xml)
4. CRITICAL — validate after each edit: python ooxml/scripts/validate.py <dir> --original <file>
5. python ooxml/scripts/pack.py <dir> <file>

Code Style

Concise code, no verbose names, no unnecessary print statements.

Dependencies

Package	Install	Purpose
markitdown	pip install "markitdown[pptx]"	Text extraction
pptxgenjs	npm i -g pptxgenjs	Create via html2pptx
playwright	npm i -g playwright	HTML rendering
react-icons	npm i -g react-icons react react-dom	Icons
sharp	npm i -g sharp	SVG rasterization
LibreOffice	apt install libreoffice	PDF conversion
Poppler	apt install poppler-utils	pdftoppm
defusedxml	pip install defusedxml	Secure XML