Google Slide Manager Skill

Expert in comprehensive Google Slides presentation management with advanced formatting, translation, animation, and export capabilities.

Core Capabilities

Presentation Management

• Create new presentations from scratch
• Copy themes between presentations
• Export to PowerPoint (PPTX) or PDF formats
• Extract all text content from presentations

Slide Operations

• Add new slides to presentations
• Remove slides by index
• Duplicate existing slides
• Move slides to different positions
• Reorder multiple slides at once

Content & Shapes

• Add shapes (RECTANGLE, ELLIPSE, TRIANGLE, etc.)
• Create tables with configurable rows/columns
• Update table cell content
• Style table cells (background colors)
• Copy text styling between elements

Speaker Notes

• Add speaker notes to slides
• Get speaker notes from specific slides
• Extract all speaker notes from presentation

Text Operations

• Search for text across presentation
• Find and replace text globally
• Extract all text content
• Copy text styling between elements

Translation

• Translate presentations to 100+ languages (preserves formatting)
• Translate all slides or specific slide ranges
• Auto-detection of source language
• Supports complex slide range syntax (e.g., "1-5,7,10-12")

Export & Distribution

• Export to PowerPoint (PPTX) format
• Export to PDF format
• Preserve all formatting and layouts

When to Use This Skill

Use when users request:

• "Create a new Google Slides presentation"
• "Add a slide to this presentation"
• "Copy the theme from one presentation to another"
• "Translate this presentation to French"
• "Add a table to slide 3"
• "Add speaker notes to slide 5"
• "Export this as PowerPoint"
• "Download as PDF"
• "Search for text in the presentation"
• "Replace all instances of X with Y"
• "Extract all speaker notes"
• "Duplicate slide 3"
• "Move slide 5 to position 2"
• "Reorder the slides"

Quick Start

Basic Command Pattern

~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager [command] [flags...]

Common Operations

Create Presentation

# Create a new presentation
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager create-presentation \
  --title "My Presentation Title"

Manage Slides

# Add a new slide
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager add-slide \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id>

# Duplicate a slide
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager duplicate-slide \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --slide-index 2

# Move slide from position 3 to position 1
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager move-slide \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --from-index 3 --to-index 1

# Reorder slides (e.g., reorder to 2,1,3,4)
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager reorder-slides \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --indices "2,1,3,4"

# Remove slide at index 3
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager remove-slide \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --slide-index 3

Content & Shapes

# Add a rectangle shape
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager add-shape \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --slide-index 1 --shape-type RECTANGLE \
  --x 100 --y 100 --width 200 --height 100

# Create a table
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager create-table \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --slide-index 1 \
  --rows 3 --columns 4 --x 50 --y 50 --width 600 --height 300

# Update table cell content
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager update-cell \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --table-id <table_id> \
  --row 0 --column 1 --text "Updated Content"

# Style table cell (background color)
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager style-cell \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --table-id <table_id> \
  --row 0 --column 1 --bg-color "#FF5733"

# Copy text style from one element to another
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager copy-text-style \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --source-element-id <source_id> \
  --target-element-id <target_id>

Speaker Notes

# Add speaker notes to a slide
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager add-notes \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --slide-index 1 \
  --notes "Remember to mention the key points"

# Get speaker notes from a slide
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager get-notes \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --slide-index 1

# Extract all speaker notes from presentation
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager extract-all-notes \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id>

Text Operations

# Search for text in presentation
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager search-text \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --query "search term"

# Find and replace text
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager replace-text \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --find "old text" --replace "new text"

# Extract all text from presentation
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager extract-all-text \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id>

Translation

# Translate all slides to French
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager translate-slides \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --target-lang fr

# Translate specific slides (5-10) to Spanish
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager translate-slides \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --target-lang es --slide-range "5-10"

# Translate single slide to German
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager translate-slides \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --target-lang de --slide-range "3"

Theme Management

# Copy theme from one presentation to another
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager copy-theme \
  --source-presentation-id <source_id> --target-presentation-id <target_id>

Export

# Export as PowerPoint
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager export-pptx \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --output ~/Downloads/presentation.pptx

# Export as PDF
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager export-pdf \
  --presentation-id <presentation_id> --output ~/Downloads/presentation.pdf

Available Shape Types

• RECTANGLE - Rectangle shape
• ELLIPSE - Ellipse/circle shape
• TRIANGLE - Triangle shape
• ROUND_RECTANGLE - Rectangle with rounded corners
• TEXT_BOX - Text box
• CLOUD - Cloud shape
• STAR - Star shape
• ARROW - Arrow shape

Translation Features

Language Support

Supports 100+ languages via Google Cloud Translation API with auto-detection of source language.

Common Language Codes

Language	Code	Language	Code
French	fr	Spanish	es
German	de	Italian	it
Portuguese	pt	Japanese	ja
Chinese	zh	Korean	ko
Arabic	ar	Russian	ru

Slide Range Formats

• If no --slide-range is specified, all slides are translated
• --slide-range "5" - Only slide 5
• --slide-range "10-15" - Slides 10 through 15
• --slide-range "1,3,5" - Slides 1, 3, and 5
• --slide-range "2-4,6-8" - Multiple ranges

How It Works

The google-slide-manager binary is a standalone Go executable that:

1. Authenticates with Google APIs using OAuth 2.0
2. Executes presentation operations via Google Slides API
3. Handles translation via Google Cloud Translation API
4. Exports presentations to PDF/PowerPoint formats
5. Manages all operations efficiently in a single binary

No dependencies required - just run the binary directly.

Prerequisites

System Requirements

• GCP Project with Slides API, Translation API, and Drive API enabled
• OAuth credentials in ~/.credentials/google_credentials.json

Quick Setup

# Enable required APIs
gcloud services enable slides.googleapis.com translate.googleapis.com drive.googleapis.com

# Create credentials directory
mkdir -p ~/.credentials

# Download OAuth credentials from Google Cloud Console
# Save to ~/.credentials/google_credentials.json

First run opens browser for OAuth consent. Token saved to ~/.credentials/google_token.json for future use.

Example Workflows

Create and Format a Presentation

# 1. Create presentation
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager create-presentation \
  --title "Q4 Results"

# 2. Add a new slide
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager add-slide \
  --presentation-id <id>

# 3. Create a table on slide 2
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager create-table \
  --presentation-id <id> --slide-index 1 --rows 4 --columns 3 \
  --x 50 --y 50 --width 600 --height 300

# 4. Update table cells with data
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager update-cell \
  --presentation-id <id> --table-id <table_id> --row 0 --column 0 --text "Metric"

~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager update-cell \
  --presentation-id <id> --table-id <table_id> --row 1 --column 0 --text "Revenue"

# 5. Add speaker notes
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager add-notes \
  --presentation-id <id> --slide-index 1 \
  --notes "Highlight 25% revenue growth and customer acquisition"

Translate Existing Presentation

# Translate slides 1-10 to French
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager translate-slides \
  --presentation-id <id> --target-lang fr --slide-range "1-10"

# Translate all slides to Spanish
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager translate-slides \
  --presentation-id <id> --target-lang es

Export Presentation

# Export as PowerPoint
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager export-pptx \
  --presentation-id <id> --output ~/Downloads/presentation.pptx

# Export as PDF
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager export-pdf \
  --presentation-id <id> --output ~/Downloads/presentation.pdf

Working with Text

# Search for specific text
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager search-text \
  --presentation-id <id> --query "revenue"

# Replace text throughout presentation
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager replace-text \
  --presentation-id <id> --find "2024" --replace "2025"

# Extract all text from presentation
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager extract-all-text \
  --presentation-id <id>

Best Practices

• Backup presentations: Make copies before major changes (use duplicate feature)
• Monitor output: Watch for progress and error messages
• Use descriptive names: Clear presentation and slide titles
• Test operations: Preview slides after making changes
• API quotas: Be mindful of Google API limits (quotas apply per project)
• Slide indices: Remember that slide indices are 0-based (first slide is index 0)
• Table IDs: When working with tables, note the table ID from creation for subsequent operations

What Gets Preserved

When translating presentations:

• Text formatting (bold, italic, underline)
• Font families and sizes
• Colors and backgrounds
• Text alignment and spacing
• Hyperlinks and special characters
• Images and layouts
• Slide structure and order
• Speaker notes (also translated)

Limitations

• Translation: Images with embedded text are not OCR'd or translated
• Slide layouts: Cannot create custom layouts (uses presentation's default)
• Advanced formatting: Some complex text effects may not be fully supported
• Table styling: Limited to background colors (no borders, text formatting in cells)
• Binary size: 22MB Go binary (all dependencies compiled in)

Getting Help

For detailed command help, use the --help flag:

# Get general help
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager --help

# Get help for a specific command
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager create-presentation --help
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager translate-slides --help
~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager export-pdf --help

Each command includes detailed usage information, required flags, and examples.

Quick Troubleshooting

"Google OAuth credentials not found"

mkdir -p ~/.credentials
# Download from Google Cloud Console and save to:
# ~/.credentials/google_credentials.json

"Permission denied" or "API not enabled"

gcloud services enable slides.googleapis.com translate.googleapis.com drive.googleapis.com

"Presentation not found"

• Verify presentation ID from URL (format: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/{PRESENTATION_ID}/edit)
• Check you have view/edit access to the presentation
• Ensure you're authenticated with the correct Google account

"Token expired" or authentication errors

# Remove the old token to force re-authentication
rm ~/.credentials/google_token.json
# Next run will prompt for OAuth consent again

Binary not executable

chmod +x ~/.claude/skills/google-slide-manager/scripts/google-slide-manager