Document PPTX Skill — Quick Reference

This skill enables creation and editing of PowerPoint presentations programmatically. Claude should apply these patterns when users need to generate pitch decks, reports, training materials, or automate presentation workflows.

Quick Reference

When to Use This Skill

Claude should invoke this skill when a user requests:

• Generate PowerPoint presentations from data
• Create slide decks with charts and images
• Automate report generation as slides
• Extract content from existing presentations
• Apply consistent branding/templates
• Generate speaker notes
• Create training or educational materials

Core Operations

Create Presentation (Python)

from pptx import Presentation
from pptx.util import Inches, Pt
from pptx.enum.text import PP_ALIGN
from pptx.dml.color import RgbColor

prs = Presentation()

# Title slide
title_layout = prs.slide_layouts[0]  # Title Slide layout
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(title_layout)
title = slide.shapes.title
subtitle = slide.placeholders[1]
title.text = "Q4 2025 Business Review"
subtitle.text = "Presented by Product Team"

# Content slide with bullets
bullet_layout = prs.slide_layouts[1]  # Title and Content
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(bullet_layout)
slide.shapes.title.text = "Key Highlights"
body = slide.placeholders[1]
tf = body.text_frame
tf.text = "Revenue grew 25% YoY"

p = tf.add_paragraph()
p.text = "Customer base expanded to 10,000+"
p.level = 0

p = tf.add_paragraph()
p.text = "New enterprise tier launched"
p.level = 1  # Indented bullet

# Add speaker notes
notes_slide = slide.notes_slide
notes_slide.notes_text_frame.text = "Emphasize the enterprise growth story here."

prs.save('presentation.pptx')

Create Presentation (Node.js)

import pptxgen from 'pptxgenjs';

const pptx = new pptxgen();
pptx.author = 'Product Team';
pptx.title = 'Q4 Business Review';

// Title slide
let slide = pptx.addSlide();
slide.addText('Q4 2025 Business Review', {
  x: 1, y: 2, w: '80%',
  fontSize: 36, bold: true, color: '363636',
  align: 'center'
});
slide.addText('Presented by Product Team', {
  x: 1, y: 3.5, w: '80%',
  fontSize: 18, color: '666666',
  align: 'center'
});

// Content slide with bullets
slide = pptx.addSlide();
slide.addText('Key Highlights', {
  x: 0.5, y: 0.5, w: '90%',
  fontSize: 28, bold: true
});
slide.addText([
  { text: 'Revenue grew 25% YoY', options: { bullet: true } },
  { text: 'Customer base expanded to 10,000+', options: { bullet: true } },
  { text: 'New enterprise tier launched', options: { bullet: true, indentLevel: 1 } },
], { x: 0.5, y: 1.5, w: '90%', fontSize: 18 });

// Add chart
slide = pptx.addSlide();
slide.addChart(pptx.ChartType.bar, [
  { name: 'Q1', labels: ['Sales'], values: [100] },
  { name: 'Q2', labels: ['Sales'], values: [150] },
  { name: 'Q3', labels: ['Sales'], values: [180] },
  { name: 'Q4', labels: ['Sales'], values: [225] },
], { x: 1, y: 1.5, w: 8, h: 4 });

await pptx.writeFile({ fileName: 'presentation.pptx' });

Add Charts (Python)

from pptx.chart.data import CategoryChartData
from pptx.enum.chart import XL_CHART_TYPE

# Add slide with chart
chart_layout = prs.slide_layouts[5]  # Blank
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(chart_layout)

# Chart data
chart_data = CategoryChartData()
chart_data.categories = ['Q1', 'Q2', 'Q3', 'Q4']
chart_data.add_series('Revenue', (100, 150, 180, 225))
chart_data.add_series('Expenses', (80, 90, 100, 110))

# Add chart
x, y, cx, cy = Inches(1), Inches(1.5), Inches(8), Inches(5)
chart = slide.shapes.add_chart(
    XL_CHART_TYPE.COLUMN_CLUSTERED,
    x, y, cx, cy,
    chart_data
).chart

chart.has_legend = True
chart.legend.include_in_layout = False

Add Images and Tables

# Add image
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[5])
slide.shapes.add_picture('logo.png', Inches(0.5), Inches(0.5), width=Inches(2))

# Add table
rows, cols = 4, 3
table = slide.shapes.add_table(rows, cols, Inches(1), Inches(2), Inches(8), Inches(3)).table

# Set column headers
table.cell(0, 0).text = 'Product'
table.cell(0, 1).text = 'Sales'
table.cell(0, 2).text = 'Growth'

# Fill data
data = [
    ('Widget A', '$1.2M', '+25%'),
    ('Widget B', '$800K', '+15%'),
    ('Widget C', '$500K', '+40%'),
]
for row_idx, (product, sales, growth) in enumerate(data, 1):
    table.cell(row_idx, 0).text = product
    table.cell(row_idx, 1).text = sales
    table.cell(row_idx, 2).text = growth

Extract Content

from pptx import Presentation

prs = Presentation('existing.pptx')

for slide_num, slide in enumerate(prs.slides, 1):
    print(f"\n--- Slide {slide_num} ---")
    for shape in slide.shapes:
        if shape.has_text_frame:
            for paragraph in shape.text_frame.paragraphs:
                print(paragraph.text)
        if shape.has_table:
            table = shape.table
            for row in table.rows:
                row_text = [cell.text for cell in row.cells]
                print(row_text)

Slide Layout Reference

Presentation Structure Patterns

Pitch Deck (10 slides)

PITCH DECK STRUCTURE
1. Title (company, tagline)
2. Problem (pain point)
3. Solution (your product)
4. Market Size (TAM/SAM/SOM)
5. Business Model (how you make money)
6. Traction (metrics, growth)
7. Team (founders, advisors)
8. Competition (landscape)
9. Financials (projections)
10. Ask (funding, next steps)

Quarterly Review (8 slides)

QUARTERLY REVIEW STRUCTURE
1. Title + Agenda
2. Executive Summary (KPIs dashboard)
3. Revenue & Growth
4. Product Updates
5. Customer Highlights
6. Challenges & Learnings
7. Next Quarter Goals
8. Q&A

Navigation

Resources

• resources/pptx-layouts.md — Master slides, themes, templates
• resources/pptx-charts.md — Chart types, data visualization
• data/sources.json — Library documentation links

Templates

• templates/pitch-deck.md — Startup pitch structure
• templates/quarterly-review.md — Business review template

Related Skills

• ../document-pdf/SKILL.md — Export presentations to PDF
• ../document-xlsx/SKILL.md — Data source for charts
• ../product-management/SKILL.md — Product strategy decks