pptx

This skill provides comprehensive PowerPoint presentation creation, editing, and automation capabilities using Python's python-pptx library. Create professional presentations programmatically with full control over layouts, themes, content, charts, and visualizations.

• Presentation Creation: New presentations, templates, metadata, page configuration
• Slide Management: Add, duplicate, delete, reorder slides with predefined layouts
• Content Types: Text, shapes, images, tables, charts, SmartArt, hyperlinks
• Design & Formatting: Themes, color schemes, fonts, fills, borders, effects
• Advanced Features: Transitions, animations, embedded objects, video/audio, comments

Install the required library:

```bash

pip install python-pptx

# or with uv

uv pip install python-pptx

```

Basic imports:

```python

from pptx import Presentation

from pptx.util import Inches, Pt, Cm

from pptx.dml.color import RGBColor

from pptx.enum.text import PP_ALIGN, MSO_ANCHOR

from pptx.chart.data import CategoryChartData

from pptx.enum.chart import XL_CHART_TYPE

```

For complete library setup and supporting packages (Pillow, pandas, matplotlib), see references/library-setup.md.

Workflow 1: Creating a Business Presentation

Goal: Create a professional presentation with title slide, content slides, and conclusion.

Steps:

1. Initialize Presentation

- Create new presentation object

- Set slide dimensions (standard 16:9 or 4:3)

- Configure metadata (title, author, subject, keywords)

1. Add Title Slide

- Use title slide layout (typically prs.slide_layouts[0])

- Set title and subtitle text

- Apply formatting (font size, color, bold)

1. Add Content Slides

- Use appropriate layouts (bullet, two-column, title-only, blank)

- Populate placeholders or add text boxes

- Format text with proper hierarchy

1. Add Visual Elements

- Insert images with proper sizing and positioning

- Add charts with formatted data

- Create tables with cell styling

1. Save Presentation

- Save to .pptx format

- Verify file creation

Quick Example:

```python

from pptx import Presentation

from pptx.util import Inches, Pt

prs = Presentation()

prs.slide_width = Inches(10)

prs.slide_height = Inches(7.5)

# Title slide

slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[0])

slide.shapes.title.text = "Q4 Business Review"

slide.placeholders[1].text = "Prepared by: Jane Doe\nDate: October 25, 2025"

prs.save('presentation.pptx')

```

See examples/business-presentation.md for complete implementation.

Workflow 2: Adding Charts

Goal: Create data visualizations with bar, line, and pie charts.

Steps:

1. Prepare chart data using CategoryChartData
2. Define categories and series
3. Add chart to slide with positioning
4. Format chart (legend, gridlines, labels)

Quick Example:

```python

from pptx.chart.data import CategoryChartData

from pptx.enum.chart import XL_CHART_TYPE

chart_data = CategoryChartData()

chart_data.categories = ['Q1', 'Q2', 'Q3', 'Q4']

chart_data.add_series('2025', (9.5, 10.8, 11.2, 13.1))

chart = slide.shapes.add_chart(

XL_CHART_TYPE.COLUMN_CLUSTERED,

Inches(1), Inches(2), Inches(8), Inches(4.5),

chart_data

).chart

```

See examples/chart-examples.md for all chart types.

Workflow 3: Working with Images

Goal: Add, position, and format images in presentations.

Steps:

1. Add image with slide.shapes.add_picture()
2. Specify position (left, top) and size (width, height)
3. Calculate centered positioning if needed
4. Optimize images before adding (use Pillow for preprocessing)

Quick Example:

```python

# Add image with auto-scaled aspect ratio

pic = slide.shapes.add_picture('logo.png', Inches(1), Inches(1), height=Inches(2))

# Center image on slide

pic.left = int((prs.slide_width - pic.width) / 2)

pic.top = int((prs.slide_height - pic.height) / 2)

```

See examples/image-handling.md for advanced techniques.

Workflow 4: Creating Tables

Goal: Add structured data tables with formatting.

Steps:

1. Define table dimensions (rows, cols)
2. Add table with positioning
3. Set column widths
4. Populate headers with bold formatting and background color
5. Fill data cells with proper alignment

Quick Example:

```python

table = slide.shapes.add_table(4, 3, Inches(1.5), Inches(2), Inches(7), Inches(3)).table

# Header formatting

cell = table.cell(0, 0)

cell.text = "Product"

cell.text_frame.paragraphs[0].font.bold = True

cell.fill.solid()

cell.fill.fore_color.rgb = RGBColor(0, 51, 102)

```

See examples/table-examples.md for advanced formatting.

Workflow 5: Editing Existing Presentations

Goal: Modify existing PowerPoint files.

Steps:

1. Open presentation with Presentation('file.pptx')
2. Iterate through slides to find content
3. Modify text, shapes, or add new elements
4. Save with same or different filename

Quick Example:

```python

prs = Presentation('existing.pptx')

# Find and update text

for slide in prs.slides:

for shape in slide.shapes:

if hasattr(shape, "text") and "Old Name" in shape.text:

shape.text = shape.text.replace("Old Name", "New Name")

prs.save('updated.pptx')

```

See examples/editing-presentations.md for slide copying and advanced editing.

Workflow 6: Using Templates

Goal: Apply consistent branding with master slides and templates.

Steps:

1. Start with template file: Presentation('template.pptx')
2. Examine available layouts
3. Add slides using template layouts
4. Apply brand colors consistently

Quick Example:

```python

prs = Presentation('corporate_template.pptx')

# Use template layouts

title_slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[0])

content_slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[1])

# Layouts inherit master formatting

prs.save('branded_presentation.pptx')

```

See references/templates-and-themes.md for master slide customization.

Workflow 7: Bulk Slide Generation

Goal: Generate multiple slides automatically from data.

Steps:

1. Load data from CSV, JSON, or database
2. Create presentation object
3. Iterate through data records
4. Generate one slide per record
5. Populate slide with record data

Quick Example:

```python

import pandas as pd

df = pd.read_csv('employee_data.csv')

prs = Presentation()

for _, row in df.iterrows():

slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[1])

slide.shapes.title.text = row['Name']

# Add employee details to slide body

prs.save('employee_directory.pptx')

```

See examples/bulk-generation.md for complete implementations.

Color & Typography

• Use 60-30-10 color rule (60% primary, 30% secondary, 10% accent)
• Ensure WCAG AA contrast ratios (4.5:1 minimum)
• Limit to 2 font families maximum
• Minimum body text: 18pt for readability

Layout & Composition

• Follow rule of thirds for element placement
• Maintain minimum 0.5" margins on all sides
• Limit to 5-7 elements per slide
• Use consistent alignment (snap to grid)

Visual Hierarchy

• Size indicates importance (larger = more important)
• Use color contrast for emphasis
• Follow Z-pattern for content flow

Chart Best Practices

• Choose appropriate chart type (bar for comparison, line for trends, pie for parts-of-whole)
• Limit to 3-5 colors maximum
• Always label axes and include data labels
• Use gridlines sparingly

For complete design guidelines, see references/design-best-practices.md.

Brand Color Application

```python

BRAND_COLORS = {

'primary': RGBColor(0, 51, 102),

'secondary': RGBColor(0, 153, 204),

'accent': RGBColor(255, 102, 0)

}

# Apply to text

shape.text_frame.paragraphs[0].font.color.rgb = BRAND_COLORS['primary']

# Apply to fill

shape.fill.solid()

shape.fill.fore_color.rgb = BRAND_COLORS['secondary']

```

Centered Element

```python

def center_shape(shape, prs):

"""Center shape on slide."""

shape.left = int((prs.slide_width - shape.width) / 2)

shape.top = int((prs.slide_height - shape.height) / 2)

```

Text Auto-Fit

```python

from pptx.enum.text import MSO_AUTO_SIZE

text_frame = shape.text_frame

text_frame.auto_size = MSO_AUTO_SIZE.TEXT_TO_FIT_SHAPE # Shrink text

# or

text_frame.auto_size = MSO_AUTO_SIZE.SHAPE_TO_FIT_TEXT # Expand shape

```

"ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pptx'"

```bash

pip install python-pptx

```

"AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute..."

• Check placeholder indices: [p.placeholder_format.idx for p in slide.placeholders]
• Verify layout has expected placeholders

Images not found

• Use absolute paths: os.path.abspath('image.png')
• Verify file exists: os.path.exists(img_path)

Text doesn't fit

• Enable auto-fit: text_frame.auto_size = MSO_AUTO_SIZE.TEXT_TO_FIT_SHAPE
• Truncate long text with ellipsis

File size too large

• Compress images before adding (use Pillow)
• Resize images to presentation dimensions (1920x1080 max)

For complete troubleshooting, see references/troubleshooting.md.

The scripts/pptx_helper.py module provides utility functions:

• create_presentation(): Initialize with defaults
• add_title_slide(): Add formatted title slide
• add_bullet_slide(): Add slide with bullet points
• add_image_slide(): Add slide with centered image
• add_chart_slide(): Add slide with chart
• add_table_slide(): Add formatted table
• apply_brand_colors(): Apply consistent color scheme
• optimize_images(): Batch optimize images

Usage:

```python

from scripts.pptx_helper import create_presentation, add_title_slide, add_chart_slide

prs = create_presentation(title="My Presentation")

add_title_slide(prs, "Main Title", "Subtitle")

add_chart_slide(prs, "Sales Data", chart_type='bar',

categories=['Q1', 'Q2', 'Q3', 'Q4'],

values=[10, 20, 15, 25])

prs.save('output.pptx')

```

Documentation

• python-pptx: https://python-pptx.readthedocs.io/
• API Reference: https://python-pptx.readthedocs.io/en/latest/api/
• GitHub: https://github.com/scanny/python-pptx

Detailed References

• [Library Setup & Installation](./references/library-setup.md)
• [Design Best Practices](./references/design-best-practices.md)
• [Templates & Themes](./references/templates-and-themes.md)
• [Advanced Techniques](./references/advanced-techniques.md)
• [Common Pitfalls](./references/troubleshooting.md)

Examples

• [Complete Business Presentation](./examples/business-presentation.md)
• [Chart Examples (Bar, Line, Pie)](./examples/chart-examples.md)
• [Image Handling](./examples/image-handling.md)
• [Table Examples](./examples/table-examples.md)
• [Editing Existing Presentations](./examples/editing-presentations.md)
• [Bulk Generation from Data](./examples/bulk-generation.md)

Design Resources

• Microsoft Design Templates: https://templates.office.com/powerpoint
• Color Palette Tools: Coolors.co, Adobe Color
• Free Stock Images: Unsplash, Pexels

1. Always use templates for consistent branding
2. Optimize images before adding to presentation
3. Limit text on each slide (5-7 bullet points max)
4. Use high contrast for readability
5. Test on target device before presenting
6. Keep file size manageable (<20MB for email)
7. Use speaker notes for detailed talking points
8. Follow 6x6 rule: Max 6 bullets, max 6 words per bullet
9. Validate data before creating charts
10. Use consistent spacing and alignment

---

When to Use This Skill:

• Creating business presentations from data
• Automating report generation
• Bulk slide creation from databases
• Template-based presentations
• Educational content with charts/images
• Converting documents to slides