PowerPoint Manipulation Tool

What This Does

This workflow enables programmatic creation, editing, and manipulation of Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) presentations using the python-pptx library. Create professional slides with text, shapes, images, charts, and tables without manual editing.

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Quick Start

Step 1: Create a Project Folder

mkdir -p ~/Documents/PptxManipulation

Step 2: Download the Template

Click Download above, then:

mv ~/Downloads/CLAUDE.md ~/Documents/PptxManipulation/

Step 3: Start Working

cd ~/Documents/PptxManipulation
claude

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How to Use

1. Describe the presentation you want to create or modify
2. Provide content, data, or images to include
3. I'll generate python-pptx code and execute it

Example prompts:

• "Create a 10-slide pitch deck from this outline"
• "Add a chart to slide 3 with this data"
• "Extract all text from this presentation"
• "Generate slides from this markdown content"

Best Practices

1. Use Templates: Start with a .pptx template for consistent branding
2. Layout First: Plan slide structure before coding
3. Reuse Slide Masters: Maintain consistency across presentations
4. Optimize Images: Compress images before adding
5. Test Output: Always verify generated presentations

Examples

Example 1: Create a Pitch Deck

from pptx import Presentation
from pptx.util import Inches, Pt

prs = Presentation()

# Slide 1: Title
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[0])
slide.shapes.title.text = "StartupX"
slide.placeholders[1].text = "Revolutionizing Document Processing"

# Slide 2: Problem
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[1])
slide.shapes.title.text = "The Problem"
body = slide.placeholders[1].text_frame
body.text = "Manual document processing costs businesses $1T annually"
p = body.add_paragraph()
p.text = "Average worker spends 20% of time on document tasks"
p.level = 1

# Slide 3: Solution
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[1])
slide.shapes.title.text = "Our Solution"
body = slide.placeholders[1].text_frame
body.text = "AI-powered document automation"
body.add_paragraph().text = "90% faster processing"
body.add_paragraph().text = "99.5% accuracy"
body.add_paragraph().text = "Works with existing tools"

# Slide 4: Market
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[5])  # Title only
slide.shapes.title.text = "Market Opportunity: $50B by 2028"

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

data = CategoryChartData()
data.categories = ['2024', '2025', '2026', '2027', '2028']
data.add_series('Market Size ($B)', [30, 35, 40, 45, 50])

slide.shapes.add_chart(
    XL_CHART_TYPE.LINE,
    Inches(1), Inches(1.5),
    Inches(8), Inches(5),
    data
)

prs.save('pitch_deck.pptx')

Example 2: Report with Data Table

from pptx import Presentation
from pptx.util import Inches, Pt

prs = Presentation()

# Title slide
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[0])
slide.shapes.title.text = "Sales Performance Report"
slide.placeholders[1].text = "Q4 2024"

# Data slide
slide = prs.slides.add_slide(prs.slide_layouts[5])
slide.shapes.title.text = "Regional Performance"

# Create table
table = slide.shapes.add_table(5, 4, Inches(0.5), Inches(1.5), Inches(9), Inches(4)).table

# Headers
headers = ['Region', 'Revenue', 'Growth', 'Target']
for i, h in enumerate(headers):
    table.cell(0, i).text = h
    table.cell(0, i).text_frame.paragraphs[0].font.bold = True

# Data
data = [
    ['North America', '$5.2M', '+15%', 'Met'],
    ['Europe', '$3.8M', '+12%', 'Met'],
    ['Asia Pacific', '$2.9M', '+28%', 'Exceeded'],
    ['Latin America', '$1.1M', '+8%', 'Below'],
]
for row_idx, row_data in enumerate(data, 1):
    for col_idx, value in enumerate(row_data):
        table.cell(row_idx, col_idx).text = value

prs.save('sales_report.pptx')

Limitations

• Cannot render complex animations
• Limited SmartArt support
• No video embedding via API
• Master slide editing is complex
• Chart types limited to standard Office charts

Installation

pip install python-pptx