powerpoint-ppt

Skill Paths

• Workspace skills: .github/skills/
• Global skills: C:/Users/LOQ/.agents/skills/

Comprehensive skill for working with Microsoft PowerPoint presentations using MCP servers.

When to Use This Skill

• Any task where .pptx is an input, output, or transformation target
• Creating, editing, formatting, or analyzing PowerPoint files
• Building slide decks from data or templates
• Applying consistent branding across presentations
• Automating PowerPoint workflows via MCP tools

Typical Activation Triggers

• .pptx work: presentations, slide decks, templates, slide creation/editing
• Slide content: text placeholders, bullet points, images, charts
• Design: templates, layouts, fonts, colors, themes
• Analysis: text extraction, structure inspection

Part 1: PowerPoint Presentations (.pptx) via MCP

Quick Reference

Note: Speaker notes, slide transitions, and animations are not exposed by the PPT MCP server.

Tool Activation Order

activate_presentation_creation_and_management(); // create/open, add/copy/delete slides
activate_text_placeholder_management();          // populate & bullet-point placeholders
activate_content_management_tools();             // images, fonts, text enhancement
activate_template_application_tools();           // apply .pptx theme/template
activate_information_extraction_and_management();// extract text, masters, layouts

Create Presentation and Manage Slides

// Create a new blank presentation
mcp_ppt_create_presentation({ filename: "deck.pptx", title: "Q3 Results" })

// Open an existing presentation
mcp_ppt_open_presentation({ filename: "deck.pptx" })

// Add a slide (append to end)
mcp_ppt_add_slide({ filename: "deck.pptx", layout_index: 1 })  // 0=blank,1=title,2=content

// Copy slide (e.g. duplicate a template slide)
mcp_ppt_copy_slide({ filename: "deck.pptx", source_index: 1, destination_index: 2 })

// Delete a slide
mcp_ppt_delete_slide({ filename: "deck.pptx", slide_index: 4 })

// Save
mcp_ppt_save_presentation({ filename: "deck.pptx" })

Populate Placeholders (Recommended for Structured Layouts)

Activate: activate_text_placeholder_management() Placeholders are the pre-defined text areas from the slide layout (title, body, subtitle). Prefer placeholders over free text boxes — they respect the theme’s font/color.

// Fill a title placeholder (index 0 = title on most layouts)
mcp_ppt_populate_placeholder({
  slide_index: 0,
  placeholder_index: 0,
  text: "Q3 2025 Performance Review"
})

// Fill a subtitle/body placeholder (index 1)
mcp_ppt_populate_placeholder({
  slide_index: 0,
  placeholder_index: 1,
  text: "Finance Division · October 2025"
})

// Add bullet points to a content placeholder
mcp_ppt_add_bullet_points_to_placeholder({
  slide_index: 2,
  placeholder_index: 1,
  bullet_points: [
    "Revenue up 20% YoY",
    "APAC led growth at +35%",
    "Operational costs held flat"
  ]
})

Add and Format Free Text Boxes

Direct tool: mcp_ppt_manage_text — no activation needed.

// Add a new text box (position in inches from top-left)
mcp_ppt_manage_text({
  slide_index: 1,
  operation: "add",
  text: "Source: Internal BI System Q3 2025",
  font_size: 10,
  italic: true,
  color: [120, 120, 120],   // RGB
  alignment: "right",
  left: 6.5, top: 6.8, width: 3.0, height: 0.3
})

// Edit text in an existing shape
mcp_ppt_manage_text({
  slide_index: 2,
  shape_index: 1,
  operation: "edit",
  text: "Updated callout text",
  font_size: 14,
  bold: true,
  alignment: "center"
})

// Mixed inline formatting (text_runs)
mcp_ppt_manage_text({
  slide_index: 3,
  shape_index: 0,
  operation: "edit",
  text_runs: [
    { text: "KPI: ", bold: true, color: [30, 116, 69] },
    { text: "$1.8M revenue", bold: false },
    { text: " ▲12%", bold: true, color: [46, 116, 181] }
  ]
})

// Validate text fits (check auto_fit before commit)
mcp_ppt_manage_text({
  slide_index: 1,
  shape_index: 0,
  operation: "add",
  text: "Long content...",
  auto_fit: true,      // shrink to fit
  min_font_size: 10,   // don't go below 10pt
  max_font_size: 24,
  validation_only: true  // dry-run: returns fit result without saving
})

Images and Font Management

Activate: activate_content_management_tools()

// Add an image to a slide
mcp_ppt_manage_image({
  slide_index: 2,
  operation: "add",
  image_path: "./chart_q3.png",
  left: 1.0, top: 1.5, width: 5.5, height: 3.5
})

// Analyze fonts used (identify inconsistencies)
mcp_ppt_manage_fonts({
  slide_index: null,   // null = all slides
  operation: "analyze"
})

// Replace a non-brand font across all slides
mcp_ppt_manage_fonts({
  operation: "replace",
  find_font: "Calibri",
  replace_font: "Arial"
})

Apply Theme / Template

Activate: activate_template_application_tools()

// Apply a .pptx template to all slides (inherits master, layouts, colors)
mcp_ppt_apply_template({
  filename: "deck.pptx",
  template_name: "BrandTemplate.pptx",
  apply_to_all: true
})

// Apply a specific slide layout to one slide
mcp_ppt_apply_slide_layout({
  filename: "deck.pptx",
  slide_index: 3,
  layout_name: "Two Content"
})

Extract Text and Inspect Structure

Activate: activate_information_extraction_and_management()

// Extract all slide text (returns slide-by-slide array)
mcp_ppt_extract_text({
  filename: "deck.pptx",
  include_slide_numbers: true
})

// Extract text from a specific slide
mcp_ppt_extract_text({ filename: "deck.pptx", slide_index: 2 })

// List available slide layouts from the master
mcp_ppt_get_slide_layouts({ filename: "deck.pptx" })

// Get slide master details (useful before applying template)
mcp_ppt_get_slide_master({ filename: "deck.pptx" })

End-to-End Presentation Workflow

// ── 1. Activate ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
activate_presentation_creation_and_management();
activate_text_placeholder_management();
activate_content_management_tools();
activate_template_application_tools();

// ── 2. Create + apply brand template ────────────────────────────
mcp_ppt_create_presentation({ filename: "deck.pptx", title: "Q3 Results" })
mcp_ppt_apply_template({ filename: "deck.pptx", template_name: "BrandTemplate.pptx", apply_to_all: true })

// ── 3. Title slide (slide 0 already exists) ──────────────────────
mcp_ppt_populate_placeholder({ slide_index: 0, placeholder_index: 0, text: "Q3 2025 Results" })
mcp_ppt_populate_placeholder({ slide_index: 0, placeholder_index: 1, text: "Finance Division · Oct 2025" })

// ── 4. Add content slides ────────────────────────────────────────
mcp_ppt_add_slide({ filename: "deck.pptx", layout_index: 2 })  // content layout
mcp_ppt_populate_placeholder({ slide_index: 1, placeholder_index: 0, text: "Financial Highlights" })
mcp_ppt_add_bullet_points_to_placeholder({
  slide_index: 1, placeholder_index: 1,
  bullet_points: ["Revenue: $1.8M (+20%)", "Profit margin: 33%", "APAC growth: +35%"]
})

// ── 5. Chart slide ───────────────────────────────────────────────
mcp_ppt_add_slide({ filename: "deck.pptx", layout_index: 2 })
mcp_ppt_manage_image({ slide_index: 2, operation: "add", image_path: "./chart_q3.png", left: 1, top: 1.5, width: 8, height: 4.5 })
mcp_ppt_manage_text({ slide_index: 2, operation: "add", text: "Source: BI System", font_size: 9, italic: true, left: 7.5, top: 6.8, width: 2.0, height: 0.3 })

// ── 6. Fix fonts + save ──────────────────────────────────────────
mcp_ppt_manage_fonts({ operation: "replace", find_font: "Calibri", replace_font: "Arial" })
mcp_ppt_save_presentation({ filename: "deck.pptx" })

Part 2: Presentation Structure Standards

PowerPoint Presentation Structure

1. Title Slide: Hook, topic, presenter
2. Agenda/Overview: What will be covered
3. Content Slides: Main information (1 idea per slide)
4. Conclusion Summary: Key takeaways
5. Q&A / Next Steps: What audience should do

Formatting Standards

Fonts

• Headings: Bold, larger (32-44pt)
• Body: Readable size (24-32pt)
• Consistency: Use same font families throughout

Colors

• Primary: Main brand or accent color (use 60-70%)
• Secondary: Supporting colors (20-30%)
• Neutral: Backgrounds, borders (remaining %)

Spacing

• White space: Don’t crowd slides
• Alignment: Use grid-based spacing
• Visual hierarchy: Size and weight guide eye

Slide Design

• 1 idea per slide: Maximum 50 words
• Bullet points: Use for lists, not paragraphs
• Images: High quality, relevant to content
• Consistency: Same layout for similar content

Part 3: Quality Checklist

## Presentation Quality Checklist

### Content
- [ ] Placeholders used for title/body (not free text boxes) — preserves theme styling
- [ ] 1 main idea per slide; ≤50 words
- [ ] Bullet points via add_bullet_points_to_placeholder (not manual text boxes)
- [ ] Charts/images provided as high-res PNG/SVG at correct aspect ratio
- [ ] Source labels added as small text boxes on data slides

### Design
- [ ] Brand template applied (mcp_ppt_apply_template)
- [ ] Fonts consistent — run font analysis and replace non-brand fonts
- [ ] Title slide: title + subtitle placeholders both populated
- [ ] No placeholder default text remaining ("Click to add title" etc.)

### Structure
- [ ] Slide 0: title slide
- [ ] Slide 1: agenda or key takeaway
- [ ] Content slides: one section per major point
- [ ] Final slide: summary / next steps

### Validation
- [ ] auto_fit checked on text-heavy slides (validation_only: true)
- [ ] Font replacement run across all slides
- [ ] Presentation saved before distribution

Part 4: MCP Tool Activation Guide

Activation Commands

When working with PowerPoint presentations, use these MCP activation patterns:

// PowerPoint documents
activate_presentation_creation_and_management(); // create/open, add/copy/delete slides
activate_text_placeholder_management();          // populate placeholders, add bullet points
activate_content_management_tools();             // add images, analyze/replace fonts
activate_template_application_tools();           // apply .pptx theme or template
activate_information_extraction_and_management();// extract text, slide masters, layouts

Workflow Examples

Template-Based Presentation Generation

1. Start with template (PowerPoint)
2. Copy template to new filename
3. Populate placeholders with actual content
4. Add slides as needed
5. Apply styling consistently across slides
6. Save final version

Part 5: Best Practices

MCP-Specific Best Practices

• Activate tools as needed: Enable MCP tool groups only when required to avoid unnecessary overhead
• Validate operations: Confirm operations completed successfully, especially for batch operations
• Handle errors gracefully: Catch and report MCP tool errors with context for troubleshooting
• Batch operations: Use array-based operations when available for efficiency
• Document file paths: Use clear, relative paths and maintain documentation of file locations

Presentation Best Practices

• Use placeholders: They respect theme styling and are easier to maintain
• Limit text: One idea per slide, maximum 50 words
• High-quality images: Use PNG/SVG at correct resolution
• Consistent branding: Apply template to all slides
• Font consistency: Run font analysis and replace non-brand fonts
• Test before presenting: Validate all placeholders are populated

References & Resources

Documentation

• PowerPoint References — PowerPoint formatting and manipulation reference

Examples

• Presentation Examples — Examples of creating presentations programmatically

Scripts

• PPT Automation Script — Python script for presentation automation