ppt-generation-resilient

Resilient PowerPoint Generation Workflow

When to Use This Skill

Use this workflow when:

• You need to create PowerPoint presentations programmatically
• shell_agent may fail or produce opaque error messages
• You need robust error handling and debugging capabilities
• Output files may be created in unexpected nested directories

Overview

This workflow provides two paths:

1. Primary: Use shell_agent with clear specifications (preferred for simple presentations)
2. Fallback: Direct Python execution with python-pptx library (for complex or failed shell_agent attempts)

Both paths include automatic error capture and file location verification.

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Path 1: shell_agent (Primary)

Step 1.1: Delegate with Clear Specifications

Use shell_agent to create a PowerPoint presentation with:
- Specify exact number of slides needed
- Define content/topic for each slide
- Request file saved with clear filename (e.g., presentation.pptx)
- Ask agent to confirm the full file path after creation
- Request agent report any errors with full output

Example task description:

Create a PowerPoint presentation with 10 slides covering [topic]. Each slide should have a title and bullet points. Save it as presentation.pptx in the current working directory and report the full file path. If you encounter any errors, show the complete error message.

Step 1.2: Verify shell_agent Success

Check if shell_agent completed successfully:

• Did it report a file path?
• Can you access the file at that path?
• Is the file size > 0 bytes?

If any check fails, proceed to Path 2 (Fallback).

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Path 2: Direct Python with python-pptx (Fallback)

Step 2.1: Create Python Script File

First, write the PowerPoint generation script to a .py file (do NOT use inline execution):

# save as: generate_presentation.py
from pptx import Presentation
from pptx.util import Inches, Pt
import os

# CRITICAL: Explicitly set and verify working directory
working_dir = os.getcwd()
print(f"Working directory: {working_dir}")

# Create presentation
prs = Presentation()

# Example: Add slides with content
slides_content = [
    {"title": "Slide 1 Title", "content": ["Bullet 1", "Bullet 2"]},
    {"title": "Slide 2 Title", "content": ["Point A", "Point B", "Point C"]},
    # Add more slides as needed
]

for slide_data in slides_content:
    slide_layout = prs.slide_layouts[1]  # Title and Content layout
    slide = prs.slides.add_slide(slide_layout)
    
    # Set title
    title = slide.shapes.title
    title.text = slide_data["title"]
    
    # Set content
    content = slide.placeholders[1]
    tf = content.text_frame
    tf.clear()  # Clear existing content
    
    for i, point in enumerate(slide_data["content"]):
        if i == 0:
            p = tf.paragraphs[0]
        else:
            p = tf.add_paragraph()
        p.text = point
        p.font.size = Pt(18)

# Save to current working directory with explicit path
output_filename = "presentation.pptx"
output_path = os.path.join(working_dir, output_filename)
prs.save(output_path)

print(f"Presentation saved to: {output_path}")
print(f"File exists: {os.path.exists(output_path)}")
print(f"File size: {os.path.getsize(output_path)} bytes")