ppt-reliable-creation

Reliable PowerPoint Creation Workflow

When to Use This Skill

Use this workflow when:

• You need to create PowerPoint presentations with specific slide content and structure
• shell_agent may fail or produce opaque error messages
• Output files may be created in unexpected nested directories
• You need a reliable fallback when primary generation methods fail

Overview: Dual-Path Strategy

This skill provides two paths:

1. Primary Path: shell_agent delegation (simpler, but may fail)
2. Fallback Path: Direct Python execution with python-pptx (more reliable, more control)

Step 0: Pre-Check Working Directory

Before any generation, verify your current working directory:

# Check and record current directory
pwd
# Output should be saved for later reference

# List current contents to establish baseline
ls -la

Important: Save the pwd output. You'll need this to verify where files are created.

Step 1: Primary Path - shell_agent Generation

Attempt PowerPoint creation via shell_agent first (quickest if successful):

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

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 and tell me the full file path where you saved it.

shell_agent Error Handling

If shell_agent returns "unknown error" or fails:

# Capture actual error by adding stderr redirect
# Re-run the task or check previous error output
# Add 2>&1 to any shell commands to see real errors

After 2 failures or opaque errors, switch to Fallback Path (Step 2).

Step 2: Fallback Path - Direct Python with python-pptx

When shell_agent fails, use direct Python execution. Always write script to file first, then execute.