PowerPoint (PPTX) Presentation Processing

Overview

Create, edit and convert PowerPoint (.pptx) files using the Syncfusion Presentation Library. This skill supports two operational modes — generating C# code for the user’s project or executing tasks directly through a CSX script.

Key Capabilities

• Create & Edit: Presentations (.pptx), slides (clone and merge), paragraphs, text boxes, tables, shapes, images, lists, connectors, hyperlinks, headers/footers, comments, document properties, sections
• Advanced Features: Custom animations and slide transitions, master slide layouts, speaker notes, SmartArt, OLE objects, find and replace, macros, chart creation and editing, chart-to-image conversion
• Conversion: PowerPoint to PDF; PowerPoint to images (PNG, JPEG)
• Security: Encrypt and decrypt presentations; set and remove write protection

Prerequisites

• .NET SDK 8+ and dotnet-script: dotnet tool install -g dotnet-script
• Free license: https://www.syncfusion.com/products/communitylicense

Quick Start Examples

Example 1: Generate Code (Mode 1)

User: "Show me how to create a PowerPoint presentation with a simple bar chart"

Result: C# code snippet displayed (no files created)

Example 2: Execute Task (Mode 2)

User: "Create a PowerPoint presentation with a simple bar chart at output/SalesChart.pptx"

Result: Physical file created at output/SalesChart.pptx with the chart embedded

Two Modes — Select Based on User Intent

Mode 1: Generate C# Code for the User's Project (default)

Use this mode when the user wants to view, write, review, refactor, or modify C# code related to PowerPoint processing.

Trigger keywords: "show me how", "how to", "how can I", "how do I", "provide code", "provide an example", "give an example", "demonstrate", "code snippet", "sample code", "example", "sample", "give me", "show me", "Program.cs", "example code", "generate code for", "codesnippet" .

Workflow:

Step 1 — Detect Application Type and Suggest Required NuGet Packages

• Inspect the workspace project files (.csproj, web.config, App.config, Startup.cs, Program.cs, etc.) and use the detection signals table in references/nuget-packages.md to determine the application type.
• Based on the detected application type, identify the correct NuGet package(s) from references/nuget-packages.md and instruct the user to install them before generating any code.

Step 2 — Generate Code from Reference Files Only

Do NOT invent, guess, or suggest any API, method, property, class, or namespace not explicitly present in the reference files.

• Read the relevant references/*.md file(s) for the requested feature
• Build C# code strictly from the APIs and snippets found in those files
• Select the correct snippet variant based on the app type detected in Step 1:
  • Windows-specific apps (WinForms, WPF, .NET Framework Console, ASP.NET MVC4/5 ) → use Windows-specific snippets
  • Cross-platform apps (ASP.NET Core, .NET Core/.NET 5+ Console, Blazor, MAUI) → use cross-platform / .Net.Core snippets
• Do not create or run any .csx script

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Mode 2: Execute via CSX Script (does not touch project files)

Use this mode only when the user explicitly requests execution, file generation, or a fully produced output (such as a completed PPTX file).

Trigger keywords: "create a presentation", "make a presentation", "generate a presentation", "open", "edit", "modify", "change" a .pptx file, "without modifying my project", "run a csx script", or when the user provides a file path (e.g., output/report.pptx).

Workflow:

Step 1 — Create Temp CSX Script

• Start with references/template.csx as the base
• Create at: {skill-root}/syncfusion-dotnet-powerpoint/scripts/temp-{uniqueId}.csx (e.g., skill-root = .codestudio/skills)
• Use random GUID for unique filename (e.g., temp-a3f7b2c1.csx); never create in workspace root

Step 2 — Build Script from Reference Files

• Do NOT invent APIs/methods not in reference files
• Read relevant references/*.md file(s) and extract code snippets
• Replace all placeholders: file paths, document properties, data values, field names, etc.

Step 3 — Execute Script

• Run: dotnet script {skill-root}/syncfusion-dotnet-powerpoint/scripts/temp-{uniqueId}.csx
• Verify successful execution and capture any errors

Step 4 — Clean Up and Report

• Delete the temp .csx file after execution
• Report SUCCESS/ERROR with output file path(s) and any error messages with fixes

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Code References

All templates and snippets are in the references/ folder:

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Rules

• Output files go in ./output/ directory
• Temp .csx scripts must be created inside {skill-root}/syncfusion-dotnet-powerpoint/scripts/ — never in the workspace root or customer scripts/ folder
• Never use Python libraries (e.g., python-pptx)
• Never leave temp .csx files after execution