PPT Polish

Optimize diagram-heavy PPT pages so they become clearer, more editable, and more presentation-ready.

Prefer rebuilding structure over cosmetic tweaks when the original slide is messy. The goal is not just “make it prettier”, but “make it readable, editable, and reusable”.

Core workflow

1. Identify the source form
• Existing editable PPT/PPTX slide
• Screenshot/image of a diagram
• Mixed case: image already placed inside a PPT

1. Classify the diagram
• Flowchart / process map
• System topology / architecture diagram
• Org / hierarchy diagram
• Dense infographic-like technical diagram

1. Preserve the information structure
• Extract layers, groups, nodes, and major relationships first
• Decide what is primary path vs supporting path
• Do not start from colors or decoration

1. Rebuild or polish in PowerPoint
• If the slide is already editable and structurally decent, adjust layout/style directly
• If the slide is messy or image-based, reconstruct shapes/text/connectors instead of polishing the pasted image

1. Final quality pass
• Improve readability for presentation
• Ensure all important items remain editable
• Reduce visual noise and accidental line crossings

Decision rules

When polishing an existing PPT

Prefer direct editing when:

• Text is already editable
• Shapes are mostly separable
• Layout is salvageable

Prefer rebuilding on a new slide when:

• The current slide is essentially a screenshot
• Elements are badly misaligned or inconsistent
• Connectors are too chaotic to repair efficiently
• The user wants a more premium/client-facing result

When starting from an image

Use the image only as reference.

Do not treat “insert image into PPT” as completion. A valid result should have editable:

• titles
• containers
• nodes
• text
• connectors

Layout heuristics

Flowcharts

• Keep a clear main direction: left→right or top→bottom
• Put decision nodes at branch points
• Keep similar node types same size and style
• Reduce crossing lines, even if that means slightly changing spacing

Topology / architecture diagrams

• Group by layer or domain first
• Put gateways / hubs / central schedulers near the center
• Put external actors at the edge
• Put data/storage below or on a dedicated side band
• Put ops/monitoring in a side rail or bottom band

Dense technical diagrams

• Keep the density if that is part of the original style
• Still enforce consistent spacing, headers, and color logic
• Use container regions so the eye can parse clusters quickly

Styling heuristics

• Use 1 visual language per slide, not several mixed styles
• Keep a consistent color family by layer/category
• Use emphasis only for core nodes and main paths
• Use lighter visual weight for supporting lines and less important modules
• Prefer subtle rounded rectangles and clean borders over excessive effects
• Avoid overusing gradients, shadows, and icons unless they help meaningfully

Read bundled references when needed

• Read references/image-to-ppt-flowchart-sop.md for image→editable-flowchart reconstruction workflow
• Read references/ppt-topology-from-image.md for topology-specific decomposition and layer mapping

Expected outputs

Depending on the request, produce one or more of:

• optimized .pptx file
• rebuilt single-slide diagram page
• alternate visual versions (e.g. dark, clean, infographic)
• structure draft in Markdown / Mermaid before rebuilding

Quality checklist

Before finishing, verify:

• The main information structure is preserved
• Important text is editable
• Shapes are editable rather than flattened into an image
• Layers/groups are obvious at a glance
• Alignment and spacing are consistent
• Connector hierarchy is readable
• The page is suitable for presentation, not just archival

Notes

When multiple output versions exist, keep filenames explicit, such as:

• *-refined.pptx
• *-infographic.pptx
• *-dark.pptx
• *-polished.pptx

Prefer descriptive naming over generic names like final-final2.pptx.