Latex Slide Builder

Core idea

Use LaTeX Beamer as the canonical slide source. Generate and maintain a clean .tex file first, compile it with XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX to produce a PDF deck, and export PPTX only when the user explicitly requests it or provides a PowerPoint template.

Prefer this skill when the user wants academic, research, thesis-defense, seminar, lecture, or paper-reading slides, especially when Chinese text is involved.

Workflow

1. Clarify the input and output only when required:
• Input may be a slide outline, notes, Markdown, or a research paper PDF.
• Output defaults to .tex plus compiled PDF.
• If PPTX is requested, also generate a PPTX using the companion Markdown/Pandoc route when possible.
2. If a research paper PDF is provided, extract text with scripts/extract_paper_text.py, then summarize it into a slide plan before writing LaTeX.
3. Write a slide plan before writing code:
• Talk goal and audience
• 8-15 slide outline unless the user requests another length
• Core thesis, contributions, method, experiments/results, limitations, and discussion
4. Generate a Beamer .tex deck based on assets/academic_beamer_template.tex.
5. Compile with scripts/build_deck.py using XeLaTeX by default.
6. Inspect compiler errors, fix the .tex, and recompile until the PDF is produced or the failure is clearly external, such as missing TeX tooling.
7. If PPTX is requested, export from a companion Pandoc Markdown file or from the .tex source. Use the user's .pptx template as a Pandoc reference document when supplied.

Chinese-first LaTeX rules

• Use ctexbeamer or Beamer plus ctex; prefer XeLaTeX.
• Do not use pdfLaTeX for Chinese decks.
• Keep source encoded as UTF-8.
• Use 16:9 widescreen unless the user requests 4:3.
• Avoid manual line breaks for Chinese paragraphs unless necessary; write concise slide bullets.
• Keep each slide focused: one claim, one diagram/table, or one result.
• Prefer bilingual terminology only when helpful: Chinese main explanation with English technical terms in parentheses.

Academic style defaults

Use a clean academic reporting style:

• Title slide
• Motivation and problem
• Paper/context overview
• Method or framework
• Key theorem/model/algorithm if relevant
• Experiments or evidence
• Results interpretation
• Limitations
• Takeaways and Q&A

For paper PDFs, follow references/paper_to_slides.md. For visual and LaTeX style, follow references/style_guide.md. For PPTX export, follow references/pptx_export.md.

Required project layout for generated decks

Create an output folder like:

project-name/
├── deck.tex
├── deck.md              # create when pptx export is requested
├── figures/             # copied or recreated figures, if any
├── build/               # compiler output
├── deck.pdf
└── deck.pptx            # optional

Script usage

Extract paper text:

python scripts/extract_paper_text.py paper.pdf --out paper_text.md

Build PDF only:

python scripts/build_deck.py deck.tex --out-dir build

Build PDF and PPTX:

python scripts/build_deck.py deck.tex --out-dir build --pptx --pptx-source auto

Build with a PowerPoint template:

python scripts/build_deck.py deck.tex --out-dir build --pptx --template-pptx template.pptx

Check local tool availability:

python scripts/build_deck.py --check-tools

PPTX template handling

A default academic PowerPoint reference template is bundled at assets/reference_template.pptx, based on a Chinese academic report deck. Use it when the user asks for PPTX export and does not provide another template.

If the user provides a .pptx template:

• Prefer the newly provided template over the bundled default.
• Put it in assets/ or the working deck folder.
• Use it as a Pandoc --reference-doc for PPTX export.
• Explain that Beamer PDF remains the highest-fidelity output, while PPTX export is editable but may need visual cleanup.
• If the template includes strict branding, ask for theme requirements only if not obvious from the template.

Quality checklist

Before final delivery:

• PDF compiles successfully.
• The .tex source is included.
• Chinese text renders correctly.
• Slide count matches the user request or stated default.
• Figures, tables, citations, and math render correctly.
• PPTX is generated when requested, or the reason it could not be generated is clearly stated.
• Do not claim PPTX visual parity with the PDF unless it was manually inspected.