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Theming

Customize the appearance of your presentations using themes and style overrides.

Overview

SlideGen supports theming through:

  1. Built-in themes - Pre-configured color schemes and fonts
  2. PowerPoint templates - Use existing .pptx files as templates
  3. Style overrides - Per-slide style customization

Built-in Themes

Default Theme

The default theme provides a clean, professional appearance:

presentation:
  title: "My Presentation"
  slides:
    - layout: title
      title: "Welcome"

Corporate Theme

Professional theme suitable for business presentations:

presentation:
  title: "Corporate Presentation"
  theme: "corporate"
  slides:
    - layout: title
      title: "Welcome"

Dark Theme

Dark color scheme for modern presentations:

presentation:
  title: "Dark Presentation"
  theme: "dark"
  slides:
    - layout: title
      title: "Welcome"

PowerPoint Templates

Use an existing PowerPoint file as a template:

presentation:
  title: "My Presentation"
  theme: "templates/corporate-template.pptx"
  slides:
    - layout: title
      title: "Welcome"

Template Requirements:

  • Must be a valid .pptx file
  • Slide master defines colors, fonts, and layouts
  • Background colors and styles are applied from template

Creating Templates:

  1. Create a PowerPoint file with desired design
  2. Customize slide master (View → Slide Master)
  3. Set colors, fonts, and background
  4. Save as .pptx file
  5. Reference in schema: theme: "path/to/template.pptx"

Style Overrides

Override theme styles on individual slides:

slides:
  - layout: bullet_list
    title: "Custom Styled Slide"
    bullets: ["Point 1", "Point 2"]
    style:
      background_color: "#1a1a1a"
      text_color: "#ffffff"
      font_family: "Arial"
      font_size: 24

Style Properties:

Property Type Description Example
background_color string Hex color code "#1a1a1a"
text_color string Hex color code "#ffffff"
font_family string Font family name "Arial"
font_size integer Font size in points (8-144) 24

Color Format:

Use hex color codes (6 digits):

style:
  background_color: "#1a1a1a"  # Dark gray
  text_color: "#ffffff"        # White

Font Families:

Common font families: - Arial - Calibri - Times New Roman - Helvetica - Georgia

Use fonts installed on your system. If a font is not available, SlideGen falls back to a default font.

Font Sizes:

Font sizes are specified in points (pt): - Minimum: 8pt - Maximum: 144pt - Recommended: 18-36pt for body text, 44-72pt for titles

Theme Configuration

Setting Theme Globally

Set theme for entire presentation:

presentation:
  title: "My Presentation"
  theme: "corporate"  # or path to .pptx file
  slides:
    - layout: title
      title: "Welcome"

Per-Slide Theme Override

Override theme for specific slides:

slides:
  - layout: title
    title: "Welcome"
    theme: "dark"  # Override global theme

Best Practices

1. Use Consistent Themes

Apply the same theme throughout a presentation:

presentation:
  theme: "corporate"
  slides:
    # All slides use corporate theme

2. Limit Style Overrides

Use style overrides sparingly for emphasis:

# Good: Use override for special slide
- layout: bullet_list
  title: "Important Notice"
  style:
    background_color: "#ff0000"
    text_color: "#ffffff"

# Avoid: Overriding every slide

3. Test Theme Compatibility

Verify theme works with all layout types:

slidegen build deck.yaml -o test.pptx
# Open test.pptx and review all slides

4. Create Reusable Templates

Create PowerPoint templates for your organization:

templates/
├── corporate-template.pptx
├── marketing-template.pptx
└── technical-template.pptx

Reference in schemas:

presentation:
  theme: "templates/corporate-template.pptx"

Advanced Theming

Custom Color Schemes

Define custom color schemes in PowerPoint template:

  1. Open PowerPoint
  2. View → Slide Master
  3. Colors → Customize Colors
  4. Define color scheme
  5. Save as template

Font Configuration

Set default fonts in template:

  1. View → Slide Master
  2. Fonts → Customize Fonts
  3. Define heading and body fonts
  4. Save as template

Troubleshooting

Theme Not Applied

Issue: Theme changes not visible in output

Solutions: - Verify theme path is correct - Check template file is valid .pptx - Ensure template has slide master defined

Font Not Found

Issue: Font not displaying correctly

Solutions: - Use system-installed fonts - Check font name spelling - Fallback font will be used if unavailable

Color Not Rendering

Issue: Colors not matching expected values

Solutions: - Verify hex color format (#RRGGBB) - Check color values are valid (0-9, A-F) - PowerPoint may adjust colors for contrast

Next Steps