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This document describes intent at the time it was written. It is part of the design record, not user documentation, and may not reflect the current behaviour of the code.

011 - convert pptx

Purpose: Extend mdd convert to handle .pptx input, producing <name>.pptx.md output for round-trip with Quarto presentation projects.

Status: Implemented (2026-05-08)

Introduction

Section titled “Introduction”

This spec extends S03 to handle PowerPoint (.pptx) input alongside Word (.docx), producing <name>.pptx.md output suitable for round-trip with Quarto presentation projects (S04).

It also unblocks .pptx support in mdd sharepoint (S10): with .pptx conversion in place, the SharePoint exporter dispatches .pptx files the same way it dispatches .docx.

Requirements

Section titled “Requirements”
  • mdd convert <path> converts .pptx files the same way it already converts .docx: writes <original>.pptx.md in-place by default, or mirrors into --dest-dir <dir>.
  • Incremental by default: skip .pptx files whose .pptx.md is newer than the source unless --force.
  • --file <path> accepts a single .pptx; --dry-run lists work without writing; progress printed per file.
  • Embedded images are extracted to <original>.pptx-attachments/imageN.<ext> and referenced from the markdown by relative path — same convention as .docx.
  • Frontmatter (title, slide count, author, date) is pulled from .pptx core properties.

Design Approach

Section titled “Design Approach”

Library choice — Docling for the body where it copes; python-pptx for slide iteration, image and speaker-notes extraction, and as fallback for shapes Docling can’t handle.

Slide-per-section output — PowerPoint is slide-based; markdown is flow-based. Each slide becomes an ## H2 section (named by slide title, or Slide N if untitled), matching the Quarto presentation conventions in S04’s simple-presentation.qmd. Speaker notes render as Quarto ::: notes fenced divs so the same markdown re-renders into a Quarto deck.

Output shape

Section titled “Output shape”
---
title: My Deck
slides: 12
author: Leo Simons
date: 2026-05-08
---


## Slide 1 title


- Bullet
- Bullet


![](My-Deck.pptx-attachments/image1.png)


::: notes
Speaker notes for slide 1.
:::


## Slide 2 title


...
  • Body shapes (text frames, bullet lists) render as paragraphs/lists.
  • Tables render as Markdown tables when the shape supports it; otherwise preserved as fenced HTML.
Section titled “Related upstream specs”

Out of scope

Section titled “Out of scope”
  • Round-tripping markdown → PowerPoint (no mdd convert --reverse). Quarto’s render path is the one-way authoring tool for PowerPoint.
  • Slide layouts and master template extraction. The output is a single flat list of slides; layout fidelity belongs to Quarto, not the markdown export.
  • Animations and slide transitions.
  • Embedded video / audio (drop with warning).

Site built 2026-07-30.