Slides

This group of instructions manages the slides of a presentation: adding, deleting, duplicating, moving, and reordering them, applying a layout, setting a slide’s background, hiding or showing a slide, copying a slide in from another presentation, and writing speaker notes.

Prerequisite: before using any of these instructions, the workflow must already have a PPTX presentation created or opened (with Create presentation), which these instructions will act upon.

These concepts recur across several instructions in this group; they are explained here once.

• Document: indicates which document in the workflow the instruction applies to. If left empty, the current document is used.

• Slide numbers start at 1: slides are referred to by their position, and the first slide is 1, the second is 2, and so on. Every field that points at a slide (Slide number, From number, Source slide number…) uses this numbering.

• Out-of-range slide numbers do nothing: if a slide number does not exist in the presentation (for example, slide 5 in a 3-slide deck), the instruction does nothing and the workflow continues with the next instruction.

• Position fields — -1 means “at the end”: the instructions that add a slide (Add Slide, Duplicate Slide, Copy Slide From Presentation) have a position field for where to place the new slide. -1 (the default), or any number beyond the last slide, places it at the end; 1 places it first, 2 second, and so on.

• Slide number -1 means “all slides”: in the instructions that change how a slide looks or what it carries — Apply Slide Layout, Set Slide Background, Set Slide Visibility, Set Speaker Notes — a Slide number of -1 applies the change to every slide in the presentation. The instructions that add, remove, or reorder a slide (Delete Slide, Move Slide) do not accept -1: they always need one specific slide, and -1 there does nothing.

• Dynamic values (@name): in any text field you can type @ followed by the name of a value saved earlier in the workflow, and it will be replaced by that value. For example, if you saved a layout name in mainLayout, you can type @mainLayout in the Layout name field.

• Saving a result: the add/duplicate/copy instructions offer a Save slide number in field that stores the position where the new slide ended up under a name, so a later instruction can point at that slide. If left empty, nothing is saved.

• “From variable” fields: the @name trick only works in text fields. So that a numeric field (like Slide number) or a yes/no field (like Visible) can also take its value from a saved value, each one has a companion “from variable” field:

  • If you leave it empty, the value typed in the normal field is used.
  • If you fill it in with the name of a saved value, the engine ignores the normal field and uses that variable’s value.

  This is mainly for chaining instructions — for example, Add Slide can save the number of the slide it created, and a later instruction can act on exactly that slide by reading it from the variable. If you only work with fixed values, you can ignore these fields.

• Add Slide .pptx
• Apply Slide Layout .pptx
• Copy Slide From Presentation .pptx
• Delete Slide .pptx
• Duplicate Slide .pptx
• Move Slide .pptx
• Set Slide Background .pptx
• Set Slide Orientation .pptx
• Set Slide Size .pptx
• Set Slide Visibility .pptx
• Set Speaker Notes .pptx

Add Slide .pptx

Adds a new, empty slide to the presentation, using a chosen layout.

When to use it: to append a blank slide you will then fill with text, images, or shapes.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Position	Where to insert the new slide; -1 or beyond the last slide = at the end	-1 (at the end)	No
Layout name	Name of the layout to base the slide on (matched case-insensitively). Supports @name	Blank	No
Position (from variable)	Reads the position from a saved value	(empty)	No
Save slide number in	Name under which to save the position of the new slide	(empty)	No

Important behavior: the layout name is matched ignoring upper/lower case; if no layout with that name exists, the presentation’s first layout is used instead (no error) — a slide cannot exist without a layout, so the slide is always added. This differs from Apply Slide Layout .pptx, where the layout is the point of the instruction and an unknown name means nothing happens.

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Apply Slide Layout .pptx

Changes the layout of an existing slide to another layout defined in the presentation.

When to use it: to switch a slide to a different arrangement of placeholders (for example, from a content layout to a title layout).

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Slide number	Slide to change (starts at 1); -1 applies to all slides	1	No
Layout name	Name of the layout to apply (matched case-insensitively). Supports @name	Title Slide	No
Slide number (from variable)	Reads the slide number from a saved value	(empty)	No

Important behavior: -1 applies the layout to every slide. If the slide number is 1 or more and out of range, or no layout with the given name exists in the presentation, the instruction does nothing. (In Add Slide .pptx an unknown layout name falls back to the first layout instead, because there the layout is a detail of the slide being created, not the point of the instruction.)

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Copy Slide From Presentation .pptx

Copies a slide from another presentation file into the current one, with its content and images.

When to use it: to reuse a slide you already have in a different .pptx without rebuilding it.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Destination presentation the slide is copied into	(current document)	No
Source presentation path	Full path to the .pptx to copy the slide from. Supports @name	(empty)	Yes
Source slide number	Which slide to copy from the source (starts at 1)	1	No
Insert at position	Where to place the copied slide; -1 = at the end	-1 (at the end)	No
Keep source theme	Yes = also copy the source’s theme (fonts and colors); No = use the current presentation’s look	No	No
Source slide number (from variable)	Reads the source slide number from a saved value	(empty)	No
Insert at position (from variable)	Reads the position from a saved value	(empty)	No
Keep source theme (from variable)	Reads the yes/no value from a saved value	(empty)	No
Save slide number in	Name under which to save the position of the copied slide	(empty)	No

Important behavior: if Source presentation path is empty, nothing happens. If the Source slide number is out of range, the instruction does nothing. If the file cannot be opened, the instruction reports an error and the workflow stops. Copied images and charts are brought along with the slide.

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Delete Slide .pptx

Removes a slide from the presentation by its position.

When to use it: to drop a slide you no longer need.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Slide number	Slide to delete (starts at 1)	1	No
Slide number (from variable)	Reads the slide number from a saved value	(empty)	No

Important behavior: if the slide number is out of range, the instruction does nothing. -1 is not accepted here (it does nothing): deleting needs one specific slide, so there is no “delete them all” shortcut.

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Duplicate Slide .pptx

Makes a copy of an existing slide, including its speaker notes, and inserts it into the same presentation.

When to use it: to reuse a slide as the starting point for a similar one.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Source slide number	Slide to duplicate (starts at 1)	1	No
Insert at position	Where to place the copy; -1 = at the end	-1 (at the end)	No
Source slide number (from variable)	Reads the source slide number from a saved value	(empty)	No
Insert at position (from variable)	Reads the position from a saved value	(empty)	No
Save slide number in	Name under which to save the position of the new copy	(empty)	No

Important behavior: if the source slide number is out of range, the instruction does nothing. Each copy gets its own speaker notes, independent from the original.

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Move Slide .pptx

Moves a slide from one position to another, reordering the presentation.

When to use it: to change the order in which slides appear.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
From number	Current position of the slide to move (starts at 1)	1	No
To number	Position to move the slide to (starts at 1)	2	No
From number (from variable)	Reads the source position from a saved value	(empty)	No
To number (from variable)	Reads the target position from a saved value	(empty)	No

Important behavior: if From number or To number is out of range, the instruction does nothing. If the two positions are the same, nothing changes. -1 is not accepted in either field (it does nothing): moving needs one specific slide and one specific target position.

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Set Slide Background .pptx

Sets the background of one slide, or of all slides, to a solid color, a gradient, or an image.

When to use it: to give a slide (or the whole deck) a colored, gradient, or picture background.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Slide number	Slide to change; -1 applies to all slides	-1 (all slides)	No
Background type	solid, gradient, or image	solid	No
Color	Fill color (solid) or gradient start color, as a hex code (for example FFFFFF). Supports @name	FFFFFF (white)	No
Gradient end color	The second gradient color, as a hex code (used only with gradient). Supports @name	000000 (black)	No
Gradient angle (degrees)	Direction of the gradient in degrees (used only with gradient)	90	No
Image file path	Full path to the background image (used only with image). Supports @name	(empty)	No
Slide number (from variable)	Reads the slide number from a saved value	(empty)	No
Gradient angle (from variable)	Reads the angle from a saved value	(empty)	No

Important behavior: -1 applies the background to every slide. With Background type image, if Image file path is empty nothing happens, and if the file does not exist the instruction reports an error and the workflow stops. A Slide number of 1 or more that is out of range does nothing. Colors may be written with or without a leading #. Any unrecognized Background type is treated as solid.

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Set Slide Orientation .pptx

Turns the slides between landscape and portrait.

When to use it: for a deck meant to be printed or read on a portrait screen.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Orientation	landscape (wider than tall) · portrait (taller than wide)	landscape	No

Important behavior: orientation is simply which side is longer, so the instruction swaps the width and the height. If the presentation is already that way, nothing happens. If it has no size set yet, use Set Slide Size first.

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Set Slide Size .pptx

Sets the size of the slides for the whole presentation.

When to use it: to make a deck widescreen or 4:3, or to build one at a size of your own for printing.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Slide format	widescreen (16:9) · standard (4:3) · a4 · letter · custom	widescreen	No
Width cm	Width when the format is custom	33.87	No
Height cm	Height when the format is custom	19.05	No
Width cm (from variable)	Reads the width from a saved value	(empty)	No
Height cm (from variable)	Reads the height from a saved value	(empty)	No

Important behavior: the size applies to every slide — a presentation has one size, not one per slide. Width and Height are only read when the format is custom; if either is 0 or negative, nothing happens. Changing the size does not move or resize what is already on the slides.

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Set Slide Visibility .pptx

Hides a slide from the slideshow, or shows it again. A hidden slide stays in the file but is skipped when the presentation is played.

When to use it: to keep a backup or optional slide in the deck without showing it during the presentation.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Slide number	Slide to hide or show (starts at 1); -1 applies to all slides	1	No
Visible	Yes shows the slide, No hides it from the slideshow	Yes (visible)	No
Slide number (from variable)	Reads the slide number from a saved value	(empty)	No
Visible (from variable)	Reads the yes/no value from a saved value	(empty)	No

Important behavior: -1 hides or shows every slide at once. If the slide number is 1 or more and out of range, the instruction does nothing.

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Set Speaker Notes .pptx

Sets or adds the speaker notes attached to a slide (the notes shown to the presenter, not on the slide itself).

When to use it: to add a script or reminders for whoever presents the slide.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Slide number	Slide whose notes to set (starts at 1); -1 applies to all slides	1	No
Note text	The speaker-notes text. Supports @name	(empty)	No
Append to existing	Yes adds the text after the current notes; No replaces them	No (replace)	No
Slide number (from variable)	Reads the slide number from a saved value	(empty)	No
Append to existing (from variable)	Reads the yes/no value from a saved value	(empty)	No

Important behavior: -1 writes the same notes on every slide. If the slide number is 1 or more and out of range, the instruction does nothing. If the slide has no notes yet, they are created. With Append to existing set to No, any existing notes are replaced.

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