LibreOffice Impress

Use the bundled impress modules for UNO-backed Impress presentation work. All paths must be absolute. Bundled modules live under scripts/ in this skill directory, so set PYTHONPATH=<skill_base_dir>/scripts. If setup or runtime issues appear, check references/troubleshooting.md.

API Surface

# Non-session utilities
create_presentation(path)
get_slide_count(path)
export_presentation(path, output_path, format)   # formats: "pdf", "pptx"
snapshot_slide(doc_path, slide_index, output_path, width=1280, height=720)

# Session (primary editing API)
open_impress_session(path) -> ImpressSession

ImpressSession methods:
  get_slide_count() -> int
  get_slide_inventory(target: ImpressTarget) -> dict[str, object]
  add_slide(index=None, layout="BLANK")
  delete_slide(target: ImpressTarget)
  move_slide(target: ImpressTarget, to_index)
  duplicate_slide(target: ImpressTarget)
  read_text(target: ImpressTarget) -> str
  insert_text(text, target: ImpressTarget | None = None)
  replace_text(target: ImpressTarget, new_text)
  format_text(target: ImpressTarget, formatting: TextFormatting)
  insert_list(items: list[ListItem], ordered: bool, target: ImpressTarget | None = None)
  replace_list(target: ImpressTarget, items: list[ListItem], ordered: bool | None = None)
  insert_text_box(slide: ImpressTarget, text, placement: ShapePlacement, name=None)
  insert_shape(slide: ImpressTarget, shape_type, placement: ShapePlacement, fill_color=None, line_color=None, name=None)
  delete_item(target: ImpressTarget)
  insert_image(slide: ImpressTarget, image_path, placement: ShapePlacement, name=None)
  replace_image(target: ImpressTarget, image_path=None, placement: ShapePlacement | None = None)
  insert_table(slide: ImpressTarget, rows, cols, placement: ShapePlacement, data=None, name=None)
  update_table(target: ImpressTarget, data)
  insert_chart(slide: ImpressTarget, chart_type, data, placement: ShapePlacement, title=None, name=None)
  update_chart(target: ImpressTarget, chart_type=None, data=None, placement: ShapePlacement | None = None, title=None)
  insert_media(slide: ImpressTarget, media_path, placement: ShapePlacement, name=None)
  replace_media(target: ImpressTarget, media_path=None, placement: ShapePlacement | None = None)
  set_notes(target: ImpressTarget, text)
  get_notes(target: ImpressTarget) -> str
  list_master_pages() -> list[str]
  apply_master_page(target: ImpressTarget, master_target: ImpressTarget)
  set_master_background(target: ImpressTarget, color)
  import_master_page(template_path) -> str
  patch(patch_text, mode="atomic") -> PatchApplyResult
  export(output_path, format)
  reset()
  close(save=True)

# Standalone patch utility
patch(path, patch_text, mode="atomic") -> PatchApplyResult

Structured Targets: ImpressTarget

from impress import ImpressTarget

ImpressTarget(
    kind=(
        "slide" | "shape" | "text" | "table" | "chart" |
        "media" | "notes" | "master_page" | "list" | "insertion" | "image"
    ),
    slide_index=None,
    shape_name=None,
    shape_index=None,
    shape_type=None,
    placeholder=None,
    text=None,
    after=None,
    before=None,
    occurrence=None,
    master_name=None,
)

Target kinds

Resolution rules

• Slide indices are zero-based.
• shape_name and shape_index are mutually exclusive.
• placeholder targets support explicit values such as title, body, and subtitle.
• Use after and before to narrow text or list resolution inside one resolved text-bearing object.
• For object targets, prefer shape_name; use shape_index only when slide order is stable.
• delete_item() accepts any non-slide delete target: text, notes, list, shape, image, table, chart, or media.

Formatting Payload: TextFormatting

from impress import TextFormatting

TextFormatting(
    bold=None,
    italic=None,
    underline=None,
    font_name=None,
    font_size=None,
    color=None,          # named color or integer
    align=None,          # "left" | "center" | "right" | "justify"
)

Notes:

• At least one formatting field must be set.
• Color accepts a named color or 0xRRGGBB integer.
• Paragraph alignment is applied through the same formatting payload as character styling.

Geometry Payload: ShapePlacement

from impress import ShapePlacement

ShapePlacement(x_cm=1.0, y_cm=2.0, width_cm=8.0, height_cm=4.0)

• Geometry values are in centimetres.
• Width and height must be positive.

List Items

from impress import ListItem

ListItem(text="Confirm scope", level=0)

• level is zero-based nesting.
• Nesting cannot skip levels.
• List editing is structural; do not add manual - prefixes.
• Headless snapshot rendering may not visibly paint bullets even when list metadata is correct.

Patch DSL

Use patch() or session.patch() to apply ordered operations.

[operation]
type = replace_text
target.kind = text
target.slide_index = 2
target.placeholder = body
target.text = Quarterly revenue rose 18%
new_text = Quarterly revenue rose 21%

[operation]
type = insert_list
target.kind = insertion
target.slide_index = 2
target.shape_name = Agenda Box
target.after = Action Items
list.ordered = false
items <<JSON
[
  {"text": "Confirm scope", "level": 0},
  {"text": "Review outputs", "level": 0},
  {"text": "Update notes", "level": 1}
]
JSON

[operation]
type = delete_item
target.kind = chart
target.slide_index = 4
target.shape_name = Disposable Chart

Supported operation types

• add_slide
• delete_slide
• move_slide
• duplicate_slide
• insert_text
• replace_text
• format_text
• insert_list
• replace_list
• insert_text_box
• insert_shape
• delete_item
• insert_image
• replace_image
• insert_table
• update_table
• insert_chart
• update_chart
• insert_media
• replace_media
• set_notes
• apply_master_page
• set_master_background

Patch value rules

• Use target.* fields for the primary target.
• Use master.* fields for apply_master_page.
• Use format.* fields for TextFormatting.
• Use placement.* fields for ShapePlacement.
• Use list.ordered plus JSON items for list operations.
• items and data must be valid JSON.
• Heredoc blocks are supported with <<TAG ... TAG for multiline text or JSON.

Modes

• atomic stops on first failure, restores the original file bytes, and persists nothing.
• best_effort keeps successful earlier operations and records later failures.

PatchApplyResult fields:

• mode
• overall_status = "ok" | "partial" | "failed"
• operations = list of PatchOperationResult
• document_persisted

For standalone patch(path, ...), document_persisted means the changes were saved to disk. For session.patch(...), it means the patch produced successful mutations in the current open session state.

Example: Edit a Deck in Session

fr