PPT to Notes

Converts university lecture PPT/PPTX slides into comprehensive, exam-ready study notes with Q&A and cheat sheet. Follows strict formatting rules to maximize exam usefulness and minimize token usage.

When This Skill Triggers

• User attaches a .ppt or .pptx file
• User says "generate notes", "make notes", "study material"
• User says "notes from slides", "exam prep", "revision notes"
• User uploads slides and asks for "cheat sheet", "Q&A", "summary"
• Any combination of PPT + study/exam/notes intent

Core Rules — Never Break These

1. Use EXACT words from slides — never paraphrase or simplify
2. Never add outside knowledge not present in the slides
3. Bullet points only — no paragraphs in answers
4. Bold all key terms on first use: term
5. All tables in markdown format
6. Every Q&A answer pointer must be complete and standalone
7. Start generating immediately — never ask clarifying questions first

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Output Destination — Always Write to File

Never output the generated notes directly to chat. Instead:

1. Generate the full markdown content following the format in references/format.md
2. Determine the output filename from the PPT filename (e.g. Lecture3.pptx → Lecture3-notes.md). If no filename is known, use notes.md
3. Use the Write tool to save the content to <ppt-filename>-notes.md in the current working directory
4. After writing, confirm to the user: Notes saved to <filename>.md

Only output a short status line to chat (slide count, plan, confirmation). All study content goes into the file.

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Output Format

Read the full instructions in references/format.md before generating.

Use the session size guide below to decide which format to use:

PPT Size	Strategy	Format to use
≤ 40 slides	One pass	Full format (notes + Q&A + cheat sheet)
41–80 slides	One pass, compact Q&A	Full format with inline Q&A
81–120 slides	Warn user, two parts	Split: notes first, cheat sheet second message
120+ slides	Warn user, three parts	Split into three messages

Always tell the user at the start:

• How many slides you detected
• How many messages it will take
• Estimated session usage

Example opening:

📊 Detected: 52 slides
📝 Plan: Full notes in one message (~25% session usage)
Generating now...

Or for large PPTs:

📊 Detected: 118 slides  
📝 Plan: 2 messages (~40% total session usage)
   Message 1 → Study Notes + Q&A
   Message 2 → Quick Revision Cheat Sheet
Starting Part 1...

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Session Optimisation Rules

These rules exist to maximise how many chapters a user can generate in one Claude session. Follow them strictly.

• Use inline Q&A format for 50+ slide PPTs: Q: text → ans1 / ans2 / ans3
• Use full block Q&A format for under 50 slides (more readable)
• Never repeat the chapter title more than once
• Skip slides that contain only images, logos, or "thank you" text
• Combine very short consecutive bullet points into one line where meaning is preserved
• For the cheat sheet: tables only, no prose

Read references/format.md for the exact output templates.

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What to Do When PPT Has No Clear Sections

Some PPTs don't use section divider slides. In that case:

• Group slides by topic based on content similarity
• Create your own ## section headings that describe the topic
• Note at the top: *(Sections inferred from content — no section slides found)*

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Error Cases

Situation	What to do
File is not a PPT	Say "Please attach a .ppt or .pptx file"
PPT has only images, no text	Say "This PPT appears to be image-only. I cannot extract text from images."
PPT is empty	Say "This PPT appears to have no content."
User asks to skip cheat sheet	Skip it, just do notes + Q&A
User asks for Q&A only	Generate only the Q&A blocks
User asks for cheat sheet only	Generate only the cheat sheet

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Reference Files

• references/format.md — Exact output templates for full and compact formats