Morph

Generate visually compelling PPTs with smooth Morph animations.

Philosophy: Trust yourself to learn through practice. This skill provides workflow and references — you bring creativity and judgment.

Use when

• User wants to generate a .pptx

What is Morph?

PowerPoint's Morph transition creates smooth animations by matching shapes with identical names across adjacent slides.

Slide 1: shape name="!!circle" x=5cm  width=8cm
Slide 2: shape name="!!circle" x=20cm width=12cm
         ↓
Result: Circle smoothly moves and grows

Three core concepts:

• Scene Actors: Persistent shapes with !! prefix that evolve across slides
• Ghosting: Move shapes to x=36cm (off-screen) instead of deleting
• Content: Text/data added fresh per slide, previous content ghosted first

For details: reference/pptx-design.md

Workflow

Phase 1: Understand the Topic

Ask only when topic is unclear, otherwise proceed directly.

⚠️ CRITICAL KNOWN ISSUE: Name-based path selectors break after transition=morph is set After calling officecli set '/slide[N]' --prop transition=morph, paths like /slide[N]/!!my-shape return 'Element not found'. The CLI auto-prepends !! to shape names when morph is applied, which invalidates name-based lookups.

Workaround: Always use shape INDEX paths instead of name paths when accessing shapes on morph slides:

# WRONG (after transition=morph set):
officecli get deck.pptx '/slide[3]/!!my-circle' --depth 1

# CORRECT:
officecli get deck.pptx '/slide[3]' --depth 1  # first list all shapes to find index
officecli get deck.pptx '/slide[3]/shape[2]' --depth 1

The build.py template should use inspect() + index-based access throughout.

Phase 2: Plan the Story

FIRST: Read the thinking framework

→ Open and read reference/decision-rules.md — it provides the structured approach for planning compelling presentations (Pyramid Principle, SCQA, page types).

Then create brief.md with:

• Context: Topic, audience, purpose, narrative structure (SCQA or Problem-Solution)
• Outline: Conclusion first + slide-by-slide summary
• Page briefs: For each slide:
  • Objective (what should this slide achieve?)
  • Content (specific text/data to include)
  • Page type (title | evidence | transition | conclusion)
  • Design notes (visual emphasis, scene actor behavior)

Morph Pair Scene Planning (REQUIRED before building)

For every morph transition, plan the slide pair BEFORE writing any code. Use a table like this in brief.md:

Rules for the planning table:

• Determine ALL !! shape names during planning — the same name must be used identically across the slide pair
• For each !! shape, decide its role: !!scene-{desc} (background/decoration) or !!actor-{desc} (content/foreground)
• Mark which shapes need to be ghosted at each section transition
• Do NOT start building until the naming table is complete — renaming shapes mid-build causes ghost accumulation bugs

Phase 3: Design and Generate

Before generation starts, always remind the user:

• The PPT file may be rewritten multiple times during build.
• Once the PPT file appears in the workspace, the user can preview the live generation progress directly in AionUi.
• Do not click "Open with system app" during generation, to avoid file lock / write conflicts.
• Use clear, direct language and make this a concrete warning, not an optional suggestion.

FIRST: Ensure latest officecli version

Follow the installation check in reference/officecli-pptx-min.md section 0 (checks version and upgrades only if needed).

IMPORTANT: Use morph-helpers for reliable workflow

Generate a Python script that uses reference/morph-helpers.py — this provides helper functions with built-in verification. Python works cross-platform (Mac / Windows / Linux).

Shape naming rules (for best results):

Use these naming patterns for clear code and reliable verification:

Namespace prefixes for !! shapes — prevent scene collision:

All persistent !! shapes MUST use one of these two prefixes to avoid morph engine confusion when multiple morph pairs share similar shape names:

• !!scene-{desc} — Background / decoration shapes (e.g., !!scene-ring, !!scene-bg-gradient, !!scene-grid-line)
  • These persist across the entire deck; move them for motion but rarely ghost them
• !!actor-{desc} — Content / foreground shapes (e.g., !!actor-feature-box, !!actor-metric, !!actor-label)
  • These carry slide-specific content; ghost them at section boundaries

Rule: !!scene-* and !!actor-* names must NEVER be identical. Bad: !!scene-card and !!actor-card in the same deck — morph engine will confuse them. Good: !!scene-card-bg and !!actor-card-content — unambiguous.

1. Scene actors (persistent across slides):

   • Format: name=!!scene-{desc} or name=!!actor-{desc}
   • Examples: name=!!scene-ring, name=!!scene-dot, name=!!actor-feature-box
   • Behavior: Modify position/size/color across slides — do NOT delete
   • Exit strategy — two trigger scenarios:
     1. Permanent exit (shape no longer needed): Move it off-screen to x=36cm. Morph will smoothly slide it out of view. Example: officecli set deck.pptx '/slide[N]/!!FeatureBox' --prop x=36cm --prop y=14cm To bring it back on a later slide, simply move it back to a visible position.
     2. Scene transition exit (entering a new topic section): When the presentation moves into a new thematic section, ALL !! content shapes from the previous section must also be ghosted to x=36cm. Only decoration actors that persist throughout the entire deck (e.g., a background ring) should remain visible.

        # Entering new section: ghost all previous section's !! content shapes
        # First, check what !! shapes are on the current slide
        officecli get deck.pptx '/slide[N]' --depth 1
        # Then ghost each one
        officecli set deck.pptx '/slide[N]/!!FeatureBox'    --prop x=36cm
        officecli set deck.pptx '/slide[N]/!!MetricCard'    --prop x=36cm
        officecli set deck.pptx '/slide[N]/!!ChannelLabel'  --prop x=36cm
        

        Rule: Each new section's first slide should be clean — only current-section actors visible; no leftover shapes from the previous section.

2. Content shapes (unique per slide):

   • Format: name=#sN-description
   • Pattern: # + s + slide_number + - + description
   • Examples: name=#s1-title, name=#s2-card1, name=#s3-stats
   • Behavior: Ghost (x=36cm) when moving to next slide

Ghost accumulation — critical behavior to understand:

Once a !!-prefixed shape appears on any slide, it persists and remains visible on every subsequent morph slide unless explicitly moved off-screen.

This means:

• A !!actor-feature-box introduced on slide 3 will still be visible on slides 4, 5, 6, 7 ... unless you ghost it
• Ghost accumulation builds silently — visual clutter compounds across the deck
• The morph_final_check tool does NOT catch !! shapes that linger in the visible area; only screenshot verification can detect this

Ghost cleanup pattern — when a !!actor-* shape is no longer needed, exit it explicitly:

# Pattern: after the last slide where !!actor-feature-box is needed,
# on the NEXT slide's setup, move it off-screen BEFORE adding new content
officecli set deck.pptx '/slide[N]/shape[X]' --prop x=36cm --prop y=10cm

# If the shape served a 2-slide story arc (slides 3→4), ghost it on slide 5:
helper("ghost", OUTPUT, 5, <shape_index_of_actor_feature_box>)

Rule: For every !!actor-* shape, its "ghost slide" (where it exits) must be planned in the Phase 2 morph pair table. Do not leave any !!actor-* shape without a planned exit.

Why this naming matters:

• ✅ Better detection: Primary method (#sN- pattern matching) is fastest and most accurate
• ✅ Readable code: Anyone can tell #s1-title is slide 1's title
• ✅ Easy debugging: grep "#s1-" finds all slide 1 content quickly
• ⚠️ Backup detection exists: Even without # prefix, duplicate text detection will catch most issues (but has edge cases)

Bottom line: Follow these patterns in your code examples, and verification will work smoothly.

Then proceed with pattern:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import subprocess, sys, os

def run(*args):
    result = subprocess.run(list(args))
    if result.returncode != 0:
        sys.exit(result.returncode)

# Load helper functions (provides morph_clone_slide, morph_ghost_content, morph_verify_slide)
SCRIPT_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
def helper(*args):
    run(sys.executable, os.path.join(SCRIPT_DIR, "reference", "morph-helpers.py"), *[str(a) for a in args])

OUTPUT = "deck.pptx"
run("officecli", "create", OUTPUT)
run("officecli", "open", OUTPUT)   # Resident mode — all commands run in memory

# ============ SLIDE 1 ============
print("Building Slide 1...")
run("officecli", "add", OUTPUT, "/", "--type", "slide")
run("officecli", "set", OUTPUT, "/slide[1]", "--prop", "background=1A1A2E")

# Scene actors (!!scene-* prefix = decoration, persists entire deck)
run("officecli", "add", OUTPUT, "/slide[1]", "--type", "shape",
    "--prop", "name=!!scene-ring", "--prop", "preset=ellipse", "--prop", "fill=E94560",
    "--prop", "opacity=0.3", "--prop", "x=5cm", "--prop", "y=3cm", "--prop", "width=8cm", "--prop", "height=8cm")
run("officecli", "add", OUTPUT, "/slide[1]", "--type", "shape",
    "--prop", "name=!!scene-dot", "--prop", "preset=ellipse", "--prop", "fill=0F3460",
    "--prop", "x=28cm", "--prop", "y=15cm", "--prop", "width=1cm", "--prop", "height=1cm")

# Content shapes (#s1- prefix, will be ghosted on next slide)
# Use generous width (25-30cm for titles) to avoid text wrapping!
run("officecli", "add", OUTPUT, "/slide[1]", "--type", "shape",
    "--prop", "name=#s1-title", "--prop", "text=Main Title",
    "--prop", "font=Arial Black", "--prop", "size=64", "--prop", "bold=true",
    "--prop", "color=FFFFFF", "--prop", "x=10cm", "--prop", "y=8cm",
    "--prop", "width=28cm", "--prop", "height=3cm", "--prop", "fill=none")

# ============ SLIDE 2 ============
print("Building Slide 2...")

# Use helper: automatically clone + set transition + list shapes + verify
helper("clone", OUTPUT, 1, 2)

# Use helper: ghost all content from slide 1 (shape index 3 = #s1-title)
helper("ghost", OUTPUT, 2, 3)

# Add new content for slide 2
run("officecli", "add", OUTPUT, "/slide[2]", "--type", "shape",
    "--prop", "name=#s2-title", "--prop", "text=Second Slide",
    "--prop", "font=Arial Black", "--prop", "size=64", "--prop", "bold=true",
    "--prop", "color=FFFFFF", "--prop", "x=10cm", "--prop", "y=8cm",
    "--prop", "width=28cm", "--prop", "height=3cm", "--prop", "fill=none")

# Adjust scene actors to create motion
# SPATIAL RULE: scene actors must stay in safe zones (see Shape naming rules above)
run("officecli", "set", OUTPUT, "/slide[2]/shape[1]", "--prop", "x=15cm", "--prop", "y=5cm")  # !!scene-ring moves
run("officecli", "set", OUTPUT, "/slide[2]/shape[2]", "--prop", "x=5cm",  "--prop", "y=10cm") # !!scene-dot moves

# Use helper: verify slide is correct (transition + ghosting)
helper("verify", OUTPUT, 2)

# ============ SLIDE 3 ============
print("Building Slide 3...")

# ============ SECTION TRANSITION: Ghost ALL !! content shapes from previous section ============
# Before adding new section content, ghost every !! shape that belongs to the previous section.
# Run: officecli get deck.pptx '/slide[N]' --depth 1  to list all shapes and confirm indices.
# Then ghost each previous-section actor:
# helper("ghost", OUTPUT, N, shape_index_1)
# helper("ghost", OUTPUT, N, shape_index_2)
# ... repeat for ALL !! shapes that were part of the previous section
# VERIFY: After building, open screenshot of this slide and confirm zero overlap with previous section content.

helper("clone", OUTPUT, 2, 3)
helper("ghost", OUTPUT, 3, 4)  # Ghost #s2-title (now at index 4)

run("officecli", "add", OUTPUT, "/slide[3]", "--type", "shape",
    "--prop", "name=#s3-title", "--prop", "text=Third Slide",
    "--prop", "font=Arial Black", "--prop", "size=64", "--prop", "bold=true",
    "--prop", "color=FFFFFF", "--prop", "x=10cm", "--prop", "y=8cm",
    "--prop", "width=28cm", "--prop", "height=3cm", "--prop", "fill=none")

run("officecli", "set", OUTPUT, "/slide[3]/shape[1]", "--prop", "x=25cm", "--prop", "y=8cm")
run("officecli", "set", OUTPUT, "/slide[3]/shape[2]", "--prop", "x=10cm", "--prop", "y=5cm")

helper("verify", OUTPUT, 3)

# ============ FINAL VERIFICATION ============
run("officecli", "close", OUTPUT)  # Save from memory to disk
print()
print("=========================================")
helper("final-check", OUTPUT)

print()
print("Build complete! Open", OUTPUT, "in PowerPoint to see morph animations.")

Key advantages of using helpers:

• ✅ Fewer steps: morph_clone_slide = clone + transition + list + verify (4 steps → 1 function)
• ✅ Instant feedback: Each helper shows ✅ or ❌ immediately
• ✅ Can't forget: Transition and verification are automatic
• ✅ Clear errors: If something is wrong, you'll know exactly what and where
• ✅ Dual detection: Catches unghosted content by both naming pattern AND duplicate text detection
  • Even if you forget # prefix, duplicate detection will still catch the problem!

Scene Actor Spatial Rule (CRITICAL):

Scene actors must stay in safe zones at all times — corners and edges only. DO NOT let scene actors pass through or rest in the content area (x=2~28cm, y=3~16cm).

Safe zones:
  Top-right corner:   x ≥ 24cm, y ≤ 6cm
  Bottom-right:       x ≥ 24cm, y ≥ 12cm
  Bottom-left:        x ≤ 2cm,  y ≥ 12cm
  Off-screen (right): x ≥ 32cm  (fully out of view — use for ghost position)

Before planning any scene actor path, inspect existing shape coordinates:

# List all shapes on a slide (check for coordinate conflicts before placing actors)
officecli get deck.pptx '/slide[N]' --depth 1 --json

Confirm the actor's target position does not overlap any content shape's bounding box (x to x+width, y to y+height).

Essential rules:

• Naming: Scene actors use !! prefix, content uses #sN- prefix (best practice for verification and readability)
• Transition: Every slide after the first MUST have transition=morph (without this, no animation!)
• Ghosting: Before adding new slide content, ghost ALL previous content shapes to x=36cm (don't delete)
• Motion: Adjust scene actor (!!-*) positions between slides for animation
• Variety: Create spatial variety between adjacent slides
• Text Width: Use generous widths to prevent text wrapping:
  • Centered titles (64-72pt): 28-30cm width
  • Centered subtitles (28-40pt): 25-28cm width
  • Left-aligned titles: 20-25cm width
  • Body text: 8-12cm (single-column), 16-18cm (double-column)
  • When in doubt, make it wider! See reference/pptx-design.md for details
• Text size rule — 16pt minimum scope: The 16pt minimum applies to ALL text that conveys primary content. Exceptions allowed for: chart axis labels (≤12pt OK), section eyebrow/kicker labels (≤14pt OK if ≤5 words), decoration shapes with no narrative content. Each exception must be intentional — descriptive body text at 13pt is NOT exempt.

Choreography — timing and motion principles:

Understanding how morph animates multiple shapes helps you plan intentional motion:

Multi-shape timing rule:

• All !! shapes in the same morph pair animate simultaneously — there is no way to stagger their start times within a single pair
• If you need shape A to move before shape B, you MUST split the transition into two morph pairs (i.e., add an intermediate slide between them)

Staggered timing pattern (two shapes, offset timing):

Slide 2 → Slide 3:  !!actor-A moves (!!actor-B stays put)
Slide 3 → Slide 4:  !!actor-B moves (!!actor-A stays put or has already exited)

This requires slide 3 as an explicit intermediate keyframe — never try to fake staggering within a single morph pair.

Known CLI behaviors:

• !! prefix auto-added after transition=morph: After running set --prop transition=morph on a slide, the CLI automatically prepends !! to all shape names on that slide (e.g., #s1-title → !!#s1-title). This is expected behavior. morph-helpers.py handles this correctly — its verification logic uses substring matching and is not affected.

  ⚠️ CRITICAL: Name-based path selectors break after transition=morph is set After calling officecli set '/slide[N]' --prop transition=morph, paths like /slide[N]/!!my-shape return 'Element not found'. The CLI auto-prepends !! to shape names when morph is applied, which invalidates name-based lookups.

  Workaround: Always use shape INDEX paths instead of name paths when accessing shapes on morph slides:

  # WRONG (after transition=morph set):
  officecli get deck.pptx '/slide[3]/!!my-circle' --depth 1
  
  # CORRECT:
  officecli get deck.pptx '/slide[3]' --depth 1  # first list all shapes to find index
  officecli get deck.pptx '/slide[3]/shape[2]' --depth 1
  

  The build.py template should use inspect() + index-based access throughout.

  Pattern recommendation: Pre-plan all shape indices in a comment block at the top of your build script before setting morph. This prevents index tracking errors as the slide's shape count grows.

• Shape index tracking: After each batch of shape additions, run officecli get deck.pptx '/slide[N]' --depth 1 to confirm the current slide's shape list and indices. This prevents off-by-one errors when manually computing index values for subsequent ghost/set operations.

Design resources:

• reference/pptx-design.md — Design principles (Canvas, Fonts, Colors, Scene Actors, Page Types, Style References)
• reference/officecli-pptx-min.md — Command syntax
• reference/styles/<name>/ — Visual style examples (optional inspiration, browse by use case in styles/INDEX.md)

Phase 4: Visual Verification + Deliver

Phase 4 视觉验证（REQUIRED — final-check 通过后不可跳过）

4A. morph_final_check.py（CLI 数量验证）

If you used morph-helpers.py, the build script calls helper("verify", ...) and helper("final-check", ...) automatically. Also validate the final structure:

officecli validate <file>.pptx
officecli view <file>.pptx outline

4B. 截图目视验证（必须执行）

final-check 通过不等于视觉正确。 morph_final_check 只验证 #sN- 前缀 shapes 的 ghost 状态（x=36cm 检查），它无法检测：

• !! shapes 在场景切换后仍停留在可视区域（x < 33.87cm）——这类问题会通过 final-check 但产生视觉叠加
• 相邻幻灯片间 scene actor 位置/尺寸未发生变化（动画静止）

必须对每张 slide 截图验证：

# 方案1: officecli view（pptx 有 SVG 预览）
officecli view deck.pptx svg --output-dir screenshots/

# 方案2: LibreOffice PDF → Chrome PNG（更准确）
libreoffice --headless --convert-to pdf deck.pptx
# 然后用 Chrome DevTools MCP 截图每页

逐 slide 检查清单：

• 每张 slide 中，前一节的 !! content shapes 均不可见（x >= 33.87cm 已移出视野）
• 每个场景切换的第一张 slide（新章节起始）：前一节所有 !! shapes 已 ghost
• 最后一个场景的收尾 slide：整洁，无残留前场景内容
• 装饰性 !! shapes（背景圆、角标等）在正确位置

If verification fails, see Troubleshooting section below.

Outputs (3 files):

1. <topic>.pptx
2. Build script (complete, re-runnable — bash/python/powershell/etc.)
3. brief.md — MUST be a standalone file (not embedded inside test-report.md or any other file). Content: slide-by-slide plan, content per slide, morph design decisions, ghost strategy per transition.

Final delivery message requirements:

• Tell the user the deck with polished Morph animations is ready.
• Explicitly recommend opening the generated PPT now to preview the motion effects.
• Use affirmative wording (e.g., "ready now", "open it now to preview the animation quality").

Troubleshooting

If morph_verify_slide or morph_final_check reports issues:

1. Missing transition:

   # Check which slides are missing transition
   officecli get <file>.pptx '/slide[2]' --json | grep transition
   officecli get <file>.pptx '/slide[3]' --json | grep transition
   # Expected: "transition": "morph"
   
   # Fix:
   officecli set <file>.pptx '/slide[2]' --prop transition=morph
   

2. Unghosted content:

   # Find unghosted shapes manually
   import subprocess
   for slide in range(2, 7):
       print(f"Slide {slide}:")
       subprocess.run(["officecli", "get", "<file>.pptx", f"/slide[{slide}]", "--depth", "1"])
   # If you see shapes like "#s1-title" on slide 2 (not at x=36cm), they should be ghosted
   
   # Fix (run in terminal):
   # officecli set <file>.pptx /slide[N]/shape[X] --prop x=36cm
   

3. Visual issues:

   # Open HTML preview to debug layout
   officecli view <file>.pptx html
   

Note: !!scene-* shapes (decoration/background actors) should appear on all slides — that's normal and expected. However, !!actor-* shapes (content actors) MUST be ghosted at section boundaries to prevent ghost accumulation. Only #sN- prefix shapes are checked by morph_final_check; !!actor-* shapes require screenshot verification to confirm they are off-screen after their section ends.

Phase 5: Iterate

Ask user for feedback, support quick adjustments.

References

• reference/decision-rules.md — Planning logic, Pyramid Principle
• reference/pptx-design.md — Design principles (Canvas, Fonts, Colors, Scene Actors, Page Types)
• reference/officecli-pptx-min.md — Tool syntax
• reference/styles/INDEX.md — Visual style examples organized by use case

Adjustments After Creation

When the user requests changes after the deck is built:

Morph caution: Morph transitions rely on matching !!-prefixed shape names across consecutive slides. After swapping or moving slides, verify that morph pairs (same !! name on adjacent slides) are still correctly aligned. Use officecli get deck.pptx '/slide[N]' --depth 1 to check shape names.

First time? Read "Understanding Morph" above, skim one style reference for inspiration, then generate. Always use morph-helpers.py workflow. You'll learn by doing.

Trust yourself. You have vision, design sense, and the ability to iterate. These tools enable you — your creativity makes it excellent.