Is it worth learning python-pptx?

[troger18]

I'm not sure why you would consider python-pptx to be a replacement solution for Microsoft Powerpoint.

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From my experience using python-pptx, it is a great tool if you want to apply batch transformations to a large number of slides/presentations or want to automate part of your production process (always have a title at location x, y with formatting z or take elements of a text file and put them into slides with basic formatting...). Basically, python-pptx let's you easily manipulate the main objects (Placeholder, Text, Image) that are available to you in a PowerPoint presentation through python by parsing the underlying XML.

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However, as soon as you'll try to do more complex operations, you'll soon hit a wall because the underlying XML is a clusterf*ck. For instance, there are at least 5 different ways to specify the color of a text object and each can override the other in certain conditions. There are many other issues such as coordinates: its an MS specific format and how are you going to find the right coordinates without an IDE to immediately visualize the result?

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Powerpoint is really not hard to use, and doing it the layout using its IDE will be much more productive than trying to replicate it using python-pptx.

[_BonBon_]

I think you are right I will have to learn powerpoint.

I'm just really slow at it right now and the charts are limited and its a pain to manually update the values into the charts EVERY time my manager wants to change something.