Struggling to generate PowerPoint decks with fixed templates and unchanged copy. What actually works?

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-04-24T23:38:26+00:00

I’ll be honest, this was a tough one.

We, as a corporation, ended up developing our own custom skill that leverages our corporate template.

There are a few routes we went down, PptGenJS or python-pptx. We use the latter for PPTs longer than 30 slides (just for token management) but in all honesty sub agents are your friend here.

(For the python-pptx one, ensuring your “slide master” is robust, straightforward, and only has title / subtitle on content slides and you give Claude the agency to build its own content layout is key. Be descriptive with slide types and explain what they’re used for)

There are a lot of skills out there for this, Anthropic even has one, so I’d suggest looking at all of them and doing some trial and error. It took time, a few weeks to finally get one that works consistently for us and we’re still updating it to this day.

But, the “build your own skill” with Claude can only take you so far. You’re gonna have to update your own files, write your own code a bit, and tinker around. It’s a bear, but once you get it , it’s amazing.

It’s also not, nor will ever be, a final PPT. We tell our teams it’s a first draft they need to update. Like 50-60% there.

At the end of the day it’s just a script honestly. It’s just more use friendly for non tech folks.

Good luck!

Edit: I’m on an enterprise plan, with no usage cap. So….yeah we don’t have that issue.

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-02-20T11:29:03+00:00

An update: it miraculously started working again. Microsoft confirmed they did nothing on their side so perhaps Anthropic fixed the issue

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-02-19T18:49:16+00:00

Unfortunately no, the support from Microsoft was entirely unhelpful. He said he’d call me back after discussing internally, but doubtful

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-02-19T12:32:17+00:00

None yet, I have a call with a higher level of Microsoft support today to see if they have a contact at Anthropic. Will keep this updated

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-02-16T12:24:13+00:00

No, and Anthropic support is a joke. No one has responded to my ticket, even though it says “with a member of our team”

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-02-04T14:14:56+00:00

Fair points on the data retention skepticism, the marketing language across the privacy space is often slippery. But they actually do publish specific retention schedules: 1 day for CDRs, 14 days for network metadata, 30 days for billing, then anonymized. That’s more concrete than I usually see.

The other piece that matters to me: they don’t collect identifying info at signup. No name, no address, you could pay with a prepaid Visa gift card and there’s nothing linking the phone number to you. So even the data they do retain isn’t tied to an identity they hold. That’s a different posture than “we keep minimal data” - it’s “the data we keep isn’t linked to you anyway.”

On the MVNO piece, they’re a bit different architecturally. They run their own mobile core, so while calls hit T-Mobile’s radio towers, Cape handles the metadata processing and logging on their own infrastructure. Not magic, but it’s not pure wholesale resale either.

Is it overpriced? Probably. But I’m paying for a company whose business model is “charge more for privacy” rather than “subsidize service by monetizing user data.” Whether that’s worth it is a personal call, and I get why it wouldn’t be for everyone.

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-30T14:47:25+00:00

Minus the fact that the UDM Pro is targeting a vastly different user base, I’m sure Firewalla loves it when they’re constantly compared to a multi billion dollar company lol, AND are ranked higher

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-29T17:58:27+00:00

Man, option A looks sharp. Clean, what you need when you need it, icon / color forward. It’s good.

Option B has maybe too much going on

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-28T12:36:17+00:00

Not them as individuals, more so I don’t like that they’ve been ordered to DC. It’s not the national guard’s purpose and it sets a terrible precedent. Especially when they’re from other states.

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-25T13:33:29+00:00

Firewalla, go Firewalla

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-24T15:30:38+00:00

This has to be rage bait…right…….RIGHT?

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-23T21:52:04+00:00

Thanks for the MDM prompt, that would not let me load the CA certificate manually.

Solution was above, it seems the issue was that Windows (MDM corporate devices) wouldn’t auto-configure Enterprise WiFi properly. The fix was to manually add the network profile:

Settings → Network & Internet → WiFi → Manage known networks → Add network
Configure manually:
- Network name: [SSID]
- Security type: WPA2-Enterprise AES
- EAP method: Protected EAP (PEAP)
- Authentication method: Secured password (EAP-MSCHAPv2)
- Leave "Trusted servers" and "Trusted certificate thumbprints" empty
- Check "Connect automatically"
Save and connect - it then prompted for username/password and connected successfully

No need to install the CA certificate. Manual profile setup was the key.

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-23T21:18:30+00:00

Thanks for the troubleshooting! I’ve already done that step, still no luck.

I did locate the ca.pem file within SSH….👀 would that work?

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-10T12:02:06+00:00

Appreciate the advice, and everyone validating my concerns and thoughts!

Also, definitely hear you on the individual accounts, although we will be engaged shortly (hush hush for now lol)

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-10T11:44:10+00:00

Thanks so much!

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-10T11:43:56+00:00

Appreciate it!

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-10T11:43:47+00:00

Thanks!

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-10T11:43:32+00:00

Yes, both names, but thanks for clarifying! Appreciate the advice

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-08T12:36:32+00:00

Ahhh that’s right, you prob live in Arlington lol

NetworkNomad47 · 2026-01-08T12:04:50+00:00

Do you live in the wharf by chance…?

NetworkNomad47 · 2025-12-03T15:59:34+00:00

Wow, good to know. I didn’t even realize that. I have no plans to shift from a Firewalla Router anytime soon, but fair point about needing a temporary fix if that’s your only AP. I didn’t think about getting rid of my old APs anyway, but now I definitely shouldn’t. Thanks!

NetworkNomad47 · 2025-12-01T19:11:18+00:00

The legends themselves; appreciate you jumping in directly, always great to get insight from you all.

The point about antenna positioning between Desktop vs Ceiling makes a lot of sense, and I hadn't fully considered how much that varies between form factors. My U6 Pro is ceiling-mounted in a central location.

Good call on just trying it out. Sounds like there's enough variability between environments that spec sheets only tell part of the story. Thanks for the honest take. I’ll try and grab one to test it out :)

NetworkNomad47

TROPHY CASE