Importing PowerPoint Decks

Convert existing PowerPoint and Keynote files into editable .slaide decks, with three fidelity modes and a compare command to check the match.

slaide import turns an existing .pptx or .key into a .slaide deck plus a generated theme. It carries over text, positions, fonts, colors, gradients, images, tables, and backgrounds.

slaide import deck.pptx --out talk/

Add --slaidec to write one bundled file instead of a folder:

slaide import deck.pptx --slaidec        # deck.slaidec, with deck, master, and assets in one

A .slaidec is one compressed file. It is handy for sharing or archiving an imported deck.

Fidelity modes

Pick a mode with --fidelity:

Mode	What you get
`hybrid`	The default on Windows with PowerPoint. An editable deck. Anything Slaide cannot draw faithfully, like charts, SmartArt, or custom art, is rasterized through PowerPoint and placed.
`reconstruct`	Pure and cross-platform. Fully editable. No PowerPoint needed.
`exact-raster`	Each slide is a pixel-perfect PNG from PowerPoint. About 99% match. Good for archiving, not editing.

slaide import deck.pptx --out talk/ --fidelity reconstruct

hybrid and exact-raster are free, but need a signed-in Slaide account and Windows with PowerPoint installed - they drive PowerPoint to reproduce the hard parts exactly. reconstruct needs neither: no PowerPoint, no sign-in, any platform.

Check the import

slaide compare renders the original through PowerPoint and your import through Slaide. Then it reports a per-slide match percentage and SSIM, with side-by-side, overlay, and red-diff views. It is the right way to confirm an import landed.

slaide compare deck.pptx talk/deck.slaide

After importing, tidy the generated theme. Pull repeated colors into palette, alias them to roles, and swap absolute anchor placements for named layouts where you can. The result is a deck you keep editing as plain text.