Layouts & Placeholders

This guide provides a structured approach to creating custom PowerPoint templates compatible with SlideSpeak’s AI-driven presentation generator. Follow these steps for general setup, layout naming, and managing text elements to ensure seamless integration.

You can create custom templates to work with SlideSpeak.

SlideSpeak uses a custom naming system in order to detect which text elements should be filled with your content.

This templating system allows you to specifiy which layout to use and which text elements belongs to a slide headline or the slide content element.

SlideSpeak supports a variety of slide layouts. Here are a few of them:

  • Cover Slide Layout

  • Normal Content Slide Layout

  • 2 Column Layout

  • 3 Column Layout

  • SWOT Analysis Layout

  • 3 Column Big Number Layout

  • ... and much more. For a full list of supported layouts see this section below.

SlideSpeak replies on the PowerPoint Master Layout system in order to create slides with your own templates and layouts.

In order to specify which layout to use you need to re-name the slide layouts in PowerPoint.

Here's how you can do that...

General Setup: Preparing PowerPoint for SlideSpeak Integration

Step 1: Open Slide Master in PowerPoint

  1. Open PowerPoint.

  2. Navigate to View > Slide Master to access and edit layout templates in your presentation. This view allows you to modify each layout for SlideSpeak’s naming requirements.

Step 2: Rename Slide Layouts for SlideSpeak

  1. In Slide Master View, locate the layout you want to rename.

  2. Right-click on the layout, select Rename Layout, and enter the appropriate name following SlideSpeak’s naming conventions (e.g., SS_COVER, SS_CONTENT, SS_BIGNUMBER_3_A). SlideSpeak uses these names to recognize and fill content into the correct layout.

SlideSpeak currently supports the following slide layouts:

# Slide Types Available

SS_COVER
SS_TABLE_OF_CONTENT
SS_CONTENT
SS_ITEMS_1
SS_ITEMS_2
SS_ITEMS_3
...
SS_ITEMS_1-2
SS_ITEMS_1-3
SS_ITEMS_1-4
...
SS_ITEMS_1_NO_IMG
...
SS_STEPS_3
SS_STEPS_3_ICONS
SS_STEPS_4
SS_STEPS_4_ICONS
...
SS_SWOT
...
SS_BIGNUMBER_1_A
SS_BIGNUMBER_1_B
SS_BIGNUMBER_2_A (w Image)
SS_BIGNUMBER_2_B (No Image)
SS_BIGNUMBER_3_A
...

Examples:

SS_STEPS_3_ICONS

Step 3: Assign Names to Text Layers

Besides the layout naming itself, you can also specify which text elements will be filled with content on each slide.

This can be controlled by renaming the actual text elements.

  1. Return to the main PowerPoint view.

  2. Open the Selection Pane by navigating to Arrange > Selection Pane. This displays all layers for each layout.

  3. Rename each layer according to the SlideSpeak placeholder conventions (e.g., SS_TITLE, SS_LOGO, SS_SUBTITLE). Proper naming is essential for SlideSpeak to identify and populate text fields.

You can rename the layers and give it one of the following names. Some of the text layers are layout specific.

SS_TITLE (On the cover slide the title)
SS_LOGO (Logo to be filled in)
SS_SUBTITLE (On the cover slide the subtitle)
SS_IMAGE (Image on the Slide)
SS_PAGE (Page Number)
SS_ICON_1
SS_ICON_2
SS_ICON_3... (Icon image placeholders for all slide layouts containing icons)
SS_ITEM_1_TITLE
SS_ITEM_2_TITLE
SS_ITEM_1_CONTENT
SS_ITEM_2_CONTENT (Title and content of each text element in a multi column layout)
SS_IMAGE
...
SS_PRESENTATION_TITLE (Presentation title to be filled in for example in the footer)

List all layout specific text placeholders here:
SS_ITEM_1_NUMBER (For Big Number Layout, number 1 placeholder)
SS_ITEM_2_TITLE (The title for the big number in big number layout)
SS_ITEM_3_CONTENT (The content of big number layout)

You can download a sample PowerPoint template here to check how you can name the presentation layers and layouts.

Slide Layout Naming Conventions

SlideSpeak identifies slide layouts through specific naming patterns. Ensure that each layout follows one of the names below for integration.

List of Layout Types Supported by SlideSpeak

  1. SS_COVER: Cover slide, typically for the title.

  2. SS_TABLE_OF_CONTENT: Table of contents layout.

  3. SS_CONTENT: Standard content slide.

  4. SS_SWOT: SWOT analysis layout.

  5. Big Number Layouts: Present large numerical data in multiple column variations:

    • SS_BIGNUMBER_1_A / SS_BIGNUMBER_1_B: Single-column big number layout with or without images.

    • SS_BIGNUMBER_2_A / SS_BIGNUMBER_2_B: Two-column big number layout with or without images.

    • SS_BIGNUMBER_3_A: Three-column big number layout.

  6. Multi-Item Layouts: Support varying numbers of items, with customizable image options:

    • SS_ITEMS_3_A / SS_ITEMS_3_B: Three-item layout, with and without images.

    • SS_ITEMS_4_A / SS_ITEMS_4_B: Four-item layout, with and without images.

    • SS_ITEMS_5_A / SS_ITEMS_5_B: Five-item layout, with and without images.

    • SS_ITEMS_6_A / SS_ITEMS_6_B: Six-item layout, with and without images.

  7. Step-Based Layouts: Layouts for processes with icons and/or multiple steps.

    • SS_STEPS_3 / SS_STEPS_3_ICONS: Three-step layout, with optional icons.

    • SS_STEPS_4 / SS_STEPS_4_ICONS: Four-step layout, with optional icons.

    • SS_STEPS_5 / SS_STEPS_5_ICONS: Five-step layout, with optional icons.

Text Element Naming for Content Population

Each layout has specific text placeholders for SlideSpeak to populate. Accurate naming is essential for layout compatibility and seamless data integration.

Common Text Elements Across Layouts

The following text elements are common across layouts:

  • SS_TITLE: Primary title of the slide.

  • SS_SUBTITLE: Secondary title or subtitle.

  • SS_LOGO: Logo placeholder.

  • SS_IMAGE: General image placeholder.

  • SS_PAGE: Page number.

  • SS_PRESENTATION_TITLE: Title for footer or repeated headers.

Layout-Specific Text Elements

Big Number Layout

For slides with large numbers, use these placeholders:

  • SS_ITEM_1_NUMBER: Number or primary data point.

  • SS_ITEM_2_TITLE: Heading associated with the big number.

  • SS_ITEM_3_CONTENT: Detailed description or subcontent.

Multi-Item Layouts (3-6 Items)

For slides that display multiple items or columns:

  • SS_ITEM_1_TITLE, SS_ITEM_2_TITLE, SS_ITEM_3_TITLE: Titles for each item or column.

  • SS_ITEM_1_CONTENT, SS_ITEM_2_CONTENT, SS_ITEM_3_CONTENT: Descriptions for each item or column.

Sample PowerPoint Template

...

If you have multiple files, GitBook makes it easy to import full repositories too — allowing you to keep your GitBook content in sync.

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