Utilizing ChatGPT as an assistant for generating text, such as writing emails, is well recognized. While it’s clear that ChatGPT cannot cook dinner, you may wonder if it can assist with generating materials beyond just text. In this article, you’ll discover another application of ChatGPT using an intermediate language—specifically, VBA for PowerPoint. You will learn:
- How to create a slide deck outline using ChatGPT.
- How to convert that outline into an actual PowerPoint presentation.
Let’s get started!
Overview
This post is structured into three main sections:
- Outline of a Pitching Deck
- Running VBA to Obtain the PowerPoint File
- Generating Other File Formats
Outline of a Pitching Deck
Imagine you need to persuade a software development team to transition from Java to Python. You recognize that Python’s robust ecosystem, community support, and available resources make it a compelling choice. However, crafting a coherent pitch requires careful consideration.
You can leverage ChatGPT to help formulate this pitch. Your prompt should include:
- Persona: Require ChatGPT to act as an expert.
- Goal: Obtain an outline suitable for a slide deck.
- Details: Focus the narrative on how Python surpasses Java, particularly in applications like REST API systems.
Here’s a sample prompt you could use:
“You are an expert in Python programming and system development. Create an outline for a slide deck to persuade a Java veteran about the advantages of the Python ecosystem. Emphasize Python’s ease of use, development, and maintenance, particularly highlighting its support for scalable systems with REST API capabilities.”
Expect ChatGPT to generate an outline similar to this:
Slide Deck: Pitching the Python Ecosystem to a Java Veteran
- Slide 1: Introduction
- Welcome and introductions
- Target audience: Java veterans
- Objective: Present how Python can serve as an alternative to Java while offering added benefits in usability, development, and system scalability.
- Slide 2: Overview of Python
- Introduction to Python as a high-level programming language
- Popularity and extensive ecosystem of Python
- Slide 3: Ease of Use
- Simplicity and readability compared to Java
- Concise syntax and reduced boilerplate code
- Slide 4: Ease of Development
- Rapid prototyping and shorter development cycles
- Abundant libraries and packages available
- Strong community support and documentation
- Slide 5: Ease of Maintenance
- Focus on code readability and maintainability
- Clean code structure and automated testing frameworks
- Slide 6: Scalable Systems
- Python’s capabilities in building scalable systems with REST API support
- Overview of frameworks like Django and Flask
- Slide 7: REST API Support
- Libraries available for REST API development
- Introduction to Flask-RESTful and Django REST framework
- Slide 8: Case Studies
- Examples of organizations successfully using Python
- Demonstration of Python’s scalability in action
- Slide 9: Migration from Java to Python
- Discussion on strategies for migrating Java code to Python
- Common challenges and solutions along with helpful tools
- Slide 10: Conclusion
- Recap of Python’s advantages over Java
- Encouragement to explore Python’s ecosystem
- Slide 11: Questions and Discussion
- Open floor for audience questions
- Slide 12: Thank You
- Express gratitude and provide contact information for follow-up inquiries
Once satisfied with the outline, you can request ChatGPT to generate the VBA code necessary to create the PowerPoint slides.
Running VBA to Obtain the PowerPoint File
VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) allows you to automate PowerPoint. Here’s how to use it:
- Open PowerPoint and create a new presentation.
- Navigate to the “Tools” menu, click on the “Macro” submenu, and select “Visual Basic Editor.” Launching Visual Basic Editor
- In the VBAProject window, right-click and select “Insert”, then choose “Module.” Inserting a New Module
- Copy and paste the generated VBA code from ChatGPT into the module window: Pasting the VBA Code
- Click the “Run” button on the toolbar to execute the code.
Executing this code will generate a PowerPoint presentation populated with the content you specified. You can discard the initial, empty presentation and focus on refining the newly created slides.
Generating Other File Formats
The process outlined above demonstrates a general workflow for creating various file formats using ChatGPT.
- Determine the programming or markup language that applies to the desired file type. For instance, if working with Google Slides, you would use the Google Slides API.
- Clearly define the content to include in the files, as you did with the PowerPoint presentation. This clarity aids ChatGPT in generating the necessary content.
- Once all content is ready, prompt ChatGPT to generate the appropriate code that will create the final output. For example, with PDF creation, you could ask for LaTeX code, which would then need to be compiled using a LaTeX editor.
Summary
In this article, you learned how to create a PowerPoint presentation using ChatGPT. Specifically, you covered:
- How to obtain an outline for your presentation through ChatGPT.
- How to translate that outline into VBA code that constructs the presentation.
- How to run this VBA code to produce the final PowerPoint file.
This approach streamlines creating presentations, providing a solid foundation for further customization and refinement.