odyssey4me/google-slides

Create and edit Google Slides presentations. Add or delete slides, insert text, shapes, and images. Use when asked to build a deck, create a slideshow, update a Google presentation, or edit slides.

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Google Slides Layouts Guide

Name: odyssey4me/google-slides
Rating: 0.94 (1 reviews)
Author: odyssey4me

This guide covers available slide layouts and when to use them.

Layout Overview

Google Slides provides predefined layouts that automatically position placeholder elements. When you create a slide with a layout, it sets up the structure for content.

Available Layouts

BLANK

Empty slide with no predefined elements.

Use when:

Building custom layouts
Creating diagrams or infographics
Maximum control over element positioning

Example:

python scripts/google-slides.py slides create $PRES_ID --layout BLANK

Typical structure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                     │
│                                     │
│         (Empty canvas)              │
│                                     │
│                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

TITLE

Title slide layout with centered title and subtitle.

Use when:

Creating presentation cover slide
Section dividers
Standalone title slides

Example:

python scripts/google-slides.py slides create $PRES_ID --layout TITLE

# Add title and subtitle
python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "Presentation Title" \
  --x 50 --y 150 --width 620 --height 100

python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "Subtitle or Date" \
  --x 50 --y 280 --width 620 --height 60

Typical structure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                     │
│                                     │
│      [TITLE PLACEHOLDER]            │
│    [SUBTITLE PLACEHOLDER]           │
│                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

TITLE_AND_BODY

Standard content slide with title and body text area.

Use when:

Presenting bulleted lists
Standard content slides
Text-heavy content

Example:

python scripts/google-slides.py slides create $PRES_ID --layout TITLE_AND_BODY

# Add title
python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "Key Points" \
  --x 50 --y 30 --width 620 --height 60

# Add body content
python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "• First point\n• Second point\n• Third point" \
  --x 50 --y 120 --width 620 --height 350

Typical structure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  [TITLE PLACEHOLDER]                │
│                                     │
│  [BODY PLACEHOLDER]                 │
│  • Bullet point                     │
│  • Bullet point                     │
│  • Bullet point                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

TITLE_ONLY

Slide with only a title placeholder.

Use when:

Adding images or charts
Visual content with minimal text
Custom content below title

Example:

python scripts/google-slides.py slides create $PRES_ID --layout TITLE_ONLY

# Add title
python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "Sales Chart" \
  --x 50 --y 30 --width 620 --height 60

# Add chart below
python scripts/google-slides.py images create $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --image-url "https://example.com/chart.png" \
  --x 100 --y 120 --width 520 --height 380

Typical structure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  [TITLE PLACEHOLDER]                │
│                                     │
│                                     │
│       (Empty content area)          │
│                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

SECTION_HEADER

Section divider with large centered title.

Use when:

Marking new sections
Transitioning between topics
Chapter dividers in long presentations

Example:

python scripts/google-slides.py slides create $PRES_ID --layout SECTION_HEADER

python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "Part 2: Analysis" \
  --x 50 --y 200 --width 620 --height 100

Typical structure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                     │
│                                     │
│   [LARGE SECTION TITLE]             │
│                                     │
│                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

SECTION_TITLE_AND_DESCRIPTION

Section divider with title and description.

Use when:

Section intros with context
Chapter summaries
Multi-part transitions

Example:

python scripts/google-slides.py slides create $PRES_ID \
  --layout SECTION_TITLE_AND_DESCRIPTION

python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "Financial Overview" \
  --x 50 --y 150 --width 620 --height 80

python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "Quarterly results and projections" \
  --x 50 --y 260 --width 620 --height 60

Typical structure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                     │
│   [SECTION TITLE]                   │
│   [DESCRIPTION]                     │
│                                     │
│                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

ONE_COLUMN_TEXT

Single column of text, optimized for reading.

Use when:

Long-form text content
Quotes or testimonials
Detailed explanations

Example:

python scripts/google-slides.py slides create $PRES_ID --layout ONE_COLUMN_TEXT

python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "Mission Statement" \
  --x 50 --y 30 --width 620 --height 50

python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "Our mission is to empower teams..." \
  --x 100 --y 100 --width 520 --height 400

Typical structure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  [TITLE]                            │
│                                     │
│    [TEXT COLUMN]                    │
│    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,      │
│    consectetur adipiscing elit.     │
│    Sed do eiusmod tempor...         │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

MAIN_POINT

Large centered text for emphasis.

Use when:

Highlighting key message
Call to action slides
Single important statement

Example:

python scripts/google-slides.py slides create $PRES_ID --layout MAIN_POINT

python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "Revenue Up 45%" \
  --x 100 --y 200 --width 520 --height 150

Typical structure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                     │
│                                     │
│      [LARGE CENTERED TEXT]          │
│                                     │
│                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

BIG_NUMBER

Layout optimized for displaying a large number or metric.

Use when:

Showing statistics
Key performance indicators
Metric highlights

Example:

python scripts/google-slides.py slides create $PRES_ID --layout BIG_NUMBER

# Big number
python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "1,234" \
  --x 200 --y 150 --width 320 --height 150

# Label below
python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "New Customers" \
  --x 200 --y 330 --width 320 --height 60

Typical structure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                     │
│          [BIG NUMBER]               │
│             1,234                   │
│          [Label Text]               │
│                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Layout Positioning Guide

When working with layouts, typical placeholder positions are:

Title placeholders:

Position: (50, 30)
Size: (620, 60-80)

Body placeholders:

Position: (50, 100-120)
Size: (620, 350-400)

Centered content:

Position: (100-200, 150-250)
Size: (320-520, 100-200)

Layout Selection Strategy

For presentations focused on:

Text and bullets → TITLE_AND_BODY

Standard corporate presentations
Meeting notes
Educational content

Visuals and images → TITLE_ONLY or BLANK

Photo presentations
Design portfolios
Chart-heavy decks

Impact and emphasis → MAIN_POINT or BIG_NUMBER

Sales pitches
Metric dashboards
Key message slides

Organization → SECTION_HEADER

Long presentations
Training materials
Multi-topic decks

Custom Layouts

If predefined layouts don't fit your needs, use BLANK and manually position elements:

# Create blank slide
python scripts/google-slides.py slides create $PRES_ID --layout BLANK

# Custom header
python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "Custom Header" \
  --x 30 --y 20 --width 660 --height 40

# Left column
python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "Left content..." \
  --x 30 --y 80 --width 300 --height 430

# Right column
python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID \
  --text "Right content..." \
  --x 360 --y 80 --width 330 --height 430

Layout Modification

You can insert elements on any layout - the layout just provides initial placeholders:

# Start with TITLE_AND_BODY
python scripts/google-slides.py slides create $PRES_ID --layout TITLE_AND_BODY

# Add title
python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID --text "Overview" \
  --x 50 --y 30 --width 620 --height 60

# Add custom shape (not part of layout)
python scripts/google-slides.py shapes create $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID --shape-type STAR_5 \
  --x 600 --y 30 --width 60 --height 60

# Add body text
python scripts/google-slides.py text insert $PRES_ID \
  --slide-id $SLIDE_ID --text "Content..." \
  --x 50 --y 120 --width 620 --height 350

Best Practices

Use consistent layouts - Stick to 2-3 layout types per presentation for visual consistency
Match layout to content - Don't force text-heavy content into MAIN_POINT layout
BLANK for complex slides - When mixing many element types, BLANK gives most control
Section headers for structure - Use SECTION_HEADER every 5-10 slides to mark transitions
Test visibility - Ensure text is readable and elements don't overlap

Troubleshooting Layouts

Text doesn't fit in placeholder

Increase the height or use a different layout:

# Instead of default height (60)
--height 100

Elements overlap

Check positions and sizes:

Standard slide is 720 x 540 points
Leave margins (at least 30-50 points from edges)
Space elements 20+ points apart

Layout looks different than expected

Layouts provide structure but don't auto-populate content. You must explicitly insert text/images into the placeholder areas.

API Reference

For complete layout details:

Install with Tessl CLI

npx tessl i odyssey4me/google-slides@0.1.3

references

scripts

odyssey4me/google-slides

layouts-guide.md.css-3qkkll{font-size:var(--chakra-font-sizes-sm);font-weight:var(--chakra-font-weights-normal);color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-300);}references/

Google Slides Layouts Guide

Layout Overview

Available Layouts

BLANK

TITLE

TITLE_AND_BODY

TITLE_ONLY

SECTION_HEADER

SECTION_TITLE_AND_DESCRIPTION

ONE_COLUMN_TEXT

MAIN_POINT

BIG_NUMBER

Layout Positioning Guide

Layout Selection Strategy

For presentations focused on:

Custom Layouts

Layout Modification

Best Practices

Troubleshooting Layouts

Text doesn't fit in placeholder

Elements overlap

Layout looks different than expected

API Reference

layouts-guide.mdreferences/