
Deck Refresh
OfficialFreeEasily update presentation numbers without rebuilding slides.
Free · Opens the source repo
What Deck Refresh does
The Deck Refresh skill is designed to streamline the process of updating numerical values in presentation decks, particularly for financial reports. This skill is particularly useful for professionals who frequently need to refresh their presentations with the latest quarterly earnings, market data, or comparative figures. By automating the update process, it minimizes the risk of human error and ensures that formatting remains consistent throughout the deck.
When using Deck Refresh, the skill operates in two environments: the PowerPoint add-in and chat. In the add-in, users can edit text, table cells, and chart data directly in the live deck. In chat mode, users upload their presentation file, and the skill regenerates affected slides with the new values while preserving the original formatting. This flexibility allows users to choose the method that best fits their workflow.
The updating process follows a structured four-phase approach. First, the skill gathers new data from the user, whether through pasted mappings, uploaded Excel files, or direct input of new figures. Next, it scans the entire presentation to identify all instances of the old values, including variations in format and context. The third phase involves presenting a detailed change plan to the user for approval, ensuring that any derived numbers or second-order effects are flagged for consideration. Finally, the skill executes the updates, making only the necessary changes to preserve the integrity of the original deck.
Deck Refresh is ideal for finance professionals, business analysts, and anyone who regularly presents data-driven content. By automating the tedious task of updating figures, it allows users to focus on the narrative and insights of their presentations rather than the mechanics of editing.
When to use it
Use Deck Refresh when you need to update financial figures or other data in a presentation without altering the overall design or structure.
When not to use it
This skill may not be suitable for presentations that require significant narrative changes or complete redesigns based on new data.
What you can build with it
Quarterly Earnings Update
Use Deck Refresh to quickly update your earnings presentation with the latest quarterly figures, ensuring accuracy and consistency.
Comparative Analysis Refresh
When new market data is available, Deck Refresh can update comparative figures across slides without altering the overall design.
Annual Report Adjustments
As you prepare for an annual report, quickly refresh all numerical data in your presentation to reflect the most current information.
How to install Deck Refresh
View source1. Install with the skills CLI
npx skills add anthropics/financial-services/deck-refresh --agent claude-code2. Or install it manually
Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.
Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs
Inside SKILL.md
Written by anthropicsDeck Refresh
Update numbers across the deck. The deck is the source of truth for formatting; you're only changing values.
Environment check
This skill works in both the PowerPoint add-in and chat. Identify which you're in before starting — the edit mechanism differs, the intent doesn't:
- Add-in — the deck is open live; edit text runs, table cells, and chart data directly.
- Chat — the deck is an uploaded file; edit it by regenerating the affected slides with the new values and writing the result back.
Either way: smallest possible change, existing formatting stays intact.
This is a four-phase process and the third phase is an approval gate. Don't edit until the user has seen the plan.
Phase 1 — Get the data
Use ask_user_question to find out how the new numbers are arriving:
- Pasted mapping — user types or pastes "revenue $485M → $512M, EBITDA $120M → $135M." The clearest case.
- Uploaded Excel — old/new columns, or a fresh output sheet the user wants pulled from. Read it, confirm which column is which before you trust it.
- Just the new values — "Q4 revenue was $512M, margins were 22%." You figure out what each one replaces. Workable, but confirm the mapping before you touch anything — a "$512M" that you map to revenue but the user meant for gross profit is a quiet disaster.
Also ask about derived numbers: if revenue moves, does the user want growth rates and share percentages recalculated, or left alone? Most decks have "+15% YoY" baked in somewhere that's now stale. Whether to touch those is a judgment call the user should make, not you.
Phase 2 — Read everything, find everything
Read every slide. For each old value, find every instance — including the ones that don't look the same:
| Variant | Example |
|---|---|
| Scale | $485M, $0.485B, $485,000,000 |
| Precision | $485M, $485.0M, ~$485M |
| Unit style | $485M, $485MM, $485 million, 485M |
| Embedded | "revenue grew to $485M", "a $485M business", axis labels |
A deck that says $485M on slide 3, 485 on slide 8's chart axis, and $485.0 million in a footnote on slide 15 has three instances of the same number. Find-replace misses two of them. You shouldn't.
Where numbers hide:
- Text boxes (obvious)
- Table cells
- Chart data labels and axis labels
- Chart source data — the numbers driving the bars, not just the labels on them
- Footnotes, source lines, small print
- Speaker notes, if the user cares about those
Build a list: for each old value, every location it appears, the exact text it appears as, and what it'll become. This list is the plan.
Phase 3 — Present the plan, get approval
This is a destructive operation on a deck someone spent time on. Show the full change list before editing a single thing. Format it so it's scannable:
$485M → $512M (Revenue)
Slide 3 — Title box: "Revenue grew to $485M"
Slide 8 — Chart axis label: "485"
Slide 15 — Footnote: "$485.0 million in FY24 revenue"
$120M → $135M (Adj. EBITDA)
Slide 3 — Table cell
Slide 11 — Body text: "$120M of Adj. EBITDA"
FLAGGED — possibly derived, not in your mapping:
Slide 3 — "+15% YoY" (growth rate — stale if base year didn't change?)
Slide 7 — "12% market share" (was this computed from $485M / market size?)
The flagged section matters. You're not just executing a find-replace — you're catching the second-order effects the user would've missed at 11pm. If the mapping says $485M → $512M and slide 3 also has +15% YoY right next to it, that growth rate is probably wrong now. Flag it; don't silently fix it, don't silently leave it.
Use ask_user_question for the approval: proceed as shown, proceed but skip the flagged items, or let them revise the mapping first.
Phase 4 — Execute, preserve, report
For each change, make the smallest edit that accomplishes it. How that happens depends on your environment:
- Add-in — edit the specific run, cell, or chart series directly in the live deck.
- Chat — regenerate the affected slide with the new value in place, preserving every other element exactly as it was, and write it back to the file.
Either way, the standard is the same:
- Text in a shape — change the value, leave font/size/color/bold state exactly as they were. If
$485Mis 14pt navy bold inside a sentence,$512Mis 14pt navy bold inside the same sentence. - Table cell — change the cell, leave the table alone.
- Chart data — update the underlying series values so the bars/lines actually move. Editing just the label without the data leaves a chart that lies.
Don't reformat anything you didn't need to touch. The deck's existing style is correct by definition; you're a surgeon, not a renovator.
After the last edit, report what actually happened:
Updated 11 values across 8 slides.
Changed:
[the list from Phase 3, now past-tense]
Still flagged — did NOT change:
Slide 3 — "+15% YoY" (derived; confirm separately)
Slide 7 — "12% market share"
Run standard visual verification checks on every edited slide. A number that got longer ($485M → $1,205M) might now overflow its text box or push a table column width. Catch it before the user does.
What you're not doing
- Not rebuilding slides — if a slide's narrative no longer makes sense with the new numbers ("margins compressed" but margins went up), flag it, don't rewrite it.
- Not recalculating unless asked — derived numbers are the user's call. Your Phase 1 question covers this.
- Not touching formatting — if the deck uses
$MMand the user's mapping says$M, match the deck, not the mapping. Values change; style stays.
Frequently asked questions about Deck Refresh
Similar skills
Agent-Browser Core
Efficient browser automation for AI agents.
Setup My IQ
Effortlessly create and update your personal context portfolio.
CRM Maintenance
Automate HubSpot updates from your calendar and emails.
Zoom MCP
Streamline access to Zoom meeting assets and recordings.
Slack Automation
Automate tasks and extract data from Slack easily.
SMB Onboard
Guides small business owners through initial tool setup.
