Creating a presentation from a matter
The product calls these Presentations. If you are looking for "decks", this is the screen.
Where presentations live
Apps → Presentations lists the presentations belonging to the matter you are working on, under the line "Generated from the matter file; slide-level editing happens in the confined viewer. Exports are server-authoritative and filed into the document store."
Each row shows the title, where it came from, when it was last exported, and a PPTX filed or PDF filed badge where that copy exists in the matter's documents. A presentation that came in from outside is marked Received; one made here is marked Authored.
File on this computer beside the New button files a presentation you already have into this matter. It files it on this computer — it does not open it in Presentations, and the surface says so.
If the matter is closed to new files, the reason is shown in red and New presentation…, File on this computer and both export buttons are greyed out. Opening still works.
Generating one from a title and an outline
New presentation… opens a panel that first asks Where the presentation comes from: From a title and outline, or From a document.
On From a title and outline:
- Title
- Outline / brief — the text the presentation is built from
- Slides — a number, at least 1; it starts at 8
- Instructions (optional) — how you want it treated
Beneath the form is a confirmation card, Generate this presentation?, restating the Title, the Slides count, what it is built From, and the matter it goes Into. Nothing is generated until you press Generate presentation; while it runs the button reads Generating…. On success the surface says Presentation generated and the list refreshes.
Generating one from a document
On From a document, choose one of the matter's documents and say how many Slides to propose, then press Propose outline. The assistant comes back with a Proposed outline you can edit before anything is built: retitle any slide, move slides up or down, delete one, or Add slide. A slide you added by hand is marked No source passage — this slide was added by hand.
Generate from this outline… raises the confirmation card Generate this presentation from the document?, which states plainly that the contents of that document are sent to the presentation generator. Nothing is sent until you confirm.
Opening a presentation
Open loads it in a confined viewer inside the app, with the note "Confined viewer: this session is bound to this one presentation — other presentations/matters are not reachable from it." Back to presentations returns to the list.
Slide-level editing happens inside that viewer. There is no slide editor in the Terminal itself, and the assistant cannot patch individual slides — it can propose an outline, generate, open and export.
Exporting
Each row offers Export PPTX and Export PDF. The export is produced by the server, not assembled in your browser. You are asked where to save it on this computer; the suggested name is the presentation's title with the matching extension. Once written, the file is attached to this matter, and the surface confirms with **Saved filename on this computer.**
If you dismiss the save dialog, nothing is written and nothing is filed.
After an export the row updates, and the matching PPTX filed or PDF filed badge appears.
When the list is empty, or a read fails
An empty but healthy matter reads No presentations yet, with the line "This matter has no presentations. Use New presentation above to generate the first one from a title and an outline, or from one of the matter's documents."
A failure says what failed and gives the server's own words — for example Could not load this matter's presentations, Could not generate the presentation, Could not open the presentation, or Could not export the presentation as PPTX. Where the failure is worth retrying, a retry is offered on the message. A failure is never shown as an empty list.
If a message keeps coming back, say so in the composer and quote it.
Honest limits
- Presentations are scoped to a matter. Changing the matter you are working on changes which presentations you see.
- Export formats are PPTX and PDF. There is no other format.
- Exporting does not send the presentation anywhere. It writes a file on your computer and attaches it to the matter; sending it to anyone is a separate, deliberate step.
- Generating from a document sends that document's contents to the generator. The confirmation says so before you commit.
- Generating does not verify the result against the matter's evidence. Read it before it leaves your hands, exactly as you would any draft.