Deck Structure

Deck Structure is the core of a workflow - it defines which slide categories to include, in what order, and with what specific instructions.

Understanding Deck Structure

A deck structure is an ordered list of required sections, where each section specifies:

• A slide category (e.g., "Text Content", "Quantitative Content")
• Custom instructions for that section
• Whether it can generate multiple slides or just one
• Optionally, a specific template slide to use

The AI follows this structure when generating presentations, ensuring consistency and completeness.

Structure Item Components

1. Category Selection

Each structure item starts with selecting a slide category from your template:

Structural Categories

• Presentation Title - Opening slide
• Table of Contents - Agenda/overview
• Section Divider - Section transitions

Content Categories

• Text Content - Paragraphs, bullets, key points
• Visual Content - Image-focused slides
• Quantitative Content - Charts/tables only
• Mixed Text & Visual - Text + images
• Mixed Text & Quantitative - Text + data

Special Categories

• Contacts - Team, testimonials, contact info
• Closing Content - Summary, thank you, CTA

Important: Only slides matching these categories in your template can be selected by the AI.

2. Custom Instructions

For each structure item, provide specific guidance (max 150 characters):

What to include:

• What specific content this section should cover
• Any data requirements or comparisons needed
• Key messages to emphasize
• Specific focus areas

Examples of good instructions:

• "Q4 revenue vs target by region with YoY growth %"
• "Top 3 customer wins with logos and testimonials"
• "Product roadmap for next 6 months with key milestones"
• "Risk assessment with mitigation plans for each"

Examples of poor instructions:

• "Revenue" (too vague)
• "Show some data" (not specific)
• "Make it look good" (not actionable)
• "" (empty - provide guidance!)

3. Use Only Once

This toggle controls whether the AI can generate multiple slides for this category.

When set to YES (Use Only Once):

• AI generates exactly ONE slide for this category
• Even if there's lots of content
• Use for: Titles, summaries, specific sections

When set to NO (Allow Multiple):

• AI can generate 1-3 slides depending on content richness
• Distributes content across multiple slides
• Use for: Data sections, content sections with variable amounts

Guidance:

• Structural slides → Use only once
• Content slides → Allow multiple
• Data slides → Usually allow multiple
• Executive summaries → Use only once
• Detailed sections → Allow multiple

4. Specific Slide (Optional)

By default, the AI chooses any slide from the specified category. You can override this:

When to specify:

• You have a signature slide for openings/closings
• A specific layout works best for that section
• You want pixel-perfect consistency

How it works:

• Click "Select Specific Slide"
• Choose from slides in that category
• AI uses exactly that slide for the first occurrence
• If "allow multiple" is set, subsequent slides can still vary

Data Connections Section

Below the deck structure, there's a dedicated Data Connections section for connecting data sources to chart and table shapes. This enables automatic data population when users create presentations from this workflow.

Quick Overview

• Left panel: Available data collections from your workspace
• Right panel: Chart and table shapes from quantitative slides in your deck structure
• Drag and drop: Connect a collection to a shape (or vice versa)
• Visual feedback: Green highlights and connection lines show linked items

Automatic Adjustments

When you create a data connection:

• "Use Only Once" is enabled for the structure item
• Specific slide is selected to ensure the right template is used
• Conflicting shapes are grayed out to prevent ambiguous configurations

Why Connect Data?

• Consistent: Same data sources for all presentations from this workflow
• Efficient: Users just enter parameter values (dates, portfolio IDs)
• Reliable: Validation ensures data exists before generation begins

For detailed instructions, examples, and troubleshooting, see Data Connections in Workflows.

Ordering Structure Items

The order of structure items defines the presentation flow.

Common Ordering Patterns

Standard Business Presentation:

1. Title
2. Agenda/TOC
3. Executive Summary
4. Main Content Sections (multiple)
5. Data/Analysis (multiple)
6. Recommendations
7. Next Steps
8. Closing

Sales/Pitch Deck:

1. Title
2. Problem
3. Solution
4. Product Details (multiple)
5. Proof Points (multiple)
6. Pricing
7. Call to Action
8. Closing

Project/Status Update:

1. Title
2. Summary
3. Progress to Date
4. Metrics (multiple)
5. Challenges
6. Next Steps
7. Closing

Ordering Best Practices

Logical flow:

• Start broad, get specific
• Problem before solution
• Data before insights
• Context before details

Grouping:

• Keep related sections together
• Use section dividers between major topics
• Place supporting data after claims

Pacing:

• Alternate between text-heavy and visual slides
• Don't cluster all data slides together
• Break up long content sections

Slide Count Flexibility

One key feature of deck structure is flexibility in slide count:

Example structure:

1. Title (use once) → 1 slide
2. Summary (use once) → 1 slide
3. Content (allow multiple) → 1-3 slides depending on content
4. Data (allow multiple) → 1-3 slides depending on data amount
5. Closing (use once) → 1 slide

Total: 5-11 slides depending on content richness

The AI adapts the slide count to the content while maintaining structure.

Advanced Patterns

The Section-Based Pattern

Use section dividers to separate major topics:

1. Title
2. Section Divider: "Market Analysis"
3. Content slides about market (multiple)
4. Section Divider: "Our Solution"
5. Content slides about solution (multiple)
6. Section Divider: "Implementation"
7. Content slides about implementation (multiple)
8. Closing

The Data-Heavy Pattern

Multiple data sections with context:

1. Title
2. Executive Summary
3. Text: "Revenue Performance Overview"
4. Quantitative: Revenue data (multiple)
5. Text: "Customer Acquisition Overview"
6. Quantitative: Customer data (multiple)
7. Text: "Operational Metrics Overview"
8. Quantitative: Operations data (multiple)
9. Insights & Recommendations
10. Closing

The Narrative Pattern

Story-driven structure:

1. Title
2. The Challenge (text with visual)
3. The Journey (multiple mixed slides)
4. The Transformation (quantitative proof)
5. The Results (quantitative & testimonial)
6. The Future (text content)
7. Closing

Working with Content Amount

The "allow multiple" setting helps adapt to content variability:

Scenario 1: Minimal Content

• Structure allows 3-5 quantitative slides.
• User only provides 1 chart worth of data.
• AI generates 1 quantitative slide.
• Adapts to available content.

Scenario 2: Rich Content

• Structure allows 1-3 text content slides.
• User provides extensive narrative.
• AI generates 3 slides to properly distribute content.
• Avoids cramming everything on one slide.

Scenario 3: Medium Content

• Structure allows 2-4 mixed slides.
• User provides moderate amount.
• AI generates 2 slides.
• Balances completeness with conciseness.

Structure Validation

The system validates your deck structure:

Required:

• At least one structure item.
• Each item must have a category.
• Custom instructions should be provided (though optional).

Warnings:

• Very long structures (>20 items) might be unwieldy.
• All items marked "use once" might be too rigid.
• No title or closing items (recommended but not required).

Editing Existing Structures

You can modify workflow structures at any time:

Adding items:

• Click "Add Section".
• Choose category and configure.
• Position appropriately in the order.

Removing items:

• Click delete icon on any item.
• Confirm removal.

Reordering:

• Drag and drop items.
• Test the new flow with a generation.

Modifying:

• Click on any item to edit.
• Change category, instructions, or settings.
• Save changes.

Common Questions

Q: How many structure items should I have? A: 5-15 items is typical. Fewer for simple presentations, more for comprehensive reviews.

Q: Should I use specific slides or let AI choose? A: Let AI choose unless you have a specific reason for consistency. Allowing choice improves variety.

Q: How do I know if I should allow multiple slides? A: If content amount can vary significantly, allow multiple. If it's always one concept, use once.

Q: Can I have the same category multiple times? A: Yes! You can have multiple "Text Content" items with different instructions for different sections.

Q: What if I want the AI to skip a section if content isn't available? A: Currently, all structure items will generate at least one slide. Mark items "use once" and provide clear instructions to minimize output when content is sparse.

Q: How specific should custom instructions be? A: Specific enough to guide content but not so prescriptive that you're writing the slide. Focus on WHAT, not HOW.

Testing and Iterating

After defining your structure:

1. Generate a test presentation
2. Review the flow:
   • Does the order make sense?
   • Are sections appearing as expected?
   • Is content distributed appropriately?
3. Check slide counts:
   • Are "use once" items generating one slide?
   • Are multi-slide sections creating appropriate amounts?
4. Evaluate instructions:
   • Is the AI interpreting them correctly?
   • Do you need to be more or less specific?
5. Adjust and retest

Next Steps

• Connect data to workflows
• Learn about tone and style settings
• Create presentations with your workflow
• Understand how structure affects AI generation