Step 9 · Comment, Mark, Edit

By now the deck's structure holds. What's left is detail: a logo slightly too large, a label that needs rewording, a chart that's cramped, a group of elements sitting a little high.

None of that is worth regenerating a slide for. OpenDesign gives you three tools at three different precisions.

Three tools, three occasions

Tool	Shape of the problem	Typical note
Comment	Attached to a specific element	This logo is too big; this label needs a different word; this chart needs more air
Mark	A visual region — easier to show than describe	This group sits too high; this should align with the title; this header lacks contrast
Edit	You already know the exact change	One word, one type size, one colour

Choosing the wrong tool costs you time. Describing a position in prose ("the bit slightly left of centre, just under the second line") loses badly to circling it.

Comment: pin feedback to the element

Use it when the problem belongs to a specific object. The comment attaches there, so the next agent pass knows which part to touch and doesn't wander into the rest of the slide.

Good for:

• Assets: this should be the horizontal lockup
• Copy: this sentence is too long to say out loud
• Spacing: this chart is too close to the title
• Verification: is this number right

When writing one, saying what you want beats saying what you don't:

• Weak: "this is too big"
• Better: "halve this logo and align it with the one on the right"

Mark: circling beats describing

Use it for layout and position problems. Some faults are obvious on sight and take three sentences to explain. Circle it, add a line, done.

Good for:

• This whole card group sits high, leaving a gap underneath
• This block should align left with the heading above it
• This region lacks contrast and will blur on a projector
• These two slides put the same region in different places

Edit: when you know the answer

When the change is already decided, don't spend an agent pass on it. Select the element, change the text or the style property, save.

Good for:

• Typos
• A more precise word
• One step of type size
• Swapping to a different colour in the brand palette

It's the fastest path in the workflow. In the last half hour before a deck ships, most changes should happen here.

An order that avoids rework

Coarse to fine, one precision per pass:

1. Run Critique first (if your build has it). Five dimensions, scored, producing a Keep / Fix / Quick-wins list.
2. Work the layout problems with Mark. Position, alignment, density — circle them all, then let it fix in one pass.
3. Work element problems with Comment. Assets, copy, details, attached in one round.
4. Close out with Edit. Typos, wording, type sizes, by hand.

Reverse it and you'll redo work: fix the typos, then have one re-layout pass wash them away.

The last pass before you present

Whatever tools you used, run this before it ships:

• [ ] All text is real text and selectable
• [ ] No placeholders left (Lorem ipsum, [TOPIC], "TBD")
• [ ] Every number has a source, and illustrative data is labelled
• [ ] In full screen, the smallest type is legible from the back
• [ ] Each slide's key message is findable in one glance
• [ ] Page numbers or a progress indicator exist (long decks need them)
• [ ] A full run-through on the real machine and the real projector

That last line has no substitute. Colour shifts, dropped frames, and type that's too small only show up in the room.

Where it goes wrong

Trap	How it shows	Fix
Regenerating to fix details	One word changes, the slide is rebuilt, something else breaks	Use Edit
Describing positions in prose	Several rounds and it still hasn't found it	Use Mark
Feedback that only says what's wrong	The fix misses	Say what you want instead
Wrong order	Closed-out details get washed away	Coarse to fine

Next

Step 10 · Presentation flow and export — the last step, and the one you must not do early.