> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.make-pretty.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Writing good prompts

> Say the content and let Pretty pick the layout. How to scope a request, name your source, and set constraints.

Pretty is good at layout and typography. It is not good at guessing what you meant. So spend your
words on the content, the source and the constraints, and leave the arrangement to it.

## Four habits

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Say the content, not the layout" icon="align-left">
    "Three columns, 24pt headings, icon on top" is a design brief you now have to maintain. Give
    Pretty the substance (the three tiers, the numbers, the takeaway) and it will pick a layout
    that fits your master. Correct the layout afterwards if you disagree; that is one sentence.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="One slide per request when precision matters" icon="crop">
    A single-slide ask keeps the whole turn about one slide, so Pretty can snapshot it, review it
    and fix it. Multi-slide asks are fine for a first draft, but the attention per slide is
    thinner. Build the deck broad, then refine slide by slide.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Name the source" icon="file-lines">
    "Use the attached transcript", "pull the figures from `q3-actuals.csv`", "research this on the
    web". Without a named source Pretty will choose one for you, and the difference between
    reading your file and searching the web is the difference between right and plausible.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="State the constraints you care about" icon="ruler">
    Colours, column counts, tone, length, what must stay on one line, what must not change. These
    are cheap to say and expensive to fix later.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Prompts that work

A market-sizing slide, grounded in a file you attached:

```text theme={null}
Build a market sizing slide from the attached research PDF. Three
nested boxes for TAM, SAM and SOM with the euro figures and a one-line
definition under each. Add a Sources footer.
```

Why it works: one slide, one named source, the exact figures identified, and it says what the
footer should be rather than hoping for one.

Editing what is already on the slide, with the shapes selected first:

```text theme={null}
Tighten these three bullets to under twelve words each and keep the
verbs. Do not change the heading or move anything.
```

Why it works: the selection badge scopes it to those shapes, the limit is a number rather than
"shorter", and the last sentence protects everything you did not mention.

A chart from numbers you paste in:

```text theme={null}
Column chart of revenue by quarter: Q1 4.2, Q2 5.1, Q3 4.8, Q4 6.9,
all in millions of euros. Highlight Q4 in the accent colour, grey for
the rest. Title it with the takeaway, not "Revenue by quarter".
```

Why it works: the data is unambiguous, the emphasis is explicit, and asking for a takeaway title
gets you a sentence instead of a label.

A first draft of several slides:

```text theme={null}
Draft a five slide update for the board: where we are against plan,
the two things that slipped, the hiring position, cash runway, and
what we need a decision on. Keep it text-led, no stock imagery.
```

Why it works: it names each slide, so the plan Pretty builds matches the deck you had in mind,
and the last clause rules out a whole category of output you did not want.

## When Pretty asks you something back

If your request has a fork in it that changes the whole slide, Pretty stops and asks rather than
guessing. The row is labelled **Asking you**, and a card appears above the composer with your
question, two to four options, and an **Other** box for a free-text answer.

Pretty pre-selects its recommendation. Pick it or override it; the turn resumes from your answer.

<Tip>
  Getting asked a lot is a signal your prompts are underspecified. The answers you keep typing
  into **Other** are usually the constraint that belonged in the original message.
</Tip>

## Multi-slide asks and the plan

When one request spans more than one slide, Pretty opens a visible task plan first. The step row
reads **Planning steps**. There is one task per slide, named for what that slide needs, and
statuses move through *pending*, *in progress* and *completed* as it works. A task can also end
*cancelled* if the plan changes mid-run.

Watch the plan. It is the earliest point where you can see Pretty misread your brief. If slide
three is described wrongly in the plan, say so straight away rather than waiting for it to be
built.

<Note>
  Single-slide work does not get a plan, even when it takes many steps. The discovery, the change
  and the check all belong to the one slide.
</Note>