in reply to PowerPoint, Linux/Win32
For grabbing the file I would use scp (from OpenSSH or
ssh).
I don't know if there is a Perl module for interfacing with it,
though.
As for manipulating the file... well, as others have said, this sounds like a though problem. I know you may be forced to using powerpoint, but here goes another alternative: MagicPoint. I have not used it, but the screenshots look good, and they say their format is text-based, so that would be ideal for manipulation with Perl.
--ZZamboni
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