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Beamer (LaTeX)
Encyclopedia
Beamer is a LaTeX
class for creating slides for presentations. It supports both pdfLaTeX and LaTeX
+ dvips
. The name is taken from the German word Beamer, a pseudo-anglicism
for video projector
.
The beamer class is not the first LaTeX class for creating presentations, and like many of its predecessors, it has special syntax for defining 'slides' (known in Beamer as 'frames'). Slides can be built up on-screen in stages as if by revealing text that was previously hidden or covered. This is handled with PDF output by creating successive pages that preserve the layout but add new elements, so that advancing to the next page in the PDF file appears to add something to the displayed page, when in fact it has redrawn the page.
Source code for beamer presentations, like any other LaTeX file, can be created using any text editor, but there is specific support for beamer syntax in AUCTEX
and LyX
.
Beamer supports syntax of other LaTeX presentation packages, including Prosper and Foils, by using compatibility packages.
Beamer provides the ability to make 'handouts', that is a version of the output suitable for printing, without the dynamic features, so that the printed version of a slide shows the final version that will appear during the presentation. For actually putting more than one frame on the paper, pgfpages package is to be used.
An "article" version is also available, rendered on standard sized paper (like A4 or letter), with frame titles used as paragraph titles, no special slide layout/colors, keeping the sectioning. This version is suitable for lecture notes or for having a single source file for an article and the slides for the talk about this article.
Beamer depends on PGF
for some of its features.
LaTeX
LaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...
class for creating slides for presentations. It supports both pdfLaTeX and LaTeX
LaTeX
LaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...
+ dvips
Dvips
dvips is a software program that converts the DVI format output of TeX typography into a printable or otherwise presentable form. dvips was written by Tomas Rokicki to produce printable PostScript files from DVI input, and is now commonly used for general DVI conversion.The TeX typesetting system...
. The name is taken from the German word Beamer, a pseudo-anglicism
Pseudo-Anglicism
Pseudo-anglicisms are words in languages other than English which were borrowed from English but are used in a way native English speakers would not readily recognize or understand. Pseudo-anglicisms often take the form of portmanteau words, combining elements of multiple English words to create a...
for video projector
Video projector
A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signal and projects the corresponding image on a projection screen using a lens system. All video projectors use a very bright light to project the image, and most modern ones can correct any curves, blurriness, and other...
.
The beamer class is not the first LaTeX class for creating presentations, and like many of its predecessors, it has special syntax for defining 'slides' (known in Beamer as 'frames'). Slides can be built up on-screen in stages as if by revealing text that was previously hidden or covered. This is handled with PDF output by creating successive pages that preserve the layout but add new elements, so that advancing to the next page in the PDF file appears to add something to the displayed page, when in fact it has redrawn the page.
Source code for beamer presentations, like any other LaTeX file, can be created using any text editor, but there is specific support for beamer syntax in AUCTEX
AUCTeX
AUCTeX is an extensible package for writing and formatting...
and LyX
LyX
LyX is a document processor following the self-coined "what you see is what you mean" paradigm , as opposed to the WYSIWYG ideas used by word processors...
.
Beamer supports syntax of other LaTeX presentation packages, including Prosper and Foils, by using compatibility packages.
Beamer provides the ability to make 'handouts', that is a version of the output suitable for printing, without the dynamic features, so that the printed version of a slide shows the final version that will appear during the presentation. For actually putting more than one frame on the paper, pgfpages package is to be used.
An "article" version is also available, rendered on standard sized paper (like A4 or letter), with frame titles used as paragraph titles, no special slide layout/colors, keeping the sectioning. This version is suitable for lecture notes or for having a single source file for an article and the slides for the talk about this article.
Beamer depends on PGF
PGF/TikZ
PGF/TikZ is a tandem of languages for producing vector graphics from a geometric/algebraic description. PGF is a lower-level language, while TikZ is a set of higher-level macros that use PGF. The top-level PGF and TikZ commands are invoked as TeX macros, but in contrast with PSTricks, the PGF/TikZ...
for some of its features.
External links
- Beamer home page
- beamerposter – a beamer extension for scientific conference posters in DIN-A0 size or bigger
- Till Tantau, Joseph Wright, Vedran Miletić (2010) User's guide – from www.ctan.org
- Beamer Theme Matrix
- wiki2beamer: Tool to create Beamer presentations from a wiki-like syntax
- Dohmen, Klaus (2010) Dual Screen Presentations with the LaTeX Beamer Class under X – from The PracTeX Journal
- Beamer2Thesis – a beamer extension for presenting a thesis
Tutorials
- Introduction to Beamer – How to make a presentation
- A tutorial with examples on the usage of Beamer Latex class
- Another tutorial
- Beamer by Example from PracTEX Journal, many examples of both TeX source and formatted output
- Introduction to beamer on wikibooks
- A presentation using the LaTeX Beamer class (short guide – samples)