Create stunning, professional presentations using LaTeX with the Beamer class. This comprehensive guide covers everything from basic slides to advanced animations, custom themes, and conference-ready presentations.
Quick start: LaTeX Cloud Studio includes Beamer presentation templates. Select “Presentation” when creating a new project to start with a ready-to-use template.Prerequisites: Basic LaTeX knowledge. See Creating Your First Document for LaTeX basics.
\documentclass{beamer}% Theme selection\usetheme{Madrid}\usecolortheme{default}% Packages\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}\usepackage{graphicx}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{hyperref}% Presentation metadata\title{Your Presentation Title}\subtitle{Optional Subtitle}\author{Your Name}\institute{Your Institution}\date{\today}% Logo (optional)\logo{\includegraphics[height=1cm]{logo.png}}\begin{document}% Title slide\frame{\titlepage}% Table of contents\begin{frame}\frametitle{Outline}\tableofcontents\end{frame}% Section 1\section{Introduction}\begin{frame}\frametitle{Introduction}\begin{itemize} \item First point \item Second point \item Third point\end{itemize}\end{frame}% Section 2\section{Main Content}\begin{frame}\frametitle{Key Concepts}\begin{block}{Definition} A block environment for definitions\end{block}\begin{alertblock}{Important} An alert block for warnings\end{alertblock}\begin{exampleblock}{Example} An example block\end{exampleblock}\end{frame}\end{document}
% Professional themes\usetheme{Berlin} % Sections in header\usetheme{Madrid} % Clean and professional\usetheme{AnnArbor} % Section navigation\usetheme{CambridgeUS} % Red accent\usetheme{Warsaw} % Blue with navigation% Minimalist themes\usetheme{default} % Basic, clean\usetheme{Bergen} % Simple sidebar\usetheme{Boadilla} % Minimal decoration% Conference themes\usetheme{Pittsburgh} % Very minimal\usetheme{Rochester} % Simple top bar
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% Color theme options\usecolortheme{default} % Standard colors\usecolortheme{beaver} % Red accent\usecolortheme{beetle} % Blue/gray\usecolortheme{crane} % Orange accent\usecolortheme{dolphin} % Blue theme\usecolortheme{dove} % Grayscale\usecolortheme{fly} % Gray theme\usecolortheme{lily} % Light blue\usecolortheme{orchid} % Purple accent\usecolortheme{rose} % Green accent\usecolortheme{seagull} % Gray/blue\usecolortheme{seahorse} % Purple/pink\usecolortheme{whale} % Dark blue\usecolortheme{wolverine} % Yellow/blue
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% Font customization\usefonttheme{default} % Standard fonts\usefonttheme{serif} % Serif fonts\usefonttheme{structurebold} % Bold structure\usefonttheme{structureitalicserif} % Italic serif\usefonttheme{structuresmallcapsserif} % Small caps% Professional math fonts\usefonttheme{professionalfonts}
\begin{frame}\frametitle{Types of Lists}% Bullet points\begin{itemize} \item First level item \begin{itemize} \item Second level item \begin{itemize} \item Third level item \end{itemize} \end{itemize} \item<2-> Appears on second click \item<3-> Appears on third click\end{itemize}% Numbered lists\begin{enumerate} \item First numbered item \item Second numbered item \begin{enumerate} \item Nested enumeration \item Another nested item \end{enumerate}\end{enumerate}% Description lists\begin{description} \item[Term 1] Description of first term \item[Term 2] Description of second term\end{description}\end{frame}
\begin{frame}\frametitle{Block Environments}% Standard block\begin{block}{Standard Block Title} Used for definitions, theorems, or general content that needs emphasis.\end{block}% Alert block\begin{alertblock}{Warning or Important Information} Use this for critical information, warnings, or important notes.\end{alertblock}% Example block\begin{exampleblock}{Example or Case Study} Perfect for examples, case studies, or practical applications.\end{exampleblock}% Custom theorem environment\begin{theorem}[Pythagorean Theorem] For a right triangle: $a^2 + b^2 = c^2$\end{theorem}% Highlighted text\alert{This text is highlighted}\structure{This text uses structure color}\end{frame}
\begin{frame}\frametitle{Overlay Basics}% Simple overlays\begin{itemize} \item<1-> Visible from slide 1 onward \item<2-> Visible from slide 2 onward \item<3-> Visible from slide 3 onward \item<2-3> Visible only on slides 2 and 3 \item<4> Visible only on slide 4\end{itemize}% Using \only, \uncover, \visible\only<1>{This text appears only on slide 1}\uncover<2->{This text is uncovered from slide 2}\visible<3->{This text is visible from slide 3}% Alert on specific slides\alert<2>{This text is highlighted on slide 2}% Dynamic content\only<1>{\includegraphics[width=5cm]{img1.png}}\only<2>{\includegraphics[width=5cm]{img2.png}}\only<3>{\includegraphics[width=5cm]{img3.png}}\end{frame}
\begin{frame}\frametitle{Progressive Reveal}% Incremental reveals\begin{itemize}[<+->] \item First item (appears on click 1) \item Second item (appears on click 2) \item Third item (appears on click 3)\end{itemize}% Replacing content\only<1>{ \begin{block}{Step 1} Initial state of the system \end{block}}\only<2>{ \begin{block}{Step 2} Intermediate transformation \end{block}}\only<3>{ \begin{block}{Step 3} Final result \end{block}}% Highlighting changes\begin{equation} f(x) = \alert<2>{a}x^2 + \alert<3>{b}x + \alert<4>{c}\end{equation}\begin{itemize} \item<2> \alert<2>{$a$} controls the curvature \item<3> \alert<3>{$b$} affects the slope \item<4> \alert<4>{$c$} sets the y-intercept\end{itemize}\end{frame}
\begin{frame}\frametitle{Mathematical Equations}% Simple equation\begin{equation} E = mc^2\end{equation}% Aligned equations with overlays\begin{align} f(x) &= ax^2 + bx + c \\ \uncover<2->{f'(x) &= 2ax + b} \\ \uncover<3->{f''(x) &= 2a}\end{align}% Highlighting parts\begin{equation} \sum_{i=1}^{n} \alert<2>{x_i^2} = \uncover<3->{\frac{n(n+1)(2n+1)}{6}}\end{equation}% Theorem with proof\begin{theorem}[Fundamental Theorem of Calculus] If $f$ is continuous on $[a,b]$, then \[\int_a^b f(x)\,dx = F(b) - F(a)\] where $F'(x) = f(x)$.\end{theorem}\begin{proof}<2-> By the mean value theorem...\end{proof}\end{frame}
% In preamble for handout mode\documentclass[handout]{beamer}% This removes all overlays and animations% Speaker notes\begin{frame}\frametitle{Main Slide Content}\begin{itemize} \item Point 1 \item Point 2 \item Point 3\end{itemize}\note{ % These notes appear in presenter mode \begin{itemize} \item Expand on point 1 \item Remember to mention example \item Time check: 5 minutes \end{itemize}}\end{frame}% Notes on separate slide\begin{frame}\frametitle{Complex Topic}Content for audience...\end{frame}\note{\begin{itemize} \item Detailed explanation for speaker \item Key points to emphasize \item Possible questions from audience\end{itemize}}
% Multiple slides per page\usepackage{pgfpages}% 2 slides per page\pgfpagesuselayout{2 on 1}[a4paper,border shrink=5mm]% 4 slides per page\pgfpagesuselayout{4 on 1}[a4paper,border shrink=5mm,landscape]% With notes on the side\setbeameroption{show notes on second screen=right}
% In preamble\usepackage[backend=biber,style=authoryear]{biblatex}\addbibresource{references.bib}\begin{frame}\frametitle{Literature Review}Key findings from \textcite{smith2023} show that...\begin{itemize} \item Result 1 \parencite{jones2022} \item Result 2 \parencite{brown2023}\end{itemize}\vfill\tiny\printbibliography[heading=none]\end{frame}% Or traditional approach\begin{frame}[allowframebreaks]\frametitle{References}\bibliographystyle{apalike}\bibliography{references}\end{frame}
Use high contrast (dark on light or light on dark)
Limit to 3-4 colors maximum
Test on projector (colors may appear different)
Consider colorblind-friendly palettes
Professional Color Schemes:
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% Blue theme\definecolor{mainblue}{RGB}{0,51,102}\definecolor{lightblue}{RGB}{204,229,255}% Green theme \definecolor{maingreen}{RGB}{0,102,51}\definecolor{lightgreen}{RGB}{229,255,204}
% Compile faster during development\includeonlyframes{current} % Tag frames with label={current}% Reduce file size\pdfcompresslevel=9\pdfobjcompresslevel=3% Optimize images% Convert images to PDF beforehand% Use appropriate resolution (150-300 dpi for projection)% Disable navigation symbols for cleaner look\setbeamertemplate{navigation symbols}{}% Preload frequently used images\pgfdeclareimage[height=1cm]{logo}{university-logo}\logo{\pgfuseimage{logo}}
\documentclass[aspectratio=169]{beamer}% Use aspectratio=43 for 4:3 displays% Packages\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}\usepackage{lmodern}\usepackage{amsmath,amssymb,amsthm}\usepackage{graphicx}\usepackage{tikz}\usepackage{booktabs}\usepackage[backend=biber,style=authoryear-comp]{biblatex}\addbibresource{references.bib}% Theme\usetheme{Madrid}\usecolortheme{seahorse}\usefonttheme{professionalfonts}% Custom colors\definecolor{myblue}{RGB}{0,102,204}\definecolor{myred}{RGB}{204,0,0}\definecolor{mygreen}{RGB}{0,153,0}% Settings\setbeamertemplate{navigation symbols}{}\setbeamertemplate{footline}[frame number]\setbeamersize{text margin left=1em,text margin right=1em}% Metadata\title[Short Title]{Full Conference Presentation Title}\subtitle{Conference Name 2024}\author[A. Author]{Alice Author\inst{1} \and Bob Coauthor\inst{2}}\institute[Inst.]{ \inst{1}Department of Computer Science\\ University Name \and \inst{2}Research Institute\\ Another University}\date{\today}\AtBeginSection[]{ \begin{frame} \vfill \centering \begin{beamercolorbox}[sep=8pt,center,shadow=true,rounded=true]{title} \usebeamerfont{title}\insertsectionhead\par \end{beamercolorbox} \vfill \end{frame}}\begin{document}% Title page\frame{\titlepage}% Outline\begin{frame}\frametitle{Outline}\tableofcontents\end{frame}% Section 1: Introduction\section{Introduction}\begin{frame}\frametitle{Motivation}\begin{columns}\begin{column}{0.6\textwidth} \begin{itemize} \item<1-> Current challenges in the field \item<2-> Limitations of existing approaches \item<3-> Our novel contribution \end{itemize} \vspace{1em} \uncover<4->{ \begin{block}{Research Question} How can we improve performance while maintaining efficiency? \end{block} }\end{column}\begin{column}{0.4\textwidth} \begin{center} \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{problem-diagram.png} \end{center}\end{column}\end{columns}\end{frame}% Continue with more sections...\end{document}
\begin{frame}\frametitle{Advanced Overlay Techniques}% Conditional content based on slide number\alt<2>{% \textcolor{red}{This appears in red on slide 2}%}{% \textcolor{blue}{This appears in blue on other slides}%}% Temporal specifications\temporal<3>{Before}{On slide 3}{After}% Complex overlay with multiple conditions\begin{itemize} \item<1-> Always visible \item<2-4> Visible on slides 2-4 \item<3,5> Visible on slides 3 and 5 only \item<-3,5-> Visible on slides 1-3 and from 5 onward\end{itemize}% Overlay-aware environments\begin{onlyenv}<2-4> \begin{block}{Temporary Block} This entire block only exists on slides 2-4 \end{block}\end{onlyenv}\end{frame}
% Provide alternative text\pdfcompresslevel=9\usepackage{accsupp}\newcommand{\AltText}[2]{% \BeginAccSupp{Alt={#2}}#1\EndAccSupp{}%}% Use in presentation\begin{frame}\frametitle{Data Visualization}\AltText{ \includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{chart.png}}{Bar chart showing 40% increase in performance from 2022 to 2023}\end{frame}% Ensure reading order\setbeamertemplate{navigation symbols}{}\usepackage{bookmark}\bookmarksetup{open,numbered}
Pro tip: Start with a simple theme and gradually add complexity. Focus on content first, then enhance with animations and graphics. Remember: the best presentations support your talk, not overshadow it.
Ready to create your presentation? Check out our presentation templates or start with the basic template above!