Suggested workflow and tips
Why PlutoSlides?
The goal is an interactive Beamer: slides that look like a classic deck, but where you can change the code during the talk and everything that depends on it updates.
| tool | how it works | interactivity during the talk |
|---|---|---|
| LaTeX Beamer, Typst | write, compile, present the PDF | none: static pages (at best a GIF or a video) |
| PowerPoint | write and present the PPT or PDF | animations and edits, but no code |
| Quarto (reveal.js) | write, compile, present the HTML | the code ran at render time; some widgets, but you cannot change and rerun code live |
| Pluto's presentation mode | write and present the notebook (live or HTML) | full, but a plain look: no title/subtitle bands, footer or slide numbers, no pauses, no PDF export |
| PlutoSlides.jl | write and present the notebook (live, HTML or PDF) | full: edit any cell, move a slider, and every slide using it updates; Beamer-like bands, footer and slide numbers, pause, PDF export |
Because Pluto is reactive, a slide can hold a live computation: change a parameter and the figures, numbers and text that depend on it update on every slide, while the deck keeps its Beamer-like layout.
The package started because Pluto's own presentation's mode did not look like a usual Beamer deck, and changing it is not straightforward: it involves layout choices that depend on the screen (see this discussion). There is plenty of room for improvement: issues and PRs are welcome.
Pluto notebooks created for Pluto's presentation mode can be used almost as-is with PlutoSlides.jl. The only requirement is that h1 (#), h2 (##) and h3 (###) titles are in separate markdown cells without any other content and adding slide_mode_button(...), slide_mode_settings(...), title_slide(...) and pause() where you want them. See Style and themes for the style keywords.
Regular Pluto notebooks can also be used with the same requirements with PlutoSlides.jl
Edit the file, watch the notebook
Start Pluto so that it reloads the notebook whenever its .jl file changes on disk:
import PlutoPluto.run(auto_reload_from_file=true)You can then edit either the .jl file in your editor or the notebook in the browser; the other side follows.
Note that this seems to work with SpaceStation but not with Snapshot.jl export.
With a second screen (e.g. at the office):
- Keep the
.jlfile open on the large screen. - Open the notebook, full screen, on the laptop you will present with.
- Edit the file and check the result on the laptop.
The laptop shows exactly what the audience will see.
On the road, just open the notebook on the presentation laptop.
Check on the presentation screen
How much fits on a slide depends on the screen size, the resolution and the browser. There is no way yet to make the rendering identical everywhere, so check the deck on the laptop and in the browser you will present with.
To make everything bigger or smaller, either use the browser zoom (Ctrl + / Ctrl -) or change font_size in slide_mode_settings, which rescales the whole slide (see Style and themes).
In live demo, things often go wrong. Keep a copy of the notebook in .html or/and the export .pdf. Also the original Pluto presentation mode is a good backup, or plain Pluto notebook. You can also use pluto.land to have your static deck online.
Richer layouts
Plain Markdown cells are enough for most slides. To get really nice looking slides with sliders, LaTeX fonts, numbers etc, mix text with live results (numbers, figures, widgets...), interpolate them with @htl from HypertextLiteral.jl or @markdown from MarkdownLiteral.jl:
Do use a lot PlutoTeachingTools.Columns to put figures, result of code and text side by side, or to put multiple figures on the same slide.
Using an LLM assistant
With auto_reload_from_file=true, an LLM coding assistant in your editor can work directly on the notebook file (this is true for any Pluto notebook). It is good at HTML, CSS and Markdown layouts, and can convert existing LaTeX Beamer slides to a Pluto notebook.
It can often also create new cells, with a valid cell id (# ╟─xxxx) that Pluto accepts. If that fails, add the cell in the notebook: it will appear in the .jl file.
Note that using stuff like SpaceStation.jl or the advanced-vscode-extension do provide facilities to edit Pluto notebooks with LLMs.