Electronic Presentations Using pdfLaTeX

Write the talk

Write. For a basic talk with no buttons and no frills, use this template: talk.tex.
The template produces: talk.pdf.

You'll also need to place the following style/format files in your working directory or somewhere in your path:
mybg.jpg
project.cls
slide.clo
upmath.sty

Graphics should be jpg, png, or pdf. The sample graphic for the template was produced in xfig and stored as jpg. The xfig format file is figure.fig and the jpg version is figure.jpg. Sometimes png or pdf graphics will be less grainy than jpg graphics.

To convert postscript or other formats to forms readable by pdflatex, use the convert command. To fix resolution, you may want the -density option, which can be used to specify 300 dpi, for example.

If graphics need to be clipped to size, xv can be used to delineate a specific region.

Run pdflatex

pdflatex filename

Display the talk

acroread filename.pdf
Use ctrl-L to toggle between small format and full screen.
Use return, up arrow, and down arrow to move through the file.
example: env_writers.pdf
example: December 2005 example

Why do this?

Here are some reasons why you might produce a talk with pdflatex rather than using popular proprietary software:

In order to prepare a talk on a unix/linux system without having to transfer files to a different operating system.
In order to avoid purchasing and/or troubleshooting proprietary electronic presentation software or emulators of proprietary presentation software.
In order to create a document with fixed fonts that will not reformat itself when it is transferred between different operating systems (e.g. Mac to PC).

Sarah Gille, 2002, 2003