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</texcode>
== Refining the Presentation ==
OK, this is not too impressive yet. The first thing you will want to do is
adapt the font size. With a paper size of S6, I find a font size of 20pt about
right:
<texcode>
\switchtobodyfont[modern,20pt]
</texcode>
This looks better.
=== Colors ===
Next up: colors. Now I'm aware that the use of colors is an immensely personal
choice -- I've seen people present their slides with a dark gray font on a
light gray background, and they seemed very proud of their design. Others use
psychedelic colors that can induce serious sickness. So let's go for a rather
conservative combination of colors. Something I find very readable even in
rooms where the lighting is a bit problematic is a white typeface on a blue
background. So let's add this. Our document will now look like this:
<texcode>
\setuppapersize[S6][S6]
\setuppagenumbering[state=stop]
\switchtobodyfont[modern,20pt]
\setupcolors[state=start]
\setupbackgrounds[page][background=color,backgroundcolor=darkblue]
\startcolor[white]
\starttext
Here's my first presentation in \CONTEXT!
Isn't it amazing?
\stoptext
</texcode>
This will give you something to start from. You can now go and build a
presentation with this design: make every slide a new page, use all the ConTeXt
features (such as lists, itemize, tables, math, chemical formulae, etc.) you
want.
=== Adding fancier effects ===
Now when you look at your slides, you will certainly feel that there's room for
improvement. There's only a few things I can mention here; for the rest, have a
look at the predefined styles to get some ideas.
First, the background. Something I find very attractive is a background that
has different shades, beginning in a very dark blue at the top and ending in a
noticeably lighter blue at the bottom. Metafun can easily produce such shaded
backgrounds:
<texcode>
\definecolor[a][r=0,g=0,b=1]
\definecolor[b][r=0,g=0,b=0.05]
\startuniqueMPgraphic{LinearShade}
path p ;
p := unitsquare xscaled \overlaywidth yscaled \overlayheight ;
linear_shade(p,6,\MPcolor{a},\MPcolor{b}) ;
\stopuniqueMPgraphic
\defineoverlay[shaded][\useMPgraphic{LinearShade}]
\setupbackgrounds[page][background={shaded}]
</texcode>
What we have done: defined two colors; a is a very light, b a very dark blue.
We let metafun calculate an interpolation between both colors. Try other values
for the colors and be amazed! You can also try to set "p,6" to other values
such as "p,0" or "p,4."
=== Adding a Footer ===
Next, the bottom of our slides. If the audience is apt to forget your name, the
title of your talk, and the date, you could include this vital information in
the footer of the page.
<texcode>
\setupfootertexts[{\color[white]\tfxx \midaligned{\rlap{\currentdate} \hfill TITLE HERE\hfill \llap{YOUR NAME HERE}}}]
</texcode>
Don't forget to put
<texcode>
\setupfooter[state=start]
</texcode>
into your document where you want the footer to appear first (probably not on
the title of your presentation...).
=== Adding a Progress Meter ===
If your audience is able to remember these details, but you suspect they may
be yearning for the end of your presentation, you may want to include a
"progress meter" that highlights how many slides they have seen and how many
more they will have to stand. Put this in your preamble:
<texcode>
\definecolor [InteractionColor] [s=.2]
\definecolor [ContrastColor] [s=.5]
\setupinteraction
[page=yes,
color=InteractionColor,
contrastcolor=ContrastColor,
menu=on,
state=start]
\setupsubpagenumber
[way=bytext,
state=start]
\setuplayout[bottomspace=.8cm,
bottom=12pt]
\startinteractionmenu[bottom]
{\interactionbar[alternative=f,width=\makeupwidth,height=1ex]}
</texcode>
Again, don't forget to put
<texcode>
\setupinteractionmenu[state=start]
</texcode>
into your text.
Finally, a few things about the placement of pictures. This can be done with
the [[cmd:framed|\framed]] command. You probably have to try and adjust
different parameters to get exactly what you need, but here's something that
worked for me:
=== Adding Pictures ===
In the case of wide pictures, it's fairly easy. You will want them midaligned,
and you'll want them to fill as much space of the area between your title and
the footer as possible:
<texcode>
\midaligned{\externalfigure[NAME][height=.75\textheight]} %Adjust!
\vfill
</texcode>
I found it more difficult to have longish narrow pictures: in that case, I
don't want a title above the picture, but I want it to fill all the vertical
space between the top margin and the footer. I want the text accompanying the
picture opposite it, centered horizontally and vertically. This can be done
with a [[cmd:startcombination|combination]]:
<texcode>
\setupcombinations[distance=0pt]
\setupframed[frame=off,height=.9\textheight,width=.5\textwidth,top=\vss,bottom=\vss,align=middle]
\startcombination
\framed{\externalfigure[NAME][width=.5\textwidth]}{} %watch the pair of empty braces,
\framed{YOUR TEXT GOES HERE}{} % it's essential
\stopcombination
</texcode>
== Additional modules ==
