ufgtex-presentation

UFGTeX-Presentation Template Guide

Repository (latest version): github.com/deuslirio/UFGTeX-Presentation

Starting a new presentation

Never edit presentation.tex directly. It is the reference showcase — always copy it:

cp presentation.tex my-talk.tex

Work in the new file. presentation.tex stays intact as a living reference of all template features.

Questions to ask before authoring a new presentation

Section color strategy — ask the user before writing any mainpoint frame:

"Do you want a single color for all section transitions (more formal/unified) or a different color per section (more dynamic/energetic)?"

• Single color: use the same \setBGColor on every mainpoint. Suits academic, institutional, or technical presentations.
• Per-section color: assign one color from the palette to each section and keep it through all frames of that section. Suits talks, workshops, storytelling-driven content.

Do not assume a default — let the user decide once and apply consistently.

Checklist when generating slides from an article or paper

When the source material references a figure, diagram, chart, or table that is central to the argument:

• Do not reproduce it in text — ask the user to provide the image in figs/
• Suggest: "Figure X from the paper would strengthen this slide — place it in figs/figX.png and I'll add it."
• Use \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{figs/figX.png} inside a 0.45\textwidth column or alone on a blank or vertical slide
• Only skip asking if the content is trivially reproducible as a TikZ diagram or table

Checklist when writing a bio slide

• Place bio as slide 2 — right after \titlepage, before the agenda. Use \setLayout{horizontal} (no section, outside \AtBeginSection scope).
• Check if figs/photo.png exists. If not, warn the user — \profilephoto will render a colored hexagon with initials until the photo is added.
• Ask the user for their initials (first + last letter) to pass as the 3rd arg: \profilephoto[3.2cm]{figs/photo.png}{FL}

Vertical Space Budget

Beamer 16:9 slides have ~96mm total height. After decorations and frametitle, usable vertical space:

Element height estimates (approximate):

Budget check — sum element heights and compare:

Example: 4 bullets (2.0cm) + 2 blocks with 2-line body (3.6cm) + 2×\vspace{0.8em} (0.6cm) = 6.2cm → overflows horizontal (5.5cm), fits vertical (7.0cm).

What happens when content overflows: Layout decorations (sidebar, footer bar) are rendered in the background — overflowing content passes OVER them, not behind. Content that exceeds the slide height is clipped at the frame boundary and simply disappears. There is no scrolling, no wrapping to next slide, no warning.

When content exceeds budget:

1. Split into two slides — never sacrifice readability
2. Shorten bullet text to one line each — wrapping doubles the height cost
3. Reduce block body to 1 line or convert to a bullet
4. Remove \vspace between elements
5. Use a table instead of stacked blocks when comparing items

Always prefer fewer items with more impact over exhaustive lists.

Text Fitting Guidelines

Content must fit within the layout — never let text overflow margins or push elements off-slide. Strategies:

When generating content, prefer short labels — especially inside \stat{}{} and table cells.

Core Constraint

\textwidth in this template ≈ 80% of \paperwidth (left margin 5% + right margin 15%).
Always size content relative to \textwidth, never \paperwidth.

Layout Reference

\setLayout{name} persists to all following frames until changed.

Layout Selection

digraph layout_choice {
    "Type of slide?" [shape=diamond];
    "Title slide" [shape=box, label="titlepage\nframe[noframenumbering]{\\titlepage}"];
    "Section transition" [shape=box, label="mainpoint + setBGColor"];
    "Default content" [shape=box, label="vertical (default)"];
    "Diagram + tight space" [shape=box, label="horizontal (two-column preference)"];
    "Two-column / no sidebar" [shape=box, label="blank + setBGColor (emphasis/color)"];

    "Type of slide?" -> "Title slide" [label="title"];
    "Type of slide?" -> "Section transition" [label="main point"];
    "Type of slide?" -> "Default content" [label="normal content"];
    "Type of slide?" -> "Diagram + tight space" [label="diagram or two columns"];
    "Type of slide?" -> "Two-column / no sidebar" [label="emphasis/highlight (stat, closing)"];
}

Logo Color Rule

White variant → logo on colored/dark surface (sidebar, bottom bar, blank/mainpoint bg, closing slide with setBGColor).
Black or color variant → logo embedded in slide content area with white/light background (e.g. bio slide, acknowledgement on white).

Commands

\setLayout{vertical}            % vertical | horizontal | blank | mainpoint | titlepage
\setBGColor{DarkOrange}         % changes bgcolor (persists)
\setPrimaryColor{UFGBlue}       % preamble only
\setLogos{title.png}{slide.png} % preamble only

Available colors: INFBlue, UFGBlue, DarkGray, LightGray, Ocean, DarkOrange, LightOrange, DarkGreen, LightGreen, LightPurple, DarkPurple, VeryLightGray

Color mixing works: DarkOrange!80!black, UFGBlue!55, UFGBlue!60

Column Patterns

HARD RULE: every frame with \begin{columns} MUST have \setLayout{horizontal} immediately before \begin{frame}.
\AtBeginSection resets to \setLayout{vertical} — you must set horizontal explicitly every time.

% Symmetric comparison
\setLayout{horizontal}
\begin{frame}{Title}
    \begin{columns}
        \column{0.5\textwidth}
        ...
        \column{0.5\textwidth}
        ...
    \end{columns}
\end{frame}

% Asymmetric text + diagram/image
\setLayout{horizontal}
\begin{frame}{Title}
    \begin{columns}
        \column{0.6\textwidth}
        ...
        \column{0.4\textwidth}
        \begin{center}
            \includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth]{figs/figure.png}
        \end{center}
    \end{columns}
\end{frame}

% Bio slide (text + portrait)
\setLayout{horizontal}
\begin{frame}{Who am I}
    \begin{columns}
        \column{0.6\textwidth}
        ...
        \column{0.4\textwidth}
        \begin{center}
            \profilephoto[3.5cm]{figs/photo.png}{FL}
        \end{center}
    \end{columns}
\end{frame}

Width rule: column widths must sum to ≤ \textwidth. Never use \paperwidth as column base.

TikZ Diagrams

Add to preamble: \usetikzlibrary{positioning}

Reusable node styles

% Org-chart / hierarchy
rect/.style={rectangle, rounded corners=5pt, minimum height=0.72cm,
             align=center, font=\small\bfseries, text=white}
arr/.style={->, thick, color=gray!50}
darr/.style={->, thick, dashed, color=UFGBlue!60}   % secondary/implied relation

% Triangle / balance diagrams
vnode/.style={circle, minimum size=1.9cm, align=center,
              font=\scriptsize\bfseries, text=white}

Hierarchy diagram (vertical layout)

\begin{center}
\begin{tikzpicture}[rect/.style={...}, arr/.style={...}]
    % Rows at y = 3.2, 2.2, 1.2, 0.1
    % Safe node width: up to 9.5cm (fits within \textwidth on 16:9)
    \node[rect, fill=DarkOrange, minimum width=9.5cm] (top) at (0, 3.2) {Top Level};
    \node[rect, fill=UFGBlue,    minimum width=4.5cm] (l)   at (-2.6, 2.2) {Left};
    \node[rect, fill=DarkPurple, minimum width=4.5cm] (r)   at (2.6, 2.2) {Right};
    \draw[arr] (top.south) -- ++(0,-0.15) -| (l.north);
    \draw[arr] (top.south) -- ++(0,-0.15) -| (r.north);
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{center}
\vspace{0.2em}
\begin{block}{}  % caption block below diagram
    Explanatory text.
\end{block}

Triangle / balance diagram (column)

\begin{center}
\begin{tikzpicture}[vnode/.style={...}]
    \coordinate (A) at (0,    3.2);
    \coordinate (B) at (-2.4, 0.3);
    \coordinate (C) at ( 2.4, 0.3);
    \draw[thick, gray!35] (A) -- (B) -- (C) -- cycle;
    \node[vnode, fill=UFGBlue]    at (A) {Label A};
    \node[vnode, fill=DarkOrange] at (B) {Label B};
    \node[vnode, fill=DarkGreen]  at (C) {Label C};
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{center}

Height budget in vertical layout

Frametitle + content must fit within ~7.5cm vertical space (16:9 slide minus title area minus sidebar decorations).
A full-width hierarchy diagram with 4 rows fits in ~3.5cm height → leaves ~3cm for a block below.
A diagram in a 0.45\textwidth column can be taller since it sits beside text.

Colors in TikZ

Use template palette directly — colors are defined globally by beamerthemeUfg.sty:

fill=UFGBlue          % primary
fill=DarkOrange       % alert / highlight
fill=DarkPurple       % accent
fill=DarkGreen        % example / positive
fill=DarkGray         % neutral / SRE / infra tier
fill=DarkOrange!80!black   % darker variant
fill=UFGBlue!55            % lighter variant

Block Patterns

Use blocks sparingly. Blocks are for highlights — key takeaways, warnings, recommendations. Regular content (lists, explanations, results) should stay as bullet points without a block wrapper. A slide full of blocks loses visual hierarchy and feels noisy.

Four block types, each with distinct left border color:

examples is for literal examples. Don't use it as a generic green block.

When NOT to use a block: listing results, describing steps, presenting background — use \begin{itemize} instead.

% Untitled block
\begin{block}{}  content  \end{block}

% Stacked blocks — common pattern
\begin{block}{O que funciona}  ...  \end{block}
\vspace{0.8em}
\begin{alertblock}{O risco}  ...  \end{alertblock}
\vspace{0.8em}
\begin{recommendationblock}{Recomendação}  ...  \end{recommendationblock}

% Built-in green example block — title auto-translated, no preamble needed
\begin{examples}
    Content here.
\end{examples}

Blocks inside blank layout render correctly — borders still visible, background adapts.

Stat Display

Big-number metric slide. Use inside columns with \statsep separator columns.

\begin{columns}[c]
    \column{0.3\textwidth}  \stat{73\%}{dos times adotaram IA}
    \column{0.03\textwidth} \statsep
    \column{0.3\textwidth}  \stat{12x}{mais rápido na criação}
    \column{0.03\textwidth} \statsep
    \column{0.3\textwidth}  \stat{3 meses}{tempo médio de adoção}
\end{columns}

Widths: 3×0.30 + 2×0.03 = 0.96 — fits \textwidth. Number renders in PrimaryColor 40pt bold. \statsep draws a 2cm light gray vertical rule, must go in its own thin column.

Quote Block

\quoteblock{A IA redistribui quem pode criar. Isso é real, é positivo, e não tem volta.}{Autor, 2026}

Thick (6pt) PrimaryColor left border, large italic text, attribution right-aligned. Use on vertical or blank layout.

Code Listing

listings is not loaded by default — add to preamble when needed:

\usepackage{listings}

Theme-matching \lstset is configured in beamerthemeUfg.sty (UFGBlue keywords, DarkGreen strings, LightGray comments/line numbers, VeryLightGray background) and activates automatically once listings is loaded.

\begin{lstlisting}[language=Python, caption=Exemplo]
def process(data):
    # apply transformation
    return [transform(x) for x in data]
\end{lstlisting}

language= supports Python, Java, C, C++, JavaScript, SQL, bash, and all listings builtins. Inline: \lstinline|code here|.

Frames with lstlisting need [fragile]:

\begin{frame}[fragile]{Code Example}
    \begin{lstlisting}[language=Python]
    ...
    \end{lstlisting}
\end{frame}

Table Styling

Large or results tables deserve their own slide — no competing content. A table with many rows or columns needs full vertical space and reader attention. If a table shares a slide with blocks or bullets, split it out.

blank layout works well for results tables — removes sidebar/bar decorations and focuses attention on the data. Text color inside tabular is always forced to DarkGray by the theme regardless of layout.

Requires \usepackage{booktabs} and \usepackage{colortbl} (colortbl included by theme).

\begin{table}[]
    \centering
    \caption{\label{tab:id}Caption text}

    \renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.5}   % row height
    \setlength{\tabcolsep}{10pt}        % cell padding

    {\rowcolors{2}{}{LightGray!10}      % alternating rows: odd=white, even=light gray
        \begin{tabular}{ p{3cm}p{3cm}p{3cm} }
            \toprule
            \textbf{Header 1} & \textbf{Header 2} & \textbf{Header 3} \\
            \midrule
            Row 1 & data & data \\
            Row 2 & data & data \\
            \bottomrule
        \end{tabular}
    }
\end{table}

Column width rule: sum of p{...} widths + padding must fit within \textwidth. No fixed total exceeding ~12cm for 16:9 vertical layout. For wide tables:

\resizebox{\textwidth}{!}{
    \begin{tabular}{...}
        ...
    \end{tabular}
}

No vertical lines — cleaner look, consistent with booktabs style.

Auditing an existing .tex file

When reviewing a presentation.tex, scan for these violations in order:

1. Layout × columns mismatch — for every frame containing \begin{columns}, confirm \setLayout{horizontal} is active at that point. Track \setLayout calls sequentially; \AtBeginSection resets to \setLayout{vertical} after each section transition.
2. Column widths — sum all \column{...} widths per frame, must be ≤ 1.0\textwidth.
3. Vertical budget — count items and stacked blocks per frame; apply horizontal limits when layout is horizontal.
4. Block overuse — flag frames where every content element is wrapped in a block. Regular bullets are preferred for lists and descriptions.
5. Verbatim in block — flag any lstlisting or verbatim inside a block environment.
6. \paperwidth references — flag any \paperwidth used for column or image sizing.

Common Mistakes

mainpoint Usage

Automatic (recommended)

Add to preamble:

\AtBeginSection[]{%
    \setLayout{mainpoint}%
    \setBGColor{\currentsectioncolor}%
    \begin{frame}[noframenumbering]{}%
        \frametitle{\insertsectionhead}%
    \end{frame}%
    \setLayout{vertical}%
}

Then use \section with optional color and short TOC title:

\section[DarkPurple]{Section Title}        % color optional — defaults to DarkGray
\section{Another Section}                  % uses DarkGray
\section[UFGBlue][Short]{Long Title}       % color + short TOC title

Compatible with \definecolor custom colors defined in the preamble.

Manual (when \AtBeginSection is not active)

\setLayout{mainpoint}
\setBGColor{DarkPurple}
\begin{frame}{}
    \frametitle{Section Title Here}
\end{frame}
\setLayout{vertical}   % always reset after

\setBGColor persists until changed. Convention: pick one color per section and keep it through all frames of that section — gives visual identity to each section.

titlepage Usage

% Preamble:
\title[Short]{Full Title}
\subtitle{Subtitle}
\author{Name}
\institute[UFG]{ Instituto de Informática\\ Universidade Federal de Goiás }
\date{2026}

% Opening frame:
\frame[noframenumbering]{\titlepage}

% Closing repeat (optional):
\setLayout{titlepage}
\setBGColor{DarkGray}
\titlepage