UFGTeX-Presentation

Imported from deuslirio/UFGTeX-Presentation (AGENTS.md). Install upstream with npx skills add deuslirio/UFGTeX-Presentation. Copyright stays with the author.

UFGTeX-Presentation — AI Guide

Template guide for AI assistants (Claude, Copilot, Cursor, Gemini, etc.). Reference this file when writing or editing slides for this Beamer template.

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: same \setBGColor on every mainpoint. Suits academic, institutional, technical presentations.
• Per-section color: one color per section, kept 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 writing a bio slide

• Place bio as slide 2 — right after \titlepage, before the agenda. Use \setLayout{horizontal} (outside any section scope).
• Check if figs/photo.png exists. If not, warn the user — \profilephoto renders a hexagon with initials until the photo is added.
• Ask the user for their initials 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:

Hard limits per frame:

When content exceeds budget: split into two slides, shorten bullet text to one line, or replace stacked blocks with a table.

Text Fitting Guidelines

Content must fit within the layout — never let text overflow margins. Strategies:

Prefer short labels — especially inside \stat{}{} and table cells.

Core Constraint

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

Layouts

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

Layout selection

Type of slide?
├── title              → titlepage  (\frame[noframenumbering]{\titlepage})
├── section transition → mainpoint + \setBGColor{}
├── normal content     → vertical (default)
├── two columns / diagram beside text → horizontal
└── emphasis / color (stat, closing)  → blank + \setBGColor{}

• mainpoint → section transition only — body content is silently ignored

Logo Color Rule

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

Commands

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

Color Palette

Color mixing works: UFGBlue!60, DarkOrange!80!black.
Custom colors: \definecolor{MyColor}{RGB}{r,g,b} in preamble — compatible with all commands.

Section Slides

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

\setBGColor persists through all frames of a section. Convention: pick one color per section for visual identity; change only on the next \section.

Manual

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

Block Patterns

Use blocks sparingly. Blocks are for highlights — key takeaways, warnings, recommendations. Regular content (lists, results, steps) stays as bullet points. A slide full of blocks loses hierarchy and feels noisy.

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
\begin{block}{What works}  ...  \end{block}
\vspace{0.8em}
\begin{alertblock}{The risk}  ...  \end{alertblock}
\vspace{0.8em}
\begin{recommendationblock}{Recommendation}  ...  \end{recommendationblock}

Blocks inside blank layout render correctly — body text color is always DarkGray regardless of white config.

Column Patterns

Every frame with \begin{columns} MUST have \setLayout{horizontal} immediately before \begin{frame}. \AtBeginSection resets to \setLayout{vertical} — 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 + 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
\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 ≤ \textwidth. Never use \paperwidth as base.

\profilephoto

\profilephoto[3.5cm]{figs/photo.png}{FL}

• 3rd arg = initials shown when file is missing (e.g. FL for "First Last").
• File exists → image clipped to hexagon with PrimaryColor border.
• File missing → PrimaryColor hexagon with white initials (intentional placeholder).
• Convention: always use figs/photo.png as path.

Stat Display

\begin{columns}[c]
    \column{0.3\textwidth}  \stat{73\%}{of teams adopted AI}
    \column{0.03\textwidth} \statsep
    \column{0.3\textwidth}  \stat{12x}{faster code generation}
    \column{0.03\textwidth} \statsep
    \column{0.3\textwidth}  \stat{3 months}{average adoption time}
\end{columns}

Widths: 3×0.30 + 2×0.03 = 0.96 ≤ \textwidth. Use in blank layout.

Quote Block

\quoteblock{Quote text here.}{Author, Year}

Thick PrimaryColor left border, italic text, attribution right-aligned. Vertically centered on frame. Use on vertical or blank.

Code Listing

Add to preamble: \usepackage{listings}

\begin{frame}[fragile]{Title}
    \begin{lstlisting}[language=Python, caption=Example]
def process(data):
    return [transform(x) for x in data]
    \end{lstlisting}
\end{frame}

Theme-matching \lstset activates automatically. Inline: \lstinline|code|.

Table Styling

Large or results tables deserve their own slide — no competing content. Split if a table shares space with blocks or bullets.

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.

\begin{table}[]
    \centering
    \caption{Caption}
    \renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.5}
    \setlength{\tabcolsep}{10pt}
    {\rowcolors{2}{}{LightGray!10}
        \begin{tabular}{p{3cm}p{3cm}p{3cm}}
            \toprule
            \textbf{H1} & \textbf{H2} & \textbf{H3} \\
            \midrule
            ...
            \bottomrule
        \end{tabular}
    }
\end{table}

No vertical lines. Sum of p{...} widths ≤ ~12cm for 16:9 vertical layout.

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 — safe node width: up to 9.5cm
    \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}{}
    Explanatory text.
\end{block}

Triangle / balance diagram (inside column)

\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}

Height budget

• Full-width hierarchy (4 rows) fits ~3.5cm → leaves ~3cm for a block below (vertical layout)
• Diagram inside 0.45\textwidth column can be taller — no full-width constraint

Colors in TikZ

Template palette is global — use directly:

fill=UFGBlue  fill=DarkOrange  fill=DarkPurple  fill=DarkGreen  fill=DarkGray
fill=DarkOrange!80!black   fill=UFGBlue!55   % mixing works anywhere xcolor is accepted

Common Mistakes