Nov 14th, 2022

Beamer Overlay

These notes are based on https://www.overleaf.com/learn/latex/Beamer_Presentations%3A_A_Tutorial_for_Beginners_(Part_4)%E2%80%94Getting_Started.

Recall that the page unit in the Beamer class is a frame. Sometimes, we want to present information dynamically, meaning display part of the frame before displaying the whole frame. There are a few ways to do this with the Beamer class. They are often called overlay and Overleaf provides a good explanation. Below is the list of commands for overlay.

Overlay

  • \pause

  • \item<n>

  • \overlay

  • \only

Note

When using this commands, the outcome file becomes big quickly. When you want framewise outcomes, use the option handout instead of deleting or commenting out overlay commands. E.g.,

\documentclass[handouts]{beamer}

pause

The \pause commands simply pauses where it is placed and continues. The following code will produce the following outcomes

Beamer pause example
\begin{frame}{pause example}
First slide
\pause
Next slide
\end{frame}

You may place \pause as many time as you like.

item<n->

Unlike the article or amsart classes, the itemize and enumerate commands in the beamer class have additional features for overlay. Here are some of the ways to use them.

Beamer item<n-> example
\begin{frame}{itemize example}
\begin{itemize}
  \item<1> something      % shows this item only on slide 1
  \item<2> something      % shows this item only on slide 2
  \item<1-2> something    % shows this item only on slides 1,2
  \item<1-3> something    % shows this item only on slides 1,2,3
  \item<2-> something     % shows this item from on slide 2 to the last one.
  \item<1,3-> something   % shows this item only on slide 1 and slide 3 to the last one.
\end{itemize}
\end{frame}

overlay

The overlay command works the same as itemize. The only difference is that one does not need to use itemize or enuemrate but needs to include them in the parenthesis.

Beamer overlay example
\begin{frame}{itemize example}
\overlay<1>{something}      % shows this item only on slide 1
\overlay<2>{something}      % shows this item only on slide 2
\overlay<1-2>{something}    % shows this item only on slides 1,2
\overlay<1-3>{something}    % shows this item only on slides 1,2,3
\overlay<2->{something}     % shows this item from on slide 2 to the last one.
\overlay<1,3->{something}   % shows this item only on slide 1 and slide 3 to the last one.
\end{frame}

Note

One can use the same option for the block environments

Beamer overlay theorem example
\begin{theorem}<1>
My theorem
\end{theorem}

only

As the name says, \only<1>{something} displays the item on slide 1 only. Only works differently compared to the rest as it does not keep its place when not used. That is, the following code will create three slides where the position of each line is the same.

Beamer only example
\begin{frame}{itemize example}
\only<1>{something1}
\only<2>{something2}
\only<3>{something3}
\end{frame}

Options

When using the overlay commands, sometimes it is hard to remember. Play with the following options to see which one works the best for your presentation.

\begin{frame}{itemize example}
\setbeamercovered{invisible}    % default option
\setbeamercovered{visible}
\setbeamercovered{transparent}
\end{frame}