
Show HN: Slide – an open-source plain text presentation maker - zserge
http://trikita.co/slide
======
evacchi
This is nice.

A bit OT: on the subject of presentation tools, I'm struggling to find
something that suits me.

I really like Deckset[0], but found it sometimes limiting. For instance, I
found that very few themes suite my style of presentation; and I often wish I
could choose different color palettes, or left-align the text in a centered
layout (e.g. when using bullet lists)

I generally dislike HTML-based presenting tools; I do not like the idea of
using the browser; the PDF export is usually hit and miss, and I would not
risk going to a venue with broken slides.

I have also tried to experiment with (La)TeX. Unfortunately I find LaTeX very
boilerplate-y, and the de-facto standard for presentations, Beamer, is not
easy to customize; even the most modern themes are designed with lots of text
in mind, and I'd like Deckset-like layout with little text, many
headings/large fonts (sometimes more than one section in one slide) and mostly
source code.

I have experimented with `lecturer.tex` and even plain TeX [1]. The idea would
have been to use it as a compilation target for Markdown (maybe using Pandoc).
Unfortunately I could not find a satisfying way to typeset source code with
syntax highlighting in plain TeX [2], and also working with modern fonts
(TTF/OTF) in TeX is generally a pain (e.g. lecturer.tex doesn't play well with
XeTeX; LuaTeX on the other hand is slightly less convenient with fonts)

[0] [http://www.decksetapp.com/](http://www.decksetapp.com/)

[1]
[https://twitter.com/evacchi/status/738018333228978176](https://twitter.com/evacchi/status/738018333228978176)
, [https://github.com/evacchi/lecturer-
playground](https://github.com/evacchi/lecturer-playground)

[2] [http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/312249/listings-
for-p...](http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/312249/listings-for-plain-
tex)

~~~
C0d3r
I'm working on something that given a markdown file with a specific marker
"\---" splits it into slides and opens your browser with an impress.js version
of your slides.

Is this something that interests you? The project is private but I may open
source it sooner.

Also, written in Python

~~~
zserge
There is also Remark.js that converts Markdown into HTML slides -
[https://github.com/gnab/remark](https://github.com/gnab/remark)

Also, I'm working on an HTML/JS Slide version - just download it and edit HTML
contents. It uses the same markup as in Android Slide and no build system is
needed, just edit, press F5, see how it looks like.

[https://github.com/trikita/slide-html](https://github.com/trikita/slide-html)

~~~
MrQuincle
Yes, remark.js is cool. I've used it for a presentation before (see
[http://varkensmuts.nl/](http://varkensmuts.nl/)). The only thing that should
be automated is running the video's locally. I've rarely had a venue that had
a proper Wifi connection.

------
escherize
I ctrl+f'd for org-reveal, and didn't find it so I'll give it a plug.

I write org-mode files (kind of like a richer version of markdown), and use
org-reveal and emacs' publishing system turn them into slide shows like [1]
this: (pic: [2]). The best part about the workflow is including code snippets
using org mode's add source block, which allows me to edit code in the usual
mode that I edit code with. Also org-reveal uses emacs' code highlighting
settings to do code highlighting.

    
    
        [1] http://escherize.com/rethinkdb_talk/
        [2] http://take.ms/FHrR0

~~~
lgas
I didn't see any .org files in that repo, do you have them available anywhere?
I'd love to see specifically how it's done.

~~~
escherize
Sure, here's a link to the repo: [1]. I followed the guide in the org-reveal
repo to get it working, I'll find it, hang on... Found it: [2]! Happy hacking!

    
    
        [1]: https://gitlab.com/escherize/talks/tree/master/cljsfiddle
        [2]: https://github.com/yjwen/org-reveal

------
freekygangster
Reminds me of
[http://tools.suckless.org/sent/](http://tools.suckless.org/sent/)

------
geraldbauer
Great to see more text to presentation makers. May I highlight the free (open
source) Slide Show (S9) [1] presentation maker. What's different? Offers many
themes e.g. reveal.js, deck.js, impress.js, Shower, S6, G5, etc. [2] Cheers.
PS: Try online [3] PPS: The command line also include a --takahashi switch
e.g. lets you use One // Two // Three (for breaking slides) [1]
[http://slideshow-s9.github.io](http://slideshow-s9.github.io) [2]
[https://github.com/slideshow-templates](https://github.com/slideshow-
templates) [3]
[http://tryslideshow.herokuapp.com/](http://tryslideshow.herokuapp.com/)

------
Gys
Reminds me of the Golang Present tool which also works with a simple plain
text file:
[https://godoc.org/golang.org/x/tools/present](https://godoc.org/golang.org/x/tools/present)

------
jonaf
At first, I thought this was a terminal version of Powerpoint, akin to mdp[1],
which has been my favorite. (I actually use mdp over powerpoint/keynote on my
laptop at work these days, since I can checkin the markdown, write the
presentation easily, and spend zero time on all the formatting garbage.) I do
not work in marketing (can you tell?).

[1] [https://github.com/visit1985/mdp](https://github.com/visit1985/mdp)

------
timvdalen
Really interesting tool, the PDF export seems to work great as well.

I had not heard of the Takahashi method. I might use it for some informal
talks or as a presentation prototyping tool.

------
ams6110
There's also MagicPoint, a rather old system but still famously used by
OpenBSD folks for a lot of their presentations, e.g.
[http://www.openbsd.org/papers/hackfest2015-pledge/mgp00001.h...](http://www.openbsd.org/papers/hackfest2015-pledge/mgp00001.html)

Warning, one slightly NSFW slide in that link.

------
unusximmortalis
Any demos

~~~
zserge
Not really, but here's what I've just made on my phone in five minutes (don't
think of it as of a "serious" presentation, I just wanted to show how exported
slides look like):

[http://www.slideshare.net/SergeZaitsev/slide-201606051659](http://www.slideshare.net/SergeZaitsev/slide-201606051659)

The raw PDF is available on Google Drive -
[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bztexa2TJWdcdlZXRk1MSTVoNj...](https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bztexa2TJWdcdlZXRk1MSTVoNjQ)

The text I typed on my phone to make this presentation is:

    
    
        #SLIDE
        
        #make a presentation
        (even if you got no time to make one)
        
        content *is* important
        
        #Takahashi
        #method
        
        • short text
        • big font
        • many slides
        
        @http://www.magic4walls.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/two-lines-between-black-and-white-circles-minimalism-wallpaper.jpg 140% top
        minimal
    
        #opensource
        http://github/trikita/slide
    
        #Feedback
        #appreciated!
    

The theme is the default white-on-black theme.

~~~
wingerlang
You absolutely should have examples on the website.

------
MichailP
Anybody knows whats the catch with MacBook owners plugging their own laptops
directly to projector during conference presentations, while others use
already available common laptop and just transfer their ppt? It seems a bit
snooty :) Although there are benefits, your ppt is not made available to
everybody.

~~~
LeoNatan25
Probably using Keynote instead of PowerPoint. While Keynote can export to PPT,
the result is not satisfactory. Usually Keynote presentations are exported as
PDF instead.

~~~
MichailP
Is Keynote that superior to MS PowerPoint?

~~~
joesb
Fonts on Mac and Windows are not the same, and export process does not always
export everything correctly.

~~~
LeoNatan25
True, and I think neither PPT or PPTX can embed fonts in them, so the result
is subpar, while a PDF can embed fonts, but cannot embed the transitions.

~~~
extra88
PowerPoint for Windows can embed fonts, the Mac version cannot.

PowerPoint's cross-platform support is still a shitshow. Embedding a video on
one platform and presenting on another is unlikely to work, especially now
that QuickTime for Windows is end-of-lifed so one platform is even less likely
to have those codecs. I think it's still possible for the bullet glyphs to not
always match (set them to empty circles on one platform, get displayed as
daggers on the other), though this is less common than it used to be.

------
znpy
I recently gave a talk and crafted my slides using the good old LibreOffice
Impress. Everything went smoothly and I only had some minor scratches with
code highlighting.

I am always amazed by how much technical people underestimate office suites
(MS Office and LibreOffice) and reinvent the wheel every month or so.

~~~
johannes1234321
My main issues with impress are that I like a Text based Format which give
nice diffs between slides and that I like to copy slides from one presentation
to another, probably using a different style. This always Breaks in impress.

~~~
znpy
Well, technically open document formats are compressed XML.

So if you could save them in an uncompressed format you could diff them
easily.

But dunno.

AFAIK LaTeX/Beamer should be The Tool for this, but it always is a PITA to
use.

LyX is of very small help (when it doesn't break).

------
masukomi
how does someone make a presentation app and a) not have a presentation about
it b) not have any presentations made with it as examples?

~~~
zserge
Thanks for the feedback! Slide is not something we're selling or trying to
make profit of (in any form - no ads, no spying, no analytics, open source).
We made a few presentations with it for internal company meetings, but that
was mostly just text that I find very boring to share.

Below in this thread there is an example of a slide text, PDF and SlideShare
upload. It should give an impression of how it looks like and how it works.

I agree that a presentation on the web site would make more sense, but I can't
think of a good idea for the presentation, while some fake artifical example
is not much different from what you see on the screenshots.

Finally, once you open the app - it starts with a quick tutorial which is a
presentation itself. It was supposed to be a quick start for new users, as
well as an example.

------
LionessLover
Others may ( _will_ ) see it differently, and obviously it depends on context
- different things need different presentations - but I can't stand when
people have text slides. You are already _talking_ \- seeing exactly what you
say or the gist of it in text makes one of the two superfluous. Just yesterday
I watched a JSConf presentation that I actually ended up sharing that I still
found infuriating for the first 7 minutes: The speaker said exactly the
sentence (plus verbal decorations, meaning no additional content, just more
words) that he also showed on slides. A new slide, a new sentence. (This is
the one: "Emanuel Kluge: Go Offline with Service Workers - JSUnconf 2016" \-
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou6oPEEyjNQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou6oPEEyjNQ))

I think _a lot_ of presentations would gain a lot if the power went out.
Imagine yourself in a round of people and you explain your idea to them. While
common the handling of your smartphone or laptop during a conversation or
explanation often is much more of a distraction than useful.

Obviously there are plenty of examples where you _do_ need them when you want
to show something concrete like code or the thing you are talking about
(unless it's a common object everybody already knows), but especially "idea
and concept presentations" often are better off without the visuals. And
please don't add jokes just because you heard that you should.

I try to create a presentation by using _" just me"_. And then only add other
stuff if it's really necessary.

~~~
extra88
I agree that presenters should put most of their effort into their verbal
presentation. But also having the essence of what's being said displayed as
text is a good enhancement. Comprehension and retention is improved when
information is conveyed in multiple forms (e.g. audibly and visually). The
combination can be particularly useful when the presentation is not in the
audience member's first language. Also in the video you linked to, the
presenter was speaking and displaying English which is not his first language
and while he's quite fluent, his accent might be a barrier to some in the
audience, one that may be overcome by displaying the essential points. The
text can also help the hard-of-hearing.

