dtslides

dtslides Formatting Skill

Guide for formatting and styling Quarto RevealJS slides using the dtslides extension (both Academic and UNM themes).

Official References

All reference files are bundled in references/. Read the relevant file before answering — do not guess syntax. GitHub links are provided for context.

Local file	GitHub URL	What it covers
references/REFERENCE.md	https://github.com/Data-Wise/dtslides/blob/main/REFERENCE.md	All user-facing CSS classes
references/getting-started.qmd	https://github.com/Data-Wise/dtslides/blob/main/getting-started.qmd	Installation, SCSS customisation, CSS specificity
references/example.qmd	https://github.com/Data-Wise/dtslides/blob/main/example.qmd	UNM theme feature showcase
references/example-academic.qmd	https://github.com/Data-Wise/dtslides/blob/main/example-academic.qmd	Academic theme full showcase
references/example-long.qmd	https://github.com/Data-Wise/dtslides/blob/main/example-long.qmd	Comprehensive layout & code demos
references/example-refs.bib	https://github.com/Data-Wise/dtslides/blob/main/example-refs.bib	Citation / bibliography usage

When the user's request maps to a specific file above, read it first so your response matches live, tested syntax.

---

Decision Tree

1. Changing how a slide looks overall (dense content, scrollable, image-focused) → Slide types
2. Inline text emphasis or colour → Emphasis spans
3. Making text or a block larger / smaller → Font sizing
4. Aligning content → Alignment
5. Adding a callout box → Callouts
6. Buttons or badges → Buttons and badges
7. Overriding fonts, colours, or spacing globally → SCSS customisation
8. Setting up the presentation for the first time → Setup

---

Setup

Installing

quarto add Data-Wise/dtslides

Requires Quarto >= 1.6.0. Commit the _extensions/ folder to version control.

Choosing a theme

Academic theme — neutral navy/slate palette, suitable for any institution:

format:
  dtslides-revealjs:
    slide-number: c/t

UNM theme — institutional branding:

format:
  dtslides-unm-revealjs:
    slide-number: c/t

---

Slide Types {#slide-types}

Apply as a class on the slide heading: ## Title {.class-name}

Class	Effect
.small-slide	Reduced font size — good for dense content
.tiny-slide	Even smaller — good for reference tables
.quote-slide	Centred text with styled blockquote
.image-slide	Minimal chrome, image-focused
.section-slide	Large centred heading — use on # level headings for section dividers
.slide-code	Optimised for code-heavy slides
.large-image-slide	Full-height image display (80vh max)
.scrollable	Enable vertical scrolling on the slide

Examples:

# Methods {.section-slide}

## Full Regression Output {.small-slide}

## Appendix Data {.tiny-slide}

## Long Content {.scrollable}

---

Emphasis Spans {#emphasis-spans}

Inline markup: [text]{.class}

Class	Effect
.alert	Bold, alert colour, tinted background
.fg	Bold, accent foreground colour
.bg	White text on accent background
.highlight	Yellow/gold highlighted text
.note	Italic, tinted background
.warning	Bold, warning colour, tinted background

Examples:

The result is [statistically significant]{.alert} with [p < 0.001]{.highlight}.

See the [important caveat]{.warning} before drawing conclusions.

Use [custom colour]{.fg style="--col: #e64173"} with an inline style override.

---

Font Sizing {#font-sizing}

Apply to a slide heading or a ::: div to scale all content inside:

Class	Scale	Scales headings too
.largest	1.50×	Yes
.larger	1.20×	Yes
.large	1.25×	Yes
.small	0.80×	Yes
.smaller	0.64×	Yes
.smallest	0.51×	Yes

Example — apply to a block:

::: {.small}
This entire block is smaller, including any code inside it.
:::

---

Alignment {#alignment}

Horizontal text

Class	Effect
.left	Left-aligned
.center	Centred
.right	Right-aligned

Vertical (grid-based)

Class	Effect
.v-center	Centred vertically
.v-top	Top-aligned
.v-bottom	Bottom-aligned

---

Callouts {#callouts}

Custom callouts (dtslides-specific)

::: {.callout-example}
Worked example content.
:::

::: {.callout-question}
A question to pose to the audience.
:::

::: {.callout-insight}
Key takeaway or insight.
:::

Class	Label	Colour
.callout-example	Example	Green (success)
.callout-question	Question	Primary (navy/cherry)
.callout-insight	Insight	Blue (info/turquoise)

Standard Quarto callouts

.callout-note, .callout-warning, .callout-tip, .callout-important, .callout-caution are all automatically re-styled by dtslides.

---

Buttons and Badges {#buttons-and-badges}

[[Jump to Slide]{.button}](#target-id)

Version label: [v1.1.0]{.badge}   [New]{.badge-secondary}

Class	Effect
.button	Accent-coloured link button with icon
.badge	Primary-coloured inline label
.badge-primary	Same as .badge
.badge-secondary	Lighter variant

---

Columns and Layouts

::::: {.columns}
:::: {.column width="50%"}
Left content
::::
:::: {.column width="50%"}
Right content
::::
:::::

For side-by-side code and output, use the chunk option:

#| output-location: column

For tabsets:

::: {.panel-tabset}
### Tab 1
Content A
### Tab 2
Content B
:::

---

Code Blocks

No classes needed — styling is applied automatically:

• Source code blocks: Fira Code font with syntax highlighting
• R console output: lighter background with an accent-coloured left border
• Side-by-side layout: use output-location: column in chunk options

---

Tables

No classes needed. Tables get automatic styling:

• Striped alternating rows
• Uppercase header text
• No hover effect (keeps presentations clean)

---

SCSS Customisation {#scss-customisation}

Quarto's YAML-level font options (mainfont, fontsize, monofont) are silently ignored for RevealJS. All typography and colour overrides must go through SCSS.

Workflow

1. Create custom.scss alongside your .qmd file
2. Reference it in the YAML front matter:

format:
  dtslides-revealjs:
    theme: [custom.scss]
    slide-number: c/t

Key SCSS variables

/*-- scss:defaults --*/

// --- Fonts ---
$font-family-sans-serif: "Georgia", serif;
$font-family-heading:    "Playfair Display", serif;
$font-family-monospace:  "JetBrains Mono", monospace;

// --- Sizes ---
$font-size-root:              36px;
$presentation-h2-font-size:   1.4em;
$code-block-font-size:        0.7em;

// --- Colours ---
$primary: #2C3E50;
$accent:  #E74C3C;

// --- Spacing ---
$line-height-body: 1.6;

// --- Code blocks ---
$code-block-bg: #f5f5f5;

The extension uses !default on all key variables, so your overrides take precedence.

CSS specificity

When writing rule overrides, prefix with .reveal to win over RevealJS defaults:

/* Headings */
.reveal h2 { color: #2C3E50; }

/* Quarto callouts */
.reveal div.callout-note { border-color: #007bff; }

/* List items */
.reveal .slide ul li { margin-bottom: 0.5em; }

---

Citations and Bibliography

Add a bibliography: key and a reference section slide:

---
bibliography: references.bib
---

## References
::: {#refs}
:::

Inline citations: @box1976 or [@efron1993]. See example-refs.bib for the bib file format.

---

Quick Patterns

Dense content slide

## Full Regression Output {.small-slide}
- Lots of output...

Section divider

# Methods {.section-slide}

Emphasis in text

The result is [statistically significant]{.alert} with [p < 0.001]{.highlight}.

Font size for a block

::: {.small}
This entire block is smaller, including any code inside it.
:::

Cross-reference button

## Results
[[See Methods]{.button}](#methods-slide)

## Methods {#methods-slide}

Fragment / incremental reveal

::: {.fragment}
1. First step
:::
::: {.fragment}
2. Second step
:::

::: {.incremental}
- auto-fragmented bullet 1
- auto-fragmented bullet 2
:::