Write your slides

Markdown is a way to add simple formatting to plain text. You write a few marks alongside your words, and mdeck turns them into headings, lists, and slides.

Headings and paragraphs#

Put # and a space before the main heading. Use ## and a space for a smaller heading. Leave a blank line between paragraphs.

# Our next adventure

This is a paragraph of ordinary text.

## Where we are going

This paragraph explains a little more.

Keep each slide focused on one idea. If your words do not fit, make another slide rather than making all the text smaller.

Start another slide#

Write three dashes on a line of their own:

# The first idea

Some words about it.

---

# The next idea

Some more words.

Lists, emphasis, and links#

Put each list item on its own line:

- Bring a notebook.
- Ask **one good question**.
- Share what you learn.

Give a slide some settings#

You can tell mdeck which layout to use. Put this small settings block at the beginning of a slide:

:::meta
layout: focus
:::
# One idea worth remembering.

The opening :::meta and closing ::: mark the settings. The line between them asks for the focus layout: a large statement slide. The words beneath the block are the slide's content.

You do not need a settings block on every slide. The layout guide gives you complete examples to copy.

Give a slide a lasting link#

Add an id when you want to link directly to a particular slide:

:::meta
id: questions
:::
# Your questions

You can then add #questions to the presentation's address. IDs must be unique within the talk and start with a letter. Use letters, numbers, hyphens, or underscores, with no spaces.

Settings for the whole presentation#

A settings block at the very top of the file controls the whole presentation. It uses --- around its contents:

---
design: neue
palette: paper
meta:
  title: "Our next adventure"
  author: "Alex Morgan"
---

---
:::meta
layout: title
:::
# Our next adventure
## A plan we can share

Keep the spaces before title and author: they put those values inside the meta group. Use spaces rather than tabs. Quoting text is helpful when it contains punctuation.

Reading older examples#

Older decks put slide settings between --- lines too:

---
layout: focus
---
# One idea worth remembering.

This still works. For new slides, the explicit :::meta form makes it easier to see where settings end and writing begins.