Writing slides

You write the content of a slide as in Markdown, with one important difference: on a slide, every line is intentional, so a line break in the text is a line break on the slide.

Headings

Start the line with # followed by a space. Use one to six # for the heading levels:

# Main heading
## Subheading
### Section
Regular slide text.

The size, weight and font of each level come from the theme. The first heading on a slide also names it in the thumbnails and in presenter mode.

Paragraphs and line breaks

Consecutive lines form a paragraph, and each line appears on its own line on the slide. A blank line separates one block from the next:

# Next meeting
Thursday, at 2 pm
Room 3, second floor

Bring last month's numbers.

Note

Unlike traditional Markdown, you do not need to end a line with two spaces to break it. To keep two sentences on the same line of the slide, write them on the same line of the text.

Bold, italic, strikethrough and code

You write	Result
**bold**	bold
*italic*	italic
~~strikethrough~~	strikethrough
`code`	code

The markers can be combined:

# Emphasis
Text in **bold**, *italic* and ~~strikethrough~~.
Code in the middle of a sentence: `npm install`.
**Bold with *italic* inside.**

Links

Write the text in brackets and the address in parentheses. Addresses that start with https:// or http:// and email addresses with mailto: are accepted:

# Contact
Learn about the project on [our website](https://example.com).
Questions: [email@email.com](mailto:email@email.com)

Lists

Start each item with - (or *, or +). For numbered lists, use 1. or 1). Indent an item to create a nested list:

# Action plan
- Map the current processes
- Set the priorities
  - Short term
  - Long term
- Present to the board

---
# Stages
1. Assessment
2. Proposal
3. Rollout

A few useful rules:

• Numbering starts at the first number you write: a list that starts with 3. continues with 4, 5 and so on.
• An indented line right below an item, without a marker, continues the same item on a new line.
• A blank line ends the list.

Quotes

Start the lines with >. Everything after the > is treated as regular content, so you can use emphasis and several lines:

> The report that used to take a week is now ready in an hour.
> — Operations manager

Code blocks

Put the code between two lines with three backticks. Add the language after the opening backticks to get syntax highlighting:

# Sales query
```sql
SELECT name, total
FROM sales
WHERE year = 2026;
```

The content of a code block appears exactly as written. Lines with --- inside it do not start a new slide.

Tables

Separate the columns with | and put a line of dashes right below the header. Use : in the dash line to align the column:

# Plans
| Plan | Users | Monthly price |
| :--- | :---: | ---: |
| Basic | 5 | $9 |
| Team | 20 | $29 |
| Business | Unlimited | $79 |

Dash line	Alignment
--- or :---	Left
:---:	Centered
---:	Right

Cells accept bold, italic, code and links. Tables also work as the data source for charts.

Images

Use the Markdown image syntax: !, the description in brackets and the address in parentheses. Attributes attached right after adjust the size and cropping:

# Our headquarters
![Mountain landscape](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1501785888041-af3ef285b470?w=1200){h=600 radius=lg}

The address must start with https:// or be an image uploaded to the project (asset:). See Images to upload files and use fit=cover.

Caution

Leave a blank line between a paragraph and an image. Without it, the image becomes part of the paragraph, like an image in the middle of the text.

Comments

A line that starts with // is a comment: it does not appear on the slide or in presenter mode. Use it for reminders or to hide some content temporarily:

// Confirm the numbers with finance
# Goals for the half
Expand into two new regions.

// Cut costs by 10%.
Improve customer response times.

// only counts at the start of a line. In the middle of a sentence, as in an https:// address, it is plain text.

Escaping characters

Some sequences have a special meaning, such as *, # at the start of a line or { at the end. To write the character itself, put a backslash \ before it:

# Price list \{2026}

Use \*asterisks\* without italics.

\# This line is not a heading.

\- This line is not a list item.

The backslash works before any punctuation mark. Inside a table, \| writes a vertical bar without creating a new column.

Presenter notes

The ::: notes block holds what you want to say on each slide. Notes do not appear on the slide, only in Presenter mode:

# Quarterly results
Revenue grew 38%.

::: notes
Mention that the growth came mostly from new customers.
Open the floor for questions before the next slide.
:::

The block starts with ::: notes and ends with a line containing only :::. The text inside it is kept as is, without formatting. See Presenting.

Next steps

• Layout: arrange content in columns, rows and grids.
• Styling: change colors, sizes and fonts.
• Syntax reference: the whole language on one page.