Over the last year or so, I've started to get heavily back into using Emacs and the Org mode[1] package (for taking notes, organizing yourself, and more). I've also started dipping my toes back into the water of giving short presentations. I've been wondering how to combine Emacs with giving talks.
You're probably asking What does presenting have to do with a text editor? Quite a bit, actually!Like many speakers, I use slides when presenting. Mine are quite minimal—either a couple of words or an image per slide. I use Reveal.js[2] to create those slides, which also gives me a chance to embrace my inner geek a bit and hand-code some HTML.
So, where does the fusion of Emacs and Reveal.js happen? That comes in the form of an Emacs package called Org-Reveal[3]. Let's take a look at how to use Emacs, Org-Reveal, and Reveal.js to create simple presentation slides.
Getting started
I'll assume you have Emacs and Org mode installed on your computer. If not, grab Emacs[4] for your operating system and download[5] the most recent version of Org mode. The Org mode website also explains how to install it.
You'll also need to install Org-Reveal[6], and grab a copy of the Reveal.js[7] archive. You can unpack Reveal.js anywhere you like. I put it in the folder ~/slides/reveal.js, where I store my slides.
Once you've done all that, add the following to your .emacs file to integrate Org-Reveal into Emacs:
;; Reveal.js + Org mode
(require 'ox-reveal)
(setq Org-Reveal-root "file:///path-to-reveal.js")
(setq Org-Reveal-title-slide nil)
In the above, path-to-reveal.js is where you unpacked the Reveal.js archive.