How to Use Slide Layouts
Layouts control how content is arranged on a slide — centered titles, bullet lists, two-column comparisons, full-bleed images, and more. Apply a layout with the _class directive in an HTML comment.
Applying a layout
Add <!-- _class: layout-name --> at the start of a slide:
---
<!-- _class: title-hero -->
# Main Title
## Subtitle
**Speaker Name** — Date
---
The _class directive adds a CSS class to the <section> element for that slide.
Available layouts
AgentPreso provides 25 built-in layouts across six categories. All built-in themes support these layouts.
Opening slides
title-hero
Centered title slide with a distinct background. Use for the first slide.
<!-- _class: title-hero -->
# Presentation Title
## Subtitle or Tagline
**Your Name** — Date
chapter
Section divider with a large heading. Use to separate major sections.
<!-- _class: chapter -->
# Part Two
## Diving Deeper
full-bleed-title
Title text over a full-bleed background image.
<!-- _class: full-bleed-title -->
# Bold Statement

title-img
Title slide with a side image. Combines a hero title with a supporting visual.
<!-- _class: title-img -->
# Product Launch
## Introducing Our New Platform

quote-hero
Bold quote as an opening or closing statement. Larger text than the standard quote layout.
<!-- _class: quote-hero -->
> "The future belongs to those who prepare for it today."
>
> — Malcolm X
cta
Call-to-action closing slide. Use as the final slide to drive next steps.
<!-- _class: cta -->
## Ready to Get Started?
Visit **agentpreso.com** to create your first deck.
[email protected]
summary
Key takeaways displayed as a checklist. Use for the final content slide.
<!-- _class: summary -->
## Key Takeaways
- Revenue grew 42% quarter-over-quarter
- Three new enterprise customers signed
- Platform reliability at 99.99%
- Hiring target exceeded by 20%
Content slides
focus
A single idea, centered. Use for key messages or transitions.
<!-- _class: focus -->
## The most important thing to remember
is that simplicity wins.
bullets
Standard bullet list — the workhorse layout.
<!-- _class: bullets -->
## What We Learned
- First insight with supporting detail
- Second insight that builds on the first
- Third insight as the payoff
steps
Numbered sequence — for processes, timelines, or ordered lists.
<!-- _class: steps -->
## How It Works
1. Upload your markdown file
2. Choose a theme
3. Render to PDF or PPTX
4. Share with your team
definition
Term/definition pairs. Use for glossaries, feature descriptions, or key concepts.
<!-- _class: definition -->
## Core Concepts
**Deck**
A presentation stored as a single markdown file.
**Theme**
A reusable set of colors, fonts, and layout styles.
**Asset**
An image or file uploaded for use in presentations.
agenda
Meeting or talk agenda with structured items.
<!-- _class: agenda -->
## Today's Agenda
1. Review Q3 results
2. Product roadmap update
3. Engineering hiring plan
4. Open discussion
cards
Card grid for features or concepts. Each card has a heading and description.
<!-- _class: cards -->
## Platform Features
### Cloud Storage
Store and sync your decks across devices.
### AI Graphics
Generate custom illustrations from text prompts.
### Export
Render to PDF, PPTX, or shareable HTML.
### Themes
Professional themes with one-click application.
Data slides
stats-grid
A 2x2 grid of key metrics. Use for KPIs and dashboards.
<!-- _class: stats-grid -->
## Q3 Performance
**$18.5M**
Revenue
**142%**
YoY Growth
**4.8/5**
Customer Rating
**99.9%**
Uptime
stats-row
Horizontal row of metrics. Use when you have 3-5 stats to display in a single line.
<!-- _class: stats-row -->
## At a Glance
**2,400+**
Active Users
**98%**
Satisfaction
**50ms**
Avg Response Time
big-number
Single hero statistic with supporting context. Use to highlight one key number.
<!-- _class: big-number -->
## Revenue Growth
**142%**
Year-over-year increase driven by enterprise adoption
timeline
Horizontal sequence of events. Use for project milestones or history.
<!-- _class: timeline -->
## Product Roadmap
**Q1 2026**
Launch beta
**Q2 2026**
Public release
**Q3 2026**
Enterprise features
**Q4 2026**
International expansion
Comparison slides
two-col
Equal 50/50 split. Content before ::: right goes left, content after goes right.
<!-- _class: two-col -->
## Before vs After
::: left
### Before
- Manual processes
- 3-day turnaround
- Error-prone
:::
::: right
### After
- Fully automated
- Real-time
- 99.9% accuracy
:::
two-col-wide-right
1:2 ratio — narrow left column, wide right column.
<!-- _class: two-col-wide-right -->
## Architecture
::: left
### Components
- API Gateway
- Auth Service
- Data Layer
:::
::: right
```mermaid
graph TD
A[Gateway] --> B[Auth]
A --> C[Data]
:::
#### `three-col`
Equal thirds for comparing three items.
```markdown
<!-- _class: three-col -->
## Pricing Plans
::: left
### Free
- 5 decks
- 4 themes
- 10 renders/mo
:::
::: center
### Pro
- Unlimited decks
- All themes
- 100 renders/mo
:::
::: right
### Team
- Everything in Pro
- Shared workspace
- Priority support
:::
before-after
Before/after comparison with visual distinction between the two states.
<!-- _class: before-after -->
## Migration Impact
::: left
### Before
- Manual deploys
- 2-hour downtime
- No rollback
:::
::: right
### After
- CI/CD pipeline
- Zero-downtime
- Instant rollback
:::
pros-cons
Pros and cons with visual icons. Use for decision-making slides.
<!-- _class: pros-cons -->
## Build vs Buy
::: left
### Pros
- Full control
- Custom features
- No vendor lock-in
:::
::: right
### Cons
- Higher upfront cost
- Longer timeline
- Maintenance burden
:::
matrix
2x2 grid of categories. Use for quadrant analysis or category breakdowns.
<!-- _class: matrix -->
## Priority Matrix
::: left
### Urgent + Important
Ship critical bug fix
### Not Urgent + Important
Refactor auth system
:::
::: right
### Urgent + Not Important
Update dependencies
### Not Urgent + Not Important
Rename variables
:::
Media slides
img-right
Content on the left, image on the right.
<!-- _class: img-right -->
## Our Team
We're a distributed team of engineers
building the future of presentations.
- 12 engineers
- 4 designers
- 3 offices worldwide

img-left
Image on the left, content on the right.
<!-- _class: img-left -->
## Product Demo

The new dashboard provides real-time
analytics and one-click exports.
img-center
Centered image with caption text above or below.
<!-- _class: img-center -->
## System Architecture

*Figure 1: High-level system overview*
img-top
Image above text content. Use when the visual should be seen first.
<!-- _class: img-top -->
## Dashboard Preview

The redesigned dashboard provides real-time metrics
and one-click export to PDF.
full-bleed
Full-screen image with optional text overlay.
<!-- _class: full-bleed -->

## Overlay Text Here
gallery
Multi-image grid. Use for portfolios, screenshots, or photo collections.
<!-- _class: gallery -->
## Product Screenshots




figure
Wide visual (diagram, chart, or image) with brief text. Visual-first layout with smaller heading, muted description, and a flex-growing container for the diagram or chart.
<!-- _class: figure -->
## User Flow
```mermaid
graph LR
A[Sign Up] --> B[Onboard] --> C[Create Deck] --> D[Share]
Complete user journey from registration to sharing
### Emphasis slides
#### `quote`
Centered blockquote with decorative styling.
```markdown
<!-- _class: quote -->
> "The best presentations are the ones
> that feel like a conversation."
>
> — Someone Wise
Layouts and column markers
The ::: left, ::: right, and ::: center markers split content into columns. They work with two-col, two-col-wide-right, and three-col layouts.
Content before the first marker goes into a heading row that spans the full width. Content between markers fills each column.
Dark mode per-slide
Add invert to flip any slide to its dark palette. Combine with layouts:
<!-- _class: invert title-hero -->
# Dark Opening Slide
Charts, diagrams, and images auto-adapt to dark backgrounds.
Tips
- Don’t overuse layouts — a mix of
bullets,two-col, and a few visual slides makes a better deck than using every layout - Use
title-herofor slide 1 andsummaryfor the last slide — this provides natural opening and closing structure - Match layout to content — use
stats-gridfor numbers,quotefor testimonials,img-rightwhen you have a supporting image - Use
figurefor diagrams — when a slide is primarily a diagram or chart with minimal text,figuregives it full width - Plain slides are fine — a slide with just a heading and bullets (no
_class) works well for most content
Related
- Markdown Format — complete syntax reference including directives
- Build Your First Presentation — tutorial using layouts
- Themes — how layouts interact with themes