# Quarkdown: Presentations from Markdown — Slides, Fragments, Speaker Notes

> Part 7 of the Quarkdown series: how .qd source becomes an interactive reveal.js presentation — with slide breaks, animated fragments and speaker notes.

Source: https://www.jpkc.com/db/en/blog/quarkdown-praesentationen/

The same source that was a scientific paper a moment ago ([part 6](https://www.jpkc.com/db/en/blog/quarkdown-wissenschaftliches-schreiben/)) becomes a presentation with one changed line. `.doctype {slides}` switches to the `slides` format, which builds internally on [reveal.js](https://revealjs.com) — and suddenly you're giving talks from pure Markdown. This part shows what comes with it: slide breaks, interactive fragments and speaker notes.

## Separating slides

A presentation is a sequence of slides — and in `slides` mode slide breaks only happen **explicitly**. Two ways lead there. Either a line of at least three `<`:

```markdown
Slide 1

<<<

Slide 2
```

… or the `.pagebreak` function. Important: the `<<<` marker needs blank lines before and after, otherwise it stays text (the same block logic as the layout in [part 4](https://www.jpkc.com/db/en/blog/quarkdown-layout/)).

Often more elegant is the **automatic** break via headings. `.autopagebreak maxdepth:{n}` sets the heading level up to which a break is triggered:

```markdown
.autopagebreak maxdepth:{2}

## Every H2 starts a new slide
```

That way you structure the talk through the outline alone — new heading, new slide. By the way: `.pagebreak` and `.autopagebreak` work the same in `paged` documents; in the slides context "page" is simply "slide".

## Configuring the presentation

`.slides` overrides the defaults — all parameters optional:

```markdown
.slides transition:{fade} speed:{fast} controls:{yes}
```

You control vertical centering (`center`), the navigation controls (`controls`), the transition style (`transition`: `none`, `fade`, `slide`, `zoom`), the transition speed (`speed`) and whether speaker notes also appear outside the speaker view (`speakernotes`).

## Fragments: reveal step by step

What makes a presentation come alive are **fragments** — content that appears or disappears only on click. `.fragment` turns a block into such an interactive element:

```markdown
.fragment
    This point appears only when you click on.
```

Via `behavior` you set the behavior: `show` (default — starts invisible, fades in), `hide` (starts visible, fades out), `semihide` (fades to 50%) and `showhide` (fades in, then out on the next click). Multiple fragments on one slide trigger in order — ideal for developing an argument step by step instead of overwhelming the audience with the whole slide at once.

## Speaker notes

For the talk itself there's `.speakernote` — notes only you see:

```markdown
.speakernote
    Remember the anecdote from the last project here.
```

By default they only appear in the **speaker view**, which you open in the HTML presentation with the **`S`** key (that requires a running [web server](https://quarkdown.com/wiki/cli-webserver)). If you want the notes also in the regular view or the exported PDF, enable `.slides speakernotes:{yes}`.

## From talk to PDF

A presentation can be exported as PDF too — and Quarkdown does it thoughtfully: each slide becomes its own page, and **each fragment state** as well. A slide with three sequentially appearing points yields four PDF pages capturing the build step by step. That keeps the dramaturgy intact even in the handout.

## FAQ

### Can I turn an existing document into a presentation?

In principle yes — you set `.doctype {slides}` and define slide breaks. In practice it pays to tighten content for the slide format, because a slide takes far less text than a page. But the source stays the same file.

### How much reveal.js do I see as an author?

Little to none. Quarkdown encapsulates reveal.js behind `.slides`, `.fragment` and `.speakernote`. You write Markdown; the interactive HTML presentation is produced at compile time.

### Do I strictly need a server for the speaker view?

For reveal.js's `S` speaker view, yes — it runs through the built-in web server. If you want the notes without a server (e.g. in the PDF), you use `.slides speakernotes:{yes}` instead.

## Further reading

The paginated counterpart for paper is covered by [part 6: Academic Writing](https://www.jpkc.com/db/en/blog/quarkdown-wissenschaftliches-schreiben/). Next we leave the content layer and look at the tooling: **CLI, PDF export, live preview and deployment** — the path from source to finished artifact. The full slides reference is in the [official wiki](https://quarkdown.com/wiki).