Presentation Mode
Use horizontal rules to turn a Markdown document into slides. Click Present, press F5, or run Start Presentation Mode from the command palette.
Table of Contents
How It Works
Markdown Source
# First Slide
An opening thought.
---
# Second Slide
- One point
- Another point
---
# Final Slide
Thank you.
Each --- on its own line starts a new slide. A frontmatter block may appear before the first slide.
The example becomes this three-slide outline in Presentation Mode:
| Slide | Main Content | Starts After |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Slide and its opening thought | Beginning of the document |
| 2 | Second Slide and its two list items | First horizontal rule |
| 3 | Final Slide and “Thank you.” | Second horizontal rule |
Regular Preview shows the document as a continuous page. Choose Present to see the actual slide boundaries, theme, navigation, and 16:9 layout.
Use Text Alignment in the editor to align a paragraph or heading within a slide. Compact alignment wrappers render their Markdown in Presentation Mode and presentation exports. Keep each wrapper inside one slide and close it before the next --- separator. The Markdown Guide explains alignment options, removal, and safe editing.
Themes
Set the slide theme in frontmatter:
---
theme: dark
---
You can also right-click the document tab and choose Slide Theme.
| Theme | Style |
|---|---|
default | White background, dark text, and the selected accent |
dark | Dark background and light text |
minimal | Warm background with restrained typography |
heritage | Cream and earth tones with Arabic-aware typography |
Slide themes are separate from the application theme. See Themes and Direction for how both systems interact.
Presentation Shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
→ / Space / PageDown / L | Next Slide |
← / PageUp / H | Previous Slide |
Home / End | First or Last Slide |
F | Toggle Fullscreen |
B | Toggle Blank Screen |
+ / - / 0 | Zoom In, Zoom Out, or Reset |
Esc | Exit Presentation |
On narrow screens, Previous, Next, More, and Exit remain visible. Open More Presentation Actions for zoom, slide theme, blank screen, PDF export, and fullscreen controls.
Present on a Phone or Tablet
Open the View menu and choose Present. MDash preserves the 16:9 slide ratio and uses the available screen height. It requests fullscreen landscape presentation when the browser supports it.
Rotate a phone to landscape for the largest slide. When a browser does not allow orientation locking, MDash keeps a centered 16:9 presentation that fits the available space.
Export to PDF
Open Presentation Mode and use its export control to print the deck as a 16:9 PDF. Each slide becomes one page.
The PDF keeps the selected slide theme, including Dark. Review the browser print preview before saving because available fonts and printer settings can affect the final result.
Tips
- Keep each slide focused on one idea.
- Use short headings and shallow lists.
- Long code blocks scroll inside the slide.
- Mermaid diagrams use the available slide width.
- Put supporting detail in a linked document when a slide becomes crowded.
Current Limitations
Presentation Mode does not provide speaker notes, timed transitions, or collaborative presenting. Edit the Markdown source to change a slide, then reopen or refresh the presentation.
PDF export uses the browser print system. Review page size, margins, background graphics, and font availability before saving the final deck.