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How to change aspect ratio in LaTeX?

Published in LaTeX Beamer Aspect Ratio 2 mins read

To change the aspect ratio in a LaTeX Beamer presentation, you can use a specific option when defining the document class.

The most direct way to change the aspect ratio for a Beamer presentation, as shown in the provided reference clip, is to add the aspectratio option to the \documentclass command.

Changing Aspect Ratio in Beamer

For Beamer presentations, you can specify the desired aspect ratio directly in the options passed to the \documentclass command. This allows you to quickly switch between common ratios like 4:3 (standard) and 16:9 (widescreen).

Steps:

  1. Locate the \documentclass line at the beginning of your .tex file.
  2. Inside the square brackets [] following \documentclass{beamer}, add the aspectratio option.
  3. Set aspectratio equal to the desired ratio without a colon. For example, for 16:9, use 169.

Example Syntax (as shown in the reference):

\documentclass[aspectratio=169]{beamer}

This line should appear at the very beginning of your Beamer document.

Applying the Change

After adding or modifying the aspectratio option:

  • Recompile: Save your .tex file and recompile it using your LaTeX editor or command line. As noted in the reference, clicking "recompile" or using a shortcut like Control + Enter (depending on your editor) will apply the change.
  • Verify: Open the generated PDF to confirm that the aspect ratio of the slides has been updated to your specification (e.g., widescreen 16:9).

Common Aspect Ratios

While the reference specifically shows aspectratio=169 for a 16:9 ratio, Beamer supports several standard options:

  • aspectratio=43 (Standard 4:3)
  • aspectratio=169 (Widescreen 16:9)
  • aspectratio=1610 (Widescreen 16:10)
  • aspectratio=54 (Older standard 5:4)
  • aspectratio=32 (Another common format)

You can also specify custom dimensions if needed, though the aspectratio option is convenient for standard ratios.

Using the aspectratio option in the \documentclass command is the recommended and straightforward method for adjusting slide dimensions in Beamer presentations, directly reflecting the method highlighted in the referenced video clip.

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