Highlighting in Beamer using TikZ nodes

Question

This question led to a new package:
aobs-tikz

Is it possible to alter the code in the following MWE to the effect that “ABCD” is visible on both slides but only on the second it has the red node as background?

\documentclass{beamer}
\usepackage{tikz}
\tikzset{
    invisible/.style={opacity=0,text opacity=0},
    visible on/.style={alt=#1{}{invisible}},
    alt/.code args={<#1>#2#3}{%
      \alt<#1>{\pgfkeysalso{#2}}{\pgfkeysalso{#3}} 
    },
  }
\begin{document}
\frame{\frametitle{Title}
\tikz[remember picture,baseline=(A.base)] \node[fill=red!30,anchor=base,rounded corners,visible on=<2>] (A) {ABCD};
}
\end{document}

Using similar code, I would also like to have itemizations such that on all slides all items are visible but they are successively highlighted in the same way as the “ABCD” in the previous MWE. (This differs from the standard alert mode in that at every time all items are visible and instead of changing the color of the item one uses a red background box.)

score 23 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:34

As Andrew Stacey pointed out beamer provides an own \newcommand<> that deals a little better with overlay specification.
It is now possible to use \tikzMe{BCD}<+>.

As the overlay-specification argument has the delimiters built-in, so changes need to be made to the beameralert style. I opted for two versions; these styles are equivalent:

beameralert=2
BeamerAlert=<2>

Code

\documentclass[t]{beamer}
\usepackage{tikz}
\tikzset{
    invisible/.style={opacity=0,text opacity=0},
    visible on/.style={alt=#1{}{invisible}},
    alt/.code args={<#1>#2#3}{%
      \alt<#1>{\pgfkeysalso{#2}}{\pgfkeysalso{#3}} 
    },
    beameralert/.style={alt=<#1>{fill=red!30,rounded corners}{},anchor=base},
    BeamerAlert/.style={alt=#1{fill=red!30,rounded corners}{},anchor=base}
}
  \newcommand<>{\tikzMe}[1]{% previously: \def\tikzMe<#1>#2{…
    \tikz[baseline]\node[BeamerAlert=#2,anchor=base] {#1};
}
\begin{document}
\begin{frame}{One node}
    \tikz[baseline]\node[beameralert=2,anchor=base] {ABCD};
\end{frame}
\begin{frame}{Itemizing (Ti\emph{k}Z)}
    \begin{itemize}
        \item \tikzMe<+>{ABC}
        \item \tikzMe{BCD}<+>% (this works thanks to \newcommand<>)
        \item \tikzMe<+>{CDE}
    \end{itemize}
\end{frame}
\end{document}

Output

Frame 1

enter image description here

Frame 2

enter image description here

Overlay specifications with `,` (e.g. `<3,5>`)

With a small modification overlay specifications with a comma do work:

Grouping the BeamerAlert call itself: BeamerAlert={#2}

grouping BeamerAlert's alt call:

BeamerAlert/.style={alt={#1{fill=red!30,rounded corners}{}},anchor=base}

Code

\documentclass[t]{beamer}
\usepackage{tikz}
\tikzset{
    invisible/.style={opacity=0,text opacity=0},
    visible on/.style={alt=#1{}{invisible}},
    alt/.code args={<#1>#2#3}{%
      \alt<#1>{\pgfkeysalso{#2}}{\pgfkeysalso{#3}} 
    },
    beameralert/.style={alt={<#1>{fill=red!30,rounded corners}{}},anchor=base},
    BeamerAlert/.style={alt={#1{fill=red!30,rounded corners}{}},anchor=base}
}
  \newcommand<>{\tikzMe}[1]{% previously: \def\tikzMe<#1>#2{…
    \tikz[baseline]\node[BeamerAlert={#2},anchor=base] {#1};
}
\begin{document}
\begin{frame}{One node}
    \tikz[baseline]\node[beameralert=2,anchor=base] {ABCD};
\end{frame}
\begin{frame}{Itemizing (Ti\emph{k}Z)}
    \begin{itemize}
        \item \tikzMe<+>{ABC}
        \item \tikzMe{BCD}<3,5>% (this works thanks to \newcommand<>)
        \item \tikzMe<+>{CDE}
    \end{itemize}
\end{frame}
\end{document}

Great solution, thanks! And so much better than the standard beamer itemize alert solution! — lpdbw, Nov 27 '12 at 19:40
Looking closely at the definition of \tikzMe, I see that it takes an overlay specification. There is a "proper" mechanism in beamer for defining such commands which also makes them optional: \newcommand<>{\tikzMe}[1]{...}. To ensure that \tikzMe behaved "as expected" I recommend using this "proper" method. — Andrew Stacey, Nov 27 '12 at 21:56
@AndrewStacey Sure, thanks! I didn't even know that \overlayAware{arg1}<overlaySpec>{arg2} was possible … — Qrrbrbirlbel, Nov 27 '12 at 22:19
@Qrrbrbirlbel If I want to highlight something on the third and 5th slide, say, I would normally use <3,5>. In the above solution this causes an error of course since the comma is interpreted as a separator for options ... Is there any way to prevent this? — lpdbw, Dec 02 '12 at 15:10

score 18 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 28 '12 at 08:24

For fans of tikzstyles, here are a bunch of styles that might help in made visible elements as draw, fill and shade upon providing overlay specifications.

The code:

\documentclass{beamer}
\usepackage{lmodern}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{shapes.geometric}

\tikzset{
    invisible/.style={opacity=0,text opacity=0},
    visible on/.style={alt=#1{}{invisible}},
    alt/.code args={<#1>#2#3}{%
      \alt<#1>{\pgfkeysalso{#2}}{\pgfkeysalso{#3}} 
    },
}

\tikzset{
  background fill/.style={fill=#1},
  background fill/.default={white},
  fill on/.style={alt=#1{}{background fill}},
}

\tikzset{
  background draw/.style={draw=#1},
  background draw/.default={white},
  draw on/.style={alt=#1{}{background draw}},
}

\tikzset{
  background filldraw/.style 2 args={draw=#1, fill=#2},
  background filldraw/.default={white}{white},
  filldraw on/.style={alt=#1{}{background filldraw}},
}

\tikzset{
  background shade/.style={#1},
  background shade/.default={top color=white, bottom color=white},
  shade on/.style={alt=#1{}{background shade}},
}

\tikzset{
  background shadedraw/.style 2 args={draw=#1, #2},
  background shadedraw/.default={white}{top color=white, bottom color=white},
  shadedraw on/.style={alt=#1{}{background shadedraw}},
}

\begin{document}
\begin{frame}{Title}
\begin{columns}[T]
\begin{column}{0.2\textwidth}
\centering
Fill draw\\[2ex]
\tikz[baseline=(A.base)] \node[background fill=red!50,fill on=<2>,anchor=base,rounded corners,visible on=<1->] (A) {ABCD};

\tikz[baseline=(A.base)] \node[background fill=blue!50,fill on=<{1,3}>,anchor=base,rounded corners,visible on=<1->] (A) {EFGH};

\tikz[baseline=(A.base)] \node[background draw=red,draw on=<2>,anchor=base,rounded corners,visible on=<1->] (A) {IJKL};

\tikz[baseline=(A.base)] \node[background draw=blue,draw on=<{1,3}>,anchor=base,rounded corners,visible on=<1->] (A) {MNOP};

\tikz[baseline=(A.base)] \node[background filldraw={red}{blue!10},filldraw on=<2>,anchor=base,rounded corners,visible on=<1->] (A) {QRST};
\end{column}
\begin{column}{0.2\textwidth}
\centering
Shadings\\[2ex]
\tikz[baseline=(A.base)] \node[background shade={top color=red!50, bottom color=white},shade on=<2>,anchor=base,rounded corners,visible on=<1->] (A) {ABCD};

\tikz[baseline=(A.base)] \node[background shade={inner color=red!50, outer color=white},shade on=<{1,3}>,anchor=base,rounded corners,visible on=<1->] (A) {EFGH};

\tikz[baseline=(A.base)] \node[background shade={left color=orange!50, right color=white},shade on=<2>,anchor=base,rounded corners,visible on=<1->] (A) {IJKL};

\tikz[baseline=(A.base)] \node[background shadedraw={blue}{top color=white, bottom color=cyan!30},shadedraw on=<{1,3}>,anchor=base,rounded corners,visible on=<1->] (A) {MNOP};

\tikz[baseline=(A.base)] \node[background shadedraw={green!50!black}{inner color=white, outer color=green!30},shadedraw on=<2>,anchor=base,rounded corners,visible on=<1->] (A) {QRST};
\end{column}
\begin{column}{0.55\textwidth}
\centering
Node application\\[2ex]
\begin{tikzpicture}
\tikzset{visibility 1/.style={background draw=red, draw on=<{1,4}>,     
        background shade={top color=white,bottom color=red!30}, shade on=<{2,3}>,
    }
}
\tikzset{visibility 2/.style={  
        background shadedraw={green!50!black}{inner color=white,outer color=green!30}, shadedraw on=<{2,3}>,
    }
}
\tikzset{visibility 3/.style={  background draw=orange, draw on=<1->,       
        background fill={orange!30}, fill on=<{2,3}>,
    }
}
\tikzset{visibility 4/.style={  background draw=purple, draw on=<2->,       
        background shade={left color=purple!30, right color=cyan!30}, shade on=<{3,4}>,
    }
}
\node[visible on=<1->,trapezium,visibility 1] (A) {Text};
\node[visible on=<1->,trapezium,visibility 2, below of=A] (B) {Text};
\node[visible on=<1->,trapezium,visibility 3, below of=B] (C) {Text};
\node[visible on=<1->,trapezium,visibility 4, below of=C] (D) {Text};
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{column}
\end{columns}
\end{frame}
\end{document}

The result:

enter image description here

Applied to the itemize environment:

\documentclass{beamer}
\usepackage{lmodern}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{shapes.geometric}

\tikzset{
    invisible/.style={opacity=0,text opacity=0},
    visible on/.style={alt=#1{}{invisible}},
    alt/.code args={<#1>#2#3}{%
      \alt<#1>{\pgfkeysalso{#2}}{\pgfkeysalso{#3}} 
    },
}

\tikzset{
  background fill/.style={fill=#1},
  background fill/.default={white},
  fill on/.style={alt=#1{}{background fill}},
}

\tikzset{
  background draw/.style={draw=#1},
  background draw/.default={white},
  draw on/.style={alt=#1{}{background draw}},
}

\tikzset{
  background filldraw/.style 2 args={draw=#1, fill=#2},
  background filldraw/.default={white}{white},
  filldraw on/.style={alt=#1{}{background filldraw}},
}

\tikzset{
  background shade/.style={#1},
  background shade/.default={top color=white, bottom color=white},
  shade on/.style={alt=#1{}{background shade}},
}

\tikzset{
  background shadedraw/.style 2 args={draw=#1, #2},
  background shadedraw/.default={white}{top color=white, bottom color=white},
  shadedraw on/.style={alt=#1{}{background shadedraw}},
}

% Command for sequentially fill the items
\newcommand{\itemfill}[1]{\tikz[baseline=(A.base)] \node[background fill=red!30,fill on=<+>,anchor=base,rounded corners,visible on=<1->] (A) {#1};}

\begin{document}

\begin{frame}{Itemize with styles}
\begin{itemize}
\item \itemfill{ABC}
\item \itemfill{BCD}
\item \itemfill{CDE}
\end{itemize}
\end{frame}

\end{document}

gives:

enter image description here

Highlighting in Beamer using TikZ nodes

2 Answers2

Code

Output

Frame 1

Frame 2

Overlay specifications with `,` (e.g. `<3,5>`)

Code

Linked

Related

Highlighting in Beamer using TikZ nodes

2 Answers2

Code

Output

Frame 1

Frame 2

Overlay specifications with , (e.g. <3,5>)

Code

Linked

Related

Overlay specifications with `,` (e.g. `<3,5>`)