Creating Your Own Theme

Creating your own theme with Touying might seem a bit complex initially due to the introduction of various concepts. However, fear not; if you successfully create a custom theme with Touying, you'll likely experience the convenience and powerful customization features it offers. You can refer to the source code of existing themes for guidance. The key steps to implement are:

• Customize the register function to initialize the global singleton s.
• Customize the init method.
• Define a color theme by modifying the self.colors member variable.
• Customize the alert method (optional).
• Customize the header.
• Customize the footer.
• Customize the slide method.
• Customize special slide methods, such as title-slide and focus-slide.
• Customize the slides method (optional).

To demonstrate creating a simple and elegant Bamboo theme, let's follow the steps.

Modifying Existing Themes

If you wish to modify a theme within the Touying package locally instead of creating one from scratch, you can achieve this by following these steps:

1. Copy the theme code from the themes directory to your local machine. For example, copy themes/university.typ to a local file named university.typ.
2. Remove all #import "../xxx.typ" commands at the top of the university.typ file.
3. Add #import "@preview/touying:0.4.2": * at the top of the university.typ file to import all modules.
4. Replace self: s in the register function with self: themes.default.register() (Important).

You can then import and use the theme by:

#import "@preview/touying:0.4.2": *
#import "university.typ"

#let s = university.register(aspect-ratio: "16-9")

For a specific example, refer to: https://typst.app/project/rqRuzg0keo_ZEB5AdxjweA

Import

Depending on whether the theme is for personal use or part of Touying, you can import in two ways:

If for personal use:

#import "@preview/touying:0.4.2": *

If part of Touying themes:

#import "../utils/utils.typ"
#import "../utils/states.typ"
#import "../utils/components.typ"

Additionally, add the import statement in Touying's themes/themes.typ:

#import "bamboo.typ"

Register Function and Init Method

Next, we'll distinguish between the bamboo.typ template file and the main.typ file, the latter of which is sometimes omitted.

Generally, the first step in creating slides is to determine font size and page aspect ratio. Therefore, we need to register an initialization method:

// bamboo.typ
#import "@preview/touying:0.4.2": *

#let register(
  self: themes.default.register(),
  aspect-ratio: "16-9",
) = {
  self.page-args += (
    paper: "presentation-" + aspect-ratio,
  )
  self.methods.init = (self: none, body) => {
    set text(size: 20pt)
    body
  }
  self
}

// main.typ
#import "@preview/touying:0.4.2": *
#import "bamboo.typ"

#let s = bamboo.register(aspect-ratio: "16-9")
#let (init, slides, touying-outline, alert, speaker-note) = utils.methods(s)
#show: init

#show strong: alert

#let (slide, empty-slide) = utils.slides(s)
#show: slides

= First Section

== First Slide

#slide[
  A slide with a title and an *important* information.
]

As you can see, we created a register function and passed an aspect-ratio parameter to set the page aspect ratio. We get default self by self: themes.default.register(). As you might already know, in Touying, we should not use set page(..) to set page parameters but rather use the syntax self.page-args += (..) to set them, as explained in the Page Layout section.

In addition, we registered a self.methods.init method, which can be used for some global style settings. For example, in this case, we added set text(size: 20pt) to set the font size. You can also place additional global style settings here, such as set par(justify: true). Since the init function is placed inside self.methods, it is a method, not a regular function. Therefore, we need to add the parameter self: none to use it properly.

As you can see, later in main.typ, we apply the global style settings in init using #show: init, where init is bound and unpacked through utils.methods(s).

If you pay extra attention, you'll notice that the register function has an independent self at the end. This actually represents returning the modified self as the return value, which will be saved in #let s = ... This line is therefore indispensable.

Color Theme

Choosing an attractive color theme for your slides is crucial. Touying provides built-in color theme support to minimize API differences between different themes. Touying offers two dimensions of color selection: the first is neutral, primary, secondary, and tertiary for hue distinction, with primary being the most commonly used; the second is default, light, lighter, lightest, dark, darker, and darkest for brightness distinction.

As we are creating the Bamboo theme, we chose a color for the primary theme, similar to bamboo (rgb("#5E8B65")), and included neutral lightest/darkest as background and font colors.

As shown in the code below, we use (self.methods.colors)(self: self, ..) to modify the color theme. Essentially, it is a wrapper for self.colors += (..).

#let register(
  self: themes.default.register(),
  aspect-ratio: "16-9",
) = {
  // color theme
  self = (self.methods.colors)(
    self: self,
    primary: rgb("#5E8B65"),
    neutral-lightest: rgb("#ffffff"),
    neutral-darkest: rgb("#000000"),
  )
  self.page-args += (
    paper: "presentation-" + aspect-ratio,
  )
  self.methods.init = (self: none, body) => {
    set text(size: 20pt)
    body
  }
  self
}

After adding the color theme, we can access the color using syntax like self.colors.primary.

It's worth noting that users can change the theme color at any time using:

#let s = (s.methods.colors)(self: s, primary: rgb("#3578B9"))

This flexibility demonstrates Touying's powerful customization capabilities.

Practical: Custom Alert Method

In general, we need to provide a #alert[..] function for users, similar to #strong[..]. Typically, #alert[..] emphasizes text using the primary theme color for aesthetics. We add a line in the register function:

self.methods.alert = (self: none, it) => text(fill: self.colors.primary, it)

This code sets the text color to self.colors.primary, utilizing the theme's primary color.

Custom Header and Footer

Here, assuming you've already read the Page Layout section, we know we should add headers and footers to the slides.

Firstly, we add self.bamboo-title = []. This means we save the title of the current slide as a member variable self.bamboo-title, stored in self. This makes it easy to use in the header and later modifications. Similarly, we create self.bamboo-footer, saving the footer: [] parameter from the register function for displaying in the bottom-left corner.

It's worth noting that our header is actually a content function in the form of let header(self) = { .. } with the self parameter, allowing us to get the latest information from self. For example, self.bamboo-title. The footer is similar.

The components.cell used inside is actually #let cell = block.with(width: 100%, height: 100%, above: 0pt, below: 0pt, breakable: false), and show: components.cell is shorthand for components.cell(body). The show: pad.with(.4em) in the footer is similar.

Another point to note is the states module, which contains many counters and state-related content. For example, states.current-section-title is used to display the current section, and states.slide-counter.display() + " / " + states.last-slide-number is used to display the current page number and total number of pages.

We observe the usage of utils.call-or-display(self, self.bamboo-footer) to display self.bamboo-footer. This is used to handle situations like self.bamboo-footer = (self) => {..}, ensuring a unified approach to displaying content functions and content.

To ensure proper display of the header and footer and sufficient spacing from the main content, we also set margins, such as self.page-args += (margin: (top: 4em, bottom: 1.5em, x: 2em)).

We also need to customize a slide method that accepts slide(self: none, title: auto, ..args). The first self: none is a required method parameter for getting the latest self. The second title is used to update self.bamboo-title for displaying in the header. The third ..args collects the remaining parameters and passes them to (self.methods.touying-slide)(self: self, ..args), which is necessary for the Touying slide functionality to work properly. Additionally, we need to register this method in the register function with self.methods.slide = slide.

// bamboo.typ
#import "@preview/touying:0.4.2": *

#let slide(self: none, title: auto, ..args) = {
  if title != auto {
    self.bamboo-title = title
  }
  (self.methods.touying-slide)(self: self, ..args)
}

#let register(
  self: themes.default.register(),
  aspect-ratio: "16-9",
  footer: [],
) = {
  // color theme
  self = (self.methods.colors)(
    self: self,
    primary: rgb("#5E8B65"),
    neutral-lightest: rgb("#ffffff"),
    neutral-darkest: rgb("#000000"),
  )
  // variables for later use
  self.bamboo-title = []
  self.bamboo-footer = footer
  // set page
  let header(self) = {
    set align(top)
    show: components.cell.with(fill: self.colors.primary, inset: 1em)
    set align(horizon)
    set text(fill: self.colors.neutral-lightest, size: .7em)
    states.current-section-title
    linebreak()
    set text(size: 1.5em)
    utils.call-or-display(self, self.bamboo-title)
  }
  let footer(self) = {
    set align(bottom)
    show: pad.with(.4em)
    set text(fill: self.colors.neutral-darkest, size: .8em)
    utils.call-or-display(self, self.bamboo-footer)
    h(1fr)
    states.slide-counter.display() + " / " + states.last-slide-number
  }
  self.page-args += (
    paper: "presentation-" + aspect-ratio,
    header: header,
    footer: footer,
    margin: (top: 4em, bottom: 1.5em, x: 2em),
  )
  // register methods
  self.methods.slide = slide
  self.methods.alert = (self: none, it) => text(fill: self.colors.primary, it)
  self.methods.init = (self: none, body) => {
    set text(size: 20pt)
    body
  }
  self
}


// main.typ
#import "@preview/touying:0.4.2": *
#import "bamboo.typ"

#let s = bamboo.register(aspect-ratio: "16-9", footer: self => self.info.institution)
#let (init, slides, touying-outline, alert, speaker-note) = utils.methods(s)
#show: init

#show strong: alert

#let (slide, empty-slide) = utils.slides(s)
#show: slides

= First Section

== First Slide

#slide[
  A slide with a title and an *important* information.
]

Custom Special Slide

Building upon the basic slide, we further add some special slide functions such as title-slide, focus-slide, and a custom slides method.

For the title-slide method, first, we call self = utils.empty-page(self). This function clears self.page-args.header, self.page-args.footer, and sets margin to 0em, creating a blank page effect. Then, we use let info = self.info + args.named() to get information stored in self.info and update it with the passed args.named() for later use as info.title. The specific page content body will vary for each theme, so we won't go into details here. Finally, we call `(self.methods.touying-slide)(self: self, repeat: none, body

), where repeat: noneindicates that this page does not require animation effects, and passing thebody` parameter displays its content.

For the new-section-slide method, the process is similar. The only thing to note is that in (self.methods.touying-slide)(self: self, repeat: none, section: section, body), we pass an additional section: section parameter to declare the creation of a new section. Another point to note is that besides self.methods.new-section-slide = new-section-slide, we also register self.methods.touying-new-section-slide = new-section-slide, so new-section-slide will be automatically called when encountering a first-level title.

For the focus-slide method, most of the content is similar, but it's worth noting that we use self.page-args += (..) to update the page's background color.

Finally, we update the slides(self: none, title-slide: true, slide-level: 1, ..args) method. When title-slide is true, using #show: slides will automatically create a title-slide. Setting slide-level: 1 indicates that the first-level and second-level titles correspond to section and title, respectively.

// bamboo.typ
#import "@preview/touying:0.4.2": *

#let slide(self: none, title: auto, ..args) = {
  if title != auto {
    self.bamboo-title = title
  }
  (self.methods.touying-slide)(self: self, ..args)
}

#let title-slide(self: none, ..args) = {
  self = utils.empty-page(self)
  let info = self.info + args.named()
  let body = {
    set align(center + horizon)
    block(
      fill: self.colors.primary,
      width: 80%,
      inset: (y: 1em),
      radius: 1em,
      text(size: 2em, fill: self.colors.neutral-lightest, weight: "bold", info.title)
    )
    set text(fill: self.colors.neutral-darkest)
    if info.author != none {
      block(info.author)
    }
    if info.date != none {
      block(if type(info.date) == datetime { info.date.display(self.datetime-format) } else { info.date })
    }
  }
  (self.methods.touying-slide)(self: self, repeat: none, body)
}

#let new-section-slide(self: none, section) = {
  self = utils.empty-page(self)
  let body = {
    set align(center + horizon)
    set text(size: 2em, fill: self.colors.primary, weight: "bold", style: "italic")
    section
  }
  (self.methods.touying-slide)(self: self, repeat: none, section: section, body)
}

#let focus-slide(self: none, body) = {
  self = utils.empty-page(self)
  self.page-args += (
    fill: self.colors.primary,
    margin: 2em,
  )
  set text(fill: self.colors.neutral-lightest, size: 2em)
  (self.methods.touying-slide)(self: self, repeat: none, align(horizon + center, body))
}

#let slides(self: none, title-slide: true, slide-level: 1, ..args) = {
  if title-slide {
    (self.methods.title-slide)(self: self)
  }
  (self.methods.touying-slides)(self: self, slide-level: slide-level, ..args)
}

#let register(
  self: themes.default.register(),
  aspect-ratio: "16-9",
  footer: [],
) = {
  // color theme
  self = (self.methods.colors)(
    self: self,
    primary: rgb("#5E8B65"),
    neutral-lightest: rgb("#ffffff"),
    neutral-darkest: rgb("#000000"),
  )
  // variables for later use
  self.bamboo-title = []
  self.bamboo-footer = footer
  // set page
  let header(self) = {
    set align(top)
    show: components.cell.with(fill: self.colors.primary, inset: 1em)
    set align(horizon)
    set text(fill: self.colors.neutral-lightest, size: .7em)
    states.current-section-title
    linebreak()
    set text(size: 1.5em)
    utils.call-or-display(self, self.bamboo-title)
  }
  let footer(self) = {
    set align(bottom)
    show: pad.with(.4em)
    set text(fill: self.colors.neutral-darkest, size: .8em)
    utils.call-or-display(self, self.bamboo-footer)
    h(1fr)
    states.slide-counter.display() + " / " + states.last-slide-number
  }
  self.page-args += (
    paper: "presentation-" + aspect-ratio,
    header: header,
    footer: footer,
    margin: (top: 4em, bottom: 1.5em, x: 2em),
  )
  // register methods
  self.methods.slide = slide
  self.methods.title-slide = title-slide
  self.methods.new-section-slide = new-section-slide
  self.methods.touying-new-section-slide = new-section-slide
  self.methods.focus-slide = focus-slide
  self.methods.slides = slides
  self.methods.alert = (self: none, it) => text(fill: self.colors.primary, it)
  self.methods.init = (self: none, body) => {
    set text(size: 20pt)
    body
  }
  self
}


// main.typ
#import "@preview/touying:0.4.2": *
#import "bamboo.typ"

#let s = bamboo.register(aspect-ratio: "16-9", footer: self => self.info.institution)
#let s = (s.methods.info)(
  self: s,
  title: [Title],
  subtitle: [Subtitle],
  author: [Authors],
  date: datetime.today(),
  institution: [Institution],
)
#let (init, slides, touying-outline, alert, speaker-note) = utils.methods(s)
#show: init

#show strong: alert

#let (slide, empty-slide, title-slide, focus-slide) = utils.slides(s)
#show: slides

= First Section

== First Slide

#slide[
  A slide with a title and an *important* information.
]

#focus-slide[
  Focus on it!
]

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've created a simple and elegant theme. Perhaps you may find that Touying introduces a wealth of concepts, making it initially challenging to grasp. This is normal, as Touying opts for functionality over simplicity. However, thanks to Touying's comprehensive and unified approach, you can easily extract commonalities between different themes and transfer your knowledge seamlessly. You can also save global variables, modify existing themes, or switch between themes effortlessly, showcasing the benefits of Touying's decoupling and object-oriented programming.