tikzposter poster conventions

Contract

When the source is a poster built on the tikzposter document class, emit tikzposter's own commands and environments — not the beamer / beamerposter idioms a general LaTeX model reaches for. The class provides a specific, closed API; using beamer's block environment, beamer themes, the standard figure environment, frames, or length-valued columns produces a document that does not compile under tikzposter.

Rules

1. Document class. Start with \documentclass[<opts>]{tikzposter}. Valid class options include a

font size (12pt 14pt 17pt 20pt 25pt), a paper size (a0paper a1paper a2paper), and an orientation (portrait or landscape). Do not use \documentclass{beamer} with \usepackage{beamerposter}, and do not use the a0poster or baposter classes.

1. Title and header. Declare metadata with \title{...}, \author{...}, and \institute{...}

(optionally \titlegraphic{...}), then emit the banner with \maketitle. There is no title frame: never wrap the title in \begin{frame}...\end{frame} or call \titlepage.

1. Content blocks — command form. Every section is a command with two brace arguments:

\block{<title>}{<content>}. Do not use the environment form \begin{block}{<title>} ... \end{block} (that is beamer). Blocks are placed directly in the document body; tikzposter has no frames.

1. Columns. Wrap a multi-column region in one \begin{columns} ... \end{columns}. Open each column

with \column{<f>}, where <f> is a bare decimal fraction of the text width (e.g. \column{0.5}). The argument is a fraction, not a length: never \column{0.5\textwidth} and never a cm value. Fractions across a columns region should sum to about 1.

1. Sub-columns and inner blocks. For side-by-side content inside one column, use

\begin{subcolumns} ... \end{subcolumns} with each part opened by \subcolumn{<width>}. For a nested titled box inside a block, use \innerblock{<title>}{<content>} (again two brace arguments).

1. Figures. Place images in the \begin{tikzfigure}[<caption>] ... \end{tikzfigure} environment,

with \includegraphics inside. The caption is the environment's optional bracket argument — do not use the standard \begin{figure} environment and do not add a separate \caption{...}.

1. Theme. Select the layout theme with \usetheme{<name>}, where <name> is one of tikzposter's

themes: Default Rays Basic Simple Envelope Wave Board Autumn Desert. A beamer theme (Madrid, Berlin, Warsaw, Copenhagen, …) is not a tikzposter theme.

1. Color style. Set colors with \usecolorstyle{<name>}, where <name> is one of Default

Australia Britain Sweden Spain Russia Denmark Germany. Do not use beamer's \usecolortheme. Theme and color style are independent — set them separately.

1. Block / background / title styles. \useblockstyle{<name>} takes one of Default Basic

Minimal Envelope Corner Slide TornOut. \usebackgroundstyle{<name>} takes one of Default Rays VerticalGradation BottomVerticalGradation Empty. \usetitlestyle{<name>} takes one of Default Basic Envelope Wave VerticalShading Filled Empty.

1. Floating notes. Add a callout with \note[<options>]{<content>} — the bracketed options position

it (e.g. targetoffsetx, targetoffsety, width).

Worked examples

Class + title (beamer default → tikzposter):

latex
% BEFORE (beamerposter habit)
\documentclass{beamer}
\usepackage[size=a0,scale=1.4]{beamerposter}
...
\begin{frame}{}\titlepage\end{frame}

% AFTER (tikzposter)
\documentclass[25pt, a0paper, portrait]{tikzposter}
\title{Deep Coastal Upwelling}\author{R. Vega}\institute{Marine Lab}
\maketitle

Section block:

latex
% BEFORE
\begin{block}{Introduction}
  Coastal upwelling drives nutrient flux ...
\end{block}

% AFTER
\block{Introduction}{
  Coastal upwelling drives nutrient flux ...
}

Columns:

latex
% BEFORE (beamer column environment + length)
\begin{columns}
  \begin{column}{0.5\textwidth} ... \end{column}
  \begin{column}{0.5\textwidth} ... \end{column}
\end{columns}

% AFTER (tikzposter fractional \column)
\begin{columns}
  \column{0.5} \block{Methods}{...}
  \column{0.5} \block{Results}{...}
\end{columns}

Figure:

latex
% BEFORE
\begin{figure}\includegraphics[width=0.8\linewidth]{fig.png}\caption{Flux map}\end{figure}

% AFTER
\begin{tikzfigure}[Flux map]
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\linewidth]{fig.png}
\end{tikzfigure}

Theme + color style:

latex
% BEFORE
\usetheme{Madrid}\usecolortheme{dolphin}

% AFTER
\usetheme{Rays}\usecolorstyle{Denmark}

Edge cases & exceptions

• Nested figure inside a block: still use tikzfigure; the caption stays in the optional [ ].
• Half/half split within one block: use subcolumns/\subcolumn, not a fresh columns region.
• Landscape: add the landscape class option; the default when omitted is portrait.
• Referencing a figure: put \label{...} inside the tikzfigure environment; the optional caption

argument still holds the caption text.

• Only one column of content: you may skip columns entirely and place \block{...}{...} calls

directly after \maketitle.

Do / Don't

• Don't \begin{block}{T} ... \end{block} · Do \block{T}{ ... }.
• Don't \documentclass{beamer} + beamerposter · Do \documentclass[...]{tikzposter}.
• Don't \column{0.5\textwidth} · Do \column{0.5}.
• Don't \begin{figure} + \caption{} · Do \begin{tikzfigure}[caption].
• Don't \usetheme{Madrid} / \usecolortheme{...} · Do a tikzposter \usetheme + \usecolorstyle.
• Don't wrap content in \begin{frame} · Do place blocks directly in the document body.

Common mistakes

• Reusing beamer's block environment instead of the \block{}{} command.
• Naming a beamer theme/colortheme where a tikzposter theme / color style is required.
• Passing a length (0.5\textwidth, 20cm) to \column instead of a bare fraction.
• Using the standard figure environment and a \caption{} instead of tikzfigure[...].
• Wrapping sections in frames — tikzposter has no frames.
• Writing \documentclass{a0poster} or {baposter} when the target is tikzposter.

Quick checklist

• ] \documentclass[...]{tikzposter} (not beamer/beamerposter/a0poster/baposter).
• ] \title/\author/\institute + \maketitle; no frames, no \titlepage.
• ] Sections use \block{title}{body} command form.
• ] columns region; \column{<fraction>} (bare fraction, not a length).
• ] Figures in tikzfigure[<caption>], not figure/\caption.
• ] \usetheme{...} + \usecolorstyle{...} from tikzposter's name sets.