Tutorials : Mastering Sozi - The ultimate Guide to Non-Linear Presentations on Linux in 2026

# Mastering Sozi: The Ultimate Guide to Non-Linear Presentations on Linux

Traditional presentations force you into a linear, slide-after-slide box. **Sozi** breaks that mold. It turns your presentation into an infinite canvas where a virtual camera pans, zooms, and rotates across a single vector graphic.

Because Sozi doesn't generate bloated binaries but instead outputs clean **HTML and SVG** files, your presentations can be played on *any* device with a modern web browser.

This step-by-step tutorial covers how to design, animate, and present using **Inkscape** and **Sozi** on Linux.

## Prerequisites: Setting Up Your Workspace

Before starting, ensure you have both core tools installed on your Linux machine. Open your terminal and install them via your package manager:

```bash

# For Ubuntu/Debian/Mint

sudo apt install inkscape sozi

# For Fedora

sudo dnf install inkscape sozi

# Alternatively, both are available as Flatpaks on Flathub

flatpak install flathub org.inkscape.Inkscape

flatpak install flathub fr.baierouge.Sozi

```

Create a dedicated folder for your project (e.g., sozi-presentation). **Always keep your source files together in this folder.**

## Step 1: Design the Canvas in Inkscape

Sozi doesn’t have drawing tools. It relies entirely on an SVG file you create in Inkscape.

 1. **Open Inkscape** and set up your document layout.

 2. **Build your concept map:** Instead of creating separate pages, lay out your content on a single canvas. Place your main topic in the center, and spread sub-topics, text, diagrams, and images around it.

 3. **Vary your scales:** Make some text blocks huge and others tiny. This allows you to utilize dramatic zoom-ins later.

 4. **Save your file** as a standard SVG inside your project folder (e.g., my-canvas.[span_11](start_span)svg).

> 💡 **Pro-Tip:** If you prefer a highly structured layout, you can draw temporary rectangles to act as placeholders for your slide boundaries.

> 

## Step 2: Animate the Camera in Sozi

Once your vector graphic is ready, minimize Inkscape and launch the **Sozi Presentation Editor**.

### 1. Import Your Graphic

Click **Open**, navigate to your project folder, and select your my-canvas.[span_14](start_span)svg file. You will see your complete Inkscape drawing appear in the main Sozi preview pane.

### 2. Set Your Aspect Ratio

In the top toolbar, look for the **Aspect Ratio** settings. Change it to a modern widescreen format like **16:9** or **16:10** to match standard projectors and monitors.

### 3. Creating Your First Frame (The "Big Picture")

 * Click the **+ (Plus)** button in the bottom-left timeline panel to generate your first frame.

 * In the right-hand properties pane, rename the title to 01_Introduction.

 * **Adjust the Camera:**

   * **Pan:** Click and drag the left mouse button to move across the canvas.

   * **Zoom:** Use your mouse scroll wheel to zoom into a specific node or text element.

   * **Rotate:** Hold down the Shift key while scrolling or dragging to tilt the camera canvas.

 * Frame the camera so it captures your entire presentation layout at a glance.

### 4. Setting the Sequence

 * Click the **+** button again to create your second frame. Rename it 02_Concept_A.

 * Move, zoom, and rotate the camera until it focuses closely on your first sub-topic.

 * Repeat this process for all your key points. You can always drag and drop frames in the bottom timeline to reorder your path.

## Step 3: Fine-Tune Space and Time

To make your presentation professional rather than disorienting, refine the transitions in the right-hand properties panel:

 * **Transition Duration:** Set the speed of the camera movement (usually 1.0 to 1.5 seconds is optimal). Quick movements keep the momentum up; longer durations can cause motion sickness if you rotate drastically.

 * **Timing Function:** Change this from linear to **Ease-in-out**. This adds acceleration and deceleration to the camera, mimicking natural cinematic movement.

 * **Enable Clipping:** Select your frames in the timeline and toggle the **Clipping** button in the layer properties. This forces the output to hide everything outside your designated frame boundary, preventing distractions.

## Step 4: Save and Present

Sozi saves changes to your work automatically. If you check your project directory, you will notice Sozi has generated new files alongside your original SVG:

 1. my-canvas.sozi.json: Holds your frame layout and camera coordinates. **Do not delete this!**

 2. my-canvas.sozi.html: This is your finalized, ready-to-use presentation.

### Running Your Presentation

To present, double-click the .sozi.html file to open it in your preferred Linux browser (Firefox, Chromium, etc.). Press F11 to trigger full-screen mode.

| Action | Control Key |

|---|---|

| **Next Frame** | Left-click, Spacebar, or Right Arrow |

| **Previous Frame** | Left Arrow or Page Up |

| **First Frame** | Home key |

| **Last Frame** | End key |

## 🛠️ Editing and Updating Later

If you notice a typo mid-presentation, don't worry. Open your original my-canvas.[span_15](start_span)svg file in Inkscape, fix the text, and save it.

Because Sozi dynamically references the SVG vectors, your updated text will instantly render inside the .html file the next time you refresh your browser window.