org-mode Beamer export: can't change format of title page and TOC

Question

I have an org file that I use to create a pdf with org-beamer-export-to-pdf. The file has things like this at the top:

#+TITLE: Training
#+OPTIONS: H:2 toc:1 num:t
#+LATEX_CLASS: beamer
#+LATEX_CLASS_OPTIONS: [presentation]
#+BEAMER_THEME: Montpellier

# No Navigation Symbols
#+LaTeX:\setbeamercovered{transparent}
#+LaTeX:\setbeamertemplate{navigation symbols}{} %remove navigation symbols
#+LaTeX:\setbeamercovered{invisible} %No transparent layers

Along with some color configurations, too. These changes (for exmaple, getting rid of the navigation symobls) work on all the body slides. However nothing I do affects the appearance of the Title Page or the Table of Contents.

Even explicitly setting something like

#+LaTeX:\setbeamercolor*{title page}{fg=mycolor, bg=myothercolor}

has no effect on the title page. This holds true for titlelike title subtitle author or section in toc or subsection in toc and so forth.

Why can't I configure the 1st two slides of my presentation?

Answer 1

Instead of #+LaTeX: you should try #+BEAMER_HEADER: for all beamer specific configuration lines.

For example: #+BEAMER_HEADER: \setbeamertemplate{navigation symbols}{} removes navigation symbols in all slides including title page and toc.

Answer 2

Did you try the \documentclass[usepdftitle=false]{beamer} option with #+LATEX_CLASS:? That would at least allow for customizing the title page to your liking, possibly.