Keep column height in Beamer when replacing content

Question

I have a frame in Beamer that consists of two columns. The content of one column remains the same, the content of the other column is replaced on the second slide.

\begin{frame}
  \begin{columns}
    \begin{column}{.5\textwidth}
      % some static content
    \end{column}
    \begin{column}{.5\textwidth}
      \begin{onlyenv}<1>
        % some tikz picture
      \end{onlyenv}
      \begin{onlyenv}<2>
        % some other tikz picture
      \end{onlyenv}
    \end{column}
  \end{columns}
\end{frame}

The problem with this configuration is that since the height of the second column changes, the position of the content of the first column also changes, and so the transition between the slides is not smooth - The first column "jumps" around.

How can I keep the first column static, while changing the seconds?

Answer 1

Does the overprint environment do what you want? You'd place it around both of your onlyenv environments. It reserves a common block of space for the pictures so that all versions of the slide "see" the same size box in the second column (regardless of the actual size of the picture), which should get rid of the "jumping".

See also the overlayarea environment, which gives you more control; both of these are documented in section 9.5 of the beamer manual.