Monochromatic plane waves allow the description of many of the properties of propagating, reflected and transmitted radiation through media of different optical properties. However, some of their characteristics only appear when considering limited beams. In this work we determine and analyse (to the second order) some characteristics of the transmission of beams (spatially limited) or pulses (limited in time), in both cases with Gaussian distribution. It is assumed that the transmission takes place through an isotropic planeparallel plate. If the beam is limited in space, we consider that the mean direction of the wave is perpendicular to the plate. On the other hand, when the beam is limited in time, we consider that all the plane waves impinge normally to the plate. We compare the non-geometric effects for both kinds of limited beams, for the cases where the plate is transparent, absorbing or with linear gain.