Interface Basics
The Preseria desktop app lets you download and launch files belonging to Presentations (PowerPoints, Keynotes, PDFs, Videos, etc.). Below we cover the layout and different views of the application.
Splash Screen¶
There are two modes to the desktop app; Technician Mode and Presenter Mode. Their differences are explained in detail in their own sections. In essence, the Technician Mode only allows for downloading and synchronization of presentation files, while the Presenter Mode also has features for two-screen support and seamlessly switching between presenters and their presentation files.
Login¶
At the login screen you must enter the customer Id (customer name or conference shortname) and the login credentials (email & password) of an Organizer account owning, or having permission to, the conference you want to download. You must be connected to the Internet to be able to log in and download Presentations, but you can always access previously downloaded Presentations (in your "Documents/Preseria" folder) without an Internet connection by choosing Offline Mode.
Offline mode¶
Offline mode lets you access previously downloaded Presentations that are still on your computer (In your "preseria folder", usually located at C:\Users\{user}\Documents\Preseria (Windows) or /Users/{user}/Documents/Preseria (macOS)
Main Menu¶
The main menu lets you navigate between all the different views / screens of the app.
Conferences / Day Conferences¶
The Conference / Day Conference overview shows all the events you have access to and may download to your computer.
Sessions¶
The Session overview shows all the Sessions of the currently selected Conference. When you "Open" a Session, the app will start downloading its Presentations (the files belonging to the presentations), unless they are already downloaded. New or updated presentation files will automatically be downloaded when opening a Session.
Settings¶
The settings menu lets you configure various properties of the Preseria Desktop app:
Jump between presentations automatically¶
When presenting, pressing the keys PgDn or will advance a presentation. If "Jump between presentations automatically" is enabled, the Preseria Desktop app will automatically jump from the file in the previous presentation to the first file in the next presentation.
If the previous file is a slideshow, it will jump from its last slide to the first slide in the next file (given that it also is a slideshow). While switching between files, the desktop app will show the background image selected for the Conference or Session.
Open PowerPoints in Presenter View¶
By default, the desktop app will open PowerPoints in fullscreen on the secondary screen (projector), while showing the controls on the primary screen (laptop). When "Open PowerPoints in Presenter View" is enabled, the primary screen will show PowerPoint's own Presenter View instead of the Preseria controls (which will be hidden behind the Presenter View) when displaying PowerPoints.
When PowerPoint's Presenter View is on top, and you want to bring the Preseria user interface back to the foreground, simply press Esc. Doing that will NOT stop the PowerPoint slideshow (which is what ESC usually does to PowerPoints), but instead bring the Preseria user interface to the front, letting you select the next presentation in line or perform another action. If you want to resume the slideshow, just click the PowerPoint icon in the taskbar, which will trigger the activation of the PowerPoint Presenter View window and bring it to front.
Download Slide Thumbnails¶
Thumbnails for PowerPoint and PDF presentations are automatically generated by Preseria server-side. Downloading these thumbnails will let you see small previews of the upcoming slides in the bottom slide-scroller of Preseria's "Presenter Mode".
Show loading spinner on secondary screen¶
When processing the command of closing or opening a file, which may take a few seconds depending on the computer hardware and/or the complexity / size of the presentation file, Preseria will show a small white loading spinner in the bottom right on the secondary / projector screen.
The loading spinner is both visible to the audience and the presenter and is meant as an indicator that the desktop app is "working" to open a file and that the presenter has to wait a few seconds before being able to start clicking through his/her slides. If you inform the presenters having slow-loading presentation of this feature, they will know when their presentation is loading, when it's ready and when they can start clicking their clicker's "next"-button to advance.