5 ms·

Ask HN: What presentation software/tools do you use?

8 points by timdaub 12y ago

Hi, I'm going to hold an important presentation very soon. Usually, Google's html5-slides and/or Powerpoint did the job. What do you use and why?

v4n4d1s 12y ago
I create my presentations in Powerpoint and export them to PDF. I do that, because it partly fixes the problem with different video projector resolutions and needed presentation software. Also, I don't need a working internet connection, which is a huge plus from my side.
giaour 12y ago
I use reveal.js[1], but my presentations are just bullet points and transitions. It might be harder to use if you like to include a lot of images. [1] http://lab.hakim.se/reveal-js/ http://lab.hakim.se/reveal-js/
ajstarks 12y ago
I use the deck package [1, 2, 3], and the pdfdeck[4] client. As stated earlier, using PDFs simplifies both presenting and distribution. The deck packages uses a simplified markup that is portable, easy to machine-generate, facilitates source control, and not locked to a vendor. [1] https://speakerdeck.com/ajstarks/deck-a-go-package-for-presentations https://speakerdeck.com/ajstarks/deck-a-go-package-for-prese... [2] http://godoc.org/github.com/ajstarks/deck http://godoc.org/github.com/ajstarks/deck [3] http://godoc.org/github.com/ajstarks/deck/generate http://godoc.org/github.com/ajstarks/deck/generate [4] https://github.com/ajstarks/deck/tree/master/cmd/pdfdeck https://github.com/ajstarks/deck/tree/master/cmd/pdfdeck
vortico 12y ago
I use Beamer (LaTeX) a view with Adobe Acrobat or whatever is installed on the presentation laptop. It's useful for presentations containing mathematical notation.
hucxsz 12y ago
Perzi
z1mm32m4n 12y ago
I write my slide content in Markdown, use pandoc to generate beamer slides as LaTeX files and then compile the beamer to PDF slides. There are a few steps involved, but they're all pretty easily scriptable, and it allows me to use my favorite text editor to compose content quickly.
philippnagel 12y ago
http://decksetapp.com http://decksetapp.com which allows one to write in Markdown and takes care of styling, etc. .
- thenomad 12y ago
  Don't suppose there's a Windows equivalent anywhere, is there?
- timdaub 12y ago
  Thanks for the tip. Never heard of that one before.
cweagans 12y ago
I use slides.com. Easy/fast to put together a good looking slide deck, and I can provide a link for people to watch the slides on their own device (if I'm presenting somewhere that doesn't have a projector or something).
EliRivers 12y ago
I try very hard not to have any slides. If there is some diagram I simply must show, it goes up when I need to talk about it, and stays there as long as I need to talk about it, and then it comes down again. The lights come back up when I'm done talking about it.
michaelbuddy 12y ago
I'd probably use openoffice impress or keynote and then convert the slides to images or something.
pjungwir 12y ago
I like deck.rb for writing the presentation in Markdown then showing it as a webpage. (Hit f11 to hide the browser chrome.) But I'm considering switching to LaTeX and generating a PDF, so the whole presentation lives as a single file.
LanceHaynie 12y ago
MacBook Pro and Keynote seem to do the job just fine for me. If I am going to send the presentation to anyone I almost always export to PDF.

8 points by timdaub 12y ago

Hi, I'm going to hold an important presentation very soon. Usually, Google's html5-slides and/or Powerpoint did the job. What do you use and why?

v4n4d1s 12y ago

I create my presentations in Powerpoint and export them to PDF. I do that, because it partly fixes the problem with different video projector resolutions and needed presentation software. Also, I don't need a working internet connection, which is a huge plus from my side.

giaour 12y ago

I use reveal.js[1], but my presentations are just bullet points and transitions. It might be harder to use if you like to include a lot of images. [1] http://lab.hakim.se/reveal-js/ http://lab.hakim.se/reveal-js/

ajstarks 12y ago

I use the deck package [1, 2, 3], and the pdfdeck[4] client. As stated earlier, using PDFs simplifies both presenting and distribution. The deck packages uses a simplified markup that is portable, easy to machine-generate, facilitates source control, and not locked to a vendor. [1] https://speakerdeck.com/ajstarks/deck-a-go-package-for-presentations https://speakerdeck.com/ajstarks/deck-a-go-package-for-prese... [2] http://godoc.org/github.com/ajstarks/deck http://godoc.org/github.com/ajstarks/deck [3] http://godoc.org/github.com/ajstarks/deck/generate http://godoc.org/github.com/ajstarks/deck/generate [4] https://github.com/ajstarks/deck/tree/master/cmd/pdfdeck https://github.com/ajstarks/deck/tree/master/cmd/pdfdeck

vortico 12y ago

I use Beamer (LaTeX) a view with Adobe Acrobat or whatever is installed on the presentation laptop. It's useful for presentations containing mathematical notation.

hucxsz 12y ago

Perzi

z1mm32m4n 12y ago

I write my slide content in Markdown, use pandoc to generate beamer slides as LaTeX files and then compile the beamer to PDF slides. There are a few steps involved, but they're all pretty easily scriptable, and it allows me to use my favorite text editor to compose content quickly.

philippnagel 12y ago

http://decksetapp.com http://decksetapp.com which allows one to write in Markdown and takes care of styling, etc. .

thenomad 12y ago
Don't suppose there's a Windows equivalent anywhere, is there?
timdaub 12y ago
Thanks for the tip. Never heard of that one before.

cweagans 12y ago

I use slides.com. Easy/fast to put together a good looking slide deck, and I can provide a link for people to watch the slides on their own device (if I'm presenting somewhere that doesn't have a projector or something).

EliRivers 12y ago

I try very hard not to have any slides. If there is some diagram I simply must show, it goes up when I need to talk about it, and stays there as long as I need to talk about it, and then it comes down again. The lights come back up when I'm done talking about it.

michaelbuddy 12y ago

I'd probably use openoffice impress or keynote and then convert the slides to images or something.

pjungwir 12y ago

I like deck.rb for writing the presentation in Markdown then showing it as a webpage. (Hit f11 to hide the browser chrome.) But I'm considering switching to LaTeX and generating a PDF, so the whole presentation lives as a single file.

LanceHaynie 12y ago

MacBook Pro and Keynote seem to do the job just fine for me. If I am going to send the presentation to anyone I almost always export to PDF.