Historically, Keynote slideshows were exclusively full-screen experiences that lacked the ability to do anything other than show the slides. They were primarily used for in-person presentations and not very flexible for anything remote.

Last year, Apple delivered an update to Keynote that enabled presenting a slideshow in a window so that one can simultaneously use and switch among other applications. This is a boon for presenting during video meetings, as the order of operations to start a slideshow and share it on screen is less restrictive.

A recent update added even more functionality, bringing the Presenter Display to a window. Now, while presenting in a window, you can also see things like the next slide, slide notes, and more.

Windowed Presentations

In the before-times, presenters would commonly connect their computer to an external display, such as a projector. In this new world of remote meetings with screen sharing, there is no physical second display.

When presenting a slideshow while on a video meeting, it can be way easier to show the slides in a window than permit them to take over the screen. The underlying issue has been that Keynote previously did not permit switching applications during an active presentation. Thus, one was forced to share their Keynote editor window before pressing play.

This changed last year when Apple delivered a Keynote update that enabled playing in a window. As a result you can start a show in a window, switch to your video meeting to share the presentation media, and continue your interaction with the slides.

To accomplish this, you’ll find the Play Slideshow in Window command in the Play menu. You can also add the Play in Window command to the toolbar and/or create a keyboard shortcut for it. Plus, in the latest update, the window title bar is hidden so it doesn’t conspicuously appear on screen while playing the show.

Presenter Display — in a Window

When presenting on an external display, one option has been to show the slides alone on the screen for attendees and a special Presenter Display on the computer for the speaker’s benefit. This might include speaking notes, a preview of the next slide, and a clock or timer, among other elements.

To show this Presenter Display, you must be in “extended desktop mode” among two displays—not “mirroring.” In Keynote’s Rehearse Presentation mode, you can customize the Presenter Display, including selecting, moving and/or resizing each of the elements, just like any other slide.

But what to do when there is no external display? In addition to making slideshows windowed, Keynote now also makes the Presenter Display windowable.

While playing a slideshow in a window, you can toggle the windowed Presenter Display using the command in the Play menu or by clicking the button on the toolbar, as shown above. There are fewer display options in this mode but the most common ones are currently available. Learn more on Apple’s support page.

Switch Applications

After all that, you can also now switch applications during a slideshow. Just enable this setting in the Slideshow pane of Keynote preferences. If you need to play an online video, demo a product, or share content in any other application, you can easily do so mid-show.

The capability isn’t perfect, though. For example, timed animations don’t continue running while Keynote is in the background. Instead, the app jumps to the end of the current slide’s animation sequence, waits for the user to return to Keynote, and then continues to the next slide.

As a result, for timed slideshows, I still prefer to run the presentation on my iPad while simultaneously using my Mac to engage with meeting attendees.

Are you returning to your office after 15 months at home? Are you shifting to a hybrid schedule, splitting your work time between office and home?

No matter where you work, whether you are presenting online or on a big screen, you can be prepared to share your presentation support media with ease, know what’s coming up next, and keep track of your time.