Guide to preparing your PC for presentation duty
During our years here at SlideDog, we have collected a few tips and tricks on how to make sure your PC behaves properly during a presentation. This guide is optimized for Windows, but you should be able to adapt the steps to any operating system.
Dag Hendrik Lerdal
Tip: Settings Shortcut
Some of the steps below contains shortcut links (underlined) for fast and easy navigation. To use these links, open the file explorer window (the one where you browse documents and files) and paste them directly into the top field.
1. Make sure your PC does not go to sleep
You do not want your PC screen to go black in the middle of your presentation. To prevent this, click “Change Plan Settings” and make sure all rows are set to “Never” in the “Plugged in” Column.
2. Turn off Screen Saver and System Sounds
Inserting USB sticks and adjusting the system volume makes these beeping sounds by default. Click “Change system sounds” and then select “No Sounds” as the Sound Scheme.
Also, a Screen Saver can be quite annoying if the PC is left inactive during the presentation. Type “Windows + I” to open the Settings menu, then start typing “Screen saver” in the “Find a setting” input field. Click “Change Screen Saver” once it appears and select “None”
3. Set your Windows Desktop Background to solid black color
In case you are forced to minimize SlideDog in front of your audience, it will look much better if you change your Desktop Background to either your SlideDog background image, or just a solid black color. Type “Windows + I” to open the Settings menu, then start typing “Background image” in the “Find a setting” input field. Select “Solid Color” from the dropdown list inder “Personalize your background”. Then select the black background.
4. Disable Automatic Windows Updates
Your PC should not bother you with updates during an important presentation. Type “Windows + I” to open the Settings menu, then start typing “Windows update” in the “Find a setting” input field. Select “Windows Update Settings” once it appears.
Click “Pause For 1 week” and resume it once you’re done with your presentation.
5. Turn off taskbar on the second display (Only for Extended Desktop setup)
If your are using Extended Desktop mode (SlideDog in Dual Screen mode), it will look more professional if your audience does not see your taskbar on the big screen.
Type “Windows + I” to open the Settings menu, then start typing “taskbar” in the “Find a setting” input field. Select “Taskbar Settings” once it appears.
Disable “Show my taskbar on all displays”.
6. Turn off Trackpad gestures
Depending on the PC model, accidently swiping with one, two or three fingers can have unwanted effects (such as launching the Windows App store). If you are not 100% confident with your trackpad gestures it is recommended to turn them off. This varies from PC model to PC model, so this guide will not pursue this any further (Your best bet is to look for something with Trackpads in the Control Panel). If you are unsure on how to do this, you can always connect an external mouse during the presentation.
7. Turn off applications running in the background
During your presentation, it is important to have as little programs running as possible (Dropbox might start downloading a large file added to a shared folder, someone might call you on skype etc.). Turn off applications you do not need by right clicking on them in the bottom right task bar and select “Quit”.
