The rectangle behind you

Testing the presentation

A checklist of the things I try to do when I test my slides at the venue, which is something I always ask the conference organizers about.

Connect to the projector, make sure that the resolution works.

Tip №1: Hold Alt when clicking on Scaled option to show all the available resolutions, not just the detected ones.

Tip №2: Hold Alt in the system prefs panel to changed Gather Windows to Detect Displays button, if your computer did not detect the display properly.

Test whether your slides aren’t cropped. (If you want to be fancy, you can download one of TV test patterns.)

Check at least a few dark slides, a few slides with light grays, a few slides with photos. Change the colour profile as needed.

Test/set up the internet connection if you need it.

Test audio output if you need it.

Test whether playing video works if you need it. (Look at the framerate and whether the sound is synchronized with video.)

Go through at least a few slides with the remote to make sure it works. Stand as far away from the computer as you will during the talk.

If you see anything problematic, take notes for things to fix in the time before the talk. Sometimes you will have to talk to the organizers. Sometimes you will need to take action yourself (Video choppy? Perhaps slow it down or ditch it. Internet unreliable? Make local copies. Green looks dirty? Switch to a different accent colour.)

The rectangle behind you, a series of articles about interactive presentations.

By Marcin Wichary (@mwichary)