Since you've properly set up the Mac you're using before this point, you're ready to connect to the projector on-site at your presentation. You did read Part One, right?
Here's what's covered here, and what's not. We're assuming that you are connecting to a small, business projector or display (like an HDTV or large LCD display). If it's a larger event in a room with AV services, you should be working with an AV tech to connect to their system. Ask your meeting facility for this persons' info early on!
For smaller events, or ones where the venue has AV infrastructure, you just need to know where to plug the VGA cable. You've already done this once, back at the farm, when you were setting up the Mac, so this should be familiar by now.
The steps should go thusly:
- Mac is powered up or awakened from sleep
- Projector is turned on
- VGA connection is made (the screen should go blue)
- Check the Displays menu, and check that's it's set to 1024x768 (you can go 800x600, too).
- Launch Keynote
- If you're not showing on an LCD or TV (which doesn't need focusing or adjusting), open the Keynote file, Screen Setup Target from the setup files zip. Keep this file handy on your machine; you'll likely need it every time you connect to a projector.
- Play the show (Command-Option-P, or the "Play" button at upper right in Keynote).
- Set keystoning, focus, zoom, and the like. Projector adjustment is outside the scope of this article, consult manuals or come see us if you need training.
- Flip through the various slides in setup; the first two are for alignment and focus, the adorable children are to check skin tones, and the solid colors are for checking for dead pixels in the screen.
- Close the show by hitting ESC. You're ready to show your presentation!
Further reading
- My links on Presentations
- A handout done for an NGA presentation on Presentation Design.
- Highly recommended: Presentation Zen (blog, book). Garr Reynolds' blog and book set me down this path of inquiry, and it's been fascinating.
Posted in Art of Presenting, Tools, Toys, and Geekery, Work
