Remote Controls

Pocket Slides enables you to control your presentation with a variety of methods apart from using the device itself, including various remote controls.

Remote controls are configured on the main Tools > Options screen. From here, several choices are available for the remote control:

• Don't use a remote: disables all remote control functionality. Presentation is controlled solely through the stylus and button presses.
  
  
• Use Serial/Wireless remote: this configures Pocket Slides to look for an attached serial mouse. Devices with USB Hosting capabilities should be able to use standard USB mice without having to choose this option -- it is only needed for those devices with serial/USB ports. Since these ports on a Pocket PC are meant to be connected to a PC, and not another peripheral device, a "null modem" (or "crossover") serial cable is needed to be connected in between the mouse and the Pocket PC.
  
  
• Use Consumer Infrared remote: through this option, you can use any standard Infrared remote control to trigger your presentation to go to the next animation or slide. Jumping back in the presentation is not supported. Pocket Slides looks for any input on its Infrared port, and when detected, jumps to the next animation. Any standard TV or stereo remote control will work, provided the COM port setting is correct (see below).
  
  
• Use VGA Device remote: many VGA cards (such as the Margi Presenter-to-Go) come with remote controls. Pocket Slides can utilize these remote controls when picking this option. Going back and forward in a presentation is supported, provided the remote control has the buttons for those commands.
  
  
• Bluetooth Phone Remote: introduced in Pocket Slides 2, you can now use many Bluetooth-enabled phones to remotely control your presentation. By selecting this option, Pocket Slides will try to connect to the Bluetooth Serial Port on another device (depending on your Bluetooth version, your Pocket PC may pop up a "Pick Device" screen when starting a presentation), and produce a menu interface on it for going back and forward in the presentation, along with commands for jumping to a specific slide, and viewing slide notes. Supported phones include the Sony Ericsson T68i, T610, T616, and other phones that support the "extended AT command sets for menus" (AT*EASM). Conduits has produced its own menuing system for Windows Mobile Pocket PC and Smartphone devices, which emulate this menuing system on any Bluetooth-enabled Windows Mobile device. That program is available from the Pocket Slides download page.

  

• Other phones: Pocket Slides also supports other phone remotes, such as any Symbian Series 60 or UIQ phones, such as the Nokia 3650, by way of the Bemused server. Bemused is an open-source product which has a "client program" which runs on your phone, and a "server program" which runs on your Pocket PC (below). After running the server program on your Pocket PC, you can connect to the Pocket PC from the phone, both start a slide show and navigate a presentation. The Pocket PC Bemused Server is available from the Pocket Slides download page.