Presenter is much more than a utility for converting PowerPoint into a Flash file.
Presenter version 5 adds features many PowerPointers have begged Microsoft for and improves on several PowerPoint features.
Note: If you are not sure why converting PowerPoint to Flash is a good thing, read Robin Good's 2004 full review of Articulate Presenter's previous version.
In addition to converting your slides, Presenter wraps the slides in a player interface designed for Web delivery.
Photo credit: Mary Deaton
Presenter lets you customize the player interface. A template builder has sections for altering layout, navigation, text labels, colors, and options for playback.
You choose how a viewer sees your presentation. They can move freely amongst all slides or follow a linear path you set up for them.
If you use multiple presenters, each can be assigned to specific slides or groups of slides.
Photo credit: Articulate
When the presenter changes, the new presenter's image, bio, and email are shown.
Several interface templates come with Presenter. You can change color, layout, and other elements to create your own look.
Presenter also publishes to Word, a CD or DVD, a learning management system, or via email or to a ZIP file. You have the option of sending any output to an FTP site, too.
Presenter creates a storyboard when you publish to Word. This is useful for editing or sending to others for review.
- Column one tells you how long the slide is displayed and how the slide advances.
- Column Two shows the slide as your audience sees it.
- Column Three contains your notes.
Photo credit: Mary Deaton
You can now edit multiple slides in a single dialog box using Slide Properties Manager. You can change navigation titles, navigation levels, display views, presenters, audio playlists, and slide advance mode.
Photo credit: Articulate
Presenter smooths the process of adding video, music, and other media.
Adding full-motion video of a presenter (available in Presenter Pro)is much easier than doing it in PowerPoint. The Presenter viewer interface shows the video next to your slides rather than within them; this makes for a very clean layout.
Photo credit: Articulate
Audio editing usually requires you to go to another application; not in Presenter. You can edit sound to begin and end exactly where you want it to.
Open the Timeline Audio Editor to edit music clips and to make sure music, animation cues, and slide changes are synchronized with each other as well as a slide.
Photo credit: Articulate
Presenter also helps you do a live presentation.
A slide title's color changes in the Outline tab once a slide is viewed; you can easily see if you've already shown a slide.
Adding interactive branching to slides is easier in Presenter.
Multi-level navigation, just what you need for one slide show to work with many audiences, is easily created and accessed using Presenter.
Stop a presentation, close it, and reopen it and Presenter asks if you want to resume where you left off .
An overview tutorial on the Articulate Web site is the best way to experience the Presenter interface and to see some of the key features in action.
The Articulate blog includes customer comments, presentations done using Presenter, and other great material to help you evaluate the product.
Version 5 is a major upgrade. You can read a complete list of new features or feature enhancements in the Standard and Pro versions on the Articulate Web site.
A free trial version is available when you register your interest in the product.
If you prefer to try before you buy, several downloadable files are available.
Requirements for using Presenter are:
CPU: Pentium II or later
Memory: 64MB (128MB recommended)
Available disk space: 50MB
Multimedia: Sound card and Microphone (if recording narration)
Operating System:
Microsoft Windows 98, NT, 2000, XP, or 2003
Microsoft PowerPoint:
PowerPoint 2000, PowerPoint 2002 (PowerPoint XP), or PowerPoint 2003
Macromedia Flash Player:
Macromedia Flash Player 6,0,79 or later
Download Flash now.
Articulate Presenter is not for the occasional presenter; this is a serious tool for serious presentation and e-learning professionals.
