Presentation Sync part of the free APS Hub
Keep your main and backup presentations in step with APS Hub. Whether you use PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides or PDF, Hub checks that both computers stay together and brings them back in step if one misses a click.
Clicker Distributor advances the group. Presentation Sync checks that every machine stays in step.
Supported presentation apps
Use Mac, PC or a mix of both. Each computer runs its own presentation through APS, and Hub keeps them together. Here’s what you can use on each platform.
PDF — your selected program in APSSkim or Adobe Acrobat Pro
PDF — your selected program in APSOkular, Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat Pro
PowerPoint and Keynote stay on the same slide and animation step. Google Slides stay on the same slide, and PDFs on the same page.
The problem
You run the same presentation on a main and a backup computer. Both receive the same clicks, but one missed click can leave your backup a slide or an animation step behind.
It’s easy to miss while you’re running a show. And when you need to switch to the backup, you want the right slide ready, without a last-minute scramble.
The solution
APS Hub keeps your backup in step with your main computer. It checks the slide and, where supported, the animation step. If one computer falls behind or moves ahead, Hub brings it back automatically.
Choose which computer the others should follow, then present as usual with your clicker, keyboard or controller. Each computer runs its own copy of the presentation.
Hub then opens the matching presentation when needed and keeps the computers on the same slide, including the same animation step when supported.
The difference
Sending the same click to every computer doesn’t guarantee they all end up in the same place. One might miss a click, or someone might accidentally move your backup to another slide.
APS Hub checks where each presentation actually is. If a computer falls out of step, Hub brings it back to the slide and animation step it should be on, so you can keep presenting.
Watch the middle Windows PC. The operator changes its slide and tries to leave the presentation. Presentation Sync brings it back to match the reference Mac on the left.
The Mac shows Presenter View; the large screen behind it shows its presentation output.
Clicker Distributor
Sync keeps the machines together, but somebody still advances the reference. Clicker Distributor is the fast path: plug the clicker’s receiver into the Hub computer, and every Next and Previous goes to the whole group at the same time, with no round trip.
Any clicker works. A basic Logitech sends Page Up and Page Down like nearly every presentation clicker, and that is all Hub needs. You don’t need a professional multi-receiver clicker system from DSan or Interspace to drive several computers.
Over the network, not a cable. The receiver can sit in a laptop near the stage while the APS machines are at front of house, or the other way round. No cable run, no RF range problem.
Instant response, with a safety net. Distributor sends the click to every machine at once. Presentation Sync then runs its usual settle-and-compare check and repairs any machine that didn’t land in the same place. Hub doesn’t queue or retry missed clicks; the sync layer handles the drift.
Clicker Distributor sends each Next and Previous to the Mac and both Windows PCs. Presentation Sync stays active in the background to check their positions and correct any drift.
Questions
Yes. Plug the clicker’s receiver into the computer running APS Hub, turn on Clicker Distributor for the group, and every Next and Previous goes to every machine in the group over the network. Any clicker that sends Page Up and Page Down works, which is nearly all of them. Presentation Sync then checks that every machine landed on the same slide and corrects any that didn’t.
Put the same file in APS’s watched folder on both computers, run APS 4.5 or later on each, and create a Presentation Sync group in the free APS Hub with the main machine as the reference. Hub opens the same file on the backup, keeps it on the same slide and animation step, and closes it when the main stops. If the backup drifts, Hub corrects it and shows you what it did.
Keynote is kept in step down to the animation step, the same as PowerPoint. PDF and Google Slides are kept on the same slide. APS can’t observe their build steps on both machines, so Hub reports Build unverified rather than claiming a match.
No. Two computers running APS 4.5 or later, one computer on the same network running the free APS Hub, and the clicker you already own. No distributor box and no multi-receiver clicker system is required.
No. APS Hub is LAN only. The presentation computers and the Hub computer must be on the same local network. There is no cloud or internet control.
Four steps, plus an optional fifth
Install APS 4.5 or later on every presentation computer. APS is the paid app that opens and runs the presentations.
Install the free APS Hub on your control computer. It lives in the menu bar or system tray; the control page opens in your browser. On Mac, pick the installer for your chip.
Connect. APS machines announce themselves on the network, so they appear in Hub by themselves. Click Add. Machines that don’t show up can be added by IP and port, the same as in Companion.
Create a group, pick the reference. Add the machines that run the same deck, mark the main as reference, and you’re done.
Optional: control the group with one clicker. Plug your clicker’s receiver into the computer running the APS Hub desktop app. Open Clicker Distributor from the menu bar or system tray and turn it on, then enable it for your Presentation Sync group. Your clicker’s Next and Previous buttons now control the whole group.
Pricing
Hub is a free companion app and will stay free: no account, no licence key. It doesn’t open or run presentations by itself. Each presentation computer needs APS 4.5 or later with a paid APS licence for unrestricted use.
Hub app: free forever