In this article, you’ll find out everything about our remote control module, which allows you to control one or more screens remotely using a (touchscreen) device.
What is the remote control module?
With the Remote Control module, you can use presono to control one or more other screens, or the content displayed on them. The only requirement is that they are all on the same network. Basically, you can therefore set up a ‘remote control’ presentation and then control one or more screens to start presentations, insert slides, open/close overlays, move forwards or backwards, and so on. All the linking options available in presono can thus be triggered remotely, without any direct interaction with the device. However, as all of this involves ‘normal’ content in presono, you can continue to interact with it – for example, you can still access various links or similar features on the slide that has been opened up. Great, isn’t it?
Ideal for trade fairs, showrooms and events, and of course fully compatible with offline use; it can be combined in any way with all other modules and features in presono. There are no limits to your creativity!
How does it work?
The module is activated and set up once (in consultation with presono support). The content can be prepared in advance in presono. There are a few specific points to note regarding linking and creating content, but more on that below.
Once the setup is complete and the technical configuration is finished, the device-combination can, in theory, be dismantled and reassembled as required and used, for example, at trade fairs.
What do I need? (techncal details)
- At least two devices with presono installed – one of these must be a Windows PC (e.g. a mini PC) on which the presono app can be installed and a virtual server is set up (this can be done by presono; remote setup is also possible). All other devices can be tablets or additional Windows PCs.
- Each mini-PC may also require an ‘output device’, i.e. a screen on which the content is displayed. This device can be a touchscreen device, allowing further interaction with the content.
- At least one user (ideally a presenter user with read access to all relevant content). Via Kiosk Mode, automatic synchronisation, automatic start of presentations and similar settings can already be configured (plug-and-play solution)
- A router with a static IP address (can be provided by presono and serves as a hub for communication between the devices)
It is important that all devices are connected to the same network. This can be a network with or without internet access – the only thing to bear in mind is that the network must be switched manually if data needs to be synchronised or updated, should there be no internet connection.
One output device acts as a virtual server through which communication takes place. The router requires a static IP address, via which the devices then communicate. Basically, the link to the device/presentation is sent using the assigned identification number, provided it is on the same network.
presono is installed, logged in and synchronised on all devices. A presentation is started on all of them, and the links are then sent to the device with the specific presentation. More on this below.
It is also important that the Presenter user logged in on the devices has access to all linked content – i.e. to the individual slides as well, not just the presentation.
How to link my remote control?
It is advisable to plan a sort of ‘remote control presentation’ and one ‘output’ presentation per output device. Basically, the output presentation can initially contain just a screensaver or similar, as the rest of the content is inserted via links. The remote control presentation usually requires several subpages or a single page with a relatively large number of buttons.
Important: for the ‘buttons’ on your remote control, must contain TWO link most cases: one link that goes to the next subpage/remote control page on the remote control presentation, and one link that triggers an action on the remote-controlled screen. There can also be several remote control links on one button at the same time, for example if something is to happen simultaneously on two or three screens.
The remote control links must be clearly located on an area within the template or on an element in the gallery. The ‘normal’ links – i.e. the action to be performed on the remote control – can be created in the usual way using the standard linking options in presono. More on this here: Linking Possibilities at a Glance
Example Remote Control Presentation:
Example Output Presentation:
Link in template/layout
In a layout, the link is placed directly on a section. To do this, click on the section and open the Custom Code settings at the bottom centre. There, under ‘Class Names’ on the left, you can enter your ‘Link’:
Please note that with this method, the link is set directly in the template and different links cannot be set within the slides. This type of linking is useful if:
- you have fixed navigation elements that should always remain the same for this type of slide, such as Back, Home, Next, a menu or similar.
- you are creating a custom layout specifically for a single slide, which you do not need for any other slides of this type
If this is not the case and you are, for example, linking to specific content, we recommend incorporating a gallery and then setting the link within the slide to the gallery elements. More on this in the next paragraph.
Link in media gallery
However, a remote control link can be added not only to the relevant section in the template, but also within a slide – on a gallery element. To do this, click on an element in your gallery, click on ‘Options’ and expand the ‘Class names’ section. You can then enter your link there.
The advantage of this method is that you can use the same layout for several slides and place multiple links within the same section. You can also assign the ‘Normal’ link to the gallery element additionally to the remote-link – that is, the action that should take place on the remote control itself – such as going one level down to the next remote control slide.
Setting up the connection to the remote control
The remote control ‘link’ has the following structure/options:
(Remove the square brackets; they are included here for clarity only. If there are multiple options, include only one (Language))
| ws_link target_647f0c1fd855740008c6b5e4:slide:648c130c3c2d7c0008c0966d |
ws_link = required to set up a remote control link
Space
Target_[presentation-ID] (is the ID of the presentation being accessed (started) on the same network; it can be copied from the presentation’s metadata)
Possible commands:
- slide:[slide-ID]
- overlay:[slide-ID]
- presentation:[presentation-ID]
- lang:[de_DE] (The language ID can be copied from the languages section in the settings)
- action:[…]
- first
- prev
- next
- slideNumber:[1/2/3/...]
- Video controls: video_restart:none (restarts the video)
- video_playpause:none (plays or pauses the video)
- video_rewind:none (rewinds the video by 5 seconds)
- video_fastforward:none (fast-forwards the video by 5 seconds)
- video_togglemute:none (mutes or unmutes the audio)
In the case of videos, the suffix ‘:none’ at the end serves to control any video on the open slide (for example, by pausing it). However, this only works if there is just one video on the slide, which is usually the case. If you want to play a specific video, the ‘:none’ command must be replaced with a class name. In the template where the video will later be placed, a class must then be assigned (again at the bottom of the Custom Code options on the left). This can be chosen freely, but must be written without spaces or special characters – for example, ‘videoLeft’. The area therefore has now gotten the class ‘videoLeft’. In the remote command, you can then simply use :videoLeft instead of :none; the button will then control the specific element, but only for areas that have that class name. This is therefore more of a specific workaround, and as a rule, you use :none to simply control the video on the current slide.
Multiple links:
The section starting with “target” can also be executed twice in succession (separated by a space) if a button is to perform two actions – the ID determines what happens in which view.
An example:
The first part inserts a slide into a presentation, whilst the second part pauses the video currently open in another presentation.
Tips:
Reset/Home buttons
Consider, for example, a ‘Reset’ button on your remote control. In this example, at the top of the relevant “screen” (the top row of mock-ups), there is an ‘actionFirst’ link on the section which resets the presentation on that specific screen back to the screensaver.
Back/Next for linear presentations
For example, if you’re displaying a linear presentation on your target screen, you can simply add a ‘Back’ and a ‘Next’ button to your remote control, as shown in the example above, which will control the presentation and allow you to move forwards and backwards without the need for multiple sub-pages or individual buttons.
Use Kiosk Mode
Take advantage of the features in Kiosk Mode to, for example, automatically reset your screens after a period of inactivity or perform other actions. You can also set presentations to start automatically, as well as have content updated automatically when the app launches, at specific intervals, or at set times – all without you having to do a thing. Essentially, it’s a plug-and-play solution.
App Updates
Please note that even with a fixed installation like this, regular app updates must be carried out on all devices involved.
Tablets on the same network
For a showroom or trade fair, for example, you can connect tablets to the same network, allowing staff to move around freely and ‘control’ individual screens using the tablet. You can easily play presentations from a favourites menu onto the screen, display content on screens that are out of reach, use two screens for comparisons, or similar. The possibilities are endless! Everything works offline, of course, and can also be combined with other modules and the standard functions and features of presono.
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