INTRODUCTION

WHAT'S HOT

SETUP

Setting Conversion Options

    The converter that Pocket Slides installs on the desktop has a number of options.  You call up the conversion setup dialogs by going to the "Conduits Pocket Slides" submenu of your Start Menu and selecting "Pocket Slides Export Options":

Pocket Slides Export Options

    The initial Export Options screen allows you to select how your PowerPoint slides will be resized for the Pocket PC.  You can select Pocket PC Small (240x180), Pocket PC Normal (320x240), VGA (640x480), SVGA (800x600), XVGA (1024x768) or a Custom width and height.  Tapping the [Advanced...] button brings up the Advanced settings:

Pocket Slides Advance Export Settings -- General tab

    The initial tab on the Advanced Settings allows you to select the language.  This won't translate the text on the slides.  It just sets the language that the conversion program user interface displays in.  It doesn't affect the conversion process at all.  There is also an option to pop-up the settings dialog when files are copied to the Pocket PC (as they would be if you placed them in the desktops ActiveSync folder and synchronized).  If you choose not to pop up the dialog, Pocket Slides will use whichever conversion settings you used last.
    You can also elect to smooth text and shapes using "anti-aliasing."  Finally, Advanced Settings has options which affect when the conversion will "embed" the original PowerPoint file within the Pocket Slides file.  You can elect to never bundle the original file (in which case, unless you keep your original PowerPoint file on your desktop or backward conversion will be lost), always bundle the file, or only bundle the file if it is less than 100K, 500K, 1MB, 2MB, or 10MB in size.  You can also always bundle e-mail attached presentations and decide whether the conversion will also optimize the presentation as it converts it.
    There is an additional tab that affects how external presentation files are "packaged" with the Pocket Slides presentation:

Pocket Slides Advance Export Settings -- Package tab

    The Package tab allows you to choose whether external pictures are kept their original size or resized to their size in the presentation.  You can also select whether sounds, music, and pictures are bundled into the Pocket Slides presentation.  On conversions from Pocket Slides to PowerPoint, you can select where presentation music is copied to.

    Back on the main Export Options screen, pressing the [Convert >] button brings up the Conversion dialog.  You can select which presentation file to convert from.  This can be either a PowerPoint presentation or a Pocket Slides presentation, allowing you to convert either way.  You can also select the name and location of the file you want to convert to.

Pocket Slides Convert Screen

    This screen is used for doing conversions directly to/from storage cards attached to your desktop in a card reader.  You don't use the Convert screen if you're using ActiveSync to copy presentations to/from your Pocket PC.

Setting Pocket PC Options

    You get to the Options dialog by tapping on the "Tools" menu and selection "Options..."

Pocket Slides General options

    Like the desktop conversion program, the Language option just sets the language used by the conversion process and doesn't have any impact on the presentation itself.  The next option determines whether you use a remote control device and what type to use.  Your options are "Don't use," "Use Serial/Wireless mouse," "Use Consumer Infrared remote," "Use VGA Device remote," and "Bluetooth Phone Remote."  That last option works with Sony T610 and T68i phones that support extended AT menu commands.  The next option allows you to select the COM port through which the remote transmits signals to the Pocket PC.  The final three options on this tab determine whether Pocket Slides checks memory while it operates and informs you when you're running low, whether presentations will display a pop-up menu button for additional commands, and whether VGA status is displayed when you switch to fullscreen mode.

    The VGA Output tab allows you to select and control how VGA-out add ons are used:

VGA Output options

    The first option allows you to manually set which VGA output hardware you'll be using.  This is useful if you haven't yet installed your card or if the program has some trouble recognizing your card.  The three buttons below that display information on VGA-out hardware, test the VGA output, and reset the VGA card in case of problems.  The "VGA Resolution/Output" option allows you to select between manually setting resolution and output, Auto-set resolution to VGA, Auto-set resolution for NTSC Composite, and Auto-set resolution for NTSC S-Video.  The items below that display (and allow you to select in manual mode) the VGA resolution and output respectively.

    The "Advanced" tab has additional settings:

Pocket Slides Advanced options

    The first set of options determine whether the tap-and-hold menu will display, whether animations show in the slide sorter, whether the slide show is automatically started when loaded, whether the slide is displayed full size or shrunk to fit in Normal view, and whether the rotating clock icon is displayed when Pocket Slides is working in Normal View.  The second set of options determines whether the slide show ends with a black slide, whether the Pocket PC is prevented from shutting off during a presentation, and whether animations display on VGA-out (which can slow down presentations).  The third set of options determine when anti-aliasing or smoothing is applied.  The final set of options determine where Pocket Slides stores its temporary files.

PROGRAM FEATURES

    When Pocket Slides starts, you'll get a list of Pocket Slides presentations which you can load:

Pocket Slides normal file list

    There's also a "Detail View" which displays a thumbnail of the first slide and more information about the presentation:

Pocket Slides Detail View

    The Detail View is much more helpful for locating a particular presentation.  Between the thumbnail and the Title, you should be able to find what you're looking for. You can also create a new presentation and set Options (in the Tools menu).  When you create a new presentation, you'll get a screen which helps you to create the first slide in the presentation:

Pocket Slides Insert New Slide dialog

    You can also click on the "Blank Slide" tab to create a slide:

Pocket Slides New Blank Slide tab

    For creating your slides within Pocket Slides the program provides a good set of editing tools.  To see the tools you use the tool bar toggle icon ().

The Editing Toolbar with Objects menu shown

    The left-most menu on the toolbar allows you to select objects for adding to your slide.  The menu combines an object button and a pop-up.  If you click on the pop-up arrow, the menu appears and allows you to select an object.  Once you select an object type, the object button displays the appropriate icon.  If you want to add another object of the same type, you can skip the object type selection.  The object button toggles object entry on and off.  If it's highlighted, clicking on the screen will enter the object.  When it's not highlighted, clicking on the screen allows you to select an existing object.  When you add a new Text Frame you get the Text Entry dialog:

New Text Frame entry dialog

    The remaining tools on the tool bar allow you to edit characteristics of the selected object.  The Paint tool () lets you change an objects fill color (you can also make an object semi-transparent), line color, and line weight (thickness).  You can also adjust the objects width, height, and position.  Finally, you can set the items shadow properties.  This includes whether there is a shadow, the color of the shadow, whether it's semi-transparent, and its horizontal and vertical offset from the object.  The Order tool () allows you to move an object to the front or to the back.  Objects in front of cover objects behind them.  The Shadow tool () allows you to quickly set an object's shadow characteristics.  The tool pops up the shadow menu:

Shadow menu

    The top section of the shadow menu allows you to select the visual style and placement of the shadow.  The bottom section allows you to move the shadow slightly.  With text objects the shadow options are fewer because the "shadow" duplicates the actual characters.
    The Timing tool () allows you to set various aspects of how the slide appears on the screen.  You can "animate" the objects on the slide.  Animation allows you to display part of the slide right away and have other objects add themselves, with transition effects, either after a specified time or when you click on the slide with the stylus.  You can also add sound effects and even multi-media when objects animate and dim or hide the object after the animation or on a subsequent tap.  With text objects, you can add text all at once or in paragraph groups.
    The remaining tools () allow you to change text characteristics.  The buttons control font size, call up the text characteristics box, toggle bold, and toggle italics respectively.

    Once you've created your first slide or when you open an existing slide show, you'll get Pocket Slides' Normal View:

Pocket Slides Normal View

    The Normal View shows a single slide with arrows that allow you to move back and forth through the slide show.  Below the slide image is a pop-up that will allow you to select a specific slide by its title and move to it.  Below that, you'll see the slide's notes.  Clicking on a text box on the slide will open an editing window, allowing you to edit the text:

Editing slide text

    Clicking on the double arrow () on the slide title pop-up will switch to a text-only view:

slide's text

    Clicking on the double arrow next to the note will open the note for editing:

Editing a slide's notes

    Some further editing functions are available through the Edit menu:

Pocket Slides Edit menu

    Along with the standard cut, copy, paste, and such, you can also create a new slide, duplicate the current slide, delete the slide, rename the presentation or move it to a new location, and display the presentation's properties, including Title, number of slides, slide dimensions, and file name, location, type, and time/date stamp.

    Pocket Slides also has "context" menus associated with each type of object.  If you tap-and-hold on any object, you'll get a menu of appropriate editing actions for that type of object.

    The View menu allows you to choose how the slides are displayed as you work with them and as you display them in a slide show:

Pocket Slides View menu

    The first set of options chooses between the three basic display modes.  We've seen Normal mode so far.  The Slide Sorter mode displays several slides at a time, allowing you to change whether a slide displays in a show, the order they display, and the transition and timing effects between slides.  The Sorter Display switch () changes to the next size of slides in the Sorter display each time you tap it:

Pocket Slides Slide Sorter -- smallest

Pocket Slides Slide Sorter -- small with descriptions

Pocket Slides Slide Sorter -- small without descriptions

Pocket Slides Slide Sorter -- medium

Pocket Slides Slide Sorter -- larger

Pocket Slides Slide Sorter -- largest

    The first three sets of options for a hyperlinked picture are the same as the previous menu.  The final set of options allows you to save the picture, set the picture as your Today Screen Wallpaper, or view the text that's associated with the image.  (Many images have text associated with them for display on non-graphic web browsers.)

    Within the Slide Sorter, the Show/Hide tool () toggles whether the selected slide is displayed in a slide show.  The Preview Animation tool () allows you to see how the slide objects animate using the thumbnail.  The Animation Settings tool () sets the slide's objects' "timing" characteristics as we discussed in the slide creation section of this review.  The Transition tool () allows you to set transition and timing effects that occur as you move from the previous slide to the current slide.

    The Tools menu provides the ability to work with slide show documents:

Pocket Slides Tools menu

    From the Tools menu, you can undo or redo slide sorting, send the current show via IR or e-mail, change the program options, revert to the last saved version of the show, save the current version, or delete it entirely.  You can also call up the Slide Show setup dialog:

Pocket Slides Slide Show setup dialog -- General tab

    The General tab of the Slide Show setup dialog allows you to choose between displaying the show in Fullscreen mode on the Pocket PC display or showing a smaller version of the slide along with slide notes.  You can also select whether the slideshow will output to a VGA device and how the slides will rotate when displayed.  You can eliminate animations and slide annotations.  You can also choose between advancing the slide according to preset timings or manually with screen taps.  The Slides tab controls how and which slides are shown:

Pocket Slides Slide Show setup dialog -- Slides tab

    With the Slides tab, you can choose to display all slides, a specific range of slides, or a custom show.  You can also have the slide show repeat for an unattended show.

    The last option in the Tools menu allows you to set up the custom shows just mentioned:

Pocket Slides Custom Slide Show setup

    Each custom show can have its own set of included slides and its own distinct slide order.  This allows you to use the same set of slides with several distinct shows, without having to duplicate the slide set for each one.

    Now that we've gone through the creation and editing functions, lets get on with the show:

Pocket Slides Slide Show with slide notes showing

    This is how Pocket Slides looks on the Pocket PC screen with the option to display speaker's notes turned on.  This mode is quite useful when you have your Pocket PC connected to a projector which is displaying the presentation slides for your audience.  The audience doesn't see the notes, but you can still read them.  For very small groups, you can also show the presentation right on your Pocket PC:

Pocket Slides Slide Show without slide notes showing (Fullscreen and Rotated)

    Note the small icon in the top-right corner.  This icon pulls down a menu that allows you further control over the show.  You can go to the next, previous, first, last, or previously viewed slide.  You can also pull up a "Slide Navigator" menu to choose a specific slide to go to.  The menu also allows you to display the current slide's speaker's notes on the Pocket PC screen.  You can also select how the stylus or auxiliary pointer is displayed.  You can choose from completely hiding it, to displaying an arrow, a red dot, or a pen with your choice of color and width.  You can also choose for the stylus to be a "trigger."  In that mode, tapping the stylus will bring up a context menu with the same options as the pull-down menu.
    The pull-down menu also has options to pause a timed presentation or to display a black screen for pen annotations.  You can also end the slide show from the pull-down menu.

    One last thing to mention:  Conduits has made version 2 of Pocket Slides fully Windows Mobile 2002, Second Edition compatible.  Not just that, it not only runs in WM2003SE in landscape orientation and on HiDPI displays, but the screens are well organized in both orientations.  Take a look at the Normal view in landscape orientation:

Pocket Slides in landscape orientation

    Instead of keeping everything where it was in portrait, Conduits moves the title and notes over to the side, taking much better advantage of the landscape configuration.  I wish more developers would take the time to do this sort of thing.

HELP SUPPORT

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

BUGS AND WISHES

PURCHASING

PROS

• Allows truly portable presentations
• Allows editing presentations on the Pocket PC
• Fully supports landscape orientation and HiDPI (VGA) displays
• Supports VGA-out add-ons for projector display
• Fully-functional 30-day trial version

CONS

• Requires additional hardware for projector display
• Uses quite a bit of storage space and program memory

OVERALL IMPRESSION

All screenshots in this review are taken using SOTI's Pocket Controller Pro.