# Present in a room

> Add your assets, put them in a board, select the board and click the play button (Enter presentation mode); turn on Spotlight so everyone in the room follows your slides.

Category: Boards and presenting
Web page: https://www.pactto.com/help/present
All guides: https://www.pactto.com/help.md

## How presenting works

In Pactto you present a board. Each item in the board becomes a slide, in the board's order, and you move through them one at a time while the item fills the screen. To have everyone in the room see your slides, you also turn on Spotlight, so they follow your view.

Who can present: the room owner and people with **Can edit** access. Anyone in the room can follow a presentation.

## Step 1: Add your assets

Bring the files you want to show into the room:

- Click **Add asset** in the toolbar (keyboard shortcut **1**) to upload images, videos or PDFs, or to import from a connected source.
- Drag files from your computer and drop them on the canvas, or directly onto a board.
- Paste content onto the canvas.
- Create content in the room: **Doc** (D), **Table** (Y) or **Sticky note** (N) from the toolbar.

See [Add assets to a room](https://www.pactto.com/help/add-assets.md) for every option.

## Step 2: Put them in a board

A board is a named container on the canvas, and it is your deck. Create one in either of these ways:

1. Click **Board** in the toolbar (shortcut **B**) and drag on the canvas to draw it, then drag your assets into it.
2. Or select two or more assets and choose **Convert to Board** (in the toolbar above the selection, or by right-clicking).

The order of the board's items is the order of the slides. For a predictable order, pick **Vertical**, **Horizontal** or **Grid** in the board's layout menu and drag items to reorder them (see [Arrange items inside a board](https://www.pactto.com/help/board-layout.md)). See [Create a board and add items to it](https://www.pactto.com/help/boards.md) for details.

These items become slides: images, videos, audio files, PDFs, links, Pactto Docs, tables, screen shares and boards placed inside the board (a board inside a board is one slide). Sticky notes, text, drawings, shapes, arrows and comments are not slides. Items inside a group in the board each count as a slide.

## Step 3: Click the play button

1. Click the board's name (above its top left corner) to select the board.
2. In the bar next to the name, click the play button, **Enter presentation mode**. It sits right after the **Enter focus mode** button.
3. The first slide opens full screen. At the bottom you see a **Previous slide** arrow, a **Show slides** pill with a counter (for example "1 of 5") and a **Next slide** arrow.

The play button only appears when the board has at least two slide items, the board is expanded (not collapsed), and you have edit access.

## Step 4: Let the room see it (Spotlight)

Presentation mode on its own only changes your screen. To bring everyone along:

1. Click **Spotlight me** in the header, next to the camera and microphone buttons, or press **X**. You can do this before or after you click play.
2. Confirm with **Become spotlight**.
3. Everyone else is asked **Follow {your name}'s view?**. People who click **Follow** see the slide you are on, and their screen changes when you change slides.

The Spotlight button only appears when at least one other person is in the room. See [Spotlight your view](https://www.pactto.com/help/spotlight.md).

## Move between slides

- Click **Next slide** or **Previous slide** (the arrows at the bottom), or press the **Right** and **Left arrow** keys.
- Click **Show slides** to open a strip of thumbnails, then click any thumbnail to jump to that slide. Click **Hide slides** to close the strip.
- The arrows are disabled on the first and last slide; the deck does not loop.
- On a video slide, use the video controls to play it. If you are spotlighted, play, pause and seeking are shared with your followers (see [Play videos together](https://www.pactto.com/help/video-playback.md)).

## Stop presenting

- Press **Escape**, or click **Exit focus mode** at the top left, next to the slide title.
- Both take you straight back to the canvas. If you are spotlighted, your followers also return to the canvas.
- To stop leading the room, click the Spotlight button again (**Stop spotlighting me**, or **X**), or click **Stop** in the Spotlight bar at the bottom of the screen.

## What viewers see

- Followers see the current slide full screen and a bar at the bottom: **Following {name}'s view** with a **Stop following** button. They do not see the slide strip or the arrows.
- People who chose **Stay where I am** keep their own view and see **Follow {name}'s view** with a **Follow** button, so they can join later.
- While you present a slide, the Spotlight bar is hidden on your screen so it does not cover the slide.
- Other people's cursors are hidden over the slides.

## If something goes wrong

- **No play button**: select the board itself (click its name), make sure it has two or more slide items, expand it if it is collapsed, and check you have **Can edit** access.
- **People do not see my slides**: presentation mode does not start Spotlight. Click **Spotlight me** and ask people to click **Follow**.
- **Presentation closed by itself**: it ends if you focus an item outside the board, if the board is deleted, or if it no longer has slide items.

## Good to know

- On a phone there is no Escape key: use the exit button on the slide title in the header. On a phone screen the slide controls move up so the chat and assistant buttons do not cover them.
- Spotlight is not available on phones, so start Spotlight from a computer if you want the room to follow you.
- Slides cannot be reordered from the slide strip. Reorder items in the board instead.
- Videos in the deck start downloading in the background while you present, for you and your followers, so they are ready when you reach them.
- To show your screen instead of a board, see [Share your screen](https://www.pactto.com/help/share-your-screen.md).

## Related guides

- [Add images, videos, PDFs, and other content to a room](https://www.pactto.com/help/add-assets.md): Click Add asset in the toolbar (or press 1) to upload from your computer, Google Drive, or Adobe Frame.io; you can also drag files onto the canvas, paste them, paste links, or create a Pactto doc or a table.
- [Create a board and add items to it](https://www.pactto.com/help/boards.md): A board is a named container on the room canvas that groups items; draw one with the Board tool (B) or select items and choose Convert to Board, then drag or drop items into it.
- [Arrange items inside a board](https://www.pactto.com/help/board-layout.md): Select a board and open its layout menu to choose Freeform, Vertical, Horizontal or Grid; managed layouts line items up, resize the board to fit, and let you drag to reorder and adjust spacing.
- [Spotlight your view so others follow you](https://www.pactto.com/help/spotlight.md): Click Spotlight me in the header (or press X) and confirm Become spotlight; others are invited to follow your view and their canvas moves with yours until you stop.
- [Focus on one item or board](https://www.pactto.com/help/focus-mode.md): Select an item or board and click Enter focus mode to show only that item, full size; press Escape or click Exit focus mode to go back to the canvas.
- [Zoom in on an item in focus mode](https://www.pactto.com/help/focus-zoom.md): In focus mode, hold Cmd (Ctrl on Windows) and scroll, or pinch on a touch screen, to zoom into an image, PDF, video or screen share; drag to move around and click Reset zoom to go back.
- [Play videos and keep them in sync for everyone](https://www.pactto.com/help/video-playback.md): Click the round play button on a video or select it to use the controls (timeline, Play, speed, volume, time format); during Spotlight, play, pause and seeking are shared by everyone in the session.
- [Follow a screen share when one or more people present](https://www.pactto.com/help/multiple-presenters.md): When someone shares their screen you are asked Follow {name}'s screen share?; click Follow, or click their camera tile with the yellow Presenting badge, to view their screen full size. Several people can share at once.
- [Share your screen](https://www.pactto.com/help/share-your-screen.md): Click Share screen at the top right of the room (or press S), pick what to share in your browser, and your screen appears on the canvas for everyone; others can follow it and zoom in.
- [Use boards and presentations on a phone](https://www.pactto.com/help/boards-on-phone.md): On a phone the canvas is view-first: you can pan, select, use the laser, comment, open items in focus mode, play videos and follow a presenter, but you cannot draw boards, add assets, share your screen or start Spotlight.