My previous attempts worked out well, but I recently found out that AutoHotkey has changed their configuration files and the project now defaults to AutoHotkey v2 with AutoHotkey v1/v1.1 being deprecated. I have updated my tutorial to AutoHotkey v2.

Big picture. We are going to install the Norwii Presenter software, configure the buttons on the presenter remote, and create a custom AutoHotkey v2 script to intercept the button presses and send them to PowerPoint. If you don’t do this, the presenter remote will only work when PowerPoint is in focus. That works well in some situations, but it doesn’t work as well for online meetings where you are moving around your desktop to monitor the chat, look a response, or find a document.

Buy a Norwii Presenter Remote on Amazon. I like the Norwii N28 model with its not easy to miss big button for advancing slides, but the other models are lovely too. The N28 is wireless and most buttons are customizable. I also like this model since it uses a AAA battery instead of a rechargeable battery. The rechargeable model sounds like a good idea, but I have found out that it is always dead when you want to use it. With the replaceable battery model, you just replace the battery if it is dead. From my experience and usage, the AAA battery lasts almost a year.

Install the Norwii Presenter Utility for Windows. This software has the driver for the wireless dongle and also a tool for remapping the buttons of your remote to new buttons. You can remap all of the buttons (except the laser pointer button). The software is not necessarily easy to use, but it gets the job done. Other presentation remotes lack the ability to be reprogrammed. This is why I love the Norwii models.

Customize the Norwii Presenter buttons. Click on the Customize tab in the utility and make sure N28 (M) is selected as the model. Under each key configure the short press function for each mapping that you have in AutoHotkey (more on that in a moment). The big yellow button is known as the “Page down” key. I use Shift + F12 to advance my slides in PowerPoint. you can do the other buttons if you like. I have experimented with programing all of the buttons to advance the slides. That way I don’t have to fumble around trying to pick the right button in the heat of the moment. But, I have expanded this to backing up a slide (page up key) and exiting the presentation with the enter key. I practiced a few times to get this right. Let me know in the comments what works for you.

Also, make sure that the Norwii Presenter Utility starts up with Windows. This will make sure that the utility is running in the background after you reboot to install Windows updates. Click the Setup tab and select, “Start Norwii Presenter after Windows startup.”

Install and configure AutoHotkey. We are going to use an awesome utility for Windows PCs called AutoHotkey. This utility listen for your custom key presses redirects the controls to PowerPoint. Let me warn you now ff this is your first time using AutoHotkey. You are going to get addicted to automation. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Install AutoHotkey v2 on your Windows PC. AHK will run in the background waiting for keyboard commands that match the rules that you have created. For help, check out the documentation and the Hello World video on YouTube. I know, it will be daunting at first, but a community of people for the last decade have been creating videos, examples, and tutorials. You just might be inspired to automate other computing tasks. My goal is to map Shift+F12 and Shift+F11 to Page Up and Page Down. Page Up and Page Down are keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint.

1. Right-click on your desktop
2. Find “New” in the menu
3. Click “AutoHotkey Script” inside the “New” menu
4. Name it PowerPoint.ahk
5. Right-click on PowerPoint.ahk and click “Edit Script”
6. Enter the this AutoHotkey 2 code and save the file:

#Requires AutoHotkey v2.0

;; Key Bindings for AutoHotkey v2 and PowerPoint
;; nothans.com/powerpoint

; Bind to Shift+F12 - Advance slide or start presenting from the last slide
+F12::
{    
    if WinExist("PowerPoint Slide Show")
    {
        WinActivate
        Send "{PgDn}"
        return
    }
    else
    {
        if WinExist("ahk_exe POWERPNT.EXE") {
             WinActivate
	     Send "+{F5}"	
        }        
        return
    }
}

; Bind to Shift+F11 - Go back one slide
+F11::
{
    if WinExist("PowerPoint Slide Show")
    {
        WinActivate
        Send "{PgUp}"
        return
    }

    return
}

; Bind to Shift+F8 - Exit slideshow
+F8::
{       
    if WinExist("PowerPoint Slide Show")
    {
        WinActivate
        Send "{Esc}"
	return
    }

    return
}

; Bind to Shift+F7 - Advance slide or start presenting from the first slide
+F7::
{    
    if WinExist("PowerPoint Slide Show")
    {
        WinActivate
        Send "{PgDn}"
        return
    }
    else
    {
        if WinExist("ahk_exe POWERPNT.EXE") {
             WinActivate
	     Send "{F5}"	
        }        
        return
    }
}

For more AutoHotkey button mappings, check out my GitHub repository.

Use your new power to deliver the ultimate PowerPoint presentation. Now that you are all powerful, open PowerPoint and click the big yellow button on the Norwii N28 remote. This will put your presentation into presentation mode. Click the big yellow button again. Your slides or animations advance. Click it again. Your slides advance. It is a beautiful thing.

Elgato Stream Deck Control

You can use the same AutoHotkey v2 configuration to control PowerPoint from the Elgato Stream Deck or Elgato Stream Deck Pedal as well.

1. Open up the Stream Deck Software and search for “Hotkey”

2. Drag the Hotkey option to an open button

3. Click into the Hotkey field and wait for it say, “Observing keystrokes…”, and press Shift+F12

4. Rename the title to, “Advance”, and set the icon to the forward icon

5. Create Stream Deck hotkeys for the rest of the key bindings in your AutoHotkey v2 configuration and enjoy the power!

Let me know in the comments if you try this out. Also, let me know if you have some tricks for PowerPoint or other Windows apps. I am always looking to optimize.

I have a solution for you. And, it’s way cheaper… and it’s also the way that I present on camera. I use a $10 PowerPoint presenter device by KNORVAY/NORWII. The trick with this device that it comes with a little utility that enables you to remap the buttons on the presenter remote to almost anything that you want. The default button mappings do work with PowerPoint, but they only work when PowerPoint is in focus. In our modern world presenting with Microsft Teams or Zoom, it’s easy to lose your PowerPoint presentation and then get all flustered trying to find it. By using an AutoHotkey script, you can also always advance your slides no matter what window is in focus.

Steps

1. Buy a KNORVAY/NORWII presenter device on Amazon. I prefer the N27 at $10. They make a rechargeable version, but I like the idea of throwing a AAA battery in when I need it. You could also get both for less than $25.
2. Install the NORWII Presenter utility for Windows and remap the buttons to point to your AutoHotkey macros buttons.
3. Install AutoHotkey on your Windows computer and upload the scripts for each key

Remapping Buttons

On Windows, you need to install a utility for the KNORVAY/NORWII presenter devices. This utility allows you to remap the buttons on the presenter: Page Up, Page Down, Volume Up, Volume Down, and Tab. Other models have different buttons, but they all at least have the Page Up and Page Down buttons. I actually mapped all of the buttons to advance my slides. This way, I don’t have to think about what button I am pressing to move my slides forward or advance an animation.

AutoHotkey

Install AutoHotkey on your Windows PC. AHK will run in the background waiting for keyboard commands that match the rules that you have created. For help, check out the documentation and the Hello World video on YouTube. I know, it will be daunting, but a community of people for the last decade have been creating videos, examples, and tutorials. You just have to stick with it for a while. You just might be inspired to automate other computing tasks. My goal is to map Shift+F12 and Shift+F11 to Page Up and Page Down. Page Up and Page Down are keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint.

1. Right-click on your desktop
2. Find “New” in the menu
3. Click “AutoHotkey Script” inside the “New” menu
4. Name it PowerPoint.ahk
5. Right-click on PowerPoint.ahk and click “Edit Script”
6. Enter and save the code below:

+F12::
    
    If WinExist("PowerPoint Slide Show")
    {
        WinActivate ;
        Send {PgDn}
        return
    }
    Else
    {
        ControlSend,mdiClass1,+{F5},ahk_exe POWERPNT.EXE
        return
    }

+F11::

    if WinExist("PowerPoint Slide Show")
    {
        WinActivate ;
        Send {PgUp}
        return
    }

    return

The Else clause in the the first part of the script will put your PowerPoint into presentation mode if it is not already. I have found this also to be really useful for when I am sharing my screen and presenting.

Profit

Now that you have this all rigged up, you can PowerPoint like a pro. I use this for all of my presentations now. It is more natural for me to be holding the KNORVAY/NORWII Presenter devices and be able to sit back while looking into the camera. Have fun messing around with your new setup. It is a low-cost way to get into controlling PowerPoint and giving you some new tricks to try out.

Update – July 2023 – New AutoHotkey v2 Config File

I got a new laptop and had to reinstall my PowerPoint control setup. I noticed that AutoHotkey has changed their configuration files a lot and have defaulted to AutoHotkey v2 and deprecated v1.

I re-wrote the config file for AutoHotkey v2 and updated the code on the GitHub repo: https://github.com/nothans/autohotkey-config-for-powerpoint