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.

Parts

• Wi-Fi LED Strip
• Stream Deck – Any size

Concept

Here’s the idea. We are going to illuminate a box using a Wi-Fi controlled LED Strip. The LED strip that we are selecting uses Wi-Fi to connect to your home router and this allows you to control the LED strip (colors and state) using an IoT home automation site called Tuya Smart Life. In order to control the lights, you can either use your smartphone or buy a Stream Deck. The Stream Deck gives you push-button control of the light. So, when you start up your meeting or online meetings, you just touch a button on the Stream Deck and your live streaming lights turn on, including your new on-air light.

Configure Wi-Fi LED Strip

The first major hurdle is getting your new Wi-Fi LED Strip connected to your Wi-Fi network at your house. You need to know the network name and password. To configure the LED lights, you have to start with the Tuya Smart Life mobile app on your phone. Download the appropriate app for Android or Apple. A side bonus is that the Tuya Smart Life app supports lots of home automation things you might have around the house. When you are searching around Amazon, make sure in the Q&A or the reviews area to see if the product supports Tuya. If so, you can have everything controlled by one app. Sign up for a new account and then add your LED Strip to your account. Give the LED strip an easy-to-remember name. Admittedly, this might now go very smoothly. I have found that I need to try the process a few times to get the app to detect my lights. If you run into any trouble, make sure that your lights are in pairing mode and that your Wi-Fi access point supports 2.4GHz.

Configure IFTTT

Visit IFTTT.com and sign up for a free account. With a free account, you can create three applets. IFTTT allows you to connect things to other things. In our case, we are eventually going to connect a Stream Deck to the LED strip. A Stream Deck doesn’t normally connect to the LED strip, so we are going to use IFTTT to bridge this gap. Create a new Applet. Under This, add a webhook. Under That, connect the Smart Life service. A webhook is a trigger that the Stream Deck will use to cause a command on the Smart Life platform. In our case, we are going to toggle the state of the LED strip (turn it on if it was off or turn it off if it was on). Note the key and name of the webhook when you create it at IFTTT. You will use this info for your Stream Deck.

Configure Stream Deck

The Stream Deck has a bunch of buttons that you can press to automate your live stream studio, control things while you are streaming, or quickly open apps at a touch. I use my Stream Deck to control PowerPoint while I give presentations and webinars.

Within the Stream Deck software, open Store. This will list all of the integrations that are possible. Search for IFTTT. Install the plugin. Drag the custom button to a new button your Stream Deck and configure it with the name of the applet and key from the IFTTT website. I grabbed an image of an On Air light from Google Images and added it as a custom icon.

Experience

I have been using this configuration for about a year and it has worked every time. Right before, I start a live stream event, I tough the Stream Deck and my On Air light comes on a few seconds later. Stream Deck also supports events that cause many things to happen with one button press. You could add this IFTTT event to a list of other events that happen all at once. We didn’t have to code anything to make this LED controller but it is a little complicated to configure. And, every part of the system is not well documented out there. This is truly for the maker, but you can get it going if you persist. Now that you know about this general workflow, you can control anything during your live streams. Maybe, you have a light turn on in the background when you get a new sub. Let me know what you build with this!

But, I do own an Elgato Stream Deck. I am always discovering more ways to use it: home automation, muting the right audio source, and loading programs with a touch of a button. A Stream Deck is a grid of physical buttons that have a little display behind them. The buttons can do whatever you want whenever you press them. The displays can show you icons, animations, and statuses.

I have spent a fair amount of time learning how to customize my Stream Deck and incorporate it into my daily work.

Vicious Cycle

The one thing that I do every day is give PowerPoint presentations on Microsoft Teams. Frequently during a presentation, I am getting messages in the chat. When I click over into Teams to check on what the chatter is, I lose focus on PowerPoint. Then, I try to advance the slides. PowerPoint doesn’t move. I look stupid. I question my worth. I am spiraling. And then I realize! I click back on PowerPoint and save the day. Slides are now moving forward. Then, someone sends a message, I click on Teams to check out what I am saying wrong and try to advance the slides and nothing.

A Solution

I have found a solution. Admittedly, it’s complicated. If you use Windows, this solution might work for you too. I dedicate two buttons on the Stream Deck to move the slides forward and backward (for those times I have to go back a slide). This works because the Stream Deck can be customized to send a keyboard command to your PC, then AutoHotkey can map the command to a little script. The script brings PowerPoint into focus and sends a keyboard command to PowerPoint. So, no matter where you have clicked during a presentation, your slides move forward and backward and you don’t have to question your self-worth!

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 F13 and F14 (yes there are function keys beyond F12) to Page Up and Page Down. Page Up and Page Down are keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint. I am using the nowhere to be found F13 and F14 keys so I don’t accidentally press those keys on my keyboard. I want the Stream Deck to have control over the PowerPoint slides.

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:

F13::
    if WinExist("PowerPoint Slide Show")
    {
        WinActivate ;
        Send {PgDn}
        return
    }

    return 

F14::
    if WinExist("PowerPoint Slide Show")
    {
        WinActivate ;
        Send {PgUp}
        return
    }

    return

Stream Deck

On the Stream Deck app, drag over a “Hotkey” to one of your buttons. In the Hotkey field, click the down arrow, select F-Keys, and F13. Do this for F14 as well. For the icons, I just used icons found on Wikipedia pages.

Demo Time

I have to say that this really makes giving a PowerPoint easier. I hope you find it useful. Let me know if you try it our modify this project to solve something else.

Update – March 2021

I received a bunch of email after I posted my Stream Deck project to control PowerPoint. Some were happy to see the clues to make their AutoHotkey scripts work properly and others were wondering how to do this without a Stream Deck. Stream Deck controllers are really awesome and have been in high demand over the past year. I have a solution for you. I discovered a $10 PowerPoint presenter device by KNORVAY/NORWII where the buttons are programmable to control PowerPoint with AutoHotkey. Check out the full tutorial here.

Update – November 2021

A person on YouTube asked me about using this solution for jumping to a particular slide of a PowerPoint presentation that is running in the background. The keyboard shortcut for jumping to a specific slide number is to type the slide number and then enter. If you have a slide that you want a Stream Deck button to jump to, all you have to do is add another function key in your PowerPoint AutoHotkey script.

F15::
    if WinExist("PowerPoint Slide Show")
    {
        WinActivate ;
        Send {Text} 12 ; This represents slide number 12
        Send {Enter} ;
        return
    }

    return

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