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General OS tricks

Powerpoint presenters mode in VirtualBox

After switching to Linux as my main operating system I was expecting problems. Even though it has come far, it’s not really your granny’s operating system. 😉 I don’t use much Windows only software, but one of the problems was definitely going to be working with Powerpoint.

So I figured VirtualBox with Windows and Powerpoint would be a decent solution. And it has worked like a charm.

But I did miss presenters mode when doing the talks, and never really thought it would be possible. Until I discovered that you can change the number of displays associated with your VM. 🙂

It’s not without it’s quirks, but doable if you get used to it. So you can do:

  • Plug in your external monitor
  • Make sure the Linux settings are correct with resolution and placement
  • Make sure the VM isn’t started
  • Go into settings > Display on you VirtualBox VM
  • Set the VM to have 2 displays
  • Boot the VM
  • Go full screen with the VM
  • Configure windows settings to reflect multiple displays and resolution and position
  • Start PowerPoint and do F5 for presentation

It should work now. 🙂 Good luck with your presentation… 😉

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