Use your phone as a presentation remote, zoom and pointer
A clicker moves you forward a slide. Your phone can do much more: show your notes and a timer, draw on the slide, zoom the room's screen into a detail, and put a laser dot, a pointing hand or a magnifier exactly where you want people to look. In InstaPresentation it takes one QR scan, works on any phone's browser and needs no app.
What you need
- A computer presenting your deck in InstaPresentation (any modern browser, on the projector or the screen share).
- Any smartphone with a browser. It doesn't need to be on the same Wi-Fi: the phone and the presenter screen talk through the internet.
- The phone remote is part of Pro and above, and it's included with Hub during the current intro offer.
Connect your phone in 10 seconds
- Start presentingOpen your deck and click Present.
- Open the phone panelClick the phone icon in the presenter toolbar. A QR code appears.
- Scan itPoint your phone's camera at the code and open the link. The phone shows Connected and the presenter screen gets a small pulsing dot.
- PresentYour phone is now the clicker. Lock it in your hand and walk.
The clicker: next, notes and talk time
- Next and previous as big thumb-sized buttons, plus first and last slide.
- This slide preview so you know what the room is seeing.
- Speaker notes for the current slide, with bigger and smaller text buttons so you can read them at arm's length.
- Talk time: a timer that tells you when you're over.
- Blank the screen to pull the room's attention back to you, then Unblank to carry on.
Draw on the slide
Tap Draw and your finger writes on the big screen as you move it on the phone. Choose a pen, a highlighter-style marker or an arrow (drag to aim it), pick a colour, and use Undo or Clear the drawing when you're done. Drawings stay with the slide they were made on, so the next slide starts clean.
Zoom the room's screen with a pinch
Small print on a chart, one cell in a table, a detail in a photo: tap Zoom, then pinch with two fingers on the phone's slide and the room's screen zooms in on exactly that spot. Drag to pan. Tap Reset zoom (or go to the next slide) to see the whole slide again. A mini map on the phone shows where you are.
Point: laser, hand or magnifier
Switch to Point and touch and drag on the phone's slide to point on the big screen. Hold the point button to choose what people see:
| Pointer | Looks like | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Laser | A red dot with a short trail | Following a line on a chart, or a sentence |
| Hand | A big white-glove pointing hand | Large rooms and video calls, where a dot is too small to see |
| Magnifier | A round zoom lens | Showing a detail without zooming the whole slide |
Pinch on the point button (or use the size bar) to make the pointer bigger or smaller.
Air pointer (beta): aim the phone like a TV remote
Prefer to point at the screen rather than at your phone? The air pointer uses the phone's motion sensors so the dot follows where you aim, like a TV remote or a game controller.
- Choose how you'll hold itLike a remote (top edge toward the screen) or like a camera (the phone's camera faces the screen and shows a viewfinder).
- Calibrate onceAim at each target that appears on the big screen, then press and hold until the phone buzzes. It takes about 20 seconds.
- PointHold the button to show the pointer and move your arm. Double-tap to re-align if it drifts, and use Re-align on the middle after you walk to a new spot.
Let the audience follow along too
Your phone isn't the only one in the room. Turn on Live and anyone with your link sees your current slide on their own phone or laptop, which helps in big rooms, on video calls and for people who need larger text. Live sessions can include chat, upvoted questions and quick polls. See how to share a presentation as a link.
Troubleshooting
- Phone says "Waiting for the presenter". Keep the presenting tab open and in front on the computer; browsers pause background tabs.
- A tap didn't go through. If the connection drops for a moment, the phone shows "Reconnecting" and tells you the tap wasn't sent. Tap again once it says Connected.
- The phone keeps sleeping. Raise its screen timeout before you start, or keep a thumb on it between slides.
- "This link has expired". The presenter made a new code. Scan the new one on the screen.
- The air pointer drifts. Double-tap the point button to re-align on the middle of the slide, or calibrate again after moving a long way.
Phone remote vs a clicker vs a laser pen
| Phone remote | Bluetooth clicker | Laser pen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next and previous | Yes | Yes | Some |
| Speaker notes and timer in your hand | Yes | No | No |
| Pointer visible on video calls and recordings | Yes (drawn on the slide) | Only with special models | No |
| Zoom into part of the slide | Yes | No | No |
| Draw on the slide | Yes | No | No |
| Extra hardware to carry or charge | No | Yes | Yes |
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to install an app to use my phone as a presentation remote?
No. Scan the QR code from InstaPresentation's presenter screen and the remote opens in your phone's browser, on iPhone or Android.
Does my phone have to be on the same Wi-Fi as the computer?
No. The phone and the presenter screen connect through the internet, so mobile data works too.
Can people on a video call see the laser pointer?
Yes. The pointer, drawings and zoom are drawn on the slide itself, so anyone watching your screen share or a recording sees them.
Can I zoom into a slide while presenting?
Yes. Tap Zoom on the phone remote and pinch the slide and the room's screen zooms into that spot; reset with one tap or by moving to the next slide.
Which plan includes the phone remote?
Pro and above. During the current intro offer, Hub includes it too.
Present with your phone in your hand
Make a deck, click Present, scan the code. Your notes, timer, zoom and pointer are on your phone.