apple pencil powerpoint presentation mode

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PowerPoint annotation using iPad/pencil with Sidecar?

• Thread starter Fireproof!
• Start date Oct 7, 2019
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• macOS Catalina (10.15)

macrumors 6502a

• Oct 7, 2019

I conduct a lot of web meetings, and during so, I’ll draw on my PowerPoint slides. Currently I have to use my finger on the track pad, and while circles and check marks and the like are ok - trying to write words is very difficult or at least sloppy. I’d love to be able to use sidecar with my iPad and be able to use my pencil to do it that way. Anyone know if this is possible? I‘ve only seen references to apps like Adobe photoshop and illustrator...  

Fireproof! said: I conduct a lot of web meetings, and during so, I’ll draw on my PowerPoint slides. Currently I have to use my finger on the track pad, and while circles and check marks and the like are ok - trying to write words is very difficult or at least sloppy. I’d love to be able to use sidecar with my iPad and be able to use my pencil to do it that way. Anyone know if this is possible? I‘ve only seen references to apps like Adobe photoshop and illustrator... Click to expand...

loekf said: Yes, just tried. You can annotate a presentation using sidecar, when you are in presentation mode. You can use the pencil to draw stuff. The pencil also works for PPT editing. It's pretty nice. Open PPT on Mac, start side car, move PPT to the iPad. Do some drawing and when needed move PPT back to the Mac. Click to expand...

Digital Whiteboarding and Annotation With an iPad

This guide offers an overview of using an iPad and Apple Pencil for digital whiteboarding and annotation. It covers the basics of setting up an iPad with Zoom, but also offers suggestions about using the iPad in class, iPad workflows, and annotation apps.

Connecting Your iPad in Zoom

First things first: to share anything on your iPad screen with your students, you’ll need to get Zoom to see your iPad. This applies regardless of what app you’re using or how you’re using it.

One important note: in almost all cases, you’ll want to host your Zoom class meeting from a laptop, and treat your iPad as a secondary screen . Hosting from a laptop offers a much more robust experience than from a mobile device like an iPad.

How to get your iPad and laptop to communicate depends on the kind of computer you’re using, and, because of security settings on campus, where you’re hosting remote class — whether you’re on campus or at home. We outline several steps below.

Connecting to a PC

If you’re using your PC on campus , you’ll need to simultaneously join your Zoom meeting from both your laptop and your iPad. (This is due to a wireless security setting on campus.) This brief video tutorial from AIA Eric Handler will walk you through this process. Note that this method is a good failsafe for any situation — it works at home or on campus on both Macs and PCs.

If you’re using your PC off campus , the easiest way to connect your computer and your iPad is via AirPlay. This brief video tutorial from AIA Eric Handler will walk you through making that connection.

Connecting to a Mac

If you’re using your Mac on campus , the easiest way to connect your computer and your iPad is via your charging cable. This brief tutorial walks you through this process.

If you’re using your Mac off campus , you have the most options. You can use Airplay, the wireless option. (The steps in the above video for PCs will be very similar to those on the Mac.) You can also use the cable method , just like you would on campus. Finally, there’s always the option of joining from both your laptop and your iPad .

Using Your iPad For Annotation

Once you’ve successfully connected your iPad to Zoom, you have lots of options for how to use it.

Zoom itself offers basic, built-in whiteboarding functionality, which allows you to write or draw on a blank whiteboard or annotate anything on a shared screen.

Powerpoint also allows annotation when used with a iPad and a stylus like the Pencil, which might be useful for presenting slide decks. This brief tutorial covers Powerpoint annotations. More information on setting up Microsoft Office (including Powerpoint) on your iPad is also available here.

The iPad and Pencil can also be used outside of class time for things like grading and commenting. You can grade with an Apple Pencil in Moodle’s built-in PDF Grader , for instance. This tutorial walks you through one good way for making handwritten annotations on emailed assignments.

More advanced apps like Notability can streamline whiteboarding and annotation and add even more features. This how-to lays out a workflow for using Google Drive and Notability together to easily get documents and annotations on and off your iPad. You can find further suggestions of apps to try below.

Whiteboarding and Annotation Apps

While we don’t have a one-size-fits-all recommendation for a whiteboarding and annotation app, we can offer the following suggestions, based on our experience and those of faculty on campus.

• Notability – an advanced note-taking and annotation app that’s especially useful for importing, exporting and organizing annotated documents.
• GoodNotes – an advanced note-taking and annotation app that’s especially useful for importing, exporting and organizing annotated documents.
• Notes – the built-in iOS app
• ShowMe – a basic whiteboarding app.
• OneNote – part of the Office suite, this is Microsoft’s annotation product

Categories: Annotation ​ Whiteboard

Tags: Tech Kit Zoom

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New Apple Pencil to include haptic feedback and new gestures

Alongside the new iPad Pro and iPad Air lineup, Apple’s May 7 event will also feature updates to the iPad accessories, with new generation of Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports today that the new Pencil will include haptic feedback for the first time. This should help the digital stylus feel more realistic in use.

Although details are light, you can imagine how the haptic feedback produced by the Pencil can vary depending on the tool selected in the current drawing app. A crayon mode may make the Pencil feel rougher and heavier, for instance.

Alongside haptic feedback, the new Pencil will include additional gestures for more versatility. As previously spotted by 9to5Mac in code references , there will be a new ‘squeeze’ gesture that summons a contextual menu based on the current task. For example, the squeeze gesture could allow users to quickly invoke actions like adding shapes, stickers or text to the canvas.

Alongside the accessories, May 7 will see Apple update the iPad hardware lineup for the first time in eighteen months, having skipped 2023 altogether. The new iPad Pro lineup will feature OLED displays, and maybe even an M4 chip . The iPad Air will also be updated, adding a larger 12.9-inch size for the first time.

Stay tuned to 9to5Mac for full coverage of all the announcements, with Apple’s ‘Let Loose’ event set for May 7.

Follow Benjamin: @bzamayo on Threads and Twitter .

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Annotate PowerPoint with Apple Pencil

Microsoft PowerPoint

Design Slideshow Presentations

Looking to annotate your slides in Microsoft PowerPoint ? Your Apple Pencil is the easiest way. It’ll smooth the process whether you need to scribble on class notes, update a sales pitch or fix your boss’s spelling. To try it out, connect your Apple Pencil to your compatible iPad or iPad Pro and tap on PowerPoint ’s Draw tab. That’s where you’ll find tools to write, draw, edit, highlight and doodle. Of course, you can also use your Apple Pencil to select objects and text boxes. Read on to learn three cool ways to use your Apple Pencil with PowerPoint . And if you don’t have an Apple Pencil, just pretend this entire article is talking about your finger.

Master the basics ‣ The Draw tab is home to a number of features that will probably look familiar, including a variety of markers, pencils and highlighters. Tap one to select it, then tap again to reveal a menu that lets you adjust colour and thickness. To undo a note or a sketch you made, just tap the eraser, which makes your last change go away.

Dramatically improve your handwriting ‣ If you were born in the post-cursive age, there’s a good chance your handwriting is a hot mess. But that’s OK! PowerPoint has your back. Write directly on a slide using your Apple Pencil, then tap the Ink to Text button in the top right corner. Select your scribble using the Lasso Select tool and the app will automatically convert your writing to readable type (or suggest a few options for doing so).

Get in perfect shape ‣ If you believe in yourself, nothing in life is impossible. Except drawing a geometrically perfect circle freehand. PowerPoint and Apple Pencil can help here too. Draw something approximating a circle (or square, triangle or rhombus, theoretically, although we can’t imagine why you’d need a rhombus) and tap Ink to Shape in the top right corner. Now select on your amorphous shape using the lasso tool and PowerPoint will convert it into a perfectly proportioned form that would make your geometry teacher weep with joy.

PowerPoint on iPad vs Mac

Need to upgrade our laptop and our iPad (we own very old versions of both) and we are tossing up between getting:

• A Mac and an iPad
• An iPad Pro (no laptop)

We currently use our iPad for watching shows while traveling or booking trips/ hotels and the occasional zoom call with family/ friends. We use our laptop primarily for creating word docs and PowerPoint presentations. We are considering consolidating all of these activities into an iPad Pro. But it’s unclear to us whether an iPad Pro is as effective for making PowerPoint presentations. When trying it in an iStore we found some gaps - eg. we couldn’t figure out how to go to slide master.

Given our extensive use of PowerPoint would you recommend action #1 or #2 for us?

Posted on Apr 28, 2024 12:12 AM

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Apr 28, 2024 3:20 AM in response to AkhriPasta

Hello AkhriPasta,

Having never used either MS Powerpoint or MS Word on Apple devices, I cannot judge their value in the iOS/iPadOS/macOS context.

I know both of those Microsoft apps quite well (used on Windows PCs), but over time I have replaced them with the Apple Keynote and Apple Pages apps, which I find truly excellent and complete.

That said (and mine is obviously a subjective choice), if you don't want to invest in learning the aforementioned Apple apps, the suggestion would be to go with option #1.

If, however, after having tried the Keynote and Pages apps (which are free) on the iPad, you consider them valid substitutes for the Microsoft apps, option #2 could prove to be a winning one.

The arduous sentence is yours ;).

Apr 28, 2024 3:32 AM in response to AkhriPasta

Both options #1 and #2 have benefits. Ultimately only you can decide which is the better option for your needs.

If your budget can be stretched to a Mac and an iPad Pro, you will have the best of both worlds. A modern iPad, in particular a current iPad Pro, is a very capable device. Speaking personally, my fifth generation iPad Pro 12.9" is now my go-to device of choice - although on rare occasion use a more traditional computer for some tasks.

Microsoft productivity Apps for iPad are increasingly nearing parity with their desktop counterparts - although some features are still the preserve of the desktop version. Don't forget, while there is a full suite of Microsoft App for iPad, Apple also has its own productivity Apps, including Keynote (alternative for MS PowerPoint), Pages (alternative to MS Word) and Numbers (alternative for MS Excel) - which can natively open/import MS files, or export to MS Apps.

Be aware that an iPad Pro has capabilities, features and performance beyond those of other models...

All iPad models have broadly the same  core  capabilities. Models essentially differ in their ultimate performance and physical attributes. iPad Pro models use FaceID for biometric user-authentication, while others use TouchID.

You can compare iPad models here:

iPad - Compare Models - Apple

The iPad9 is the current entry-level iPad. The iPads Pro are the opposite end of the scale - top of the range, with cutting edge capabilities and hardware. Between these two extremes is the iPad Air5, this model offering a mid-range high performance option. The new iPad10 is cheaper than the iPad Air - and differs in position of the front-facing camera. The iPad mini6 is perhaps an entirely different proposition - offering a smaller form factor and other differences in hardware and ultimate capability.

Apr 28, 2024 3:33 AM in response to AkhriPasta

Continued...

All current models of iPad support either the first or second generation Apple Pencil; models with a USB-C port also support the new USB-C Pencil. For handwritten notes and sketches, support for Apple Pencil may be relevant. Ensure that you choose the correct Apple Pencil for your chosen iPad - as they are not interchangeable. Here is the definitive compatibility list:

Apple Pencil compatibility - Apple Support

iPad models that support the second generation Apple Pencil are paired and charged using the magnetic charging dock on the edge of the iPad. This greatly simplifies charging of the Pencil - as the Pencil is kept optimally charged whenever it is not being actively used. The second generation Pencil has some additional features - aiding drawing capabilities. Also consider that the USB-C Pencil does feature pressure sensitivity.

Also perhaps consider that the iPad Pro 12.9" model is the only iPad to use the miniLED backlit XDR display. This display is not only the largest in the iPad range, but is also the most power-efficient and offers greatest contrast and brightness of any model iPad - and also includes reference modes for professional colour grading. Also note that the current iPad Pro models with 1TB/2TB storage options have 16GB RAM, whereas the others have "only" 8GB RAM (this still being greater than other iPad models).

Whichever iPad model you choose, you would be well advised to purchase as much internal storage as your budget might reasonably allow - as internal storage (and other hardware) cannot be changed, upgraded or extended. The available internal storage is fixed for the entire life of the device. If you run out of internal storage for your documents, photos and other data, you will forever struggle and become a source of frustration. It is far better to have more storage than you need, than to need more storage than you have.

A good rule of thumb is to quantify how much data storage you will need - add a healthy margin - then double it. If you are unable to quantify your data storage needs, it becomes more difficult. Whilst I and others cannot make definitive recommendations for your personal needs, objectively I would council  against  purchase of any iPad with any less than 256GB storage, 512GB and higher having a greater margin for growth.

Within the Apple Support Communities we see regular tales of woe and disappointment when storage requirements are exceeded, necessitating replacement of the device; by contrast, we never see complaint of having too much available storage. It is relatively easy to fill limited internal storage space; perhaps consider higher tiers of storage as providing room for growth as your needs develop or mature - potentially extending the useful usable life of the device. 

Also consider the functional differences between  WiFi Only  and  WiFi+Cellular  models of iPad. Aside from the obvious Cellular functionality, only WiFi+Cellular models  include  GNSS/GPS location capabilities - which may impact any Apps or features that require accurate and consistent location data, such as Mapping. 

Purchase of a  WiFi+Cellular  model provides access to precise location services, but does  not  commit you to using Cellular connections.  WiFi Only  models of iPad have no Cellular or GNSS/GPS functions at all.

If shopping for an iPad, perhaps wait until after Apple's next "event" scheduled for 7th May. You may have some additional choices from which to choose...

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Glitches in PowerPoint for ipad

After the latest PowerPoint update there are glitches in using the Apple Pencil when making annotations in the presentation mode.

1.  The text is not crisp and changes as you write from thick and bold to thin font. It makes the pencil user experience awful. 

2.  Every time you make annotations in review mode you can no longer move to next slide without tapping the exit button on the ribbon that pops up. That then exits the presentation mode.  You can no longer annotate a slide in presentation mode with the Pencil and then just swipe to the next slide. 

What at has changed as these were not a problem before and are incredibly annoying and make using PowerPoint and annotating in presentation mode not workable.

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• Microsoft Agent |

There are different possible reasons as to why PowerPoint on your iPad is not responding fully. For us to resolve you concern, kindly answer the following questions below:

• Did you experience any other errors when you were using the application?
• Have you already updated the other Office apps on you iPad?

We look forward to your response.

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Thanks for your feedback.

I also have this problem, I have updated all other Office apps on my iPad, and am also experiencing problems with the stylus not erasing on presentation mode. 

I have restored the iPad, reinstalled Powerpoint and reconnected Apple Pencil and still no change. 

1 person found this reply helpful

There is no other problem with my outlook. 

This started happening right after an app upgrade. 

This is a program change where in presentation mode we have to tap the pencil icon each time in order to move to the next slide. It makes this mode very slow to use when annotating docs. 

In addition the pencils pressure function seems to not be working properly when annotating in presentation mode. 

Last, if someone in microsoft is listening - in powerpoint WHY would you put the notes icon on lower right where your palm would normally rest when using a pencil. I suppose this helps all the vast majority of users who are left handed😵👏

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