Presentations - Using HTML w/JavaScript

Presentations - Using HTML w/JavaScript

Posted Mar 27, 2008 18:26 UTC (Thu) by Per_Bothner (subscriber, #7375)
In reply to: OpenOffice.org 2.4 released by jordip
Parent article: OpenOffice.org 2.4 released

I use a hacked-up version of S5, with some custom improvements. The idea is you write the a single HTML file, using <div> elements to divide it into slides. Then some magic JavaScript and CSS adds navigation, auto-resizing, and various other goodies.

Here is an example. Use space, PgDn or Right arrow to move to the next slide. Move the mouse to the lower right for a pop-up navigation list. Use your browser's "Page Source" to see the HTML source.

The advantage is that you don't need any special tools - it will run on any JavaScript-enabled browser. If your laptop is stolen or can't connect to the projector, borrow a laptop, and plug in a USB stick with your presentation. Or have them browse to your web-site. And when you're done, publishing on the Web is trivial, and much nicer than a large PDF file.

The downside is you have to either be fluent in HTML, or use an HTML editor that can create the needed <div> elements and boiler-plate. Plus there is no built-in support for fancy transitions - you have to code it all yourself.

The changes I made include nice stable URLs for individual slides, plus some other (IMO) improvements. They are available here.

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