Keynote, Projector and your MacBook Pro

It seems like every time I give a presentation, I have forgotten setup steps. Well, I finally wrote them down.

I only use area #1 of Mac’s Open Spaces to reduce the number of balls in the air while I am presenting. Here is my setup. Your mileage may vary.

Keynote Preferences

Configure your Keynote preferences in advance of the presentation.

slideshow

presenter display

Locate the VGA input on the back of the projector or, in the case of ceiling-mounted projectors, on the wall or podium.
Plug in a male-to-male VGA cable.
Connect an Apple Mini DVI-to-VGA adapter to the VGA cable.
Plug the other end of the Apple Mini DVI-to-VGA adapter into your MacBook Pro’s mini DVI port.
Start the projector.
Start the MacBook Pro.
At this point, the laptop may “Detect Display” (A.K.A projector), automatically.
If not, go to System Prefences > Hardware > Display.
Click “Detect Displays”. (If the secondary display still has not been detected, try clicking F7.)
Set the resolution to 1024×768.
Select “Show display in menu bar.” Note the display icon at top/right of your laptop’s screen.
System Preferences > Hardware > Display > Arrangement then select “Mirroring”. The display image icons overlay to show mirroring.
Launch your Keynote presentation.
Launch any other applications that you may be toggling to during the presentation (Example: browser).
In the menu bar icon (top right of screen), set to “Turn on mirroring”.
Toggle (Command+Tab) to Keynote Slides.
Use your remote Play button to start Keynote presentation. At this point, the projector should only display slides. Your laptop should be displaying the Presenter’s View.

Be sure you are queued up to slide #1. You should now be ready to start your Keynote presentation.

You may need to jump to applications other than your Keynote presentation.