About

qxpdfpc is a Web-based application for remotely controlling PDF Presenter Console (aka pdfpc). It is mainly aimed at mobile (specifically, smartphone) devices.

qxpdfpc requires pdfpc at least version 4.6, which at this moment has not been released. In other words, you need to fetch and compile the development version directly from github.

Installation

• Fetch the qxpdfpc sources from github.com.

• Download and install the Qooxdoo toolkit. You need version 6.0 or above.

• In the qxpdfpc root directory, run qx compile. This should produce the compiled directory with various files and subdirectories.

Usage

• Configure pdfpc. Set these options in the pdfpcrc file (man pdfpcrc):

  • option rest-static-root /full/path/to/qxpdfpc/compiled
  • option rest-passwd a_very_secret_password (yes, make it special; you do not want somebody else from the auditorium to control your presentation, do you?) In principle, pdfpc can generate a secure random password and allow to scan it and other connection details in the form of a QR-encoded image, but currently qxpdfpc does not support it.

• Run pdfpc with the -V flag. This will enable the application Web server bound to port 8088. If another port is desired, it can be configured either on the command line (-p) or permanently in pdfpcrc.

• Make sure access to the port from outside is not blocked (that is, no firewall is running on your PC; if it is, you should reconfigure it appropriately -- refer to the manual of your OS).

• In your smartphone, open a browser and enter the URL of the server, e.g., http://IP_of_your_PC:8088/. When you do it first time, a dialog will appear where the connection details (the same IP_of_your_PC, chosen port, and password) should be entered. Press Connect.

• Voila! Now you can control your presentation from the mobile device in your palm: navigate with Next/Prev buttons, as well as see the current slide and read respective notes, if any.

• More functionality to follow, stay tuned (or better, contribute to the development).