Building a slide-aware presentation timer for PowerPoint and WPS

FlyPPTTimer v1.17.0 is a Windows software tool designed to enhance Microsoft PowerPoint and WPS Presentation slideshows with a countdown timer and control features. The creator built it to offer a more context-aware timing solution that adapts to the presentation flow rather than functioning as an independent stopwatch.

During an actual presentation, the FlyPPTTimer appears on top of the slideshow, allowing the speaker to keep an eye on it without disrupting their presentation or needing to look at another device. This compact timer can display the total presentation duration, the current slide position, and how long the current slide has been displayed on screen. This distinction provides more useful information than a standard timer, which only indicates how much time is left.

FlyPPTTimer goes beyond a simple countdown by supporting count-up and unlimited elapsed timing modes. It also includes advance reminders and overtime states, so the timing information becomes useful as the presentation progresses, rather than only after the clock reaches zero. Users can customize timing behavior for different presentations and save these configurations as reusable scenarios, making it easy to prepare repeatable setups for various presentation environments.

The software provides a browser-based remote control over the local network, eliminating the need for a dedicated phone app. This remote interface can access timer and presentation controls while the computer running the slideshow continues uninterrupted. The remote is intended for trusted local networks only. FlyPPTTimer can also be used with multiple displays, allowing speakers to have a compact timer visible to them while displaying a larger timer on another display for confidence monitors, event staff, or larger stage presentations.

Built with Rust and Slint, the desktop application offers native Windows integration for seamless presentation workflow. The phone remote interface is delivered as a local browser interface. The latest official release is FlyPPTTimer v1.17.0 for Windows 10/11 x64.

The product's development is guided by the creator, who uses ChatGPT to structure requirements, challenge assumptions, and refine interaction and product logic. Codex assists with a significant portion of the implementation under the creator's direction. The creator reviews the resulting behavior, tests workflows, and decides what becomes part of the product.

This approach has been particularly helpful for addressing complex questions, such as how to handle slideshow changes, what information should be displayed on the speaker-facing timer, and how controls should behave across multiple displays.

The creator is currently seeking real-world testers for FlyPPTTimer in various presentation settings, including thesis defenses, academic presentations, lectures, training sessions, pitches, demos, speech contests, and multi-speaker meetings. The creator has a limited number of complimentary activation codes available for individuals willing to use the software in a real presentation and provide honest feedback afterward. There is no obligation to publish a review or star the repository on GitHub.

For more information, visit the project's GitHub page (https://github.com/Hona-Cao/FlyPPTTimer) or the latest release (https://github.com/Hona-Cao/FlyPPTTimer/releases/latest). An English user guide is also available (https://github.com/Hona-Cao/FlyPPTTimer/blob/main/docs/USER_GUIDE.en.md).