Present from PowerPoint, live.

1. In Pulse, open your event and go to Setup → Controls (or the Present view).
2. Under Remote & PowerPoint, click Pair a device and read the 6-character pairing code. You can choose how long the code stays valid — 15 minutes up to 4 hours — handy when you set up well ahead.
3. In the PowerPoint pane, type the code and click Pair. The pane shows your event's title.

You can pair before the event is running — the event does not need to be live. The same code pairs a phone remote too. Pulse shows “Paired ✓ — active just now” once you connect.

1. With your deck open and the pane paired, click “Use this deck in Pulse” — you can do this before the event goes live.
2. It uploads the open .pptx and a progress bar runs to 100%. A dropped connection mid-upload retries on its own, so a blip won't lose your deck.

Skip this if you've already uploaded slides (or a PDF) in Pulse — the add-in drives whatever deck is there. A deck can only be swapped while the event isn't live.

The pane has the basic session controls, so you can run the whole thing without switching to Pulse:

• ▶ Start event (go live) — opens the room for attendees, right from the pane.
• Start your slideshow (F5). The pane switches to “Tracking your slideshow” and every slide change is pushed to Pulse automatically — attendees follow along and any slide-anchored poll, quiz, or icebreaker launches on cue.
• Next / Back nudge the room's slide; Blank the stage hides the deck for a moment; ■ End event closes the room and sends the recap.

One driver at a time: if you also use the phone remote or the on-screen Present controls, whichever moved last wins. Nothing breaks — just pick one.

Closed the event by accident? The pane shows Run again to reopen it. A connection dot (Connected / Reconnecting… / Offline) tells you the link is healthy. And when a moderator moves the slide from Pulse, the pane follows in PowerPoint's normal view.

Polls, quizzes and icebreakers can travel with your slides, so they stay put when you reorder the deck:

• Write an engagement in a slide's speaker notes using the block syntax — or, if you built it in Pulse first, use Copy in the pane's Engagements list (or "Copy for slide notes" in Pulse) and paste it into the slide's notes. Sync to slides writes them onto the slides as tags for you (then Save).
• Push the deck — Pulse creates or updates each engagement and anchors it to its slide. Reorder and push again; the anchors follow.
• Already live and just need to fix an engagement? Push engagements only updates the polls/quizzes from your notes without touching the running slides.

PowerPoint's add-in API can't write speaker notes for us, so authoring is copy/paste or the notes pane; the add-in writes the machine tags. Add onAdvance to a block for a question about the slide's own content — it fires as you leave the slide.

Room controls and Room notice (breaks, "ending soon", announcements) are in the pane too, tucked into collapsible sections below the session controls.

Pushing a deck brings across more than the slides. Pulse reads:

• Slide titles — each slide's title names it in the run-of-show timeline, instead of "Slide 1, Slide 2".
• Engagements — the [pulse:poll] / quiz / icebreaker / survey blocks in your speaker notes.
• The run of show — a [pulse:act] block on a section's first slide (title, speaker, minutes) builds the agenda & timeline automatically.
• Event preferences — a [pulse:session] block on your title slide sets the attendee view style and room settings.

The pane confirms what came in after each push. A re-download from Pulse (Original .pptx → With engagement notes) writes your latest edits back into the notes, so the deck stays the source of truth. See the full grammar and an AI authoring workflow at Author an enriched deck with AI.

The add-in loads from nowpresenting.net, so it updates itself — you never re-download it for a feature or fix. The pane checks the current version each time it opens; when a newer build is available it shows “A newer add-in is available” with an Update now button that reloads to the latest. You can also tap Check for updates in the pane footer, which shows the version you're on.

You only re-install (re-sideload the manifest) if the manifest itself changes — for example new permissions. Day-to-day updates need nothing from you.

• Does the event have to be running to pair or upload? No. Pair and upload your deck on a draft or scheduled event, then start it from the pane when you're ready.
• Can I start the event from PowerPoint? Yes — Start event (go live) in the pane. You can also end it, blank the stage, and step slides.
• How long is a pairing code good for? You choose when you mint it — 15 minutes to 4 hours. Once a device connects, the code is spent and the connection lasts for the event.
• Do I have to update the add-in myself? No — it self-updates. Tap Update now if the pane offers it, or Check for updates to confirm you're current.
• Is it safe to leave paired? Yes. Ending the event (from anywhere) releases the pairing; you can also Unpair, or revoke it from Pulse under Controls.

• “Deck mismatch” warning — PowerPoint and Pulse disagree on the slide count, usually because of hidden slides; positions can drift. Un-hide them, or re-upload with Use this deck.
• Pane says “Paired · not started” — that's expected before the event is live. Upload your deck if you like, then click Start event when you're ready (or it auto-starts at its scheduled time).
• “Use this deck” is disabled — the event is live, so the deck is locked to protect the running talk. End the event to replace it.
• Code rejected — codes are single-use and expire; mint a fresh one with New code in Pulse (Setup → Controls or Present).
• Pane feels out of date — tap Check for updates in the footer, then Update now.
• On PowerPoint web the pane disappears while presenting — expected; use desktop PowerPoint to drive a live event.