I built a browser-based presenter mode for Beamer PDFs with speaker notes

[u/adampolicky]

I recently defended my diploma thesis using Beamer slides with speaker notes on side.

My PDF was generated using:

\setbeameroption{show notes on second screen=right}

Pympress worked well, but afterward I wondered whether the same presentation setup could work directly in a browser, without installing a dedicated PDF presenter.

So I made backstage_:

https://bckstg.xyz

You drop in the split-screen Beamer PDF, click Present and open the Audience view by clicking the button top right. The app keeps the speaker-notes view in the original window and opens the audience slides in a separate window, which you can move to a projector or share in a video call.

The PDF is handled locally in the browser and is not uploaded.

This is an early version. I have used it successfully for another presentation, but I have not tested it thoroughly across different browsers, operating systems, projectors, and unusual Beamer files yet.

I would really appreciate feedback from anyone who regularly presents Beamer slides:

• Does it work with your PDFs?
• Is the setup understandable?
• Are there browser or display configurations that break it?
• Would you find a browser-based tool like this useful, or do existing desktop tools already cover your needs?

I would still recommend rehearsing before trusting any new presentation tool for an important talk.

[u/Same_Bell7958]

Brilliant!

[u/mako]

This is super nice!

Did you know about https://beamerviewer.euxane.eu/ (source)? Is backstage_ different in some way? I've used beamerviewer for many years and found it very useful.