[OS X TeX] iPad presentation

[Louis Talman]

On Thu, 01 Mar 2018 10:24:33 -0700, Nicolae Garleanu  
<garleanu at berkeley.edu> wrote:

> Hi everybody,
>
> This is quite off topic, but I have noticed over the years that the  
> contributors to this list have highly eclectic interests and knowledge.
>
> I have been looking for years to be able to give lectures using an iPad.  
> The set-up is trivial in Windows, using PDF Annotator. Buying a computer  
> for that sole purpose, though, is something I would really want to  
> avoid. Alas, I have not found the desired setup. Here are the main  
> features I would like:
>
> 1. Project (landscape) PDF file in full-screen mode. (How to connect to  
> the projector is a different topic, there are solutions.)
> 2. Make page transition immediate — so that, if another piece shows up  
> on the page, it does not involve the simulation of a turning page or  
> some other effect.
> 3. PDF (slides) can be annotated (using pen) with hand-written input.
> 4. An extra slide (blank, white, landscape) can be inserted for  
> additional notes.
> 5. Page can be advanced remotely — e.g., with clicker.
>
> Given the material that I teach, I found latex to be the natural way to  
> go, which means that I cannot use Keynote, say, which may well have all  
> the features above (other than PDF). Other things I looked at are  
> GoodNotes (transitions leave to be desired, can only add yellow (?!)  
> pages in landscape; I have to try projecting to see how the full-page  
> feature works then, in what they call the “TV-Out” mode) and Explain  
> Everything (transitions are really unsuitable, didn’t look any further).  
> Feature 5 is a problem with all PDF apps I came across, may have to be  
> sacrificed.
>
> I imagine that the world has moved on from this kind of presentation  
> style, which is why the more “modern” tools (in particular, iOS based)  
> do not offer the capability; the demand is too low. The Windows space,  
> the traditional habitat of business, appears to be dominated by PDF  
> Annotator, which keeps developing; this suggests that there is a market  
> there, but perhaps not attractive enough to foster real competition.  
> That said, it may be worth trying to see whether anyone on this list has  
> come across anything that holds promise. Thanks!
>
> Nicolae


An iPad app called Notability meets most, if not all, of your  
requirements.  Page transitions might be
a bit too clumsy for you, but that's probably the main failure.

To import a PDF into the app, store it first in DropBox from your  
computer, whence you can download it
directly into Notability.  You can write on PDF pages, or on blank pages  
the app create and will store
on DropBox as PDFs.  Use one of Adonit's JotPro styli (about $20) instead  
of an Apple pen (~$100).
[If the stylus' writing becomes flaky, put a drop of conducting lubricant  
in the ball joint near the tip.]

If you want, you can altogether give up using a black (white) board and  
project lecturenotes you hand
write in class (or your annotated LaTex output) in Notability.  Then you  
can upload them directly to
DropBox as PDFs on---which you can make available on the Web.  (DropBox  
isn't very suitable for the
latter:  DropBox allows you to make files Web-accessible, but it imposes  
download limits that a class
of any size will quickly bump into.)

-- 
--Louis A. Talman, Ph.D.
   Emeritus Professor of Mathematics
   Metropolitan State University of Denver

   <http://sites.msudenver.edu/talmanl/homepage/>