Views, commands and servers

mdeck has a few commands that start a server or make files, and a few views of the same slides that you choose in the browser. This page puts them side by side.

Views#

Every build and every preview contains all views. The address picks one with ?view=:

Address	View	For
`?view=deck`	Standalone slides with drawing controls	Slides opened from the reader view or a built file
`?view=presenter`	Current and next slide, notes and timer, and a button that opens the audience window	You, while presenting
`?view=audience`	Slides without notes, with navigation synced to the presenter view	The projector
`?view=reader`	The reader view: an outline, Slides and Read modes, light or dark, and a PDF	People you send the talk to
`?view=follow`	The slide you are showing and your drawing, live; people can page back and return with Back to live, but never see a slide before you show it	People in the room, on their phone or laptop

Ways to switch between them:

The Overview link in the corner of the deck opens the reader view. Its outline is the overview of all slides.
Present in the reader view opens standalone slides at the current slide.
People in the room open the follow view with <qrcode follow /> on a slide, with the Follow the slides link on the phones' answer page, or with the Follow address mdeck run --network prints. It works where their devices reach both the slides and your stage room: on the same network with mdeck run --network, or anywhere for a deck hosted with a server setting.
The presenter view's audience-window button opens the audience view in a new window. Navigation in either window updates the other, in the same browser or on a paired iPad: see Draw on your slides.
The launch page of mdeck run, at the preview's plain address, offers Presenter, Audience and Reader. Its presenter and audience buttons belong together.
Fullscreen is a control inside a view (F or its fullscreen button). For a single screen, use the presenter view's slide-only layout.
A poll's QR code opens the server's answer page, not the slides: see Ask your audience.

Commands#

Command	What it does	Where it runs
`mdeck run my-talk.md`	Preview that reloads when you save; launch page; server for polls	Your computer. Add `--network` to reach it from phones in the same network, or `--server` to reach it from an iPad on any network through your own server
`mdeck edit my-talk.md`	Visual editor that saves into the file and keeps a backup	Your computer only. The launch page can start it too
`mdeck build my-talk.md`	A `dist` folder to host or copy	Anywhere afterwards; no mdeck needed
`mdeck send my-talk.md`	One file to send, without notes, with a PDF inside	Opens on its own
`mdeck pdf my-talk.md`	A PDF, one page per slide	Needs Chrome or Chromium while building
`mdeck server`	The server for polls in hosted presentations, and for presenting from an iPad through it	A web server
`mdeck docs`	These guides	Your computer

The command guide lists every option.

What needs a server#

Presenting. While you work, use mdeck run. A built folder can be presented from any ordinary web server; mdeck build my-talk.md --launchers adds a small one that needs Python. A self-contained file for readers opens on its own.

Editing and the launch page. These run only while mdeck edit or mdeck run is running, and only answer on your own computer.

Polls. Only a server must be reachable by the phones; they never load the slides. You present from your own computer, with the slides as they are right now.

Situation	Server	Settings
Rehearsing, small group	Built into `mdeck run my-talk.md --network` on your laptop	None. Phones must be in the same network
Lecture hall	`mdeck server` on a web server, once for all your talks	`server`, and the key `MDECK_SERVER_KEY` when you start `mdeck run`

Many large Wi-Fi networks do not let devices reach each other. If phones cannot reach your laptop, use a phone hotspot or a server on the internet. Details are in Ask your audience.

Drawings. mdeck run saves them in my-talk.drawings.json next to the slides. An iPad next to your laptop pairs with mdeck run --network through a QR code on the launch page, or from any network with mdeck run --server; the audience window on the laptop then follows it. See Draw on your slides.

PDFs. Only building one needs Chrome. The PDF shows interactive slides finished. Polls show the answers the deck's server had at that moment; without one, they show their question and options, marked as answered live during the talk.