Presenting
Kova offers two presentation modes: single-screen (fullscreen slideshow on one monitor) and dual-screen (presenter view on your laptop with the audience view on an external display). The correct mode launches automatically when you click ▶ Present, or you can pin a specific mode in Settings.
Starting a presentation
Click ▶ Present in the titlebar, or press the button in the toolbar. Kova detects connected displays and opens the appropriate view.
Single-screen mode
The current slide fills the screen. Navigate with the keyboard or by clicking the left or right third of the screen.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| ++arrow-right++ / ++arrow-down++ / ++space++ / ++page-down++ | Next slide |
| ++arrow-left++ / ++arrow-up++ / ++page-up++ | Previous slide |
| ++n++ | Toggle speaker notes panel |
| ++escape++ | Exit presentation |
Press ++n++ to reveal the notes panel below the slide — it shows the ??? block from your Markdown.
Dual-screen presenter view
When Kova detects an external display (with Auto or Dual mode enabled), it opens two windows simultaneously:
- Audience window — displayed fullscreen on the external display or projector. Shows the current slide with no presenter UI.
- Presenter overlay — shown on your laptop, containing:
- Current slide (large, left side)
- Next slide preview (top-right)
- Speaker notes (bottom-right)
- Elapsed timer (bottom bar)
- Slide counter
Keyboard navigation in the presenter overlay controls both windows simultaneously.
Dual-screen is in active development
Multi-monitor support is actively being refined and is currently unstable. Single-screen mode is stable — use dual-screen with caution for important presentations.
Display mode settings
Go to Settings → Presentation to configure how Kova uses connected displays:
| Mode | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Auto (default) | Dual presenter view if an external display is detected; single screen otherwise |
| Single | Always single-screen fullscreen, regardless of displays |
| Dual | Always open dual presenter view |
| Mirror | Same slide fullscreen on both displays; no presenter overlay |
Additional dual-screen options
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Show next slide | On | Displays the upcoming slide in the top-right pane |
| Show timer | On | Shows elapsed time at the bottom of the presenter overlay |
| Notes font size | Medium | Speaker notes text size: Small / Medium / Large |
Speaker notes
Add speaker notes to any slide using the ??? delimiter. Notes are never shown to the audience.
## Q3 Results
- Revenue: $2.4M (+22% YoY)
- Churn: 3.1% (down from 4.8%)
- NPS: 61
???
Pause here. The revenue number is the headline — give the audience a moment.
Note: the churn drop is worth emphasising — it directly ties to the onboarding improvements from Q2.
- Single-screen mode: press ++n++ to toggle the notes panel below the slide.
- Dual-screen mode: notes appear permanently in the presenter overlay bottom-right.
Aspect ratio
Set the aspect ratio per-document in the frontmatter. Both windows in dual-screen mode use the same ratio.
Note
There is no global default — set aspect_ratio in each document's frontmatter.