MagicPoint is one of several open-source presentation programs,[2] often used to produce slides for conferences.[3] Unlike most presentation programs, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, where a GUI is used to create slides, MagicPoint slides are created by writing text files using a simple markup language. The resulting file is then displayed with MagicPoint's X11-based viewer.
History
MagicPoint was originally created in the autumn of 1997, at a WIDE Project camp. It was originally known as tp, standing for TinyPoint,[4] but in December the name was changed to MagicPoint.[5]
Features
- Content is written in text files and formatting is indicated by text features. For example, different level bullet points can be created by simply indenting the text with tabs[6]
- Many image formats are supported[7]
- Slides can be scaled to different screen sizes[8]
- External applications can be executed from inside the presentation
- A talk timer and slide guide are included[7]
- Presentations can be exported to HTML or PostScript files.[9]
Another feature of MagicPoint is the ability to draw on slides during a presentation.[2] By pressing x on the keyboard, the slide can temporarily be scribbled on with red "ink". Shift x allows you to cycle through other pen colours.
