Building a slide-aware presentation timer for PowerPoint and WPS

Hona Cao — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 06:08:37 +0000

FlyPPTTimer v1.17.0 is a Windows presentation timer and control companion for Microsoft PowerPoint and WPS Presentation.

I built it around a simple idea: a presentation timer becomes more useful when it understands some of the presentation context instead of running as an unrelated stopwatch.

What it looks like during an actual presentation

This is FlyPPTTimer running on top of a real PowerPoint slideshow:

The compact timer can remain visible while the slideshow is running, so the speaker does not have to switch away from the presentation or check another device.

Besides total presentation time, it can also expose presentation context such as the current slide position and how long the current slide has been on screen.

That was an important distinction for me.

A normal timer answers:

How much time do I have left?

A presentation-aware timer can also help answer:

Which slide am I on?

How long have I been talking about this slide?

More than a countdown

FlyPPTTimer supports countdown, count-up and unlimited elapsed timing.

It also supports advance reminders and overtime states, so timing information can become useful before the clock reaches zero rather than only after it is too late.

Different presentations can have different rules

A five-minute pitch, a thesis defense and a classroom session should not require rebuilding the timer configuration every time.

FlyPPTTimer can associate timing behavior with presentations and save complete working setups as reusable scenarios.

A scenario can preserve things such as timing mode, duration, reminders and display behavior.

This makes it easier to prepare repeatable setups for different presentation environments.

A phone can become the remote

FlyPPTTimer also provides a browser-based remote over the local network.

No dedicated phone app is required.

A phone browser can access supported timer and presentation controls while the presentation computer continues running the slideshow.

The browser interface can also expose timing information for individual slides during the current presentation session.

The remote is intended for trusted local networks.

Multiple displays

Presentation environments often involve more than one display.

FlyPPTTimer can keep a compact always-on-top timer near the speaker while simultaneously putting a dedicated large timer on another display.

That makes it possible to have one layout for the speaker and another for a confidence monitor, event staff or a larger stage display.

Built with Rust and Slint

The current desktop application is built with Rust and Slint, together with native Windows integration for the presentation workflow.

The phone remote is delivered as a local browser interface.

The current official release is FlyPPTTimer v1.17.0 for Windows 10/11 x64.

How I develop it

The product direction, feature ideas and final decisions come from me.

I use ChatGPT to help structure requirements, challenge assumptions and refine interaction and product logic. Codex then handles a significant part of the implementation under my direction.

I review the resulting behavior, test the workflows and decide what becomes part of the product.

That workflow has been particularly useful for a project like this because many of the difficult problems are not isolated coding problems. They are questions such as what should happen when a slideshow changes, what information belongs on a speaker-facing timer, how controls should behave across multiple displays, and how much functionality should be exposed through the phone interface.

Looking for real-world testers

At this point I’m especially interested in people who actually use strict presentation timing in:

thesis defenses and academic presentations;
lectures and training sessions;
pitches and demos;
speech contests;
multi-speaker meetings;
live events.

I have a small number of complimentary activation codes available for people willing to use FlyPPTTimer in a real presentation and send candid feedback afterward.

There is no requirement to publish a review or star the repository.

What I care about most is finding out what works under real presentation conditions, what becomes distracting, and what is still missing.

Project:
https://github.com/Hona-Cao/FlyPPTTimer

Latest release:
https://github.com/Hona-Cao/FlyPPTTimer/releases/latest

English user guide:
https://github.com/Hona-Cao/FlyPPTTimer/blob/main/docs/USER_GUIDE.en.md

AI assistance disclosure: I define the product direction, requirements and final decisions. ChatGPT is used to help structure and refine product logic, while Codex assists with implementation. I review and test the resulting product before deciding what ships.

DEV Community: Hona Cao