Presentation Manager ®

  • latest release - Nov 2023 - Release 7.575

Worship Presentation/Projection Software for Churches

Worship presentation software for your church's worship service that offers ease of use and the features you are looking for to streamline and simplify your worship projection. Take the Presentation Manager tour to learn more, then download our demo to try it yourself.

  • Included song database and popular Bibles.
  • Overlay text over Live video and movies.
  • DVD playback functionality.
  • Show different presentations on two projectors.
  • Designed so spontaneous changes don't disrupt worship .
  • Dual Preview Mode.
  • Slide templates allowing on-the-fly presentation changes.
  • Picture-in-Picture / Movie-in-Movie.
  • Windows 7,8,10 both 32bit and 64bit / MAC
  • Dual Bible translation display - on the fly

Presentation manager ® was first released in 1998 - we are now on version 7

Read what other say

If your church has Powerpoint ® take your worship presentations to the next level - see comparison.

Virtually Fun

Fun with virtualization.

Virtually Fun

Presentation Manager for Windows NT

This is something that honestly deserves so much more. Back in the original scope of NT OS/2 it was going to be a C parallel of OS/2 2.00 Cruiser that had the promise of running on one of those new fangled microkernels, and those trendy RISC workstations. The 486 / Pentium were considered like the 68040/68060 to be the peak of CISC processors and from there on it was going to be a RISC world, the only question was to be which one?

Many of the Motorola customers who couldn’t afford to make their own (SUN with the SPARC), or license a school project (SGi with MIPS) were expected to use the 88000 processors that were expected to eclipse the 68040. There was an Apple initiative, and even a NeXT RISC Workstation built among many others. Only with the launch of the 88010 it was discovered performance was nowhere near expected and it’d take significant work to fix.

Back on the i386 side, Microsoft had been working with Intel on their upcoming RISC, the NTen aka i860. And just like the 88000 it too had performance issues, which resulted in Microsoft retargeting the MIPS.

Things changed along the way, and not only was the primary CPU platform dumped, but Windows 3.0 became such an incredible seller that OS/2 Cruiser was dumped from NT OS/2, and it became Windows NT. NT had been promised with the ability to run OS/2, MS-DOS, and POSIX applications, with an emphasis on Win16 and the new extended Win32 applications. However MS-DOS was super limited, POSIX was just enough to run vi & tar, Win16 was incredibly slow as it ran through WOW (Windows on Windows), and OS/2 had been kneecapped to the 16bit 1.x support as it was primarily a vehicle for running Microsoft SQL Server 1.0/4.0 . Another consequence of this is that OS/2 was command line only. In the back of deployment guides, and resource kits there was always an inference to a Presentation Manager subsystem for NT, although I’d never seen one in the wild.

Until I got a hold of a bunch of Microsoft Select CD-ROM’s that mostly were multilingual service packs of Office and Windows 98 / NT 3.51 & NT 4.0 But burred in there was a copy of Presentation Manager for NT 3.51!

windows presentation manager

First off it’s a text based install. It feels like October 1991 all over again. It installs a parallel OS/2 directory with presentation manager support.

windows presentation manager

Once it is installed it’ll setup program icons from the Windows NT side. Presentation manager runs in a separate window from the GDI. This is akin to how OS/2 would run Windows in a ‘full screen’ session. So oddly enough both support each other’s 16bit applications full screen, while reserving the desktop for 32bit applications. IBM would later introduce dual mode video drivers capable of rending Windows and OS/2 applications at the same time. Clearly Microsoft would never do this.

windows presentation manager

Launching the control panel reveals that it’s OS/2 version 1.3. No big surprise there. You can return to the Windows NT desktop either via the Windows NT icon in the bottom right, or via a Control+Alt+Delete.

windows presentation manager

The DeScribe 3 beta installs pretty smoothly into the subsystem. However running Describe is a different story:

windows presentation manager

It hangs trying to open or do anything. Even the ‘help about’ is too much. Such a pitty.

The readme warns against trying to copy the file manager from OS/2 although it does tell you what files to copy in manually. Naturally there is no ‘console’ for Presentation Manager, rather that is handled on the Windows desktop.

No doubt there had to be some big customer that demanded a way out for their investment in Presentation Manager on Windows NT. Otherwise this would have been built in. And it’s only 5 diskettes so it’s not a space issue. I suspect since it was on a Select CD, it really was not meant for wide scale distribution.

Last time I tried, Excel 3, and Word 1 had issues running on Windows NT, as the loader tried to intercept them as Win16. Things didn’t go so well. Or maybe it’s my memory. I went ahead and installed Excel 2.2 for OS/2

windows presentation manager

Despite it being text mode, it has Presentation Manager hooks, and needs PM Shell to be running. It’s a simple setup program, but yes, it’s text mode.

windows presentation manager

One nice thing about Describe & Excel is that they can see the program groups on the NT side, and create icons over there. However NT has no ability to read OS/2 resources so the icons are all incorrect.

windows presentation manager

And yes, Excel for OS/2 runs on Windows NT! Back then Excel was super expensive, this is before the big Office OEM bundles that took over the industry. So I could totally see preserving this massive investment in Excel.

Despite having 80286 emulation in the earlier versions of NT, and 80486 emulation in Windows NT 4.0 (Yes DooM runs on the MIPS!) the OS/2 subsystem was never available on the RISC platforms. I suspect had Windows 3.0 not been a big seller it may have. Then again without the big ‘rabbit out of a hat’ like DOS Extenders, Windows would have died on the vine. Who knows, maybe NT OS/2 is a thing in a parallel universe.

21 thoughts on “ Presentation Manager for Windows NT ”

Bummer about DeScribe. I ran the OS/2 version under everything from MS-OS/2 1.3 through to 4.52 and it ran fine on all of them (& the Win16 version runs fine also under real Windows 3.0, 3.1, and WIN-OS/2…I somehow did not realize that DeScribe for Windows existed that early).

The About… box is pretty darn spartan, so it makes one wonder if the problem isn’t actually with the PM layer (especially since that seems lifted from 1.3 virtually untouched!), but rather some lower-level OS/2 subsystem call that it’s making & that the NT OS/2 layer is choking on?

it could be trying to interface to a printer for all I know. I didn’t setup any printers for NT, and I’m not all that sure how the printing from OS/2 to NT would work but the print manager automatically starts once you launch the desktop..

WinWorld has the NT4.0 PM Subsystem under the System category in the library. It behaves the same as the 3.51 version as far as I tested it.

Yeah it’s the one I uploaded in the wild . I was kind of impatient this morning and took the 3.51 path

Thank you for sharing. So much software and documentation has been lost for older programs, especially non games. I think I don’t have much software that isn’t at the net and the last time I tried to read some of my diskettes, some of them had bad sectors, but I will try again. Unfortunately I don’t live in a first world country and because my situation I don’t have a Kryoflux, but will try again to read the diskettes and see what I have stored all this years. Again, thank you for sharing 🙂

I always used to wonder about this.. along the lines of: Going forward in Windows: Is it possible to take the OS2 subsystem and run it in later versions of Windows?

Going forward in Presentation Manager: Can bits of PM from newer versions of OS2 be taken and run in this.

Of course, the boring answer to both of these is probably no, but you never know.

These are just educated guesses, but…

1) Going forward in OS/2 for Windows: maaaaaaybe? I believe the underpinnings for discrete subsystems like this still exists in modern Windows; in fact, I believe that WSL 1.0 used those same hooks (WSL 2.0 switched to using a VM layer, which I’m sure is based on HyperV or is at least reusing components of it). Besides the fact that I’m sure there have been implementation changes of that layer over time that would have to be compensated for when bringing the OS/2 subsystem forward, the big problem here would likely be the x64 version of Windows, which didn’t exist back when OS/2 subsystem was still a shipping component of WinNT. I don’t know for sure, but I’d bet money against being able to bring up the original implementation within WoW64.

(also, keep in mind the OS/2 subsystem itself is limited to 16-bit OS/2 API compatibility, which plays into the answer to your second question below…)

2) Going forward in PM for Windows: this is MUCH less likely (fast approaching zero). First, MS has access to all OS/2 1.x sources since they were sharing development responsibility with IBM for OS/2 at the time & also had that related cross-licensing agreement with IBM (which is what in turn allowed IBM access to Windows 3.x sources that they could base Win-OS/2 on…it cut both ways!). It’s pretty clear that for the PM layer that’s being demonstrated here, MS just took OS/2 1.3 PM source code, tweaked it a bit, and recompiled. Since they didn’t have to spend time clean-room reverse-engineering anything, that gives it a high degree of compatibility for fairly little effort on their part. That cross-licensing agreement ended shortly after OS/2 development partnership between the two companies ended. It’s *possible* I suppose that MS could technically/legally be due access to some of the IBM-only code that shipped in OS/2 2.x, but certainly nothing beyond that (Warp, etc.). And even if they *could* get the 2.x PM code from IBM, they’re not going to ask for it because they don’t care at this point, and even if they did have access, they aren’t going to spend time spinning a new release of PM for Windows based on it. Nobody other than MS can really produce a new release, either…if we wanted to undertake this as a hobbyist community, as third-parties without access to any source on either the IBM or MS side, our only option would be reverse-engineering both halves and then kludging up a bunch of very ugly hacks (assuming it’s even possible). And finally, anything OS/2 2.0 and beyond is 32-bit. So we are talking a completely new implementation of the PM layer that would have to sit atop a new *32-bit* version of an OS/2 for WinNT subsystem that flat-out doesn’t exist in any form, and never will.

as far as I’m aware nobody has managed to get the OS/2 subsystem running on 2003/LongHorn onwards. That said it’d be i386 (32bit) dependant so all those fancy x64 systems are out of the question.

Newer Presentation manager will most certainly NOT work as they are 32bit, and even if CRUISER bits were finished it’d be the older format from the previous posts about old linkers and hidden OS/2 toolchains.

Now if there was a time/effort thing, then yes for sure.

If I had $ to blow on it, I’d take 2ine and port it to something like OTVDM aka use the MAME i386 emulation and get it off of hardware i386 emulation and get the OS/2 DLL’s running in other places. But it’d be an incredible amount of work for basically at best EMX based stuff which is just trying to emulate Unix.

There is no OS/2 killer app, there are killer apps that are either MS-DOS/Win16 that run on OS/2 or the few and far between that were ported to OS/2.

Im not even going to touch the source leaks that of course open the door to adding at least API compatibility like the old POSIX subsystem, that doesn’t even try to achieve any binary compatibility. But that would be the only way, but good luck on x64 where everything needs to be signed.

Thanks for the thoughtful replies, Nathan and neozeed. The lack of a killer app is a big issue … that keeps mainly on the curiosity side.

osfree.org is also an interesting project.. it seems to slowly chug along, though .. (very slowly it seems) – maybe it would make sense for them to use 2ine for the graphical side.

If I had enough time I’d untangled 2ine to tie the DLLS to Linux and redo the loader to the mame 80386 core like otvdmw.

The problem is that there is no large awesome other than 64bit SMP RISC OS/2 for salaryman

“Download link… gimme gimme!”

Win world pc

I don’t mean to imply that we condone anything illegal here by saying this: but as many times as various iterations of the Windows NT source code have leaked over the years, it really is a shame that nobody’s ever leaked the source to OS/2. It’d be absolutely worthless, but fascinating to read for those of us old enough to have used it as our daily drivers way back when.

Yep, pretty much. and it’s guaranteed to be useless in this day & age as it’s no doubt 100% hand tuned 80286 assembly. If anything the ‘useful’ bit would be fixing all the timing issues, and maybe making the errors more useful other than the infamous ‘error in country.sys’ nonsense.

I remember a few years ago, I don’t remember how many… There was a movement to make IBM release the OS/2 source code, (probably Warp or other version from IBM). A spokesperson from IBM said that IBM was in favor of releasing the code, but… that part of the code was licensed from other companies and would be complicated to get the permission from these companies to release the code and I think that was the end of it.

from what I remember the JFS code that made it’s way to Linux came from OS/2 PowerPC.

HPFS is a Microsoft thing, and well if you look at ‘European DOS’ aka the ‘link4’ Windows 1/2 magic it’s all Microsoft.

Some code that I would really want to see would be SOM (System Object Model) and Workplace Shell. I believe we don’t have nothing today like SOM, we could load libraries and call method/functions, but no Object Orientation at the Operating System Level. I read that RPC have security problems hard to fix and that was why it was not used anymore, but I don’t remember if SOM or DSOM (Distributed System Object Model) used RPC.

There is some ‘free’ portable SOM, somFree .

The OS/2 subsystem in NT was needed for more than just SQL. I mean, the whole reason Workgroup Applications (hi!) released client and server software for OS/2 was because Australia Telecom was the biggest Microsoft Mail install in the world at 50,000 seats, ran _mostly_ OS/2 1.31, and bought premium-tier support, so when they said “jump” we said “how high?”

I don’t know if that was as important as SQL but it was pretty important.

I guess I should add, ‘cruiser’ was nowhere near to the point of running anything on NT/OS2 was it?

(sorry, used the wrong username first time, my bad, i’ve set it to save this time)

The OS/2 subsystem in NT was needed for more than just SQL. I mean, the whole reason Workgroup Applications (hi!) released client and server software for OS/2 was because Australia Telecom was the biggest Microsoft Mail install in the world at 50,000 seats, ran _mostly_ OS/2 1.31, and bought premium-tier support, so when they said “jump” we said “how high?”

I don’t know if that was as important as SQL but it was pretty important. They stood pat for a _long_ time on OS/2 1/31 and Microsoft Mail 3.0-3.5 and being there for them in 16-bit OS/2 was a big deal to keeping them from defecting to… who even knows what, right?

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Computer Hope

Presentation Manager

Operating system phrases.

Sometimes abbreviated as PM , Presentation Manager is a GUI (graphical user interface) for the OS/2 operating system that was a joint effort between Microsoft and IBM . It was released in 1988 and shared many similarities with the desktop in Windows . In fact, the style of PM on OS/2 versions 1.2 and 1.3 significantly influenced the appearance of Windows 3.0 .

Presentation Manager included many Windows-like features, such as the ability to run more than one application simultaneously in separate windows. It also had drag-and-drop functionality, a set of graphical user interface controls, and a framework for developing applications.

One significant difference between PM and Windows was the starting points for their respective coordinate systems. In Presentation Manager, the (0,0) coordinate was located in the lower-left corner, while in Windows, it was located in the upper-left corner.

The starting point difference made it impossible to recompile PM to run on another operating system . Along with IBM's strategy to compete with Microsoft Windows, that difference led to a divergence between the two GUIs. Despite its capabilities, such as utilizing proportional fonts, OS/2 never gained as much popularity as Windows in the consumer market.

Computer acronyms , Manager , Operating system terms

Presentation Manager

by Dennis Feb 24, 2023

In the late 80s, IBM and Microsoft teamed up to unveil a technological wonder that revolutionized the way we interacted with our computers - the Presentation Manager, or PM for short. This graphical user interface (GUI) was a game-changer, providing users with a visually appealing and intuitive way to navigate their operating system.

Gone were the days of tedious and confusing command line interfaces - the PM made computing as easy as a walk in the park. With its sleek design and user-friendly features, it quickly became the talk of the town, captivating users with its charm and functionality.

But what exactly is a GUI, you may ask? Well, a GUI is a way of interacting with a computer through graphical elements like icons, buttons, and windows. Think of it like a virtual storefront - you can easily navigate your computer's folders and files, just like you would browse items on a shelf in a store. With the PM, users could click on icons to launch programs, drag and drop files between folders, and resize and minimize windows with ease.

The PM was a technological trailblazer that paved the way for modern GUIs like Windows, MacOS, and Linux. It was a testament to the power of collaboration between two tech giants, IBM and Microsoft, who worked tirelessly to create a user experience that was both efficient and delightful.

Today, we take GUIs for granted, but it's important to remember the impact that the PM had on the computing industry. Without it, we might still be stuck in the dark ages of command line interfaces, struggling to navigate our computers with archaic text commands.

In conclusion, the Presentation Manager was a true visionary, an interface that set the standard for user-friendly computing for years to come. Its influence can still be felt today, as we continue to enjoy the benefits of intuitive GUIs that make our lives easier and more efficient. So let's tip our hats to the PM - a true trailblazer in the world of technology.

Presentation Manager is a graphical user interface (GUI) that was co-developed by Microsoft and IBM's Hursley Lab in 1987-1988. Its development was an opportunity for Microsoft to fix some of the design flaws of Windows. The PM was designed to be very similar to the upcoming Windows 2.0, but there were still significant differences between the two systems. One of the most significant differences was that the coordinate system in PM was located in the lower left corner while in Windows, it was in the upper left corner. PM was based on the Windows GUI code initially, but it later became impossible to recompile a GUI program to run on the other system, making an automated source code conversion tool necessary.

The IBM-Microsoft split was driven by the divergence of the APIs between Presentation Manager and Windows. IBM took over all of the subsequent development of Presentation Manager, while Microsoft renamed OS/2 3.0 Windows NT, inheriting certain characteristics of Presentation Manager. Although Presentation Manager was initially developed for OS/2, there is now a Presentation Manager for Unix.

The Presentation Manager style influenced the design of Windows 3.0, and some of the GPI concepts, such as viewing transforms, were later incorporated into Windows NT. The OS/2 programming model was thought to be cleaner than that of Windows. The Presentation Manager had a higher abstraction level, which made it possible to implement more complex graphics operations. The PM was also used as a base for the object-oriented interface Workplace Shell in subsequent versions of OS/2 and derivatives such as ArcaOS.

In conclusion, Presentation Manager was a significant development in the history of graphical user interfaces, and its influence can still be felt in modern computing. Although it was not a commercial success, it paved the way for the development of other GUIs and helped to popularize the use of graphical interfaces in computing. Its development was a joint effort by Microsoft and IBM, but the divergence of APIs and the emergence of Windows 3.0 led to the companies parting ways. Nevertheless, the Presentation Manager left an indelible mark on the history of computing.

Technical details

Ladies and gentlemen, today we're going to dive into the fascinating world of Presentation Manager (PM) and its technical details. Get ready to buckle up and take a wild ride through the history and features of this innovative graphical user interface.

To start with, let's talk about how PM follows the Common User Access (CUA) interface conventions. Just like a well-oiled machine, PM seamlessly integrates with other software applications, making it a breeze to use. It's like the conductor of an orchestra, ensuring all instruments are playing in harmony to produce a beautiful symphony of productivity.

But PM doesn't stop there. It goes above and beyond by supporting mouse chording for copying and pasting text. Think of it like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. PM magically makes your copy and paste tasks a snap, leaving you with more time to focus on your work.

Now let's tackle a significant problem that PM had to overcome: the issue of a single message queue. If an application became unresponsive, it could block the processing of user-interface messages, freezing the entire graphical interface. But fear not, because PM is not one to back down from a challenge. In Windows NT, PM transformed a non-responsive application into a dead rectangle on the screen, like a fallen soldier in battle. In later versions, PM even allowed you to move or hide it, just like a master of disguise.

In OS/2, PM took a different approach by using a timer to determine when an application was not responding to events. It's like a watchful guardian, constantly monitoring for any signs of trouble and taking swift action to keep the interface running smoothly.

In conclusion, Presentation Manager is like the superhero of graphical user interfaces, seamlessly integrating with other applications, supporting mouse chording for easy copy and paste, and overcoming challenges with its quick thinking and problem-solving abilities. So the next time you use PM, take a moment to appreciate the technical wizardry that makes it all possible.

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Programmer's Guide To The OS/2 Presentation Manager - Michael J. Young

The Presentation Manager is the windowed graphics interface provided with the OS/2 Operating System, beginning with version 1.1. Although implemented as an extension to the basic operating system, the Presentation Manager is central to the purpose of OS/2 . OS/2 was designed to run multiple programs, to allow communication among these programs, and to provide efficient interaction with the user. The Presentation Manager uses the basic facilities of OS/2 to run multiple applications within windows on a single screen, to exchange data among these applications, and to coordinate their input and output operations. The Presentation Manager thus realizes the fundamental design goals of OS/2 . The Presentation Manager also provides uniform channels for communication and exchange of data among separate programs. Accordingly, applications written for this environment can easily coordinate their activities and exchange data in order to form integrated software Systems . Unfortunately, however, developing an application for the Presentation Manager is not a trivial task for the programmer accustomed to traditional programming environments. There are two basic reasons for the initial difficulty in writing a Presentation Manager program. First, as you will see in this book, the basic architecture of a Presentation Manager application is radically different from that of a traditional pro gram . Second, the Presentation Manager is designed to provide a sophisticated interface for a wide variety of graphics and text mode programs. Accordingly, the number of function calls it provides is vast, and many of these function calls accept a large and complex set of parameters and options . As you develop Presentation Manager applications, you will likely come to appreciate the variety and subtlety of control afforded by the Presentation Manager application program interface.

Initially, however, the complexity can form an obstacle to learning and using the system .

This book is written to help you overcome both of these difficulties.

windows presentation manager

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The GUI Has Arrived—The first release of the Presentation Manager

IBM announced OS/2 1.1 on April 2nd, 1987—at the same time when OS/2 1.0 was announced, and long before OS/2 1.1 (or even 1.0) was released. The actual ship date for IBM’s OS/2 1.1 (Standard Edition) was October 31st, 1988, over 18 months after the initial announcement. The Extended Edition version of OS/2 1.1 followed on November 30th, 1988.

In a way, OS/2 1.0 was a stopgap product, useful in its own right but not representative of Microsoft’s and IBM’s vision for a modern desktop OS. Only with the release of the Presentation Manager was the initial implementation of that vision complete.

Differences from OS/2 1.0

The major difference was naturally the addition of Presentation Manager, the windowing GUI subsystem. But there were other differences as well.

windows presentation manager

Support for named pipes was added to the base OS. This feature was important for Microsoft’s LAN Manager and its IBM-branded cousins, the LAN Requester and LAN Server.

The print spooler was also enhanced, with new GUI control capabilities. This change was related to the Presentation Manager, but also affected printing from non-GUI applications.

A full-screen editor, E.EXE, was added; users could finally adjust system configuration files without needing to supply their own editor or having to resort to EDLIN.

windows presentation manager

Presentation Manager

The real difference between OS/2 1.0 and 1.1 was the addition of Presentation Manager, a graphical windowing system. Presentation Manager (PM) entirely changed the look and feel of the OS.

windows presentation manager

It should be noted that the Presentation Manager specification was completed before the release of Windows 2.0. And while Windows 2.0 was intended to be strictly upwards compatible with Windows 1.0, Presentation Manager was a “clean slate”. Its developers took it as an opportunity to clean up and improve the Windows API, without being concerned with either binary or source compatibility; the approach Microsoft later took with Windows NT was radically different.

One of the larger differences was in the drawing subsystem. Windows 2.0 used a relatively simplistic drawing engine with limited device independence. Presentation Manager used GPI (Graphics Programming Interface), developed by IBM, a much more advanced but also more complex system. One of the differences which in retrospect seems entirely gratuitous was an inverted coordinate system.

A smaller but still significant difference was in the composition of application windows. Where Windows used a single window with frame controls and a “client area”, PM employed a frame window with several separate child windows that included the window controls as well as the client window.

As a result, programmers who could design Windows applications could also design PM applications and vice versa, but porting applications between Windows and PM was still a non-trivial task.

Installation

For this article, Microsoft OS/2 1.1 was installed in a virtual machine, using VirtualBox 4.0 with a small modification to let OS/2 read high-density floppy images.

The version used was an AST OEM version from September 1989, released relatively late in 1.1’s life cycle. This version was delivered on seven high-density 3½” floppies. As usual, the installation diskette needed patching to avoid crashing on fast CPUs (where anything better than a 486 counts as “fast”), and a relatively small virtual disk was used to avoid IDE geometry problems.

Some non-IBM releases of OS/2 1.1 supported dual booting with DOS. As mentioned earlier, OS/2 1.1 could utilize larger than 32MB disk partitions; in that case, DOS 4.0 had to be used for dual booting, since earlier versions would not recognize the larger partitions. The ability to coexist with DOS could be useful when OS/2 was rendered inoperable for some reason. Because DOS used the same file system, DOS-based tools could be used to repair damaged files.

Applications

The Presentation Manager itself was not a killer app. It was certainly useful, and offered new capabilities such as running multiple console windows simultaneously. But to be truly useful, the Presentation Manager needed a new breed of graphical applications. And those applications were slow in coming.

windows presentation manager

Among the first Presentation Manager applications available was Borland SideKick, a popular utility very successful in the DOS market. The Presentation Manager version of SideKick came with a phonebook, organizer, notepad and a calculator.

windows presentation manager

Unfortunately for Microsoft and IBM, even when these applications started actually shipping, customers still had reasons not to switch to OS/2. Applications like PageMaker were severely hampered by lack of printer drivers. Microsoft even shipped updated printer drivers with Excel. High-resolution display drivers were likewise in short supply.

For the most part, printer and display drivers were available for IBM hardware, but support for popular hardware such as the HP LaserJet was slow in coming. IBM naturally supplied drivers for its own hardware, not expecting anyone else to do the job for them. Microsoft likely underestimated how difficult it would to be to get OEMs to write drivers for a platform with only a few useful applications, and how hard it would be to get ISVs to write applications for a platform with only a few useful drivers.

In the end, OS/2 1.1 was a relatively short-lived product, with less than a year of useful life. By the time version 1.1 started nearing usability, OS/2 1.2 was released. In that version, both the Presentation Manager and the base operating system were improved enough that OS/2 1.1 was immediately obsolete, and there was little point in supporting it anymore.

12 Responses to OS/2 1.1

Pingback: Pushing Windows/386 out the door… | Fun with virtualization

I think the Borland Sidekick for PM was one of the more harmful products to OS/2 especially the text editor. It was slow and used lots and lots of memory while not being as useful as the DOS Sidekick utilities. I remember people extrapolating from Sidekick for PM as to how poor other PM programs would be. However, the samples from the Petzold book did a much better job of showing how good PM could be.

One related point was I thought that a mistake was made with the compatability box. The box could be saved to disk when the system was totally focused on OS/2 applications. Win 3 in standard mode used a similar save the DOS session on a 286 but would let multiple DOS sessions to be started and switched between. I believe OS/2 1.x could have done the same and allowed multiple DOS sessions. The result would be slow as DOS sessions get reloaded from disk when the user switched back to a DOS session. But one session could have TSRs and a small application while a different session could be clean to provide the room for larger DOS applications.

Interesting to hear about Sidekick. One disadvantage of looking at 20+ year old software is that it’s very hard to judge performance… everything is just blazingly fast. I do recall that e.g. running Microsoft C 5.1 on a 386 isn’t much fun.

OS/2 1.x did support swapping out the DOS box to disk, but I believe that was only added in version 1.2, if not 1.3. The DOS support was definitely a weak point of OS/2 1.x. In my (very limited) experience, the DOS support wasn’t bad per se, but it was very restricted; there was no support for EMS/XMS and there was often not much conventional memory available, which seriously limited the usefulness of the OS/2 DOS box. Microsoft had the multitasking DOS technology in Windows/386 back in 1987, but that only showed up in OS/2 2.0 in 1992. I believe that Microsoft (and probably IBM to a lesser extent) underestimated the need for DOS compatibility, or at least underestimated how much inertia there was in the DOS market. They expected everyone would be eager to write OS/2 applications, and when that didn’t happen, there was no plan B.

The sad thing is that if OS/2 was finished in year 1985 instead of year 1987, EMS/XMS would probably be unnecessary.

What would OS/2 in 1985 look like? If it looked like multitasking DOS 4.0, it would have almost certainly been the same disaster. If it looked more like OS/2 of ’87, it certainly wouldn’t have prevented the EMS standard from emerging, because EMS was useful to those millions of IBM PCs, PC/XTs, and compatible systems which couldn’t run OS/2.

Yes, I mean developing the multitasking DOS 4.0 for 286’s protected instead of real mode, which existed even in 1983.

Pingback: Microsoft Windows/386 | Electric Thrift

It should be noted for differences, that Version 1.1 of IBM’s Extended Edition was also shipped in national language versions. OS/2 1.0 EE was only available in US English. This explains the different upgrade options from the announcement letter.

I have Microsoft OS/2 1.1 for Fujitsu in original shrink wrap (3 3.5″ floppy set). Would this be the same as IBM OS/2 1.1? I am hesitant to open and use, as I am not sure if it would work in a virtual machine. TIA.

It’s hard to say without having at least some idea what hardware the Fujitsu version supported. Judging from other MS OS/2 OEM releases I’ve seen, there is a good chance it’ll work on regular PC hardware and in a VM.

And no, it’s not going to be quite the same as IBM OS/2 1.1, although it should support the same applications. The drivers included will be different and there’s not going to be PS/2 (ABIOS) support at all.

I’d be quite interested in photos/scans. And if you do decide to open the package, also floppy images 🙂

Hi Everybody..

I found a solution to install the OS/2 1.1 Novia version in a virtual box (VM Machine)

First of all

I got different errors like ( CX: 00000 ) and 89039

In virtual box 5.2.0 choose OS/2 machine – model 1.x and in the configuration, system, go to processor and choose 1% of restriction. After go to accelaration and choose none.

I assume Novia is Nokia. 89039 represents the date when the kernel was built (39th day of 1989), there’s certainly more than one.

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MS Windows Presentation Manager?

  • Thread starter Chuck(G)
  • Start date Jul 9, 2010

Chuck(G)

  • Jul 9, 2010

Just ran across this term and it's prompted me to ask when Microsoft used the term "Presentation Manager" in connection with Windows. Was it used only with Windows/386?  

glitch

Veteran Member

I've seen one other copy labeled as such. It was a copy of Windows 2.03 from England, for use with an Amstrad 286. "Presentation Manager" was also the name used with OS/2's GUI in, IIRC, version 1.1. Apparently diskettes labeled as "Presentation Manager" are quite rare (the set of disks I had, which were just bare disks, sold for over $50).  

It was used for Windows/286 and Windows/386 and I think Windows 2.03 but not Windows 1.x though I don't have a box for Windows 1.04 which might have participated in the OS/2 affliated marketing.  

Chuckster_in_Jax

Chuckster_in_Jax

I wasn't aware that Microsoft used the term "Presentation Manager" with any version of Windows until this thread. Since OS/2 was a joint venture between IBM and Microsoft until OS/2 2.0(?), it would make sense that Microsoft would have some rights to Presentation Manager if it was developed in that time frame, but to use it in a product that competed with OS/2 always seemed downright shady. Microsoft apparently had been working on Windows at the same time they were allied with IBM on the OS/2 project. When the big divorce came, there were certain agreements made between the two as far as who kept what intellectual rights with IBM, IMO, giving up way too much. Such as having to pay Microsoft a royalty for each copy of OS/2 with support for Windows. I wonder how much of that Windows code was actually a product of the joint effort with IBM, with IBM never getting any royalties.  

Chuckster_in_Jax said: I wasn't aware that Microsoft used the term "Presentation Manager" with any version of Windows until this thread. Since OS/2 was a joint venture between IBM and Microsoft until OS/2 2.0(?), it would make sense that Microsoft would have some rights to Presentation Manager if it was developed in that time frame, but to use it in a product that competed with OS/2 always seemed downright shady. Microsoft apparently had been working on Windows at the same time they were allied with IBM on the OS/2 project. When the big divorce came, there were certain agreements made between the two as far as who kept what intellectual rights with IBM, IMO, giving up way too much. Such as having to pay Microsoft a royalty for each copy of OS/2 with support for Windows. I wonder how much of that Windows code was actually a product of the joint effort with IBM, with IBM never getting any royalties. Click to expand...
glitch said: I've seen one other copy labeled as such. It was a copy of Windows 2.03 from England, for use with an Amstrad 286. "Presentation Manager" was also the name used with OS/2's GUI in, IIRC, version 1.1. Apparently diskettes labeled as "Presentation Manager" are quite rare (the set of disks I had, which were just bare disks, sold for over $50). Click to expand...

vwestlife

"Presentation Manager" was the name of the GUI used in OS/2 1.x, beginning with version 1.1 (1.0 was text-mode-only). The GUI used in Windows 2.x and 3.x was designed to provide the same "look and feel" as Presentation Manager, however, their APIs had many under-the-scenes differences, so applications could not be easily ported from OS/2 to Windows or vice-versa. OS/2 1.1's Presentation Manager looked similar to Windows 2.x, but OS/2 used proportional fonts while Windows used the clunky ROM fixed-pitch font. OS/2 1.2's Presentation Manager was refined with more "3-D"-like graphics, which was later mimicked in Windows 3.0. OS/2 1.3 was a small update with no significant visual changes. After the Microsoft/IBM split-up, Microsoft OS/2 became Windows NT and adopted the Windows 3.1 GUI, while IBM OS/2 2.x (and later) replaced Presentation Manager with IBM's own Workplace Shell GUI, which still had a lot of visual similarity to PM and Windows 3.x, but added right-click menus and even more of a 3-D appearance. Workplace Shell was later back-ported as an add-on for Windows 3.1x, and released in 1994 as IBM Employee Written Software.  

Windows/286 and Windows/386 (2.11) were themselves labeled "Presentation Manager" rather than "Graphical Operating Environment" or whatever 3.x says on it's box. There is, however, a version of Presentation Manager (the OS/2 shell) for NT somewhere, and there is also a copy of Workplace Shell (the older OS/2 shell) for Windows 3.x complete with source (not leaked, actually released). Edit: I only read the first few posts, and realize that the above post covers much the same material as mine.  

krebizfan said: Nothing really shady. MS has long believed in a high-low software mix like Win 9x and NT. I think some of the Xenix marketing materials pointed up ways to have the same source code also work on DOS. MS was trying for a degree of source code compatability between OS/2 PM and Windows plus having similar user interfaces. Write for Windows first and pick up the more capable systems when OS/2 takes off. IBM had their own ideas of how to make OS/2 a success; some rather harmful to MS's bottom line. Click to expand...
  • Jul 10, 2010

And here's a scan of one of my Windows/386 "Presentation Manager" disks...  

Attachments

PM.jpg

lostandfoundtechnology

  • Sep 17, 2012

windows presentation manager

windows presentation manager

Set up and use Microsoft Presenter+

Microsoft Presenter+ is a Certified for Teams remote that you can use in Microsoft Teams meetings and calls. Use it to deliver engaging presentations—in person, online, or hybrid—and participate in Microsoft Teams meetings with the touch of a button. For more info, see Use Microsoft Presenter+ in Microsoft Teams . 

Shows the buttons on Microsoft Presenter+.

The first step is to pair Microsoft Presenter+ over Bluetooth on your Windows PC or Mac. You'll need Windows 11 Home/Pro, Windows 10 with the latest updates, or macOS X.

After that, set it up in the Microsoft Accessory Center app on your PC. The Microsoft Accessory Center app lets you customize the buttons and settings for Microsoft Presenter+ and update it. 

Download and install the Microsoft Accessory Center app  from Microsoft Store on your PC by using the link below. 

Get it from Microsoft

Note:  The Microsoft Accessory Center app isn't available for macOS.

Connect your Microsoft Presenter+

To get started, pair your Microsoft Presenter+ over Bluetooth on your Windows 10/11 PC or Mac. 

On a Windows 10/11 PC 

On the back of Microsoft Presenter+, slide the Power button on to turn it on.

Press and hold the Bluetooth button on Microsoft Presenter+ for about 3 seconds to put it into pairing mode. The LED light on the back will flash white.

On your Windows 10/11 PC, select Connect  if a notification appears for Microsoft Presenter+.  Don’t see the notification? On Windows 10, select Start  , then select Settings    > Devices   >  Bluetooth & other devices  > Add Bluetooth or other device  >  Bluetooth >  Microsoft Presenter+  >  Done . On Windows 11, select Start  , then select Settings  >  Bluetooth & devices > Add device   > Bluetooth  > Microsoft Presenter+  >  Done .

On your Mac, select the Apple menu > System Preferences > Bluetooth .

Select Microsoft Presenter+ in the list of devices, then select Connect .

Note:  To use Microsoft Presenter+ in Microsoft Teams on a Mac, make sure input monitoring is turned on for Microsoft Teams. To do this, in System Settings, select Privacy & Security > Input Monitoring , and then make sure it’s turned on for Microsoft Teams .

Set up your Microsoft Presenter+ in the Microsoft Accessory Center app 

Here’s how to set up Microsoft Presenter+ in Microsoft Accessory Center. 

Make sure Microsoft Presenter+ is turned on. If it's not on, slide the Power button on to turn on your remote.

Select Start  , then select Microsoft Accessory Center in the app list.  Microsoft Presenter+ should connect automatically.

In Microsoft Accessory Center, select Microsoft Presenter+ , and then change the settings for your remote.

Customize Microsoft Presenter+ in Microsoft Accessory Center 

Customize the buttons and other settings on your Microsoft Presenter+ to make it your own and get the most out of it. This includes customizing the buttons on Microsoft Presenter+, the laser pointer size and color, and more. 

To customize the Back and Next buttons on Microsoft Presenter+ 

By default, you can press the Back and Next buttons to go back one slide or go to the next one during a presentation using PowerPoint Live in Microsoft Teams. However, you can customize these buttons to do different actions when you press or press and hold. 

For example, here’s some of the things you can use the Back and Next buttons for if you customize them: 

Adjust the volume on your PC.

Start a presentation.

Show a blank PowerPoint slide with a white background or black background.

Turn video on and off in Microsoft Teams.

Use a keyboard shortcut in Windows

Here’s how to customize the Back and Next buttons: 

In Microsoft Accessory Center, select Microsoft Presenter+ > Presentation controls .

Under Previous and Next buttons, select one or more of the following actions:

Previous and Next buttons: press 

Previous button: press and hold 

Next button: press and hold 

On the next screen, select what you want the Back or Next button to do for that specific action.

(Optional) If you select Keystroke , on the Keystroke screen, press the keyboard shortcut you want to use when you press and hold the Back or Next button.  For example, the keyboard shortcut to open the Settings app on your Windows 10/11 PC is Windows logo key   + I . If you want to open Settings by pressing and holding the Back or Next button on Microsoft Presenter+, select the box on the Keystroke screen, press Windows logo key + I , then select Apply . After that, press and hold the Back or Next button (whichever one you chose) to try it out.  To learn more Windows keyboard shortcuts, see Windows keyboard shortcuts .

To customize the laser pointer 

When you use the laser pointer in a Microsoft Teams meeting using PowerPoint Live, the default laser pointer is used when you’re presenting. However, you can customize the laser pointer size and color for when you use it in other apps. 

To adjust the sensitivity for when you move Microsoft Presenter+ to point to something, adjust the slider.

Select Change pointer size and color .

On the Laser pointer screen, do one or more of the following:

To change the pointer size, adjust the Size slider.

To change the color, select a different color.

To see what your customized pointer will look like on your screen, press and hold the Laser pointer button on Microsoft Presenter+.

To use tactile signals 

Tactile signals provide a short vibration for your Microsoft Presenter+ to let you know when something happens. For example, when a Microsoft Teams meeting starts, when you mute or unmute, when raise your hand or lower it in a Teams meeting, and more.  

In Microsoft Accessory Center, select Microsoft Presenter+ > Tactile signals .

To change the intensity of the signal, drag the slider.

Under Use when , select one or more of the check boxes, depending on if you want a tactile signal for the specific event.

If you want to turn all of them off at once, turn off Tactile signals .

To find your Microsoft Presenter+ 

If you can’t find your Microsoft Presenter+, you can make it vibrate to try to locate it. 

In Microsoft Accessory Center, select Microsoft Presenter+ > Device details .

Under Find my device , select Start vibrate .  Your device will vibrate to help you try to find it.

Charge your Microsoft Presenter+ 

The light on Microsoft Presenter+ will appear solid red when the battery is low. Use the included dock with USB cable to charge your Microsoft Presenter+. You can still use your Microsoft Presenter+ during meetings while it's in the dock and charging. Microsoft Presenter+ can get up to 6 days of battery when fully charged¹.  

You can check the battery level anytime in the Microsoft Accessory Center app or in Bluetooth settings on your Windows 10/11 PC. 

Open Bluetooth settings

Disclaimer:  ¹Battery life varies significantly based on usage, settings and other factors. Testing conducted by Microsoft in September 2022 using preproduction devices. Testing consisted of connecting each device to a host via Bluetooth and measuring battery discharge associated with a mixture of active use and standby scenarios. All settings were default settings. 

Charge your remote 

Plug the USB cable attached to the dock into your Windows 10/11 PC or into a power outlet (if you're using a USB power adapter, which isn't included).

Place Microsoft Presenter+ in the dock.  The LED light on the front of Microsoft Presenter+ will appear solid white when charging.

Update your Microsoft Presenter+ 

Get the best experience from your Microsoft Presenter+ by keeping it up to date with the latest improvements. To install updates: 

On a Windows 10/11 PC : Use Windows Update.   Open Windows Update

On a Mac : Use the Microsoft Accessory Updater, which you can download from the Mac App Store .

Reset Microsoft Presenter+ 

If you want to reset Microsoft Presenter+ to the default settings, you can do that in the Microsoft Accessory Center app. This will reset any changes you made for Microsoft Presenter+ in the app. Before you reset Microsoft Presenter+, make sure it’s sufficiently charged. 

With Microsoft Presenter+ connected to your PC, open Microsoft Accessory Center .

Select Microsoft Presenter+ > Device details .

In Device details, select Reset now under Device reset.

Related topic 

Use Microsoft Presenter+ in Microsoft Teams

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Best presentation software of 2024

Make perfect slides for speeches and talks

Best overall

Best for branding, best for marketing, best for themes, best for media, best unique.

  • How we test

The best presentation software makes it simple and easy to create, manage, and share slideshow presentations.

1. Best overall 2. Best for branding 3. Best for marketing 4. Best for themes 5. Best for media 6. Best unique 7. FAQs 8. How we test

Presentation software runs at the heart of business sales, management, and development, so it's important to ensure you have the best presentation software for your needs. This is especially when looking to share ideas, concepts, and workflows, and the ability to present these in a simple and understandable way is essential.

However, while presentation software has been traditionally limited to text and images, it has widened its ability to work with different media such as video and audio . 

Therefore it's important for the best presentation software to not simply be easy and simple to use, but also be able to support additional media so that presentations can be more engaging, lively, and ultimately serve their purpose in educating and updating their intended audience.

Below we've listed the best presentation software currently on the market.

We've also listed the best free presentation software .

The best office software in the world is: Microsoft 365

The best office software in the world is: Microsoft 365 There are many different office software suites out there, but Microsoft Office remains the original and best, offering an unsurpassed range of features and functionality that rivals just can't match.

Even better, Microsoft 365 - previously branded as Office 365 - is a cloud-based solution which means you can use it on any computer, mobile device, or smartphone, without having to worry about compatibility. All your files are saved in the cloud and synced between devices, so you can begin work on a document at home or in the office, then continue working on it on the go.

You can sign up to Microsoft 365 here .

The best presentation software of 2024 in full:

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

1. PowerPoint

Our expert review:

Reasons to buy

For most people, Microsoft 's PowerPoint remains the original and best of all the presentation software platforms out there. While other companies have managed to catch up and offer rival products worthy of consideration, the fact is that PowerPoint's familiar interface and ubiquitous availability means it remains a favorite for the majority of people.

On the one hand, it's long been a staple of the hugely popular Microsoft Office suite, meaning that for most users this is going to be the first - and last - presentation software they are going to need to use.

Additionally, Microsoft has made PowerPoint, along with their other office products, available as free apps (with limited functionality) on both iOS and Android for mobile use, meaning it's even harder to avoid them. And this is before we even consider the inclusion of PowerPoint in Microsoft's cloud-based Microsoft 365.

It does everything necessary that you'd expect of presentation software, allowing you to add text and media to a series of slides, to accompany a talk and other presentations. There are easy-to-use templates included to help spice things up a little, but even a general user with little experience of it is likely to find themselves able to use PowerPoint without much trouble at all.

Overall, it's hard to go wrong with PowerPoint, and although Microsoft 365 has a nominal cost, the apps are free to use even if they do have more limited functionality.

Read our full Microsoft PowerPoint review .

  • ^ Back to the top

2. CustomShow

Reasons to avoid.

Branding says a lot about a business, and it’s something firms need to get right from day one – from a good logo to a suitable font. CustomShow is business presentation software that puts all these elements of branding first.

Using the system, you can design and present customized, branded presentations that reflect your company and the products you offer, featuring the aforementioned logo and custom fonts. As well as this, you get a slide library and analytics to ensure your presentations are a success.

What’s more, you can import presentations into the software, and use it to tweak them further. There’s also integration with SalesForce , and because the platform is cloud-based, you can access your presentations on computers, tablets, and smartphones. 

Considering the focus on branding, this offering could be good for marketing and sales teams, and it's used by major companies such as HBO and CBS Interactive.

3. ClearSlide

Just like CustomShow, ClearSlide has a niche focus for companies. The platform is targeted at firms looking to generate successful marketing campaigns, pushing sales via presentations (and more), not least through a range of analytics and metrics to work for sales and marketing.

With the product, you can upload a range of files, including PowerPoint, Keynote, PDF, and Excel. ClearSlide is integrated with other platforms, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and Salesforce.

This system is pretty complex and may offer too many irrelevant features for some businesses, but you can create customized content that reflects your company and the message you’re trying to get out to customers. There are also some good metrics and analysis features, and you can sign up for a free trial before making any decisions.

The real strength of ClearSlide comes from its focus on sales and marketing data, not least being able to track user engagement alongside other metrics.

4. Haiku Deck

Any presentation app will allow you to personalize your slides to at least some extent, but Haiku Deck goes one step further than the competition. It comes with a wide range of themes suited to different needs, and you also get access to 40 million free images from the Creative Commons collection.

When it comes to creating a presentation, you have the option to do so on the web, which means your presentation is accessible across a range of mobile devices as well as desktops. Regardless of the device used, you’re able to select from a variety of different fonts, layouts, and filters to make the perfect presentation.

The great thing about these various customization options is that they’re categorized into different industries and use cases. For instance, you’ll find themes for teaching, cooking, real estate, and startups. Most of the features require you to be online, but hopefully, you’ll have a sturdy net connection wherever you go.

5. SlideDog

It’s all too easy to end up creating a presentation that’s unappealing, and the last thing you want to do is make the audience fall asleep. SlideDog lets you combine almost any type of media to create a rich presentation that’s sure to keep the viewers’ peepers open, avoiding the ‘cookie cutter’ look that makes presentations seem dull.

Marketed as a web-based multimedia presentation tool, it gives you the ability to combine PowerPoint presentations, graphics, PDF files, Prezi presentations, web pages, pictures, videos, and movie clips. You can drag these into custom playlists and display them to your audience with ease.

You’re able to remotely control your presentations and playlists from your smartphone, the web, or a secondary computer, and there’s also the option to share slides in real-time. Audience members can even view your slide from their own devices by clicking a link. That’s a handy feature if you’re looking to create an immersive presentation experience.

SlideDog is probably the cheapest of the presentation software featured, with a free account that will cover the essential features. However, for live sharing and premium support, you need to upgrade.

Read our full SlideDog review .

Prezi is one of the more unique presentation tools. Instead of presenting your graphics and text in a slide-to-slide format, you can create highly visual and interactive presentation canvases with the goal of “emphasizing the relationship between the ideas”.

Presentations can also be tailored to the specific audience, as this is a flexible platform that’s capable of skipping ahead, or veering off into a side topic, without having to flip through all the slides to get to a particular bit.

For business users, there are a variety of handy tools available. By downloading Prezi , you can build and edit presentations with your colleagues in real-time, which is perfect for companies with teams based around the globe.

When you have created a presentation you’re happy with, you can present it live (in HD) and send a direct link to viewers. There are some analysis tools here, too – you can see who’s accessed your presentation, which parts of it, and for how long. The app is available for Mac and Windows devices.

Read our full Prezi review .

Other presentation software to consider

Google Slides  is part of the Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) office platform intended as an online alternative to Microsoft Office. It may seem a little limited by comparison to PowerPoint, but as it's browser-based that means cross-platform compatibility. Additionally, it allows for collaborative work, and Google Slides really works well here. On top of the fact that it integrates with the rest of the Google Workspace apps, not least Google Drive, and you have a contender. 

Zoho Show  is another of the many, many tools and apps that Zoho has made available for business use. It also operates in the cloud so it's accessible to any device with a browser, and it also allows for collaborative work. You can also easily share the link for users to download, or provide a live presentation online. The updated version has a simpler and easier to use interface and comes with a free version and a paid-for one with expanded features.

Evernote  is normally thought of as just note-taking software, but it does provide the option to create a presentation you can share online or with an audience. In that regard, it's a little more limited than the other options in not being dedicated presentation software. However, as an easy and handy way to pull together a presentation quickly, it could serve as a backup or last-minute option, especially if Evernote is already being commonly used by you.

LibreOffice Impress  is part of the open-source suite offered as a free alternative to Microsoft Office, and comes with a powerful array of tools and editing options for your presentation, not least working with 3D images. It's supported by a large community, so it's easy to find an array of additional templates. If there is a limitation it's that it's software you download and install rather than web-based, but any presentations created should be easily portable to the web if needed.

Adobe Spark  does things a bit differently, as rather than just use images it's geared toward video as well. This makes for potentially more powerful multimedia presentations, especially as Adobe also has a big selection of photos and images available for its users. There is a free tier for core features but requires a subscription for custom branding, personalized themes, and support.

Slides  comes with a lot of features in an easy-to-use interface, and involves setting up presentations using drag and drop into an existing grid. It's also internet-based so there's no software to download, and it only requires a browser to use and access. 

Presentation software FAQs

Which presentation software is best for you.

When deciding which presentation software to download and use, first consider what your actual needs are, as sometimes free platforms may only provide basic options, so if you need to use advanced tools you may find a paid platform is much more worthwhile. Additionally, free and budget software options can sometimes prove limited when it comes to the variety of tools available, while higher-end software can really cater for every need, so do ensure you have a good idea of which features you think you may require for your presentation needs.

How we tested the best presentation software

To test for the best presentation software we first set up an account with the relevant software platform, whether as a download or as an online service. We then tested the service to see how the software could be used for different purposes and in different situations. The aim was to push each software platform to see how useful its basic tools were and also how easy it was to get to grips with any more advanced tools.

Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar .

We've also featured the best alternatives to Microsoft Office .

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Microsoft Word 1.x (OS/2)

The Microsoft Word word processor was first introduced for MS-DOS in 1983. Its design made use of a mouse and WYSIWYG graphics. Its crude WYSIWYG/mouse support was a direct response to the Apple Lisa/Mac, and VisiCorp Visi On . Initially it competed against many popular word processors such as WordStar , Multimate , and WordPerfect . Word for DOS was never really successful.

The Mac version was introduced in 1985 where it acquired a friendlier user interface and gained some popularity. A Microsoft Windows version was introduced in 1989, although Palantir WinText , NBI Legend , and Samna AMI/AMI Pro had beaten them to their own Windows platform. For a time Word for Windows competed with WordPerfect for Windows. There were also ports to OS/2, the Atari ST, and Unix.

The DOS, Mac, and Windows versions are quite different from each other, and each restarted their version numbering at "1.0". Later versions are bundled with Microsoft Office . Also see a complete list of word processors archived on Winworld .

Screenshots

Microsoft Word 1.1 for OS2 - Splash

Release notes

Microsoft Word 1.1 for OS/2 is a port of the Windows version to 16-bit Presentation Manager OS/2. After several 1.x revisions, Microsoft dropped development for OS/2.

The earlier Word for DOS 5.x also contains native support for 16-bit OS/2 but operates in console mode only.

Installation instructions

Requires OS/2 1.2 or higher.

Wanted: Reportedly there was also a Microsoft Word 1.2 for OS/2. (Apparently there was no "1.0" for OS/2)

Information

At the edge of tweaking

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Command Line Options

The Presentation Mode feature is implemented via an executable file, presentationsettings.exe .

By simply running it, you will open the Settings dialog shown above.

It supports the following command line options:

This command will directly enable Presentation Mode.

The next command will disable it:

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4 thoughts on “Enable Presentation Mode in Windows 10”

Does this also prevent reboots from Windows 10 crappy updates?

I doubt that

I generally use the “pause updates” feature the day before I give a presentation. It should stop windows doing any updates/reboots while you’re delivering a talk :)

Sadly, it seems that the presentationsettings.exe is only available on Windows 10 PRO, not on home.

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Presentation Manager

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Presentation Manager ( PM ) is the graphical user interface (GUI) that IBM and Microsoft introduced in version 1.1 of their operating system OS/2 in late 1988.

  • 1.1 Parting ways
  • 1.2 Presentation Manager for Unix
  • 2 Technical details
  • 4 References
  • 5 External links

windows presentation manager

Microsoft began developing a graphic user interface (GUI) in 1981. After it persuaded IBM that the latter also needed a GUI, [1] Presentation Manager (PM; codenamed Winthorn) was co-developed by Microsoft and IBM's Hursley Lab in 1987-1988. It was a cross between Microsoft Windows and IBM's mainframe graphical system (GDDM). [2] Like Windows, it was message based and many of the messages were even identical, but there were a number of significant differences as well. Although Presentation Manager was designed to be very similar to the upcoming Windows 2.0 from the user's point of view, and Presentation Manager application structure was nearly identical to Windows application structure, source compatibility with Windows was not an objective. For Microsoft, the development of Presentation Manager was an opportunity to clean up some of the design mistakes of Windows. [3] The two companies stated that Presentation Manager and Windows 2.0 would remain almost identical. [1]

One of the most significant differences between Windows and PM was the coordinate system. While in Windows the 0,0 coordinate was located in the upper left corner, in PM it was in the lower left corner. Another difference was that all drawing operations went to the Device Context (DC) in Windows. PM also used DCs but there was an added level of abstraction called Presentation Space (PS). OS/2 also had more powerful drawing functions in its Graphics Programming Interface (GPI). Some of the GPI concepts (like viewing transforms) were later incorporated into Windows NT. The OS/2 programming model was thought to be cleaner, since there was no need to explicitly export the window procedure, no WinMain, and no non-standard function prologs and epilogs.

Parting ways

windows presentation manager

One of the most-cited reasons for the IBM-Microsoft split was the divergence of the APIs between Presentation Manager and Windows, which was probably driven by IBM. Initially, Presentation Manager was based on Windows GUI code, and often had developments performed in advance, like the support for proportional fonts (which appeared in Windows only in 1990). One of the divergences regarded the position of coordinate (0,0), which was at the top-left in Windows, but at bottom-left (as in Cartesian coordinates) in Presentation Manager. In practice it became impossible to recompile a GUI program to run on the other system; an automated source code conversion tool was promised at some point. Both companies were hoping that at some point users would migrate to OS/2.

In 1990, version 3.0 of Windows was beginning to sell in volume, and Microsoft began to lose interest in OS/2 especially since, even earlier, market interest in OS/2 was always much smaller than in Windows.

The companies parted ways, and IBM took over all of subsequent development. Microsoft took OS/2 3.0, which it renamed Windows NT ; as such, it inherited certain characteristics of Presentation Manager. IBM continued to develop Presentation Manager. In subsequent versions of OS/2, and derivatives such as ArcaOS , it was used as a base for the object-oriented interface Workplace Shell .

There is a significant integration of the GUI layer with the rest of the system, but it is still possible to run certain parts of OS/2 from a text-console or X window, and it is possible to boot OS/2 into a command-line environment without Presentation Manager (e.g. using TSHELL [4] ).

Presentation Manager for Unix

windows presentation manager

In the late 1980s, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft collaborated on an implementation of Presentation Manager for Unix systems running the X11 windowing system. [5] The port consisted of two separate pieces of software - a toolkit, window manager and style guide named CXI (Common X Interface) and an implementation of the Presentation Manager API for Unix named PM/X. Both CXI and PM/X were submitted to the Open Software Foundation for consideration as OSF's new user interface standard for Unix, which eventually became Motif. [6] OSF ultimately selected CXI, but used Digital Equipment Corporation 's XUI API instead of PM/X. [7] [8] Microsoft and HP continued the development of PM/X for some time after the release of Motif, with Microsoft integrating the product into a joint development strategy with SCO to bring a common user interface to OS/2 and SCO's Unix products, [9] but it was ultimately abandoned. [10]

Technical details

PM follows the Common User Access interface conventions. It also supports mouse chording for copying and pasting text.

An important problem was that of the single input queue : a non-responsive application could block the processing of user-interface messages, thus freezing the graphical interface. This problem has been solved in Windows NT, where such an application would just become a dead rectangle on the screen; in later versions it became possible to move or hide it. In OS/2 it was solved in a FixPack, using a timer to determine when an application was not responding to events.

  • Program Manager
  • ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alsop, Stewart II (1988-01-18). "Microsoft Windows: Eclectism in UI" . P.C. Letter 4 (2): 6–7 . http://vintagecomputer.net/cisc367/PC-Letter_19880118.pdf .  
  • ↑ Miller, Michael J. (April 1987). "IBM's OS/2 to Become Operating System of Choice, but Not for Some Time". InfoWorld : 46.  
  • ↑ Vellon, Manny (1987). "OS/2 Windows Presentation Manager". Microsoft Systems Journal 2 (2).  
  • ↑ "TSHELL non-GUI shell for OS/2" . http://www.os2site.com/sw/ews/tshell.txt . Retrieved 17 April 2011 .  
  • ↑ Bob Ponting (1988-11-21). "Unix PM Scheduled for 2nd Quarter" . InfoWorld . https://books.google.com/books?id=AToEAAAAMBAJ .  
  • ↑ Martin Marshall; Ed Scannell (1988-10-10). "OSF Narrows Its Search For User Interface to 23" . InfoWorld : p. 45 . https://books.google.com/books?id=szsEAAAAMBAJ .  
  • ↑ Janet Dobbs (August 1989). "Strategies for Writing Graphical UNIX Applications Productively and Portably" . AUUG Newsletter 10 (4): 50 . https://www.tuhs.org/Archive/Documentation/AUUGN/AUUGN-V10.4.pdf . Retrieved 2021-12-29 .  
  • ↑ "Making Interface Behavior Consistent: The HP OSF/Motif Graphical User Interface" . June 1990 . https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Company-Publications/HP-Journal/90s/HPJ-1990-06.pdf .  
  • ↑ Mace, Scott (20 February 1989). "Microsoft Says It Will Purchase Portion Of SCO" . InfoWorld : 5 . https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_JzoEAAAAMBAJ/page/n4/mode/1up . Retrieved 3 January 2024 .  
  • ↑ Stuart J. Johnson (January 1989). "HP, Microsoft to Continue Development of Alternate API" . InfoWorld : p. 38 . https://books.google.com/books?id=KzoEAAAAMBAJ .  

External links

  • IBM Corporation (Oct 1994). Presentation Manager Programming Guide: The Basics . http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/ibm/pc/os2/warp_ver_3/G25H-7103-00_OS2_WARP_V3_Presentation_Manager_Programming_Guide_The_Basics_Oct94.pdf . Retrieved 28 April 2017 .  
  • IBM Corporation (Oct 1994). Presentation Manager Programming Guide: Advanced Topics . http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/ibm/pc/os2/warp_ver_3/G25H-7104-00_OS2_WARP_V3_Presentation_Manager_Programming_Guide_Advanced_Topics_Oct94.pdf . Retrieved 28 April 2017 .  
  • IBM Corporation (Oct 1994). Presentation Manager Programming Reference Volume 1 . http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/ibm/pc/os2/warp_ver_3/G25H-7190-00_OS2_WARP_V3_Presentation_Manager_Programming_Reference_Volume_1_Oct94.pdf . Retrieved 28 April 2017 .  
  • IBM Corporation (Oct 1994). Presentation Manager Programming Reference Volume 2 . http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/ibm/pc/os2/warp_ver_3/G25H-7191-00_OS2_WARP_V3_Presentation_Manager_Programming_Reference_Volume_2_Oct94.pdf . Retrieved 28 April 2017 .  

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IPresentationManager interface (presentation.h)

Defines methods for managing presentation.

Inheritance

The IPresentationManager interface inherits from the IUnknown interface.

The IPresentationManager interface has these methods.

Requirements

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Two years isn't a long time to wait for this 4.5-star-rated app that lets you boost the performance of your Windows 11 PC

After two years, Microsoft will finally let you enhance and boost the performance of your Windows PC using the long-awaited PC Manager app for Windows.

Microsoft PC Manager App in the Microsoft Store on Windows 11

What you need to know

  • Microsoft finally shipped the PC Manager app to broad availability after being submitted to the Microsoft Store two years ago.  
  • The app lets users optimize the performance of their Windows PC by performing a health check, managing storage, and more.
  • It also features a Toolbox that lets you conveniently access essential tools on your PC like the recorder, Bing translator, currency converter, calculator, and screenshots.

Do you remember the PC Manager app for Windows ? The app Microsoft had been working on for months was designed to help users optimize the performance of their PCs by performing a health check, managing storage, and more. Well, it's finally shipped to general availability and can now be downloaded directly from the Microsoft Store .

It was previously in public beta and only available to users in select regions. But now, after two years, it's finally available for everyone, according to a spot by Windows Latest . The application was submitted to the Microsoft Store in 2022, though the listing was hidden.

Microsoft describes it as a "desktop security tool aimed at global users" that "integrates Windows antivirus engine, comprehensively building a computer protection system" in the Microsoft Store. 

free at the Microsoft Store

Microsoft PC Manager | free at the Microsoft Store

This desktop security tool is aimed at global users and integrates with the Windows antivirus engine, comprehensively building a computer protection system. It lets users optimize the performance of their PCs by performing a health check, managing storage, and more.

A quick first look at Microsoft PC Manager for Windows

The download and installation process is pretty simple — it took me less than two minutes to get it running on my PC. As the name suggests, the app provides you with a central and convenient location where you can "manage" and optimize the performance of your PC. 

It's essentially the Settings app on Windows 11 with a few new quirks. However, it may be pretty handy, especially for casual users who may not necessarily know how to navigate through these settings to optimize the performance of their devices. 

For instance, users can easily change their default browser on Windows 11 directly from the app. We all know Microsoft doesn't necessarily make this a walk in the park; even Mozilla says it does play fair . 

I also find the Toolbox section quite helpful. It presents "handy" tools like the recorder, Bing translator, currency converter, calculator, and screenshots in one convenient location.

Microsoft PC Manager for Windows also allows you to run a deep scan on your PC and provides an easy way to manage large files. It even provides a quick way for users to discover new Windows apps in the Microsoft Store (yay developers). It currently has a 4.5-star rating on the Microsoft Store.

I'll continue using the app and see how it compares with the previous measures I used to manage my device's performance. I'll keep you posted. 

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Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.

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Microsoft PC Manager is not available in Windows Store

I'm using Windows 10 Version 22H2, Build 19045.4046, but Microsoft PC Manager is not available in the Windows Store.

Can you tell me if the Microsoft PC Manager will be available for this version?

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Same problem. No "Get" showing in MS Store (OS:19045.4046)

Hello John, I'm currently located in Portugal.

When I open the first link to the Microsoft Store it does not have the option to download or get it.

The second link https://pcmanager.microsoft.com/  the button to download says "Coming Soon".

I don't know if the problem is related to the area where I am staying.

Please let me know what you think.

I am having the same issue in the UK. I use Windows 11.

I contacted Microsoft support via live chat and informed them about the issue. The support agent mentioned that the app is globally available, but the problem might be related to the timeline for its availability in specific regions. They suggested waiting a couple of days for it to become available in all region. I checked this thread in the community side, and it seems to be a widespread issue possibly related to specific regions, and both using Windows 11 and 10. However, since there's no specific information on when it will be available to all, the Microsoft support agent assured me they would inform their superiors about the issue and work towards creating a fix soon. I hope this information is helpful. I'll continue monitoring the issue on my end and asked the Microsoft agent to inform me whenever there's any update available. Thank you! John J.D.

1 person found this reply helpful

OK, thank you.

Please let me know.

I will wait to the incoming.

Thank you again.

Thank you John JD, that is a really helpful response to this problem. Will wait a few days before tryin again. Many thanks.

Question Info

  • Microsoft Store
  • Norsk Bokmål
  • Ελληνικά
  • Русский
  • עברית
  • العربية
  • ไทย
  • 한국어
  • 中文(简体)
  • 中文(繁體)
  • 日本語

IMAGES

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COMMENTS

  1. Presentation Manager

    Presentation Manager ( PM) is the graphical user interface ( GUI) that IBM and Microsoft introduced in version 1.1 of their operating system OS/2 in late 1988. History The original Presentation Manager running on OS/2 1.1 Microsoft began developing a graphic user interface (GUI) in 1981.

  2. Windows Presentation Manager

    The Presentation Manager was announced in April 1987; at that time, the functional specification already existed, but the code was very far from being finished. In mid-1987, when Microsoft started shipping the first OS/2 SDKs, the complete Presentation Manager API documentation was part of the kits, even though there was no code yet.

  3. Presentation Manager Downloads

    Presentation Manager Inspired (version 7) Download. Windows. This download will function as a fully featured demo for 30 days, and includes some songs images and Bibles. The purchased version has many more data files. The download size is approx 113MB - the tutorial videos and additional media file can be downloaded once installed via the ...

  4. Presentation Manager

    Presentation Manager latest release - Nov 2023 - Release 7.575 bug fix multi verse display manual entry Worship Presentation/Projection Software for Churches Worship presentation software for your church's worship service that offers ease of use and the features you are looking for to streamline and simplify your worship projection.

  5. Presentation Manager for Windows NT

    Naturally there is no 'console' for Presentation Manager, rather that is handled on the Windows desktop. No doubt there had to be some big customer that demanded a way out for their investment in Presentation Manager on Windows NT. Otherwise this would have been built in. And it's only 5 diskettes so it's not a space issue.

  6. Windows Presentation Manager Documentation

    This refers to the OS/2 Presentation Manager GUI but highlights the story Microsoft pushed in 1987: Windows and OS/2 both used the same graphical user interface called "Windows Presentation Manager". By the time OS/2 1.1 was released, the "Windows" part was dropped and the GUI was called simply Presentation Manager.

  7. What is Presentation Manager (PM)?

    Presentation Manager (PM) is the graphical user interface (GUI) that was jointly developed by Microsoft and IBM and introduced in the OS/2 operating system released in 1988. PM was co-developed by Microsoft and IBM and was a sort of hybrid between Microsoft's Windows and IBM's own mainframe graphical system (GDDM). It was even sometimes called ...

  8. What is a Presentation Manager?

    Sometimes abbreviated as PM, Presentation Manager is a GUI (graphical user interface) for the OS/2 operating system that was a joint effort between Microsoft and IBM. It was released in 1988 and shared many similarities with the desktop in Windows. In fact, the style of PM on OS/2 versions 1.2 and 1.3 significantly influenced the appearance of ...

  9. Presentation Manager

    Presentation Manager (PM) is a GUI co-developed by IBM and Microsoft for OS/2 in 1988. PM was similar to Windows 2.0 but had differences, such as the coordinate system. PM and Windows diverged, and both companies parted ways, leading to the development of Windows NT and PM for OS/2.

  10. Programmer's Guide To The OS/2 Presentation Manager

    The Presentation Manager uses the basic facilities of OS/2 to run multiple applications within windows on a single screen, to exchange data among these applications, and to coordinate their input and output operations. The Presentation Manager thus realizes the fundamental design goals of OS/2. The Presentation Manager also provides uniform ...

  11. OS/2 1.1

    And while Windows 2.0 was intended to be strictly upwards compatible with Windows 1.0, Presentation Manager was a "clean slate". Its developers took it as an opportunity to clean up and improve the Windows API, without being concerned with either binary or source compatibility; the approach Microsoft later took with Windows NT was radically ...

  12. Microsoft Windows Presentation Manager

    1985. A Look At Microsoft Business Software (Demonstration Disk) Microsoft. PC DOS. 5.25" Floppy Disk. 1986. DEC Rainbow Windows 1.03 Installation Disks.

  13. Microsoft OS2 Presentation Manager For NT For NT 4.0

    The OS/2 Presentation Manager for NT is an add-on that provides compatibility with 16-bit OS/2 1.x GUI applications. Available releases For NT 3.51 For NT 4.0 Screenshots Installation instructions This version is specifically for NT 4.0 Downloads

  14. Windows Presentation Foundation

    Troubleshoot, diagnose, fix Streamline your development experience with first class debugging features like IntelliTrace, Code execution control and inspection, UI debugging tools for XAML, and a great experience for understanding and resolving Exceptions. Video: Introducing the new UI Debugging Tools for XAML

  15. MS Windows Presentation Manager?

    Just ran across this term and it's prompted me to ask when Microsoft used the term "Presentation Manager" in connection with Windows. Was it used only with... Upcoming Events: VCF SoCal - February 17 - 18, ... MS Windows Presentation Manager? Thread starter Chuck(G) Start date Jul 9, 2010;

  16. Set up and use Microsoft Presenter+

    Connect your Microsoft Presenter+ To get started, pair your Microsoft Presenter+ over Bluetooth on your Windows 10/11 PC or Mac. On a Windows 10/11 PC On a Mac Set up your Microsoft Presenter+ in the Microsoft Accessory Center app Here's how to set up Microsoft Presenter+ in Microsoft Accessory Center. Make sure Microsoft Presenter+ is turned on.

  17. Best presentation software of 2024

    1. Best overall 2. Best for branding 3. Best for marketing 4. Best for themes 5. Best for media 6. Best unique 7. FAQs 8. How we test Presentation software runs at the heart of business sales,...

  18. Free Online Slide Presentation: PowerPoint

    PowerPoint for the web and PowerPoint desktop app for offline use. Premium templates, fonts, icons, and stickers with thousands of options to choose from. Dictation, voice commands, and transcription. Advanced spelling and grammar, in-app learning tips, use in 20+ languages, and more.

  19. Microsoft Word 1.x (OS/2)

    Microsoft Word 1.1 for OS/2 is a port of the Windows version to 16-bit Presentation Manager OS/2. After several 1.x revisions, Microsoft dropped development for OS/2. The earlier Word for DOS 5.x also contains native support for 16-bit OS/2 but operates in console mode only. Installation instructions. Requires OS/2 1.2 or higher.

  20. Enable Presentation Mode in Windows 10

    Right click the Start button. Instead of the context menu of the taskbar, Windows 10 shows Win + X menu. Or, press Win + X shortcut keys on the keyboard. Click on the Mobility Center item. Under Presentation Settings click on the Turn on button to enable it. Presentation Mode is now enabled. You can customize its settings by using the tray icon.

  21. Presentation Manager

    For Microsoft, the development of Presentation Manager was an opportunity to clean up some of the design mistakes of Windows. The two companies stated that Presentation Manager and Windows 2.0 would remain almost identical. One of the most significant differences between Windows and PM was the coordinate system.

  22. IPresentationManager

    IPresentationManager::CreatePresentationSurface. Creates a presentation surface for a piece of content that can be hosted in a visual tree and assigned a single front buffer. IPresentationManager::EnablePresentStatisticsKind. Enables or disables the specified present statistics kind. IPresentationManager::ForceVSyncInterrupt.

  23. Windows Presentation Foundation Font Cache Process Explained

    Open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc or right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting "Task Manager." Click on the "Processes" tab. Scroll down and locate the "PresentationFontCache.exe" process. Right-click on the process and select "End Task" to terminate it.

  24. A quick first look at Microsoft PC Manager for Windows

    Microsoft finally shipped the PC Manager app to broad availability after being submitted to the Microsoft Store two years ago. The app lets users optimize the performance of their Windows PC by ...

  25. Microsoft PC Manager is not available in Windows Store

    Harassment is any behavior intended to disturb or upset a person or group of people. Threats include any threat of suicide, violence, or harm to another.