How to Use SpeakerView

Everything you need to know to go from a blank text file to a polished, timed presentation.

Step 1

Preparing Your Speech File

SpeakerView reads plain text files (.txt). Write your speech in any text editor — Notes, TextEdit, VS Code, Word (save as .txt) — and separate each cue card with a line containing only three dashes.

Welcome everyone. Thank you for joining us. Today I'll cover three topics: where we are, the challenges we face, and our path forward. --- Let's start with where we are today. Over the past year we've seen 30% growth across all major product lines. --- In closing — thank you for your hard work. The foundation we've built is strong. Let's go make it happen.
Tip: Each block of text separated by --- becomes one cue card. Blank lines within a card become paragraph breaks — useful when Paginate mode is on.
1

Write naturally

Don't worry about length yet. Write each card as you'd speak it. Short bullets, full sentences, or a mix — whatever works for your style.

2

Separate cards with ---

Place a line containing only --- between each card. That exact format — three dashes, nothing else on the line — is the separator.

3

Save as a .txt file

Make sure to save as plain text (.txt), not .docx or .rtf. On a Mac, TextEdit defaults to rich text — go to Format → Make Plain Text before saving.

4

Put it somewhere accessible from your iPhone

iCloud Drive is the easiest option — save to iCloud Drive on your Mac and it appears in the Files app on your iPhone automatically.

Step 2

Importing & Translating

1

Tap "Import Speech File"

On the home screen, tap Import Speech File and navigate to your .txt file in the Files picker. SpeakerView will parse it into cards immediately.

2

Optionally translate your cards

If you're co-presenting with a translator, tap Translate Cards. Choose the language your translator will speak from the list. SpeakerView translates all your cards on-device — no internet required — then returns you to the home screen.

3

Tap "Start Presentation"

When you're ready to go on stage, tap Start Presentation. If you have a timer enabled, a Start Timer button will appear — tap it when you actually begin speaking so the pacing bar starts from zero.

Tip: The first time you translate into a language, iOS may need to download the language model (~50–200 MB depending on the language). This requires a Wi-Fi connection. After that, translation works offline.

Remotes

Bluetooth Remote Support

SpeakerView works with two common types of Bluetooth remotes out of the box — no pairing configuration needed beyond connecting the remote to your iPhone via iOS Bluetooth settings.

Remote type Mode setting Advance Go back
Satechi (and similar)
Presentation remote		 Presentation mode Right arrow / Page Down Left arrow / Page Up
Camera shutter remote
Camera remote		 Music / Camera mode Volume Up button Volume Down button
Camera remote note: SpeakerView locks your volume to a low level when a presentation starts so the volume buttons remain usable as navigation throughout your speech. The system volume HUD is suppressed so it doesn't appear on screen.

Pacing

Using the Pacing Timer

The pacing timer shows two progress bars during your presentation: a time bar and a slide bar. When the bars are aligned, you're on pace. When the time bar runs ahead of the slide bar, you're behind — slow down or skip ahead.

1

Enable the timer in Settings

Tap the gear icon on the home screen, then toggle Enable Timer on.

2

Choose a timer mode

Duration — set a total number of minutes (e.g. 20 minutes). The bar counts down from your start time.

Finish By — set a clock time (e.g. 2:45 PM). The bar counts down to that time, so it adjusts automatically if you start a few minutes late.

3

Start the timer when you begin speaking

During a presentation, a Start Timer button floats above the navigation bar. Tap it when you actually start speaking — not when you first open the presentation — so the pacing is accurate.

Green time bar

You're on pace — your slide progress matches how far through your time you are.

Blue time bar

You're ahead of pace — you have more time remaining than slides to cover.

Orange time bar

You're slightly behind pace — consider picking up the pace or trimming some content.

Red time bar

You're significantly behind pace — you're using time faster than you're advancing slides.

Reference

Settings Reference

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Keep Screen Awake

Prevents iOS from dimming or locking the screen during a presentation. On by default. Turn off if you'd prefer normal auto-lock behavior.

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Teleprompter Mode

Mirrors the screen horizontally. Use this when running SpeakerView behind a half-mirror teleprompter reflector so the text reads correctly through the glass.

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Color Mode

Choose System (follows iOS dark/light mode), Light, or Dark. Dark mode is popular for on-stage use where a bright white screen would be distracting.

⚙

Font Size

Drag the slider to set your preferred reading size. A live preview shows how your text will look. In Auto-Shrink mode this is the maximum size — cards will shrink below it if needed to fit.

⚙

When Text Overflows

Auto-Shrink — text scales down to fit the entire card on one screen, as small as 14pt.

Paginate — long cards are split into pages at paragraph breaks. Each page also auto-shrinks if its paragraph is still too large at your chosen font size.

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