Operation
Select Helpers
How to find and connect to NextNote Helpers on your network using automatic Bonjour discovery.
Automatic Discovery
NextNote uses Bonjour (mDNS) for zero-configuration network discovery. As long as the Helper is running on the same local network, it will appear automatically in the Available Helpers bar at the top-left of the Display app — no IP addresses or manual setup required.
Helper Card States
Each Helper card shows its machine name and current state.
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| No presentation | The Helper is available, but no presentation is currently open. |
| Editing | A presentation is open and is in edit mode. |
| Presenting | The presentation is running as a slideshow. |
| Retrying | A previously selected Helper has temporarily disappeared. NextNote continues trying to reconnect for three minutes. |
Connecting to a Helper
1
Run the Helper
Run the PowerPoint or Google Slides Helper on the presentation machine.
2
Open a presentation
For PowerPoint, open the presentation and start NextNote from the ribbon. For Google Slides, add or select the presentation in the Google Slides Helper and open it.
3
Select the Helper
The Helper appears automatically in the Available Helpers bar. Click its card to select it. Slides and speaker notes appear as soon as the presentation is available.
4
Start presenting
Start the slideshow in PowerPoint or Google Slides. The Helper card changes to Presenting.
Disconnecting
Click Disconnect to stop using the selected Helper and cancel any active retry. It does not permanently remove a Bonjour-discovered Helper. The Helper remains available, or reappears automatically when it returns to the network.
Troubleshooting Discovery
If no Helpers appear, check:
- The appropriate Helper is running on the presentation machine
- Both machines are on the same subnet
- Your network/firewall does not block mDNS (UDP port 5353)
- Your network/firewall allows TCP and UDP port
8765for NextNote PowerPoint, or TCP and UDP port8766for NextNote Google Slides - Any VPN is not isolating the machines from each other
- Try manually adding the helper using its IP address. See Manual Helpers.