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Troubleshooting: PowerPoint Not Displaying

Use this page when the slides aren't showing correctly — the TVs show the PowerPoint editing view or the desktop instead of full-screen slides, or the slides won't advance.

Most common cause

PowerPoint is not in Slide Show mode. Press F5 on the presentation PC to start the full-screen slideshow.

Step-by-step checks

flowchart TD
    A[Slides not showing right] --> B{Is PowerPoint open with the correct file?}
    B -- No --> B1[Open this week's service file]
    B -- Yes --> C{Is it in Slide Show full-screen mode?}
    C -- No --> C1[Press F5 to start the slideshow]
    C -- Yes --> D{Do the front TVs show the slides?}
    D -- No --> D1[Matrix/TV issue - see TV Not Working]
    D -- Yes --> E{Will the slides advance?}
    E -- No --> E1[Click the slide area, then use arrow keys]
  1. Right file open? Make sure PowerPoint is open with this week's service file.
  2. Slide Show mode? Press F5 (start from beginning) or Shift + F5 (start from current slide) to go full screen.
  3. TVs not showing it? If the PC is in Slide Show mode but the TVs don't show slides, it's a screen/routing issue → TV Not Working and Bluestream Matrix.
  4. Slides won't advance? Click once on the slide area to make sure PowerPoint has "focus", then use the right arrow / spacebar.

The TVs show the desktop or PowerPoint menus

This means PowerPoint is not presenting full screen. Press F5.

Presenter View vs Slide Show

If the PC shows notes/thumbnails while the TVs show the slide, that is Presenter View working correctly. If the TVs show the notes view, PowerPoint is showing on the wrong display — see the next section.

Slides appear on the wrong screen

If the slideshow opens on the PC's own screen instead of the TVs:

  1. In PowerPoint, go to the Slide Show tab.
  2. Find Monitor and set it to the correct display (the one feeding the matrix / TVs).
  3. Restart the slideshow (F5).

You can also use the Windows shortcut {++Windows++ + ++P++} to choose how the displays are arranged (e.g. Duplicate or Extend).

Don't experiment during the service

If display settings get tangled mid-service, the quickest reliable fix is often to set PowerPoint to Duplicate so the TVs mirror the PC, get the slides showing, and sort out the proper Extend setup afterwards.

Slides frozen or PowerPoint stuck

  1. Press Esc to leave the slideshow.
  2. Restart the slideshow with F5 (or Shift + F5 from the current slide).
  3. If PowerPoint is fully frozen, close and reopen it; as a last resort restart the NUC (this also restarts Companion / the StreamDeck).

Quick reference

Symptom Likely cause Fix
TVs show desktop/menus Not in Slide Show mode Press F5
Slides on PC not TVs Wrong monitor selected Slide Show → Monitor; or
Slides won't advance PowerPoint lost focus Click slide, use arrow keys
Everything frozen PowerPoint/PC stuck Esc, reopen, or restart NUC