Fast Switching Between TimerTools, SelectorTools, and PowerPoint on the PC

Miguel Kagan

Quickly switch between your PowerPoint presentation and TimerTools™ and/or SelectorTools™. For example, you’re projecting a PowerPoint slide and you want to pick a student on each team to share his or her answer to a provocative question. First, you want to use SelectorTools™ to select which student on each team will share. Then, you want to switch to TimerTools™ to give each student 45 seconds of share time. And when you’re done, you want to switch back to your presentation.

Practice this quick tutorial a few times and you’ll see switching programs is a snap. This method allows you to switch back and forth between programs without the delays you may experience by using the traditional Alt + Tab method of program switching.

Getting Ready

1. Launch TimerTools™ and SelectorTools™ by double clicking their application icons.

2. Maximize TimerTools™ and SelectorTools™ by clicking the maximize button on the title bar of each program. (For switching between programs, it is important that you maximize the application rather than use the Full Screen view.)

3. Minimize TimerTools™ and SelectorTools™ by clicking the program names in the task bar

4. Launch your PowerPoint presentation and enter the slide show mode. You’re now ready to make the switch at any time during your presentation.

Switching From PowerPoint to TimerTools or SelectorTools

1. In PowerPoint, mouse over the white PowerPoint control menu in the lower left corner and select Screen > Switch Programs. (Control + T is the PowerPoint shortcut.)

2. Pick SelectorTools™ or TimerTools™ from the task bar. Congrats! You’ve made the switch.

Switching From TimerTools to SelectorTools or Vice Versa

You can quickly toggle between TimerTools™ and SelectorTools™ by clicking the program name in the task bar.

Switching Back to PowerPoint

When you’re done using TimerTools™ or SelectorTools™, you must minimize the program before returning to PowerPoint. To minimize TimerTools™ or SelectorTools™, click the program name in the task bar.

Caution: If you don’t minimize the Tools software before switching back to PowerPoint, you may experience performance delays. Practice this quick switch tip a few times and when you master it, switching between these powerful teaching tools will appear seamless for your audience.