Collaboration
pptx-viewer supports real-time co-editing: several people can open the same presentation at once and see each other's changes live.
Optional and developer-configured
Collaboration is an optional feature. It only works when the app you are using has been set up to connect to a collaboration session (a "room" on a collaboration server). If you don't see any collaboration controls, your app isn't configured for it. Developers: see /react/collaboration and the MCP & Tools docs.
What collaboration feels like
When you join a shared session:
- Live presence - A bar of colour-coded avatars shows who else is in the session right now.
- Remote cursors - You can see other people's cursors moving on the slide canvas, each labelled with their name and colour.
- Simultaneous edits - When someone moves a shape, edits text, or changes a slide, you see it update in near real time. Your own edits appear for everyone else the same way.
- Connection status - An indicator shows whether you are connected, syncing, or disconnected from the session.
Edits are merged automatically, so two people working on different parts of the deck won't overwrite each other.
Joining a session
Exactly how you join depends on your app's setup. Common patterns:
- The app joins automatically when it loads (the room is configured ahead of time).
- The app provides a Share dialog where you enter or confirm a room name, your display name, and a server address, then connect.
- You open a link that already contains the room details.
Once connected, anyone else in the same room is collaborating with you on the same presentation.
Presence and identity
- Your display name identifies you to others (it appears on your cursor and avatar). If you didn't set one, the app uses a default.
- Each participant is assigned a colour so cursors and avatars are easy to tell apart.
Tips for smooth collaboration
- Communicate which slide or section each person is working on to avoid surprises.
- Watch the connection status - if it shows disconnected, your recent changes may not be syncing until you reconnect.
- Comments (see Editing → Comments) are a good way to leave asynchronous feedback alongside live editing.
For developers
Setting up rooms, a collaboration server, and presence is a developer task. See:
- React Viewer → Collaboration - wiring up Yjs-based co-editing.
- MCP & Tools - automation and tooling.