Settings, System tab

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Settings, System tab

On the System tab in the dialog box of the ribbon command File | Options options_icon, you can make the following system settings:

Smooth edges of pictures

If this option is enabled, Presentations uses anti-aliasing to smooth edges and lines in pictures. Advantage: The display quality of scaled pictures is improved. Disadvantage: This procedure consumes some CPU time when displaying pictures, of course.

Enable OpenGL AutoShapes

If this option is enabled, Presentations uses the OpenGL graphics engine to display AutoShapes optimally. If you disable this option, 3D effects used for AutoShapes may no longer be displayed correctly. Thus, you should usually leave this option enabled.

Enable OpenGL animations and transitions

If this option is enabled, the program uses the OpenGL graphics engine in order to speed up the display of animations and slide transitions. Apart from that, it allows Presentations to offer some additional, particularly impressive animations and transitions (which can be found in the "SoftMaker…" category in the relevant dialog boxes).

Note: On systems with a very outdated or faulty OpenGL installation, display errors may occur when playing animations and slide transitions. This depends on your individual system configuration and especially on the graphics driver you are using. In this case, disable this option and restart the application.

However, the slide transitions and object animations from the "SoftMaker..." category can then no longer be displayed. A simple fade effect is shown instead.

Check for updates

Windows, Mac and Linux only: Here, you can specify how often you want the software to check whether there are updates for SoftMaker Office. Updates provide bug fixes and feature improvements.

Note: Checking for updates only works if your device can access the Internet.

You can also disable the automatic update check (not recommended) by selecting Never from the dropdown list. Checking for updates can then only be done manually – by clicking on the Check now button.

Tip: Subscribe to our free newsletter at www.softmaker.com to automatically receive an e-mail whenever updates are available. The newsletter will also provide you with other useful information and special offers with respect to SoftMaker Office on a regular basis.

Android/iOS: For applications installed from the Google Play/Apple App Store, your device will automatically notify you of updates (unless disabled in the settings of the respective store).

Associate file types

Windows only: This button opens a dialog box where you can associate certain file types with Presentations. This will make Presentations the default application for the corresponding file types.

If, for example, you associate the file type "Microsoft PowerPoint documents" with Presentations, files of this type will always be opened in Presentations when you double-click on such a file in Windows Explorer.

Show a message during program launch when Presentations is not the default program

Windows only: The aforementioned button enables you to set Presentations as the default program for opening certain file types. Over time, another application may assume the role as the default program for opening such file types.

If this option is enabled, a message will then appear the next time you open this file type in Presentations asking whether you want to set Presentations as the default program again. If this option is disabled, the message will no longer be displayed.

Show/hide keyboard automatically

Android/iOS only: If this option is enabled, the on-screen keyboard opens automatically when you can type something (for example, if you tap into a placeholder or tap into an input field in a dialog box).

Change keyboard layout automatically

Android/iOS only: If this option is enabled, the layout of the on-screen keyboard will automatically adapt to the current situation. If, for example, you type into an input field in a dialog box which only accepts numbers, the keyboard will automatically be switched to numeric mode.

Enable OpenGL engine

Linux only: If this option is enabled, the program uses the OpenGL graphics engine. This speeds up the screen display. Thus, this option should usually be enabled.

Note: On systems with a very outdated or faulty OpenGL installation, display errors may occur within the application. This depends on your individual system configuration and especially on the graphics driver you are using. In this case, disable this option and restart the application.

Furthermore: If the program detects problems with the installed OpenGL engine at startup, it will automatically disable this option.

Enable OpenGL video acceleration

Linux only: If this option is enabled, the program uses the OpenGL graphics engine to accelerate the display of movies. Thus, this option should usually be enabled.

Note: On systems with a very outdated or faulty OpenGL installation, errors may occur when playing movies. This depends on your individual system configuration and especially on the graphics driver you are using. In this case, disable this option and restart the application.

Furthermore: If the program detects problems with the installed OpenGL engine at startup, it will automatically disable this option.

Use SHM extensions

Linux only: This option is only available if the option Use OpenGL engine is disabled (not recommended).

If the SHM extensions are enabled, the program uses shared memory (if available), which can speed up the responsiveness of the display.

Use XIM

Linux only: If this option is enabled, Presentations supports the composition of accented characters (à, ô, é, etc.) using "XIM".

On a German keyboard, for example, the character "ô" can be created by first pressing the ^ key and then the O key.

If you disable this option, you can no longer compose characters in this way.

Note: On some systems, disabling this option improves the responsiveness of the display when you are typing text quickly.

Show hidden files and folders

Mac, Linux only: If this option is enabled, hidden files and folders are also displayed in file dialogs (for example, those of the ribbon command File | Open).

Lock files for exclusive write access

Mac, Linux only: If this option is enabled, some distributions of macOS and Linux can prevent a Presentations file from being changed by different programs at the same time. If the option is disabled, different programs can access a file at the same time.

User-defined font paths

Mac, Linux, Android/iOS only: Here, you can specify paths for additional fonts that Presentations should use. To do so, enter the subdirectory in which the font files are located. If you want to enter multiple directories, separate them with a colon.

Presentations can then use these fonts in addition to the fonts available in your system.

Note: Changes to this setting only become effective after the program is restarted.

Mouse wheel

Mac, Linux only: If your mouse has a mouse wheel, you can set the scrolling increment for a turn of the wheel either by page (one complete page) or by a certain number of lines.

External applications

Mac, Linux only: This button opens a dialog box where you can specify the external programs that start automatically for specific events. When a PDF file is created, for example, the application specified in the PDF viewer field will be launched to display the result.

Note: You don't have to fill in these fields. For all fields that you leave empty, your system's default application will be automatically used for this action. Make changes to this dialog box only if you want an application other than the default application to be used. To do so, simply enter the file name of the corresponding executable file (including the entire file path, if necessary).