MagicPoint
{{Infobox Software
| name = MagicPoint
| logo =Mgplogo.jpg
| developer = WIDE Project
| latest release version = 1.13a
| latest release date = {{release date and age|2008|02|13}}
| operating system = Any Unix-like
| genre = Presentation program
| license = BSD license[http://directory.fsf.org/MagicPoint.html FSF Directory]
| website = http://member.wide.ad.jp/wg/mgp/
}}
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
MagicPoint is one of several open-source presentation programs,[http://www.shallowsky.com/linux/LinuxPresentations.html#dedicated Using Linux for Presentations Mini-HOWTO] often used to produce slides for conferences.[http://www.google.com/search?q=MagicPoint+presentation+foils List of MagicPoint presentation by Google] Unlike most presentation programs, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, where a GUI is used to create slides, MagicPoint slides are created by writing text files using a simple markup language. The resulting file is then displayed with MagicPoint's X11-based viewer.
History
MagicPoint was originally created in the autumn of 1997, at a WIDE Project camp. It was originally known as tp, standing for TinyPoint,[http://www.die.net/doc/linux/man/man1/mgp.1.html MagicPoint man page] but in December the name was changed to MagicPoint.Jun-ichiro itojun Hagino: [http://www.itojun.org/diary/1997-4q.html itojun's pictorial diary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070414153239/http://www.itojun.org/diary/1997-4q.html|date=2007-04-14}}
Features
- Content is written in text files and formatting is indicated by text features. For example, different level bullet points can be created by simply indenting the text with tabs[https://lwn.net/Articles/101846/ The Grumpy Editor's guide to presentation programs [LWN.net]]
- Many image formats are supported[http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/mackay/useful/mgp.html David MacKay: Useful stuff: Magicpoint]
- Slides can be scaled to different screen sizes[http://lionel.kr.hs-niederrhein.de/~dalitz/data/software/mgp/mgp.html#Rescale MGP Toolbox]
- External applications can be executed from inside the presentation
- A talk timer and slide guide are included
- Presentations can be exported to HTML or PostScript files.[http://www.linux.com/howtos/Event-HOWTO/creating.shtml (Linux) Event HOWTO]
Another feature of MagicPoint is the ability to draw on slides during a presentation. By pressing x on the keyboard, the slide can temporarily be scribbled on with red "ink". Shift x allows you to cycle through other pen colours.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://member.wide.ad.jp/wg/mgp/ Official homepage]
- [http://www.freeos.com/articles/3648/ Short review and tutorial]
- [http://www.linuxfocus.org/English/September2000/article158.shtml Primer] and [http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/mackay/mgp/SYNTAX Syntax]
{{Presentation software}}