Demo Guy Tool: Activewords
Here is a program that will enhance any demo (and your general productivity): ActiveWords. The application is a little thing that runs on top of your OS and can fire off commands based on words you type. For example, you can launch an application by entering a keyword (which you define) and hitting F8 (or another function key you define) it can launch that app. It can also got to a URL, open a folder or even execute full scripts. Here are some examples of what I am already using this for:
- Launch apps: ot = outlook, psp = Photoshop, xl = Excel etc…
- Open specific URLS: app = local install, blog = blog view, remote = remote server etc…
- Open Specific files: tech = Standard Tech PPT, vb = vb code for .NET demo etc…
I am going to work on the scripting aspects of the application – might make some of the more rote tasks much simpler. You can script long sequences (it’s not terribly technical) that you fire off with a single word. A great example of how this is useful in a demo is to fire off background processes by typing a single word (even batch files or other funky technical stuff).
The only downside I have found with Activewords is that it uses up some CPU, and, like any other system level program there is the potential of conflicts. But my experience with it has been very positive and it can make for a very slick demo experience if used wisely.
