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We released the Switcher app in 2017 with the goal of enhancing the presentation experience by allowing seamless switching between Slido and any presentation. Slido Switcher addressed the need for a smooth and uninterrupted way to display polls and Q&A during events, using another device as a remote control. This innovation aimed to make it easier for presenters to engage with their audience without disrupting the flow of their presentations.

 

With all that being said and after careful consideration, we have decided to discontinue the Slido Switcher app for the following reasons:

  • Low usage: While we recognize the value it brings to regular users, the Switcher app is one of our lesser-used features. Its functionality is already fully covered by our PowerPoint and Google Slides integrations.
     
  • Outdated technology: Slido is currently transitioning to a new, more intuitive interface while also being completely revamped on the backend. Continuing to support the Switcher app would go against our commitment to providing the best user experience. 

 

 

What’s next?

 

You can continue using the Switcher app until January 15, 2025. After that, it will no longer be supported. However, our seamless integrations with PowerPoint and Google Slides allow you to add and run Slido directly from your slides without switching applications, ensuring a smooth experience.

 

 

Use our Google Slides or PowerPoint integrations instead

 

Our Google Slides and PowerPoint integrations allow you to embed Slido directly into your presentations – making it easier to manage audience interaction without a separate device. Here’s how you can get started:

 

Slido for Google Slides:

  1. Install our add-on 
    *    For the best presenting experience, we also recommend adding     our Slido extension to Google Chrome.
     
  2. Set up your slido: Open your Google Slides presentation, click on Extensions, and select Slido for Google Slides. Click Open the sidebar and sign in if necessary.
     
  3. Add live polls and Q&A: Use the Slido sidebar to add polls, quizzes, and Q&A directly into your slides. You can manage and customize your interactions as needed.

See our guide for more detailed instructions.

 

Slido for PowerPoint:

  1. Download and install our add-in 
     
  2. Add Slido to your presentation: Open your PowerPoint presentation and you'll now see the Slido button under the Home tab. Click the Slido button to open the sidebar and log in if necessary.
     
  3. Add live polls and Q&A: Use the Slido sidebar to add polls, quizzes, and Q&A into your slides. You can manage and customize your interactions as needed.

See our guide for more detailed instructions.

 

 

What if I can’t use the PowerPoint or Google Slides integrations?

 

If you cannot use our presentation integrations per your organization’s policies or any other reason, we still have a workaround solution for you.

 

When you're about to present, keep your presentation in one window (PowerPoint or Google Slides) and log into your Slido Host mode in a separate window. Now you can use keyboard shortcuts to switch between your presentation and Slido:

  • Use “Alt-Tab” for Windows: Press and hold the Alt key, then click the Tab key once. You will see all of the open applications appear. Keep the Alt key pressed down and press the Tab key or arrows to switch between open applications.
     
  • Use “Command-Tab” for macOS: Press and hold the Command key, press the Tab key, then press the Left or Right arrow key until you get to the application you want.

 

 

This is sad news, this application was extremely useful and almost indispensable in many situations.

Hey @Europa ,

Thank you for your feedback, if you would need any assistance with our alternative solutions please reach out to our Care team at support@slido.com .

Best,

Hello @Carly from Slido ,

Thanks. We don’t need any assistance, we need the Switcher ;)

The switcher is what made Slido’s ease of use stand out from the market. Please bring it back! 

That’s really sad. 
We used the Slido Switcher in pretty much every high-end production we did. From training webinars to corporate All-Staff meetings. 

Thank you again for all of your candid feedback. I again encourage any and all Switcher users to contact our Care Team (support@slido.com) to explore any other alternatives with Slido. They’ll be more than happy to assist.

Missing the Switcher so much already and cannot integrate Powerpoint with our Slidos -tried Support, but cannot seem to get a response.  I think we will have to switch users and use someone else. 

Is there anywher we can actually download the switcher still? I need to use it next week as cannot get Powerpoint to work.. This is all so frustrating, our events used to be so good with Slido :(

 

Hi ​@c_rose 

I can see our Customer Care Team responded to your message via email yesterday. Did you receive that email? Let us know and we’ll do whatever we can to help with your PowerPoint.

For other applications than power point and google-slide, suggesting to alt-tab is not a real solution. Please bring Slido switcher back.

 

When you are in presentation mode (Mac and I guess also in windows) you can not switch apps using the command+tab function.

You have to exit the presentation (which never looks good).

Too bad you will kill your killer app. The main feature that made you stand out from similar services. Very poor  decision from the customer perspective. A pity. Should review your plans guys...

Hello ​@gnk 

I wanted to ask if you had a chance to test our powerpoint integration: https://www.slido.com/powerpoint-polling

It would allow you to add Slido directly between your Powerpoint slides. The switching is then done automatically. In case it doesn’t fit your needs please let me know and I can forward that as a feedback to our team.

Thanks for your quick answer. 
I use Keynote on Mac, not Ppoint :/

Thats really disappointing and will affect my decision as to whether to renew my subscription or not. I suspect not.

​@Carly from Slido ​@Joel from Slido 

On a Mac, when Keynote is in “Full screen” slideshow mode, it is NOT possible to do CMD-TAB so your “solution” does NOT work.
The only way CMD-TAB is available is when the slideshow is running in “Window” mode (Play menu →  In Window) which is the preferred option when presenting online.

Without realising it, you’re actually pushing away ALL your Mac-based users and customers who primarily rely on Keynote for their presentation needs.

Hi ​@EasyTechLux and ​@gnk 

Thanks for sharing that you're Keynote users – it’s valuable feedback for us. Although Switcher is being sunset, please know that we're relaying all of this to our Product teams.

Hi ​@EasyTechLux and ​@gnk 

Thanks for sharing that you're Keynote users – it’s valuable feedback for us. Although Switcher is being sunset, please know that we're relaying all of this to our Product teams.

​@Joel with Slido Do you (Slido) plan to natively integrate with Keynote similarly to the current PowerPoint plugin?

​@EasyTechLux It’s not something that’s currently on our roadmap, but I can assure you that the feedback has gone to the correct teams internally.

Thank you all for sharing your feedback, we appreciate it.

We know that our alternative solutions don't work for every use case and we're sorry that we don't have workable suggestions for all your use cases. Deciding to deprecate a feature or product is never easy and something we put a lot of thought into.

For Switcher, the key decision point was around the cost of maintaining it compared to the usage as only 0.4% of slidos in a month used Switcher. We know it isn't nice to be on the wrong side of one of these decisions and I’m sorry for the trouble this will cause you.

If you do have any ideas that you would be willing to share with others for how you find a way to smoothly use Slido with Keynote or other use cases, I'm sure that others would appreciate it.

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