Presenter Help Center

The presenter session is the control center for live captions. From one screen, you can manage the microphone, choose a caption language, monitor participants, customize the display, share access with viewers, and prepare an OBS output.

On this page

• Prepare the room and microphone
• Understand the presenter dashboard
• Control and test the microphone
• Use original and translated captions
• Share links, QR codes, and OBS scenes
• Customize caption settings
• Monitor participants
• Use fullscreen display modes

Before the session

Open the Rooms page and locate the room you plan to present. Each room card shows its configured source language, translation languages, and selected microphone.

Check and test the selected microphone

The microphone shown on the room card is the device Stage Captions will try to use when the presenter joins. If the saved device is no longer connected, it is identified as unavailable and the session falls back to an available microphone.

1. Open the three-dot menu on the room card.
2. Select Test microphone.
3. Allow browser microphone access if prompted.
4. Stay quiet briefly and check that the live meter is near Quiet.
5. Say one complete sentence at your normal presentation volume.
6. Stop speaking and wait one second for the result.

The test reports whether the input is ready, too quiet, too loud, or clipping. It also shows average and peak levels. The result remains unchanged until you select Test again.

Join as presenter

Select Join on the room card. A room can have one active presenter. If another presenter is connected, Stage Captions asks whether you want to take over the room.

Presenter dashboard

The desktop presenter page contains four main areas:

1. Room information: Room name, room ID, connection status, and microphone status.
2. Caption preview: Live captions using the selected theme, size, language, and behavior.
3. Session controls: Microphone, caption language, and End Session.
4. Panels: Share, Settings, Participants, and Help.

Status indicators

• Green Wi-Fi: Connected to the room.
• Red Wi-Fi: Disconnected or reconnecting.
• Yellow microphone spinner: Audio is initializing.
• Red muted microphone: Audio is muted.
• Green microphone: Audio input is active.

Microphone controls

Presenter sessions begin muted. Use the microphone control at the bottom-left on desktop or in the mobile control row when you are ready to begin captioning.

Mute, unmute, and switch inputs

• Select the microphone button to mute or unmute.
• Press M to toggle mute when not typing in a form.
• Open the microphone menu and select another device to replace the active input without leaving the room.
• Keep the microphone muted during breaks and private conversations.

Test during a session

Test the microphone is available only while the session is muted, preventing test speech from appearing in live captions.

1. Mute the microphone and open its menu.
2. Select Test the microphone.
3. Stay quiet, say one complete sentence, then pause.
4. Review the locked result or select Test again.

If the microphone is unmuted while the test is open, the test closes automatically.

Original and translated captions

When translation languages are configured for the room, a language control appears beside the microphone. Open it to select:

• Original:Captions in the room's source language.
• A target language: The live translation for that configured language.

The selection controls the captions on the current device. Viewers can independently choose from the languages enabled for the room.

Partial translations

In Settings, Show partial translations controls whether in-progress translated text appears while someone is speaking. Turn it off to show completed translation segments only. The text is more stable, but appears with a longer delay.

Share the session

Select the link icon to open Share session. It contains separate QR / Link and OBS tabs.

Copy a viewer link

1. Open QR / Link.
2. Choose Dark Mode, Light Mode, Transparent Dark, or Transparent Light.
3. Review the generated URL and select Copy Link.

Share the link in event email, chat, an agenda, a presentation slide, or an attendee app. Viewers open captions directly in their browser.

Download a QR code

1. Choose the desired viewer theme in QR / Link.
2. Select Download QR Code.
3. Add the PNG to slides, venue signage, printed programs, or a confidence screen.

Download an OBS scene

The OBS tab creates an edge-to-edge caption overlay and downloads a ready-to-import OBS scene collection.

1. Open Share session and select OBS.
2. Choose a theme. Transparent Dark is the default broadcast preset.
3. Enter the Browser source width and height, preferably matching the OBS canvas or intended source resolution.
4. Review the generated URL.
5. Select Download OBS Scene.
6. Import the downloaded scene collection in OBS Studio.

For manual Browser source setup and troubleshooting, see the OBS Studio integration page.

Caption settings

Select the gear icon to open Settings. Changes appear immediately in the current browser's preview and fullscreen views.

Theme

• Dark Mode: Light text on a dark background.
• Light Mode: Dark text on a light background.
• Transparent Dark: Light captions for placement over another visual source.
• Transparent Light: Dark captions for placement over another visual source.

Company logo

When a logo is configured for the room, show or hide it and position it at the top-left, top-center, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-center, or bottom-right.

Font size

Increase or decrease caption size and test the result at the audience's actual viewing distance. Fullscreen views also provide quick A− and A+ controls.

Auto cleanup

When enabled, captions disappear after five seconds without new text. Disable it when the last caption should remain visible during pauses.

Show partial translations

This setting appears when translation languages are enabled. Keep it on for faster in-progress text or turn it off for completed segments only.

Participants

Select the participants icon to see the participant identifier, online or offline status, and Presenter or Viewer role. Select Invite via link to copy the room URL from this panel.

Use the list to confirm that audience devices have connected before the program begins.

Fullscreen display modes

The two icons at the top-right of the desktop room card open dedicated browser-fullscreen caption views.

Presentation View

Presentation View emphasizes the current caption in a fixed-height, stage-friendly display for venue screens, projectors, and confidence monitors.

• Select the presentation icon or press F.
• Move the pointer to reveal the auto-hiding controls.
• Use A− and A+ to change caption size.
• Use minimize or exit browser fullscreen to return.

Continuous Mode

Continuous Mode shows accumulated caption lines in a scrollable, transcript-style view. It follows new captions while the view remains at the bottom.

• Select the continuous-text icon or press T.
• Scroll upward to review earlier lines.
• Select Scroll to new to follow live captions again.
• Use A− and A+ to change text size.

Mobile Focus Mode

On mobile, select maximize to give captions more screen space. Select minimize to return to the normal presenter controls.

Ending the session

Select End Session when finished. The browser stops its microphone resources and returns to Rooms. If the microphone stays muted for an extended period, Stage Captions may ask whether you are still present; confirm to continue or end the session.

Presenter checklist

• Confirm the room, source language, and dictionary.
• Connect, select, and test the final microphone or mixer feed.
• Join muted and wait for audio initialization.
• Unmute briefly and confirm captions in the preview.
• Check original and translated caption streams.
• Test the viewer link and QR code on another device.
• Confirm participant connections.
• Test Presentation View, Continuous Mode, or the OBS scene.
• Check font size, contrast, logo placement, and auto cleanup.
• Mute during breaks and end the session when finished.

Troubleshooting

The microphone is unavailable

• Reconnect the USB device or audio interface.
• Check browser and operating-system microphone permissions.
• Close applications holding exclusive access to the input.
• Select another device from the microphone menu.
• Reload after changing operating-system audio devices.

The microphone test never completes

A result appears after speech is followed by approximately one second of quiet. Reduce nearby background noise, finish a sentence, and pause. Select Test again to discard the current attempt.

Captions do not appear

• Confirm that the microphone is unmuted.
• Wait for audio initialization to finish.
• Check that the connection indicator is green.
• Verify that the input meter responds to speech.
• Confirm that Original or the intended translation is selected.