Athanor by arbastro
download
Help center

How to present a mechanism step by step in a lecture

Animate the mechanism, then press Present on the Timeline. The mechanism fills the screen on step 1. Click, press Space or the right arrow to play the next step and stop on it. L is a laser pointer, P a pen, B a black screen, and Esc ends.

Steps

  1. Animate the mechanism. Draw it and press Animate my arrows, as in How to animate a mechanism. To try it with a ready-made one, open the Timeline with Animate and pick an example such as SN2 substitution; it comes with its steps and a caption already written.

  2. Press Present on the Timeline. It appears once the animation has two or more steps. When the window is narrow, it moves into the Timeline's ⋯ (More) menu.

    The Timeline with Play, Present and the three SN2 steps: Before, Transition state and After.The Timeline with Play, Present and the three SN2 steps: Before, Transition state and After.

  3. The mechanism fills the screen, held on step 1, with every tool and panel put away.

  4. Click anywhere, press Space or the right arrow to play the next step. It plays and stops on it, so you can talk about it. Press during a step to finish it at once.

  5. Press Esc or Exit when you are done. You are back where you were.

    The SN2 transition state presented full screen, circled with the pen, with its caption and the presenter bar.The SN2 transition state presented full screen, circled with the pen, with its caption and the presenter bar.

Keys while presenting

Key Does
Click, Space, Enter, right or down arrow, Page Down Plays the next step
Left or up arrow, Page Up Goes back a step
Home / End The first or the last step
L A laser pointer
P A pen to draw on the step
B A black screen. Click or press B again to bring it back
Esc Ends the presentation

The presenter bar

The bar at the bottom says where you are, such as Step 2 of 3 with the step's name, and each step's caption shows above it. Its other buttons:

  • Energy shows or hides the energy diagram beside the mechanism.
  • Rehearse times each step so you can check your pace before the lecture.
  • Captions writes what you say under the step as live captions, in the languages you choose.
  • Presenter view opens your notes, the next step and a timer, in a window of its own or beside the step.
  • Phone lets you step through from your phone.
  • Camera puts your camera in a corner of the screen.
  • Poll asks the room a question they answer on their phones. Polls need you signed in.

Tip

Write a caption under each step on the Timeline before class. It shows above the presenter bar while that step is on screen.

Note

Present here steps through one animation. To present a whole deck of frames, use Present slides.

MechanismsHow to animate a reaction mechanismDraw a mechanism step with its curved arrows, open the Timeline (Animate in the top bar, or Ctrl+Shift+T) and press Animate my arrows. Athanor works out the steps that follow from the arrows and Play runs them as a film.MechanismsHow to add an energy diagram that follows the animationIn the Timeline, press the Energy diagram button. An energy profile appears on the canvas, with the steps along the bottom and a marker that follows the playhead as the animation plays.Slides and presentingHow to present slidesChoose View › Present slides. Click, Space or the right arrow goes to the next slide; L is the laser, P the pen, B a black screen, and Esc ends. The bar also has Poll, Camera, Captions and Presenter view.

Is this helpful?

Last updated Nov 12, 2026