Learn DEON in 30 minutes!

1 Setup

After you have installed DEON, make sure that the DEON icon is in your taskbar (usually at the bottom right of your screen):

If you can't find it in your taskbar, you may need to drag it from the hidden icons area to there:

If you can't find it in the hidden icons area, start DEON once via your Windows Start menu or from your desktop.

2 Create your first DEON project

Click with the left mouse button on the DEON icon in your taskbar to display the DEON start screen.
Press . Your first DEON project will appear:

TIP You can also right-click the DEON taskbar icon and select “New Project” to be even faster.

3 Create Text

Use the  text tool or press Tab, then click with the left mouse button somewhere in the workspace and start typing. To finish the text, click somewhere in the empty workspace.

Create a new text, start typing, but press at the end of your line Enter while holding Ctrl pressed. This starts a new text under your current one.

Now place your text cursor somewhere in the middle of your text line and press again Enter while you Ctrl hold down. This splits your text into two parts.

Instead of Ctrl+Enter you can also Tab press to create the new text on the right.
TIP A complete list of keyboard shortcuts can be found here
TIP You can even create polls with text labels. Take a look here!

4 Navigate

Move: Hold down the right mouse button and move the mouse to shift your workspace. This does not move the elements (your text lines), only your view.

Zoom: While holding down the right mouse button, also press and hold the left mouse button. Move the mouse up or down while holding both mouse buttons to zoom. This „Powerzoom“ is much better than using the mouse wheel to zoom.

NOTE The center of the zoom is always the position of your mouse.

TIP Remember these steps to navigate like a pro:

1. Move your mouse to the location of your interest.
2. Hold down the right mouse button and move your mouse to bring this point to the center of your screen.
3. Continue holding down the right mouse button and press and hold down the left mouse button, then move your mouse down to zoom in.

TIP If you get lost in the room, press  in the toolbar, to view the entire project.

TIP If you are using a laptop with a trackpad but without a mouse: Place your left pinky finger on Ctrl and your left index finger on Space. Keep both keys pressed and move your right index finger on the trackpad to shift your view (without clicking trackpad buttons). To zoom, keep your left pinky finger on Ctrl and simply slide your left index finger from Space to Alt. Then move your right index finger on the trackpad up/down (without clicking trackpad buttons).

5 Create Screenshots

NOTE You can take screenshots of any application. In the following example you take a screenshot of a web browser. In this case DEON automatically saves a link to the website for you.

1. Open any website
2. Go back to DEON and click on the Screenshot button in the main menu or press S. DEON automatically brings the previously active window to the foreground (in this case your web browser) and a crosshair cursor appears.
3. Drag a selection frame with the left mouse button
4. Your screenshot appears in the inbox below your workspace
5. Drag the screenshot from the inbox into the workspace.

NOTE DEON automatically saved the website link in the screenshot. This enables you to create visual bookmarks without spending time naming or sorting conventional bookmarks.

Select the screenshot in the workspace (left click) and click the Link button in the upper right corner. Your default web browser opens the linked URL.

TIP The automatic link also works when you take screenshots of documents such as PPTX, XLSX, DOCX or PDF.
TIP You can take a screenshot of the project itself by holding down the Shift key before clicking the screenshot button.

6 Move and scale elements

Drag elements with the left mouse button to change their position in the workspace.

TIP To duplicate elements quickly, hold down Ctrl before you release the dragged element.

Multiple Selection

To move multiple elements, first drag a multiple selection frame (left mouse button) around the elements (elements must be completely within the frame) and then drag the entire multiple selection. To cancel the multiple selection, click anywhere in the empty workspace.

TIP By holding down Alt before you start a multi-selection, you can multi-select anywhere without accidentally moving a background element.

TIP To use a lasso, hold Shift pressed, before you start the multi‑selection. The lasso selects all elements that it touches or are at least partially within the lasso.

TIP Hold Shift or Ctrl pressed and click on the elements or drag a selection frame around the elements you want to add to an existing multi‑selection or remove from it.

TIP To align several elements: drag a multi-selection and then use the  alignment buttons in the context menu, or use the Auto-arrange function.

Scale

To scale an element or an entire multiple selection, drag one of the scaling handles at the corners.

NOTE Scale elements only if you really want to change their size. If you want to examine something closely, do not scale the element but instead zoom your workspace. If you are unsure whether an element is too large or too small, click the ‚Show entire project‘ button and then on the 0-Level button to zoom to 0-Level. Rule of thumb: At 0-Level a document page or PowerPoint slide fits into the workspace.

Smart Align

The blue Smart Align lines help you align elements. You can disable Smart Align by quickly shaking an element or the Smart Align button toggle.

Autoarrange

Use the double-line handles to align and rearrange elements quickly. To spread the spacing evenly: select all elements, push them together first, then deselect them, select them again and stretch them outwards.

Back to top

7 Drag files and documents into the workspace

1. Open the Windows File Explorer by clicking the Explorer button or Win+E press.
2. Now select a PowerPoint document and drag it into your DEON workspace.

NOTE DEON supports many different formats, but we will later need a PowerPoint in this tutorial.

Copied vs. linked files

Drag the same PowerPoint document into your workspace again, but this time hold (just before releasing) Shift pressed.

NOTE By Shift pressed hold, you can choose between linking or copying a file. A linked file is not copied to the DEON server, but a link to your original file location (local drive, network share or SharePoint/OneDrive) is created.
NOTE If your File Explorer folder was a OneDrive folder, DEON automatically links with OneDrive and you can edit the file directly in the DEON workspace.

Now open your original PowerPoint document by double-clicking it in your normal Windows File Explorer (not in DEON). Make some changes and close it again (save the changes). Notice that after a few seconds you will see the changes in your DEON workspace. The copy you dropped first (without pressing Shift ) does not change, because it was copied to the DEON server and has no connection to the original file. You can still open and edit it, however, by selecting it and pressing the file button in the upper right corner. The linked document also has a link button in the upper left corner that takes you to its original location.

NOTE Advantages of linked files:

• No redundant copies.
• Keep the file accessible at its original location outside of DEON.
• See changes to documents in DEON immediately when someone modifies the original file outside of DEON.

NOTE Note when using linked files:

• If the original file is deleted outside of DEON or its storage location is unreachable, only a gray placeholder is visible in DEON.
• If you share your DEON project with other users (as described later in this tutorial), make sure they have access to the original file (e.g. in a shared network folder). Otherwise, they will only see a gray placeholder.
• If you link files from a local drive (not a network drive) on your computer, they are only visible in DEON on the same computer.

Using Excel Files

NOTE If you have Microsoft O365, you can edit Excel files directly in the DEON workspace. Otherwise you can use the built-in DEON Excel viewer:

1. Drag an Excel file from your Windows File Explorer into the DEON workspace using Drag & Drop. If it contains multiple sheets, DEON lets you select them.
2. Trim the sheets with the horizontal and vertical handles .
3. Scroll vertically and horizontally with the right mouse button or two fingers, or use the mouse wheel. To add sheets from the same file, select an existing sheet in the workspace and click "Add Sheet" in the context menu. .

Editing MS O365 documents directly in the workspace

NOTE Skip this step if you do not have Microsoft O365
Select a document that you have dragged from your file explorer OneDrive folder into the DEON workspace.

For PowerPoint and Word: Click in the context menu on the MS Office button . Select the document again, wait until the green frame appears, and start editing.

For Excel: Just wait until the green frame appears, and start editing.

TIP You can also drag & Drop file folders from your Windows File Explorer into the workspace. They appear as links. If the folder contains only images with identical dimensions, they appear as a slideshow.
TIP DEON provides an integrated file watcher called "Monitoring current files", which can automatically display the most recent file in a folder. This works with network folders and local folders. Monitoring current files is especially useful when you work with constantly updated versions of the same document in a folder. DEON automatically searches for the most recent file in the folder that matches a predefined naming scheme. To use Monitoring current files, follow these steps:
1. Drag a file from a network folder or a local folder into the workspace. Make sure you hold the Shift key before dropping the file to link it instead of creating a copy.
2. Select the file in the workspace. In the context menu, press the "Monitoring current files" button (a folder icon with an eye). Check the "Enable monitoring" box and enter the string to match the filename. Optionally you can also add a second string and combine it with AND or OR logic.

8 Embed web browser

The unique DEON Metabrowser Engine lets you embed hundreds of websites and web applications into any DEON project. View and use them instantly side by side with all your other content. Whatever web-based application you use for your work, you can use it directly in DEON.
Open your preferred web browser, go to any website and copy the URL (such as https://en.wikipedia.org) to your clipboard by selecting it and pressing Ctrl+C . Then go back to DEON and paste the URL into your workspace by pressing Ctrl+V . You can also drag and drop the URL from your web browser into DEON.

A web browser is created in the workspace. It is active (blue frame) when you select it. To deactivate it again, click anywhere outside the web browser. To keep it permanently active, click in the context menu on the button “Keep active”.

TIP You can use web applications such as MS Office365 or Google Docs in your DEON workspace by simply pasting the URLs from your regular browser. Or drag your files directly from your OneDrive Windows File Explorer folder via Drag & Drop and click the MS Office button .

TIP YouTube and Vimeo URLs are automatically recognized and the videos appear without borders.

9 Stack elements to create groups

NOTE Grouping elements in DEON is as simple as stacking paper.

Select multiple elements in your workspace and click in the context menu on . DEON automatically creates a shape in the background of the selected elements.

You can also create such shapes manually:

Click the  shapes button in the main menu or press M, select a fill and outline color and then click and drag in the workspace.

To extract elements from a stack, simply delete the background element:

Or simply move elements away from the background. If you wait before releasing, the background shape expands automatically. To prevent this „automatic resizing“, just let go faster.
NOTE You can enable or disable this behavior in the settings under „Input and Navigation/Auto-Expand“.

Automatic rising and docking

NOTE DEON automatically brings elements to the foreground when they are covered by larger elements:

Try it out by dragging a shape or document over other (smaller) elements in the workspace. The obscured elements rise automatically:

If you want to prevent this, simply pin the elements that should not rise, using the Button in the context menu. Pinned elements are „glued“ and only rise when that background rises (because a larger element covers it).

Pinning also prevents elements from being moved relative to their background. If you move a pinned element, its background will also move:

If you pin an element directly to the workspace, it cannot be moved at all until you release it again.

Pinning a background element also helps you to perform a multiple selection of elements on it:

Disable stacking and pinning mode

This mode can speed up complex layout situations. Pinning, stacking and rising are disabled by this button . You can then move elements without affecting other stacked or pinned elements.

10 Crop and Resize

Use the vertical and horizontal handles to resize or crop elements. The effect depends on the type of element:

Crop images and documents:

Moving the  or  handles crops the image or the document pages. This is particularly useful for large Excel sheets.

Change a line of text to a floating text box:

By moving the  or  handles you can change a text line into a floating text box with automatic word wrap. Locked handles appear blue. By double‑clicking a handle you can lock/unlock it. A red handle at the bottom indicates text overflow.

Trim/resize web browser:

By moving the   and  size‑adjustment handles you can create a web browser with very specific dimensions. This is useful when you want to view an entire scrollable website as a long image.

TIPMake sure not to make it too large. Unlike the  scaling handles increase the  size‑adjustment handles the resolution (and system load) of the browser when you enlarge the web browser. While for the  scaling handles the web‑browser resolution remains constant, only the display in the workspace scales (just like zooming the workspace itself).

Change shape size:

Moving the  and  size adjustment handles changes the size of the shape, but retains the corner radius, and elements on the shape retain their size. Elements on it are pushed in the size adjustment direction when they reach the edge.

Scaling with the  scaling handles scales the entire stack of elements as one unit.

11 Multi-page Documents

Bring the Powerpoint document that you previously dragged into your workspace to the center of the screen and press the ← → arrow keys to flip pages, or use a clicker.NOTE You do not need to select it first. If it is in the center of the screen, DEON automatically assumes you want to flip the pages.

Use the slider below to quickly scroll through large documents:

Select the document again and select the Grid view button from the context menu to expand all pages.

To take a screenshot of a page: click the document (if it is not already selected) and then the screenshot button in the lower right corner of the page.

Now extract another page with the  extraction button in the same corner.

NOTE The screenshot is simply an image of the page, while the extracted page is still connected to the document, and you can open the entire original document by pressing the  file button in the upper right corner of the individual extracted page.

TIPYou can easily combine multiple PowerPoint documents or extracted pages into a new document: Select the pages or documents you want to combine, multiple times. Click in the context menu on the Merge button.

TIP To compare a page (or another element in your workspace) with remote elements in your workspace: Select the element and select Anchor element in the context menu. The window with the anchored view remains in front of your workspace, while you navigate to another location.

Zoom now to a page and press the Collapse button. DEON collapses the document, flips to this page and automatically centers the document on the screen:

Annotations on documents

Click in the main menu or press P to switch to scribble mode. Draw some annotations on different pages of your document. Also try out the two different erasers in the scribble menu.

To leave scribble mode, click the pointer mode button in the main menu or press V.

TIP If you have a touchscreen with an active pen (such as Microsoft Surface), DEON automatically switches between scribble mode and pointer mode for you, and you can use the back of your pen as an eraser.

Create some arrows: Click on  in the main menu or press L. Choose from the submenu. Start your arrow at a line of text and point it to a location in your document. Or drag the horizontal or vertical connector handles at the edges of an element to create connectors directly.

NOTE When you flip through the pages of your document, all annotations remain on their respective pages.

TIP To export the PowerPoint document together with the annotations on it: click a page, select Share/Export in the context menu and choose „Export … with annotations“.

12 Template Library

NOTE Any content you create in your projects can be used as a template if you save it in your library. Your library is available in every one of your projects. You can also share templates with other users.

Select the elements or select them multiple select, which you would like to save as a template. Click in the context menu on  Share/Export and select .

Click on in the main menu, to open your library. To see how it works, you can now drag & Drop your newly created template into your workspace.

Now select a single element in your workspace, click again on  Share/Export, but select this time .

Open your library (if it is not already open) and click in the upper left corner. Tick or untick the checkboxes and  to see how the filter works.

NOTE The only difference between templates and icons is the naming. It helps you divide your library into two sections. Simply use „Templates“ for everything that is not used like an icon.

TIP „Template“ and „Symbol“ are predefined tags. You can create and reuse as many individual tags as you like: Right‑click a template (or a symbol) in your library and select . Enter your desired tag name and press . You will find your newly created tag in the list below, where you can also assign other existing tags.

TIP You can edit multiple library items simultaneously by drawing a frame around them or selecting multiple items with Ctrl or Shift select.

Modify templates

NOTE A template is technically the same as a regular DEON project. You can open it with the same flexibility and edit it:

Double-click on a template or a symbol in your library. It opens in a new DEON window. Make your changes and simply close the window when you are finished. Changes are saved instantly while you make them (even before you close the window).

NOTE Although templates are technically DEON projects, they do not appear in your project list. You can only find them in your library.

TIP You can use SVG for icons. SVG is a vector format and vectors do not become blurry when enlarged like pixels. DEON supports SVG via Drag & Drop and you can also copy/paste vectors directly from ADOBE Illustrator. Doodles, shapes, arrows, lines and text that you create directly in DEON are also vectors.

Share Templates

Select one or multiple items in your library. Right-click on them and choose from the context menu.

The invitation window appears. Enter the user's email address with whom you want to share your project, and click . The entered email appears in the field below, where you can adjust the rights for this user. Then click .

NOTE  If the entered email address does not yet have a DEON account, an invitation email with further instructions is automatically sent to this address.

The templates or symbols you have shared will be listed immediately in the library of other users.

TIP To share with multiple users simultaneously: Enter multiple email addresses separated by semicolons ; or line breaks, or copy/paste a list from Excel or any text file.

13 Presentation Paths

NOTE DEON enables you to instantly switch between work and presentation, without wasting time on exports and fiddly layout.

Switch to presentation mode by clicking in the main menu and then click.

Select the elements now or select them multiple, which you want to present as the first step, and click on the Add step button in the presentation path menu under your workspace.

Select other elements for your second step and press again . Repeat this until you have five steps in your timeline.

Select now (click on) the first step in your timeline and press the Present button far left or simply press F5.

DEON switches to fullscreen mode and you can use the arrow keys ←→ on your keyboard or your preferred remote clicker to navigate through your presentation path.

TIP You can continue to navigate the workspace with your mouse, your touchscreen or trackpad. Press k to fly back to the current step.

To exit full-screen mode, press once Esc . To exit the presentation path mode completely, press again Esc . During full-screen mode you can also use the on-screen buttons that appear when you click or touch the screen once.

TIP You can directly after opening a DEON project F5 press to start the first presentation path from the beginning.

TIP You can export your presentation path to a multi-page Powerpoint or PDF document: Press left of your presentation path timeline on and select .

TIP You can create automatic presentations by setting a timer for each step. If the last step has a timer >0, the presentation will play in a loop.

14 Copying between Projects

NOTE Normally you have multiple DEON projects open simultaneously. This gives you the agility, throughout the day instantly to switch between different topics. You can also easily copy and move elements between projects. If, for example, you do not want to share an entire project, you can copy a part of it into a second project and share this excerpt instead. Try now to copy between projects:

Leave your current project open and create a new project as you did in step 2 .

TIP To switch quickly between multiple open projects, use the Windows key combination Win+Tab as a good alternative to Alt+Tab.

Select elements in your first project or select them multiple times. Press Ctrl+C to copy the elements, or Ctrl+X to cut them. Switch to your second (empty) project. Press Ctrl+V to paste the elements.

15 Share and Link

NOTE Sharing projects with other users is like sharing a desk or a room with them. The other users can open the shared project at any time from anywhere and see or edit the elements in the workspace (if you have allowed this).

To share a project, click the „Share“ button ( in older versions) in the main menu and select . If your project is still untitled, you will be asked to give it a name. The invitation window then appears. Enter the email address of the user you want to share your project with and click . The email you entered appears in the field below, where you can adjust the rights for this user. Then click .

NOTE If the entered email address does not yet have a DEON account, an invitation email with further instructions is automatically sent to this address.

TIPWhen sharing with multiple users simultaneously: Enter multiple email addresses separated by semicolons ; or line breaks, or copy/paste a list from Excel or any text file.

The project you have shared will be listed immediately in the project list of the other users.

To get an impression of how it works when two users have opened the same project, you can open a second instance of it on your own computer:

Double-click on the small DEON taskbar icon. Remember that a single click opens the notification window. A double-click now launches a new DEON instance and brings up the DEON start screen, where you can find all your own projects and projects of other users that have been shared with you.

TIP Click the List view / Grid view button in the top right corner of the start screen to switch between a thumbnail view or text view of your project list.

Double-click your project (which is still open in the second instance of DEON) to open it. You now have two DEON windows with the same DEON project.

Try navigating and editing your project in both instances. Note that each instance can display a completely different part of the same project, but changes are synchronized immediately. This experiment demonstrates how other users would experience your shared project.

TIPIf you want other users to follow you and see the same part of the project (e.g. during a conference call), press the Connected View button in the main menu. Read more about this powerful function here.

TIPYou can share a link to any element or any Multiple selection in a project: Select elements in your workspace or select them multiple times. Click in the context menu on Share/Export and select . You can now paste this link into any email or chat program (Ctrl+V) and send it to other users. When the recipient clicks the link, DEON automatically loads the project and navigates to the linked elements. Remember that it must be a shared project, otherwise access will be denied.

TIP If you have Microsoft Teams installed, sharing links during a chat is even faster. In the context menu, click Share/Export and select . DEON automatically copies the link into your currently active chat input field.

NOTE When sharing projects, keep in mind that linked documents in your project can only be seen by users who have access to the original file location (e.g. a network share); otherwise they only see a gray placeholder.

Creating shortcut buttons in the workspace

You can turn images or Screenshots into clickable buttons. The target link URL can be:

• Any external URL like https://deon.de
• Any file path to a file or folder like D:myfolder or D:myfolderimage.jpg
• Any element or any selection in the current project or in another DEON project:
  Select several elements in any DEON workspace multiple times, click in the context menu on Share/Export and select .
• Any DEON project: Right-click on a project in the start screen and select 'Copy Link'.

1. Copy any target link URL to your clipboard.
2. Select any image or screenshot in any DEON workspace and click the Edit Link button in the context menu .
3. Paste the previously copied link into the field. You can now choose whether the entire image should serve as a button. Otherwise, a small button appears in the top right corner of the image.

NOTE To select a button that is fully clickable, you must draw a selection frame around it.
TIP Take a look at the Jira and Azure DevOps integration to add and link issues.

16 Export

NOTE If your workflow allows it, it is better to stay in DEON rather than exporting. You can use the sharing functions to exchange information and the presentation path to give presentations. You could also temporarily copy elements into another DEON project if you do not want to share a whole project, and copy them back later. Staying in DEON keeps you more flexible and interactive and avoids redundant data. There are, however, situations where exporting is essential, and the following powerful export functions come in handy:

Exporting some elements or the entire project

Select some elements in your workspace or select them multiple times. Click in the context menu on Share/Export and select PDF or Powerpoint as the export format. To export the entire project, simply drag the selection box over all elements. You can also save the selected elements in their original format by choosing “Save as…” . If you have selected multiple elements, a ZIP file will be created.

Export to a multi-page document

Use the „Export with annotations“ function of a PowerPoint document or use the export function of a presentation path or use the slide function. With the slide function you can place several slides in your workspace. After you have created texts, images, scribbles and shapes on them, these slides can later be exported to a multi-page PowerPoint. To customize the background of these slides (e.g. with your corporate branding), you can import POTX files. You can easily create your own POTX files by saving a PowerPoint as POTX instead of PPTX.

To create slides in your workspace, click in the main menu on the Widgets button, then on the New presentation slide button and click anywhere in the workspace. Choose a template and a layout and click on .

To create additional identical slides, hold Ctrl pressed and drag a slide (or multiple multiple selected slides).

NOTE Slides cannot be scaled. This helps you maintain a constant size ratio between multiple pages.

Now create content on the slides or drag and scale existing content onto them.

Select all slides multiple times, click in the context menu on Share/Export, select and click on . The order of the slides in the exported PowerPoint is defined by their position in the workspace (from left to right or top to bottom).

17 Versioning

NOTEDEON is a command‑based system. This means that every individual action, such as a stroke or moving an element, is immediately stored as a command, and a DEON project is the result of a sequence of commands. This principle enables you to restore a copy of a project from any stage of its creation at any time. One reason could be to look back in time or to restore a project that was accidentally messed up by a user.

Switch to the start screen by clicking in the upper left corner of an open project on click or on the small DEON taskbar icon double-click. Right-click on a project and select from the context menu. Now navigate through the history list by clicking on the buttons to fully descend a tree to a desired revision number. Click then on . Wait while the copy of the project is being created. You may be asked whether you want to share this copy with the same users who already had access to the original project. Afterwards the restored project appears in your project list.