Suey - Real-Time Interactive Presentation System

About

Suey is a system for enhancing live presentations by enabling real-time interaction between an Emcee, the presentation software (Microsoft PowerPoint), and physical elements like smart lighting. It utilizes a web-based control interface and can control smart home devices, such as LED lights, to create a dynamic and engaging experience.

This project was developed between July and August 2023 for a personal awards show event, demonstrating the integration of desktop automation, web services, WebSocket communication, and hardware control. Suey was open-sourced and further documented in May 2025.

Core Structure

Suey consists of three main interconnected components:

1. PowerPoint Extension (C# VSTO Add-in):

   • Operates within Microsoft PowerPoint on the presentation machine.
   • Parses "Suey Script" commands embedded in PowerPoint slide object names.
   • Communicates with the Suey Server via WebSockets to send slide events and receive control commands.
   • Triggers local actions (playing sounds) and external commands (lighting changes) based on the parsed Suey Script.

2. Suey Server (Node.js & Express.js):

   • Functions as the central communication hub using express-ws for WebSocket connections.
   • Manages connections from the Emcee web interface, the PowerPoint Extension, and Log viewers.
   • Relays commands from the Emcee to the PowerPoint Extension.
   • Receives state updates from PowerPoint and forwards them.
   • Interfaces with smart LED lights via the colors.js module (using tuyapi) to execute lighting commands based on Suey Script events.
   • Serves static HTML/JS/CSS for the Emcee and Log viewer web interfaces.

3. Emcee Web Interface (HTML, CSS, JavaScript):

   • A tablet-friendly web application for remote control of the PowerPoint presentation.
   • Displays current slide information and presentation status.
   • Sends control commands (Start, Stop, Next, Previous) to the Suey Server.
   • Supports swipe gestures for navigation.

Suey Script - Custom In-Slide Commands

A key feature of Suey is its custom scripting language embedded into the names of PowerPoint shapes. This allows control over presentation events from within the PowerPoint interface.

• Syntax: Commands are placed within a shape named Suey[...]. Multiple commands are separated by semicolons (;). Each command is a key=value pair. Multiple key-value pairs for a single trigger are structured as trigger:key=value,key2=value2.
  • Example: Suey[Base:PlaySound=Success,SetColor=#FF0000;1:SetScene=Intro]
• Triggers:
  • Base: Commands execute when the slide loads (timeline index 0).
  • [index]: Commands execute when the PowerPoint animation timeline reaches the specified numerical index.
• Supported Commands: PlaySound, SetScene, SetColor, SetBrightness, SetLeftColor, SetRightColor. These are parsed by the Extension and often relayed to the Server for action. More commands are listed in the Extension/ThisAddIn.cs file.

Key Features

• Remote PowerPoint presentation control via a web interface.
• Synchronized smart lighting effects based on Suey Script events.
• Custom in-slide scripting using "Suey Script" within PowerPoint shape names.
• Real-time WebSocket communication between system components.
• Live event logging viewable through a dedicated web interface.

Technologies Used

• PowerPoint Extension: C#, Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO)
• Server: Node.js, Express.js, express-ws
• Emcee Web Interface: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
• Lighting Control: tuyapi (Node.js library for Tuya smart devices)
• Data Exchange: JSON (for WebSocket messages)

Setup & Installation

Prerequisites:

• Node.js and npm
• Microsoft PowerPoint (with VSTO runtime installed)
• Visual Studio (with Office/SharePoint development workload for the Extension)
• Tuya-compatible smart lights.
• Local keys and IDs for Tuya devices (obtainable with tools like tuya-local-key-extractor). Configure these in Server/keys.json.

Server:

1. Navigate to the Server directory.
2. Run npm install.
3. Create Server/keys.json and include Tuya device credentials.
4. Run node suey.js.

Extension:

1. Open the Extension project in Visual Studio.
2. Build the project to install the PowerPoint Add-in.
3. Name PowerPoint slide objects intended for Suey Script commands appropriately (example: ShapeNameStartingWithSuey[Base:PlaySound=IntroSound]).

Accessing Interfaces:

• Emcee Control Panel: http://localhost:1337/mc?key=awards
• Log Viewer: http://localhost:1337/logs

(Note: The key=awards query parameter is a basic access security measure. You can change it to any string you prefer in the Server/suey.js file.)

Future Ideas

• Enhanced audience interaction features (polling, Q&A).
• Support for a wider range of controllable hardware.
• A visual editor or helper tool for generating Suey Script commands.