What you can do with CouchCursor

Your Siri Remote can do more than control an Apple TV. Pair it with your Mac and CouchCursor turns it into a presentation clicker, a media remote, and a small trackpad you can use from the couch.

Start with the app you use most. CouchCursor includes profiles for Keynote, Microsoft PowerPoint, Zoom, QuickTime Player, and VLC. App-specific assignments take over when that app is in the foreground; your general profile handles everything else.

Presentations: keep your attention on the room

Keynote and Microsoft PowerPoint

Open your deck, start the slideshow, and keep Keynote or PowerPoint active. The built-in presentation profiles give the remote a clear set of jobs:

• Next or previous slide: press right or left on the directional ring.
• Advance a build: Play/Pause sends Space, for the next animation or slide in your deck.
• Spotlight a detail: press up to dim the surrounding screen, then move the pointer to guide attention. Press up again to turn it off.
• Point something out: press down to toggle the laser pointer, then use the touch surface to move it. Press down again to turn it off.
• Leave the slideshow: TV/Home sends Escape.

Spotlight and laser pointer are CouchCursor overlays, so you can use the same tools across your presentation apps. You can also adjust the spotlight and laser appearance in the app.

Zoom

• Toggle your microphone: on remotes with a microphone button, the Zoom profile sends Command-Shift-A to mute or unmute while Zoom is active.
• Present a deck: bring Keynote or PowerPoint to the foreground to use its slide controls. Switch back to Zoom when you want its microphone shortcut.

Zoom’s keyboard shortcut guide covers the mute shortcut. For screen sharing, test your chosen sharing mode before presenting: a shared application window may not include CouchCursor’s spotlight or laser overlay.

Media: settle in, keep control

QuickTime Player

• Pause or resume: Play/Pause sends Space while QuickTime Player is active.
• Reach the player controls: use the touch surface to move the pointer, click the timeline, or select full screen.
• Use the player’s own navigation: the built-in profile sends left and right arrow keys. Their effect follows QuickTime’s current playback state.

VLC

• Pause or resume: the VLC profile also maps Play/Pause to Space.
• Use VLC’s arrow-key controls: left and right send the same keys as your keyboard, following VLC’s current shortcut settings.
• Make skipping predictable: assign your preferred VLC jump shortcuts to remote buttons in Profiles, matching the shortcuts configured in VLC.

Volume and mute buttons keep their system behavior unless you override them. For another player, add an app-specific keyboard shortcut instead of changing the controls you use everywhere else.

Everyday Mac control

• Move and click: swipe the touch surface to move the pointer; press to click or hold to drag.
• Scroll: use two fingers on the touch surface, with momentum for longer pages.
• Open context menus: Menu/Back acts as a right-click in the default profile.
• Make it comfortable: adjust pointer sensitivity and button assignments in Profiles.

Start with one app

You need a compatible Bluetooth Siri Remote and a Mac running macOS 13 or later. Pair the remote with your Mac and follow the permission prompts, then try the built-in profile for your favorite app. You can customize individual assignments as you go.

Follow the getting started guide for pairing and permissions.

See the controls guide for gestures, presentation controls, and app-specific profiles.