Onboarding
A guided 9-step wizard that runs the first time you sign in, collecting your profile details and processing your first presentation upload before taking you to the dashboard.
Onboarding steps
Full walkthrough of the 9 onboarding steps, covering auto-save, save error feedback, profile pre-fill, step navigation, the upload step, upload preview, live preview, the final "done" step with its updated "What's next" list, and the completion flow including referral attribution.
Onboarding wizard
When you create a new account, Handyout runs a one-time onboarding wizard before you reach the main dashboard. The left column shows your progress through all 9 steps; the centre panel shows a live preview (either a dedicated upload-preview area or an interactive phone mockup of your handyout); the right column contains the form for the current step.
Step indicator and log out
Each step's heading area shows an orange pill badge that reads Step N/9 (for example, "Step 3/9"). This badge sits next to the step's icon and above the heading text, so you always know exactly where you are in the flow at a glance.
A Log out button appears in the top-right corner of every step's form area. Clicking it signs you out and returns you to the homepage. Your answers up to that point are saved — see auto-save below.
Step details
| Step | What you do | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Upload first presentation | Drop a PowerPoint (.pptx) or PDF file. The file is uploaded, then processed by AI — extraction takes about 10 seconds per slide. | Yes |
| Name & role | First name, last name, profile photo, and your job title. Role presets are available. | Yes |
| Bio & social links | A short bio (max 70 chars), optional website, LinkedIn, X, and Instagram. All social fields are optional but validated when filled in. | No (but social URLs and website must be valid if provided) |
| How did you hear about us? | Pick one: LinkedIn, Twitter, Friend, Google search, Conference, or Other. | Yes |
| Primary use-case | Choose one scenario: Sales/investor pitches, Teaching, Workshops, Conference talks, Client presentations, or Internal updates. | Yes |
| Pain points | Multi-select from six common pain points to help Handyout prioritise features for you. | Yes (at least 1) |
| Team size | Select your team's headcount range. | Yes |
| Audience size | Select your typical room size. | Yes |
| Done | A summary screen with a "What's next" section and three numbered steps. Click "Take me to the dashboard" to finish. | — |
Auto-save
Your answers are saved automatically as you fill in the form — you do not have to wait until the end. Handyout saves roughly half a second after you stop typing or making a selection. Only changes that differ from what was last saved are sent, so the wizard never makes an unnecessary network request.
When you click Continue, any unsaved change is flushed immediately before the wizard advances. The button label changes to Saving… while this is happening and cannot be clicked again until the save is complete. If the save succeeds, you move to the next step. If it fails, you stay on the current step so no answers are lost.
What happens when a save fails
If Handyout cannot save your progress — for example, due to a temporary connection problem — two things happen at once:
- A toast notification appears in the corner of the screen with the title "Couldn't save your progress."
- An inline error message with an alert icon appears between the Back and Continue buttons in the current step, reading: "Couldn't save your progress. Try again."
The inline error stays visible until the next successful save. You can keep editing; the wizard will attempt to save again after your next change or when you click Continue.
Profile pre-fill
If your account already has profile data (for example, from a previous partial onboarding session), the wizard loads it into the form automatically when the page opens. You will see your existing first name, last name, role, bio, website, social handles, avatar, and preference answers already filled in. You only need to complete or correct anything that is missing or out of date.
Step navigation
The step list in the left sidebar lets you jump directly to any step you have already completed, or to the next unsatisfied step. Steps that you have not yet unlocked are greyed out and cannot be clicked.
A step becomes unlocked once all steps before it have been satisfied. You can freely navigate back to review or change earlier answers; doing so does not reset later steps.
Bio step — what you can fill in
The bio step has three sections:
Short bio (optional, max 70 characters): A one-line description that appears on the intro slide of every handyout you publish. A character counter shows how many characters remain.
Website (optional): The field shows https:// as a fixed prefix — you only need to type the domain portion, for example yourcompany.com. If you type an invalid domain, a red border and error message appear. The Continue button is disabled until the value is corrected or cleared.
Social links (optional — LinkedIn, X, Instagram): The three fields appear in a two-column layout, each with an icon and a fixed https:// prefix label. You only type the path portion of the URL — for example, linkedin.com/in/your-name for LinkedIn or x.com/handle for X. If you enter a value that does not match the correct format for that network, a red border and inline error message appear beneath that field. Continue is disabled until all filled-in social fields contain valid URLs.
Supported file formats
The upload step accepts PowerPoint (.pptx) and PDF files. PDFs exported from Keynote or Google Slides are fully supported — any charts or diagrams in a PDF are read from the slide image. If you choose a file in any other format, the upload is blocked and a notification explains the issue.
Once you select a file, the upload area identifies it by format: a PDF icon appears for PDF files, and the PowerPoint logo appears for PPTX files, alongside the filename. A Replace link lets you swap the file once processing is complete.
If your original deck is in Keynote (.key) or another format, export it as a PDF or PPTX before uploading.
Upload preview panel
While you are on the upload step, the centre panel of the onboarding screen is taken over by a dedicated upload preview area. This self-contained panel is responsible for showing every upload state in the centre — the empty placeholder before you choose a file, the progress indicator while uploading or processing, and the first-slide preview once the AI finishes. It updates automatically; you never need to refresh or navigate away.
Live preview and theme
Once you move past the upload step, the centre panel switches to an interactive phone mockup of your handyout. This preview reflects your profile details — name, role, bio, avatar, and social links — as you type them in, so you can see exactly how the intro slide will look to your audience.
The preview follows your operating system or browser light/dark mode setting automatically. If you use a dark interface, the handyout preview renders in dark mode; if you use a light interface, it renders in light mode.
Upload processing
After you drop or select a file, progress is shown in two places at once:
- Centre panel — the dedicated upload preview area shows a progress card with a pulsing indicator and a status message. The first slide image appears here as soon as the AI extracts it.
- Right-side upload card — a progress indicator appears directly beneath the drop zone (or filename), giving you an at-a-glance status without having to look away from the form area.
Both displays update in real time. Once the AI starts converting slides a progress bar appears in both locations. A note beneath the status message reads: "This usually takes about 10 seconds per slide." The total time scales with your deck — a 10-slide deck takes roughly 1–2 minutes; a 30-slide deck takes around 5 minutes.
When processing completes, a notification toast appears in the corner of the screen: "Preview is ready — Live preview on the left. Hit Continue to keep going." The Continue button on the upload step becomes enabled at this point.
What happens when processing fails
If Handyout cannot analyse your file after it has been uploaded, the processing step ends with an error. You will see:
- A red notification toast in the corner of the screen with the title "Presentation processing failed" and a short description explaining what went wrong. If no specific reason is available, the message reads: "We couldn't process this presentation. The file has been removed — try another one."
- The upload area resets so you can choose a different file and try again.
Common reasons a file may fail to process include: the file being password-protected, severely corrupted, or containing only images with no extractable text content. If retrying with the same file repeatedly fails, try resaving the deck from PowerPoint or re-exporting from Keynote or Google Slides before uploading.
Cancelling an upload
At any point during uploading or processing, a Cancel link appears directly beneath the filename inside the upload drop zone on the right side of the screen. Clicking it immediately stops the upload or processing, removes any partially created data from the server, clears the file selection, and returns the upload zone to its initial empty state so you can choose a different file. Nothing is left behind — cancelling is a clean reset.
Once processing has finished and the status is ready, the Cancel link is replaced by a Replace link. Clicking Replace performs the same cleanup as Cancel and then immediately opens the file picker so you can drop in a new deck without an extra click.
Auto-resume
If you started an upload but closed or refreshed the wizard before it finished, Handyout automatically detects your most recent presentation when you return. The upload preview panel loads with the filename and slide preview already populated, and the state is set to either "processing" (if AI extraction is still running) or "ready" (if it already completed). You do not need to re-upload the file.
Profile photo
On the name step, clicking the camera icon on your avatar opens a file picker. As soon as you choose an image, it is uploaded to your profile immediately — you do not need to reach the end of the wizard for the photo to be saved. Accepted formats are JPG and PNG (max 10 MB). A "Remove" link appears below the photo if you want to clear it.
Completing onboarding (done step)
The wizard's final step is the "done" screen. The subtitle reads: "Your profile is saved and your presentation is uploaded. Create your handyout from it next." — confirming that while your profile and upload are saved, the handyout itself still needs to be created from the Presentation detail page.
The screen shows a numbered "What's next" list to guide you after the wizard:
- Tweak any module — Tap any block in the editor to swap charts, lists, quotes or callouts.
- Drop a QR on your closing slide — Once you publish, your audience scans and they're in. No app, no signup.
- See what resonates — Analytics show which slides land and where readers drop off.
Clicking Take me to the dashboard triggers the final save. While it is processing, the button label changes to "Finishing…" and becomes disabled so you cannot click it twice. Once the save completes, you are redirected to the dashboard automatically.
Referral codes are applied at this final step. If you arrived via a referral link, any bonus credits are granted when you click "Take me to the dashboard."
Referral codes
If you arrived via a referral link, the referral code is captured automatically from a cookie and submitted with your profile when you click "Take me to the dashboard" on the done step. If the referral is valid, you receive bonus credits. The cookie is cleared after the submission succeeds.
