Teleprompter App for Windows PC: Which One to Use, and How

On Windows, Ridge uses Imaginary Teleprompter. It is free, it runs on a second screen, and it mirrors the text so the words read the right way round through the prompter glass. Download it, set your second display to extend, turn on horizontal flip, then drive the scroll with the spacebar and the arrow keys.

The rest of this guide is the setup, in order, with the two settings people miss.

Which teleprompter app should you use on a Windows PC?

Imaginary Teleprompter, and the reason is short. Ridge does not sell teleprompter software, so there is nothing to push you towards. The app is free, its project page lists dual-screen support and mirroring as core features, and it installs on Windows as an ordinary installer. Those three things are the entire requirement for a desk prompter.

Get it from the project's SourceForge page: download Imaginary Teleprompter. It is released under GPLv3, so free means free rather than a trial that expires halfway through a recording week.

It runs on Mac and Linux as well. Ridge's Mac setup uses a different app, Presentation Prompter, and the steps below will not match what you see on a Mac. If you are on a Mac, follow the Mac version of this guide instead.

What you need before you start

• A Windows PC.
• A second display. That is the prompter monitor on your Desktop Studio frame, or any spare monitor with an HDMI input.
• Your script, saved as plain text.
• About ten minutes the first time. Every session after that is under a minute, because the app remembers your settings.

How do you set up the teleprompter app on Windows?

1. Install the app and pin it. Run the installer, then search for "teleprompter" on your PC and pin it to your taskbar so it is one click away.
2. Extend your second display. Right-click on your desktop, choose Display settings, and set the second display to Extend these displays. Not mirrored. If it is mirrored, the prompter shows your desktop instead of your script.
3. Turn the mirror on. In the app, click the gear icon. Disable the in-frame prompter, and set the teleprompter screen to Horizontal flip mirror. This is the setting people skip, and the symptom is text that reads backwards through the glass.
4. Size the text. Adjust the text width and the font size until you can take in a line at a glance rather than reading it word by word. Narrower is usually better than bigger.
5. Set the scroll speed. Use the arrow keys to speed the scroll up or slow it down while the script is running, so it matches how you actually talk rather than the other way round.
6. Drive it with the spacebar. The spacebar starts and stops the script. That is the only control you need during a take.
7. Save the file locally. Save the script on your computer so it is there next time and you are not pasting it in again from scratch.

Using it with the Desktop Studio's PrompterMax

Nothing changes. Same app, same two settings. PrompterMax is the larger prompter screen on the Desktop Studio frame, so you get more room for the text and less squinting, but Windows still treats it as a second display and the app still needs horizontal flip turned on.

The one thing worth adjusting is where the text sits vertically. Move it so the lines run directly over the camera lens. Your eyes stay centred, and the read stops looking like a read. More on what happens when you sit down to record is on the recording videos guide.

If the text pastes in with the wrong formatting

Black text on a black background is the usual one, and it is not the app being broken. Text copied straight out of Word or Google Docs carries its own colours and fonts with it, and those land on top of the prompter's settings.

The fix takes a few seconds and it is written up separately: how to copy text in without formatting issues.

If the camera and the recording side are the part giving you trouble rather than the prompter, that is a different guide: connecting and recording with your Desktop Studio on Windows.

Common questions

What teleprompter app works on a Windows PC?

Imaginary Teleprompter. It is free, it is open source under GPLv3, and its project page lists mirroring and dual-screen support, which are the two things a desk prompter actually needs. Ridge uses it on every Windows setup.

How do you make a teleprompter on your computer?

You need three things: a teleprompter app, a second display set to extend rather than mirror, and horizontal flip turned on inside the app. The flip is what makes the text readable through the angled glass in front of the lens. Without a piece of glass you still have a working script scroller, just not a prompter.

Does this work on Windows 10?

Yes. The download page lists Windows without naming a version, and the steps are the same on Windows 10 and 11. The only difference is where the display setting lives: right-click the desktop and choose Display settings on both, then set the second screen to extend.

Can you use a laptop as a teleprompter?

For a video call, yes, because the screen sits close enough to the webcam that your eyeline holds up. For a piece to camera it is harder, because the gap between the laptop screen and the lens is exactly what makes someone look like they are reading. A prompter closes that gap by putting the text over the lens.

Do I need special software for the Desktop Studio?

Not paid software. The prompter runs on a free app, and Windows records from the studio through the Camera app that is already installed. The kit is what makes the picture and the sound good, not the software sitting behind it.