One feature we love in Promptosaurus is the option to to have The Edit Window automatically follow the promt window’s position.
In a dual-window teleprompter system, the speaker sees the prompt window. That is the clean, large, readable teleprompter output. The operator sees the edit window, where the full script can be managed, changed, formatted, rearranged, and prepared.
That separation is important. But once you have two windows, you also have a new question: how do they stay in sync. They each serve different purposes – and you need to turn your attention from one to the other.
If the operator is scrolling the prompt window for the speaker, the edit window should be able to follow along automatically. As the prompt moves, the edit window should move with it. The operator should not have to keep manually finding the current sentence in the editable script.
This is what I think of as linked scrolling, or Follow Prompt mode.
The idea is simple. When Follow Prompt mode is on, the edit window continuously tracks the prompt window line-for-line. As the speaker reads and the operator scrolls, the editable script stays lined up with the live read.
A speaker may be reading and suddenly say, “Can we change that sentence?” Or, “Can we move that line?” Or, “I don’t like the way that paragraph starts.” When that happens, the operator should not have to hunt through the edit window to find the right place. The edit window should already be there.
Without linked scrolling, the prompt window may be in one place and the edit window may be somewhere else entirely. Now the operator has to search, scroll, visually match phrases, or ask the speaker to repeat the line. That may only take a few seconds, but on set those seconds matter. The speaker is waiting. The producer is watching. The room can feel the delay.
Linked scrolling removes that little scramble.
If the speaker wants to change the line they just read, the operator can jump directly into the edit window because it is already lined up with the prompt. The software has kept the editable document caught up with the live read.
Like a lot of good teleprompter features, this is partly about saving time, but it is also about protecting attention.
The teleprompter operator already has a lot to track. They are following the speaker’s pace, watching for pauses, listening for skipped lines, staying aware of upcoming sections, and responding to producers. They should not also have to keep doing the mental work of asking, “Where is this sentence in the edit window?”
The software already knows where the prompt window is. The edit window should be able to follow that position.
This also helps prevent mistakes. Scripts sometimes contain repeated language. A sentence or phrase may appear more than once. Without linked scrolling, if a speaker says, “Can we change that line?” the operator may search for the phrase and find the wrong instance. The words may match, but it may not be the paragraph the speaker is actually reading.
Linked scrolling solves that because it is tied to the real prompt position, not just a matching phrase. The software knows which paragraph is being prompted, even if similar language appears somewhere else in the script.
However, you also want the option of going way ahead or behind in the edit window – breaking sync with the prompt window. That’s done easily. When you enter the edit window and move it’s position, the automatic syncing is broken and you can easily go ahead or behind on the script. Just turn the sync back on with a click of a button.
The feature also works beautifully with the Live Prompt Indicator. The Live Prompt Indicator flashes the exact words the speaker can currently see in the edit window. Linked scrolling keeps the edit window in the right neighborhood. The flashing tells the operator the exact live words.
Those two features can be used separately or together. The Live Prompt flashing can stay on all the time because it is simply giving the operator useful information. Linked scrolling is more situational.
There are times when you want the edit window to follow the prompt automatically. If the operator is in a passive following mode, scrolling the speaker and waiting to see whether edits are needed, Follow Prompt mode is extremely useful. It keeps everything lined up hands-free.
But there are also times when the edit window needs to break away. A producer may want to work on a later section. A speechwriter may want to add something while the speaker is still reading. The operator may need to jump to the top or bottom of the script, search for a section, or check an upcoming speaker.
In those situations, linked scrolling should be off.
That is why this feature has to be optional. It should be a mode the operator can turn on and off quickly.
When the operator turns it on, the edit window should immediately jump to exactly where the prompt window is. Turning it on should mean: take me to where the speaker is right now. Then, once it is on, the edit window should continue following the prompt window until the operator decides to work somewhere else.
If a producer comes over the operator’s shoulder and says, “Can we make a change in another part of the script?” the operator may scroll the edit window to find that section. If the prompt window followed the edit window, the speaker’s teleprompter could suddenly jump to the wrong place.
That would be a disaster.
So the rule is simple: the prompt window is the master output. The edit window can follow it, but the edit window should never drag the prompt window around.
In fact, if the operator manually manipulates the edit window — by scrolling away, typing, jumping somewhere else, or working in a different section — Follow Prompt mode automatically turns off. That keeps the feature helpful without making it dangerous.
The value of linked scrolling is confidence and speed.
The operator always knows where they are in the edit window. They do not feel that scramble of looking at the prompt window and then trying to find the same sentence in the editable script. They do not have to keep nudging the edit window to stay caught up. The software works with them.
That is what professional teleprompter software should do. It should remove little points of friction before they become real pressure. It should save time, protect attention, and reduce the chance of mistakes.
Linked scrolling is a small feature, but on a real job it makes the operator feel more oriented, more prepared, and more in control.
