Keynote Rehearse Slideshow in Full Screen on Dual Display Issues, a bug?

Hey everyone,

so I just got off of a Keynote specialist call to resolve an issue I was having with Keynote, and we were able to fix part of the issue (the part I needed and that mattered to me). The other part isn't so much a concern for me, but I do believe this might be a bug? I stayed on the phone to see if we could resolve it, but we couldn't after 20 mins or so; the entire call from help desk to specialist lasted 41 minutes.

I'm not sure where we report bugs and so I'm posting it here? The Keynote specialist is going to try and resolve the issue on their own time, and perhaps maybe they'll report it to Apple's Software HQ division (am I even using the right terms? lol).

I'm wondering if anyone else might be experiencing the same issues, or is at least able repeat the issues on your version of Keynote. I have the latest version of Keynote Version 14.4. This was not an issue for me last year while using the older version Keynote (prior to updating).

I'm asking because I experience the same issue on both my MacBook Pro 2021 and MacBook Air 2023, specifically in Keynote only while using a Studio Display in a Dual-Monitor setup with Studio Display set to Main (primary) and Built-in Display set to Extended Display (secondary).

Note: This is not a hardware issue, but a software issue that comes up with Keynotes and only in certain settings.

Let me give you a breakdown of issue, then I have my ask for anyone helping, a partial fix to try, and I'll share my setup.

ISSUE

• On a Dual Monitor setup (I'm using a Studio Display and the Laptop's screen)
• Open a Keynote presentation, any
• Menu Bar>Play>Check In Fullscreen
• Menu Bar>Play>Rehearse Keynote
• What's suppose to happen?
  • Main Monitor should show a Fullscreen of the current slide
  • Secondary Monitor should show the Keynote Presenter Display
• What happens for me?
  • Main Monitor is completely blank (cursor still shows)
  • Secondary Monitor either shows Keynote Presenter Display OR a FullScreen of the current Slide
  • This occurs on both of my computers
• In Rehearse Keynote (in Full Screen Mode) both screens should be in fullscreen mode with the main screen displaying current slide and secondary screen displaying keynote presenter display
• Press shortcut key "opt+x" to rotate display from one monitor to another but one monitor, on mine one is always blank
• Press shortcut key "x" to rotate on current display from current slide to keynote presenter display
• Pres shortcut key "esc" to exit if stuck
• Occurs on both MacBook Pro & Air Laptop I use.

MY ASK

1. Could someone give this a try and let me know if the problem is also showing up on your Keynote prior to trying "The Partial Fix"?
2. Jump down to "The Partial Fix" segment of this post, and try the recommended fix and see if the problem resolves itself?
3. If it still persists, could you respond to the post and let me know?
4. Let me know if problem persists for "Rehearse Slideshow" while "Record Slideshow" resolves itself?

The Partial Fix

• After speaking with the Apple Keynote Specialist, they had me hit:
• Keynote>Menu Bar> Play> Play Slideshow Opt+Cmd+P
• This entered us into full screen with both the current slide on the main display, and keynote presenter on the secondary display.
• The issue resolved for "Record Slideshow" after selecting "Play Slideshow" - somehow this jostled something in the code so the blank display disappeared and functions as it should.
• However, the problem persists for "Rehearse Slideshow" while "Record Slideshow" has resolved.
• Technically speaking it shouldn't persist, considering that Rehearse Slideshow, Record Slideshow, and Play Slideshow in Fullscreen mode all use the same GUI and should display on both primary and secondary monitors exactly the same.

Initially this issue would happen when selecting FullScreen mode on both:

Keynote>MenuBar>Play>Record Slideshow

and

Keynote>MenuBar>Play>Rehearse Slideshow

After the fix, it only occurs on Rehearse Slideshow mode.

MY SETUP

• MacBook Pro 2021
  • Apple M1 Max
  • 64GB Ram
  • Mac OS: Sequoia 15.5 (Stable version, no beta test OS)
  • System Settings>Display>Studio Display>Use as: Main Display
  • System Settings>Display>Built-in Display>Use as: Extended display
• MacBook Air 2023
  • Apple M2
  • 16GB Ram
  • Mac OS: Sequoia 15.5 (Stable version, no beta test OS)
  • System Settings>Display>Studio Display>Use as: Main Display
  • System Settings>Display>Built-in Display>Use as: Extended display
• Mac Studio Display 27"
• Apple Keynote Version 14.4 (7043.0.93)