Outputs and displays

Quick start

1. Open present mode for a presentation or service and review the Open screens grid in the bottom panel.
2. Click Open on a local screen card (or Open on display for a paired remote screen).
3. If your browser blocks the popup, allow pop-ups for WorshipDeck and click Open again.
4. Confirm the output window shows the current slide.
5. Click Start (if not already live) so slide changes sync to the output.
6. When finished, click End — WorshipDeck may ask whether to close local screen windows.

You should now have at least one audience screen showing your presentation.

Deep dive

What is an output?

An output is what the congregation sees — the slide, lyrics, or media on a projector, TV, or stream. Outputs are not the operator preview in present mode. You open and manage outputs from the Open screens section.

Each output corresponds to a screen from your active screen layout. The grid shows one card per screen.

Local screens (browser windows)

Local screens open as popup browser windows on the operator computer using window.open. WorshipDeck places each window on the monitor bound to that screen.

To open a local screen:

1. Click Open on the screen card (fullscreen icon for a plain slide, monitor icon when the screen has overlays).
2. If multiple monitors are detected, choose which display to use.
3. On external monitors, the output tries to go fullscreen automatically. If your browser still shows Click for full screen, click once — or install the one-time Windows tool described below so that click is not required.

Open all local screens opens every ready local screen at once. A preflight modal lists which screens are ready, unbound, or missing. Use Open available only to skip problem screens, or Bind monitors to fix bindings first.

Close all local screens closes every open local window without ending live.

Automatic fullscreen without per-window clicks (Windows)

Browsers normally require a user gesture in each output window before fullscreen. On a multi-monitor Windows presentation PC, that means clicking every projector window after Open all local screens.

Install WorshipDeck’s Windows presentation policy tool once on that PC:

1. Go to Settings → Screens.
2. Download Automatic fullscreen on Windows and run it as Administrator → Install.
3. Restart the browser completely.
4. Open local screens again — external outputs should fullscreen without the overlay.

Full steps: Screens settings — Automatic fullscreen on Windows.

Also allow pop-ups and Window Management for WorshipDeck in site settings. Those are separate from the fullscreen tool.

Remote displays (paired devices)

Remote screens connect to a paired Android TV or WorshipDeck for Windows output. They do not open as browser popups on the operator computer.

For a paired remote screen, use:

• Open on display (desktop icon) — wakes the paired device and shows the current slide.
• Copy link (link icon) — copies the output URL to share manually or open on another device.

Open all remote displays wakes every paired remote screen at once. If a device does not respond, open it manually or use the copied link.

Pair devices in Settings → Screens (/settings/screens). See Screens settings for the pair code flow and online status.

WorshipDeck for Windows

The Windows app is a multi-monitor workstation host for Windows 10/11 x64. Add one display for each connected monitor, copy each display's six-character pair code, and pair each one to a separate Remote screen in Settings.

While a presentation or service is live, each paired output opens borderless fullscreen on its assigned monitor. The output window closes when live ends. Your editor and operator console stay in the web app and can run on the same PC or a different browser device.

This is separate from the Automatic fullscreen on Windows policy tool above:

• Use WorshipDeck for Windows to host paired Remote outputs on one or more workstation monitors.
• Use the presentation policy tool only when the browser opens Local output windows.

The Windows host needs a reliable internet connection. It does not provide offline presenting or an on-device presentation library.

Auto-open on live start

Before you click Start, enable Open outputs when going live in the bottom panel. When you start live:

• Bound local monitors open automatically on this computer.
• Paired remote displays wake automatically.

If some remote devices fail to wake, WorshipDeck shows a toast — open them manually from the screen grid.

This checkbox is only available before live. Plan auto-open before Start, not after.

Output routes (fullscreen, no app chrome)

Audience outputs load on dedicated present-output routes without the WorshipDeck sidebar:

• /presentations/[id]/screen/[screenId] — single presentation
• /services/[id]/screen/[screenId] — service (follows live item changes)

These pages are fullscreen slide views. Copy link shares this URL for remote displays or backup devices.

Preflight checks

Each screen card shows a status before you open it:

• Ready — local screen bound to a monitor (shows monitor name).
• Not bound on this computer — assign a monitor with Bind monitors.
• Not connected — the bound monitor was unplugged.
• Remote — use Open on display or copy the output link.

The open-all modal repeats these checks for every screen in the layout.

Close screens when ending live

When you click End with local screens still open, WorshipDeck asks Close local screens? You can close them all at once or keep them open (for example, to show a static slide after the service).

Remote displays are not closed by this prompt. WorshipDeck for Windows closes its fullscreen output windows when live ends; other display apps handle the ended state on the device.

Sync behavior

While Live, all open outputs follow the operator's current slide, variant, and annotations in realtime. Outputs do not update during preview (Not started) unless you opened them before going live and they were already synced.

In service present, outputs also follow service item switches automatically.

Tips

• Test outputs before Sunday — open each screen once to confirm bindings and popup permissions.
• For Local browser outputs on Windows, install the automatic fullscreen tool once so Open all local screens does not need a click in every window.
• For paired multi-monitor outputs, use WorshipDeck for Windows instead and assign each display to its physical monitor.
• Enable Open outputs when going live for a smoother start, especially with multiple monitors.
• Keep the operator computer awake — sleeping can disconnect monitor bindings.
• For streaming, copy the output link and paste it into your streaming software's browser source.
• Use Open all local screens during rehearsal to verify every monitor at once.

[!warning] Browsers block popups opened without a direct click. Always open screens by clicking Open or Start (with auto-open enabled) — not from a bookmark or delayed script.

Troubleshooting

Pop-up blocked when opening a screen

This is the most common output issue.

1. Look for a blocked-popup icon in your browser's address bar.
2. Allow pop-ups for the WorshipDeck site.
3. Click Open again on the screen card.

If Open all local screens partially fails, WorshipDeck reports how many windows were blocked. Allow pop-ups and retry.

On Chrome: click the blocked icon → Always allow pop-ups from [site].

On Safari: Settings → Websites → Pop-up Windows → allow for WorshipDeck.

On Firefox: click the blocked icon in the address bar → Allow pop-ups.

Output asks me to “Click for full screen”

• Click once in that window to continue — WorshipDeck works without the Windows tool.
• On Windows, install the automatic fullscreen tool on the presentation PC, restart the browser, and open screens again to skip the overlay.
• Confirm Window Management is allowed for WorshipDeck if outputs open on the wrong monitor.

Output window opens on the wrong monitor

• Use Bind monitors to reassign the screen to the correct physical display.
• When opening individually, pick the correct display in the monitor picker modal.

Output shows "Waiting for the presentation to start"

• Click Start in present mode to go live.
• Confirm you opened the output from the same presentation or service that is live.

Remote display does not wake

• Confirm the device is paired and online in Settings → **Screens`.
• Try Copy link and open the URL on the device manually.
• Use Open on display again — network delays can cause the first attempt to fail.

Output froze on an old slide

• Confirm present mode is still Live.
• Close and reopen the output from the screen grid.
• Refresh the output window as a last resort.

Auto-open did not open all screens

• Only ready local screens and paired remote displays auto-open.
• Unbound or missing local screens are skipped — bind monitors and open them manually.
• Check the toast for remote display failures.