Presenting overview

Quick start

1. Open Presentations to build or choose a single deck (song, sermon, announcement).
2. Open Services when you need an ordered worship setlist with multiple decks for Sunday.
3. Click Present on a presentation or service to open present mode — your operator console.
4. Click Start when you are ready for audience screens to follow your actions.
5. Open at least one output from the bottom panel so the congregation can see slides.
6. Use Next and Previous (or the filmstrip) to advance slides while live. Use Edit if you need to fix a slide without leaving present.

You should now see the current slide on your outputs and a preview in present mode.

Deep dive

Presentation vs service

A presentation is a single deck of slides — one song, one sermon, one announcement, or any standalone slideshow. Build and store presentations in Presentations.

A service (an ordered worship setlist, not a Windows service) is a list of service items. Each service item points to a presentation. Use Services when you need to run multiple decks in order on Sunday — for example, welcome slides, then three songs, then a sermon deck.

In one sentence: a presentation is one deck; a service is Sunday's ordered lineup of decks.

Present mode, outputs, and presenter views

Present mode is the operator console where you preview slides, go live, and control what the congregation sees. It is not what the audience watches. From present you can also Edit a deck in a modal overlay without navigating away — see Presentation present mode and Service present mode.

An output is what the congregation sees on a screen — the slide image, lyrics, or media on a projector, TV, or stream. You open outputs from the bottom panel in present mode.

Presenter views — speaker notes and chord charts — are for the stage or podium, not the audience. Open them in a separate tab or device. See Presenter views for details.

Preview vs live

Before Go live, you can browse slides and plan your flow in preview. Outputs do not follow your preview actions until you go live.

When live, the green indicator shows realtime sync is active. Outputs, presenter views, and the operator preview stay in sync as you advance slides. End live when the gathering is done or during a break.

Typical Sunday workflow

flowchart LR
    A[Build decks in Presentations] --> B[Add items to a Service]
    B --> C[Open Service present]
    C --> D[Go live]
    D --> E[Open outputs]
    E --> F[Advance slides and switch items]
    F --> G[End live]

1. Build individual presentations during the week.
2. Add them to a service in the order you will run them.
3. Before the gathering, configure screens and layouts if you use multiple outputs.
4. Open service present mode (or presentation present mode for a single deck).
5. Go live, open outputs and displays, and run the service with live controls.
6. Open presenter views on separate devices for speakers and musicians.

Screen and layout setup lives under Settings → Screens and Screen layouts. You do not need to configure those every week once your church's outputs are set up.

Where to go next

• Single-deck present UI — Presentation present mode
• Full worship setlist — Service present mode
• Notes and chord charts — Presenter views
• Multi-screen setup — Screens and layouts
• Opening projector windows — Outputs and displays
• Advancing slides while live — Live controls

Tips

• Build presentations during the week; use a service to run them in order on Sunday.
• Open presenter views from service present when charts need to follow the live song.
• Test outputs before the service starts — popup blockers can block local screen windows.
• On Windows presentation PCs, install the automatic fullscreen tool once so multi-monitor outputs do not need a click each.
• Assign a screen layout to each presentation before you go live. In presentation present the bottom-panel layout locks while live; in service present you can change an item’s layout from the setlist ⋮ menu.
• Use preview to walk through slides without affecting the congregation.
• Use Edit in present for last-minute fixes without ending live.

[!tip] Pin the Help sidebar article you use most. Start with this overview, then jump to the article for the page you are on.

Troubleshooting

I am not sure whether to use a presentation or a service

• Use a presentation when you only need one deck (a single song, announcement, or sermon).
• Use a service when Sunday includes multiple decks in a fixed order.

Outputs show nothing

• Confirm you clicked Go live.
• Open at least one output from the bottom panel — see Outputs and displays.
• Check that the output window is still open; browsers may close popups.

Presenter notes show the wrong song

• Open notes or chords from service present (not the presentation library) so they follow the live service item.
• See Presenter views for the ?serviceId=... workflow.