Service present mode

Quick start

1. In Services, open a service that has multiple items (songs, announcements, etc.) and click Present. If Present is disabled, click Not ready — the setlist may be empty, or a presentation may already be live elsewhere.
2. The service filmstrip on the left (desktop) or top (mobile) lists every service item. Click an item to preview its slides. Each tile shows its screen layout and an Auto badge when automation is on. Use the ⋮ menu to Edit, change screen layout, Edit automation, or Move up / Move down. Drag the handle to reorder without leaving present.
3. Click Edit in the toolbar (or Edit from an item’s ⋮ menu) to open the presentation editor in a modal overlay. Close it when you are done — you stay on the present page.
4. Click Start when you are ready. The indicator turns Live.
5. Open at least one output from the bottom panel screen grid.
6. Use Next and Previous to advance slides within the current item. On the last slide, Next advances to the next service item automatically while live.
7. Click a different item in the service filmstrip to switch songs or segments — while live, this jumps the whole service to that item.

You should now be running the full worship set with synced outputs.

Deep dive

How service present differs from presentation present

Feature	Presentation present	Service present
Entry point	Single deck in Presentations	Ordered setlist in Services
Left strip	Slide filmstrip	Service item filmstrip + slide filmstrip
Live scope	One presentation	Entire service (one live session)
Screen layout	Bottom-panel dropdown (locked while live)	Per-item via filmstrip ⋮ → Change screen layout (allowed while live)
Edit slides	Toolbar Edit (modal editor)	Toolbar Edit or filmstrip ⋮ → Edit
Reorder setlist	N/A	Drag handle or Move up / Move down on filmstrip
Auto-advance	Stops at last slide	Next on last slide → next service item
Presenter views	Notes/chords for one deck	Notes/chords follow service item changes

Service present reuses the same operator workspace as presentation present mode — toolbar, preview, slide filmstrip, collapsible speaker notes, bottom panel, and annotations work the same way within each item.

You cannot start a service while any presentation in its setlist is already live on its own or part of another live service. The library shows Not ready with a fix link; opening present while blocked shows the same explanation instead of the operator.

Building the setlist

Add presentations to a service in the service builder (Services → open a service). Each entry is a service item pointing to a presentation. Reorder items in the builder to match your Sunday flow — or reorder from the present filmstrip on Sunday if you need a last-minute change. Present from the service workspace header opens this same present mode.

This article covers running the setlist live, not building it in the editor.

Service filmstrip

The service filmstrip shows a thumbnail and title for each item, numbered in setlist order. The active item has a highlighted border.

• In preview — clicking an item loads that presentation's slides into the slide filmstrip and preview without going live.
• While live — clicking an item switches the live service to that presentation immediately (switchToItem). Outputs and presenter views update to the new deck.
• ⋮ menu — Edit presentation opens the editor in a modal without leaving present; Change screen layout updates that deck’s layout (including while live); Edit automation opens the same automation dialog as the service builder; Move up / Move down reorder the setlist.
• Drag handle — drag to reorder items. The active item stays selected when order changes.
• Tile status — each tile shows the presentation’s screen layout name and an Auto badge (with slide duration) when automation is enabled.

On desktop the service filmstrip is vertical on the far left; on mobile it scrolls horizontally above the slide filmstrip.

Slide navigation within an item

The slide filmstrip and Next / Previous controls work like presentation present. Use them to move through slides in the current item.

While live, pressing Next on the last slide of an item automatically advances to the first slide of the next service item (if one exists).

Service live state

One Start / End toggle controls the entire service — not separate live sessions per item. All open outputs stay connected as you switch items.

When you End live, the service stops and you may be prompted to close local screen windows.

Presenter views in a service

Open Open speaker notes or Open chord charts from the bottom panel while in service present. The links include ?serviceId=... so the presenter view follows both slide changes and service item switches.

Always open presenter views from service present (not the presentation library) when running a full setlist. See Presenter views for details.

Screen layouts

Service present does not show a global screen layout dropdown. Each presentation item uses the layout assigned to that deck. Change an item’s layout from its filmstrip ⋮ menu (Change screen layout), including while live — open outputs may refresh. You can also configure layouts per presentation before Sunday; see Screens and layouts.

Editing without leaving present

Use toolbar Edit for the active item, or Edit presentation on any filmstrip item. The editor opens in a large modal. Saves sync to open outputs while live. Close the modal (or use Done in the editor) to return to present.

Automation controls

While live, automation controls may appear in the toolbar for items with auto-advance enabled — a pause/resume toggle and a slide timer dial on timed slides. See Live controls for automation details.

Tips

• Rehearse item switches in preview before Sunday — click through the service filmstrip to confirm each deck loads correctly.
• Use Edit (toolbar or ⋮) to fix lyrics or slides without ending live or leaving present.
• Change an item’s screen layout from its ⋮ menu if the wrong layout is assigned — including while live.
• Drag to reorder if the setlist order needs a last-minute tweak; the active item stays selected.
• Open chord charts from service present so musicians see the correct song when you switch items.
• Keep the service filmstrip visible on desktop — it is the fastest way to jump to a song out of order.
• Use Next through the last slide to flow naturally into the next item without clicking the filmstrip.
• End live during breaks if you do not want outputs showing stale content.

[!tip] If a song has no chord chart, the chords view shows a waiting message until you advance to a song that has chords.

Troubleshooting

Clicking a service item does nothing

• Wait for the item to finish loading — a busy state may appear while switching.
• Refresh and try again if the switch fails.

Outputs show the wrong presentation

• Confirm you are in service present, not presentation present for a single deck.
• Re-open outputs from the bottom panel after switching items if they appear stuck.

Chord charts show the wrong song

• Open chords from service present, not the presentation library.
• The URL should include ?serviceId=.... See Presenter views.

Next does not advance to the next item

• Next only auto-advances to the next item while Live.
• Confirm there is another item after the current one in the setlist.

I cannot change the screen layout

• Service present has no global layout dropdown. Use the filmstrip ⋮ menu → Change screen layout on the item you want to update.
• If save fails with a lock message, another person may be editing that presentation — wait or ask them to finish.

Edit modal will not open or save

• Confirm you have edit permission for the church.
• If another person holds the edit lock, request access or wait until they close the editor.
• After saving, open outputs should update while live; if a window looks stale, close and reopen it from the screen grid.

Reorder fails

• Another person may hold the service edit lock (for example in the service builder). Close that session and try again.
• Refresh the page if the setlist looks out of date after a failed reorder.