Screen layouts

Quick start

1. Create and bind screens first on Screens.
2. Open Settings → Screen layouts (/settings/screen-layouts). Church admins only.
3. Click New layout.
4. Enter a Layout name (for example Sunday Service).
5. Turn on Present for each screen this layout should drive.
6. Set Shows per screen (main slide, variant, speaker notes, or blank).
7. Click Save.
8. Click Make default if this is your church's standard layout.

You should see the layout in the list with a screen count and optional Default badge.

Deep dive

Layouts vs screens

• Screens (Screens settings) are hardware destinations.
• Screen layouts are templates that say what each screen shows during a presentation.

During a service, operators pick a layout in present mode (or assign one per presentation). See Screens and layouts for layout lock while live and the Open screens grid.

Prerequisites

The editor shows Add screens first if no screens exist. Click Manage screens to create them.

Only bound screens can be added to a layout:

• Local screens must be bound to a monitor on this computer
• Remote screens must be configured as remote in Screens

Unbound local screens show Bind to a monitor in Settings → Screens and cannot be toggled on until bound.

Include screens and set content

For each screen in the layout:

1. Turn on Present to include the screen
2. Choose Shows:
   • Main slide — audience slide
   • Variant 1–12 — specific content variant
   • Speaker notes — confidence monitor notes
   • Blank — empty output

For worship songs, map Variant 1 to a streaming lower third and Variant 2 to a confidence monitor when using Compose a worship presentation.

Expand Options per screen for overlays and styling.

Per-screen options

Option	Purpose
Blank when no variant exists	Show blank instead of falling back to main
Speaker notes / Scrollable notes	Notes overlay behavior
Next slide preview	Small preview of upcoming slide
Current time / Presentation time / Time on slide	Timer overlays
Mute audio	Silence audio on this screen
Notes font size / Text color / Background color	Speaker notes appearance

Exactly one unmuted screen should output audio. The editor warns when zero or multiple screens are unmuted.

Media start mode

At the layout level, choose Media start:

• Manual (operator clicks Play) — video elements wait for the operator
• Automatic (sync when outputs are ready) — video starts when outputs are ready

Background videos always play automatically. See Live controls for operator behavior during a service.

Mixed local and remote layouts

If a layout includes both Local and Remote screens, WorshipDeck shows a hint: local screens open from the presenter computer; remote screens must be opened on their device.

Default layout

Click Make default to set the church-wide default. Presentations without an assigned layout use this template (shown as Church default in present mode).

Only one layout can be default at a time.

Assigning layouts to presentations

Set a layout:

• In present mode — Screen layout dropdown before Start
• When creating or editing a presentation — layout selector in the toolbar

Service present uses each item's presentation layout — set them before Sunday.

Delete a layout

Delete removes the template. Presentations using it fall back to the church default.

Tips

• Start with a single-screen default layout; add complexity when you add hardware.
• Rehearse each layout in presentation present before using it in a service.
• Keep speaker notes on a dedicated screen with overlays, not on the audience projector.
• Use Variant routing when you send translations to a side screen.
• Review unbound-screen warnings on the presentation computer you use on Sunday.

[!note] In presentation present, the bottom-panel layout picker locks while Live — End, change layout, then Start again. In service present, change an item’s layout from the setlist ⋮ menu anytime. See Screens and layouts.

Troubleshooting

Cannot turn on a screen in the layout editor

• Bind local screens on this computer under Screens.
• Configure remote screens and pair displays before including them.

No unmuted screen warning

• Unmute exactly one screen that should carry audio (usually the main projector).
• Speaker notes screens are excluded from the unmuted count.

Layout changes do not appear on outputs

• End live, change the layout, start again, and reopen outputs. See Outputs and displays.

Deleted screen in a layout

• A missing screen shows Deleted screen — edit the layout and remove or replace it.

Presentations use the wrong layout

• Check per-presentation layout assignment, or set Make default for the church standard.