Live tools

Around the main content there are a few live tools: Program shows exactly what the audience sees and clears it, and the Live panel runs countdowns, messages, props and announcement loops. They live in the right-hand column of every workspace.

Program

The Program panel is a live preview of one screen (choose which with the menu above it). It shows a red ON AIR tag when something is on screen and lists only the layers that are currently up.

Layer	What it is	Clear key
Slide	The verse, song lyric or slide on screen	F2
Media	A presentation slide, picture or video	F3
Background	The picture or video behind everything	F4
Logo	Clear to your logo	F5
Timer	A countdown	F6
Announce	The announcement loop	F7
Props	Small badges and pictures	F8
Message	A message to the audience	F9
Clear all	Everything at once	F1

Click a layer button to clear only that layer, so you can drop a message and leave the verse up. A background that is held back while media covers it shows as held (dashed) rather than live: see Backgrounds step aside for media. Also in Program: Copy link, Open on screen, the Logo button with its picture picker, and Split when a split screen is held.

Timer: countdowns

Use the Timer tab for a service countdown, a break timer or a stopwatch.

• For counts down a length (type 5:00 or minutes). Until counts down to a clock time. Up counts up from 0:00.
• Quick buttons start 1, 3, 5, 10 or 15 minutes. Pause, and add or take off a minute while it runs.
• Add a label, for example Service starts in.
• Choose how it shows on screens, and which timer to run if you have several.

You can also drop a live timer into any slide you design: use the Timer button in the slide designer.

Message: audience messages

Pick a message template, fill in its blanks, choose how long to show it, and press Show. Templates have named fields you fill in (a template might read “Parents of [name], please go to [place]”), so sending one takes seconds. A message appears on screens that have Show messages turned on.

Stage: messages for the preacher

The Stage tab sends text, or a short countdown (mm:ss), to the stage monitors only, never to the congregation or the livestream. The tab names the stage monitors it will go to. If none exists, add one in Screens with the type Stage monitor.

Props

Props are small things that stay on screen: a text badge (“LIVE”, “Nursery open”) or a picture such as a QR code. Create one with a name, choose text or a picture, then set its position, size, colours and opacity. Switch props on and off from the list. Clear them all with F8.

Announce: the announcement loop

Pick an announcement deck and press start. Each slide holds for the deck’s auto-advance time (8 seconds if none is set), and videos play to the end. It shows above slides and lyrics, on screens with Show announcements turned on (full screens by default). Slides you have left out of the loop are skipped.

The logo

Choose a logo once from the Program panel. F5 (or the Logo button) then clears the screens to your logo, a good resting state between items.