Running a Service
Everything you show in Crater follows the same path:
Library or Schedule ──click──▶ Preview ──double-click / Enter──▶ Live ──▶ ProjectorPreview is your private staging area. Live is what the room sees. Nothing reaches the screen until you send it live.
Before the service
- Connect the projector and check the right screen is selected in the menu next to Go Live. See First Launch.
- Load your schedule from the Schedule ▾ button, or build one. See Schedules.
- Click Go Live to open the projection window. It shows whatever was last sent live.
- If you want the logo up while people arrive, click Logo.
Go Live opens the window
The Go Live button opens the projection window and End Live closes it. Sending an item live (below) changes what's on the window. Both need to happen before the room sees anything. You can open the window first and send content later, or line up content first and open the window when you're ready.
Putting something in Preview
Any of these load an item into Preview without the room seeing it:
- Click a row in any library tab (a song, a verse, a picture, a presentation).
- Use Up and Down in a library search box.
- Click a row in the schedule.
- Pick a result in global search (Ctrl + K).
Preview shows the item split into slides: one per song section, verse or page. The header shows which slide is selected, for example Preview · 2 / 5.
Sending it live
| To send... | Do this |
|---|---|
| The selected Preview slide | Double-click it, or press Enter after clicking in Preview |
| A schedule item | Double-click the row, or right-click it and choose Send to Live |
| A library item, straight from the library | Double-click it, press Enter in the search box, or right-click it and choose Push to Live |
Send to Live on a schedule row also opens the projection window if it's closed. The other ways change what's live without opening the window.
The item appears in the Live panel with the red LIVE badge.
Moving through slides
Once an item is live:
- Click any slide in the Live panel to put it on screen straight away.
- Click in the Live panel, then press Up or Down to step backwards and forwards. Each press changes the screen.
Lining up a slide before showing it
When the worship leader jumps to a different section, you can find it without flashing through every slide on the way:
- Click any slide in the Live panel so the Live panel has the keyboard.
- Hold Ctrl and press Up or Down. A gold highlight moves through the slides while the screen stays where it is.
- Let go of Ctrl. The highlighted slide goes on screen.
Advancing automatically
Turn on Settings > Song > Auto-advance slides to move to the next slide after a set delay (5 to 60 seconds). Loop at end starts again from the first slide. The timer restarts whenever you change slide by hand and pauses while Clear is on. It works for anything live with more than one slide, including multi-verse scripture and presentations.
Controlling the screen
| Button | Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Clear | Ctrl + C or Ctrl + . | Hides the text and keeps the theme background. It stays on when you send new items, so you can line things up quietly. Press again to bring the text back. |
| Logo | Ctrl + L | Fades the content out and shows your logo background. Press again to return. |
| End Live | Esc in the projection window | Closes the projection window. The live content is kept, so Go Live brings it straight back. |
Set a picture or video as your logo background by right-clicking it on the Media tab and choosing Set as Logo Background. Without one, the logo screen shows the word CRATER.
Ctrl + C clears the screen
In the console, Ctrl + C toggles Clear, even while you're typing in a library search box. To copy a verse, use the copy button above the Scripture list or in the Preview panel.
Handling surprises
Someone calls out a verse. Click the Scripture tab, type the reference (for example rom 8 28) and press Enter. Or press Ctrl + K from anywhere, type the reference and press Enter to line it up in Preview.
The band repeats a chorus. Click that chorus in the Live panel, or line it up with Ctrl + Up/Down.
You need a song that isn't in the schedule. Search for it on the Songs tab (by title, author or a line of lyrics) and double-click it. Press Ctrl + T to add it to the schedule as well.
A typo is on screen. Fix it in the song editor (or edit just the schedule copy, see Schedules). What's already live doesn't change until you click a slide in the Live panel or send the item again.
Videos and pictures
- Videos start playing as soon as they go live. By default they loop. Turn off Loop video in the item's Edit… dialog to play once.
- Video sound plays through the computer's speakers or sound system while the video is live.
- To stop a video, send something else live.
- PDFs appear one page per slide. Move through the pages like any other slides.
See Media for fit, crop and other options.
After the service
- Click End Live to close the projection window.
- Save the schedule with Ctrl + S if you want to keep it. Crater also keeps your working schedule between sessions automatically.