Deck Builder

Deck Builder is the service-order workspace. Sections organise the service; cues are the items Presenter shows or plays.

Know the three panes

• Library on the left: reusable Media, Widgets, Lyrics, and Bibles.
• Deck in the centre: sections and cue cards in presentation order.
• Properties on the right: settings and subitems for the selected cue. While presenting, this area also contains Live View and live controls.

Resize the Library or Properties pane by dragging its divider. Double-click a divider to restore its default width. Select a cue to open Properties. While stopped, the pin keeps it open; its automatic hiding and dimming options are under Settings → Rendering & performance. Properties stays open while presenting so subitems and playback controls remain available.

Build a service order

1. Use Add Section and give the section a clear service name.
2. Choose a Library tab and drag an item into the section, or use the item's + to choose a destination. Opening the Library with a section's + lets you add several items directly to that section. A loose cue that is not inside a named section appears under General.
3. Drag cues or complete sections to reorder them. The amber insertion line shows where the item will land.
4. Select a cue to set its behavior in Properties, including advance mode, looping, linked translation, media fit, or cue-specific styling where supported.
5. Review lyrics stanzas, Bible slides, and PDF pages under Subitems before going live.

Deck changes are saved immediately. Use the toolbar or ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z for undo and Shift+⌘Z / Ctrl+Y for redo.

Return to earlier work

Back / Forward in the title bar revisit earlier workspace locations, such as a selected cue, song, Library tab or folder. They leave live output unchanged. Use ⌘[ / ⌘] on macOS or Alt+Left / Alt+Right on Windows and Linux. Undo / Redo remains the way to reverse document edits.

The Time Machine clock opens saved deck and song history, which stays available after restarting Presenter:

1. Choose a date. Materials shows content used that day; Changes shows recorded edits. Search stays on that date until you choose Search all dates.
2. Select an entry to preview it without changing the current deck or live output. Changes → Saved versions… shows recoverable document versions.
3. Use + on a historical cue to choose where to recover it. To drag an available material into the current deck, first choose Return to current; the history pane stays open.
4. To replace the current document, stop presenting and choose Restore this version…, then confirm. Presenter saves the previous work as Before restore, including across later edits and restarts.

Time Machine starts recording when the feature is installed. It saves deck content and song text, but does not copy original image, video, audio or PDF files. Missing or replaced media cannot be recovered from this history; keep a local or online backup for those files.

Image and video drops

Dropping one image or video onto the middle of a compatible lyrics, Bible, audio, countdown, or QR-link cue sets it as that cue's background. Presenter shows a blue Set Background overlay before you drop.

To insert the file as a separate media cue, drop at the thin left or right edge of the cue, between cues, or in empty section space. Follow the preview shown during the drag; that preview is the action Presenter will perform.

How cues advance

Default slides

The deck default is the fallback slide. Choose it under View → Default slide, or right-click Library media and choose Use as deck default slide. A section's … → Default slide can follow the deck default, use its own media, or explicitly stay blank. Show default slide controls whether that slide appears between the section's cues. Removing a section override returns it to the deck default.

This is different from Blank: Blank hides the current output until you unblank or advance.

Start at the intended place

• The title-bar Present button starts on the selected section or cue after its two-step confirmation. With no selection, it falls back to the first enabled, non-empty section or the first loose cue.
• To start on a particular stanza, Bible slide, or PDF page, select that subitem and press Space twice, or use its green play control twice.
• Hidden cues and disabled sections cannot be started.

Design-mode shortcuts

Open Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts → Deck Builder (design mode) for the complete list.

• Space: two-step start on the current selection.
• ⌘B / Ctrl+B: show or hide the Library.
• ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z: undo.
• Shift+⌘Z / Ctrl+Y: redo.
• Arrow keys: move through items when the deck or Library has focus.