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Importing files into WorshipSession

WorshipSession is primarily song projection software,
but its scope is much wider than showing songs and Bible verses.
Because the system is based on HTML, it can display graphics, video
and other elements. This article describes how these elements
can be copied into WorshipSession.

Introduction - Songs, Bible verses, and files

WorshipSession is based on Web technology, and everything it displays is a file, or part of a file. Usually the files are in sub-folders of the WorshipSession folder.

When you press F12 to insert a song, WorshipSession uses its index of songs to find a “URL” (Uniform Resource Locator) for the song. If you press F10 to insert a Bible verse, WorshipSession processes the Bible reference into a URL, and displays that. In both cases WorshipSession displays an ordinary HTML file, or part of a file, from your disc.

If you press F11, you need to find the file yourself. You can display any file or Web page - anything at all that has a URL. WorshipSession displays a list of all the files in its own folder, but you can enter any URL and WorshipSession will display it. To use F11 effectively, you need to understand the WorshipSession folder structure.

All about WorshipSession folders

This is the folder map for a typical installation, copied from Windows Explorer. The actual WorshipSession code is in the “utils” folder, and all the other folders exist to organise the various files that can be displayed.

WorshipSession doesn’t need such a big folder structure - it would work equally well with all the files in one folder, but these folders exist to help you to find files, and understand what’s going on. Most of the folders include a file called index.html, containing details about the way we use that folder.

/audio	We usually put sound effects, CD tracks and other music in here.
/backgrounds	Inspiring full-screen backgrounds, and also smaller backgrounds for songs.
/Bible/***	Full HTML Bible text for each version.
/documentation	WorshipSession User Guide.
/Interactives	Various files including "clever" HTML. Usually these files are accessed through "<F12># ...".
/Kidz Klub	All the songs and graphics we use at our mid-week childrens club.
/Liturgy	We don’t really use any, but if you do, it’s good to keep it organised!
ws_session	When you begin a new Session, WorshipSession creates the Session in here.
/Preaching	We put sermon notes here - often they’re PowerPoint presentations. The folder contains some example HTML pages that demonstrate WorshipSession’s interactive teaching capabilities.
/songs	Songs downloaded from the WorshipSession server are appended to the files in here.
/localsongs	Songs added by the "A1" Utility are appended to the files in here.
/spacers	Various inspiring and generally useful words and pictures.
/today	Any press clippings, pictures etc prepared for a specific occasion.
/utils	Files containing the actual WorshipSession program code.
/video	A place to keep all my huge AVI and MPG files. If I run out of disc space, I’ll delete these first!

Image files are usually placed in a sub-folder called images. The folder containing the church logo image is /spacers/images.

This is the list of files in the /spacers/images folder (Note - your list may differ slightly). They are mostly quite large images that support the various pages in our Demonstration Session. If you add more “spacers” for use in your church, you might put their images here.

The churchlogo.gif example image includes a transparent background for use with the “Welcome” page, although if you use an image with no transparency, it will work equally well. Just overwrite this file with your own logo image and it will automatically be used. You should make your logo quite large - between 400 and 700 pixels across.

If you prefer to use a jpg image rather than a gif (because jpeg images allow more colours), you will need to change the HTML code in /spacers/welcome.html and /spacers/churchlogo.html.

If you need help preparing your church logo for use on screen, contact Delta Lights, the makers of WorshipSession.