Chapter points in this section:

Introduction
Operating the Utilities
Song Utilities (A1..A4)
Session Utilities (B1..B3)
WorshipSession Utilities (C1..C4)
Setup and maintenance (D1..D4)
HTML Editor for Liturgy (E1)
In-place edit of songs

Introduction

When WorshipSession is running, it is continually in “display mode”. Since it is designed for use with a single-screen computer system, there are no management functions in the program itself.

If you press F2, the WorshipSession program closes, and the “Utilities” menu is shown.

The Utilities menu provides links to utilities for managing songs, printing the Session, and various other tasks. Unlike WorshipSession itself, it is displayed in a standard window, and you can resize or maximise it if you need more space.

Since the utilities are written in standard HTML, you can right-click with the mouse and select Print if you want to print out any page.

Operating the Utilities

The various Utilities in the Menu are arranged into four panels labeled A - D. The functions within the panels are labeled 1, 2, 3 etc. You can access the functions by clicking on the hyperlink, and you can also use the keyboard by typing the panel letter, then the function number, like “A4”. This letter/number form is a convenient, unambiguous way to refer to individual functions, and is used throughout this guide. Just as in WorshipSession the functions are written like F11, F12, so in the Utilities, we write functions like “A3”, “C4”.

Throughout the Utilities functions, you can usually press F2 to return directly to the main WorshipSession display.

Song Utilities (A1..A4)

Use this section for adding new songs, or editing those you already have in your index. Connect to the WorshipSession Internet server to check for updates, or add your own files into the index for easy access.

“A1” Utility - Add Song

Use this Utility if you want to enter a new song into WorshipSession. Type the words of the song into the type-in box, enter all the information about the song (Title, Author, Year, Publisher, Key, CCL song number) in the various boxes, then press Add Song.

If you want to add a song that already exists as a presentation item on your disc (for example “MyNewSong.html”) you should use the Add Item (“A2”) Utility instead.

If the song has a Title that is different to its first line, You should enter both the first line and the Title in the box, separated with a vertical bar “|” character, as in this example:

This enables WorshipSession to find the song by either its first line or Title. You may also want to enter the first line of the chorus, or any other phrase by which you may search for the song. When you search for Items in worshipSession using F12, Items matching other than by first line will be shown in italic.

Add Song shows boxes for Author, Year, Publisher, Key, and CCL song number, and you should enter this information if you have it to hand. The musical key is useful for musicians, and the other fields are required for your CCL copy report. (WorshipSession logs all the songs it projects to help you make your CCL report - see the “C2” Utility.) If you don’t have access to all the information, you can still enter the song, then add the other fields later using EditSong (“A3”).

You can also assign one or more “Filter fields” to the song. These enable the song to be shown or hidden according to WorshipSession’s Filter settings. See the “C1”; Utility below for details. Note that using Filters can lead to unexpected results, and you do not need to use them at all.

Add Song includes a type-in box to enter the words of the song, and facilities for entering guitar chords. Before using the type-in box for the first time, you should read the instructions here.

Style sheets and Soundtracks

Underneath the type-in box, Add Song has boxes to enter the filename of a stylesheet (the css file is assumed to be in the /style folder) and a soundtrack:

“A2” Utility - Add Item

Use this Utility if you want to add a file into WorshipSession’s database. Enter all the information about the Item in the various boxes, then press Add Item.

You can refer to the Item by more than one name - for example if the Item is a song it may have a Title that is different to its first line. Enter both the first line and the Title in the box, separated with a vertical bar “|” character, as in this example:

This enables WorshipSession to find the file by either its first line or Title. You can also add any other phrase by which you may search for the Item. When you search for Items in worshipSession using F12, Items matching other than by first line will be shown in italic.

If the Item is not a song, you may find it useful to use a distinctive initial character. For example all the interactive examples supplied with WorshipSession have Titles prefixed with #, and all our “spacer” Items begin with (. This groups similar Items together, and keeps them separate from the song Items.

Apart from # and (, we use " for background music and sound effects, and ! for liturgy, corporate prayers and other declarations. There are plenty of other, non-alphabetic characters available, and you can use any keys except ' and , (apostrophy and comma) - these characters are removed when WorshipSession looks for Items.

Add Item shows boxes for Author, Year, Publisher, Key, and CCL song number. These may not apply to your Item, but if the Item is a song you should add them. The musical key is useful for musicians, and the other fields are required for your CCL copy report. (WorshipSession logs all the songs it projects to help you make your CCL report - see the “C2” Utility.) If you don’t have access to all the information, you can still enter the Item, then add the other fields later using Edit Item (“A3”).

The Browse button allows you to find the file - it is the same utility employed in WorshipSession, and starts browsing at the WorshipSession folder.

In general it is a good idea to store your Items in the WorshipSession folder, perhaps in a sub-folder called “MyItems”, or whatever.

Note that if the file you are adding is stored in a sub-folder of WorshipSession’s folder, The URL stored by the “A2” Utility will be relative - for example if the URL says

C:\Program Files\WorshipSession\MyItems\Arise and shine.html

The URL actually stored in the system will be “MyItems/Arise and shine.html”. This may be useful if you want to copy the Item to another computer using the “B2” Utility. “B2” can only copy Items that are stored in the WorshipSession folder.

You can also assign one or more “Filter fields” to the file. These enable the Item to be shown or hidden according to WorshipSession’s Filter settings. See the “C1”; Utility below for details. Note that using Filters incorrectly can lead to unexpected results, and you do not need to use them at all.

“A3” Utility - Edit Item

Use the Edit Item Utility to change the words of a song, or any of the information relating to it.

To find a song, type a few characters from the first line, then press Find. The first matching song will be loaded, and you can use the Prev and Next buttons or keyboard arrow keys to find the song you want. WorshipSession stores songs alphabetically by first line.

If you press the Find button without entering the name of a song, Edit Item attempts to load the current Item from the Session.

Edit Item includes a type-in box to edit the words of songs, and facilities for entering guitar chords. Before using the type-in box for the first time, you should read the instructions here. The type-in box will also show the contents of other HTML Items, but in general you should not use it to edit any HTML that was not created using the “A1” Utility.

Style sheets and Soundtracks

Underneath the type-in box, Edit Item has boxes to enter the filename of a stylesheet (the css file is assumed to be in the /style folder) and a soundtrack:

When you have finished changing the Item, press Rewrite Item or use Ctrl-S to save the changes in the database.

You can perform basic editing of songs right on the WorshipSession main screen. For details, see in-place editing below.

Advanced functions in Edit Item

Edit Item conceals a number of rarely-used functions behind its Rewrite Item button. To access these functions, Hold down the shift key while pressing the Rewrite Item button.

Take care - these functions are not for the faint-hearted.
Ensure that you know how the Advanced functions work before you use them.

Edit URLShows / edits the current URL for this Item.
N.B. You should not change the URL of song Items. Setting the URL incorrectly will cause faults.
Duplicate ItemCreates a new index entry for the Item. In the case of song Items, this also copies the Item text, allowing you to create derived Items, such as a special format for a particular occasion.
N.B. If the Item is not a song, the actual Item will not be copied - the new Index entry will point to the same HTML file as the original entry. You can use Edit URL above to change the URL.
Delete ItemUseful if you find you have accidentally added a song twice, or you want to remove extra Items created for a special occasion, such as by Duplicate Item above. The Item is removed from teh index, but the actual HTML will not be deleted.

“A4” Utility - Download

The Download Utility lets you keep your song database up to date by downloading the latest songs from the WorshipSession server. You can also download useful presentation resources, which can be used directly or modified to suit your requirements. Updates to WorshipSession program code can also be downloaded.

Downloading from WorshipSession.info

The WorshipSession Internet Server contains the complete library of over 1000 songs, together with collections of HTML pages that may be useful in your situation, either for use “as is”, or to form the basis for your own modifications.

NOTE: You must register and purchase the software before you can download Items from the WorshipSession Server. You can register using “D1” and begin downloading immediately, but prior to your payment being received, your membership will be limited to a total of 50 downloaded Items, or 90 days usage.

When you purchase the software you will have unlimited access to the server for a period of 2 years, after which you may choose to continue your subscription.

The Download Utility contacts the Server and loads a menu of different indexes. Open the drop-down list to see the various types of Items available.

Download can even update the WorshipSession program itself. By selecting the “WorshipSession program modules” option, download a file that automatically updates your installation.

Select the type of Items you want to download, then click the hyperlink to open the index on the server. Note this may take a minute or more if you are using a slow Internet connection. Download shows a list of Items on the server that are not already loaded into WorshipSession.

You may see Items that are already loaded - for example where the server version includes chords, or has been revised more recently. If an item shows a little Revised label, you can hover your mouse over the label to see the revision dates for the Item.

Select the Items you want to download, or use the ‘All’ button to select all the Items. You can choose to put the downloaded Items into a new Session - this provids a convenient way to copy them onto other computers using the “B2” Export and Import Utilities.

Session Utilities (B1..B3)

“The Session” is simply the list of Items that you want WorshipSession to display. Generally you prepare the list of songs, scriptures and other Items in advance of a worship meeting, and you can print it out to share with musicians, etc. You may also need to copy your Session onto removable storage if you need to display it on a different computer.

“B1” Utility - Display Session (for printing)

If you prepare a Session for use in a worship service, you may want to print out the list of Items to give to musicians / service leaders etc. The “B1” Utility prints 4 Session lists to a page.

“B2” Utilities - Export and Import

You may prepare a list of songs, Bible readings and other Items for use in church, but you need to load them onto a different ('destination') computer to project them. The “B2” Utilities can Export your list to a floppy disc or other storage, then Import it on the other computer.

Session files can be read directly in WorshipSession. If the Session file is on a floppy disc, you can type <F11>a:\my session.xml<Enter>. The Items from the floppy will be added into the Session already on the computer. This is simpler than using Import, but does not allow ‘deep copying’.

Export and Import are useful for distributing new songs around the computers in your organisation. If you Download (“A4”) or Add (“A1”) new songs, the “B2” Utility can export these songs to removable storage such a floppy disc. As well as copying the Session list, “B2” can copy the HTML Items themselves, including any linked stylesheets, images etc. This is known as “deep copying”.

Using “B2” Export is very simple. Just enter the path to the removable storage
(for the floppy drive this would be A:\ or if you are using a Flash Card or USB storage device, it might be E:\) - then press the “Copy Now” button.

To “deep copy” your Session Items, ensure the “Deep Copy” box is ticked before pressing the “Copy Now” button.

Notes:

Importing from removable storage

If you have used the “B2” Export Utility on another computer to copy Items to a floppy disc or other removable storage, you can Import them to this computer. In the Import section of “B2”, enter the path to the session xml file on the removable disc (If you’re using a floppy, this would usually be a:\ws_session\your file.xml), then press “Click here to open”.

You can use the Browse.. button to help you find the file.

The Utility shows a list of Items in the Session. For each Item, you can choose to import the HTML (or other file), And to add the Item to your Session.

If an Item is:
  • Already loaded on the computer,
  • A Bible Passage,
  • A Message,
the import option is not offered, but you can still choose to add it to your Session. You can add Items to your Session without importing them, but this could cause display problems - for example if you add an image or song that is not present on your computer, WorshipSession will display a broken link or a blank screen.

When importing songs, you can sometimes overwrite Items that are already loaded - for example where the version on the backup includes chords, or has been revised more recently. If an item shows a little Revised  label, you can hover your mouse over the label to see the revision dates for the Item.

Automatically copy registration details

Using Import to copy songs in this way may also copy your WorshipSession registration details from one machine to another. When you register your copy of WorshipSession (see “D1” - registration utility), your registration details are recorded on your computer, and the Export Utility copies these details along with songs. If Import finds registration details on the floppy disc, and the destination computer has no registration, you will see a message like this:

Press OK to copy the registration details from the floppy disc.

“B3” Utility - Initialise Default Session

It’s a brand new week, and you want to clear out last week’s Session Items and begin a “clean sheet” for your next worship meeting. In WorshipSession you press F4, and a new Session is started.

But typically you don’t want the new Session to be completely empty, because there are some Items you always expect to need - perhaps you have a “Welcome” message, or some standard notices or musical items that you expect to show every week. (Since WorshipSession is based on HTML, there is huge scope for creativity in this area. There are some ideas in the Interactive Examples pages available for download.)

The “B3” Utility allows you to specify what Items should appear in a new Session. To operate “B3”, first go into WorshipSession and set up your Session so it looks just as you want your new Sessions to look (including the Current Item position where new Items will be added), then press F2 to go to Utilities, and “B3”. You will see your Session Items displayed. Press the Set Default button to copy the list into the default Session, which will be used next time you press F4.

Other WorshipSession Utilities (C1..C4)

This section contains various Utilities that don’t fit into the “A” or “B” sections. Mostly they’re the sort of administrative functions you use rarely.

“C1” Utility - Song Browser / Filter management

The “C1” Song Browser Utility shows a big list of all the songs in the WorshipSession song indexes. You can see authors and keys, and select songs to add to your Session.

WorshipSession includes a large number of songs, and individual Items can be shown and hidden based on Filter fields. The “C1” Utility manages those fields, and set the Filters that WorshipSession will use.

There are two “Filter management” panels - You can change the Filter fields that WorshipSession will use, and you can also use temporary filters to see only certain classes of songs in the Song Browser, for example only Christmas songs, or only in the key of E.

Song filtering is an advanced topic, and you may choose to operate WorshipSession without any Filters. Before setting any filters, please read the separate Filtering Items article, which describes in detail how to use the “C1” Utility.

The WS Filters management panel allows you to create new filter types, and to set the Filters that control which songs can be accessed in WorshipSession, using the F12 key.

The Browser Filters management panel has no effect outside of the song browser, and its settings initially reflect the WorshipSession Filter settings. You can use this panel to test the operation of your Filters, and also to view certain categories of songs, to make selection easier.

You can choose to see songs set in particular keys, by entering the key in the box. Remember to use a Capital letter. You can combine several keys using a vertical bar character, like D|E.

You can specify a word or phrase that must appear in songs. Note that the search mechanism is not case-sensitive, but it is very literalistic. If you search for Rejoice, my soul it will match rejoice, my soul but not Rejoice my soul. Also note that search strings cannot span line breaks.

You can specify that songs should only be listed if they have a Soundtrack assigned to them. Use the “A3” Utility to assign soundtracks to songs.

The panel also includes a “Sort by” option, so you can group songs by keys, or show songs that have been used recently. If you choose the “Recently used” option, the Utility shows the date when the song was most recently projected. Songs that have not been used at all are shown at the bottom of the list. (NOTE: This feature currently only works for songs that have a CCL song number, since the “projected date” logging feature is primarily intended for CCL usage reporting.)

Setting Filters for songs

Each song in the list can have one or more filters assigned to it. Click on the Filter: link to set Filters for the song.

Adding songs to the Session

If you click on a song title, “C1” shows the text of the song, and offers to add it to your Session. The song will be added at the “current position” in the Session.

“C2” Utility - Display recently used songs

WorshipSession keeps a record of all the songs it projects. This is primarily to help you make your periodic reports to the CCL, but you might also use it to find out - What was that song we did three weeks ago!

Note: When you select “C2”, the Utility opens in a separate Internet Explorer Window, so that you can print it and / or copy sections, as with a normal Web page.

The Utility shows three drop-down boxes, where you can select the start of the logging period. When you change the date, the page updates immediately.

Notes:

“C3” Utility - Set Global Style

WorshipSession is based on HTML, so there is limitless scope for configuring the appearance of songs and other Items. You can set the font, size, weight, colour, margins, line spacing, background, and just about everything using Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) rules.

When you first install WorshipSession it uses a “black background, pale text” style. We like this style because it provides strong contrast, and also removes the requirement for a margin, enabling you to use the whole projection space for text. (See our article “Black is the new white” on the WorshipSession Web site.)

Some users prefer a “black on white” style, where WorshipSession looks more like an Overhead Projector, with a white screen and dark text.

You can also use more creative styles, with coloured text, and photographic backgrounds. Note: using a coloured or patterned background reduces the legibility of the text, and may not be as effective as you would like, because of the lighting conditions in your venue. You should always try out creative styles “in situ” before committing to them.

WorshipSession allows you to apply stylesheets to individual Items, and you can also modify the “Global Style” applied to songs and Bible verses. There are four style sheets that control the major elements of style. All these files are in the /Style folder:

ws_song.cssRules that control how song Items are shown
ws_display.cssStyle for the “Background Pane” behind the main display, the Global Transitions, and the status line.
ws_session.cssRules that control the appearance of the Session Display
ws_Bible.cssRules that control the formatting of Bible verses

You can use a simple text editor such as Notepad to edit these files - there are extensive comments in the files to help you find your way around. The “C3” Utility replaces all four files on a global basis, selecting from several listed.

The Utility simply copies CSS files from one of several sub-folders of the /style folder, overwriting the current Global Style rules. If you’re familiar with CSS, you can add a new sub-folder for your own creative styles - for example you may create a brightly coloured global style for your children’s work, and have a more subdued one for your adult worship times. The “C3” Utility allows you to switch easily between different styles.

See the separate article Establishing a House Style for more details.

If a Style sub-folder begins with a numeral, like 3-Dark Casual, it can be quickly loaded in WorshipSession, without having to use the “C3” Utility. Just hold Ctrl, and type the number, like 3. The stylesheets are copied immediately, and the Current Item is reloaded. You can rename your “House Style” folders so that they begin with 1 and 2, (remembering to rename others so that they don’t!) Then it’s convenient to change style if you need to.

You can download new Global Style folders from the WorshipSession server, either to use “as is”, or to form the basis for your own creativity.

“C4” Utility - Visit the WorshipSession Web site

This is just a simple Web link - it opens worshipsession.info in a separate window.

Setup and maintenance Utilities (D1..D4)

This section is mostly concerned with setting up WorshipSession the way you want it.

“D1” Utility - Register your copy of WorshipSession

If you downloaded WorshipSession it is fully functional, but includes only a small number of songs. To gain access to the library of songs on the WorshipSession server you need to register as a user of the software using the “D1” utility.

If you bought WorshipSession on CD, you will already have the complete library of songs that was current when the disc was made. You should register as a user to receive support and updates, and you will also be able to download the latest songs as they appear on the server.

Notes:

Before using the “D1” Utility, you must have your CCL Licence number to hand. Access to the WorshipSession server can only be granted to organisations holding a valid copyright Licence. If you allow your Licence to lapse, your right to project copyrighted songs in public meetings also lapses.

Enter your contact email, and the name and address of your organisation into the boxes on the form. WorshipSession will display your Church / organisation name continually at the bottom of the screen, so you should ensure this is correct. Also double-check your email address, since the server will send you an email to confirm your address.

If you bought WorshipSession on CD, enter your CD Key in the box provided. You will find the CD key printed on the packaging of the disc.

Leave the WorshipSession Licence ID field blank, unless you already have an ID. Your Licence ID will be supplied by the server.

Privacy note. The WorshipSession team will treat your contact details as confidential, and will not pass on any details to a third party. From time to time we may send you news of new versions, downloadable resources, etc, but you can opt out of these mailings.

Data Protection note. The WorshipSession team stores information pertaining to your registration on a computer system. By using the “D1” Utility, you signify your agreement to us holding this information.

Before pressing “Register / Update”, you must be connected to the Internet. (If you don’t know how to connect your computer to the Internet manually, try opening Internet Explorer and visiting your favourite Web site. Then use the “D1” Utility while the Web site is still on the screen.)

“D1” contacts the WorshipSession Server and begins the User Registration. You will be sent an email to confirm that your email address works correctly. Click on the link within the email to complete your registration.

When you press the “Register / Update” button in “D1”, your current registration status is retrieved from the WorshipSession server. Once you have confirmed your email eddress, you can press “Register / Update” again to see your updated status - Email address confirmed OK.

You can also modify your registration details at any time, for example if you change your email address. Just change the details and press “Register / Update”.

It is not normally possible to change the Church / organisation name, or your CCL number. If you need to change these, please contact the WorshipSession Team.

Make a note of the WorshipSession Licence ID supplied by the server. You can use this to retrieve your licence details (see below), and you should quote it if you need to contact the WorshipSession team.

Purchasing WorshipSession

Once you have registered the software you have limited access to the WorshipSession server for a trial period of 90 days. If you want to continue using the system after this period, you should purchase it by visiting worshipsession.info. The Web site accepts on-line payments, or you can send a cheque. Once your payment has been received, you can press “Register / Update” again to see your updated status - WorshipSession registered user.

Retrieving your previous licence details

From time to time you may need to re-install WorshipSession, for example onto a new computer, or if you buy WorshipSession on CD following a successful evaluation. You can use the “D1” Utility to retrieve your licence details from the WorshipSession server.

Just enter your WorshipSession Licence Id, leave all the other fields blank, and press “Register / Update”. “D1” retrieves all your details and fills in the fields.

“D2” Utility - Display the version of WorshipSession modules

This Utility displays a list of the major program modules in WorshipSession, together with their Build Ids and datestamps. It may be useful to check that you have latest version, or if you need to report a problem to the WorshipSession team.

“D3” Utility - Dual Screen Setup

If your computer has dual-screen capability, you can configure WorshipSession to display guitar chords for musicians on the computer screen, and just the song words on the projected screen. See the separate article Setting up dual screen operation For details.

The “D3” Utility contains a number of settings that control how WorshipSession uses the two screens. Generally the first tick-box, “Use Dual-screen display” remains ticked, but you will want to un-tick this if you want to print out songs.

WorshipSession displays only the song words on the projected screen. If you want to see chords on both screens, tick the box, “Show guitar chords on both screens”.

Where the computer has no dual-screen capability, or the second screen is disabled, WorshipSession will not normally show the guitar chords, but you can tick the box, “Show chords on single screen” to show them.

Press “Save dual-screen settings” to save your preferences. You can press F2 to return directly to WorshipSession.

“D3” other settings

At the bottom of the “D3” page, there are other settings that you may need to change.

The optional WorshipSession pedal connects into the serial (9-pin RS232) port on your PC - you can set the COMM port that you want to use. If the COMM port is built-in, it will usually be COM1 or COM2, but if you are using a USB—Serial adapter, it will usually be configured as COM3 or COM4.

If your PC has more than one optical drive (CD drive and / or DVD drive), and you want to use WorshipSession to play CD audio and DVD extracts, you may need to specify the drive numbers for your CD and DVD drives. For most users, both drive letters will be D.

“D4” Utility - Set Scrolling Style

WorshipSession scrolls songs and Bible passages with a “smooth scroll” style, mimicking the acceleration and deceleration of an OHP acetate. The “D4” Utility allows you to change the way this scrolling works.

Note: The scrolling effect tends to look good on fast computers, and bad on slow computers. It’s best to tweak these settings on the computer you'll actually use to project songs with WorshipSession.

If you are showing songs overlaid onto live or recorded video, this will require loads of computer power, and tend to make the scrolling look bad. You may choose to use fast or instant scrolling in this case.

How the Scrolling Style is controlled

WorshipSession animates the screen at 20fps (frames per second). For each frame, it determines the scroll distance based on two numbers - the Acceleration and the Max Step.

Acceleration is measured in pixels, and it places an upper limit on the step size, based on the previous step size. If the previous step was 10 pixels, and the Acceleration is 6, the maximum step size for the current frame will be 16 pixels.

Step size is also limited by Max Step, which is expressed as a percentage. If Max Step is 0.25, the maximum step size for the current frame will 25% of the distance to the target position. So if the current position is 100, and the target is 200, the maximum step size will be 25 pixels.

The actual step size used is the lower of the two numbers. The interaction between Acceleration and Max Step is complex, but in most cases, Acceleration controls the “speed up” behaviour, and Max Step controls the “slow down” behaviour.

Example Scrolling Style settings

Acceleration: 6
Max Step: 0.26		WorshipSession default setting
Acceleration: 18
Max Step: 0.2		Takes off quickly, lands gently
Acceleration: 5
Max Step: 0.8		Takes off gently, lands with a bump
Acceleration: 50
Max Step: 0.8		Very fast
Acceleration: 3000
Max Step: 1		Instant (no scroll effect)

NOTES:

The example song in the “D4” Utility shows the effect of your changes, but because it’s on a smaller scale it isn’t fully representative. You should check the effect in WorshipSession. If you will be using a video background, have that running when you review the Scrolling Style.

E1 - HTML Editor for Liturgy

WorshipSession displays HTML files, and it works best with simple HTML that does not contain explicit formatting commands. The “E1” Utility is a basic, text-only HTML editor, intended primarily for the management of liturgy.

You can use “E1” to create new HTML files from scratch, or to re-format text from other applications (copy and paste, or drag and drop). You can also tweak the formatting of existing files and add wscmd attibutes for interactive HTML.

Class group

The “E1” Utility has input boxes for Filename, Title, and Class, and it also includes this "Class Group" box, which selects the group of style rules that will format the content. If you select a different Class Group, the appearance of the HTML content changes immediately, but the HTML itself is unchanged, and your Class Group selection will not be stored in the file.

Separation of content and format in HTML documents

HTML is a “markup language” - that is, it enables authors to annotate plain text so that it will be displayed in a formatted style. You can do this directly, by embedding specific formatting commands into the HTML, and indirectly, by defining a number of “classes” and applying these classes to the sections of your document.

In general, formatting using classes is much better than using explicit formatting commands, and this is especially so when preparing documents for projection in church. The “E1” Utility doesn't offer explicit formatting such as font-style and colour, but uses classes to control the formatting of text.

In the case of liturgy, there are some words spoken by the service leader, some spoken in response, and others that are headers or directions. Use “E1” to mark each phrase or paragraph with its own class, then set the visual appearance of those classes by editing stylesheets.
(See Establishing a House Style.)

How WorshipSession applies stylesheets

WorshipSession automatically selects a stylesheet according to several rules:

These rules appear complicated, but in practice they make life simpler. The “E1” editor does not facilitate specifying style rules within documents, but allows pre-defined classes to be applied to HTML elements.

Tutorial - using E1 to import liturgy

Church liturgy is readily available in electronic format. The Anglican “Common Worship” liturgy can be downloaded from www.cofe.anglican.org. For this example we have downloaded a suite of RTF files, and opened the bpcf_out.rtf file in MS Word. We want to display some parts of this liturgy for a Baptism and Confirmation service.

Text can be imported using “copy and paste” or “drag and drop”. In either case, “E1” removes any existing formatting from the text, and displays it using the selected “Class Group”. Now the liturgy can be trimmed as appropriate, and classes can be applied.

Drag and drop note: If you drag text from MS Word into “E1”,
the text will be removed from the original Word document,
unless you hold down the keyboard Ctrl while dragging.

Applying classes to text

“E1” can apply a class to a whole paragraph, or to a selected portion of text. If part of a paragraph is spoken by the leader, and part is a response, you have two choices:

The two are nearly equivalent, but note that some style rules only apply to ‘block elements’. For example, if you want to use an indented margin, this will only work on a complete paragraph, not on a selected phrase.

imported liturgy Previewing the result

It is worth noting here that the “E1” edit box helps you visualise the final text. It is a ‘half scale’ representation of the actual projected screen, and the font sizes are half those used in the relevant WS stylesheet - song, liturgy or spacer. This means you can assess how much text will fit on the screen, and possibly adjust the word-wrapping so the spoken word flows better. To insert a hard line-break in a paragraph,
press Ctrl-Enter.

If you adjust the fonts or margins in the WS stylesheets, you may want to also tweak the rules in /utils/ws_songutils.css to maintain this ‘half scale’ representation.

Inserting scroll points

WorshipSession scrolls HTML Items differently, depending on the class of the content:

In “E1”, you can set the class for the document at the top of the form. The default setting is "interactive", since for most purposes it is best for the presenter to decide where the scroll points should be set.

Setting scroll points is similar to setting classes - put the cursor on the paragraph you want to scroll to, and press the "scroll" button. “E1” draws a dotted line above the paragraph to show the scroll point.

You can also add a "jump point" using the "jump" button.

Slight complication

“E1” always adds a big space at the bottom of Items. If you add any "scroll points" in your Item, “E1” also adds a scroll point to the big space. Otherwise it doesn't.

editable name Using the “editable” wscmd button

Sometimes liturgy has <insert name here> sections, where a person is addressed by name. You can use “E1” to edit the text and insert the name, or you can use WorshipSession’s “savecontent” facility to create an editable Item.

If you select some text and press “editable”, “E1” will create contenteditable and savecontent attributes for the text, so that when the Item is added into a Session, the text will be editable - press Tab in WorshipSession to edit the text, and Esc When you have finished. WorshipSession stores the edited content in the Session, rather than in the file itself. Using the “savecontent” facility brings two advantages:

Saving HTML Items

input panel

Type the filename into the box, or use the " . . . " button to show the Browse box (the same box will be displayed when you press F11 in WorshipSession).

Notes:

Using E1 to prepare visuals for a sermon

Many preachers use Microsoft’s PowerPoint to prepare visuals to support preaching. PowerPoint provides a powerful visual editor, allowing good control over all aspects of your presentation. By contrast, “E1” is a basic editor and is not intended to replace PowerPoint, but you may prefer to use it in some situations:

Using “E1”, you can include formatting and interactive effects:

These features are supported by the panel of WsCmd buttons - each button adds a “WsCmd” to the current paragraph, or the selected text. The WsCmds - scroll, jump and reveal - are explained in the article Writing Interactive HTML. The editaable button marks the text as both “editable” and “saved”, combining these two functions that are normally used together.

To use any of the WsCmd buttons, simply place the cursor where you want to apply the command, and press the button. If you want to apply the “reveal” command to only part of a paragraph, select the text then press the button.

Because of the way “E1” creates HTML elements, you must not overlap text regions. For example if you create a paragraph that says:

Friday the thirteenth

You can select “the thirteenth” and apply the “reveal” WsCmd, but you cannot also select “Friday the” and apply the header style, because “the” would be caught in an overlap, and the result would not be as you want.

You can use the “Show HTML” button to help you find any strange effects. If you find you have accidentally created an overlap, you may be able to fix it by selecting all the text in a paragraph and pressing <none>. Use “Show HTML” again to check the results.

“E1” automatically creates a “bulleted list” if you begin a new paragraph with a *. (If you want to begin a paragraph with a star, you will need to type the paragraph first, then add the star.)

Adding WsCmd attributes

Sometimes you want to add an attribute to a WsCmd - for example you can add a “time” attribute to a “scroll” WsCmd to make your page scroll automatically after a number of seconds. To add an attribute, hold the Shift key while pressing the button, and enter an expression like “Attr=value”.

Note that you don’t need to add quotes to the attribute value - “E1” does this for you.

It is not possible to remove attributes once you have added them, or to change an attribute value, except by typing the whole “Attr=value” expression again.

Using E1 to create self-singing songs

Using a number of attributes together, you can create “self-singing song” documents, in which the song words scroll automatically in time with a soundtrack - see the supplied example /Kidz Klub/Songs/tinylittleme.html.

Copy the music recording to a sub-folder of WorshipSession, in MP3 or WMA format. Our convention is to put Kidz Klub music files in a sub-folder of /Audio/Music.

Type the song lyrics into “E1”, in the order they appear on the recording. Arrange the word-wrapping as you want it. (To insert a hard line-break in a paragraph, press Shift-Enter.)

Move the insertion point to the first paragraph, and hold down Shift while clicking the <none> WsCmd button. “E1” displays the “Extra Attribute” box. Enter the backgroundsound attribute, which will look something like this:

backgroundsound=audio/music/KidzKlub/loveya.wma

Open the sound file in Windows Media Player, and arrange the screen so that you can see the minutes:seconds counter in Media Player, while editing the HTML in “E1”.

For each verse of the song, note the minutes and seconds, then hold down Shift while clicking the scroll WsCmd button. Enter the sync attribute, which will look something like this:

sync=1:15

This attribute will cause WorshipSession to excecute the scroll WsCmd when the soundtrack reaches 1 minute 15 seconds.

Be careful when entering sync attributes. If a paragraph has a WsCmd without a valid delay, time or sync attribute, WorshipSession will wait for the user to press <next> before it excecutes the command, even if subsequent paragraphs do have sync attributes.

Using E1 to edit existing HTML files

What is a “simplifying editor”?

It is important to note that although “E1” is a stand-alone editor, and can open and save any HTML file, it is not intended to be a full-function editor, and its “simplifying” style could seriously damage your carefully crafted HTML.

In particular, “E1” rewrites elements in the <head> section of the document, modifies “src” attributes on images, and removes attributes from the <body> element. Because of this, “E1” should not be used to edit the Interactive Examples supplied with WorshipSession.

It does this because WorshipSession generally prefers simple documents. Elements in the <head> section can cause strange effects when the document is displayed in WorshipSession - especially in dual-screen mode.

In-place editing of songs

WorshipSession’s main display contains an editing facility for ‘last minute’ editing of songs. Although it is not a full-featured editing facility, in-place editing enables you to correct spelling mistakes or formatting problems that were not apparent before the song was projected.

Notes:

To use In-place edit, display the song then press Shift-F2. WorshipSession displays a cursor on the page, and you can change the text. To commit your changes, press Ctrl-S. If you want to cancel editing, press Esc. If you move to a different page without saving, WorshipSession issues a warning - “Do you want to save your changes?”. Press Esc again if you want to avoid writing your changes.