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Songs

Managing your songs in OpenLP is a relatively simple process. There are also converters provided to get data from other formats into OpenLP.

Song Importer

If you are using an earlier version of OpenLP or, come from another software package, you may be able to convert your existing database to work in OpenLP 2.0. To access the Song Importer click File --> Import --> Song. You will see the Song Importer window, then click Next.

After choosing Next you can select from the various types of software that OpenLP will convert songs from.

Click on the file folder icon to choose the file of the song database you want to import. See the following sections for information on the different formats that OpenLP will import.

Importing from OpenLP Version 1

Converting from OpenLP Version 1 is a simple process. First you will need to locate your version 1 database file.

Windows XP:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\openlp.org\Data\songs.olp

Windows Vista / Windows 7:

C:\ProgramData\openlp.org\Data\songs.olp

After clicking Next your conversion will be complete.

Press Finish and you will now be ready to use your OpenLP version 1 songs.

Importing from OpenSong

Converting from OpenSong, you will need to locate your songs database. In the later versions of OpenSong you are asked to define the location of this. The songs will be located in a folder named Songs. This folder will contain files with all your songs in them, without a file extension. (file.xxx). When you have located this folder you will need to select the songs from the folder.

On most operating systems, to select all the songs, first select the first song in the list, press the shift key, and select the last song in the list. After this press Next and you will see that your import has been successful.

Press Finish and OpenLP will be ready to use your songs that you imported from OpenSong.

Importing from CCLI Song Select

To import from CCLI Song Select you must be a CCLI Subscriber and also a subscriber of the Song Select service. For more info check out the CCLI website.

The first step for importing from CCLI Song Select is to log into your account. Then search for your desired song. For this example we will be adding the song "Amazing Grace".

For the song you are searching for, select lyrics This will take you to a page displaying the lyrics and copyright information for your song.

Next, hover over the Lyrics menu from the upper right corner. Choose either the .txt or .usr file. You will be asked to chose a download location if your browser does not automatically select that for you. Select this file from the OpenLP import window and then click Next You can also select multiple songs for import at once on most operating systems by selecting the first item in the list then holding the shift key and select the last item in the list. When finished, you will see that your import has completed.

Press Finish and OpenLP will be ready to use your songs imported from CCLI SongSelect.

Creating or Editing a Song Slide

If you want to create a new song slide or, once you have a song imported, you want to edit and rearrange the Title & Lyrics, Author, Topics & Song Book, assign a Theme, or edit Copyright Info & Comments, you will do this through the Song Editor.

Edit: To edit an existing song you can either click on a song in the Media Manager and then click the button to Edit the selected song or right click a song from either the Media Manager or additionally from the Service Manager and click Edit item. If you are adding a new song click Add a new Song in the Media Manager.

Title: This is where you would name your song or edit a song name.

Alternate title: Alternate Title was for songs with two names "Lord the Light" - "Shine Jesus Shine". You can also add a name in this box that will bring up the song in Titles search. Example: You could use an alternate title of "hymn" on all your hymn song titles for grouping. When you search "hymn" it will show all the hymns that have "hymn" for the Alternate title.

Lyrics: The Lyrics window shows all lyrics imported or added. On the left side of the lyrics you will see a capital letter followed by a number. A V1 would represent verse 1, C1 would be Chorus 1. You will use these letters and numbers for the order to display the lyrics.

Verse Order: After you entered or edited your song, you will want OpenLP to display the verses in the correct order you want them displayed. On the left side of your lyrics you will see C1, V1, V2 etc. the way they were imported or added. To put your lyrics in the correct order is as simple as typing in the Verse order box at the bottom, the correct order you want them displayed, with only a blank space in between each entry. The correct format will look like this: V1 C1 V2 C1 V3 C1. If you forget to put a space in between the order, or if you do not have the corresponding verse number, OpenLP will politely tell you with a pop-up error message what is wrong so you can correct your mistake and save it. Verse order is optional and if left blank the verses will display in the order seen in Lyrics.

Clone: OpenLP gives you the ability to clone a song. This could be useful if you use a different version of the song with slightly different lyrics. Instead of typing in all the lyrics again, you can clone it which makes an identical copy of the original song.

To Clone a song right-click on the song you would like to duplicate and left-click Clone.

After you click Clone you will see the copy of the song with <copy> in the title.

Adding or Editing the Lyrics

Add: To Add a new verse, click on Add. The main window is where you will type your lyrics. OpenLP is packaged with a spell checker for most languages. If you misspell a word it will be underlined. Right click the underlined word and left click Spelling Suggestions or you can ignore it and continue typing. You also have the ability to format the font using Formatting Tags. Highlight the word/words you want to format and right click the highlight. Left click Formatting Tags and choose the format you want to apply to the font and the format tags will be entered with your lyrics. These tags are not visible when displayed. To remove the format, delete the tag on each end of the word or sentence.

Edit: To edit an existing verse, click on the verse you wish to Edit then click on Edit, make your changes and click Save.

Edit All: To edit the whole song at once, click on Edit All.

Delete: To delete a verse, click on the verse you want to delete and it will highlight, click on the Delete button and it will be deleted. Warning:, once you click the Delete button, you will not be asked again, it will be deleted immediately.

Verse type: gives you 7 ways to classify your lyrics. Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Pre-Chorus, Intro, Ending, Other.

If you have more than one verse, you would number them Verse 1, 2, 3 as needed. If you find the verse has too many lines for your screen, you can edit and shorten the verse and Add another slide.

Authors, Topics & Song Book

Once your Title & Lyrics are added or edited the way you want them you must add or enter the author or authors of the song. OpenLP requires all songs to have an author entered. You can add a blank space for the author name.

Authors: Click the drop down arrow to view all authors or start typing a name in the box and a list will appear. If the authors name has not been added, type the authors name in the box and click Add to Song. The authors name will appear below and will also be added to your database. If you accidentally add the wrong author you can click on the authors name and click Remove.

Manage Authors, Topics, Song Books: Clicking this button will bring up your complete list of authors.

Add: Clicking the Add button will bring up a box where you will add the Authors First name, Last name and Display name. Click Save when you are finished.

Edit: The Edit button will bring up window where you can edit the info that is already there.

Delete: The Delete button will remove the author you have highlighted. Note: You cannot delete an author that is assigned to a song. Authors names are displayed in the footer.

Theme, Copyright Info & Comments

On this tab you can assign a Theme to a song, enter the Copyright information and add the CCLI number. If you imported a song from SongSelect this information will usually be entered.

Theme: Click the drop down arrow to display your list of themes or start typing a theme name in the box and the list will appear. You can also create a new theme by clicking the New Theme button.

Copyright information: Add or edit the copyright information in this box. If you would like to use the © symbol click © button. This information is displayed in the footer.

CCLI number: Enter the CCLI number in this box. Note: this is the CCLI number of the song, not your contract number. This number is not displayed in the footer

Comments: You can add comments in this box. This information is not displayed in the footer.

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