documentation/manual/source/introduction.rst
2012-05-19 22:16:16 +02:00

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Introduction
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About
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OpenLP stands for "Open Lyrics Projection" and is presentation software
developed for churches to provide a single easy to use interface for the
projection needs of a typical worship service. First created in 2004, it has
steadily grown in features and maturity such that it is now a mainstay in
hundreds of churches around the world.
OpenLP has searchable databases of songs and Bible verses allowing them to be
projected instantly or saved in a pre-prepared order of service file. Themes
allow for a variety of presentation options and allow you to add attractive
visuals to enhance your presentations. PowerPoint and OpenOffice presentations,
videos and audio files can be run from within the program removing the need to
switch between different programs. Alert messages can be displayed so the
nursery or car park stewards can notify the congregation easily. Remote
capability allows the worship leader to change songs, or for alert messages to
be sent from anywhere on the network, even via a smart phone or tablet.
Being free, this software can be installed on as many PCs as required,
including the home PCs of worship leader(s) at no additional cost. Compared to
the expensive site licenses and restrictions of commercial software we believe
OpenLP is the perfect choice for quality and value. Still in active development
by a growing team of enthusiastic developers, features are being added all the
time resulting in continual improvement of the software.
OpenLP is licensed under the GNU Generic Public License, which means
that it is free to use, distribute, modify, and it stays free.
GNU General Public License
--------------------------
The GNU General Public License was specifically chosen because it ensures the
above mentioned freedoms. It specifically states that you are not allowed
to charge for the software, and that you have to distribute the source code as
well.
You can find a copy of the GNU General Public License from the Help menu
selecting about OpenLP or `view the license on-line <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.txt>`_.