documentation/manual/source/library.rst

Library

Once you get your system set up for OpenLP you will be ready to add content to your g-service-manager. This will all happen through the g-library. The g-library contains all the Bibles, Songs, Presentations, Audio files, Visual files, and Custom Slides that you will project through OpenLP.

If you don't see the "Songs", "Bibles" and other library items in the g-library, then refer to t-no-library-items in the troubleshooting guide.

Songs

Clicking on Songs in the g-library will display the songs library item. The songs library item shows a list of all the songs in the songs database.

Toolbar

Add song

Open the song edit dialog to add a new song.

Edit song

Open the song edit dialog to make changes to the selected song.

Delete song

Remove the selected song(s) from the song list.

Maintain authors, topics and books

Open the song maintenance dialog to add, edit or delete authors, topics or song books.

Preview song

Send the selected song to the g-preview-slide-controller.

Send song live

Send the selected song to the g-live-slide-controller to be shown on the display screen.

Add song to service

Add the selected song(s) to the g-service-manager. Songs can also be added to the g-service-manager by means of drag and drop from the g-library.

Note: Right-clicking on a song in the list will display some of the same options and Clone option.

Search

Clicking on the icon in the search box displays a list of search options. The following options are available:

Entire Song

Search the title, lyrics and comments fields.

Titles

Search the title field only.

Lyrics

Search the lyrics field only.

Authors

Search the associated authors.

Topics

Search the assigned topics.

Songbooks

Search the assigned songbooks.

Themes

Search the assigned themes.

Copyright

Search the assigned copyrights.

CCLI number

Search the assigned copyrights.

Click the Search button to perform a search and display the results in the song list.

Bibles

Clicking on Bibles in the g-library will display the Bibles item. The Bibles item shows Bible verses and provides a search function to find Bible verses and add them to the g-service-manager.

Toolbar

Import Bible

Import Bibles from a number of formats. This is discussed in detail on the import_bibles page.

Edit the selected bible

Edit meta data or book names of the selected bible.

Delete the selected bible

Delete the selected bible.

Preview verses

Send the selected verses to the g-preview-slide-controller.

Send verses live

Send the selected verses to the g-live-slide-controller to be shown on the display screen.

Add verses to service

Add the selected verses to the g-service-manager. Verses can also be added to the g-service-manager by means of drag and drop from the g-library.

Note: Right-clicking on a selection of verses will display some of the same options.

Find Tab

The following options are available on the quick search tab:

Find:

Clicking the icon in the Find box displays a list of search options. The following options are available:

Text or Reference

Search by keyword or using scripture reference format. See below.

Scripture Reference

Search for a specific verse using a scripture reference format. Below is some examples on supported formats:

• Book Chapter
• Book Chapter-Chapter
• Book Chapter:Verse-Verse
• Book Chapter:Verse-End (this will display verses to the end of the chapter)
• Book Chapter:Verse-Verse, Verse-Verse
• Book Chapter:Verse-Verse, Chapter:Verse-Verse
• Book Chapter:Verse-Chapter:Verse

Note that the separators might change depending on the language chosen for OpenLP. See and customise separators under Setttings --> Configure OpenLP on the Bibles tab.

A detailed description of the format and how it is parsed by OpenLP can be read In the OpenLP API documentation.

If an invalid format is used for a search a popup window will show the examples also shown above.

Text Search

Search by a keyword or words. Use more words to narrow down the list of results. If you search for "Jesus God" it searches sentences which contain both words, Jesus and God. If you search for "Jesus, God" separated by a comma, it searches for sentences which contain at least one of the words, Jesus or God.

Clear Tab Contents

This will clear the results on the currently active tab (Saved or Results).

Save Results

This will add contents of the Results tab to the Saved tab.

Click the Search button to perform a search and display the results in the verse list.

Select Tab

The Advanced tab is convenient for selecting Bible verses by book, chapter and verse from a set of drop down boxes.

Book

Click on the drop down box and select a book from the list.

Chapter/Verse

Select the From chapter and verse, and the To chapter and verse.

Click the Search button to perform a search and display the results in the verse list.

Options Tab

Version

Once a Bible has been imported, it will be displayed in the drop down box. Select a version from the list of the Bibles.

Second

If Display second Bible verses has been selected in the Bibles configuration, this option will be available. This is used to display another version of the Bible for comparison. Both versions will be displayed. If there is not enough space on one slide, the Second verses will be displayed on the next slide.

Layout style

There are three options to determine how your Bible verses are displayed.

• Verse Per Slide: Will display one verse per slide.
• Verse Per Line: Will start each verse on a new line until the slide is full.
• Continuous: Will run all verses together, separated by verse number and chapter (if chapter is selected to show above).
• Continuous (whole verses): Will run all verses together, separated by verse number and chapter (if chapter is selected to show above). This will only add the next verse if it wholly fits on the slide. If it does not fit, it will begin a new slide.

This setting is also accessible in Setttings --> Configure OpenLP on the Bibles tab.

Note: Changes to layout style do not affect verses already in the g-service-manager.

Presentations

Clicking on Presentations in the g-library will display the presentations item. The presentations item shows a list of imported presentations.

Toolbar

Load presentation

Import a presentation. Presentations need to be imported in order to control them from within OpenLP.

Delete presentation

Removes the selected presentation from the list. Note that this does not delete the original presentation from the disk.

Add group

Opens a dialog where a new group can be added.

Preview presentation

Send the selected presentation to the g-preview-slide-controller.

Send presentation live

Send the selected presentation to the g-live-slide-controller to be shown on the display screen.

Add presentation to service

Add the selected presentation to the g-service-manager. Presentations can also be added to the g-service-manager by means of drag and drop from the g-library.

Notes: Right-clicking on a presentation will display some of the same options.

Presentation items can be dragged from the desktop (or any folder) into the Presentation library plugin. This allows the selected items to be loaded more quickly. If a folder is selected, all the contacts of the folder will be added. When the items are added, only items with the correct file suffix for the plugin will be loaded. If you try to drop a presentation into the images folder, an error message will be generated.

In presentation_configure configuration it is possible to enable Allow presentation application to be overridden, which shows a dropdown box which gives you the option to select the presentation application you want to use. The default is Automatic, but you can choose any available presentation application. Note that this can lead to unexpected behavior if the application chosen is not compatible with the presentation.

Images

Clicking on Images in the g-library will display the images item. The images item shows a list of imported images.

Toolbar

Load image

Import one or more images. Images need to be imported in order to be used in OpenLP.

Delete images

Removes the selected image(s) from the list. Note that this does not delete the original image(s) from the disk.

Add group

Opens a dialog where a new image group can be added.

Replace live background:

Replace the current live theme background with the selected image. This has effect until the theme changes, or the Remove Backgound button is clicked.

Preview image

Send the selected image(s) to the g-preview-slide-controller.

Send image live

Send the selected image(s) to the g-live-slide-controller to be shown on the display screen.

Add image to service

Add the selected image(s) to the g-service-manager. Images can also be added to the g-service-manager by means of drag and drop from the g-library.

Notes: Right-clicking on an image will display some of the same options.

When an image is added to the library, a dialog will ask in which group the image should be placed. The options are No group, Existing group or New group.

Images can be dragged from the desktop (or any folder) into the Images manager plugin. This allows the selected items to be loaded more quickly. If a folder is selected, all the contacts of the folder will be added. When the items are added, only items with the correct file suffix for the plugin will be loaded. If you try to drop a presentation into the images folder, an error message will be generated.

Media

Clicking on Media in the g-library will display the audio or video files in the Library.

Note: On some computers OpenLP has trouble displaying videos. Please read the troubleshooting for tips on how to resolve these issues.

Toolbar

Load new media

Load CD/DVD

This feature only works if VLC is installed on the computer and enabled in OpenLP. See media_configure for how to configure media players. Clicking the icon will bring up a window where you can load a DVD or audio CD, select a track and a range and save it as a named clip. Note that the audio CD or DVD is still required when playing the clip, even if the clip is saved to a service file.

Open device stream Connect to a video stream that is physically connected to the OpenLP computer.

Open network stream Connect to a video stream that is accessable over the network connected to the OpenLP computer.

Delete the selected media

Removes the selected audio or video file(s) from the list. Note that this does not delete the original file(s) from the disk.

Preview the selected media

Send the selected audio and video files to the g-preview-slide-controller.

Send the selected media live

Send the selected audio or video file to the g-live-slide-controller to be shown on the display screen.

Add the selected media to the service

Add the selected audio and video files to the g-service-manager. Audio and video files can also be added to the g-service-manager by means of drag and drop from the g-library.

Notes: Right-clicking on a audio or video file will display some of the same options.

Audio and video items can be dragged from the desktop (or any folder) into the Media manager plugin. This allows the selected items to be loaded more quickly. If a folder is selected, all the contacts of the folder will be added. When the items are added, only items with the correct file suffix for the plugin will be loaded. If you try to drop a presentation into the images folder, an error message will be generated.

In media_configure configuration it is possible to enable Allow media player to be overridden, which shows a dropdown box which gives you the option to select the media player you want to use. The default is Automatic, but you can choose any available player.

Custom Slides

Clicking on Custom Slides in the g-library will display the custom slides libruary item. The custom slides item shows a list of custom textual items. Custom slides are useful for creating unstructured text items, such as liturgy or prayers.

Toolbar

Add custom slide

Open the song edit dialog to add a new custom slide.

Edit custom slide

Open the song edit dialog to make changed to the selected new custom slide.

Delete custom slide

Remove the selected custom slide(s) from the list.

Preview custom slide

Send the selected custom slide to the g-preview-slide-controller.

Send custom slide live

Send the selected custom slide to the g-live-slide-controller to be shown on the display screen.

Add custom slide to service

Add the selected custom slide(s) to the g-service-manager. Custom slides can also be added to the g-service-manager by means of drag and drop from the g-library.

Note: Right-clicking on a custom slide in the list will display some of the same options.