Displaying photos, graphics, and slide decks is just as important as Scripture and songs during a service. Church Presenter handles this through two dedicated tabs — Pictures (F8) for image slideshows and Presentation (F9) for PowerPoint, Keynote, and PDF files.
The Pictures tab (F8)
Press F8 or click the Pictures tab to open it.
The Pictures tab turns a folder of images into a controlled slideshow you can advance manually or run on a timer.
Selecting a folder
Click Select Folder and choose the folder containing your images. All supported images load into a thumbnail grid immediately.
Supported formats: jpg, jpeg, png, gif, bmp.
The tab remembers up to 10 recently used folders, displayed as chips below the folder button. Click a chip to reload that folder instantly. Pin folders you use regularly by clicking the star next to the chip — pinned folders stay at the front of the list and are never removed when the recents list fills up.
Navigating images
Click any thumbnail to select it — a colored border marks the active image. Navigate with the keyboard:
- ← / → — previous or next image
- ↑ / ↓ — move up or down a row in the grid
- Space — play or pause auto-advance
To reorder images, hold Shift, then click and drag a thumbnail to a new position. A ghost preview follows your cursor; a highlight shows the drop target.
Playback controls
The control bar above the grid contains:
- Previous / Next buttons — step one image at a time.
- Play/Pause button — starts or stops auto-advance. The button turns red while playing.
- Image counter — shows your position (e.g. 3 / 12).
- Loop toggle — when active, the slideshow wraps from the last image back to the first.
Slideshow settings
Three settings sit inline in the same control bar:
- Auto Scroll Interval — seconds per image before auto-advancing (1–30 s).
- Transition Duration — how long the animation between images takes (100–2000 ms).
- Animation Type — Crossfade (default), Fade, Slide Left, Slide Right, or None.
All three are saved automatically and persist between sessions.
Sending images live
- Double-click a thumbnail to select it and send it to the projection screen immediately.
- Select a thumbnail and click Go Live (the monitor icon at the top-right of the tab).
To queue the entire folder as a single schedule item, click Add to Schedule. During the service, clicking that item loads the folder instantly without browsing again.
The Presentation tab (F9)
Press F9 or click the Presentation tab to open it.
The Presentation tab imports slide decks and lets you step through them one slide at a time — or automatically on a timer — with the same controls as the Pictures tab.
Supported file formats
- PowerPoint —
.pptand.pptx - Keynote —
.key - PDF —
.pdf
Loading a presentation
Click Select Presentation and choose one or more files. Each file is converted to slide thumbnails and shown in the grid. If you load multiple files, a row of chips appears at the bottom of the tab — click any chip to switch between decks.
The tab remembers up to 10 recent files with the same pinnable recents row as the Pictures tab.
Navigating slides
Click a thumbnail to select a slide. Navigate with the keyboard:
- ← / ↑ — previous slide
- → / ↓ — next slide
- Space — play or pause auto-advance
Playback controls and settings
The control bar is identical to the Pictures tab:
- Previous / Next / Play / Pause buttons
- Slide counter (e.g. Slide 5 of 24)
- Loop toggle — wraps from the last slide back to the first
- Auto Scroll Interval — 1–30 s
- Transition Duration — 100–2000 ms
- Animation Type — Crossfade, Fade, Slide Left, Slide Right, or None
Sending slides live
- Double-click a slide thumbnail to send it to the projection screen immediately.
- Select a slide and click Go Live.
Slide notes are automatically sent to the presenter window, so the speaker on stage can read their notes while the audience sees only the slide.
Adding to the schedule
Click Add to Schedule to add the current presentation as a single schedule entry. Clicking it during the service reopens the file at the slide you were last on.
Controlling images and slides from your phone
The Church Presenter mobile app (Android and iOS) gives you full control over both the Pictures and Presentation tabs directly from a phone or tablet, without touching the main computer.
Pictures
From the mobile app you can:
- Browse the images in the folder currently loaded on the desktop.
- Tap an image to send it to the projection screen immediately.
- Clear the display to remove the current image.
- Add to schedule to queue the folder as a schedule item.
- Upload photos from your device — pick any photo from your phone’s gallery and it is transferred to the desktop and added to the current folder automatically.
Presentations
From the mobile app you can:
- Browse all loaded decks with slide thumbnails, just as they appear on the desktop.
- Tap any slide to switch to that slide and send it live instantly.
- Clear the display to remove the current slide.
- Add to schedule to queue the presentation as a schedule item.
- Upload a presentation file — pick a PowerPoint, Keynote, or PDF from your phone and it is transferred to the desktop and loaded automatically.
The mobile app connects to Church Presenter over your local Wi-Fi network. No internet connection is required — it works entirely within the building.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| F8 | Switch to Pictures tab |
| F9 | Switch to Presentation tab |
| Double-click | Send image or slide live |
| ← / → | Previous / next image or slide |
| ↑ / ↓ | Up/down one row (Pictures); previous/next slide (Presentation) |
| Space | Play / pause auto-advance |
| Escape | Clear screen |
| F2 | Add to Schedule |
| F1 | Open keyboard shortcuts reference |
Tips
Export images at 1920×1080 or higher. The projection screen is typically 1920×1080. Graphics created at smaller sizes will look blurry when scaled up. Always export announcement slides and custom images at full HD resolution or above.
Name folders by date. If you create a new set of announcement slides each week, naming folders like 2026-06-15 keeps them easy to find in the recents list and keeps your archive organized.
Pin decks you return to regularly. Sermon intro slides or recurring announcement templates can be pinned so they stay at the top of the recents row — click the star next to any chip to pin.
Load and step through your presentation before the service. Conversion takes a few seconds per deck. Open the tab early, load your files, click through every slide to confirm everything rendered cleanly, then add to the schedule so it’s ready to launch with a single click.
Test the auto-advance speed on the real projector. The right interval depends on how much detail is on each slide. For announcement slides with a lot of text, 10–15 seconds is often too short; for simple graphic slides, 5–8 seconds is fine.
For setting up Scripture displays, see How to Display Bible Verses in Church Presenter.
New to Church Presenter? Start with How to Set Up Worship Presentation Software for the First Time.