Design a layout for every screen in your church
Give your Congregation screens a layout made for their exact shape: wide LED walls, classic 4:3 projectors, tall portrait displays. Then pin your favourites and switch between them live with one click, on the Main Screen or any screen you add.
On this page
Not every screen in a church is 16:9. A side projector might be 4:3, the LED wall behind the stage might be ultra-wide, and the welcome display in the lobby might stand in portrait. Layouts let you design what your screens show around the live slide, at their real shape, so nothing gets squashed or cropped on a Sunday morning.
Open Layouts
- Click Layouts in the menu bar.
- On the left, choose a size, such as 16:9.
- Under it, choose Congregation. The built-in layouts for that shape appear straight away.
Pick the right size
ChristChant ships with the common screen shapes built in. Each has its own Congregation layouts, designed for that shape rather than stretched from 16:9. A green dot next to a size means one of your screens is that shape right now.
| Size | Canvas | Typical screen |
|---|---|---|
| 16:9 | 1920×1080 | Most TVs, projectors and live streams |
| 4:3 | 1440×1080 | Older or classroom projectors |
| 21:9 | 2520×1080 | Ultra-wide projectors and LED strips |
| 32:9 | 3840×1080 | LED walls, or two projectors blended into one |
| 9:16 | 1080×1920 | Portrait TVs and kiosks |
Your screen isn't listed?
When ChristChant sees a connected display with no matching size, a New screen detected card appears at the top of the list. Click Add and the size is created from its exact resolution. Or add one yourself:
- Click Add a size by hand at the bottom of the list.
- Under Screen, pick a connected display to fill in its width and height, or type the Width and Height in pixels.
- Give it a Name, such as Side panel, and click Add size.
Choose a layout
Every size comes with ready-made Congregation layouts. They're made for worship, so each one combines the things you actually show:
- Default: Program only shows the live slide on its own. Program · Fill does the same, edge to edge.
- Sermon: the sermon slides together with the Bible passage, such as Message & Scripture, Open Word and Key Verse.
- Worship: lyrics with a video or motion background, such as Worship Wall, Lyrics & Video and Cinema.
- Announcements and Media: designs for notices, welcome loops and video.
- Designs made for the shape itself, such as tall stacked designs for portrait screens and panoramas for very wide walls.
Click any layout to see it on the right, filled with whatever is live right now. A striped box means nothing is live in that part yet. Clicking in this window only previews: it never changes what's on the screens.
Pin layouts for the service
- Click a layout to preview it.
- Click Pin to Congregation. You can pin up to seven; the counter beside the button shows how many you've used.
- Close the Layouts window. Your pinned layouts appear as cards under the Congregation monitor.
- During the service, click a card to put that layout on the Main Screen. It fades smoothly from the current one.
- Use the switch above the cards to show two or three per row.
On every Congregation screen
Your pinned layouts aren't only for the Main Screen. Pick another Congregation screen, such as Left Wing, in the screen picker at the top right of the room monitor, and the same pinned cards appear for it. Click one to put that layout on the screen you picked; the others keep their own. The card on air reads On Left Wing, or whichever screen it is.
Make your own
Click New layout to start from a blank canvas at the size you've selected, or choose a built-in and click Edit a copy. A layout always keeps the size it was made for, so it's designed at exactly the shape it will be shown at.
Common questions
Why are there black bars around my layout?
The layout's shape doesn't match the screen's. ChristChant fits the whole layout inside the screen and fills the rest with black rather than cropping or stretching it. Pick, or add, the size that matches your screen and the bars disappear.
I added a new size. Why does it already have layouts?
Every size starts with the built-in designs that suit its shape, so you never start from a blank screen. Use them as they are, or edit a copy.
Can I change a layout's size after creating it?
No. A layout belongs to one size. To use a design on a different shape, choose that size and pick or make a layout there.
Clicking a pinned card didn't change the projector
Check the Main Screen is on its display: open Screens and look for the green dot next to Main Screen. The Congregation monitor always shows what the Main Screen is set to, so if the layout changed there, it's live. See Set up your screens.
Was this helpful?
Your answer helps us improve this guide.
More in Screens & layouts
- Set up your screensTell ChristChant which projector or TV is your Main Screen and which is your Stage Screen, choose a resolution, and save the setup for each venue.
- Set up the stage monitor for the band and speakerGive the people on the platform their own view: lyrics with chords, the key, what's next, the clock and timers, plus quick cues from the booth.
- Add more screens: lobby, overflow room, confidence monitorEach screen in your building can show something different. Add one in the Venue, choose what it shows, and put it on its own display.
- Blend projectors into one big screenJoin two, three or four projectors into one seamless wide picture with Edge blend: a four-step setup, then test patterns to line them up perfectly.