Presentation settings

Every presentation carries four values that decide how its slides come in and go out: Crossfade, Fade out, Auto-dismiss and Layer for this list.

The first three follow the defaults in Settings until you change them for one presentation. Always know which of the two you are looking at — a value that follows the defaults changes when someone changes the defaults, even in the middle of a show.

Opening them

Each presentation in the slide list has a title row above its slides. The buttons at its right end open the settings, right under where you clicked.

Where	What opens
The two overlapping circles (Presentation settings)	A small panel: Crossfade · Fade out · Auto-dismiss
The stacked sheets next to it (Layer for this list)	A short list of layers to pick from
Right-click the title row	A menu: Edit · Add File · Link · Layer for this list · Presentation settings
Right-click a presentation in the sidebar → Presentation settings	A window in the middle with all four values. Close it with Done

All of these change the same values. They belong to the presentation, not to a cue sheet: put one presentation in two cue sheets and it behaves the same in both. When a cue sheet is selected, every presentation in it has its own title row and its own settings.

The four values

Value	What it sets	Range	Out of the box
Crossfade	How long a slide takes to come in, overlapping what was there	0–5 s, in steps of 0.1	0.8 s
Fade out	How long a slide takes to go when it is taken down	0–5 s, in steps of 0.1	0.8 s
Auto-dismiss	How long an overlay stays before it takes itself down	0–120 s, in steps of 1. At 0 it reads Off	Off
Layer for this list	Sends every slide in this presentation to one layer	Per slide, or one layer	Per slide

Crossfade and Fade out

These two work on all three kinds of layer — foreground, background and overlays. There is no separate fade for backgrounds or for overlays.

• Crossfade is used whenever something comes in: the next slide over the one on the foreground, a new background, an overlay appearing or replacing what was in its slot.
• Fade out is used whenever something is taken down: the × beside a layer in the layer column (Clear this layer), CLEAR at the top of that column (Clear All), the red ■ under the preview, F1–F4 (⌘1–⌘4 / Ctrl+1–Ctrl+4), and an overlay that dismisses itself.

At 0 there is no fade — it switches at once.

Each slide uses the values of the presentation it comes from. If a cue sheet runs a lyrics presentation set to 0.8 seconds and then a video presentation set to 2 seconds, the video comes in over 2 seconds. When you take it down, it goes with the video presentation’s Fade out, whichever presentation you happen to be looking at.

How the layers stack and how to take them down is in Layers.

Auto-dismiss

Raise it above 0 and this presentation’s overlays take themselves down after that many seconds, using its Fade out. At 0 it reads Off, and overlays stay until you take them down. It only affects overlays — foreground and background slides stay where they are.

When the clock starts

Not the moment you click, but the moment the overlay actually shows on screen — a video waits for its first frame. An overlay that is already up keeps the time it went up with, even if you change the value afterwards.

Layer for this list

Pick a layer and every slide in this presentation goes out on that layer. Use it for a presentation of name captions you always want on one overlay, or a presentation of looping videos you always want on the background.

The choices are listed in stacking order, top first: Per slide, then 1 Overlay to 5 Overlay, Foreground, Background. If you have named the overlays in Settings › Overlay names, the names appear instead (1 Logo).

While a layer is chosen:

• A chip with a lock and the layer name sits beside the presentation’s title. Click it to change the layer.
• The stacked-sheets button on the title row takes that layer’s colour.
• Layer chips on the cards are dimmed and can’t be clicked. They still show each slide’s own layer.

The layer on each slide is not erased

It rests. Choose Per slide again and every slide goes back to the layer it had.

• A slide that can’t go on the chosen layer goes out on the foreground instead, and tells you once: This slide can’t go on that layer — showing it as the foreground.
• Music slides are not affected. They never go on a layer; they play as sound.
• Slides that this moves down to Background play silent there. Their own volume is kept, and comes back with Per slide.

Changing the layer does not move what is already on stage — it counts from the next slide you send out. The one exception: an overlay from this presentation that is no longer an overlay comes down with a fade, and you are told Cleared N overlay(s).

Following the defaults, or its own value

A new presentation has no values of its own. Its Crossfade, Fade out and Auto-dismiss follow the defaults in Settings.

The moment you move a slider, that value becomes this presentation’s own — even if you set it to exactly the same number as the default. From then on, changing the defaults no longer moves it.

You can tell which is which:

	Following the defaults	Its own value
The number at the end of the row	Dim	Solid, with a small round-arrow button (Reset to default)
The note at the bottom of the panel	Following the defaults. Change a value to make it this presentation’s own.	This presentation uses its own values — changing the defaults won’t affect it. (shown if any of the three is its own)
The two-circle button on the title row	Grey	Lit, if any of the three is its own

To go back, press the round-arrow button on a row — that one value follows the defaults again. Reset to default at the bottom of the panel does it for all three. The window you open from the sidebar has the same buttons on each row.

Layer for this list has no default in Settings, so resetting does not touch it. To release it, choose Per slide.

Changing the defaults

The defaults live in Settings (the gear in the status bar) › Stage:

• Default fades › Crossfade and Fade out
• Auto-dismiss, at the very bottom of the page

Under each one it says Presentations with their own value keep it. For the rest of that window, see Settings.

Changing a default changes the show that is running

Every presentation that follows the defaults changes at once — including the one on stage right now. The next slide fades with the new value. Set the defaults before the event. To change one presentation only, open its Presentation settings instead.

Two neighbours on the same page are something else:

• Background loop crossfade is not about switching slides. It is how long a looping background video overlaps itself when it jumps back to its start. At 0 (the default) it cuts.
• Music has its own fades, under Music on the same page. See Music.

Undo

Changes here, Layer for this list included, can be undone with ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z. The notice reads Undone — Presentation settings. One drag of a slider comes back in one step.

Lock editing does not freeze these values

Lock editing stops changes to slides, but these values can still be changed while it is on — and while it is on, ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z does nothing. During the show, leave them alone.

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How libraries, presentations and cue sheets fit together is in Libraries and cue sheets. What happens on stage is in Screens and going live.