
ProPresenter can do much more than simply display lyrics and scriptures over a nice graphic or video background. While that’s the core function of the software, you can really flex its muscle and run a whole FOH media array from just one computer with an experienced operator. You can even automate broadcast switcher functions right from ProPresenter slides making for easier coordination between your director and your ProPresenter operator. Read on to learn about just what ProPresenter can do that you might not have considered.
Use Elgato Stream Deck for Quick Actions
software comes pre-loaded with actions for ProPresenter, and you can use it cue ProPresenter macros, looks, and other layer actions like clear all, clear props, and so on. It’s a handy tool for your ProPresenter operators when they need to do something very quickly, because reaching for a tactile button is much faster than moving a mouse to a small part of the screen.
Here’s a quick guide for using the Stream Deck with ProPresenter. This has been a game changer for us at LifeMission Church (Olathe, KS) and I can’t recommend it enough.
Automate Blackmagic Switcher Actions from ProPresenter with the Companion, Stream Deck, and RossTalk Trifecta
Bitfocus Companion is an open source software that natively integrates with a Stream Deck controller so that you can create custom action buttons that Elgato hasn’t thought of, yet. Companion is compatible with RossTalk, which is a simple communication protocol pre-loaded into ProPresenter. With RossTalk, ProPresenter can tell Companion to cue custom actions you’ve created on your Stream Deck controller.
This has been a game changer for us at LifeMission Church and I can’t recommend it enough.
For instance, at LifeMission, we have ProPresenter fire the macros on our Blackmagic Design 1 M/E switcher that takes our welcome video, announcement videos, certain name keys, and our worship keys. This takes a lot of pressure off of our directors to make sure they nail transitions from stage capture to media display while also managing FOH displays.
Firing macros takes a lot of pressure off of our directors to make sure they nail transitions
Give this tutorial a watch for a full breakdown of how to coordinate BlackMagic, Companion, RossTalk, and ProPresenter. As a heads up, they will all need to be on the same network with each other, so you might need to talk to your IT director or your buddy that’s good with networking.
Alpha Keying
You can use ProPresenter to make customized alpha keys on compatible switchers (which should be any decent switcher made in the last five years). There’s a little extra hardware that you’ll need, specifically a Blackmagic Design Deck Link, which ProPresenter will use to send the dual video signals needed for an Alpha Key.
ProPresenter offers a great tutorial for setting up Alpha Keys, which you can access here.
Send Separate Video Feeds Via Layers
Let’s say that you want to send a video to your lobby screens, a rotating slideshow to IMAG at FOH, and a still photo to your LED wall. ProPresenter can do all of that for you, thanks to looks and layers.
With looks and layers, you can set up a slide show assigned to your IMAG feed, cue a video as a Prop layer that goes to your lobby, and display that still photo on the media layer assigned to your LED wall.

Want to send a video to your lobby screens, a rotating slideshow to IMAG at FOH, and a still photo to your LED wall? ProPresenter can do that for you, thanks to looks and layers.
ProPresenter offers a great tutorial for using looks and layers at this link, and I can’t recommend this enough for stretching what you can send from just one ProPresenter machine. You will need a computer powerful enough to run that many screens, just fyi.
Integrating your timers from Planning Center into your ProPresenter stage display makes it easier to time your services and keep your teams on track.
Integrate Planning Center Live for Easier Timers
We talked a while back about using Planning Center Live for coordinating services and keeping them on time. Well, you can integrate your PCL timers into your ProPresenter stage display, making it easier to time your services and keep your teams on track.
You’ll need to make sure your Planning Center profile and ProPresenter are linked up, which you can do in the preferences menu on ProPresenter. Hopefully, you’ve already done that so you’re able to easily load your weekend playlists right from your Planning Center Services plans.
Once you’ve linked your accounts, you have a couple of options for how you want to display your PCL timers alongside the ability to scale the PCL layer for customizable visibility.
Once again, ProPresenter has you covered with a full tutorial.
Quick Copying Scriptures to Sermon Slides
When you’re creating sermon slides, the Bible button is your best friend for entering accurate and properly formatted scriptures to a sermon. For a long time, the only catch was that you had to toggle between the Bible section and the edit section of ProPresenter to copy and paste scriptures. That’s changed in recent update to ProPresenter, however.
At the bottom left of your verse selection window, you’ll see a save as menu button. When you click that button, a few options open in a drop-down menu, one of which is “copy to selected presentation.” That button will take your selected verses and copy them to the end of your current presentation that’s open under your edit button. No more toggling.
ProPresenter is a sturdy tool that can leverage FOH media on its own without any extra help from a media server or a program like Resolume, which makes it a great option for churches on a budget. As a last thought recommendation, the new Mac Mini M4 is a great option for churches that need some display heft on a budget, enabling Apple Silicon display power for under $1000.