Features
Media
Show pictures, videos and PDFs in Crater, with per-item fit, crop, loop and mute options.
On this page
The Media tab holds the pictures, videos and PDFs you show during services: announcement slides, countdown videos, sermon illustrations, song backgrounds and your church logo.
Supported files#
| Type | Formats |
|---|---|
| Pictures | PNG, JPEG, GIF, BMP, WebP |
| Videos | MP4, MOV, M4V, WebM, MKV, AVI |
| Documents | PDF (each page becomes a slide) |
Files can be up to 4 GB each.
Adding media#
- Drag and drop files from File Explorer or Finder onto the Media tab. This works for every type, including PDFs.
- Or click the + button (or Import media in an empty library) and pick pictures or videos.
Crater copies each file into its own data folder, so the item keeps working even if you later move or delete the original. The item is named after the file, and you can rename it.
Finding media#
- The sidebar filters by All Media, Images, Videos and Favorites.
- Type in the search box to filter by name.
- Switch between grid and list view with the button above the items, and choose how many grid columns to show.
- Sort by Name, Date added or Type. Choosing the same sort again reverses the order.
Tiles show a LIVE or PREVIEW badge when the item is on screen or staged, and videos show their length.
Showing media#
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Click an item | Loads it into Preview |
| Double-click, or Enter | Sends it live |
| Right-click > Push to Live | Sends it live |
| Right-click > Add to Schedule, or Ctrl + T | Adds it to the schedule |
- Videos start playing as soon as they go live, and loop unless you turn looping off. Their sound plays while they’re live.
- PDFs appear one page per slide (Page 1, Page 2 and so on). Step through them in Preview and Live like any other slides.
Fit: how media fills the screen#
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Contain | Shows the whole picture. Black bars fill any gap at the sides or top. |
| Cover | Fills the screen and crops whatever spills over the edges. |
| Stretch | Fills the screen exactly, ignoring the picture’s shape. |
| Default | Follows Settings > Media > Default fit (Contain unless you change it). |
Change it for one item in any of these places:
- Right-click the item > Fit.
- The Contain / Cover / Stretch buttons under a picture or video in the Preview panel.
- The item’s Edit… dialog.
Editing a picture or video#
Right-click it and choose Edit…:
- Title. Rename the item.
- Fit. As above.
- Loop video and Mute audio (videos only). Loop is on by default.
- Crop. Drag on the picture (or the video’s first frame) to choose the part to show. The crop box keeps a 16 shape so it fills a widescreen projector. Hold Shift while dragging a corner for any shape, or drag an edge to resize freely. Arrow keys nudge the box, and Reset crop goes back to the whole picture.
- Duplicate saves your changes and makes a copy, useful for keeping two crops of the same picture.
Click Save. Changes show the next time the item goes live.
Showing part of a PDF page#
PDF pages can be cropped right in the Preview panel, which is handy for zooming in on a chart or a paragraph:
- Load the PDF into Preview and pick the page.
- Drag a rectangle over the part you want.
- Press Enter to send just that part live.
Your logo#
Right-click a picture or video and choose Set as Logo Background. Clicking Logo in the top bar (or Ctrl + L) then fades out whatever is live and shows it. To have the logo on screen every time Crater starts, turn on Settings > Projection > Show logo by default.
Other options#
Right-click an item for:
- Rename and Duplicate.
- Add to Favorites or Remove from Favorites.
- Delete, which also removes Crater’s copy of the file.
To delete several items at once, Ctrl + click (or Shift + click for a range) to select them, then click Delete.
Using media in themes and slides#
Pictures and videos from the Media tab can also be used as theme backgrounds (see Designing Themes) and as pictures on presentation slides (see Presentations).