The Staging Workflow
DongleControl’s core innovation is the staging system — a clear separation between what you’re previewing and what your congregation sees. This eliminates accidental content on the projector.
How It Works
DongleControl has two independent states:
| State | Color | Who Sees It | What It Means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staged | Yellow border | Only the operator | ”I’m looking at this, deciding if it’s ready” |
| Live | Green indicator | The congregation | ”This is on the projector right now” |
Staging a slide never changes the live output. You must explicitly press Space to go live.
Step by Step
1. Stage a Slide
Click any slide in the thumbnail list, or use ↑ ↓ to navigate. The selected slide appears in the staged preview panel with a yellow border.
At this point, the projector hasn’t changed. You’re just previewing.
2. Preview It
Look at the staged preview. Is it the right slide? Is it the right verse? Check it before going live.
3. Go Live
Press Space. The staged slide is now live — it appears on the projector with a green indicator in the thumbnail.
4. Clear When Done
Press Esc to clear the projection. The projector goes black (or background-only if keepBackgroundOnClear is enabled for that section).
Why Staging Matters
In other projection software, clicking a slide immediately shows it on the projector. This leads to:
- Accidentally showing the wrong verse while scrolling
- Flashing content the congregation wasn’t supposed to see
- Panicking when you click the wrong thing
With DongleControl, you always preview first. The congregation only sees content you intentionally send live. This is especially important when:
- A new volunteer is running the slides
- The pastor changes direction mid-sermon
- You need to quickly find a specific verse
Staged vs. Live — Independent Movement
A key concept: staged and live are independent. After going live with a slide, you can navigate the staged view to a completely different slide without affecting the projector.
This means you can:
- Go live with slide 3
- Navigate staged to slide 7 to preview it
- The projector still shows slide 3
- Press Space when ready — now the projector shows slide 7
This gives you time to prepare the next content while the current slide stays on screen.