Live slideshow

The live slideshow is a page that plays on the venue screen during the event. Photos that guests upload and wishes they write arrive on the screen by themselves, and the QR code in the corner invites other guests to share too. The slideshow is a browser address: it opens in the browser of any computer connected to the TV or projector at the venue.

What you can do today

• Create a secret slideshow link for the event and open it on the venue screen
• Show all published content on the slideshow, or only your picks
• Add photos and wishes to the slideshow and remove them, one by one or in bulk
• Renew the link or turn the slideshow off

Opening the slideshow

The slideshow card is shown on open events, to users who have the permission to manage events.

1. Open the Design & Screen tab on the event page.
2. On the Slideshow screen card, click Create slideshow link. The card's status changes to On and the slideshow address appears on the card.
3. Copy the address with the copy icon and open it in the browser of the computer connected to the venue screen. If you are on that computer, you can use Open slideshow in a new tab.
4. Click anywhere on the slideshow page; it switches to full screen.

The address stays on the card, so you can come back to the panel on the event day and copy it again. The "Turn on the venue screen" step in the Next steps list on the event's Overview tab also takes you to this card.

The slideshow address contains a secret key and does not ask for a sign-in; anyone who has the address can open the slideshow. Share it only with the person setting up the venue screen.

What the slideshow shows

The screen is laid out like this:

• Photos are shown whole, without cropping. For portrait photos the sides are filled with a blurred copy of the same photo.
• Wishes are shown in quotes with the guest's name, on a background in the event colour.
• The event name sits at the top left.
• At the bottom right are the QR code, the text "Share yours too", the short address of the guest page and the event code. Guests scan this QR to reach the guest page.
• When there is no content yet, the screen shows the event name, the hosts and "Photos and wishes will appear here as they arrive."

Photos for which no preview could be prepared (for example HEIC files uploaded from some browsers) do not go to the slideshow; see Guest uploads and limits.

How the slideshow advances

• Each photo or wish stays on screen for 8 seconds.
• The page checks for new content every 20 seconds; you do not need to refresh it.
• New content is moved to the front of the queue and shown at the first opportunity. When there is nothing new, all content loops from start to end.
• The slideshow works with the newest 300 items.
• To stop the screen from going to sleep, the page keeps it awake in browsers that support this.

Choosing what plays

The What should the slideshow show? section of the Slideshow screen card has two options:

• All published photos and wishes: Everything guests upload that is published goes to the slideshow. This is selected on new events.
• Only my picks: The slideshow shows only the photos and wishes you mark with Add to slideshow.

When you change the option it is saved immediately, and the slideshow follows the new choice from its next refresh.

To pick content in Only my picks mode:

1. Open the Content tab and click a photo or a written wish.
2. Click Add to slideshow at the top of the viewer. To take an item off the slideshow, use Remove from slideshow in the same place.
3. For many items, click Select, mark the items, and click Add to slideshow or Remove from slideshow on the bar.

Items you add are collected on the On slideshow tab and marked with a green screen icon in the grid. Add to slideshow marks you make while All published photos and wishes is selected are kept, but the slideshow keeps showing all published content; the marks take effect when you switch to Only my picks.

If you want to see content before it reaches the screen, choose one of two ways: put the slideshow in Only my picks mode, or set Publishing to Publish after my approval in the event settings. The second way also affects the gallery and the wish book; see Moderation and content reports.

Controls on the screen

The slideshow page is designed to run by itself:

• Clicking the page switches to full screen. Press Esc on the keyboard to leave full screen.
• The mouse pointer is hidden over the slideshow.
• The page has no pause, next or previous buttons. To take an item off the screen, hide it in the panel with Hide or take it off with Remove from slideshow; the slideshow drops it at its next refresh.
• Texts on the slideshow such as "Share yours too" are shown in the language of the browser the slideshow is opened in.

Renewing the link and turning the slideshow off

• Create new link: Generates a new address and closes the old one. Use it if the address has reached the wrong people. You need to open the new address on the venue screen.
• Turn off: Turns the slideshow off; the address on the screen stops working. To turn it on again you create a new link.

When a closed or renewed address is opened, the screen shows "This slideshow link is invalid or has been turned off. Ask your photographer for a new link." The slideshow works only while the event is open; when the archive period ends, the slideshow closes too.

Tips for the event day

• Open the slideshow once on the venue screen before the event and test it; the computer connected to the screen needs an internet connection.
• Turn off the computer's screen saver and sleep setting.
• Besides the QR on the slideshow, you can also put QR cards on the tables; for cards, see QR code and guest page.

DesignAsist slideshow themeBeta

If a slideshow theme has been saved for this event in DesignAsist, the DesignAsist designs card appears on the Design & Screen tab and you can apply the theme with Use as slideshow theme. With a theme applied, the slideshow plays over a 16:9 background image; the photo, the wish and the QR code are placed where the theme defines. The card is shown only on accounts that have saved designs; see DesignAsist designs.

Related articles

• Moderation and content reports
• Wishes and the wish book
• QR code and guest page
• Creating and managing events