Song editor
You type the song on the left in plain text. The formatted result appears on the right, exactly as it will appear on projection. No WYSIWYG, no invisible formatting — a simple markup you can read and understand at a glance.
Marker tour
A visual map of what each marker becomes on projection:
The yellow line on the left highlights the markup; the block with the gold bar on the right shows the corresponding preview. Every 3 seconds the tour advances to another marker.
The blocks
Each block of the song starts with a marker in brackets:
| Marker | Meaning | What it becomes on preview | |---|---|---| | [V1] [V2] | Verses (1, 2, 3…) | Normal block with discreet numbering | | [C] | Chorus | Italic block + gold vertical bar | | [B] | Bridge | Normal block, separated by divider | | [I] | Instrumental | Block with musical indicator | | [F] | Final | Highlighted block, always at the end | | [S] | Solo | Doesn't trigger automatic chorus |
Buttons above the editor insert these tags with one click. You don't need to memorize anything — just click the right button in the right place.
Repeats
Block that repeats line by line
When one or more lines repeat within the same block, wrap with
{bis_start}...{bis_end}:
[C]
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
{bis_start}
A mighty fortress is our God.
{bis_end}
In the preview, a vertical gold rail appears to the right of the lines that repeat. Clean visual, no duplicated text — the congregant sees it once and knows to sing twice.
Line that repeats N times
For simple repeats at the end of a line, use {2x}, {3x}, etc.:
How great Thou art, Lord! {2x}
In the preview, it becomes a small gold chip next to the line (2×),
without taking text space.
Inline emphasis
| Mark | Result |
|---|---|
| *italics* | A word or phrase highlighted |
| **bold** | For liturgical keywords |
| (response) | (Congregation response in parentheses) |
Specific voices
When a section is sung by a specific group, use [I:NAME]:
[V2]
[I:MEN] I hear the rolling thunder...
[I:WOMEN] I see the stars...
In the preview, a small gold eyebrow appears above the line indicating
who sings. Use labels your church already recognizes — MEN, WOMEN,
CHILDREN, YOUTH, etc.
Voice labels are free. The system doesn't force a fixed set: type
whatever your church uses. [I:CHILDREN'S CHOIR] works the same as
[I:MEN].
Execution order
By default, the system suggests the classical order:
Verse 1 → Chorus → Verse 2 → Chorus → Verse 3 → Chorus → Final
You can customize song by song — for example, mark that the chorus only enters after the 2nd verse, or that the song ends on the bridge and not the chorus. The configuration is saved with the song and applies to all future services.
Special blocks like [S] (solo) don't trigger automatic chorus, and
[F] always appears last in the suggested order.
Multilingual
The markers are translated automatically — Chorus in English, Coro in
Spanish, Chœur in French — and the system recognizes all variants. When
you create a translation of the same song in another language, the markers
stay fixed to ensure block-by-block alignment.
Creating a song translation
When you want the same song in another language — to sing with missionaries, in a bilingual church, in an exchange — Salterium has a 3-step guided modal that keeps the structure synced between the original and the translation.
Step 1 — Setup
You choose:
- Language of the new version (only languages that don't yet exist in this song's family appear)
- Destination collection — where the translation will live
- Number within the destination collection
- Title in the new language
When you advance, the system reserves the translation and automatically creates the link between the original version and the new one — you don't have to do this manually.
Step 2 — Side-by-side blocks
Here you fill in block by block. Each block of the original appears on the left, with a text field on the right where you write the corresponding translation.
The tags stay fixed — you don't change [V1] into something else,
nor rearrange the order. This ensures that when projecting bilingual
side by side, block 3 of the original always meets block 3 of the
translation, without misalignment.
Inline markers ({2x}, {bis_start}…{bis_end}) are also copied
automatically — you only fill in the text.
Step 3 — Review
Before saving, the system shows the final markup of the assembled translation. You check it all matches, click Save, and done — the translation is in your church's library with the link already created.
Linking existing translations
What if you already have the original song and the translation in separate collections? No need to delete and redo — just create the link between them.
How it works
In the original song's editor (or the translation's — works from both sides), open the Link existing translation panel. The list of current links appears (if any).
Type part of the title or number of the other song in the search. Results filter in real time, showing collection and language for each candidate.
Click + Link. Before creating the relation, the system compares the structure of the two songs (block sequence + execution order). If the structure matches, the link is created directly.
If the structures diverge (one has 3 verses, the other 4), the system shows a side-by-side comparative panel and asks for confirmation. This prevents projecting bilingual with mismatched verses.
Network relations
Links are bidirectional and transitive. If you link:
- Castle Forte (PT) ↔ A Mighty Fortress (EN)
- A Mighty Fortress (EN) ↔ Castillo Fuerte (ES)
Salterium automatically understands that Castelo Forte ↔ Castillo Fuerte are also translations of each other. When you open the bilingual projection, the translation popover lists all 3 — you pick the pair you want without having to manually link PT↔ES.
Next steps
- The operator's desk — how the song you edited is projected during the service
- YouTube in projection — link a YouTube video to the song to play alongside