App for organist and cantor
Cantio lets you display song lyrics on a second monitor or projector during a service — quickly, calmly and without distraction. The entire interface is designed for touch operation.
Capabilities
Designed for work during a service — minimum clicks, maximum focus.
Song lyrics are displayed on a projector or second monitor in a large, readable font. Control happens on the organist's computer — without interfering with what the congregation sees.
Change the text of any verse without leaving the control view. The quick edit panel opens in place of the preview — save with Ctrl+S and you're ready.
All interface elements — buttons, lists, sliders, editor — have the right size and spacing for comfortable operation with a finger on a tablet or touch screen.
Prepare the song order before the service and load it with one click from the sets popup. Save, group and pin your favourite sets.
Dedicated appearance section: font with auto-fit, colours, gradient, custom background image, text shadow. Changes are visible live without leaving the Display tab.
Import your song database from OpenLP (SQLite, XML) or OpenSong directly from Settings. Migrating data including .osz sets takes just a few seconds.
Add an image to a service set or directly to the song structure as a separate verse. It is displayed full-screen on the projector — announcements, bulletins, liturgical artwork.
Built-in database backup, restore from file, and ZIP export/import containing the database and images. Moving to a new computer takes just two clicks.
Display tab
Three columns: category and song list on the left, verses in the centre (with labels 1 / 2 / R / B), projector preview and set on the right. Click a verse — it appears on the projector.
Long verses are automatically split into several slides while maintaining readability. The BLANK button darkens the projector without losing your position in the song.
All interface elements have the right size and spacing — Cantio is comfortably operated with a finger on a tablet or touch screen.
Quick edit
Click the pencil icon next to a song in the set — the quick edit panel opens in place of the preview. You can change the text of each verse, reorder them, and save with Ctrl+S.
You don't lose your position in the set or change the view. Fixing a typo or pasting a missing verse takes just a few seconds.
Song editor
Add and edit songs directly in the app. Assign to a category (Advent, Easter, Marian…), add a hymnal number, set verse order by dragging.
Verses have clear labels: 1, 2, R (refrain), B (bridge). Paste the entire song text at once — the app splits it into verses at blank lines.
Song editor
Paste the entire song text — Cantio automatically recognises the refrain marked with a "Refren:" header and arranges the performance order. The pattern R–V1–R–V2–R is created without any manual intervention.
You can always change the verse order by dragging. For psalms, the automatic refrain can be turned off with a single click — refrains stay exactly where you typed them.
Psalms and acclamations
There is a special mode for the organist performing a psalm. Indicate the psalm category in settings — Cantio automatically activates this special mode when the song is loaded. The refrain is visible on the projector at all times.
The organist navigates through the verses in their own operator preview without interrupting the refrain display for the congregation. The mode works the same for acclamations.
The refrain verse is also loaded in full on screen, bypassing the font size setting — to make it easier for the organist to sing.
Service set
Add a graphic or photo directly to the song list — using the 🖼 button in the set bar. It is displayed full-screen on the projector with a black background.
Useful for announcements, parish bulletins, liturgical artwork or the patron saint of the day — woven in exactly at the right moment of the service.
Sets
Arrange the song order before the service, save the set with a name and open it with one click from the popup. Sets can be grouped, pinned and searched by name.
When opening a set you choose what to do with the current list: replace it with the new set or append songs to the end — useful when the service consists of several parts.
The popup opens with a keyboard shortcut or the button in the Display tab — without changing the control view. Supports importing sets from OpenLP (.osz).
Settings
Projection screen, interface language, font with automatic size fitting, custom text formatting tags — all on one settings page.
You'll also find Import here — migrate your entire song database from OpenLP (SQLite, XML) or OpenSong in seconds. Supported formats: OpenLP SQLite · OpenLP XML · OpenSong · Sets .osz
The Database section provides backup, restore and ZIP export/import — a complete copy of your data including images.
Appearance
A dedicated appearance section gives you full control over what the congregation sees: background colour, linear or radial gradient, custom background image with adjustable opacity, text shadow.
Font, size with automatic fitting to verse length, line spacing, alignment — changes are visible live in the preview without leaving the Display tab.
Keyboard
All key actions have keyboard shortcuts. They work great with a presentation remote (PageDown / PageUp) — and if you prefer touch, the entire interface is ready for it.
All shortcuts can be changed in the dedicated shortcuts popup.
Installation
Windows 10 or newer, 64-bit. Optionally a second monitor or projector.
Download the latest CantioSetup-x.y.z.exe file from GitHub Releases.
Approve the UAC prompt, choose whether you want a sample song database (recommended) or an empty one — then click Install.
In Settings → Screen, select your projector or second monitor and save the settings.
Select a category, click a song, click a verse — it appears on the projector. Done.
Free open-source software for every parish, community and organist.
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