Using your Planning Center Music Stand charts in Setliner^™

For worship teams who want their charts stored as files on their own devices, in a free app that works without an internet connection on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. In Planning Center, songs and charts live in Services, and bands play from them in Music Stand, an add-on to Services with apps for iOS and Android and a web version. Services also imports songs from CCLI SongSelect (with a SongSelect account) and, when auto-reporting is turned on, reports the previous week’s song usage to CCLI each Monday. Planning Center covers much more of church life, such as groups, giving and check-ins. A church can keep Planning Center for that and use Setliner™ for the band: scheduling (free for up to five people with a license or an active trial, or with a team bundle), setlists and charts on stage.

Export from Planning Center

1. Open the song’s arrangement in Services and open the Lyrics & Chords editor.
2. Select the download icon to save a PDF. Planning Center also keeps a PDF for each key added to the arrangement.
3. For a whole service, on the website: My Schedule, the plan date, Rehearse, Songbook. Tick the file types and select Accept to get one PDF.
4. For an editable chart, copy the text from the editor. The editor writes chords in brackets, in line with the lyrics, like [G]Amazing, which Setliner™ reads as ChordPro.
5. To keep the service order, save a plan report as a PDF.

Import into Setliner^™

1. Install Setliner™ and choose the folder that holds your songs.
2. In the Library, choose Import file(s) and pick one or more .cho, .pro, .chopro, .txt or .pdf files.
3. For copied chart text, choose Paste from clipboard.
4. For each PDF, choose Convert it to a chart (editable) or Keep it as a PDF.
5. Rebuild the set in the Setlist builder. Setliner™ doesn’t import Planning Center plans.

What comes across and what to check

• Pasted text: lyrics, chords, section labels, and title, artist, key, tempo, time, capo and copyright. Chord diagrams and formatting directives are ignored.
• Converted PDFs: chord placement is a best effort. Read each through before playing from it.
• PDFs kept as PDFs show in the viewer and can be annotated, but can’t be transposed.
• Plans, people, rehearsal audio, Music Stand notes and CCLI numbers don’t come across.

Features in Planning Center that are not currently in Setliner^™

• Church-wide scheduling across every ministry and service type. Setliner™ Teams (free for up to five people with a license or an active trial; a team bundle adds seats) covers the band and worship team: events, a setlist per event, and any custom role you create.
• Weekly automatic CCLI reporting. Setliner™ doesn’t report to CCLI.

What you get in Setliner^™

Planning Center and Music Stand cover some of these too. This list describes Setliner™, not what Planning Center lacks.

• Windows, macOS, Linux and Android, with iPad coming.
• Songs are files in a folder you choose, and the free app works offline. Put that folder in a sync service you already use, such as Google Drive or OneDrive, and your devices share one library, with no Setliner™ account needed. Setliner^™ has no sync service of its own: sync depends on that service and your platform.
• Back up and restore: Back up library in Settings saves your songs, setlists, marks, tags, play history and settings to one .slnbackup file, and Restore from backup shows what is inside before anything changes. Licenses are not included.
• Bring charts in as ChordPro, plain text or PDF, or paste them in. Change the key or add a capo and every chord follows.
• Tap any chord to see how to play it and hear how it sounds. Draw or write notes on a chart, as you would on paper.
• Build a set for the night with each song’s own key and sequence. The chart can scroll by itself, or a foot pedal turns the page and moves you through the set.
• Between gigs, a chord quiz, ear training and a metronome keep you sharp.
• The free app needs no account, and its core features have no time limit. Optional extras are one-time purchases, each with a 90-day free trial: Chord Builder names the chord for a shape on piano or a 4- to 7-string instrument in any tuning; Linked devices let one device lead others on the same local network, so the page turns on each linked device (each device needs Linked devices: its own trial or purchase, or a team seat); Popout displays send lyrics to extra screens for the singers or the room, or chords to the band, on a computer; Custom Skins, ten included themes plus your own pictures; and Practice, which listens as you play guitar and marks the chords it hears on the chart (it does not scroll or turn pages; Windows, macOS, Linux and Android). Trials and purchases need a verified email and a connection to start, then a check-in at least every 90 days. Purchases are not available to buyers in the EEA or the UK.
• Team bundles (5 or 10 Setliner Pro seats at a bulk price, bought once) include Teams at no extra charge, so a band or worship team can plan events, hand out roles and see who has said yes. The team service stores scheduling, not charts. Setliner Pro and the standard team bundles do not include Practice; bundles with Practice cost more (see Licensing and the prices).

Download Setliner^™

The free app runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android, with iPad coming. It needs no account, and the core features have no time limit. Optional extras come with a 90-day free trial.

Download Setliner free

Read the FAQ · Other moving guides

Facts about Planning Center checked on its website on 2026-10-18: Use the Lyrics & Chords editor · Lyrics & Chords editor · Get ready for rehearsal · Access Music Stand · Create plan reports · CCLI reporting · Create song reports · SongSelect integration · Music Stand

Planning Center, Music Stand, CCLI and SongSelect are trademarks of their respective owners, used here only to name the products this guide is about. Setliner, LLC is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. Tell us through the contact page if something here has changed.