Can I add my own songs to LitPlan?

Yes. LitPlan allows you to enter, categorize, and index your own songs. You can add your songs one at a time, or you can import them from a list created in virtually any word processor or spreadsheet application.

Call 1-800-548-8749 for help with this.

Can I show a list of dates where I used a specific song?

Yes. LitPlan can compile a Song History Report for any song title in the database. This report will list all past liturgies where the song was used.

Can I use LitPlan to schedule musicians, liturgists, and readers?

LitPlan does not have a separate scheduling feature, but it does provide a detailed screen in which you may enter the names of people involved in various parts of the liturgy.

Does LitPlan include the full text of the readings from the Lectionary for Mass?

Yes. All the readings in LitPlan 8 are taken directly from the revised Lectionary for Mass.

Does LitPlan list words and melody lines for songs?

No. However, it does contain the first line or common title for all songs in the database to make searching easier.

How can I look up past liturgies I’ve planned?

Click the "All Liturgies" tab from the Planner Screen. This will chronologically list all Planner sheets included in LitPlan. Simply scroll down to the liturgy you want and click the "Prepare" button to the left of the date.

LitPlan includes a feature that allows you to check a box next to the liturgy if you filled out the Planner for that date. Once you’ve checked all the appropriate boxes, you can tell at a glance which liturgies you’ve prepared without having to open each Planner.

How do I back up my LitPlan data?

LitPlan stores liturgy and song data directly in the program files. These files use about 40 MB of space on the hard disk, and therefore cannot be backed up to a floppy disk. If you have a Zip drive or a writable CD-ROM drive, back up the entire folder to a single disk.

If you have another back up system such as a tape drive or a Jaz drive, you can back up your entire hard drive and LitPlan will be backed up with the rest of your programs and files.

How do I copy planner data from a previous liturgy?

In the second row of tabs on the Planner Screen, click the "Paste" tab. This will take you to the new Copy Planner Data Screen. From here, select which liturgy you want to paste (previous week, same week last year, same week three years ago, or choose any liturgy from the list at the bottom of the page). Once the liturgy is selected, the contents will be automatically pasted into the current Planner.

NOTE: Pasting from a previous liturgy will replace any selections you have already made in the current Planner.

How do I create custom Mass settings?

You can create three custom sets of Mass parts for use in the liturgies you plan. These can be pasted into any Planner from week to week. To use this feature:

1. Start by filling out a Planner with the parts of the Mass you wish to use
2. Click the "Setup" button near the middle of the Planner. This will take you to the Mass Settings Screen
3. Scroll down to the section labeled "Current Mass Setting." Click either "Paste in Setting 2", "Paste in Setting 3" or "Paste in Setting 4". This will paste the data from "Current Mass Setting" to the setting number you choose
4. You can then rename the Mass and use it in future liturgies by simply clicking the new button that appears in the "Mass Settings" section of the Planner. For example, if you named it "Celtic Heritage Mass," there will be a button labeled "Celtic Heritage Mass"

How do I delete a whole liturgy?

Go to the Planner Screen. The "Delete" tab is located in the second row of tabs near the top of your screen. Click this tab and a dialogue box will pop up asking if you’re sure you want to delete the current Planner. Click "yes" and the Planner will be deleted.

NOTE: Once a liturgy has been deleted there is no way to recover the data.

How do I enter the readings for custom liturgies?

From the Planner Screen, go to the Readings Screen and type the text and Scripture references in the appropriate fields. LitPlan automatically saves this information when you exit the program.

How do I plan more than one liturgy for a particular date?

Find the liturgy you wish to prepare and select "Duplicate Record" from the Records Menu dropdown at the top of your screen. Notice that the readings and all other information (with the exception of song suggestions) are duplicated. Now you can simply change the name of one of the liturgies and enter the Mass time in the "Time" field.

If the two liturgies have several parts in common, you might wish to save time by first planning all the music that is common to the two and then duplicating the record.

How do I transfer LitPlan worksheets from one computer to another?

To use LitPlan on more than one computer, the program can be stored on a Zip disk or other removable media that can hold the entire LitPlan program folder (about 40 MB).

How do I use a song for other than its suggested use?

From the Suggestions Screen, click in the "Suggested Use" field (e.g., Communion Song). The dropdown menu that appears allows you to choose a different liturgical moment from the list (e.g., Communion 2). After you make your selection, just click the "Use" button and the song will go in the appropriate space in the current Planner.

How much RAM does LitPlan 8 use?

LitPlan 8 requires that you have a minimum of 64 MB of RAM.

How much space does LitPlan 8 use on my hard disk?

Although LitPlan 8 only takes up about 50 MB of hard drive space, for best results we recommend that you have at least 60 MB of free space before installing LitPlan 8.

I am having problems with LitPlan on my server

LitPlan is not designed to be run on a server. You need to uninstall LitPlan from the server and install it on your hard drive.

I installed LitPlan 8 for Windows and there are no suggestions for the current planner

Go to LitPlan’s Main Menu and verify that you are using version 7.0. If not, you are probably opening the old version from an icon on your desktop. To open LitPlan, click the Windows Start Button and then go to the Programs list, or look for the new shortcut for LitPlan 8 on your desktop.

I just upgraded and my music resource choices look wrong. What happened?

The LitPlan upgrade process does not import your settings for missal and hymnal music resources. You will need to re-select the missals and hymnals you use and then sort the database. To do this:

1. Go into the Settings Screen and select your missal resources
2. Click the "Hymnal" tab and select your hymnal resources.
3. Click the "Menu" tab and sort the song database when prompted.

I just upgraded to LitPlan 8 and none of my custom songs were converted

The upgrade process imports custom liturgy worksheets and custom songs separately. If you didn’t import your custom songs during the upgrade process, you can still import them as long as you haven’t deleted your previous version of LitPlan.

Please call 1-800-548-8749 for instructions.

I planned several liturgies using the wrong song numbers because I didn’t re-sort the database. What do I do now?

After you go to the Settings menu and re-search the database, navigate back to the Planner that has the wrong song numbers.

Click the "Refresh" button and LitPlan will automatically update all the song numbers. You must perform this function for each Planner that contains incorrect song numbers.

I’m getting a damaged file message. What do I do?

Close the LitPlan program. Then, as you re-open LitPlan, hold down the "Ctrl" and "Shift" keys (Windows) or the command and "Option" keys (Macintosh) while the program is launching. This will take you to the Open Damaged File dialogue box. Select the damaged file from the list and click the "Open" button. Once the recovery procedure is completed, close the Open Damaged File dialogue box and LitPlan should resume normal operation.

My text-only planner page is not reflecting any changes I’ve made in the standard Planner

Click the "Refresh" tab on the text-only planner page.

Some of the songs come up with two different song numbers for Today’s Missal. Why?

You may have checked two of the Today's Missal boxes on the Setup Screen (e.g. Today's Missal Advent and Today's Missal Ordinary / Christ the King).

Uncheck the resource that you are not using and be sure to re-sort the database when prompted. If you would still like numbers for both resources to show up, please note that the numbers are listed in chronological order, with the older Today's Missal numbers appearing first.

The page numbers for my resources are not showing up on the Suggestions screen

From the Main Menu, go to Settings and click on the "Preferences" tab. Click the "More Detailed" button under Song Suggestion Preference. You do not need to sort in order for this change to take effect.

When I go into Prepare a Liturgy it shows all the liturgies in LitPlan even when I click on the Today Forward tab

Check the date and time settings on your computer and make sure the settings are correct.

There is also a bug that affects some computers running Windows XP where the Today Forward tab does not work. To narrow the liturgies that are listed you can use the Show by Date Range button.

When launching LitPlan 8 for the first time, I receive an error message

The error message states, "A required .DLL file, WS2_32.DLL was not found."

The problem you are having is an incompatibility issue between Windows 95 and the software used to develop LitPlan. We have found a work-around for this issue, but next year's LitPlan will no longer run under Windows 95, since Microsoft no longer supports that operating system. Please make arrangement to upgrade your system to a newer version of Microsoft Windows.

Please follow these steps in order to run LitPlan 8 on Windows:

1. Right click on the LitPlan 8 icon on your desktop and then select "Properties" from the dropdown menu
2. Click on the Shortcut tab at the top of the window
3. From the Target line delete "Planner8.EXE" and replace it with "LitPlan_8.LP1"
4. Verify that the Target line now says: "C:\Program Files\LitPlan8\LitPlan_8.LP1"
5. Click on the Apply bottom for the changes to take effect
6. Click OK to close the window
7. Double click on the icon to launch LitPlan 8

Where is my registration number?

This number will be on the registration card that came with the original purchased copy of LitPlan. Then, during the software upgrade process, the number should be converted automatically.

Sometimes, however, LitPlan doesn’t convert the registration number when you perform an upgrade. To find your registration number, open your previous version of LitPlan and click the "Settings" button. You'll find the registration number in the upper right-hand corner. We recommend that you write this number in your manual for future reference.

If you’ve already deleted your previous version of LitPlan, call 1-800-548-8749 to see if your registration number is on file.

Why can’t I change the font / type size?

This is due to a limitation in the developer tool that created the LitPlan program. We regret that we don’t have the ability to change this feature.

However, LitPlan has a feature that allows you to generate a text-only version of the Planner. You can easily change the font size and color in this text-only version.