Manual contents

OnSong support

This page is a reference for exactly what is and isn’t carried across when you import songs and setlists exported from OnSong. For a step-by-step walkthrough of moving your library, see Switching from OnSong to SongSheet Pro.

SongSheet Pro imports three kinds of OnSong files:

• .onsong — a single song (lyrics, chords, and song details).
• .onsongarchive — a book, whole setlist, or single song. Any of its songs can be a document such as a PDF, image, or Word file.
• .backup — OnSong’s whole-library backup: all of your songs and setlists in one file.

You import all three like any other file you add to your library. Archives and backups then ask how you want to import their songs and setlists; see Import choices.

What is imported

Lyrics and chords

• Lyrics, with chords positioned over them.
• Section and part names — verse, chorus, bridge, intro, and any custom parts.
• Comments.

Song details

These details are read from the file and applied to the imported song:

• Title
• Artist
• Key
• Capo
• Tempo
• Time signature
• Duration
• Copyright
• CCLI number
• Composer and lyricist
• Keywords and topics — imported as SongSheet Pro tags

Setlists

(From .onsongarchive and .backup files.) OnSong setlists can be imported as SongSheet Pro setlists, preserving each setlist’s name and song order. A song that appears in a setlist more than once is added to your library only once, while the setlist keeps every occurrence. An .onsongarchive file holds at most one setlist; a .backup file holds all of your OnSong setlists.

Document songs

(From .onsongarchive and .backup files.) Songs with a document chart are imported as documents, not converted into editable charts:

• PDF, Microsoft Word (.doc / .docx), and RTF charts come across as that file and can be performed from directly.
• Image charts (scans or photos) come across as a PDF.
• Other document types — including Apple Pages and OpenDocument — are imported with their original file kept, though SongSheet Pro can’t display them yet; nothing is discarded.

When an import includes documents that SongSheet Pro can’t yet display, it tells you how many; tap Details to see which ones. If you open one of these songs later, you’ll see a short message saying that it isn’t supported.

Support for more formats is added over time, so make sure your copy of SongSheet Pro is up to date. If the latest version still can’t open your document, let us know and we’ll see what we can do.

See Working with PDFs and documents for how document songs behave once imported.

Importing your whole library

To bring your whole OnSong library across, make a backup in OnSong and import the .backup file into SongSheet Pro. Importing an OnSong backup adds its setlists and songs to your current library; it does not replace it.

Import choices

Archives

An archive that contains a titled setlist asks whether to Import as a setlist or Import songs only. A single song, or a collection without a setlist title, is imported as individual songs.

If some of the songs are already in your library:

• With Import songs only, or for an archive without a setlist, SongSheet Pro asks what to do with them: Update existing, Import as new, or Skip duplicates.
• With Import as a setlist, the setlist is imported like a shared SongSheet Pro setlist, with the same choices for songs that are already in your library and for an existing setlist with the same name.

A library-wide archive, such as an “All Songs” export from OnSong, is treated as a setlist. Choose Import songs only to avoid creating one giant setlist.

Backups

A backup opens an Import OnSong Backup sheet that shows how many songs and setlists it contains, with these choices:

• Songs — if some songs are already in your library, choose Keep, Update, or Duplicate. Update keeps the song’s favorites, flags, and tags.
• Setlists — the Import setlists switch is on by default. If some setlists are already in your library, choose Keep, Update, or Duplicate for them separately from the songs.

A summary line shows what will be added, updated, or skipped as you change the choices. Tap Import when you are happy with it. If the choices would neither add nor update any songs or setlists, Import is unavailable.

If you choose Duplicate for songs and Update for setlists, the updated setlists will use the new copies rather than your existing songs. The sheet warns you about this.

When the import finishes, SongSheet Pro lists how many songs and setlists were imported.

What is not imported

• Stored transposition. A song is imported at its written pitch. If you transposed it in OnSong, the saved transposed key is not applied — re-transpose it in SongSheet Pro with key, capo, and transposing.
• Chord diagrams and instrument. OnSong’s chord-diagram settings and chosen instrument are not imported.
• Performance arrangement. A saved flow or section-order arrangement is not imported; rebuild it with song arrangements.
• Backing tracks and Apple Music links. OnSong files do not contain the audio, so a track association cannot be recreated — re-attach your backing tracks from your music library.
• Annotations. Notes or drawings placed on top of a song are not imported.
• Display and metronome preferences. Which details to show, chord-diagram size, metronome subdivision, tuning, pitch, scenes, MIDI, and similar OnSong-specific settings are not imported.
• Other OnSong-specific fields. Album and song or hymn number are not imported.
• Favorites. A song’s favorite status in OnSong is not imported.
• Deleted songs. Songs marked as deleted in an OnSong backup are not imported.
• Set dividers. Dividers inside an OnSong setlist are not imported; the songs keep their order.
• Library organization. OnSong’s own books, folders, and tag structure are not imported. Keywords and topics in a song’s text are still imported as tags, as noted above.

Worth checking after import

A few things may need a quick review:

• Chords on a separate line above the lyrics, or Nashville-number chords, may not import with the chords positioned as you expect.
• Line formatting — bold, italic, color, or size applied to a line — is not preserved.
• Setlists — songs are imported all at once, then setlists are added one by one. If the import is interrupted, some setlists may be missing. Import the backup again and choose Keep for both songs and setlists to add only the missing ones.

If you find an OnSong file that does not import the way you expect, send a support request with a sample file.