For the venue
Playing a presentation made with The Last Farewell
Has a family or funeral director supplied you with a presentation made with The Last Farewell? This page explains what you receive and how to play it. You do not need an account, and no internet during the service.
What you receive
The family chooses the form in which the presentation is supplied. Feel free to ask for the form that suits your equipment.
- PowerPoint (.pptx): the music is in the file and the slides change by themselves
- Farewell Player (.farewell): our own playback program for Windows and Mac
- Numbered photos (JPEG): each slide as a separate photo, numbered in order
- Video (MP4): a part as a video file
- Operating instructions (PDF): one page with what to do for each part
- The order of service (PDF): the parts with starting time and duration
The structure: parts
Every presentation consists of parts in the order of the service, for example walk-in, speaker, photo presentation and closing. The operating instructions give one of these three directions for each part.
- Press start: the part waits until you continue, then it runs by itself
- Click per photo: you go to the next photo yourself, for example with a speaker
- Runs by itself: you do nothing until the part has finished
Playing the PowerPoint
Open the file in PowerPoint and start the slide show from the beginning.
- The parts appear as sections in the slide list, with the same names as in the operating instructions
- The music is in the file and starts by itself at the right part
- A part that waits for start has a waiting slide first: click once to begin the part
- The notes under each slide say what happens and what you should do; you see them in presenter view
- A walk-in or closing repeats for as long as was set and then continues with the next part
- The supplied folder also contains the music and videos as separate files, as a backup
Using the Farewell Player
The Farewell Player is free and runs on Windows 10 and 11 and on macOS 10.14 or newer. You install the program once and then open the .farewell file.
- Works without internet and without PowerPoint
- Space bar: start and pause. Left and right arrows: previous and next slide
- Up and down arrows: previous and next part
- A wireless presenter works like the arrow keys
- Operating with a phone is possible via the QR code, if laptop and phone are on the same wifi network
- A walk-in or closing keeps repeating until you move on yourself
Separate photos or video
If you work with your own playback system, the numbered photos or a video are the simplest.
- Numbered photos: the files are in order (001, 002, …); you click through each photo yourself and play the music separately
- Video (MP4): image and music are in one file; any media player can play it
- There is a separate video file for each part of the service. Many venues load these into their own system and start the right file for each part; picture and music then always stay together
Testing beforehand
Play the presentation once before the service on the screen and sound system you will use.
- Check the sound: does the music start by itself and at the right volume?
- The image is widescreen (16:9); check that it fills the screen
- Go through the waiting moments with the operating instructions at hand
- Turn off notifications, screen saver and automatic updates on the computer
Frequently asked questions from venues
Do you work with families yourself?
As a funeral director you can set up presentations for your families, with your own logo.