# Live, Paused and End

> What viewers see while you're Live or Paused, the holding card, and how End closes Curtains Presenter.

Source: https://curtains.app/help/live-paused-and-end/

Once Curtains Presenter is open, one control decides what viewers see: **Live** shows your windows, **Paused** shows a holding card, and **End** returns it to blank.

## The session control

At the right of the stage bar is the **Live** / **Paused** switch, with **End** attached.

*Image: The session control while Live: a red Live button, then Paused, then End.*

- **Live**: viewers see your windows, as arranged. The status line says **Live: viewers see this preview**.
- **Paused**: viewers see a holding card instead of your windows. The status line says **Paused: viewers see the holding card**.
- **End**: ends the session and returns Curtains Presenter to blank.

*Image: The session control while Paused: Live, then a highlighted Paused button, then End.*

You can't reach the switch from a draft, since nothing is shared yet. A draft has **Not shared yet** and **Go Live** instead. See [Drafts and Go Live](https://curtains.app/help/drafts-and-go-live/).

## Switch between Live and Paused

Any of these toggles it:

- Click **Live** or **Paused** in Studio.
- Press `⌃⌥P` from any app. The switch's tooltip shows your shortcut.
- Click **Pause sharing** or **Go Live** on the floating remote. See [Floating remote and menu bar](https://curtains.app/help/floating-remote-and-menu-bar/).
- Choose **Pause** or **Go Live** from the menu bar icon.

The arrow keys never switch the two, so you can't go Live by accident. Tab to **Live** or **Paused**, then press Enter or Space.

## The holding card

While Paused, Curtains Presenter shows your theme's background and title bar with a dark card in the middle. No window shows, so nothing on your screen reaches viewers from the next frame on.

*Illustration: Curtains Presenter while Paused: the green theme background and its title bar, with a dark card in the middle. The card shows the Curtains logo, the word Paused, and The presenter will be right back.*

The card says one of two things:

- **Starting soon**, before you've gone Live in this session. It's also what Curtains Presenter shows while it waits for you in a call.
- **Paused**, after you were Live and paused.

*Illustration: The Starting soon holding card: the same dark card over the green theme, with the Curtains logo, the words Starting soon, and The presenter is getting things ready.*

## Pause to get things ready

While you're Paused, Studio's preview still shows your real canvas. That makes Paused a good time to arrange windows, add a blur region or add a window hidden before anyone sees it.

A session that starts any way other than a draft's **Go Live** begins Paused: starting a combo, using a combo's shortcut, or a session started at login. The **Start Paused** setting in **Settings › Presenter**, on by default, controls it. Then click **Live** when it looks right.

## The Go Live reminder

Say a session starts Paused while you're in a call, from a combo for example, and you haven't gone Live yet. Viewers see **Starting soon**. After 20 seconds, Studio shows a reminder above the preview, and a ring around the **Go Live** button on the floating remote pulses.

*Image: A banner above the preview: “You're in a call and viewers see the holding card,” with a red Go Live button, a settings button and a close button.*

Click **Go Live**, or the **×** to dismiss it for this session. It's gone for good once you've been Live, so pausing again later is never nagged about. To turn the reminder off, switch off **Remind me to go Live** in **Settings › Calls**. No system notifications are sent.

## End

**End** ends the session and returns Curtains Presenter to blank: viewers see only the canvas background, and your meeting app can keep sharing the same window. Studio goes back to the empty stage with **Sources**. If you turned off **Open Curtains Presenter at launch**, End closes Curtains Presenter instead, so your meeting app stops sharing it.

- Windows that Curtains resized go back to their original sizes, unless you've turned off **Restore window sizes when you are done** in **Settings › Windows**.
- During a call, Curtains Presenter shows **Starting soon** after you end, until you go Live again.
- Closing Studio doesn't end the session. Curtains keeps running in the menu bar and Curtains Presenter stays open. Quitting Curtains does end it.

## When a shared window changes

Viewers see what happens to your windows, even in the middle of a share:

- **A window is minimized.** Viewers see its last frame, dimmed, with a **Minimized** badge. Studio tells you which window.
- **A window closes, or its app quits.** It leaves the canvas and Studio tells you.
- **A window moves to another display.** Curtains keeps capturing it.

## If Curtains Presenter has a problem

Studio shows a message when your meeting app can't capture it properly: when Curtains Presenter is minimized, when Curtains is hidden with `⌘H`, or when the window is smaller than the output. See [Sharing in your meeting app](https://curtains.app/help/sharing-in-your-meeting-app/#keep-curtains-presenter-available).

## Next steps

- [Floating remote and menu bar](https://curtains.app/help/floating-remote-and-menu-bar/): switch Live and Paused without opening Studio.
- [Blur and hide](https://curtains.app/help/blur-and-hide/): keep private things out of the share.
- [Keyboard shortcuts](https://curtains.app/help/keyboard-shortcuts/): all your shortcuts.