Build a sequence
A sequence is a saved program of cues that plays automatically. To open the
Sequences view, select the film icon in the top bar. Your sequences are listed on
the left, and each row shows the number of cues and the total length, for example
4 cue(s) · 20:31. On air marks a sequence that is playing. The selected sequence
fills the rest of the view.
To play a sequence, see Run a sequence.
Create the sequence
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At the top of the list, select +. Its tooltip is New sequence. The New sequence dialog opens.
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Type a Name, for example
Pre-game. Create stays disabled until the sequence has a name. If another sequence already uses the name, the dialog shows A sequence with this name already exists. -
On the Outputs tab, tick each screen the sequence shows on. Each ticked screen becomes a lane in every cue.
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For a surface with sections, select Whole board or individual sections.
You can use Whole board or sections, but not both. Selecting one clears the other.
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Tick the audio buses the sequence plays sound through.
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On the Playback tab, set how the sequence behaves. See Set playback options.
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Select Create.
Plays on in the dialog lists your choices, or shows Nothing selected. A new sequence starts with no cues. For a music-only sequence, tick no screens.
Free allows one sequence. Audio and higher plans have no limit. See Plans and limits.
Edit a sequence
To open the dialog again, select the pencil in the toolbar. It is the same dialog, with Save in place of Create.
The dialog warns you if you clear a screen that has items in its lane, or switch it between Whole board and a section. The app removes that lane's items only when you select Save. Cancel keeps them.
Number a sequence
sequence-osc-01-popover: the OSC addresses popover.
sequence-numbers-01-list: the numbered sequence list.
The app gives each sequence a Number when you create it. OSC addresses use the number. The number shows at the start of each row in the list and in the Number field of the settings. You cannot change it. The number stays the same when you rename or move the sequence. The app does not give the number of a deleted sequence to a new sequence, so an OSC message for that number fires nothing.
To copy an address, select OSC ▾ in the toolbar. The popover OSC addresses lists the
six addresses of the sequence, for example /adr/sequence/3/start. Select Copy on a
row. The same list is on the OSC tab of the settings dialog. OSC needs the Pro plan.
See OSC control and Plans and limits.
Delete a sequence
- In the dialog, select Delete sequence…. You can also right-click the sequence in the list and select Delete…. On a screen less than 1500 px wide, open the sequence name menu in the toolbar first.
- Confirm the deletion.
The app removes the sequence's cues and their lane items, but the media stays in the library. You cannot undo a deletion. You also cannot delete a sequence while it is playing, so stop it first.
Set playback options
The Playback tab of the dialog has four cards that control how the sequence plays.
| Card | Option | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| At the end | Stop | The sequence stops after the last cue. |
| Loop from the first cue | The sequence starts again from the first cue. It does not stop. | |
| Between cues | Crossfade | Crossfades from cue to cue. |
| Fade | Crossfades over the time that you set with the seconds stepper, for example 0.8 s. The same fade applies when you stop the sequence or when another item fades it out. | |
| Other audio on the same buses | Fade it out when this starts | When the sequence starts, it fades out the hot buttons and sequences on its buses that allow a fade. |
| Others can fade this out | The sequence stops when a hot button or sequence with fade-others starts on one of its buses. If you clear this option, the two items play together. | |
| When something takes one of its canvases | Pause and resume (default) or Stop and rewind | See Takeover and resume. |
Read the editor
sequence-editor-01-layout — Sequence editor with the cue rail, a focused cue showing the audio bed and a screen lane, a step list, and the settings panel open. Tracked in website/SCREENSHOTS.md.
The toolbar runs along the top of the editor. It holds the sequence name, the pencil for the sequence settings, the mode chip (Edit mode, On air or Paused), Play, Next and Stop, followed by the status strip, the zoom control, the total length and + Add cue.
The status strip shows the cue that is playing, or the first cue with Ready when the sequence is stopped. It also shows the cue's progress, time and length, and the cue or step that Next will start.
Below the toolbar, the cue rail lists the cues from top to bottom in play order. Each row shows the cue number, name and length. The cue you select in the rail is the focused cue, and it fills the rest of the editor.
The focused cue has its number, name and length at the top, with two areas below:
- The clock section shows the cue against a time ruler. It has an audio bed for the Audio lane, and one lane for each screen output in Seq mode.
- The step list shows the screen outputs in Step mode. Each row is one step, with its trigger, start time and length, and each output has a column.
Select an item to open its settings panel on the right. Select the × on the panel to close it.
On a screen less than 1500 px wide, the app gives the cue more room:
- The sequence list hides. Select the sequence name in the toolbar to open the list as a menu. Play, Next and Stop show only their icons, and the total length hides. Select a sequence to edit it, or select + New sequence at the end of the menu. The menu also opens while a sequence is on air.
- The cue rail shows only each cue's number and length. Select » to show the full cue rail over the cue, and « or a cue to shrink it again.
- The settings panel floats over the cue instead of pushing it aside.
Add cues
- To add an empty cue, select + Add cue in the toolbar.
- To add cues from files, drag audio or video files onto the cue rail.
- To rename a cue, double-click its name above the lanes, type the new name and press Enter. You can also right-click the cue in the rail and select Rename.
- To move a cue, drag it to a new position in the rail.
Fill the lanes
Media in a cue sits on lanes. A cue has one Audio lane when the sequence has buses, plus one lane for each screen target. Each section you selected individually gets its own lane.
To add media to a lane, drag a file onto it, or select + at the end of the lane and pick a file from your library.
The + opens the media picker. Its title names the lane, and the chip next to the title shows what the lane takes: Audio only for the audio lane, Video and images for a screen lane. Find the file with the search field, the folder list or Tags ▾, select it, and then select Choose. To hear a file before adding it, select ▶ in the preview on the right; it plays on PFL. Replace media… in the item menu opens the same picker.
A Whole board lane is fitted across the whole surface as one continuous picture. A section you selected individually has its own lane, fitted to that section's shape. Lanes of different sections never join up, even when they hold the same file.
To move an item, drag it along its lane. To copy it, hold Alt as you release it. You can also select an item and press Ctrl+D (⌘D on a Mac) to duplicate it.
Item settings
Select an item to show its settings in the panel on the right. Right-click an item to open its menu with Settings…, Replace media…, Duplicate and Remove….
Plays sets how many times a video or audio item plays. ×1, ×2 and ×3 play it that many times, and Custom plays it a number of times you set. ∞ plays it until the cue stops, which is useful for filling a long sponsor segment with a short music loop.
On an image, Length replaces Plays. Until Next holds the image until you select Next. You can also pick a preset time or type one.
Video and image items have a Fit setting in the panel:
- Center shows the item at its own size.
- Repeat tiles the item across the canvas.
- Stretch fills the canvas.
A change takes effect the next time the item starts.
Media shows the item's file. Select Replace… to choose a different one.
Step mode
In a lane in Seq mode, items play in order: when one stops, the next starts.
To hold a photo or video on screen until you are ready, select Step in the lane header. The lane moves to the step list and waits for Next. To go back to automatic playback, select Seq.
In the step list, select + Add step to add a row, and drag an item to another row to change its step. Audio always plays straight through.
Remove things
You can remove an item, a step, a cue or a whole sequence. The app asks you to confirm each removal, and none of them can be undone.
- To remove an item, select it and press Delete, or right-click it and select Remove….
- To remove a whole step with all its items, select an item in it and press Shift+Delete, or use Remove whole step… in the item menu.
- To remove a cue, right-click it in the rail and select Remove…, or select the cue and press Delete in the rail. You can also select the remove icon in the cue title.
Edit mode and on air
When the sequence is stopped, the editor is in edit mode and you can change everything. While the sequence plays, the editor is on air and everything is locked.
On air, you cannot drag, drop, add, rename or remove anything. The settings pencil in the toolbar stays available, but + Add cue is disabled. The mode chip shows a lock with the tooltip Stop the sequence to edit, and the panel shows Stop the sequence to change settings.
In the dialog, only the Name can change on air. The chip shows On air with the cue number and name, and the dialog header shows Stop the sequence to change outputs and playback. The other settings stay visible but dimmed, and Delete sequence… is disabled.
When you pause the sequence, the mode chip shows Paused and the editor stays locked. Select Play to carry on.
On air, the playing cue has an On air chip in the rail and the next cue has Next. A playhead shows the position in the cue, and a step list shows the step that is playing.
If a hot button takes a canvas from the sequence, the toolbar shows a note such as Main screen taken over by Goal, with the time remaining, and an orange dot appears on the lane header. The note goes away when the hot button ends.
Zoom and scroll
The zoom control in the toolbar zooms the clock section. Select − or + to change the zoom, or the middle button to fit the cue in the view.
On air, the view follows the playhead and turns the page when the playhead reaches the right side. If you scroll or zoom by hand, the view stops following and a Playhead pill appears at the edge of the view. Select it to follow the playhead again.
Control overlays from a cue
A cue can show or hide an overlay while it plays. When the sequence moves to the next cue, the overlay goes back to how it was.
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In the title of the focused cue, select the overlay directives icon.
A dot on the icon means the cue already has directives.
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Select an overlay.
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Select Force show or Force hide.
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Select + to add the directive.
To remove a directive, select ×.
See Overlays and the live-value store.