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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Q Light Controller Plus - Show Manager</TITLE>
<SCRIPT SRC="utility.js" TYPE="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<link href="style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
</HEAD>
<BODY onLoad="replaceqrc()">
<H1><IMG SRC="qrc:/show.png"> Show Manager</H1>
<P>
The Show Manager has been introduced in QLC+ starting from version 4.0.0, after forking the original
QLC code on November 5th, 2012.<br>
<br>
This feature is meant to give users the possibility of setting up a time driven show in a friendly and
completely graphical way.<br>
The graphic interface shows a multitrack view, typical of audio sequencers or video editing softwares,
and with it users are allowed to place QLC+ <A HREF="concept.html#Functions">Functions</A> at the desired
place and time in the view.<br>
Show Manager gives a lot of flexibility during a <A HREF="concept.html#Show">Show</a> creation thanks
to its visual-oriented approach. Once understood the basic elements, it is very easy to create, move or edit
the existing functions and improve a Show by adding new tracks to it.<br>
<br>
Typical use cases of Shows are those gigs where a band plays songs following a metronome and the light show has
always to be the same, following the music.<br>
Another case are visual entertainment shows, where dancers or singers follow some music and lights create
the atmosphere at the right time.<br>
<br>
The Show Manager drives users to make large use of the Sequence function. Here's the explanation
of the difference between a Chaser and a Sequence.<br>
</P>
<H2>Sequences vs Chasers</H2>
<P>
Even if the <A HREF="concept.html#Sequence">Sequence</a> and the
<A HREF="concept.html#Chaser">Chaser</a> functions have some common ground, they're not the same thing.<br>
If not done yet, you are invited to read once again their definitions in the
<A HREF="concept.html">Basic Concepts & Glossary</a> page of this documentation.<br>
The main differences are:
<ul>
<li><b>Steps</b>: The steps of a Chaser can represent any QLC+ Function, while the steps
of a Sequence represents different values of the same <A HREF="concept.html#Scene">Scene</a>.<br>
In other words, a Chaser is an independent function, while a Sequence can exist only
on top of a Scene.<br>
The reason for this is, as mentioned before, the visual approach of the Show Manager.
If a track of a Show is the graphical representation of a Scene, then it's more intuitive
to think that each Sequence created on that track is a function controlling the values of that Scene.
</li>
<li><b>Order</b>: Chasers can be reproduced in any order (Forward, Backward, Ping-Pong, Random) while
in the Show Manager, Sequences are always reproduced from the beginning to the end (Forward).
Again, this is related to the visual aspect of the Show Manager, where the playback
has a natural time forward direction.<br>
On the other hand, Sequences created with the Function Manager can have the
same order properties of Chasers.
</li>
<li><b>Editing</b>: The editing approach between Sequences and Chaser is different too.<br>
Normally the workflow of a Chaser is: create a Function, then add it to the Chaser as a step.<br>
The workflow of a Sequence is: create a Scene, create a Sequence on top of it, add steps to it.<br>
The Sequence approach might be very effective when you design a light show if you can pre-determine
which fixtures you're going to use. Another major advantage of Sequence editing is
that when you create a new step, the values of the previous step are copied in the new one.
So the user is simply required to adjust the differences between them.<br>
If you are going to create 500 steps and they're all different, then Sequences and Chasers
will take almost the same time to be created.<br>
</li>
<li><b>Synchronization</b>: another major advantage of using Sequences in a Show is that a Show
can easily be extended (or reduced) while with a Chaser you will have a hard time to
synchronize the new functions to the existing ones.<br>
An example. Let's say your project controls 50 fixtures that are a mixture of moving heads, PARs and scanners.
At some point you buy a couple of lasers and you want them to become active in existing scenes
at precise moments in time. The Show Manager allows you to do that in a few minutes!
You just need to add the 2 new fixtures to the project, add a track to the Shows affected by
the change and create a few Sequences to control the lasers.<br>
The Show Manager resume functionality will also save you a lot of time when testing the new
changes.<br>
With Chasers you'd probably have to deal with complex <A HREF="concept.html#Collection">Collections</a>
and review the timings of a few steps before finding the right combination.
</ul>
</P>
<H2>Show Manager toolbar controls</H2>
<TABLE BORDER=1 class="qlcTable">
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="qrc:/show.png"/></TD>
<TD>CTRL+H</TD>
<TD>Create a new <A HREF="concept.html#Show">Show</A>. A Show is represented as a multitrack
workspace where tracks, sequences and audio elements can be added</TD>
</TR>
<TR></TR>
<TR>
<TD><B>Shows list</B></TD>
<TD></TD>
<TD>This drop down box lists the currently created Shows. Clicking on a Show will display it.</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="qrc:/edit_add.png"/></TD>
<TD>CTRL+N</TD>
<TD>Create a new track or add existing functions to the Show. When clicking on this button
a window is displayed, allowing you to perform the following operations:
<ul>
<li>Create a new track: This creates a new empty track that will serve as a container
for Sequences and Audio functions.
</li>
<li>Import an existing Scene. This will create a new track and a 10 seconds Sequence
with one single step representing the selected Scene.
</li>
<li>Import an existing Sequence: this operation scans the existing tracks and if
it finds a track already bound to the Sequence's bound Scene, then add the
Sequence to that track at the cursor position.<br>
If no compatible track is found, a new track will be created and bound to the
Sequence's bound Scene.
</li>
<li>Import an existing <A HREF="concept.html#Chaser">Chaser</A>: add a Chaser function at the cursor
position on the selected track. If no track is available, it will create a new one.
</li>
<li>Import an existing <A HREF="concept.html#Audio">Audio</A>: add an Audio function at the cursor
position on the selected track. If no track is available, it will create a new one.
</li>
<li>Import an existing <A HREF="concept.html#EFX">EFX</A>: add an EFX function at the cursor
position on the selected track. If no track is available, it will create a new one.
</li>
<li>Import an existing <A HREF="concept.html#RGBMatrix">RGB Matrix</A>: add a RGB Matrix function at the cursor
position on the selected track. If no track is available, it will create a new one.
</li>
</ul>
A Show can have a virtually infinite number of tracks.</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="qrc:/sequence.png"/></TD>
<TD>CTRL+E</TD>
<TD>Create a new <A HREF="concept.html#Sequence">Sequence</A> item and bind it to the
selected track.
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="qrc:/audio.png"/></TD>
<TD>CTRL+A</TD>
<TD>Create a new <A HREF="concept.html#Audio">Audio</A> item. An audio item simply represents
an audio file. Audio items can be added on any track, but if you want to to create a separate
track for it, just create an new track.<br>
<B>Note:</B> It is possible to display the waveform preview of an audio item just by right clicking it
and selecting the channels you want to display (mono, left channel, right channel, stereo)<br>
<B>Warning:</B> Even though QLC+ allows you to, it is not possible to play two audio files simultaneously.
Especially on Windows, you might experience unwanted crashes.
</TD>
</TR>
<TR></TR>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="qrc:/editcopy.png"/></TD>
<TD>CTRL+C</TD>
<TD>Copy the currently selected item into QLC+ clipboard</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="qrc:/editpaste.png"/></TD>
<TD>CTRL+V</TD>
<TD>Paste QLC+ clipboard content at the cursor position. When performing this
operation two checks are performed:
<UL>
<LI>Overlapping: checks if the item you're going to paste overlaps with an
existing item in the selected track</LI>
<LI>Validity: If you're pasting a Sequence, QLC+ will verify that the
Sequence contents are compatible with the currently selected track</LI>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="qrc:/editdelete.png"/></TD>
<TD>Del</TD>
<TD>Delete the currently selected item. This can be a sequence, an audio item or a track.
Note that deleting a track will delete also all its sequences/audio children.<br>
<B>Note: Show Manager will only perform a "visual removal" of functions. To permanently
delete them, please use the <A HREF="functionmanager.html">Function Manager</A></B></TD>
</TR>
<TR></TR>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="qrc:/color.png"/></TD>
<TD>CTRL+R</TD>
<TD>Assign a custom color to the selected item</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="qrc:/lock.png"/></TD>
<TD>CTRL+K</TD>
<TD>Lock or unlock then selected item. Once an item is locked, it cannot be dragged on the timeline anymore</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="qrc:/speed.png"/></TD>
<TD>CTRL+T</TD>
<TD>Open a window where you can adjust the selected item start time and total duration.
The behaviour of the latter will depend on the selected item.<br>
On Audio and Video items it does nothing.<br>
On Sequences and Chasers it will stretch all the steps timings to fit to the desired duration.<br>
On EFXs and RGB Matrices some extra options will be displayed, allowing to stretch the original function
or loop the function until the desired duration is reached.</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="qrc:/grid.png"/></TD>
<TD>CTRL+G</TD>
<TD>Enable/disable the "Snap to grid" functionality. The view will be filled with vertical bars
corresponding to the header markers (time or BPM)<br>
Snapping to grid will correct your items by dragging them to the nearest reference bar</TD>
</TR>
<TR></TR>
<TR>
<TD><B>00:00:00.000</B></TD>
<TD></TD>
<TD>This field displays the cursor time position both if the playback is stopped or activated</TD>
</TR>
<TR></TR>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="qrc:/player_play.png"/><IMG SRC="qrc:/player_pause.png"/></TD>
<TD>Space</TD>
<TD>Start the current Show playback from the cursor position, or pause it and leave the lights on.</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC="qrc:/player_stop.png"/></TD>
<TD>CTRL+Space</TD>
<TD>Stop the current Show playback. Clicking once will stop the cursor at the current position
for resuming later. Clicking twice will restore the cursor to 0 seconds.<br>
<b>Hint:</b> When resuming a show with audio tracks, please keep in mind that audio accuracy depends on
the file formats you are using. For example MP3 files resume is not particularly accurate, while wave files resume is.
</TD>
</TR>
<TR></TR>
<TR>
<TD><B>Time markers</B></TD>
<TD></TD>
<TD>This drop down menu lets you to choose the desired time division to display for your Show.<br>
This can be either 'Time'. 'BPM 4/4', 'BPM 3/4' or 'BPM 2/2'</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD><B>BPMs</B></TD>
<TD></TD>
<TD>When a BPM time division mode is selected, this field lets you decide the appropriate BPM
to set for you Show. This ranges from 20 to 240.<br>
This can be quite useful when dealing with electronic music or BPM synchronized shows</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<H2>Just 4 steps</H2>
The Show Manager has been set up to be used quickly and easily. Basically, with just 4 steps a complete
<A HREF="concept.html#Show">Show</A> can be created:
<OL>
<H3><LI>Add a new Show <IMG SRC="qrc:/show.png" ALIGN="absmiddle"></LI></H3>
First of all you need to add a new Show to the view. This creates an empty multitrack view with no tracks
and no items, ready to be filled.<br>
A popup will appear asking the name to assign to the Show. It is possible to change the name afterwards with the
<A HREF="functionmanager.html">Function Manager</A>, using the <A HREF="showeditor.html">Show Editor</A> panel.
<H3><LI>Add a track <IMG SRC="qrc:/edit_add.png" ALIGN="absmiddle"></LI></H3>
When you add a track, a popup will ask you to select an existing function or to create a new one with a default name.<br>
When done, a new track will be created. All the sequences created on this track
will act only on the associated Scene, not affecting any of the other tracks.<br>
A newly created track will be set automatically as active. An active track has a green light on the left hand side.<br>
A Track can be set to <IMG SRC="../images/track-mute.png" ALIGN="absmiddle"> mute and
<IMG SRC="../images/track-solo.png" ALIGN="absmiddle"> solo states. The mute state will exclude the track from the playback,
while the solo state will mute all the other tracks of the Show.<br>
When right clicking on a track, it is possible to move it up <IMG SRC="qrc:/up.png" ALIGN="absmiddle"> or
down <IMG SRC="qrc:/down.png" ALIGN="absmiddle"> for logical ordering.<br>
Once selected, a track will display its <A HREF="sceneeditor.html">Scene Editor</A> on the bottom of the screen.
<H3><LI>Add some <A HREF="concept.html#Function">Functions</A></LI></H3>
When a track has been activated, you can quickly add a <IMG SRC="qrc:/sequence.png" ALIGN="absmiddle">
<A HREF="concept.html#Sequence">Sequence</A> or an <IMG SRC="qrc:/audio.png" ALIGN="absmiddle">
<A HREF="concept.html#Audio">Audio</A> function to it by pressing the toolbar buttons.<br>
Otherwise, by clicking on the <IMG SRC="qrc:/edit_add.png" ALIGN="absmiddle"> button, it is possible to import existing
QLC+ Functions and add them to the Show timeline.<br>
A new item will be placed at the cursor position, but it is always possible to move it to the desired time
just by dragging it along the timeline.<br>
An item cannot be moved to another track, since it is bound to the track where it has originally been created.<br>
An item can be copied <IMG SRC="qrc:/editcopy.png" ALIGN="absmiddle">, pasted <IMG SRC="qrc:/editpaste.png" ALIGN="absmiddle"> or
deleted <IMG SRC="qrc:/editdelete.png" ALIGN="absmiddle"> with the toolbar icons. The pasted item will be placed at the current cursor position.<br>
The item background color can be changed with the toolbar icon <IMG SRC="qrc:/color.png" ALIGN="absmiddle">. The assigned color will be saved
in your project file.<br>
Once selected, an item will display its specific Function Editor on the right hand side of the screen.
When right clicking an item a contextual menu will be displayed, showing the following options:
<ul>
<li><b>Preview</b>: This option is available only on audio items. It will display the waveform preview for right, left or stereo channels when available</li>
<li><b>Align to cursor</b>: This option will move the selected item to the cursor position</li>
<li><IMG SRC="qrc:/lock.png" ALIGN="absmiddle"><b>Lock/Unlock</b>: Once an item is locked, it cannot be dragged on the timeline anymore</li>
</ul>
Follow step 4 to understand how to fill a Sequence<br>
<H3><LI>Edit your Functions</LI></H3>
Once an item has been created, it is now the time to edit it.<br>
<b>Please note</b> that the difference between a Chaser and a Sequence is that a Sequence is bound to the Track (so the Scene)
where it has been created. So, when adding a step, QLC+ will not ask to select a particular function, but will always use the
channels of the same Scene.<br>
When editing a Function, you will see the item changing on the multitrack view,
giving an immediate feedback for aligning to other items or particular points in time.<br>
Fade In and Fade Out times will be displayed as diagonal lines over the items on the multitrack view, while
different steps/loops will be divided by vertical lines.<br>
</OL>
<br>
To increase the complexity of the Show, more Functions can be added. Just repeat the above steps
depending on your needs.<br>
<H2>And finally...play! <IMG SRC="qrc:/player_play.png"></H2>
When a complete show has finally been created, it can be played just by clicking on the Play icon.<br>
Playback always starts from the current cursor position. The cursor position can be changed by clicking on the time line.
</BODY>
</HTML>
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