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Version: 12.0

Creating a Cue List

Programming a Cue List

Video covering Cue List Basics

Programming a cue list is similar to recording a chase.

You need to set up the look on the stage for each cue and then add it to the cue list. If you want to set fade times, you can either set them while saving the cues or later.

  1. Press Record then Create Cue List.

  2. Press the select button of the playback where you want to store the Cue List (you can also store cue lists in the Playbacks window).

  3. Select the Record Mode of the console: by Fixture, Channel, Stage or Quick Build; if you are using tracking, Record Mode Channel is best as you are sure to only record the attributes you have explicitly set, but you do need to make sure you have changed all the things you want to be recorded so they are in the programmer.

  4. Set the default Fade and Delay times, and automatic cue linking, using Set Times. These settings will be allocated to every new cue.

  5. Set up the look for the first cue, either manually or by using Include on existing cues. You can use the Shape Generator and the Pixel Mapper.

  6. If you require a legend for the cue, set it now using Legend. You can also change this later using Unfold or Set Legend (see next section).

  7. Press the Select button of the handle or Append Cue to store the programmer contents as Cue 1 of the cue list.

  8. Repeat steps 5 - 7 for additional cues. Do not press Clear in between cues, unless you want levels to track through from previous cues, as any faders moving to zero will not be stored. If you do press clear, you must make sure that all channels you want to record are selected or in the programmer (inverted display).

  9. Press Exit to finish when you have stored all the cues


  • You can reopen the cue list to add more cues by repeating the procedure above; this does not affect any cues already stored in the cue list.

  • To add more cues to the end of the existing cues press Append cue.

  • To edit an existing cue, press Cue Number= and type the cue number to edit. Make the changes then press Update Cue x.

  • To insert new cues, see Editing Cue Lists.

  • The Advanced Options menu allows you to renumber all the cues, and to change the number of an existing cue.

  • There is no limit to the number of cues in a cue list.

  • Cue lists offer a Move In Dark function which will move fixtures to the correct position for their next cue while they are set to zero intensity. See the Move In Dark (MID) functions section.

  • You can change the tracking mode of each cue.

Record Mode

Record Mode lets you select Record By Fixture (all attributes of any modified or selected fixture are saved), Record By Channel (only modified attributes are saved), Record Stage (all fixtures with a non-zero dimmer channel are saved) or Quick Build (allows you to build a cue from other playbacks or palettes; select the playbacks/palettes you wish to use and press OK).
Record By Channel is useful if you want to layer this cue list with other playbacks to create an effect.

Changing Legends for Cues in a Cue List

You can set a legend for each cue, which is shown on the screen when running the cue list and can be helpful for keeping track of where you are.

  1. Press Set Legend in the top level menu. If you are setting legends for several cues, press Menu Latch to latch the Set Legend menu.

  2. Press the Select button of the Cue List.

  3. The cues in the cue list are shown on the screen. Touch the list or use Wheel A to select which cue is to be renamed.

  4. Press Cue Legend and type the legend on the keyboard, then press

    Enter.
  5. If you latched the menu, you can continue to set legends for other cues, or press Exit to finish.

Shape Tracking in Cue Lists

Shapes can track between cues in cue lists. If shape tracking is enabled, a shape started in a cue will continue through following cues. Shape tracking is enabled using the Shape Tracking option in the Playback Options for the cue list - see Cue List Options.

Cues containing shapes have a button for each shape.

Cue List window showing tracking shapes

In the following cues where shapes are tracking, an option switch is shown for each active shape:  T | Allows the shape to track to the next cue ---|---  B | Blocks the shape so it will not appear in following cues

The cue itself can also have options set to block all shapes, see Cue List Options.

You can also block attributes for shapes independently during recording using the @ menu. Select the Attribute using the attribute bank buttons, press @ then the FX group button. The softkeys will then give the options Block Shape and Unblock Shape. If an attribute is set to  Blocked the wheel display will show a "Blocked" watermark.

If Shape Tracking is not enabled, shapes in each cue are independent from each other. If an identical shape (with the same size and speed) is saved in a following cue then the shape will continue running rather than restarting.

Autoloading a Playback within a Cue List

You can program a cue within a cue list to automatically load one or more playbacks when the cue fires. The playback can be a single cue, a chase or another cue list. This can be a useful way to trigger chases or effects from the cue list.

You can either automatically save active playbacks as Autoloads, or you can manually allocate Autoloads to cues.

To automatically record active playbacks as Autoloads:

  1. After selecting Cue List Record, turn on Autoload Live Playbacks in the Advanced Options menu of the cue list record screen.

  2. Turn on the playbacks you wish to load for this cue.

  3. Save the cue. Active playbacks will be saved as Autoloads.

To manually edit autoloads use the playback view for the cue list:

  1. Press View/Open

  2. Press the Select button of the Cue List.

  3. The cues in the cue list are shown on the screen. Click on the  Autoload you wish to change. (You will need to set the window to full screen size or scroll across to see the Autoload column. If the Autoload column is not shown, click on the Show All button on the left of the window.)

  4. Press the Select button of the playback which is to be loaded. The playback legend appears on the softkeys.

  5. You can continue to add Autoloads to other cues, or press Exit to finish.

Cue List Window with Autoload playback


The Autoloaded playback will be fired when the cue starts, and killed when the cue list moves on to the next cue, unless you have also loaded the playback into the next cue.

You can set options for each Autoloaded playback by pressing the softkey where the Autoloaded playback is shown.

For a cue, the only option is Remove this Autoload.

For a chase or cue list, softkey B lets you select whether to load the playback from the start, to start at a specific cue, or to press Go on the target playback.

In the Autoload Times column you can set fade in, fade out and delay times for the autoloaded playback. Normally the autoload will use the times set for the cue, but you can also select Use Individual Target Times which will use the times set in the autoloaded playback, or you can set independent times yourself.

Running a Key Macro from a Cue List

You can program a cue within a cue list to trigger a key macro. This allows you to set up custom actions which can be performed when a cue in a cue list fires; for example you may want to lamp on your fixtures as the first cue in the cue list.

  1. Press Playback Options

  2. Select the cue list

  3. Select Macros

  4. In the Playback View window, select the step you want to add a macro to

  5. Press the button(s) for the macro(s) you want to attach to the step, or press Add and choose an action from the list.

  6. The "Macros" column shows the macros you have added.

You can remove macros by selecting the cue, pressing the softkey for the macro you wish to remove and then pressing Remove Link.

Keyboard Shortcuts/Syntax for Cue Lists

The following keyboard syntax can be used for fast cue list recording and editing. These commands work for the selected or currently connected playback where n is the cue number.

ShortcutAction
Record, Connect, n, EnterRecord cue n
Copy, Connect, nCopy cue n
Delete, Connect, nDelete cue n
Include, Connect, nInclude cue n
Connect, n, GoGo cue n