QLab 5

Reference Manual
Last updated on July 16, 2024 for QLab 5.4.4

© 2023 Figure 53, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: General Chapter 6: Video

1.1 New in QLab 5 6.1 Intro to Video

1.2 QLab 5 Change Log 6.2 Video Cues
1.3 System Recommendations 6.3 Camera Cues
1.4 Preparing Your Mac 6.4 Text Cues
1.5 Keyboard Shortcuts 6.5 Video Output
1.6 Licenses 6.6 Using NDI
1.7 Features by License 6.7 Fading Video & Video Effects
1.8 QLab Preferences
Chapter 7: Lighting
Chapter 2: Fundamentals
7.1 Intro to Lighting
2.1 The Workspace 7.2 Light Cues
2.2 Workspace Settings 7.3 The Light Dashboard
2.3 Workspace Templates 7.4 The Lighting Command Language
2.4 Managing Workspaces 7.5 The Light Patch Editor
2.5 Cues 7.6 Light Library
2.6 The Inspector
Chapter 8: Networking, MIDI, and Show Control
2.7 Cue Lists
2.8 Cue Carts 8.1 Collaboration
2.9 Group Cues 8.2 QLab Remote
2.10 Cue Sequences 8.3 Using OSC
Chapter 3: Tools 8.4 Using MIDI & MSC
8.5 Using Timecode
3.1 The Tools Menu 8.6 Show Control Broadcast
3.2 Find 8.7 Network Cues
3.3 Paste Cue Properties 8.8 MIDI Cues
3.4 The Launcher Window 8.9 MIDI File Cues
3.5 Monitor Windows 8.10 Timecode Cues
3.6 Auditioning Cues
3.7 Override Controls Chapter 9: Scripting

9.1 OSC Dictionary

Chapter 4: Workflow Tools
9.2 OSC Queries
4.1 The Workspace Status Window 9.3 Script Cues
4.2 The Timecode Status Window 9.4 AppleScript Dictionary
9.5 Parameter Reference
Chapter 5: Audio 9.6 OSC & Scripting Examples

5.1 Intro to Audio Chapter 10: Other Cues

5.2 Audio Cues
5.3 Mic Cues 10.1 Transport Cues
5.4 The Audio Output Patch Editor 10.2 Devamp Cues
5.5 Fading Audio & Audio Effects 10.3 GoTo Cues
10.4 Target Cues
10.5 Arm and Disarm Cues
10.6 Wait Cues
10.7 Memo Cues
Chapter 11: Tutorials

11.1 The GO Button

11.2 How To Use A Mac
11.3 Basic Networking
11.4 Understanding USB-C
11.5 Sam's Toolbox
Chapter 1: General

1.1 New in QLab 5

1.2 QLab 5 Change Log
1.3 System Recommendations
1.4 Preparing Your Mac
1.5 Keyboard Shortcuts
1.6 Licenses
1.7 Features by License
1.8 QLab Preferences
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - New in QLab 5 1.1

New in QLab 5
This is a more or less fully inclusive list of the differences between QLab 5 and QLab 4. For changes made after the initial release of
5.0, check out the change log.

General

Stop, QLaborate, and Listen

QLab 5 allows multiple people on separate Macs to collaborate on a workspace, live and in realtime, on a local network.

Autosave
Autosave prevents accidental loss of work in the event of a crash or power outage. No guarantees are made against data loss due to
user error, acts of God, or most hauntings.

I Am Not Throwing Away My Snapshot

As part of Autosave, QLab 5 optionally saves a snapshot of your workspace every time you save, allowing you to easily access earlier
versions of your work.

Playlist Mode
Group cues have a new Playlist mode that allows you to create sequential playlists which advance automatically or manually
with optional crossfading, shuffling, and looping.

Audition Improvements
The Audition Window has been replaced by a set of audition-related tools:

Each category of cue output (Audio, Video, MIDI, MTC Timecode, LTC Timecode, Network, and Light) can be individually set to
audition to a specific output, the same output as usual, or no output.

Video output can also be set to audition to an audition window. Video stages (formerly called video surfaces) each get their
own audition window.
Light cues audition to an “Audition” tab in the Light Dashboard.
Audition and Audition Preview actions let you audition individual cues and cue sequences without affecting the rest of the
workspace.

Workspaces can be set to Always audition which turns every into an Audition and every Preview into an Audition
Preview, in the style of QLab 4.
Cues in the midst of auditioning can be interrupted and restarted normally with a single or Preview command; no need to
stop first, then restart.

Going Dark!
QLab 5 uses macOS Dark Mode so that dialogue boxes, title bars, and other window “chrome” look more consistent with the rest of
QLab’s interface.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - New in QLab 5 1.1

Cues A La Cart
Cue carts have received a variety of updates:

You can now manually set the grid size of a cart anywhere from 1 × 1 cells up to 10 × 10 cells.
Cart cues can now have pre-waits.

Cart cues display their duration and pre-wait, if applicable, when they are not playing.
Carts now have three display sizes, just like lists, which can be configured in the General → Display Size section of Workspace
Settings.
Assorted improvements to aesthetics and legibility.

Conditional Coloration
Cue colors can be set to appear all the time, only before the cue has played, or only after the cue has played, making it easier for
you to use color to mark cues as “unplayed” or “played.”

Reconnect With Old Friends

A new file search tool makes it easier to reconnect broken cues to their missing file targets, for example after moving a workspace
to a new computer or reorganizing media while QLab is not running.

Drag-and-drop now less of a drag

Setting cues’ targets by drag and drop now works bi-directionally: you can drag the acting cue onto its target cue, or drag the
target cue onto the acting cue. If both cues could potentially be targets of each other, the dragged cue is set as the target of the
cue it’s dropped onto.

Related but separate, dragging cues onto Group cues now sets the Group cue as the target of the dragged cues, instead of
potentially re-targeting all the child cues of that Group cue.

Right Click, Right Time

Right-clicking (or clicking with the control key held down) on cues in the cue list or on controls in the inspector now brings up a
contextual menu which gives you quick access to relevant actions and extensive in-line help text with links to the relevant section
of the QLab manual online.

Hammer Out Danger, Hammer Out Warning

The Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window has been comprehensively updated to give you much more and much better
information about broken cues as well as non-breaking warnings such as workspace settings which are in need of attention.

Workspace Settings To Go
Workspace Settings can now be exported to a settings file, imported from a settings file, imported from other open workspaces,
and drag-and-dropped between workspaces.

Sharper Fades
The “linear” fade curve type can now be edited, allowing sharp-cornered multi-step fade curves.

Relatively Absolute fading confidence

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - New in QLab 5 1.1

Fade cues in “absolute” mode will now override and clear out any previously applied changes made by Fade cues in “relative”
mode.

Negative Load
Load cues as well as OSC and AppleScript commands that involve loading, can now use negative numbers to load backwards
from the end time of their targets, just like the Load to Time tool.

Audio

Patch Upgrades
Audio patches are now called audio output patches, and they have been overhauled in QLab 5 with the following improvements:

QLab now supports an unlimited number of audio output patches in a workspace. Audio output patches can be reordered,
copied and pasted within a workspace and between workspaces, drag-and-dropped into the Finder to create a settings
document, and drag-and-dropped to copy them into the audio settings of other workspaces.
You can create multiple audio output patches with the same audio device, each with its own routing and audio effects.

The audio patch editor now supports undo and redo.

All cues that output audio now use the same set of audio output patches (no more special output patches for Mic cues.)
If an audio device is disconnected, QLab will still display the name of the disconnected device in the audio inspector, making it
easier to work with “offline” audio devices.

Audio patches can now use the system output, which is the audio device selected in System Preferences → Sound → Output.
This makes it easier for a workspace to be used in a context where QLab ought to use the same audio output as the rest of the
Mac, even if that output changes.

Mic Cue Flexibility

Mic cues now use separate audio input patches to designate the device they use for input. This lets you use separate audio
input and output devices easily, without requiring you to set up an aggregate audio device. Audio input patches can be reordered,
copied and pasted within a workspace and between workspaces, drag-and-dropped into the Finder to create a settings document,
and drag-and-dropped to copy them into the audio settings of other workspaces.

Zero-Count Slices
Slices in Audio cues (and Video cues) can be set to a play count of 0 ; zero-count slices are seamlessly skipped during
playback.

Batch-edit Waveforms
You can now visually edit the start and end times of multiple selected cues by dragging the start time and end time handles in the
Time & Loops tab of the inspector.

Better By a Meter
Audio effect meters now work in all contexts, not just on outputs.

Video
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - New in QLab 5 1.1

The Most Metal QLab

The video rendering engine has been completely rewritten using the Metal framework, Apple’s modern and fully up-to-date video
system. Come for the performance improvements, stay for the longevity.

Will It Blend? Yes.

QLab 5 adds per-cue blend modes, allowing you to composite cues in nearly limitless combinations.

NDI
QLab natively supports NDI 5 for both video input and output. QLab also supports NDI audio input and output.

In-camera Audio
Camera cues contain an embedded Mic cue, allowing you to use live audio alongside live video.

QLab Can You See Me

QLab can display monitor windows for every video input and output so that you can keep tabs on all your visual elements live and in
realtime.

Video Effect Upgrades

Video, Camera, and Text cues can now use multiple video effects simultaneously. The list of available video effects has
grown, too, thanks to the shift to Metal, and the amount of processing power needed for video effects (especially blurs) has been
nicely reduced.

Patch Upgrades
QLab now supports an unlimited number of video input patches in a workspace. Video input patches can be reordered, copied
and pasted within a workspace and between workspaces, drag-and-dropped into the Finder to create a settings document, and
drag-and-dropped to copy them into the video settings of other workspaces.

Zero-Count Slices
Slices in Video cues (and Audio cues) can be set to a play count of 0 ; zero-count slices are seamlessly skipped during
playback.

The Mask of Syphon

Masks and video surface geometry now happen “upstream” of Syphon outputs, allowing you to send more elaborately crafted video
feeds to Syphon-receiving clients.

Crop It Like It’s Hot

Video, Camera, and Text cues now have an integrated crop attribute for quick and easy trimming.

Lighting

The Audition Tab

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - New in QLab 5 1.1

The Light Dashboard’s new Audition tab lets you audition Light cues, letting you view level changes without actually changing the
live levels being output to your lighting system.

More Lights
QLab 5 ships with instrument definitions for over 1400 different fixtures from 61 manufacturers, including fixtures from the following
manufacturers new to QLab:
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - New in QLab 5 1.1

Acme
AO Lighting

ARRI
Astera
Ayrton

Barco
BeamZ
Big Dipper

Blizzard
Boomtone DJ
Chauvet DJ

Christie
CITC
City Theatrical

Coemar
Color Kinetics
Draco

Eurolite
Froggy’s Fog
Gantom

ibiza-light
Infinity
JB Lighting

Marq
Mega-Lite
Minute Une

PR Lighting
Prolights
Rayzr

Robert Juliat
Rockville
ShowPro

Showtec
Stairville
Strand
Ultratec

Yellow River
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - New in QLab 5 1.1

Cut/Copy/Paste
Light commands can now be cut, copied, and pasted when they are selected in slider mode in the Levels tab of the Light cue
inspector.

MIDI, Networking, Scripting, and Show Control

Chase Timecode (Not Waterfalls)

Cues set to trigger from timecode can now start in the middle of the cue based on incoming timecode, rather than just at the
beginning of the cue, and will skip ahead or back in response to timecode skipping ahead or back. Additionally, Lists and Carts set
to receive timecode can optionally be set to pause or stop their timecode-triggered cues when incoming timecode stops, with
optional freewheeling up to two seconds.

A More Powerful Network Cue

The Network cue has been substantially revamped and now includes support for directly controlling a number of OSC-
controllable programs and devices with a minimum of fuss and complexity. The available modes for the Network cue in QLab 5.0
are:

OSC Message
Plain Text (ASCII strings)
Hex Codes (hexadecimal values)

QLab 5
Go Button 3
atemOSC

Audio Definition Model (ADM)

Borealis Vor
Chamsys MagicQ family

Creative Connors Spikemark 5

d&b Soundscape DS100 (which improves upon and replaces the QLab 4 Soundscape/DS100 feature)
Disguise D3

ETC ColorSource AV
ETC EOS family (Element, Ion, Eos, Geo, etc.)
Flux Spat Revolution

High End Hog 4

Innovate Audio panLab 2
L-Acoustics L-ISA

Meyer GALAXY (Normal mode and Spacemap mode)

MusicTribe Behringer X32 and Midas M32
Yamaha Rivage family (PM3, PM5, PM7, and PM10)

ZoomOSC
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - New in QLab 5 1.1

The Network cue also supports both TCP and UDP transport, as well as OSC 1.1 argument types true , false , impulse , and
null .

When live fade preview is switched on, Network cues in 2D fade mode now transmit their message as you drag the control dot
around. This should make it easier to experiment with 2D network fades.

Also, 2D fade curve editing has been improved.

Patch Upgrades
Network patches can be reordered, copied and pasted within a workspace and between workspaces, drag-and-dropped into the
Finder to create a settings document, and drag-and-dropped to copy them into the Network settings of other workspaces.

QLab now supports an unlimited number of MIDI patches in a workspace. MIDI patches can be reordered, copied and pasted within
a workspace and between workspaces, drag-and-dropped into the Finder to create a settings document, and drag-and-dropped
to copy them into the MIDI settings of other workspaces.

MIDI cues, MIDI File cues, and Timecode cues using MTC now all use the same set of patches.

Port Authority
You can now customize the port numbers that workspaces use to receive OSC messages and plain text messages.

Passcode Improvements
Workspaces can have multiple OSC passcodes, each with their own set of access permissions.

Custom OSC remote control commands are now compatible with workspaces that use OSC passcodes.

QLab Remote

Multiple window support on iPad. This means you can connect to multiple workspaces (on multiple Macs, even) and view them
side by side, or you can have multiple simultaneous views into the same workspace.
QLab Remote 5 does a better job of automatically recovering from a momentary disconnection.
QLab Remote 5 does a better job of reconnecting to the same Mac after an interruption, even when there are multiple copies
of the same workspace open on the network.

The passcode entry screen is much improved.

Several bugs are fixed, notably a zoom scale issue when switching between carts and a light instrument check issue pertaining
to use of non-ASCII characters.
When connecting to a QLab 5 workspace, QLab Remote supports encrypted network communication.

QLab Remote 5 requires iOS 15 or later and is compatible with QLab 3.0 or later.

Specific Changes From QLab 4

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - New in QLab 5 1.1

QLab 5 requires a Mac running macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later.

Group cues now default to timeline mode.

The overall audio level for cues and devices is now referred to as “main”, not “master.”
The lighting term “submaster” has been replaced by the term “subcontroller.”
Workspace Settings has moved from the Window menu to the File menu.

Jump to cue… has moved from the Tools menu to the View menu, and has been renamed Select cue…
The main audio level of Mic cues and Camera cues now defaults to -INF to help prevent audible accidents.
The OSC and AppleScript “pitch shift” commands have been replaced with “preserve pitch” commands to directly match the
checkbox in the inspector which they control.

All OSC and AppleScript pertaining to video settings have been substantially revised, since video settings and the video engine
have themselves been substantially revised. Many if not most Network cues and Script cues imported from QLab 4 which
have anything to do with video will likely need to be revised.
Copying or importing Network cues from QLab 4 that communicate with the d&b DS100 and use background images will need
to have their background images re-connected.
QLab 5 does not import QCart files. If you have a QCart file in need of updating, you can open it in QLab 4, save it as a QLab 4
workspace, and then open that workspace in QLab 5 and re-save it as a QLab 5 workspace.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

QLab 5 Change Log

5.4.4 - July 16, 2024

FIXED: When opening workspaces saved prior to QLab version 5.3, the end times of audio and video cues will be preserved
correctly.

FIXED: A regression in video rendering that could cause a green flash when starting Blackmagic outputs running in Y’CbCr pixel
format in some circumstances.

FIXED: A bug that could prevent being able to set a Fade cue that targets an audio patch to Absolute fade mode.

5.4.3 - July 11, 2024

FIXED: A regression in the Network Cue Inspector in 5.4.2 that prevented being able to set an initial value for certain message
parameters.

FIXED: A crash that could occur when crossfading Audio cues in a Playlist group.

5.4.2 - July 8, 2024

ADDED: When opening older workspaces, QLab will now notify you if saving them would require using a newer version.

FIXED: A crash that could occur when clicking on the “Time & Loops” tab in Audio or Video cue template settings.

FIXED: Network cue inspector parameters now refresh correctly when dragging a slider and after undoing changes.

FIXED: A rounding bug when using increment/decrement syntax with OSC command /fadeAndStopOthersTime.

FIXED: A bug related to Update Originating Cue when a collated Light cue is currently paused or running.

FIXED: A bug related to zoom levels in the Text Cue editor.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.4.1 - June 20, 2024

ADDED: A network device definition for Glypheo.

CHANGED: Workspaces saved in v5.4+ can no longer be opened in QLab 5.3.8 or earlier because of data structure changes that are
not backward-compatible.

FIXED: A bug that caused QLab to sometimes crash when using the light dashboard.

FIXED: Displaying the integrated fade curve on the audio waveform will no longer hide the waveform on some macOS 12 systems.

FIXED: Deleting a cue will no longer sometimes send the selection to the top of the cue list.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

FIXED: Instantaneous relative fades will now work again.

FIXED: A bug that caused cues in a Playlist group set to auto-shuffle to continue to display in the shuffled order after changing the
group mode.

FIXED: A bug that caused playing audio cues to temporarily pause after removing all cue output effects.

FIXED: A bug that caused the Text cue editor to behave erratically at small zoom levels.

FIXED: A drawing bug when using pinned cues in the Timeline.

FIXED: A bug that caused undesirable behavior when multiple instances of the same audio effect were added to a single cue.

FIXED: OSC reply messages customized with the /replyFormat command no longer have a double leading slash when the format
starts with the #address# token.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.4 - June 11, 2024

★ ADDED: Mute and Solo buttons for cue outputs (found in the Trim tab of the inspector) and audio patch outputs (found in the
Patch Routing tab of the audio output patch editor.)

★ ADDED: You can now edit audio effects from collaboration remotes. The audio effect must be installed on the remote computer
as well as the primary in order to add it or edit it remotely.

★ ADDED: Fade cues now support 2D fading of video geometry.

★ ADDED: Several new tools for editing 1D fade curves and 2D fade paths, including arrow key navigation, multiple point selection,
copy/paste, scaling, aspect lock while dragging, rotation and reverse tools, and a circle drawing tool.

★ ADDED: The up-fade and down-fade curves in the Curve tab of Fade cues can now be locked together as mirror images. When
locked, changes to either curve affects both curves symmetrically.

ADDED: You can now set a finite duration for Mic cues and Camera cues.

ADDED: A submenu to allow more options when opening a target file in an external editor. You can find this submenu by right-
clicking (or control-clicking, or two-finger-clicking) in the waveform view of the Time & Loops tab of the inspector.

ADDED: Support for copying audio effects between cue outputs and between device outputs.

ADDED: Support for batch-editing MIDI File cues.

ADDED: Support for moving cues using the AppleScript “move” command.

ADDED: The “Select cue…” tool now offers an option to quickly select the cue currently at the playhead.

ADDED: The IP address and port number of NDI sources are now shown in the Video Input tab of Workspace Settings → Video.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the BriTeQ BT-Orbit, BT-Profile HD, BT-Profile WW, BT-Shark, BT-Theatre 100MZ, BT-Theatre
150EZ Mk2, BT-Theatre 250EZ Mk2, BT-Theatre 200TW, BT-Theatre 400TW, BT-Theatre 261FC, BT-Theatre 50WW, BT-Theatre
60FCL, BT-Theatre HD2, BT-Theatre Venuelite4, BT-Tracker, BT-TVPanel TW, BTI-Blizzard BSW2, BTI-Cyclo, BTX-Blizzard Wash1,
BTX-Saturn, BTX-Supreme Hybrid, BTX-Titan, Beam Fury-1, Pro Beamer Zoom Indoor Mk3, and Stage Beamer.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Chauvet DJ 4Bar Flex Q ILS, 4Bar LTBT ILS, COLORband Q4 IP, Cosmos HP, Freedom H1,
GigBar Move ILS, Hurricane Haze 2D, Intimidator Barrel 305 IRC, Intimidator Free Spot 60 ILS, Rotosphere HP, Shocker Panel FX,
SlimBANK T18 USB, SlimPAR H6 USB, and SlimPAR T12BT.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Chauvet Professional Color STRIKE M, Maverick Force 2 BeamWash, Maverick Force 2
SoloWash, Maverick Force 3 Profile, Maverick Storm 1 Beam, Maverick Storm 1 Hybrid, onAir Panel 3 IP, Ovation E-2 FC, Ovation E-
4WW IP, Ovation Reve F-3 IP, and Rogue R3E Spot.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Clay Paky Arolla Aqua, Arolla Profile MP, Axcor Profile 600, Midi B FX, Panify, Sharpy X Spot,
and Skylos.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Epson EB-PU2100 series and EB-PU2200 series.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the High End Systems Studio Color 575.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Martin ELP PAR, ERA 700 Performance IP, MAC One, MAC Viper XIP, RUSH Blinder 1 WW,
RUSH CS, and VDO Atomic Bold.

ADDED: Network device descriptions for Behringer WING, Bitfocus Companion version 3.2 and newer, Christie HS series
projectors, Flamingo Software Atlas, GarageCube MadMapper 5, Innovate Audio panLab Console, MA Lighting grandMA3,
TheatreMix 3, and Yamaha DM7 series.

CHANGED: Carts now support up to 15 rows and 15 columns.

CHANGED: Improved synchronization between audio and video when chasing timecode.

CHANGED: Improved performance for OSC messages referencing cues by cue_id.

CHANGED: The minimum height of the inspector has been slightly increased.

CHANGED: QLab’s numeric rounding behavior has been changed from “round half to even” to the more conventional “round half
away from zero”.

CHANGED: Network cues will now break if an OSC message contains arguments with incorrect spacing around quotation marks,
such as /my/command “arg1”arg2.

CHANGED: The “liveFadePreview” AppleScript and OSC messages are now properties of a workspace, rather than of QLab as a
whole.

CHANGED: The existing network device description for Bitfocus Companion has been renamed to reflect the fact that it pertains
only to Companion version 3.1 and earlier.

CHANGED: The network device description for Vor has been updated to reflect new OSC control options in Vor 1.6 and later.

CHANGED: Slashes and colons are no longer allowed in Light Definition names, as they caused trouble.

CHANGED: Audio Units now use a generic control interface when their custom interface fails to initialize.

FIXED: An issue that led to poor initial synchronization between audio and video when using Blackmagic outputs, possibly creating
a brief pitch shift.

FIXED: A bug which caused unattended long-running workspaces using Script cues to stop functioning properly, with symptoms
such as: network cues failing to run, script cues failing to run, and document autosaving failing.

FIXED: A bug that could cause the Settings window to remain open after closing a workspace.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

FIXED: A bug that prevented being able to swap cart positions when dragging cart cues of certain types.

FIXED: Fade type “Parametric Curve” intensity text fields now support localized number formatting.

FIXED: A bug introduced in 5.2 that resulted in incorrect cue numbers or cue IDs in the reply payload to an OSC message that uses
a wildcard pattern to match multiple cues.

FIXED: A bug that prevented addressing cue output 128 by name in OSC messages.

FIXED: Collaborators can now toggle the live fade preview setting of a workspace on the primary Mac.

FIXED: The “Accept Collaborator” dialog box will no longer block the workspace from processing certain incoming messages (such
as incoming OSC or timecode.)

FIXED: Several bugs that could occur when deleting cues using AppleScript.

FIXED: Text cues will again be in “custom geometry” mode by default, unless using a computer without a video license, in which
case they will still be in full stage mode.

FIXED: A bug that could cause a Text cue to flicker if it was updated while it was running.

FIXED: Update Originating after starting a Light cue which is set to collate will now correctly update levels in the originating cues,
not the collating cue.

FIXED: A bug that could cause Network cues whose patch contains a combination of local and external destinations to incorrectly
display the “overridden” status indicator.

FIXED: A bug that could cause Network cues with very short durations to fail to auto-continue.

FIXED: A bug which would improperly set a value of 0 when dragging in the translation geometry fields of Fade cues which are were
untargeted or which targeted Group cues.

FIXED: A bug which prevented Fade cues which targeted Groups from auditioning when children of the Group were already
individually auditioning.

FIXED: A bug that could cause the OSC command /fadeEntries to return an erroneous error reply after setting new entries.

FIXED: OSC command /customString now works when sending to a Network cue that is set to fade.

FIXED: An error in the instrument definition for the Chauvet DJ GigBar 2.

FIXED: An error in the network device description for the Yamaha Rivage.

5.3.8 - May 8, 2024

CHANGED: We’ve (temporarily, we hope) disabled the progress bar that QLab displays when opening workspaces or building lots of
new cues. Instead, for large workspaces or lots of cues, you might see a beachball cursor instead. Rest assured QLab is still doing
the same work as before, it is just not showing you a progress bar about it. Why change this, you might ask? Because Apple, in their
infinite wisdom, changed progress bars from updating “when you told them to update” and instead update them “maybe,
eventually, when Apple feels like it”. The workaround we’d used to force progress bars to actually, you know, progress, was causing
problems, so we’ve disabled it until we can find a different approach.

FIXED: A crash that could occur when editing a Text Cue with macOS Sonoma’s inline predictive text enabled.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

FIXED: A condition in which fading in audio from silence using an integrated fade could sometimes allow the audio to start very
briefly at a volume that was not silent.

FIXED: A regression introduced in 5.3.4 that could prevent Timecode cues from running in some circumstances.

FIXED: Opening workspaces with lots of Camera cues is now faster.

FIXED: An issue that prevented Blackmagic outputs from applying changed settings under some circumstances.

FIXED: An issue that caused some machines’ identifier to be inconsistent, thus interfering with QLab’s license status.

5.3.7 - April 2, 2024

FIXED: Still image Video cues will reload their image if the file is edited in another program.

FIXED: A bug that could cause a crash when connecting to a remote workspace which has a Blackmagic device.

FIXED: A bug that could cause a crash when auditioning while an effect editor for an Audio Cue is open.

FIXED: A bug that would cause videos sent to NDI outputs to run very fast if no NDI client was connected.

FIXED: A bug that would cause QLab to crash when changing the audio output to NDI while the cue was running.

FIXED: A bug that would cause NDI audio to fail if the first cue sending to that NDI output used a different audio output.

FIXED: Disconnecting during collaboration will no longer cause the primary workspace to stop.

FIXED: The fade-and-stop trigger option will now properly prevent Group cues from continuing on to a subsequent cue if they
should have been stopped.

FIXED: When triggering cues from timecode, the pre-wait of a cue will now be included when calculating if a given cue should be
running at the given timecode.

FIXED: Light subcontrollers that have been assigned MIDI triggers will no longer lose their trigger when re-opening a workspace.

FIXED: Changing the “lock playhead to selection” option when collaborating should no longer lead to potential infinite loops where
different machines disagree about what the playhead should be.

FIXED: A bug introduced in 5.3.4 that could cause Network cues that contain an OSC query to break with an incorrect “not a legal
OSC address” error.

FIXED: A few small errors in the Yamaha Rivage network device description.

FIXED: A memory leak.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.3.6 - March 2, 2024

FIXED: A regression in 5.3.4 that caused QLab to sometimes crash when running Timecode cues.

5.3.5 - February 28, 2024

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

FIXED: A regression in 5.3.4 that caused QLab to crash when sending video to an NDI output that had no audio channels.

5.3.4 - February 28, 2024

CHANGED: Blackmagic outputs will now present an error when a configuration is selected that the device reports to be
unsupported, such as selecting a high frame rate output with a BGRA pixel format on a device that only supports high frame rates
with a Y’CbCr pixel format.

FIXED: NDI outputs which include audio channels will now run more smoothly, and in some cases with significantly improved
performance.

FIXED: The size of the masthead will now be restored when opening a workspace.

FIXED: The shutter video effect now works on cues of very large dimensions.

FIXED: Undo/redo now work correctly on the shutter video effect.

FIXED: A bug that could prevent cart buttons from displaying an updated cue number or name.

FIXED: A bug that could cause undo operations to “lose” cues when they are moved in playlist groups.

FIXED: A bug that could cause QLab to freeze when working with Timecode cues of a finite duration.

FIXED: A regression in 5.3 that prevented Network cues from starting if the message contains an OSC query that initially returns an
invalid payload.

FIXED: Network cues that send an OSC message containing an OSC query are now broken if the base address of the message is not
a valid OSC message.

FIXED: A bug that prevented a show control broadcast “start” message from being sent when a paused cue resumes playing.

FIXED: OSC command /duckLevel now supports increment/decrement syntax.

FIXED: Debug logging no longer reports “OSC event message not sent” errors for network clients that are not listening for show
control broadcast events.

FIXED: The default port of the Behringer/Midas X-Air series network device description is now 10024 as specified by the
manufacturer.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.3.3 - December 18, 2023

CHANGED: Improvements to the network device definition for Lightkey.

FIXED: An issue where fading out a cue that is assigned to a patch which has cue output effects could silence all audio going to that
patch.

FIXED: A potential playback issue when loading Timeline Groups that contain Video cues.

FIXED: A bug that could cause flashes in video playback when changing the live text of a Text cue.

FIXED: A bug that could cause Camera cues to fail to render.

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

FIXED: Importing v4 Fade cues with single axis Z-rotations will no longer invert the rotation.

FIXED: Importing v4 Fade cues now supports video effect parameters.

FIXED: A small issue in the d&b DS100 network device description.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.3.2 - November 9, 2023

FIXED: The new video shutter effect will no longer crash when running on macOS Big Sur.

FIXED: Timecode cues sending LTC timecode to an audio output will no longer crash if the timecode channel is larger than the
available audio patch channels.

FIXED: A bug that caused invalid output when using VISCA over IP network patches.

FIXED: A regression in 5.3 that broke increment/decrement syntax for some OSC commands.

FIXED: A small error in the ADM network device definition.

5.3.1 - November 9, 2023

FIXED: An issue where cue start times could be lost on files that are loaded from cloud storage.

FIXED: A crash when using grayscale colors in the drop shadow video effect.

FIXED: The “live” version of Audio output patch OSC command /levels.

FIXED: Handling of cue OSC messages that specify the cue number or unique ID as an argument.

5.3 - November 7, 2023

★ ADDED: A larger, flexible audio matrix. QLab now supports up to 128 cue outputs and 128 device outputs. You can now define
exactly how many cue outputs each audio output patch uses, between 1 and 128. Patches which use fewer cue outputs will use less
processing power.

★ ADDED: Improved audio playback performance.

★ ADDED: The Shutter video effect now supports both feathering and elliptical shutters.
★ ADDED: New video effect: drop shadow.
★ ADDED: The Workspace Status window has a new tab, Video Metrics, which displays live frame rate and render time information
for each video stage and video output.

★ ADDED: Show control broadcast. QLab can now optionally send show control messages via OSC and MSC which correspond to
basic show events such as GO, panic, reset, and cues starting and stopping. OSC messages can be requested by a client using the
new /listen OSC message which has options for specifying the scope of interest. MSC messages can be sent using MIDI patches.

ADDED: The waveform view in the Time & Loops tab of the inspector can now optionally display a specific channel of audio, rather
than the sum of all channels. You can adjust which channel is displayed by using the contextual menu (right-click or option-click) in
the waveform view.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

ADDED: The Hardware tab in QLab Preferences now displays more information about audio devices.

ADDED: Cues playing to NDI video outputs can now use non-NDI audio outputs.

ADDED: You now have an option to disable edge blending on video grids.

ADDED: Support for RGB-formatted input using Blackmagic Designs devices.

ADDED: Support for the new DMXKing MAX devices for USB DMX communication. These include the ultraDMX MAX, the eDMX1
MAX, the eDMX2 MAX, and the eDMX4 MAX.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Beamz BAC503, BAC504, BAC509, and Panther 25.

ADDED: Instrument definition for the Blizzard PixelStorm 240.

ADDED: Instrument definition for the Chauvet DJ 4Bar Quad, Cubix 2.0, EZPar 64 RGBA, Mini Kinta, and Wash FX Hex.

ADDED: Instrument definition for CrowdGlow.

ADDED: Instrument definition for the Elation ACL 360 BAR and ACL 360i.

ADDED: Instrument definition for the Eurolite LED PARty TCL Spot, LED PFE-100 RGBW Profile Spot, LED PLL-480 QCL Panel, LED
STP-14 Sunbar, LED THA-100F (MK1, MK2, and MK3), and Stage Panel 16 HCL LED.

ADDED: Instrument definition for the Rockville Rock Par 50, Rock Spot 260w, RockOn-7, RockPAR TRI, Rockstrip 252, and Stage
Matrix 36 RGB.

ADDED: Instrument definition for the Stairville CLB2.4 Compact LED Par System, Octagon Theater CW WW 36x1W, xBrick Quad
16x8W.

ADDED: You can now lock the selection to the playhead on collaboration remotes. This allows remote collaborators to operate the
workspace as if they were sitting at the primary computer.

ADDED: Network cues set to 1D fade and MIDI cues set to fade can now use the linear fade curve type.

ADDED: Network device descriptions for Dan Murfin ShowPlay, DiGiCo SD series consoles, Lightkey 4, VISCA-over-IP camera
control, and Yamaha DM3.

ADDED: QLab will now display a warning message if a workspace open cue or close cue has been set, but that cue does not exist.

ADDED: The Timecode Status window now includes resizable, pop-out windows to display incoming and outgoing timecode
streams.

ADDED: Paste Cue Properties and batch edit support for Network cues set to 1D fade have been expanded.

ADDED: Paste Cue Properties of fade curve shape now includes the curve’s audio domain where applicable.

ADDED: Paste Cue Properties now supports the crop parameter of Video, Camera, and Text cues.

ADDED: Support for batch editing in the Fade cue’s geometry tab.

ADDED: Network cue OSC commands /message and /messageError.

ADDED: OSC command /udpReplyPort for UDP clients to optionally request an alternate port for receiving reply, update, and
event messages.

CHANGED: NDI has been updated to version 5.6.0.

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

CHANGED: The default size for a new NDI output is now 1920 × 1080 instead of 1280 × 720.

CHANGED: NDI and Syphon outputs now remain running once activated, even if the workspace is panicked.

CHANGED: Video grids have been updated to provide more information and visual indicators.

CHANGED: Enabling or disabling a video effect no longer causes the view to scroll to the top.

CHANGED: Light Dashboard can now be used in full screen mode.

CHANGED: The currently-playing cue in a Playlist group no longer restarts when a playlist with second trigger action do nothing is
re-triggered.

CHANGED: Adding a Load cue to a workspace will now auto-populate that cue with the load time of the selected cue, if any.

CHANGED: Improved error logging of invalid OSC queries.

FIXED: Audio discontinuities when editing audio levels or trim on a running cue.

FIXED: Audio files with incorrect file extensions can now be opened for playback in more cases.

FIXED: A bug that could cause Audio cues to show a length of 0 if the cue’s file target is replaced while QLab was not running.

FIXED: Clicking around the audio waveform view of a cue that is playing to the audition audio patch no longer changes output back
to the non-audition patch.

FIXED: The audio waveform view did not update when the currently selected track changed in a Video cue with multiple audio
tracks.

FIXED: Audio effects on device outputs are now correctly applied in the order that they appear.

FIXED: A bug that could sometimes cause Video cues to continue to count down their post-wait after being panicked.

FIXED: A bug that caused Camera cues using NDI with audio output to immediately stop.

FIXED: A bug that caused Syphon and Blackmagic outputs to double the alpha factor when sending to a receiver which honors
alpha information.

FIXED: QLab will now attempt to preserve manually-set start and end times in a cue when the cue’s file target is replaced.

FIXED: Auxiliary windows hidden in show mode took up space in Mission Control.

FIXED: A Group cue set to auto-load will now load its grandchildren when it loads itself.

FIXED: Improvements to keyboard navigation and focus when working in the Settings tab of the Network cue inspector.

FIXED: The MIDI cue and Network cue inspector Send buttons and the audio waveform Preview button all now correctly audition
preview when the workspace has Always Audition enabled.

FIXED: Outgoing OSC /update and /reply messages now correctly respect the network output override.

FIXED: OSC clients will no longer continue to receive /update messages if the passcode they used to connect to QLab has its
View permission removed.

FIXED: OSC /rate once again supports +/- relative setter syntax.

FIXED: After fixing a broken cue, the list, cart, and/or Group which contains that cue will now immediately refresh its own status.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

5.2.4 - October 3, 2023

FIXED: In macOS Sonoma, you can once again close an unsaved workspace without saving it.

FIXED: A regression in 5.2.3 that kept focus in the load-to-time and search text fields after pressing return; it now goes back to the
cue list.

FIXED: A regression in 5.2.2 that broke the ability to enter cue input names or gang names.

FIXED: A crash that could happen when importing workspace settings.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.2.3 - September 6, 2023

FIXED: A bug that prevented still image Video cues in a Playlist group from continuing if the cue had previously been set to “Infinite
Loop”.

FIXED: A bug that caused QLab to crash when the Warping tab of the Stage Editor is selected.

5.2.2 - September 5, 2023

FIXED: Issues related to managing the input focus when using audio matrix text fields. Focus is now returned to the cue list when
pressing enter, or when selecting a different cue to inspect.

FIXED: An exception that could occur in the Network cue Inspector when an X/Y parameter changes to a checkbox.

FIXED: A bug that allowed mesh-warped regions to become split apart, and caused further control point moves to fail to be
applied.

FIXED: A bug that incorrectly showed “mixed” audio matrix levels in the Trim tab.

FIXED: When editing the video anchor point via the geometry text fields, the translation values will be automatically adjusted to try
to keep the video cue in its original position.

FIXED: The video geometry view on the primary machine will be updated properly when someone is editing video geometry from a
collaboration machine.

FIXED: A bug where undoing pasting in cue notes with rich text formatting did not reset notes formatting to default.

FIXED: An issue that could cause stages with multiple synchronized output displays to show different frames.

FIXED: Opening a workspace will no longer stop the video output of other open workspaces.

FIXED: A bug that would cause QLab to crash when using a mask image with incredibly large dimensions.

FIXED: A bug that would cause the outline in the Geometry tab to not update while dragging.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.2.1 - August 1, 2023

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

ADDED: AppleScript properties that allow getting and setting the video output stage of Video, Text, and Camera cues.

FIXED: Several issues causing distortion or pops in Mic cue output.

FIXED: A bug that prevented fading audio patches if only an Audio license was installed.

FIXED: A bug refreshing the Audio Output Patch list after reordering patches.

FIXED: An issue that could cause a purple or pink tint when layering several ProRes 4444 videos with alpha on top of each other.

FIXED: Closing a workspace will no longer stop the video output of other open workspaces.

FIXED: A bug that could cause a Blackmagic DeckLink video input to fail.

FIXED: QLab can now recover if a video input is disconnected while a video monitor window is viewing that input.

FIXED: Several issues with the Bitfocus Companion and Behringer/Midas X32, M32, XR-18 network device descriptions.

FIXED: The /live version of audio output patch OSC command /level… now returns the correct volume values.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.2 - June 20, 2023

★ ADDED: Patch cueing. Fade cues and Reset cues can now target audio output patch routing, allowing you to adjust the overall
levels of the entire patch, and easily reset those levels to their initial state.

★ ADDED: Extended cue colors. The number of cue colors has been expanded to make it easier to color-code a large variety of
cues, and to better support the needs of people with color vision deficiency. The cue color control in the Basics tab has been
redesigned to support this larger number of colors, and you can now set both a cue color and an optional second cue color. If
enabled, the cue changes to the second cue color after it’s started.

★ ADDED: Multi-destination Network patches. Each Network patch can now have an arbitrary number of destinations. This allows
a Network cue to send a single message to multiple different network devices. Each destination can have a unique combination of
network transport, interface, IP address, port, and/or passcode values.

★ ADDED: Audio input names. You can now name inputs (rows) in the Levels tab of the inspector for any cue that contains audio.
Input names are per-cue, and can be edited in the inspector, by AppleScript, and by OSC.

ADDED: QLab can now optionally delete old backups of your workspace in order to keep from using too much disk space. This
option keeps the 20 most recent backups from the last hour, the latest backup per hour from the last day, and the latest backup
per day beyond that.

ADDED: Region names and the selected control point are now included in the grid display to assist with warping and focusing.

ADDED: Video, Camera, and Text cues in “Fill Stage” mode can now be set to one of three fill styles: fit to the stage, fill the stage, or
stretch to fill the stage.

ADDED: The Active Cues display can now optionally be set to display the most recently started cue first, rather than last.

ADDED: You can now use arrow keys to move and resize video regions. A new “?” help button in the video stage editor makes it
easier to keep track of available keyboard shortcuts and modifiers.

ADDED: You can now drag to re-order video stages and video routes.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

ADDED: For all OSC commands that set a boolean value, you can now use the string argument “toggle” or append “/toggle” to
the address to toggle the current value.

ADDED: Workspace MIDI and OSC controls have been added to move the playhead to the next and previous cue sequence.

ADDED: Audio output patch OSC commands /level, /reset, /routing, and /routing/reset.

ADDED: Group cue OSC commands /collapse and /expand.

ADDED: Cues that output audio can use /audioOutputPatch/… to send OSC messages to their currently selected audio output
patch.

ADDED: The Light Dashboard OSC command to set light values, /dashboard/setLight, now has a “live” variation, which allows
you to modify light values without editing the dashboard, and thus also avoiding the undo stack.

ADDED: A network device definition for Reaper (using the default OSC mapping.)

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the American DJ COB Cannon LP200ST, Eliminator Stinger Spot 30, Eliminator Stryker Beam,
Eliminator Stryker Wash, Encore FR Pro Color, Encore FR50Z, Encore FR 150Z, Encore LP5IP, Encore LP7IP, Encore LP12IP, Encore
LP18IP, Encore Profile 1000 Color, Encore Profile 1000 WW, Encore Profile Pro Color, Encore Profile Mini Color, Encore Profile Pro
WW, Encore Profile Mini WW, Encore Z7LP, Focus Flex, Focus Flex L7, Focus Hybrid, Focus Profile, Focus Wash 400, Hydro Beam
X12, Hydro Profile, Hydro Spot 1, and Hydro Spot 2.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Chauvet COLORdash Par H7X, H12X, H18X, Ovation E-2, Rogue Outcast 2 Beam, Rogue
Outcast 2 Hybrid, and Rogue Outcast 3 Spot.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Clay Paky Arolla Profile HP, Arolla Spot MP, Mini Xtylos, Mini Xtylos HPE, Mini-B Aqua, Mini-B
Spot, Sharpy X Frame, Sharpy X Frame FD, Sinfonya Profile 600, Volero Batten Aqua, and Volero Wave.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the ETC ColorSource Fresnel V, Desire Fresnel, and Source 4WRD Color II.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the German Light Products Impression X5 and Impression X5 Compact.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Robe Footsie 1 WW, Footsie 1 TW, Footsie 1 RGBW, Footsie 2 WW, Footsie 2 TW, Footsie 2
RGBW, iBar 15, iBeam 350, iForte, iPainte, iSpiider, iTetra 2, Painte, T11 Profile, T11 PC, T11 Fresnel, and TX1 PosiProfile.

CHANGED: Instead of keeping one autosave copy that is periodically updated, QLab creates timestamped backup copies so that
you can easily see a version of your workspace from a specific point in time.

CHANGED: Instead of having separate “autosave” and “snapshot” files, all backup copies of your workspace are now simply called
“backup” copies.

CHANGED: The audition tab of the light dashboard is now more visually distinct.

CHANGED: Timecode cues now have a default duration.

CHANGED: Entering show mode now clears the find results.

CHANGED: The MIDI File cue has received some visual improvements.

CHANGED: Media logging now logs timestamps down to the second, rather than just minute. It also includes Video cues which
target still images.

CHANGED: The waveform view in the Time & Loops tab of the inspector now supports trackpad pinch gestures for zooming in and
out. To zoom using the vertical scroll gesture on a trackpad, hold the ⌥ (option) key while scrolling. Zooming with the scroll wheel
on a mouse or trackball has not been changed.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

FIXED: Batch editing very large numbers of cue properties is now much faster.

FIXED: Updating the warping of a video region from a collaborator machine will no longer flicker as you drag the region.

FIXED: A bug affecting how audio effects on Cue Outputs are loaded that could cause errors with some plugins when opening a
workspace.

FIXED: A bug that caused a still-image Video cue in a crossfading Playlist group to flash briefly when the next cue started fading in.

FIXED: Cues whose second trigger action is set to “second trigger on release” will now respond to a MIDI Note Off message at any
velocity.

FIXED: Several fixes to Network cue OSC /fadeEntries and AppleScript “fade entries”.

FIXED: Using AppleScript to collapse / expand cue lists and carts now works in the workspace window Lists / Carts pane.

FIXED: A bug in the Chamsys MagicQ network device description that caused Playback “10” to output as “20”.

5.1.4 - May 22, 2023

CHANGED: Video monitor and audition windows now have more visible edges on dark backgrounds.

FIXED: A bug that prevented Video cues that target still images from refreshing when their target file was updated.

FIXED: A bug which could cause strange problems in the final slice of a sliced cue if the duration of its target file changed.

FIXED: OSC clients are now correctly notified of changes to the /liveColorName property of cues.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.1.3 - May 8, 2023

ADDED: A network device definition for the Behringer X-Air series of mixers.

FIXED: Several very annoying bugs with undo, particularly a case where invoking undo from a collaboration remote could undo
many changes at once.

FIXED: Syphon and NDI outputs are now left running when physical output devices are reconfigured.

FIXED: Edge blends where more than two regions overlap are now calculated correctly.

FIXED: Deleting a video region as a collaborator will now correctly hide that region’s grid image if it was previously visible.

FIXED: Command-left arrow and command-right arrow now moves between tabs in the audio output patch editor.

FIXED: An error in the AtemOSC network device definition.

FIXED: An error in the X32/M32 network device definition.

5.1.2 - April 26, 2023

ADDED: You can now tab between slice loop counts in the audio waveform view.

ADDED: Video cue OSC command /opacity now supports +/- increment syntax.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

CHANGED: When trying to collaborate with an incompatible version of QLab, a better message is displayed about the
incompatibility. The explanation also includes a button to take you to the download page.

FIXED: Improved synchronization between the video and audio of Video cues, both when cues start and during playback.

FIXED: Improvements to how Video cues start playback.

FIXED: A regression introduced in v5.1 where certain operations from a collaboration machine would stop playback of cues on the
primary.

FIXED: A bug where pausing a DeckLink camera input with a disconnected camera could lead to a crash.

FIXED: Loading or saving certain audio effect presets should now work correctly.

FIXED: A condition in which a video stage with multiple output routes could send video to the wrong routes if they were assigned in
a particular order.

FIXED: The hotkey for opening workspace settings (command-comma) did not always work the first time it was used.

FIXED: Bugs that prevented Group cue OSC /currentTimecode and Light cue OSC /subcontroller from working correctly.

FIXED: A bug that prevented being able to edit Network cues after pasting cue properties.

FIXED: Network cue OSC command /customString now works when used in an OSC query.

FIXED: Overall behavior of the light definition editor has been improved.

FIXED: Pasting both start time and end time now works properly all the time.

FIXED: Group cues’ drag-and-drop targeting behavior now matches other cues’ behavior. This will make it easier to drag a Fade
cue inside a group cue without accidentally changing the target of the Fade cue.

FIXED: You can now specify the default video clock in the Video cue template.

FIXED: Pasting levels onto Fade cues will no longer deactivate the previously active fade channels.

5.1.1 - March 21, 2023

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the American DJ Eliminator Stealth Beam, Stealth Craze, Stealth Spot, and Stealth Wash Zoom.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Chauvet Rogue R3 Beam.

ADDED: Video & Text cue OSC commands /cueSize/width and /cueSize/height.

ADDED: Text cue OSC commands /text/outputSize/width and /text/outputSize/height.

FIXED: A regression that caused Text cues to stop when you edited their text while running.

FIXED: A bug that could cause QLab to crash when loading a playlist under some circumstances.

FIXED: Setting a route to the pixel dimensions of a rotated device will now work correctly.

FIXED: Video effects with a color parameter can now be used in Video cue templates.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

5.1 - February 27, 2023

★ ADDED: Media logging. QLab can now optionally create a csv-formatted log of all audio and video file playback in a workspace,
using information from QLab and metadata in the target media files. This is primarily intended to make it easy to create reports for
rights-holding organizations, like ASCAP or BMI, but could be useful for other purposes too. This feature can be enabled in the
QLab application preferences.

★ ADDED: HSI color picker for light instruments. Light instruments with hue, saturation, and intensity (or hue, saturation, and
value) parameters can now use a graphical HSI color picker in the Light Dashboard and in the Levels tab of the inspector.

ADDED: New options to control how QLab behaves when it starts receiving a new timecode stream. Options include: do not start
cues whose timecode triggers precede the incoming timecode (similar to QLab 4), start cues whose timecode triggers are within
the most recent minute of the incoming timecode, start cues whose timecode triggers are within the most recent hour of the
incoming timecode, start cues whose timecode triggers are within a user-defined “lookback” window of time, or start all cues
whose timecode triggers precede the incoming timecode.

ADDED: A completely redesigned timecode window, showing detailed information about all incoming and outgoing timecode
streams.

ADDED: Option to display video grids with a light background via the “Grid options…” button in the video stage editor.

ADDED: Export video stage grid images via the “Grid options…” button in the video stage editor.

ADDED: Show all / hide all video grids in the stage editor, via the “Grid options…” button or by option-clicking a grid checkbox.

ADDED: You can now specify the pixel format of NDI and Blackmagic video outputs, which offers improved compatibility with some
receivers.

ADDED: “Paste audio levels” and “Paste integrated fade shape” commands now appear in the Tools menu when appropriate.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Astera FP6 HydraPanel and PB15 PixelBrick.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Blizzard Colorise Zoom RGBAW, Kryo Mix CMY, Stiletto GLO19, and Stiletto Ray-Z.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Cameo Instant Fog 1700 Pro.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Chauvet Maverick Storm 2 Profile, Maverick Storm 4 Profile, onAir IP Panel Min, onAir IP
Panel 1, and onAir IP Panel 2.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Chauvet DJ COLORband H9 USB, COREpar 80 USB, COREpar Q60 ILS, COREpar Q120 ILS,
COREpar UV USB, COREpar UV 120 ILS, and SlimPAR 64 RGBA.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Elation DLED Strip RGBAW, Opti Tri Par, and Platinum Beam 5R.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the ETC ColorSource Spot V.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the ETC/High End Systems Halcyon Gold, Titanium, and Platinum.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Martin ERA 150 Wash, ERA 600 Profile, ERA 800 Profile, MAC Aura XIP, MAC Ultra
Performance, and MAC Ultra Wash.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Robe ProMotion.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Showtec (Highlite) Compact Par 7 Tri MKII, Spectral PC 600Z IP, and Spectral PC 1800Z IP.

ADDED: Network device description for the Mixeffect iOS app.

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

ADDED: Network device description for Bitfocus Companion.

ADDED: Sending an empty string argument to OSC command /replyFormat now resets to the default reply format.

ADDED: Additional support for importing show files from Go Button.

CHANGED: NDI has been updated to version 5.5.2.

CHANGED: The expansion state of Group cues and cue lists is now synced to collaborators when they first connect.

CHANGED: Improvements to the search filter in the file target picker on remote collaborator workspaces.

CHANGED: The minimum volume level for a workspace is now limited to -180 dB.

CHANGED: All instrument definitions for Astera instruments have been updated to reflect the latest firmware from Astera.

CHANGED: All instrument definitions for Chauvet instruments have been appropriately categorized as either Chauvet DJ or
Chauvet Professional.

FIXED: A white flash that could show on some video hardware when stopping all video output.

FIXED: A rare issue in which QLab could crash when stopping all video output.

FIXED: A few cases where hiding video grid images did not work correctly.

FIXED: An issue where QLab would sometimes complain and report an exception if an attached display was disconnected.

FIXED: Video inputs such as webcams that have the same name but different internal identifiers are now managed better.

FIXED: Audio inputs will no longer accumulate additional latency when restarted.

FIXED: Timecode cues sending LTC output could previously emit invalid data when panicked.

FIXED: Blackmagic DeckLink video inputs can now be paused correctly.

FIXED: Video routes rotated 90° or 270° relative to their output device will now be scaled correctly.

FIXED: A regression in 5.0.12 that made it difficult to construct a cue sequence that pauses a Video cue on the first frame of video.

FIXED: A regression in 5.0.11 that prevented Text cues from respecting their duration.

FIXED: Several bugs related to loading Video cues, where it was possible to construct a cue sequence where Video cues would not
be loaded properly.

FIXED: Video cues triggered via timecode and following the video clock will now have smoother audio playback.

FIXED: A bug that could cause collaborator workspaces to crash when setting file targets on the primary.

FIXED: Cues inside a group that was deleted and brought back via undo will now run.

FIXED: Adding or removing audio and video effects will now ensure that Fade cues which target those Audio or Video cues will also
get updated effects.

FIXED: Changing certain attributes of a Network cue fade while the cue is running now properly resets the cue.

FIXED: An error in the atemOSC network device description.

FIXED: An error in the Behringer/Midas X32, M32, XR-18 network device description.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

FIXED: A bug that could cause Script cues to break with an error after sending an AppleScript command to the Light Dashboard.

FIXED: Several issues when importing from a Go Button show file: cart cues now match the order of hits, Audio and Wait cue
continue modes are now correct in a group created from a cue that has a go action but no start actions, and empty cues now
import with the correct display name.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.0.13 - January 9, 2023

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the American DJ 5PX Hex.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Chauvet DJ Cumulus, Geyser P7, Intimidator Spot 355Z IRC, Intimidator Spot 375Z IRC, and
SlimPAR Q12 USB.

FIXED: A regression in 5.0.12 that prevented Video cues from displaying video when following the audio clock.

FIXED: A situation where dragging files from the Finder onto a cue could stop working even though the cue should accept the file.

FIXED: An exception or crash that could occur when refreshing the Video cue inspector.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.0.12 - December 20, 2022

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Cameo Otos H5.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Chauvet Maverick Storm 2 BeamWash, Ovation CYC 3 FC, Rogue Outcast 1L Beam, and
Rogue Outcast 2X Wash.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Chauvet DJ Freedom Q1N.

FIXED: Avoid showing the first frame of a video file more than one time when starting a Video cue.

FIXED: File targets assigned by remote collaborators will now be copied correctly during a Save-As operation on the primary
machine.

FIXED: A crash that could happen if an OSC message contained an invalid wildcard pattern.

FIXED: Avoid loading Video, Camera, and Text cues that would no longer be playing when chasing timecode. This can significantly
reduce the amount of processing required to begin chasing timecode in the middle of a heavy sequence when using these cue
types.

FIXED: One omission and one error in the d&b DS100 network device description.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.0.11 - November 29, 2022

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Blizzard Colorise Zoom RGBAW, Kryo Mix CMY, Stiletto GLO19, and Stiletto Ray-Z.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Cameo Instant Fog 1700 Pro.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Chauvet Maverick Storm 2 Profile, Maverick Storm 4 Profile, onAir IP Panel Min, onAir IP
Panel 1, and onAir IP Panel 2.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Elation DLED Strip RGBAW, Opti Tri Par, and Platinum Beam 5R.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the ETC ColorSource Spot V.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the ETC/High End Systems Halcyon Gold, Titanium, and Platinum.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Robe ProMotion.

ADDED: Instrument definitions for the Showtec (Highlite) Compact Par 7 Tri MKII, Spectral PC 600Z IP, and Spectral PC 1800Z IP.

5.0.10 - November 16, 2022

FIXED: A crash when importing certain v4 workspaces.

5.0.9 - November 15, 2022

ADDED: Network device description for Shure ULX-D wireless receivers and P10T transmitter.

ADDED: Support for batch editing waveform start, end, and slice times if all the selected files are the same duration.

CHANGED: The network device description for the ETC Eos family now supports optionally specifying a user number.

FIXED: An issue that prevented integrated audio fades from being applied after a separate Fade cue adjusted the main volume.

FIXED: QLab has an improved ability to decode and chase LTC timecode in cases where the incoming signal is slightly degraded.

FIXED: Fade cue video effect parameters can now be imported from v4 workspaces.

FIXED: Fade cues on collaborator machines will now show the correct number of level input channels.

FIXED: An issue that could prevent MIDI patches from finding MIDI hardware.

FIXED: Improvements and fixes to DeckLink video outputs.

FIXED: Compositing video files from different color spaces will now produce more accurate and consistent results.

FIXED: Currently visible guides and grids are now managed properly when assigning or editing output routes.

FIXED: Video cues that are stopped and then rapidly restarted by a cue sequence should end up actually playing now.

FIXED: Stage masks now update live when the underlying image file is modified.

FIXED: Worked around bug in Vega 56 on iMac Pro that caused video output to be tinted blue when the stage had a mask.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.0.8 - October 14, 2022

FIXED: A regression in 5.0.7 that caused QLab to crash when starting multiple video, text, or camera cues simultaneously.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

5.0.7 - October 13, 2022

ADDED: Video stage region OSC commands /uniqueID and /name.

CHANGED: QLab will now more pro-actively turn off audio inputs (and thus the terrible orange dot) if no cues and/or audio input
patches use audio inputs.

FIXED: A regression that caused QLab to crash if a Start cue targeted a Group that contained it.

FIXED: An issue that could cause QLab to crash if cues were added, deleted, or moved during autosave.

FIXED: An issue that could cause cue playback to stall if a cue was started and within the same cue sequence immediately stopped
again.

FIXED: An issue that could cause a brief flash of gray or white at the beginning of video playback on some machines.

FIXED: An exception in the Network cue inspector Settings tab when the cue batch had mixed values for a boolean parameter.

FIXED: Popup menus for Network cue inspector parameters that are in a “(mixed)” state now work correctly when selecting a new
value.

FIXED: Collaboration workspaces will now correctly show the cue order of auto-shuffled Playlist groups.

FIXED: Collaboration workspaces will now show the correct number of audio file channels.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.0.6 - October 7, 2022

ADDED: Network device description for the Shure Axient Digital line of wireless receivers.

CHANGED: QLab’s color rendering approach has been improved.

FIXED: Restored the ability to set the cue list playhead by clicking on the row to the left of the cue’s icon.

FIXED: An issue where deleting an audio effect from an audio patch would not immediately remove the effect.

FIXED: The checkbox for enabling or disabling an audio effect in the Fade cue inspector now works.

FIXED: You can now always set Fade cues to absolute mode if they have no target cue. This also fixes the ability to set absolute
mode on the template Fade cue.

FIXED: Fade cues imported from a v4 workspace that adjust the parameters of an audio effect should now work correctly.

FIXED: MIDI patches assigned to virtual devices will now be reconnected when reopening a workspace.

FIXED: Support sending Network messages that require extra whitespace (such as newlines) at the end of a message.

FIXED: Corrections to the Network device description for the MusicTribe X32/XR18/M32

FIXED: Sending audio to an NDI output will no longer have a very brief ramp-up of playback rate at the beginning of playback.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.0.5 - September 26, 2022

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

FIXED: The infinite loop property of Video cues will again be restored properly when opening a workspace.

FIXED: A bug that broke functions related to the video warp control points. This fixes things like “dragging a whole region in the
warp editor.”

FIXED: Under certain conditions, a Timecode cue sending MTC triggered in a heavy cue sequence of other cues could send out a
small number of MTC messages simultaneously. Fixing this prevents an issue where where some receivers would interpret this as
time moving into the future very fast for a very short period of time.

FIXED: Anything (such as OSC) that addresses audio patch channel names is no longer case-sensitive.

FIXED: The Move playhead to this cue contextual menu item will now work on collaborator machines.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.0.4 - September 22, 2022

ADDED: Network device descriptions for Synthe FX’s Luminair 4, Blackmagic Design’s Videohub series, and MOTU’s AVB audio
interface series.

ADDED: OSC message /cartPosition now accepts optional /row and /column selectors, e.g. for using in OSC queries.

ADDED: AppleScript read-only property “cart position” to get the row and column of the position of a cart cue.

ADDED: Group cue OSC commands /playlist/next and /playlist/previous.

CHANGED: Group cue OSC commands /playlistShuffle, /playlistLoop, /playlistCrossfade, and

/playlistCrossfadeDuration are deprecated. Use new commands /playlist/doShuffle, /playlist/doLoop,
/playlist/doCrossfade, and /playlist/crossfade/duration instead.

FIXED: Playlist groups set to “Auto-shuffle” behave more predictably if loaded or triggered while running.

FIXED: Playlist groups can now be paused and resumed.

FIXED: Start cues can now target playlist group cues.

FIXED: When importing v4 workspaces, v5 will now find media files that it previously could not locate.

FIXED: A bug that caused still image Video cues with a duration to sometimes behave as if no duration was set.

FIXED: OSC messages sent via the special internal localhost path will now be logged in Workspace Status > Logs.

FIXED: A bug that prevented Network cues sending to a Plain Text destination from having line breaks.

FIXED: The Network device description for SPAT Revolution has been updated with a few minor corrections.

FIXED: The OSC Access settings pane now disables the “Edit” and “Control” checkboxes when “View” permission is not enabled.

FIXED: A bug that prevented collaborators from editing audio patches.

FIXED: A crash that could occur when managing Audio Effect presets.

FIXED: Several issues that could pop up when showing or hiding video grids. Now, just the video grids will pop up.

FIXED: A crash that could occur when showing a video monitor window.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

FIXED: It is now possible to edit the settings of Blackmagic DeckLink devices.

FIXED: When assigning a region to a route, the region’s “size on stage” is constrained so it does not land entirely outside of the
route raster.

FIXED: Editing large mesh splits will no longer slow QLab down.

FIXED: A bug that could prevent being able to edit the text color of a Text cue after pasting text into the Inspector.

FIXED: A bug where Timecode cues set to MTC mode were not able to send MTC messages for a period of time after rebooting
your computer. If you’re stuck using MTC, you now have both our sympathies and also a functional MTC Timecode cue.

FIXED: The valid cue output audio channels will now be shown on remote collaborator workspaces.

FIXED: Conditional cue colors will now be shown on remote collaborator workspaces.

FIXED: An issue that could cause the selection of multiple cues to be lost when shift- or command-clicking on the cue list.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.0.3 - September 12, 2022

FIXED: An error preventing automatic updates.

5.0.2 - September 12, 2022

CHANGED: Network cue inspector parameter tooltips now show both the underlying parameter keys and values to help with
scripting.

CHANGED: The OSC messages for interacting with a Video, Camera, or Text cue’s anchor point have been updated to /anchor in
order to match the language used in the inspector. The older /origin messages remain for backwards compatibility, but are
deprecated.

CHANGED: Playlist Group cues set to loop now require at least one of their children to have a duration greater than zero. This
prevents a recursion crash which caused a recursion crash.

FIXED: It is now possible for a Fade cue to fade a Group if it contains Network or MIDI cues.

FIXED: Video cues loaded to the very end of the file will no longer be stuck “playing” when they have nothing left to play.

FIXED: Video cues that use a file encoded with different lengths between the audio and video tracks will no longer risk being stuck
“playing” when they have nothing left to play.

FIXED: Video cues with looping slices now correctly show their duration before they’re loaded.

FIXED: Changes in video inputs will now only reset the geometry of Camera cues that use those inputs, and not reset the geometry
of unrelated Video cues.

FIXED: An audio license is no longer required for Camera cues.

FIXED: A bug that could prevent creating a new cue if the cue template had an audio effect enabled in it.

FIXED: A crash that could occur when connecting to some NDI input sources.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

FIXED: A crash that could occur when editing the output route associated with an NDI output device.

FIXED: A bug that could cause Syphon video output to fail when using a computer with multiple discrete GPUs.

FIXED: A bug that prevented getting “point” values using the Network cue AppleScript “parameter values” property.

FIXED: The workspace setting which restricts collaborators to view-only permission when the workspace is in show mode now
works correctly.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.0.1 - September 2, 2022

CHANGED: The minimum duration allowed for the Playlist group crossfade view is now 0.05 seconds.

CHANGED: The Network device description for ZoomOSC has been updated to reflect new features in ZoomOSC.

FIXED: MIDI virtual outputs can now be used as MIDI destinations.

FIXED: A crash that could occur when importing network patches from a QLab 4 workspace.

FIXED: A crash that could occur when deleting a stage whose monitor window is open.

FIXED: NDI video output devices with certain non-standard pixel dimension widths now output correctly.

FIXED: NDI and Syphon output devices will now be updated when their parameters are edited.

FIXED: Syphon will now work on certain older hardware, where previously it would crash.

FIXED: Clicking in the audio waveform or in the active cues panel will no longer stop a cue that is currently being auditioned.

FIXED: When setting new audio or video targets as a remote collaborator, the new audio waveform (and other properties defined
by the new file) will be now be synced back to the remote workspace.

FIXED: A bug that prevented creating Text cues if the cue template text formatting has a shadow applied.

FIXED: A bug that prevented displaying the Fade shape view for some Network cue parameters.

FIXED: Assorted other small bugs.

5.0 - August 30, 2022

General
★ ADDED: Collaboration. QLab 5 allows multiple people on separate Macs to collaborate on a workspace, live and in realtime,
over a local network.

★ ADDED: Autosave and Snapshot. Autosave prevents accidental loss of work in the event of a crash or power outage. Snapshots
let you easily revisit an earlier version of your workspace to compare against or recover deleted work.

★ ADDED: Playlist mode. Group cues have a new Playlist mode that allows you to create sequential playlists which advance
automatically or manually with optional crossfading, shuffling, and looping.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

★ ADDED: Audition improvements. Cues can now be auditioned on an individual basis, and each type of cue output can be given
its own audition behavior:

Audio, Video, MIDI, MTC, and LTC output can be individually set to audition to a specific output, the same output as usual, or
no output.
Video output can also be set to audition to an audition window. Each video stage (formerly called surface) gets its own audition
window.
Light cues audition to an “Audition” tab in the Light Dashboard.

Workspaces can be set to Always audition which turns every GO into an Audition GO and every Preview into an Audition
Preview, in the style of QLab 4.
Cues in the midst of auditioning can be interrupted and restarted normally with a single GO or Preview command; no need to
stop first, then restart.

★ ADDED: Cart refinements.

You can now manually set the grid size of a cart anywhere from 1 × 1 cells up to 10 × 10 cells.

Cart cues can now have pre-waits.

Cart cues display their duration and pre-wait, if applicable, when they are not playing.
Carts now have three display sizes, just like lists, which can be configured in the General → Display Size section of Workspace
Settings.

Assorted improvements to aesthetics and legibility.

★ ADDED: A new I/O tab in the inspector for Audio, Mic, Video, Camera, and Text cues.
★ ADDED: The new file search tool makes it dramatically easier to reconnect broken cues to their missing file targets, for example
after moving a workspace to a new computer or reorganizing media while QLab is not running.

★ ADDED: Workspace Settings can now be exported to a settings file, imported from a settings file, imported from other open
workspaces, and drag-and-dropped between workspaces.

★ ADDED: The Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window has been comprehensively updated to give you much more and
much better information about broken cues as well as non-breaking warnings such as workspace settings which are in need of
attention.

★ ADDED: QLab 5 runs natively on Apple Silicon.

ADDED: A contextual menu is now available when right-clicking (or control-clicking) on cues in the cue list and controls in the
inspector. The contextual menu gives you quick access to relevant actions and extensive in-line help text with links to the relevant
section of the QLab manual online.

ADDED: Cue colors can be set to appear all the time, only before the cue has played, or only after the cue has played, making it
easier for you to use color to mark cues as “unplayed” or “played.”

ADDED: The “linear” fade curve type can now be edited, allowing sharp-cornered multi-step fade curves.

ADDED: You can now use the arrow keys to work with control points in fade curves. Use ← and → to select the previous or next
point, ⌥ (option) plus arrow keys to move the selected control point, and ⌥⇧ (option shift) plus arrow keys for finer-grained
movement.

CHANGED: Setting cues’ targets by drag and drop now uses only the target column in the cue list, making it harder to change a
cue’s target accidentally.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

CHANGED: Setting cues’ targets by drag and drop now works bi-directionally; you can drag the acting cue onto its target cue, or
drag the target cue onto the acting cue. If both cues could potentially be targets of each other, the dragged cue is set as the target

of the cue it’s dropped onto.

CHANGED: Fade cues in “absolute” mode will now override and clear out any previously applied changes made by Fade cues in
“relative” mode.

CHANGED: Load cues can now use negative numbers to load backwards from the end time of their targets, just like the Load to
Time tool.

CHANGED: QLab 5 uses macOS Dark Mode so that dialogue boxes, title bars, and other window “chrome” look more consistent
with the rest of QLab’s interface.

Audio
★ ADDED: QLab 5 has a new audio patch system which comes with a number of improvements:
Workspaces support an unlimited number of audio output patches. Audio output patches can be reordered, copied and
pasted within a workspace and between workspaces, drag-and-dropped into the Finder to create a settings document, and
drag-and-dropped to copy them into the audio settings of other workspaces.
You can create multiple audio output patches with the same audio device, each with its own routing and audio effects.

The audio patch editor now supports undo and redo.

All cues that output audio now use the same set of audio output patches (no more special output patches for Mic cues.)
If an audio device is disconnected, QLab will still display the name of the disconnected device in the audio inspector, making it
easier to work with “offline” audio devices.

Audio output patches can now use the system output, which is the audio device selected in System Preferences → Sound →
Output. This makes it easier for a workspace to be used in a context where QLab ought to use the same audio output as the
rest of the Mac, even if that output changes.

★ ADDED: Mic cues now use separate audio input patches to designate the device they use for input. This lets you use separate
audio input and output devices easily, without requiring you to set up an aggregate audio device. Audio input patches can be
reordered, copied and pasted within a workspace and between workspaces, drag-and-dropped into the Finder to create a settings
document, and drag-and-dropped to copy them into the audio settings of other workspaces.

★ ADDED: Slices in Audio cues (and Video cues) can be set to a play count of 0; zero-count slices are seamlessly skipped during
playback.

ADDED: The integrated fade curve in the Time & Loops can now use a linear fade shape; no obligatory Bézier curves.

ADDED: Mic cues (and Camera cues) are now able to use input channels numbered above 64. You can’t use more channels than
before, but you can, for example, use channels 70 and 71 of your high-channel count device for a two-channel Mic cue.

ADDED: Audio effect meters now work in all contexts, not just on outputs.

ADDED: You can now visually edit the start and end times of multiple selected cues by dragging the start time and end time handles
in the Time & Loops tab of the inspector.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

Video
★ ADDED: QLab’s video rendering engine has been completely rewritten using the Metal framework, Apple’s modern and fully up-
to-date video system. Come for the performance improvements, stay for the longevity.

★ ADDED: QLab 5 has an entirely re-designed output system. Instead of Surfaces, video outputs are called Stages and they have
considerably more power and flexibility.

★ ADDED: QLab 5 adds per-cue blend modes, allowing you to composite cues in nearly limitless combinations.
★ ADDED: QLab natively supports NDI 5 for both video input and output. QLab also supports NDI audio input and output.
★ ADDED: Camera cues contain an embedded Mic cue, allowing you to use live audio alongside live video.
★ ADDED: QLab can display monitor windows for every video input and output so that you can keep tabs on all your visual
elements live and in realtime.

★ ADDED: Video, Camera, and Text cues can now use multiple video effects simultaneously. The list of available video effects has
grown, too, thanks to the shift to Metal, and the amount of processing power needed for video effects (especially blurs) has been
nicely reduced.

★ ADDED: Video cues which target video files that contain multiple audio tracks now allow you to choose which audio track to use.
This is done in the I/O tab.

★ ADDED: When a Video cue’s target file contains metadata describing the audio channel layout, that information is used to label
the rows in the Levels tab.

★ ADDED: QLab now supports an unlimited number of video input patches in a workspace. Video input patches can be reordered,
copied and pasted within a workspace and between workspaces, drag-and-dropped into the Finder to create a settings document,
and drag-and-dropped to copy them into the video settings of other workspaces.

★ ADDED: Slices in Video cues (and Audio cues) can be set to a play count of 0; zero-count slices are seamlessly skipped during
playback.

ADDED: Masks and video surface geometry now happen “upstream” of Syphon outputs, allowing you to send more elaborately
crafted video feeds to Syphon-receiving clients.

ADDED: Video, Camera, and Text cues now have an integrated crop attribute for quick and easy trimming.

ADDED: Video effects are previewed live in the Geometry tab of the inspector.

ADDED: When using QLab without a video license installed, Workspace Settings → Video → Video Outputs provides a single, simple
control to set all video output for the workspace to a single attached display. All cues will automatically play to this display.

Lighting
★ ADDED: The Light Dashboard has gained an Audition tab which displays the results of auditioned Light cues.
ADDED: QLab 5 ships with instrument definitions for over 1400 types of lighting fixtures from over 60 manufacturers.

ADDED: Light commands can now be cut, copied, and pasted when they are selected in slider mode in the Levels tab of the Light
cue inspector.

Networking, MIDI, and Show Control

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

★ ADDED: Timecode chasing. Cues set to trigger from timecode can now start in the middle of the cue based on incoming
timecode, rather than just at the beginning of the cue, and will skip ahead or back in response to timecode skipping ahead or back.
Additionally, Lists and Carts set to receive timecode can optionally be set to pause or stop their timecode-triggered cues when
incoming timecode stops, with optional freewheeling up to two seconds.

★ ADDED: Network patches can be reordered, copied and pasted within a workspace and between workspaces, drag-and-
dropped into the Finder to create a settings document, and drag-and-dropped to copy them into the Network settings of other
workspaces.

★ ADDED: QLab now supports an unlimited number of MIDI patches in a workspace. MIDI patches can be reordered, copied and
pasted within a workspace and between workspaces, drag-and-dropped into the Finder to create a settings document, and drag-
and-dropped to copy them into the MIDI settings of other workspaces.

★ ADDED: The Network cue has been substantially revamped and now includes support for directly controlling a number of OSC-
controllable programs and devices with a minimum of fuss and complexity. The currently available modes for the Network cue are:

OSC Message
Plain Text (ASCII strings)
Hex Codes (hexadecimal values)

QLab 5
Go Button 3
atemOSC

Audio Definition Model (ADM)

Borealis Vor
Chamsys MagicQ family

Creative Connors Spikemark 5

d&b Soundscape DS100 (which improves upon and replaces the QLab 4 Soundscape/DS100 feature)
Disguise D3

ETC ColorSource AV
ETC EOS family (Element, Ion, Eos, Geo, etc.)
Flux Spat Revolution

High End Hog 4

Innovate Audio panLab 2
L’Acoustics L-ISA

Meyer GALAXY (Normal mode and Spacemap mode)

MusicTribe Behringer X32 and Midas M32
Yamaha Rivage family (PM3, PM5, PM7, and PM10)

ZoomOSC

ADDED: You can now customize the port numbers that workspaces use to receive OSC messages and plain text messages.

ADDED: Workspaces can have multiple OSC passcodes, each with their own set of access permissions. Custom OSC remote control
commands are now compatible with workspaces that use OSC passcodes.

ADDED: Network cues now support both TCP and UDP transport, as well as OSC 1.1 argument types true, false, impulse, and null.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab 5 Change Log 1.2

ADDED: When live fade preview is switched on, Network cues in 2D fade mode now transmit their message as you drag the control
dot around. This should make it easier to experiment with 2D network fades.

ADDED: MIDI cues, MIDI File cues, and Timecode cues using MTC now all use the same set of patches.

ADDED: The Triggers tab of the inspector now has a capture button for capturing incoming timecode. For this button to work,
timecode must be enabled on the cue list or cart that contains the cue and timecode must be incoming. Capturing timecode can
also be done via AppleScript and OSC.

Scripting and Automation

★ ADDED: QLab 5’s OSC dictionary has been substantially overhauled and expanded upon. Many new OSC commands have been
added, many existing commands have new powers or options, and the whole set of commands has been reorganized and refined
for clarity.

★ ADDED: There are now separate overrides for local network messages versus network messages that go to other devices. For
outgoing messages, “local” is defined as any network patch whose address is localhost or 127.0.0.1. For incoming messages, “local”
is defined as any message originating from the same computer that QLab is running on.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - System Recommendations 1.3

System Recommendations

QLab 5 is a Mac-only program. It requires macOS Big Sur (macOS 11) or higher, and can run on any Mac that can run macOS Big Sur
or higher. QLab 5 runs natively on both Apple Silicon processors and Intel processors. While it is technically possible to run QLab in
a virtual machine or on a home-built “hackintosh,” these configurations have unpredictable problems and are neither
recommended nor supported.

Apple tends to refer to technical specs in non-technical language, such as “processor” instead of “CPU” and “memory” instead of
“RAM.” While reasonable people may differ on whether this decreases or increases confusion, this manual will attempt to match
Apple’s terminology where possible in hopes of making it easier to compare Apple’s published specifications against the experience
of QLab users.

Mindset

QLab is designed to be as flexible as possible so that it can be useful in a wide range of settings. As a consequence, it can be
difficult to lay down strict rules about how much computing power QLab needs to run well. This section of the manual aims to
discuss general concepts surrounding processor, graphics, memory, and storage as they pertain to QLab, and should be read not as
directions about what to do, but as recommendations about what to consider.

Processor (CPU)

Processor power has the most straightforward relationship to QLab performance; the more work QLab needs to do, the more
processor power it will use. These things all have a substantial impact on the amount of processor power needed by QLab:

The number of simultaneously running cues.

The resolution, frame rate, and bitrate of video files played by Video cues.
The sample rate, bit depth, and number of channels of audio files played by Audio cues.

The number of lighting instruments used in Light cues.

The use of live audio and video effects.
The use of blend modes in Video cues.

The complexity of AppleScripts run by Script cues.

Conversely, here are some things which generally do not have much of an impact on the amount of processor power needed by
QLab:

The total number of cues in a workspace.

The file size of media targeted by Audio and Video cues. (The file size per se is not important, although higher resolution,
sample rate, and bitrate often go hand in hand with larger file sizes.)

Using a single media file as the target of multiple cues.

Playing whole files for cues versus setting custom start times and end times.
The number of slice markers in a cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - System Recommendations 1.3

The upshot
New Macs are available today with Apple Silicon processors. They can be categorized as follows:

The base processors (M with a number and no other name) offer terrific performance. Their main limitation is related to the
number of displays that they can drive (see below.)
The Pro and Max processors offer superb performance with higher limits on displays.

The Ultra processors offer the best possible performance.

The speed increase of each generation of Apple Silicon processor over the previous is difficult to explain in brief, but generally
speaking each generation is a step-wise improvement over the one previous, and more of a leap when compared to the
generation before that. For example, the M2 Max feels like a modest improvement over the M1 Max, but the M3 Max is basically
faster than the M1 Ultra.

You can also find refurbished or older but still new-in-box Macs which use Intel processors.

i3 and i5 processors can handle simple shows,

i7 and i9 processors are much better at running multiple simultaneous cues and live effects,
Xeon processors, found in the Mac Pro and iMac Pro only, offer the best possible performance for an Intel Mac. Despite this,
most Apple Silicon Macs outperform even the most powerful Mac Pro with a Xeon processor.

If you are spending money on a Mac that’s new to you, we cannot overstate how much better the Apple Silicon Macs are. They truly
are better in every single way. A mid-range Apple Silicon Mac will easily outperform a very, very high end Intel Mac.

Memory (RAM)

Loading and playing cues uses memory, so the more audio or video that needs to be loaded at any given moment, the higher the
memory requirement will be. 4 GB should be considered the minimum for even the simplest of shows, and 8 GB should be
considered the minimum for shows of middling complexity or higher. As with processing power, more complex shows can benefit
from (and may require) more memory. QLab is able to address as much memory as your Mac provides.

Intel-based Macs and Apple Silicon-based Macs handle memory very differently. It appears to be true that Apple Silicon-based
Macs need less memory to run the same software as an equivalent Intel-based Mac, but as of the writing of this manual there is not
enough information to provide more specific guidance.

Storage (disk space)

The most important aspect of storage is thankfully the simplest; you need to have a sufficient amount of storage installed in your
Mac to hold the data needed for your show. QLab workspaces are generally very small, so the real determining factor is the total
size of all the media files used by your workspace.

The second most important aspect of storage is the read speed, which is the speed at which the Mac is able to gather data from
storage. Nearly all Macs today use solid state drives (SSD), the very slowest of which is still awfully fast.

For best performance, we recommend using a Mac with an SSD, and keeping your workspace and its media stored internally on that
Mac. If you must store your data on an external drive, it should be an SSD or a very fast, enterprise-class hard disk, and should be
connected to your Mac via Thunderbolt, USB4, or USB 3.2.

For those who are pushing the limits of what is possible, the best possible performance comes from PCIe-based storage cards in
modern Mac Pros, the built-in SSDs in Mac Studios, and the built-in SSDs in MacBook Pros with M1 Pro and M1 Max processors.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - System Recommendations 1.3

Graphics (GPU)

If you use QLab for anything besides video, you almost definitely do not need to worry about the graphics performance of your
Mac. QLab does make use of graphics processing for non-video related things, notably drawing the waveform view in the Time &
Loops tab of the inspector and updating the Light Dashboard, but any reasonably modern Mac has sufficient graphics processing
power for these tasks.

If you use QLab for video, however, the graphics processing capability of your Mac is very important and in keeping with the theme
of this section of the manual, what you need depends entirely upon what you’re trying to accomplish.

Intel-based Macs
The Intel-based Mac Mini and MacBook Air have a single, integrated graphics processor which is able to connect to a maximum of
two displays; one for your operator and one for your audience. Since the two displays share the graphics processor, you can
improve overall performance by lowering the resolution on your operator’s display; the computer will be doing less work for the
operator’s display, which means more power is available for video crunching. These Macs can work for very simple video needs.

The 2017-2019 13” MacBook Pro came in various models, all of which used an integrated graphics processor, similar to the Mac
Mini and MacBook Air though more powerful. These Macs can work well for simple video needs.

For all of the above Macs, a portion of system memory is used as video memory. The size of this portion is based on the total
amount of system memory installed, so the more memory you have, the more of it will be available for graphics-specific work.
While we don’t recommend using these Macs for video-intensive shows, if you do use such a Mac we strongly encourage you to
install the maximum possible amount of memory.

The 2017-2019 15” or 16” MacBook Pro came in various models, the best of which all supported multiple external displays at fairly
high resolutions. These Macs work well for moderately complex video needs.

The 2013-2018 “Darth Vader’s wastebasket” Mac Pro drives up to six displays with a single graphics processor. Three options were
available, and you had to select which you wanted at purchase time; the middling D300, the fairly-good-for-the-time D500, or the
actually-quite-good D700. None of these Macs have a good relationship of price to performance, but buying used or renting a
D500 or D700 model can provide good video performance for moderately complex video needs.

The 2019-2022 “return of cheese grater” Mac Pro allows you to install multiple video cards. Dedicating one modest video card for
your operator display and one or more fancier cards for your audience-facing displays is a good strategy. These Macs work well for
complex video needs, and the best of them (while terrifically expensive) work well for very complex video needs.

Intel-based Macs can use eGPUs, which are GPUs connected via Thunderbolt, and QLab can “see” and make use of them. While
their total performance is limited by the speed of the Thunderbolt bus, that speed is quite good and the limitation is not terrible.
eGPUs are a great way to add video outputs and video rendering power to an Intel-based Mac that isn’t a Mac Pro. If you’re using a
Mac Pro, you should always use internally installed GPUs.

Apple Silicon-based Macs

All Apple Silicon Macs have integrated graphics processors, which means that the graphics processor is built into the same physical
package as the regular processor and is therefore not removable or replaceable. Historically, integrated graphics processors
offered fairly lackluster performance and were not recommended for serious video use. The Apple Silicon integrated graphics
system, on the other hand, uses a novel design which is profoundly more powerful than Intel’s integrated graphics processors.
Additionally, Apple Silicon processors include dedicated circuitry for video decoding, making them the best possible choice for
video performance.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - System Recommendations 1.3

The overall, general performance of Apple Silicon graphics scales with price; the more expensive the Mac, the better its graphics
performance will be.

Apple Silicon-based Macs do not support eGPUs.

Audio Output

All Macs have a ⅛” (3.5 mm) stereo output jack, and if all you need is one- or two-channel output, this can be fine. This connection
is unbalanced, so it is recommended that the length of the cable that you plug into this jack be no longer than six feet or 1.8 meters
(metres) in order to minimize noise.

If you need more than two channels, balanced connections, or outputs in other physical formats (such as analogue XLR3, AES,
MADI, etc.) you can use any Core Audio-compliant audio device, which is nearly every audio device that works with a Mac. Through
Core Audio, QLab supports output at a resolution of 16 or 24 bits at sample rates up to 192 kHz, although sample rates above 48
kHz require substantially more processing power and are not recommended.

QLab also supports audio output over a network via Dante Virtual Soundcard and macOS’s built-in implementation of AVB. For
Video and Camera cues which output to NDI, QLab can use NDI’s built in audio channels as well.

The use of more than two channels of audio output requires an audio license.

Video Output

QLab supports video output through the built-in connections on your Mac, including the connections on graphics cards installed
Mac Pros with PCI slots, and connections on eGPUs used with Macs that support eGPUs (Intel-based Macs with Thunderbolt 3
connections.)

All current Macs utilize USB-C connectors to deliver video, usually via an adapter which provides a DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort,
HDMI, DVI, or VGA connection. Understanding USB-C and the various ways that it deals with video can be challenging. You can learn
more about this topic in the section on understanding USB-C in this manual. Many, but not all, current Macs also have HDMI
connectors.

The number of displays supported by an Intel-based Mac is highly variable.

The number of displays supported by an Apple Silicon-based Mac is as follows. This chart does not include the built-in display on
laptops and iMacs.

Processor Number and specification of attached displays

M1 1 display up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz1

M2 1 display up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz2

1 display up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz (via Thunderbolt)

M3 or
1 display up to 3840 × 2160 at 120 Hz (via HDMI)2

M1 Pro 2 displays up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz

M1 Max 3 displays up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz3

4 displays up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz (via Thunderbolt) and

M1 Ultra
1 display up to 3840 × 2160 at 60 Hz (via HDMI)
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - System Recommendations 1.3

Processor Number and specification of attached displays

2 displays up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz4

or
1 display up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz (via Thunderbolt) and
1 display up to 3840 × 2160 at 144 Hz (via HDMI)
M2 Pro
or
1 display up to 7680 × 4320 at 60 Hz (via HDMI)
or
1 display up to 3840 × 2160 at 240 Hz (via HDMI)

3 displays up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz3 (via Thunderbolt) and

1 display up to 3840 × 2160 at 144 Hz (via HDMI)
or
M2 Max 2 displays up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz (via Thunderbolt) and
1 display at 7680 × 4320 at 60 Hz (via HDMI)
or
1 display up to 3840 × 2160 at 240 Hz (via HDMI)

8 displays up to 3840 × 2160 at 60 Hz

or
M2 Ultra 6 displays up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz
or
3 display at 7680 × 4320 at 60 Hz

2 displays up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz4

or
1 display up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz (via Thunderbolt) and
1 display up to 3840 × 2160 at 144 Hz (via HDMI)
M3 Pro
or
1 display up to 7680 × 4320 at 60 Hz (via HDMI)
or
1 display up to 3840 × 2160 at 240 Hz (via HDMI)

3 displays up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz3 (via Thunderbolt) and

1 display up to 3840 × 2160 at 144 Hz (via HDMI)
or
M3 Max 2 displays up to 6016 × 3384 at 60 Hz (via Thunderbolt) and
1 display at 7680 × 4320 at 60 Hz (via HDMI)
or
1 display up to 3840 × 2160 at 240 Hz (via HDMI)

Both 8K resolution (7680 × 4320) and 240 Hz refresh rate require an UltraHD high speed HDMI cable rated at 48 Gbps. The display
must be connected directly to the Mac’s HDMI port with no adapters.

Using a video license, QLab can also output video via Blackmagic Design’s UltraStudio, DeckLink, and Intensity capture and playback
devices; via Syphon; and over a network using NDI.

We do not recommend, nor do we support, video output via USB DisplayLink monitors or graphics adapters. While these devices
can work, they are not compatible with hardware graphics acceleration and they have a history of spotty performance. Your
mileage may vary, but our advice is to avoid them entirely. If you are not sure whether a device uses DisplayLink, the litmus test is
this: if you need to install a driver or other special software to make the display work, then it’s probably DisplayLink.

Lighting Output

QLab can connect to DMX-controlled devices via Art-net and via a small list of specific USB-DMX adapters. QLab uses Art-net
version 3, which means it’s compatible with any devices that use Art-net 3 or Art-net 4.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - System Recommendations 1.3

Ask Us

If you have specific questions about hardware choices or requirements, please email the QLab support team, and tell us about
your show. We will be happy to help you.

1. Mac Studios with a Max processor support an additional display up to 3840 × 2160 at 60 Hz connected via HDMI.↩
2. In this arrangement, the M2 Pro Mac Mini supports an additional display up to 3840 × 2160 at 60 Hz connected via HDMI.↩

3. The M2 Mac Mini supports an additional display up to 3840 × 2160 at 60 Hz connected via HDMI or an additional display up to 5120 × 2880 at
60 Hz connected via Thunderbolt.↩
4. The M1 Mac Mini supports an additional display up to 3840 × 2160 at 60 Hz connected via HDMI.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Preparing Your Mac 1.4

Preparing Your Mac

What follows here is a list of the programs or processes which we recommend disabling and instructions for doing so, as well as
some other recommended practices. This section presupposes a basic understanding of macOS and at least a passing familiarity
with the Terminal, which can be found in Applications → Utilities.

The directions here have been updated in May 2024 to reflect language changes and new features available in macOS Sonoma (14),
but they are almost entirely applicable for Macs using macOS Big Sur (11), macOS Monterey (12), and macOS Ventura (13) as well. In
Big Sur and Monterey, System Settings is instead called System Preferences.

Click here to download our “Prep and Restore” tutorial workspace (current version: April 2023). The workspace contains two
Script cues. The first one executes all the prep steps below, not including the video-specific ones or the ones which have to be
done using the mouse. The other Script cue reverses these steps. Because it is a tutorial workspace, it does not require a QLab
license to work despite using Script cues.

A note about sudo

sudo is a Unix command which is short for “superuser do.” It allows you to run a command in the Terminal with “superuser”
privilege. In normal human terms, this means that using sudo allows you to run a command that you ordinarily could not, usually
because that command could have serious consequences, and it would be a security risk to not require some kind of extra
confirmation. There have also been reports of sudo being successfully used to obtain a sandwich.

sudo can only be used by an administrator account. If you only have one account on your Mac, it’s almost certainly an
administrator account. If someone else set up your Mac, ask them about it. It is really very useful to run QLab using an
administrator account and we recommend it if at all possible.

The Terminal commands below all use sudo , which means that the first time you use them in a new Terminal window, you’ll be
asked to enter your password. This is not nefarious; this is macOS making sure that you are indeed proactively choosing to do this
thing, and also that you are a person and not a sneaky script or bot trying to pull a fast one. None of the commands below transmit
anything to or receive anything from outside your Mac.

The Basics

First, make sure that your copy of QLab resides in the Applications folder on your Mac. Most of the time, Macs are very permissive
about where things can be stored, but you can occasionally encounter problems which you would not otherwise encounter when
running a program that is not kept inside the Applications folder.

Next, make sure that there are not multiple copies of QLab on your Mac, or if there are (for example if you deliberately want to use
QLab 5 sometimes and QLab 4 sometimes,) ensure that only one of them is named “QLab” and the other is named something else
like “QLab 4” or “Old QLab” or “QLab Just For The Holiday Show.”

System Software

There are a number of programs, processes, and tasks that your Mac runs either periodically or all the time in the background.
Many of these programs are essential, but many are not and disabling them will increase the total percentage of your computer’s
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Preparing Your Mac 1.4

resources which are available to QLab.

Disable Spotlight
Spotlight is Apple’s name for the macOS search tool. What makes the tool work so well, and so quickly, is a clever program which
periodically updates an index of all the files on every disk or drive connected to your Mac. This periodic updating can be fairly
intensive, and can temporarily prevent QLab from getting access to data, which can cause late cues or stuttering playback.

Using System Preferences

Open System Settings → Siri & Spotlight, an click on the button labeled Spotlight Privacy… . In the box which opens, and add every
disk or drive that’s connected to your Mac to the list. You can do that by dragging and dropping the disk or drive’s icon from the
Desktop into the list, or by using the + button at the bottom.

To restore Spotlight’s default behavior, remove all disks or drives from the Privacy tab list.

Using the Terminal

Open a Terminal window, type or paste in this command, and then press enter:

sudo mdutil -ai off

mdutil , short for “metadata utility”, is the program that handles Spotlight configuration. The a in -ai means you want this
command to apply to all disks connected to your Mac. The i in -ai means you want to turn indexing on or off, and off means
turn it off.

If you prefer to apply this command to a specific disk, you can use this form of the command instead:

sudo mdutil -i off /Volumes/diskname

Replace “diskname” with the actual name of the disk.

To restore Spotlight’s default behavior, use this command:

sudo mdutil -ai on

Prevent Sleep and disable Screen Saver

Obviously we don’t want the computer to go to sleep during the show, nor do we want the screen to be turned off.

Using System Settings

Open System Settings → Lock Screen, and set the time for all four settings at the top to “never.”

If you’re using a portable Mac such as a MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro, open System Settings → Battery, click the
Options… button, set “Put hard disks to sleep when possible”1 to “never.”

If you’re using a desktop Mac such as a Mac Mini, iMac, Mac Studio, or Mac Pro, open System Settings → Energy Saver and then:
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Preparing Your Mac 1.4

Turn on “Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off”
Turn off “Put hard disks to sleep when possible.”1

Using the Terminal

Open a Terminal window, type or paste in this command, and then press enter:

sudo pmset -a displaysleep 0 disksleep 0 sleep 0

pmset , short for “power management settings”, is the program that handles power management configuration. -a means you
want to apply this command to all power supply situations (i.e. both while on battery and while plugged in, for laptops). The 0
following each keyword disables that form of sleeping.

This command often displays a little informational warning after it’s run, which you can ignore.

To enable sleep using the Terminal, use this command:

sudo pmset -a displaysleep {x} disksleep {y} sleep {z}

Replace {x} , {y} , and {z} with times measured in seconds. For example, sleep 600 will set your Mac to go to sleep after ten
minutes (six hundred seconds) of inactivity.

Unfortunately, the ability to adjust screen saver settings using the Terminal does not work as of macOS Big Sur. It’s not clear if that
was a choice by Apple, or a mistake. It can still be done via AppleScript, though:

tell application "System Events" to tell screen saver preferences

set delay interval to 0
end tell

Disable Automatic Time Machine Backups

Backups are wonderful. You should back up everything as often as possible. But on a computer used for your show, backups should
only be done manually. Time Machine, much like Spotlight, uses indexing and background processes which can take hold of the disk
at inopportune moments.

Using System Settings

Open System Settings → General → Time Machine, click the button labeled Options… and set “Back up frequency” to “Manually.”

To restore Time Machine’s default behavior, set the frequency to “Automatically Every Hour.”

Using the Terminal

Open a Terminal window, type or paste in this command, and then press enter:

sudo tmutil disable

tmutil , short for “time machine utility”, is the program which handles Time Machine configuration. Unlike its friends, it has very
straightforward syntax.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Preparing Your Mac 1.4

To restore automatic backups, use this command:

sudo tmutil enable

Disable Software Update

You don’t want your computer trying to update software in the middle of a run; if everything works and an automatic update
introduces a bug or problem or even variation, it can cause a lot of last-minute stress or even a cancelled performance.

To prevent your Mac from automatically installing software updates, open System Preferences → Software Update and uncheck the
box labeled “Automatically keep my Mac up to date”. You’ll be asked to confirm this choice.

Unfortunately, the ability to adjust Software Update settings using the Terminal does not work as of macOS Big Sur. It’s not clear if
that was a choice by Apple, or a mistake.

Prevent Notifications
The usefulness of the macOS notifications system can be debated, but it fortunately makes it very easy to disable all notifications at
once, leaving your QLab operator in relative peace.

To prevent notifications, open System Settings → Focus, click Do Not Disturb, and look at the section labeled Set a Schedule. There,
either add a schedule or edit an existing schedule to cover your whole working day, or even the whole day. You could, for example,
turn on Do Not Disturb from 4:00 AM until 3:59 AM (all day) or from 5:00 PM until 11:00 PM (from before pre-show call until after
post-show shutdown.)

Disable Photos Processing and Cloud Services

Apple’s Photos app does a huge amount of background processing, include face and object detection. The only way to make sure
that Photos doesn’t keep your Mac busy whenever it thinks the system is idle (that is, during standby right before a major cue),
make sure the Mac isn’t connected to your iCloud photo library.

1. Open Photos;

2. Choose Preferences from the Photos menu;

3. Click iCloud;
4. Uncheck the box marked “iCloud Photos”.

Log Out of iCloud

Even when your Mac is offline, iCloud is surprisingly assertive about checking in with the iCloud servers in Apple’s data centers.
Logging out of iCloud ensures that this check-in process doesn’t claim processor power when you need it.

Open System Preferences → iCloud and click “Sign Out” to sign out of iCloud.

Minimize Internet Accounts

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Preparing Your Mac 1.4

Similarly, any accounts used to sync Mail, Contacts, and Calendars can potentially try to access the Internet and take up processing
power while doing so, even while network access is disabled.

Open System Settings → Internet Accounts, choose an account, and uncheck each service type that you can do without. Repeat for
each account.

Limit Internet Access

Many individual applications, including QLab, have their own internal scheme to check for updates, but as discussed above we
recommend not updating anything during the run of a show.

One of the simplest ways to guarantee that automatic software updates or any other network traffic won’t bother your show is to
disconnect the show computer from the Internet. We absolutely do not require this, but it unless you need internet access on your
show Mac for some specific reason, this is a simple and fairly foolproof way to be sure that things like this don’t cause trouble.

If you use a network to connect your QLab computer to other hardware, and your show doesn’t require Internet access, make sure
that network is a closed LAN (local area network) and has no path to the Internet.

Show Mode and Task Switching

By default, QLab does the following when your switch your workspace into Show Mode:

Prevents use of ⌘-Tab

Disables Mission Control and Exposé
Disables automatic Dock hiding

Prevents your computer from sleeping

Activates “latency critical” mode, which prevents QLab from getting deprioritized access to system resources.

If you want QLab to not do this when in Show Mode, choose QLab Preferences… from the QLab menu and uncheck the box
marked Disable disruptive OS features in Show Mode.

If You’re Doing Video

If you’re using QLab for video, the following settings are also very important:

Disable Mirror Displays

Whenever you have more than one display connected to a Mac (including the built-in display on a laptop or iMac), you can either
have the displays mirroring each other, showing the same thing, or turn off mirroring, which lets each display show its own image.
That’s how you want it set for QLab, so that you can see QLab on your display, and the audience sees your cues on the other
display or displays. Display mirroring is configured differently in different versions of macOS, but in any case it’s done in System
Settings → Displays or System Preferences → Displays.

Disable Displays have separate Spaces

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Preparing Your Mac 1.4

Spaces is Apple’s name for virtual desktops. If you don’t know what this means, don’t worry about it; the main purpose of Spaces is
irrelevant to QLab, but they have a side effect that is important for video users: if your displays are set to have separate spaces, the
Menu bar also appears on all displays, which means it will be visible to your audience when no cues are playing through QLab.

To fix this, open System Settings → Desktop & Dock, then look under the Mission Control heading. Set Displays have separate
Spaces to off.

Disable separate Spaces using the Terminal

Open a Terminal window, type or paste in this command, and then press enter:

defaults write com.apple.spaces spans-displays -bool TRUE

To restore separate Spaces using the Terminal

defaults write com.apple.spaces spans-displays -bool FALSE

Important: you’ll need to log out, then back in again for this to take effect. This is true whether you use System Preference or the
Terminal command to make the change.

Blackout the Desktop

When QLab is playing a Video cue, it places a black “backdrop” over any screen that is being used by that Video cue. When no
video is playing, however, QLab does not display this backdrop. Therefore, in order to prevent your audience from seeing anything
when no Video cue is playing, you’ll need to set the desktop background on your projector (or other audience-visible display) to
black. You can do that in two ways. Either:

1. Open System Settings;

2. Choose Desktop & Screen Saver;

3. Choose Desktop;
4. On your projector (or other display), choose “Solid Colors”;

5. Click “Custom Color…“;

6. Set the color to black.

Alternately, QLab provides a quick and easy way to do the same thing. Simply choose Black out desktop backgrounds from the
Tools menu, and all desktop backgrounds will be set to black. You can later choose Restore saved desktop backgrounds, also from
the Tools menu, to restore the desktop backgrounds you had previously.

Disable the Orange Dot

Recent versions of macOS have what Apple calls a “privacy indicator” in the menu bar, which is an orange or green dot which
appears in the menu bar to indicate when a program on your Mac is using the microphone (orange) or camera (green.) This is a
great security feature since it makes it very difficult for a program to spy on you using your microphone or camera without you
knowing, but one aspect of the feature is very troublesome to QLab users: the dot appears on all displays not just the main display.
Fortunately, as of macOS Sonoma version 14.4, you can limit the privacy indicator to only show on the main screen, which is
presumably the screen your QLab operator is looking at.

To disable the privacy indicator on secondary screens:

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Preparing Your Mac 1.4

1. Start up your Mac in recovery mode (not as scary as it sounds! Don’t worry!) Here are Apple’s directions for Apple Silicon-
based Macs and here are the directions for Intel-based Macs.
2. Once in recovery mode, choose Terminal from the Utilities menu.

3. Enter this command: system-override suppress-sw-camera-indication-on-external-displays=on

4. Quit Terminal.
5. Chose Restart from the Apple menu. Your Mac will restart in normal mode.

6. Once your Mac has restarted, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone. There will be an option to turn off the
privacy indicator. Turn it off.
7. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera. There will be an option to turn off the privacy indicator. Turn it off.

To be clear: there is no meaningful security risk introduced by this change, since the privacy indicators will still appear on your main
display.

Other Software

Other programs running in the background can interfere with QLab’s performance in two basic ways: first, they can use system
resources like processing power and memory capacity which would otherwise be available to QLab. Second, they can engage in
activity that conflicts with QLab’s activity, such as altering a file which QLab is expecting to remain unaltered.

The single biggest and simplest thing you can do to ensure good QLab performance is to avoid running other programs on the same
Mac as QLab during your show, besides programs which are necessary for your show.

Some programs are more… shall we say assertive about their background behavior than others. For example, Ableton Live is a very
processor-intensive program, but only when it’s running. Simply having Live installed on the same Mac as QLab isn’t a problem at
all; if you’re not using Live, it has no real effect on your computer. Adobe Creative Cloud, on the other hand, has not one but
several helper programs which run all the time to keep the Adobe apps updated, sync data, facilitate logging into the Adobe CC
website, and so forth. These processes are designed to have minimal impact, but minimal is not the same as zero and when you’re
trying to get the best possible performance out of a computer, every little bit helps.

The Upshot
Quit programs that aren’t necessary during show time, disable or uninstall background processes that run all the time, and learn
about the background behavior of the programs you do use so that you’re aware of what they’re doing when you’re not actively
using them.

Avoid installing these programs on any audience-facing QLab system:

Any Adobe Creative Cloud program

Google Chrome, Google Earth, and Google SketchUp

LogMeIn, AnyDesk, TeamViewer, or other remote screen sharing software

Backblaze or other whole-disk automatic backup software
Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, or other automatic cloud file sharing software

Vectorworks Cloud Services

Antivirus software of any kind
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Preparing Your Mac 1.4

To be clear, none of this should be read as an indictment of any of these programs, per se2. Mac computers are used for many
different things, and different configurations of software are appropriate for different environments. A setup that works perfectly
for one environment might be abysmal for another environment. That doesn’t mean there’s a problem with that setup.

Squeezing Every Last Drop of Performance

Sometimes we don’t get the budget we hoped for. Sometimes we are stuck using a Mac that was donated by a board member’s
uncle’s friend’s former roommate. Sometimes the scope of the design outgrows the Mac that was fast enough for the original plan.
These things happen! When they do, sometimes we need to dig as deep as we can and look for every 0.01 percent of processing
power and memory availability to get our shows running smoothly.

The following settings are not recommended in general because they have a truly minimal effect on the overall processing load of
your Mac. But when you’re really down to it, these are things you can try when you really are looking for that 0.01 percent.

Avoid MP3 and MP4/AAC files

Playing MP3 and MP4/AAC files takes more processing power than playing AIFF, WAV, or CAF audio files.

Match sample rate and bit depth

Technically, all audio needs to match the sample rate and bit depth of the output device that it’s playing through. Core Audio does
an amazing job of resampling audio on the fly with essentially no processing overhead, but not resampling on the fly takes even less
processing overhead.

Match resolution
Scaling video cues takes processing power. Render your video files at the exact size you need them wherever possible.

Use native video outputs

Outputting video via Blackmagic devices, Syphon, and NDI takes more processing power than using native video outputs. A native
video output is one which appears in System Settings → Displays. The difference is smaller on Apple Silicon-based Macs than Intel-
based Macs, but there’s still a difference.

Clear the Desktop

Each icon on the Mac’s Desktop requires processing power to display, believe it or not. Get as many items off of the Desktop as you
can.

Reduce Motion and Transparency

macOS uses lovely motion and transparency effects for aesthetic effect, both of which takes processing power. Open System
Settings → Accessibility, select Display, and turn on Reduce motion and Reduce transparency.

1. If your Mac only has SSDs attached to it, this checkbox has no effect.↩

2. A notable exception: all antivirus software for the Mac is bad, and you should never use it. macOS has built-in security processes which do a
better job, cost nothing, don’t slow down your Mac, and don’t try to scare you about invisible and unlikely threats.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Keyboard Shortcuts 1.5

Keyboard Shortcuts

QLab and its manual are written in American English using a US-standard QWERTY keyboard layout. Apple sells Macs with a wide variety of
keyboard layouts for many different languages, alphabets, and cultures. There is, unfortunately, no simple way to plan for keyboard
shortcuts which transcend these boundaries. If you are using a keyboard layout other than US QWERTY, and/or a language other than US
English on your Mac, you may find that some of the keyboard shortcuts do not work as listed. You may find that the key in the
corresponding position as the listed key on a US keyboard will work, but will simply have the wrong label. We did not cause this problem,
and we cannot solve it, but we are nevertheless sorry if it causes you trouble.

Key Symbols

Symbol Meaning

⌘ command

⇧ shift

⌃ control

⌥ option

⌫ delete

Default Keyboard Controls

Most of these keyboard shortcuts can be edited in the Controls → Keyboard section of Workspace Settings.

Command Key Note

GO space When the workspace is set to always audition, this keyboard shortcut invokes Audition GO instead of GO.

When the workspace is set to always audition, this keyboard shortcut invokes Audition Preview Selected instead of
Preview Selected V
Preview Selected.

Audition GO ⌥space
Audition Preview
Selected
⌥V

If multiple cues are selected, only the most recently selected cue will be loaded. The playhead will also jump to that
Load Last Selected L
cue.

Panic Selected S Double-tap this keyboard shortcut to hard stop the selected cues.

Pause/Resume Selected P

Pause All [

Resume All ]

Panic All escape Double-tap this keyboard shortcut to hard stop all cues. This shortcut cannot be changed.

Edit cue number N

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Keyboard Shortcuts 1.5

Command Key Note

Edit cue name Q

Edit cue notes O

Edit cue target T

Edit cue pre-wait

E
duration

Edit cue action duration D

Edit cue post-wait

W
duration

Cycle cue continue

C
mode

Flag/unflag F

Menu Keyboard Shortcuts

QLab

Command Key

Hide QLab ⌘H
Hide Others ⌥⌘H
Quit QLab ⌘Q

File

Command Key Note

New Workspace ⌘N *

New From Template… ⇧⌘N *

Open Workspace… ⌘O
Connect to Workspace… ⇧⌘K
Close ⌘W
Save ⌘S
Save As… ⇧⌘S
Workspace Settings Window ⌘,

* These keyboard shortcuts can be co-opted by the Light Dashboard and by some sections of the Workspace Settings window.
Co-opted shortcuts are always noted visibly on screen when this is the case.

Edit

Command Key Note

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Keyboard Shortcuts 1.5

Command Key Note

Undo ⌘Z
Redo ⇧⌘Z
Cut ⌘X
Copy ⌘C
Paste ⌘V
Paste Cue Properties… ⇧⌘V
Paste and Match Style ⌥⇧⌘V
Delete ⌘⌫ *

Select All ⌘A
Find… ⌘F
Find Next ⌘G *

Find Previous ⇧⌘G

Show Fonts ⌥⇧⌘T
Bigger ⌘+
Smaller ⌘-
Show Colors ⌥⇧⌘C
Copy Style ⌥⌘C
Paste Style ⌥⌘V

* These keyboard shortcuts can be co-opted by the Workspace Settings window. Co-opted shortcuts are always noted visibly on
screen when this is the case.

Cues

Note: You can reassign keyboard shortcuts for cues by re-arranging them in the toolbox.

Command Key

Group ⌘0
Audio ⌘1
Mic ⌘2
Video ⌘3
Camera ⌘4
Text ⌘5
Light ⌘6
Fade ⌘7
Network ⌘8
MIDI ⌘9
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Keyboard Shortcuts 1.5

Tools

Command Key Note

Load to time… ⌘T
Renumber selected cues… ⌘R *

Delete numbers of selected cues… ⌘D

Jump to selected cues’ targets ⇧⌘J
Turn on/off always audition ⇧⌘A
Turn on/off live fade preview ⇧⌘P

* This keyboard shortcut can be co-opted by the Light Dashboard window. Co-opted shortcuts are always noted visibly on screen
when this is the case.

When a Fade cue is selected, the following Tools are also available:

Command Key

Set Audio Levels From Target ⇧⌘T

Set Video Geometry From Target ⌃⌥⌘V
Revert Fade Action ⇧⌘R

When the Light Dashboard is the front-most window, the following Tools are available instead of the standard ones:

Command Key

New Cue with Changes ⌘N

New Cue with All ⇧⌘N
Update Latest Cue ⌘U
Update Selected Cue(s) ⇧⌘U
Update Originating Cue(s) ⌥⌘U
Revert Changes ⌘R

View

Command Key Note

Enter/Exit Full Screen ⇧⌘F

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Keyboard Shortcuts 1.5

Command Key Note

Inspector ⌘I *

Inspector for selected cue ⇧⌘I

Toolbox ⌘K
Lists / Carts & Active Cues ⌘L
Toggle Between Lists / Carts & Active Cues ⇧⌘L
Warnings ⌘B
Select cue… ⌘J Within the Select cue panel, ⌘P selects the cue currently at the playhead.

Select next ⌘↓
Select previous ⌘↑
Select next tab ⌘→
Select previous tab ⌘←
Move playhead to cue… ⇧⌘J
Move playhead to next cue ⇧⌘↓
Move playhead to previous cue ⇧⌘↑
Move playhead to next sequence =

Move playhead to previous sequence -

Enter Edit Mode ⇧⌘[

Enter Show Mode ⇧⌘]

* This keyboard shortcut can be co-opted by the Workspace Status window. Co-opted shortcuts are always noted visibly on
screen when this is the case.

Window

Command Key

Minimize ⌘M
Workspace Status ⇧⌘W
Override Controls ⇧⌘O
Light Dashboard ⇧⌘D

While in the cue list…

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Keyboard Shortcuts 1.5

Command Key

Expand all Group cues >

Collapse all Group cues <

While focused on the waveform view of the Time & Loops tab…

Command Key

Set start time to current time ⇧I

Set end time to current time ⇧O
Add slice at current time M

Zoom in ⌘+ / ⌘=
Zoom out ⌘-

While editing the integrated fade curve in the Time & Loops tab…

Command Key

Select previous control point ←

Select next control point →

Move selected control point up ⌥↑

Move selected control point down ⌥↓
Move selected control point left ⌥←
Move selected control point right ⌥→
Move selected control point up a small amount ⇧⌥↑
Move selected control point down a small amount ⇧⌥↓
Move selected control point left a small amount ⇧⌥←
Move selected control point right a small amount ⇧⌥→

While focused on the Timeline tab of Timeline Group cues…

Command Key

Zoom in horizontally ⌘=
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Keyboard Shortcuts 1.5

Command Key

Zoom out horizontally ⌘-

Zoom in vertically ⇧⌘=
Zoom out vertically ⇧⌘-
Nudge selected cues +0.1 second ⌥→
Nudge selected cues -0.1 second ⌥←
Nudge selected cues +0.01 second ⇧⌥→
Nudge selected cues -0.01 second ⇧⌥←

While editing a 2D fade path…

Command Key

Hold to toggle the active tool. ⌃

Hold to disable snapping. ⌘
Hold to reverse the direction of the rotate tool. ⌥
Zoom in and out. ⌥ + scroll
Select adjacent point. ←/→

Nudge single selected point. ⌥+←/↑/↓/→

Nudge multiple selected points. ←/↑/↓/→

Coarse adjustments. ⇧ + nudge

Lock to single axis in 90 degree increments. ⇧ + drag
Lock to aspect ratio. ⇧ + resize
Scale from center. ⌥ + resize
Select all points. ⌘A
Insert a point on a path. ⌥ + click
Draw a circle from the center. ⌥ + circle tool
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Licenses 1.6

Licenses

QLab 5 uses an account-based licensing system which allows you to install and remove licenses quickly and easily without having to
keep track of license files. Licenses can be installed directly on a Mac that’s connected to the internet, or they can be installed to
an offline Mac, or installed onto a USB drive for portable use.

Types Of Licenses

There are several types of licenses available for QLab, although many of those types are more or less the same from a functional
perspective and only differ in terms of their pricing structure and the number of computers they can be used on at once.

Functional types of licenses

An audio license unlocks pro-level audio features,
A video license unlocks pro-level video features,

A lighting license unlocks the ability to patch more than 16 DMX addresses.
Each of the three license types unlocks MIDI, networking, show control, scripting, and workflow features.

Licenses are sold individually, in pairs, or as a bundle of all three types. Pairs and bundles give you a discount, but otherwise don’t
differ from licenses purchased individually.

You can read more about the features unlocked by each license type in the Features by License section of this manual.

Structural types of licenses

Standard licenses are one-time purchases for a fixed price that can be installed on up to two computers at once. These
licenses can be used in perpetuity, as long as you have a Mac capable of running QLab 5.
Rent-to-own licenses are one-time purchases priced per day, with a start and end date of your choosing. Within that date
range, they operate exactly the same way as standard licenses and can be installed on up to two computers at once. After the
end date passes, they self-deactivate.
Site licenses are like standard licenses, except they are priced per activation with a ten-activation minimum. They are
intended to make it easier to manage large numbers of QLab activations, for example in a large production studio, rental shop,
or multi-venue facility. Site licenses are only available upon request; contact support@figure53.com for more information.

We also offer discounts and special license types to educational users. You can find policy and technical details about educational
licenses at https://qlab.app/educational-pricing.

Understanding activations
Most types of QLab 5 licenses can be activated on two computers at once, more or less without limitation. You can use your two
activations for a main and a backup, a main stage and second stage, a theater and a rehearsal hall, or however else you like.

If you bought a pair or bundle of licenses, each type of license within your purchase functions individually, so you can put the
audio, video, and lighting portion of a bundle license onto two computers each, individually.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Licenses 1.6

Purchasing Licenses

You can purchase QLab licenses on our secure online store using a credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Once you’ve chosen the
license or licenses that you wish to purchase, click Checkout. You can then log in to your QLab account if you already have one, or
just enter your billing details if you don’t. It’s important to double-check your email address before completing your purchase.

If you do not already have an account, completing the purchase will create an account for you, log you in, and prompt you to
create a password for the account. You will use this password and your email address in QLab to install your licenses.

Trade-ins and store credit

Any standard QLab 5 license can be traded in for store credit at any time. Trading in a license deactivates that license wherever it is
currently installed, removes it from your account, and adds store credit to your account equal to the amount that you paid for the
license. That credit can then be used with any future purchase. For example:

I bought an audio license, then discovered I need a video license too. I wish I had bought them together to get the reduced
price! You can trade in the audio license, then use the credit to help pay for a new audio+video license. You’ll pay only the
difference in price, which means in the end you’ll have paid the same amount as if you had bought the audio+video license at
the beginning.
I bought a video license, but my needs have changed and I no longer need it. Now I need an audio license! You can trade in
the video license and use the credit to buy a new audio license. Since those two licenses cost the same thing, you end up
paying nothing extra.

Store credit can only be used to purchase standard licenses, not rent-to-own licenses.

The relationship between store credit and site licenses is a bit more complex; please contact support@figure53.com if you’d like to
discuss trading in site licenses or buying site licenses using store credit. Both can be done, but there’s no automatic process for it.

Rent-To-Own licenses
Rent-to-own licenses are purchased on a day by day basis. When you purchase one, you choose the start date and the end date,
and the license will be valid for that period of time. It’s important to note that a one-day rental isn’t just 24 hours starting from the
time of purchase; the actual calendar date matters. If you purchase a one-day rental license with a start date of today, it will remain
valid until midnight tonight.

The Figure 53 shop uses your computer’s clock to determine the timezone for your rental license.

You can purchase and install rental licenses ahead of time, choosing a start date in the future. On the appropriate day, the license
will automatically “wake up” and unlock the appropriate features. The first time that QLab launches after the rental period is over,
the license will simply stop working on its own. You do not need to stop or cancel a rental. Rentals are one-time purchases, not
subscriptions.

The reason we call this type of license “rent-to-own” is that every dollar that you spend on a rental license becomes store credit.
Each day during the span of a rental license, at midnight, you will receive store credit equal to the value of rental for the day that
just ended. You can use this credit at any point; if you rent a license for two days and then decide to buy it, you’ll get those two
days’ worth of credit to use. If you rent a license for so many days that you spent the same amount on rentals as you would have on
a standard license, you can get that standard license for no extra cost. If you’d like to end an ongoing rental license early and
exchange its value for store credit even before the time has elapsed, you can do that on your Account page.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Licenses 1.6

Upgrade Pricing
QLab 4 licenses can also be traded in for store credit, but the value of a QLab 4 license varies depending upon when it was
purchased.

License Purchase date Trade-in value

QLab 4 audio, video, or lighting Before November 1, 2021 $299

QLab 4 “pick two” Before November 1, 2021 $599

QLab 4 pro bundle Before November 1, 2021 $749

QLab 4 audio, video, or lighting November 1, 2021 or later $399

QLab 4 “pick two” November 1, 2021 or later $749

QLab 4 pro bundle November 1, 2021 or later $999

Trading in a QLab 4 license is just like trading in a QLab 5 license. Trading in a license deactivates that license wherever it is
currently installed, removes it from your account, and adds the appropriate amount of store credit to your account.

Your account page is the place to start when exploring your trade-in options, and of course you can always email
support@figure53.com to ask questions or get help.

Installing Licenses

To install a license, open QLab and choose Manage Your Licenses… from the QLab menu (or click on the Licenses button in the
Launcher Window) to open the License Manager.

Without signing in, you’ll be able to see what license or licenses are installed, see the Machine ID of the Mac (used for remote
activation, discussed below), and start demo mode.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Licenses 1.6

After clicking Sign In to Install or Remove Licenses you will be able to enter the email address and password for your QLab
account.

In case you’ve forgotten your password, or not set a password for your account, or not yet created an account, there are clickable
links for you to follow to address these needs.

Select a license

Once you’re signed in, the left side of the window shows you a list of the licenses in your account.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Licenses 1.6

To install a license, click its button. Greyed-out buttons represent licenses that cannot be installed, usually because they are
already installed on two other Macs.

Select a destination

Once you’ve selected a license, you’ll be presented with a choice of destination:

If you choose This Computer, the license will be installed onto your Mac, and will be accessible to all user accounts on that Mac.
This is the most common way to install a license.

Alternately, you can install the license seat onto a connected USB drive. To learn more about this, skip down to the section entitled
USB Licenses.

If you choose This Computer, you can optionally enter a single-line note to go along with the installation. This note can be seen
when viewing the details of your licenses on your account page at https://qlab.app/account.

Click Install It! to complete the installation process. The License Manager will then show you the completed installation.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Licenses 1.6

USB Licenses

Installing a license on to a USB drive makes it easy to loan a QLab license activation to a short-term collaborator, use licenses with
Macs that aren’t connected to the internet, or be ready with a license when you’re not sure what Mac you’ll be using.

Because not every USB device manufacturer adheres to the same standards, only USB drives made by the following manufacturers
can be used for QLab licenses. This restriction makes it possible for us to provide the highest possible guarantee of stability for USB
licenses without resorting to using something like an iLok or Sentinel key.

Corsair
HGST

HP
Kingston
LaCie

Lexar
OCZ
SanDisk

We have received some reports of USB drives not working even when they appear to be made by one of these manufacturers. In
some cases, this may be due to the relatively rampant counterfeiting that exists in the world of USB drives. In other cases it may be
a resolvable minor issue. In all cases, as always, contact support@figure53.com if you have any concerns.

To install a license to a USB drive, your Mac must be connected to the internet and have QLab installed. Follow the first several
steps above for installing a license, but when you get to the step of selecting a destination, choose an attached, compatible USB
device from the drop-down menu.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Licenses 1.6

Once you choose a USB device, you’ll be given a choice between installing the seat temporarily or permanently. Choosing a
temporary installation lets you select an expiration date after which the license seat will automatically deactivate itself on the USB
drive and become available for you to install once more. Please note that this is entirely separate from the expiration date of a
rental license; you cannot install a rental license onto a USB drive and set an expiration date that’s after the expiration date of the
license itself.

Lost, Stolen, Erased, and Broken USB Devices

If the USB drive is lost, stolen, erased, or broken, please contact support@figure53.com, and we will help you recover or replace
the license as needed.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Licenses 1.6

Remote Activation

If your Mac cannot be connected to the internet, maybe because you’re on a boat or your IT department is grouchy, and you
cannot or do not wish to use USB licenses, you can install a QLab license by using remote activation. You’ll need to have QLab
installed on the offline Mac in order to begin.

You could also use this process to install a license onto a Mac that is connected to the internet as well, if that’s useful to you in any
way.

To perform a remote activation, you’ll need the Machine ID for the Mac that you want to use. You can find the Machine ID in the
License Manager window, which looks a bit different when your Mac is offline, or online but unable to contact the license server:

The alphanumeric code near the bottom of the window is the Machine ID, which is a QLab-only identification code unique to each
Mac. You can also find your Mac’s Machine ID by opening a workspace, choosing Workspace Status from the Window menu, and
clicking on the Info tab.

You can click Copy ID to copy that code for easy pasting to other places.

Do It Yourself
If you have access to another computer that’s online, you can do a remote activation by yourself. Once you’ve got the Machine ID
for the QLab Mac, log into your QLab account at https://qlab.app/account and find the license you want to install listed under the
heading Licenses.

When you’ve found the license you want to install, click View Details next to that license, and you’ll be taken to a page showing the
details of that license.

Find the license you want to install, and click Remotely Activate in the Actions column. You’ll be asked to enter the Machine ID of
the Mac, then click Activate. The web page will refresh, and then you’ll see a link in the Actions column that says Download
Activation File. Click to download the file, and then copy that file over to the Mac. You can then double-click on it or drag it onto
QLab’s icon to install it.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Licenses 1.6

Phone A Friend
If you cannot or do not want to go through that process yourself, we are happy to do it for you. Copy the Machine ID of the Mac you
want to use, send us an email at support@figure53.com. Paste in the Machine ID and tell us which license you want to install on this
Mac. For example, you might say “I want to install the audio license of my bundle” or you might say “I want to install all three
licenses of my bundle.”

When we receive your message, we’ll use the code to generate an activation file, which we will email back to you. When you receive
that email, copy the file to the Mac using a local network or a USB drive or some similar method. You can then double-click on it or
drag it onto QLab’s icon to install it.

Removing Licenses

To remove a license installed on your Mac, open QLab, choose Manage Your Licenses… from the QLab menu, and click the
Remove button next to the license you wish to remove. The Remove button is only available when you’re logged into the account
that owns the license. If the button is not visible, log in to the account that owns the license to make it appear.

If you need to remove a license from a Mac which has been broken, lost, stolen, or erased, or if you need to remove a license
belonging to an account that you cannot access, please write to support@figure53.com and we will help you out, no problem.

Remote Deactivation

If you are not able to physically access a Mac that has your license installed, you can remotely deactivate the license which makes it
immediately available to install on a different Mac.

To do this, log into your QLab account at https://qlab.app/account and find the license you want to remotely deactivate listed
under the heading License Overview.

When you’ve found the license you want to remotely deactivate, click View Details next to that license, and you’ll be taken to a
page showing the details of that license.

In the Actions column, click Deactivate. You’ll asked to confirm, and once you do the license seat will be deactivated and ready to
install on another Mac.

The next time QLab launches on the Mac that had the license installed, the now-deactivated license seat will be automatically
uninstalled.

Using QLab 5 licenses with QLab 4

You can use any QLab 5 license with QLab 4.7 or newer. License activation happens on a per-computer basis, so using both QLab
4.7 and QLab 5 on the same Mac only counts as a single activation. Please note that using a QLab 5 license with QLab 4.7 does not
enable any of the 5.x features… you’ll need to use QLab 5 to get access to those.

QLab 5 licenses cannot be used with QLab 3.

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Features by License 1.7

Features by License

QLab 5 is a free program, with additional optional features that can be unlocked by purchasing and installing a license. This chart
shows which of the major features are enabled by each type of license.

Demo Mode
You can experiment with the advanced features of QLab 5 for free by choosing Start Demo Mode… from the QLab menu. This will
create a new workspace in demo mode. While demo mode is active, all of QLab’s licensed features are available, but copying cues
and settings into the demo workspace is disabled.

Demo mode will expire after 60 minutes. After demo mode expires, or after the workspace is saved, closed, and reopened, licensed
features will once again require a license.

Features

Feature Free Audio Video Lighting

Audio features

Channels of audio output 2 128 2 2

Channels of audio per file 2 24 2 2

Audio waveform view

Unlimited slices per Audio or Video cue

Sample-accurate playback sync

Audio fades

Audio playback rate fading

Edit audio output patch routing

Edit audio output patch channel names

Edit audio input channel names per cue

Audio effects on cues

Audio effects on cue outputs

Audio effects on device outputs

Audio effects fading

Audio output patch fading

Mic cues

Video features

Single-output video stages 1 1 unlimited 1

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Features by License 1.7

Feature Free Audio Video Lighting

Multi-output video stages 0 0 unlimited 0

1000 video layers

Full-stage Video cues

Custom geometry Video cues

Video fades

Video playback rate fading

Masking & edge blending

Video output warping & keystone correction

Video effects

Per-cue blend modes

Syphon input & output

NDI input & output

Blackmagic device input & output

Camera cues

Text cues

Lighting features

Patchable DMX addresses 16 16 16 unlimited1

Addressable universes unlimited unlimited unlimited unlimited

RGB+, CMY, and HSI graphical color pickers

Build your own instrument definitions

Networking & Show Control features

Remote control via OSC, MIDI, MSC, iOS app

Act as Collaboration Primary 2

Act as Collaboration Remote 3

Network cues

MIDI cues

MIDI File cues

Timecode cues

Timecode triggers

Workflow & programming features

Automatic workspace backups

Media logging

Unlimited cue lists

Unlimited cue carts

QLab 5 Reference Manual General - Features by License 1.7

Feature Free Audio Video Lighting

Live fade previews

Pause cues

Devamp cues

Target cues

Arm & Disarm cues

Script cues

Workspace settings import & export

Fade patch parameters

1. Primary workspaces on Mac with QLab licenses can accept connections from multiple Remotes, but only one Remote without a license can
connect with full access. Additional Remotes without licenses can connect, but in view-only mode. You can learn more about this from the
Collaboration section of this manual.↩
2. The behavior of Remotes depends upon the license(s) installed on the Primary. You can learn more about this from the Collaboration section
of this manual.↩

3. Theoretical. The actual limits are based on the capabilities of your Mac and the rest of your hardware setup.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab Preferences 1.8

QLab Preferences
You can set application-wide preferences for QLab by choosing QLab Preferences… from the QLab menu. This menu is really
called the Application menu and its name changes based on which program you’re using. Some items in this menu are the same for
all programs, such as Show, Hide, and Quit, but some are specific to each program.

QLab Preferences apply to all workspaces on your Mac, and they do not transfer with workspaces which are copied or moved to
other Macs.

QLab preferences are divided into the General tab and the Hardware tab.

The General Tab

Collaboration Name

This is the name by which this Mac will be identified when it connects as a Remote to a Collaboration Primary. By default, this is the
user name of the active account on your Mac, but you can change it to any text you like.

At launch

You can choose one of five behaviors for QLab to perform when it’s launched:
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab Preferences 1.8

Show the Launcher Window. Display the Launcher window, which gives you quick access to several actions that typify the
beginning of a working session with QLab. You can learn more from the Launcher Window section of this manual.
Restore most recent workspaces. Re-open the workspace or workspaces that were open last time QLab was running.

Create a new blank workspace, using QLab’s built-in blank workspace template.
Create a new workspace from default template. You can learn about workspace templates and how to set a default template
from the Workspace Template section of this manual.
Do nothing. This is exactly what it sounds like.

Automatically check for updates

When this box is checked, QLab will attempt to connect to the internet and check for available updates. If an update is available,
QLab will ask you if you’d like to download and install it. Updates are never automatically downloaded. If no internet connection is
available, QLab simply tries again on the next launch. No error message appears, and no further attempt to check will be made until
QLab is relaunched. We recommend leaving this box checked except on a show Mac during the time between dress rehearsal and
closing, during which time we recommend leaving it unchecked.

Send aggregate usage data to help improve QLab

At present, this checkbox does absolutely nothing. Over time, we plan to add various measures of QLab’s behavior which will help
us track and solve problems. As we add these measures, we will list exactly what data is sent right here. We will never include
personally identifiable data, media files, or other information proprietary to your designs.

Disable disruptive OS features in Show Mode

When this box is checked, entering Show Mode disables the following OS-level features which could potentially cause trouble
during a performance:

App Nap. QLab reports itself as “latency critical” so as to prevent App Nap, which is a power-saving feature that can limit how
much processing power is used.
Sleep. QLab will prevent your computer from sleeping, even if Energy Saver preferences are set to permit sleep.

⌘Tab Task Switching. Typically, typing ⌘Tab allows you to quickly move between applications on your Mac. QLab will block
access to this keyboard shortcut in order to reduce the chance of accidentally switching away from QLab, although you can
still use the mouse to switch to another application.
Mission Control. QLab will block hot corners, gestures, and keyboard shortcuts for invoking Spaces, Missing Control, Show
Desktop, Show Dashboard, and Application Windows. These features are sometimes also referred to as Exposé.

Autosave interval

Autosave is enabled on a per-workspace basis, but the interval between autosaves is globally set here. You can set the interval from
5 seconds to 600 seconds (ten minutes.)

Log media playback

When this box is checked, QLab will create a CSV-formatted log of all audio and video file playback in a workspace, using information
from the cue in QLab as well as metadata in the target media files. This is primarily intended to make it easy to create reports for
rights-holding organizations, like ASCAP or BMI, but could be useful for any sort of logging.

Logging level

QLab records messages to the Mac’s system log at four possible levels:
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab Preferences 1.8

Level 0 - No debug logging is the default setting. QLab logs the fewest types of events, focusing on starting up QLab, opening
workspaces, making initial contact with external hardware, and reporting the most important basic errors. This is the
recommended log level for most situations.
Level 1 - Minimal debug logging is recommended if you need more information from QLab but still need QLab to perform as
though under live show conditions. At level 1, QLab logs additional details pertaining to hardware events, OSC and MIDI
messages, converting QLab 4 workspaces, opening and saving workspaces, drag-and-drop actions, and Audio cue slices.

Level 2 - Some debug logging is recommended only once you’ve definitively identified that you’re having a problem, and
you’re actively engaged in assessing the problem. Using log level 2 may have an impact on QLab’s overall performance. At level
2, QLab logs additional details pertaining to hardware events, cue playback, overrides, sending and receiving OSC messages,
opening and closing workspaces, saving workspaces, wall clock triggers, light command parsing, DMX communication, licenses
and communication with the license server, using audio across multiple devices, and video playback metrics.
Level 3 - Verbose debug logging is recommended only in consultation with the QLab support team. Using log level 3 will
almost definitely have an impact on QLab’s performance; you should avoid using level 3 in a live show situation. At level 3, QLab
logs additional details pertaining to logging (meta-logging? log-ception?), settings housekeeping, licenses and communication
with the license server, file management, handling timecode, handling MIDI Show Control messages, cue playback, cue triggers,
and communicating with hardware.

The Hardware Tab

Audio devices

All audio devices available to QLab are listed here, showing their sample rate and channel counts for both input and output.
QLab 5 Reference Manual General - QLab Preferences 1.8

Each device has a pop-up menu which allows you to set the buffer size to each audio device. QLab defaults to a buffer size of 512
samples. You can manually adjust buffer sizes here. Smaller buffers reduce latency but may cause choppy playback, particularly
with audio effects such as reverb and echo. Larger buffers increase latency but can smooth out choppiness, particularly on less
powerful computers.

Art-Net Lighting Network interface

You can choose a specific network interface through which QLab will send Art-Net messages, or you can leave the default
Automatic setting to have QLab negotiate the correct interface on its own.

Automatic is the best choice most of the time. The main reason you might need to change this is if you are using QLab in a complex
networking situation, in which two or more network interfaces are connected to different networks, but the networks use the same
IP addressing scheme. If none of this makes sense to you, leave it on Automatic and everything will be fine.

If you are not using Art-Net for lighting, leave this set to Automatic and forget about it.

Use broadcast mode for Art-Net lighting

Check this box to use Art-Net’s broadcast mode which allows QLab to communicate with Art-Net nodes that do not support
polling.

Also check this box to allow QLab to properly communicate with other software which also uses Art-Net running on the same
computer.

Un-checking this box will reduce the amount of network traffic generated by QLab while using Light cues. We recommend leaving
this box unchecked if possible.
Chapter 2: Fundamentals

2.1 The Workspace

2.2 Workspace Settings
2.3 Workspace Templates
2.4 Managing Workspaces
2.5 Cues
2.6 The Inspector
2.7 Cue Lists
2.8 Cue Carts
2.9 Group Cues
2.10 Cue Sequences
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Workspace 2.1

The Workspace

In this section, every time a new tool, interface item, or concept that we feel is particularly essential is mentioned, it will appear in bold text.
This is meant to help you notice that you’re being introduced to a new idea. Thereafter, and throughout the rest of this documentation,
bold text will be used for emphasis, to highlight keyboard shortcuts (like ⌘S), and for indicating a menu name (such as the File menu.)

A QLab document is called a workspace. Workspaces contain one or more cue lists and/or cue carts, which each contain cues.
Workspaces also contain settings and configuration details which govern how QLab behaves when that workspace is in use.

A QLab workspace can have multiple windows that belong to it. Most of those are optional, or only necessary to use from time to
time, and you’ll learn about them throughout this manual.

The main workspace window is what you’ll see when you create a new QLab workspace or when you first open an existing one.

— General
— Cue types

— Cue list elements — Inspector elements

QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Workspace 2.1

1 — The GO Button 23 — Target cue 49 — Selected cue type icon

2 — The Standby display 24 — Arm cue 50 — Selected cue color
25 — Disarm cue 51 — Selected cue second color
26 — Wait cue 52 — Pop out inspector button
27 — Memo cue 53 — Clear selected cue target
28 — Script cue 54 — Reveal selected cue target
55 — Selected cue flagged
3 — The Notes field 29 — Cue 56 — Selected cue auto-load
30 — Playhead 57 — Selected cue armed
4 — Group cue 31 — Cue type icon
5 — Audio cue 32 — Cue number 58 — Edit mode
6 — Mic cue 33 — Cue name 59 — Show mode
7 — Video cue 34 — Target 60 — Show/hide toolbox
8 — Camera cue 35 — Pre-wait 61 — Show/hide masthead
9 — Text cue 36 — Duration 62 — Cue count
10 — Light cue 37 — Post-wait 63 — Show warnings
11 — Fade cue 38 — Continue mode 64 — Show/hide inspector
12 — Network cue 39 — Status icon 65 — Show/hide sidebar
13 — MIDI cue 66 — Workspace settings
14 — MIDI File cue 40 — Inspector tabs
15 — Timecode cue 41 — Selected cue number
16 — Start cue 42 — Selected cue duration
17 — Stop cue 43 — Selected cue pre-wait
18 — Pause cue 44 — Selected cue post-wait
19 — Load cue 45 — Selected cue continue mode
20 — Reset cue 46 — Selected cue name
21 — Devamp cue 47 — Selected cue target
22 — GoTo cue 48 — Selected cue notes

The Title Bar

Most windows have a title bar, and QLab workspace windows are no exception.

The “traffic light” buttons on the left control the visibility of the window: clicking the red button closes the window, clicking yellow
minimizes the window into the Dock, and clicking green zooms the window into fullscreen mode.

If the workspace has unsaved changes, a dark dot will appear inside the red button. If you try to close a workspace with unsaved
changes, you’ll be asked if you want to save those changes or not before closing.

The title bar also displays the name of the workspace followed by the name of the currently visible list or cart. In the screen shot
above, the workspace is named Welcome to QLab 5.qlab5 and the current cue list is called Main Cue List .

The Masthead
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Workspace 2.1

The top section of the workspace window is called the Masthead, borrowing a journalistic term for the top section of the front page
of a newspaper.

The four elements of the masthead are the button, the standby display, the notes field and the toolbar.

The GO button

The GO Button tutorial is a hands-on exploration of the topics discussed in this section.

Clicking the button starts the cue which is listed in the standby display. QLab then advances the playhead to the next cue,
which will then be standing by and ready to .

The appearance of the button changes based on context:

A green border appears around the button when a cue is standing by and QLab is ready to play that cue. In essence, the
green border means that GOing will do something.

A red border appears around the button to indicate that GOing is temporarily disabled due to double-GO protection.
When a Cart is active, the button becomes a “Preview” button. You can learn more about what that means and why it
happens in the Cue Carts section of this manual.
When the workspace is set to always audition, the button becomes an “Audition” button. You can learn more about
auditioning in the Auditioning Cues section of this manual.

The default keyboard shortcut for the button is space. You can change this shortcut in Workspace Settings. This keyboard
shortcut always operates the button, whether it’s currently labeled GO, Preview, or Audition.

The Standby display

The cue that is standing by is listed here, to the right of the button. If the cue has a cue number, the cue number is shown first,
separated from the cue name with a bullet (•). The cue that is standing by is also identified in the cue list below using the playhead,
which is a light-colored, right-pointing triangular indicator.

Each cue list in a workspace has its own playhead, and therefore its own idea of which cue is standing by. The button and its
keyboard shortcut only apply to the active list.

The Notes field

Beneath the standby display, also to the right of the button, is the Notes field. Text entered here is connected to the cue that is
standing by, and is visible whenever that cue is standing by. This makes it the perfect place for any notes or special instructions to
your operator which pertain to that cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Workspace 2.1

Text in the Notes field is searchable using the Find tool. It can be styled and formatted, and can include emoji and images.

You can edit a cue’s notes here in this field, or in the Basics tab of the inspector. You can also select a cue and use the keyboard
shortcut to edit notes, which is O by default.

The Toolbar
The toolbar, found underneath the Notes field, is a row of buttons for each of the different cue types available in QLab. Clicking
any of these icons will create a new cue of that type in the current cue list. Explanations of the different cue types can be found in
the Cues section of this Manual.

This space can also be used by the Find tool and the Load To Time tool.

The masthead can be resized by clicking and dragging on the horizontal divider that separates it from the cue list. Dragging all the
way up will collapse and hide the masthead completely, and dragging back down from the top will restore it. When the cursor is
hovering over the divider, the pointer will turn into a horizontal line with arrows.

The masthead can also be shown and hidden by choosing GO Button / Standby Display / Toolbar from the View menu, or by
clicking the button in the footer.

The Cue List

The middle section of the workspace window shows the current active cue list or cart. Newly created workspaces generally default
to showing a cue list, although you can make workspaces that contain only carts and no lists. When a cue list is active, it looks like
this:

The cue list is a table with one row for each cue, listed in the order that they will play from top to bottom. Each column shows a
different essential piece of information about each cue.

Status
The status column shows icons indicating the current status of the cue.

The Playhead

If the cue is standing by, the playhead appears on the absolute left edge. The playhead is a very light grey triangular pointer. If a cue
is not standing by, clicking in the status column moves the playhead to that cue, thus making that cue stand by.

Cues might also display any of the following icons:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Workspace 2.1

A green triangle means the cue is active.

A pair of yellow bars means the cue is paused.

A yellow disc means the cue is loaded. Loaded cues are ready to be started with a minimum of latency, although loading
cues before starting them is usually unnecessary.
A yellow slope means the cue has been stopped, but has an effect that is tailing out. This icon remains visible as long as the
cue’s effects are still producing audio, such as an echo, a reverberation, or a distortion effect. The length of this “tail” can be
adjusted within the audio effect itself, although QLab also leaves the audio pathway open for some additional time afterwards,
just to be completely sure that no effect gets cut off prematurely.
A red X means the cue is broken and cannot be played. Hovering the mouse over the red X will show a tool tip with a brief
explanation of the problem. You can also see a list all the broken cues in the workspace in the Warnings tab of the Workspace
Status window.

A yellow triangle with an ellipsis inside is a non-breaking warning, meaning there’s something wrong with cue, but not in a
way that is likely to interfere with a show. Cues with non-breaking warnings are also listed in the Warnings tab of the
Workspace Status window.
A red circle with a slash through it means that an override is suppressing the cue’s output. You can learn more about
overrides in the Override Controls section of this manual.
A yellow flag means the cue has been flagged.

A yellow double-slope icon means the cue is currently crossfading with another cue. It’s only used in conjunction with a
Group cue in playlist mode.
A hollow green play triangle in parentheses means the cue is being auditioned.

Cue Type

To the right of the status icon is an icon depicting the type of the cue. For Group cues and Fade cues, which each have more than
one mode, the icon varies depending upon the mode of the cue. These icons match the icons used in the Toolbar and the Toolbox.

Cue Number
A cue number may be any text, or may be empty. All cue numbers in a workspace must be unique. Cue numbers do not need to be
consecutive, nor do they need to be digits. Some examples of acceptable cue numbers are: 1 , 1.5 , A , AA , A.5 , Steve , or .

While QLab allows you to use digits, letters, punctuation, and emoji in cue numbers, you need to stick to only digits if you plan to
use MIDI or MSC to remote-control cues, and only ASCII characters1 if you plan to use OSC.

You can change the number of a cue by double-clicking in the cue’s number column, or by selecting the cue and using the
keyboard shortcut for editing cue numbers which is N by default. Changing a cue’s number will not affect any cues that target it, or
really anything else in fact.

It’s important to understand that since cue numbers are text strings, 1 , 1.0 , and 1.00 are technically three different unique cue
numbers in QLab. If you’re using MIDI, MSC, or OSC for show-control and relying on matching cue numbers across different
systems, be sure to match numbers character-by-character, not just semantically.

Reordering cues in the list does not automatically renumber them, and QLab does not care about “out of order” cue numbers.

Renumbering Selected Cues

You can automatically assign new cue number to each currently selected cue by selecting Renumber Selected Cues from the Tools
menu, or using the keyboard shortcut ⌘R.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Workspace 2.1

The cue renumbering tool allows you to select a starting number, an increment value, an optional prefix, and an optional suffix. The
tool will use the starting number for the first selected cue and then add the increment value to the starting number for each
subsequent cue. If you provide a prefix and/or suffix, those will be prepended or appended to every renumbered cue accordingly.

Since cue numbers must be unique within the workspace, the renumber tool will automatically skip over numbers that already exist
within the workspace.

Cue Name
A cue name may be any text, or may be empty. For many cue types, QLab fills in a default name which reflects an essential attribute
about the cue.

Cue type Default name

Audio The file name of the target audio file.

Video The file name of the target video or image file.

Text The text entered in the Text tab of the inspector.

If the Light cue contains a single light command, the default name will be that full command.
Light If the Light cue contains more than one command, the default name will be “fade x lights” where x is the number of
instruments that have commands in the cue.

“fade” plus the name of the cue being faded. If the fade is set to stop target when done, the default name is “fade and
Fade
stop” plus the name of the cue being faded.

Network The network command sent by the cue.

MIDI The type of MIDI message sent by the cue.

MIDI File The file name of the target MIDI file.

Timecode The starting frame of timecode sent by the cue.

Start, Stop, Pause, Load, Reset, Go

The type of cue plus the name of the target cue.
To, Arm, Disarm

Wait “wait” plus the duration of the cue.

You can change the name of a cue by double clicking in the cue’s name column, or by selecting the cue and using the keyboard
shortcut for editing cue names which is Q by default. Unlike cue numbers, cue names do not have to be unique.

Changing the name of a cue will also change the name of any cues that target it, if those cues are using their default names.

Deleting the name of a cue will reset it to its default name, if that type of cue has one, or to empty if not.

Target
Some types of cues require a target which is the recipient of the cue’s action.

Target
Cue type Acceptable targets
type

Group, Mic, Camera, Text, Light, Network,

None —
MIDI, Timecode, Wait, Memo, Script

File Any core-audio-compatible audio file (AIFF, WAV, CAF, MP3, MP4, M4A, AAC, etc.), except for files which are
Audio
target subject to digital rights management.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Workspace 2.1

Target
Cue type Acceptable targets
type

File Any AVFoundation-compatible video file (MOV, MP4, M4V, etc.) containing video in an AVFoundation-
Video
target compatible format (ProRes, PhotoJPG, H.264, H.265, Hap, and others.)

Cue
Fade Group, Audio, Mic, Video, Camera, and Text cues.
target

Start, Stop, Pause, Load, Reset, Devamp, Go Cue Any cue. Some cue targets may not have much of an effect (e.g. a Pause cue can target a Memo cue,
To, Target, Arm, Disarm target but since a Memo cue doesn’t have a duration, there’s nothing to pause.)

Since different types of cues have different types of targets, the target column can show different types of information for different
cues.

For cues which accept file targets, namely Audio, Video, and MIDI file cues, the Target column displays a round button with
this icon: . Clicking this button will display a window in which you can select the file you wish to target. You can also set a cue’s file
target by dragging and dropping an appropriate file onto the cue’s Target column from the Finder.

Cues which accept cue targets, such as Fade cues and Stop cues, will display the cue number of their target cue. If the target
cue has no number, the target cue’s name will be displayed instead. If the cue lacks a target, the target column will display a
question mark. You can assign a target to these sorts of cues by typing a cue number into the Target column, by dragging and
dropping the cue onto the Target column of its intended target, or by dragging and dropping the intended target cue onto the
Target column of the cue.

The default keyboard shortcut for changing the selected cue’s target is T.

Cues which do not require a target will show nothing in this column.

Pre-Wait
Pre-wait is an optional delay that transpires before the cue starts. For example, when you start an Audio cue with a pre-wait of 3 ,
that cue will allow three seconds to elapse, counting down its pre-wait, and then the audio will begin playing.

The pre-wait of a cue can be edited by double clicking and typing in the pre-wait column, or by using the keyboard shortcut for
editing pre-wait which is E by default.

Duration
The duration of a cue is the length of time it takes for the cue to complete, not counting its pre-wait. The duration of some cues
cannot be edited directly, but for those that can, they can be edited by double clicking and typing in the duration column, or by
using the keyboard shortcut for editing durations which is D by default.

Cues which have an instantaneous action, such as a Pause cue or a MIDI cue that sends a single Note On message, have no
listed duration.

Post-Wait
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Workspace 2.1

The post-wait of a cue is meaningful only in combination with an as-yet-un-discussed feature of cues: auto-continue. When a cue
is set to auto-continue, it starts the next cue in the cue list when it is itself started. If the first cue has a post-wait time, QLab waits
for the post-wait to elapse and then starts the second cue.

The post-wait of a cue can be edited by double clicking and typing in the post-wait column, or by using the keyboard shortcut for
editing post-wait which is W by default.

Continue Mode
The final column, labeled with this icon: , displays the continue mode of the cue. Cues have one of three continue modes:

If a cue is set to auto-continue ( ), starting that cue will start the following cue as well. If the first cue has a post-wait, the post-
wait will be honored before the next cue is started.

If a cue is set to auto-follow ( ), then the next cue will be started as soon as the first cue completes. When you set a cue to
auto-follow, QLab will automatically show a post-wait time equal to the duration of the cue. This cannot be edited, and serves as a
visual reminder of the auto-follow.

When you connect two or more cues with auto-follows and/or auto-continues, that’s called a cue sequence, which you can learn
more about from the cue sequences section of this manual.

The continue mode of a cue can be editing by clicking in the cue’s continue mode column and using the pop-up menu which
appears, or by using the keyboard shortcut for editing continue mode which is C by default.

The Inspector

Below the cue list is the inspector, which lets you view and edit the parameters of the selected cue or cues.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Workspace 2.1

The tabs that appear in the inspector, and the contents of those tabs, will vary based upon the type and number of cues that are
selected. The inspector always shows at least the Basics tab, shown in the screen shot above, and the Triggers tab.

The inspector can be resized by clicking and dragging on the horizontal divider that separates it from the cue list. Dragging all the
way down will collapse and hide the inspector completely, and dragging back up from the bottom will restore it. The inspector can
also be shown and hidden by choosing Inspector from the View menu, by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘I, or by clicking on the
button in the footer.

You can learn more about the inspector and how to use it in the Inspector section of this manual.

The Footer

At the very bottom of the workspace window is the window footer.

The Edit/Show mode buttons let you switch the workspace between edit mode, which is the default mode, and show mode. When
a workspace is in show mode, the following tools and functions of QLab are disabled:

The inspector

The toolbar
The toolbox
Load to Time

Find
Adding, deleting, and moving cues
Editing, copying, and pasting any cue properties using the mouse or keyboard

Equally important are the things which are not disabled by when in Show mode:

Quitting QLab
Opening, closing, and saving workspaces
Using the escape key

Editing cue properties using AppleScript and OSC

Viewing and changing workspace settings
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Workspace 2.1

Show mode is a safety mechanism designed to prevent accidental changes to a workspace. It is not a security mechanism for
preventing deliberate changes.

When a workspace is in show mode, QLab will ask for confirmation before closing the workspace or quitting.

Next to the Edit/Show buttons are two icons:

Click here to open or close the Toolbox.

Click here to open or close the Masthead.

The cue count in the center of the footer displays the number of cues in your workspace and the number of cue lists and carts in
which those cues reside. This is useful for confirming which copy of a workspace has the most recent work, and it’s also pretty
useful for bragging about your show.

The center of the footer also sometimes displays other informational text about the overall status of the workspace. This text can
pertain to workspaces in Demo mode, workspaces set to always audition, and Override Controls.

The right side of the footer shows three or four icons:

Always visible. Click here to open the Workspace Settings window.

Always visible. Click here to open or close the Sidebar.

Always visible. Click here to open or close the Inspector.

Visible only when the workspace contains a broken cue or a warning. Click here to open the Warnings tab of the Workspace
Status window and see details about the problem.

The Sidebar

The sidebar is an optional display on the right side of the workspace window. It has a set of controls at the top, and a two-tabbed
section below. You can open and close the sidebar by clicking on the button in the footer, by choosing Lists / Carts & Active
Cues from the View menu, or by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘L.

Sidebar Controls
The four buttons at the top of the sidebar have an effect on all cues in all lists and carts in the workspace.

The reset button hard stops all running cues, resets all temporary properties2 of all cues, returns the playhead for each cue
list to the first cue in that list, and loads the first cue in every list. In effect, clicking the reset button makes the workspace
behave as though it was just opened. If the workspace has a workspace open cue, however, that cue will not automatically run
when the workspace is reset.

The pause all button pauses all currently running cues in the workspace. This button is yellow when cues are running, and
thus pause-able.
The resume all button resumes all currently paused cues in the workspace. This button is green when cues are paused, and
thus resume-able.
The panic button panics all running cues. In QLab, panic means to fade and stop all cues using the panic duration, which is
set in Workspace Settings → General.

Lists and Carts

QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Workspace 2.1

The left tab in the sidebar displays the lists and carts in the workspace. The label of the tab will change to reflect the number of list
and/or carts in the workspace.

By default, a workspaces will contain one list named “Main Cue List.” You can change this name as you prefer. You can add lists and
carts using the New List and New Cart buttons at the bottom of the sidebar. To delete a cue list or cart (and all the cues in it!),
select the list or cart and choose Delete from the Edit menu or use the keyboard shortcut ⌘⌫ (delete).

To open a list or cart in a new window, select that list or cart and click Open in New Window, or by right-clicking (or control-
clicking, or two-finger-clicking) on the list or cart and using the contextual menu. Windows opened in this way are called
secondary windows, and they have some behavior that is different from the main workspace window:

They have no toolbar

They have no inspector

They have a different footer which contains only a menu to choose which list or cart they show
When the workspace is in show mode, they display the words SHOW MODE in their footer.

Although secondary windows appear to always be in show mode, as long as the workspace is in edit mode you can edit cues in
secondary windows using the basic editing keyboard shortcuts found in Workspace Settings → Controls → Keyboard or by right-
clicking (or control-clicking, or two-finger-clicking) and using the contextual menu.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Workspace 2.1

For more information about cue lists and cue carts, check out the cue list section of this manual and the cue carts section of this
manual.

Active Cues
The right tab in the sidebar shows all cues in the workspace which are currently playing or paused.

Each active cue is displayed in its own row showing the cue’s number and name with the elapsed and remaining time just below. If
the cue has a cue color, that color is shown on the left edge of the row.

On the left side of each row is a pause/resume button, on the right side is a panic button, and throughout the whole row is a
progress bar, colored green when the cue is playing and yellow when the cue is paused, which gives a visual indication of the
progress of the cue.

If you hover your mouse over an active cue, the leading edge of the progress bar will show a thick yellow line, which can be dragged
left or right to scrub the cue backward or forward.

Active cues are listed in the order in which they were started. By default, each cue that’s started gets added to the bottom of the
list, so the most recent cue is always at the bottom. You can reverse this order, putting the most recent cue at the top, in
Workspace settings → General → Display.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Workspace 2.1

The Toolbox

The toolbox is an optional miniature sidebar on the left side of the workspace window. You can open or close the toolbox by
selecting Toolbox from the View menu, by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘K, or by clicking the button in the footer.

The toolbox provides an alternative view of the toolbar; the two are very nearly identical. However, you can re-order cues in the
toolbox. This lets you keep the cue types that you use most often close at hand. If you re-order the cues, notice that the ⌘-
number keyboard shortcuts remain assigned to the first ten cues. In this way, you can assign ⌘-number keyboard shortcuts to the
cues you prefer.

Reordering cues in the toolbox will reorder them in the Cues menu, but not in the toolbar.

1. The following characters may not be used in OSC messages, and therefore should not be used in cue numbers if you plan to use OSC: space,
number sign # , asterisk * , comma , , forward slash / , question mark ? , brackets [ and ] , or braces { and } .↩

2. Temporary properties are changes created by Target cues, Devamp cues, or any live OSC commands.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

Workspace Settings
The Workspace Settings window can be accessed by choosing Workspace Settings → Settings Window from the File menu, or by
using the keyboard shortcut ⌘, (command-comma). Settings in this window belong to the front-most workspace, not to QLab as a
whole. Changes made here will not affect other workspaces, and will save and travel with the workspace if it’s moved to another
computer.

Settings are grouped into ten sections listed on the left side of the window. Many of those sections are divided into several tabs.
You can also access each section directly from the Workspace Settings sub-menu of the File menu.

Importing and Exporting Workspace Settings

On the left side of the footer of the Workspace Settings window are two buttons for importing and exporting workspace settings.

Clicking Import… will allow you to import workspace settings from a saved QLab Settings file, another open workspace, or from
QLab’s default settings. In all three cases, QLab presents a list of checkboxes allowing you to choose which settings to import. You
can use the up and down arrow keys to move up and down the list, and check or uncheck boxes with the mouse or the spacebar.
You can also tap A on the keyboard to toggle all the checkboxes at once, and C to uncheck all checkboxes at once.

Imported settings will replace extant settings.

Clicking Export… will allow you to save the workspace settings from this workspace into a QLab Settings file which can then be
used to import settings into another workspace. When you click Export… , QLab will present a list of checkboxes which looks and
behaves like the list used for importing.

You can also use drag-and-drop in a few ways to import and export settings:

You can drag a section from the list on the left side of the window to the Finder to create a QLab Settings file for that section
of settings.
You can drag a section from the list on the left side of the window into a Workspace Settings window belonging to another
workspace to import that section of settings.

You can drag a QLab Settings file from the Finder into any patch list, and if the file contains patches of the correct type, those
patches will be imported to the workspace without replacing the existing patches.

You can also import and export settings from the Workspace Settings sub-menu of the File menu.

General

The three tabs in General settings apply to workspace-wide behavior.

The General tab

QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

Minimum time required between each GO can be set to any duration, including zero, to help prevent accidentally starting cues.
When a number greater than zero is entered, a red border will appear around the button after each GO to indicate that double-
GO protection is in effect. If QLab receives a command to GO during this time, the area surrounding the button will flash red to
indicate that the command was received, but disregarded. After the specified time elapses, the red border will disappear indicating
that GOs are once again being accepted.

Double-GO protection applies to mouse clicks on the button, pressing the keyboard shortcut for GO (space, by default), and
workspace MIDI, MSC, and OSC messages which directly trigger the “GO” action. Individual cue triggers and GOs via AppleScript are
not protected by this mechanism.

Require a “key up” before re-arming GO applies only to the keyboard shortcut assigned to ; if this box is checked, it compels
QLab to wait for the key to be released before accepting another command to . This can help prevent problems caused by
unreliable keyboards or weird KVM switches.

Panic duration is the amount of time it takes for cues to fade out and stop when the workspace receives the command to panic. If
the workspace receives another command to panic while it’s in the middle of panicking, everything which is in the midst of fading
out will stop immediately.

When workspace opens, start cue number. If this box is checked and a cue number is entered, that cue will automatically start
when the workspace is opened. If that cue begins a cue sequence, the sequence will play as normal. The playhead is not affected
by this and will remain at the beginning of the cue list as usual. To temporarily prevent the cue from starting, hold down the control
and option keys (⌃⌥) while opening the workspace.

Before workspace closes, start cue number. If this box is checked and a cue number is entered, QLab will present a dialog box
when the workspace closes allowing you to choose to run that cue, close without running the cue, or cancel closing the workspace.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

Auto-number new cues with increment causes newly created cues to be automatically numbered sequentially. QLab tries to be
clever about this; if the increment is 1 and you have cues 2, 4, and 6, and add a cue after cue 6, the new cue will be numbered 7 .
If you add a cue between cue 2 and cue 4, the new cue will be numbered 3 . If you then add another cue between cues 2 and 3,
the new cue will be numbered 2.5 .

Cues which are created via OSC messages, AppleScript, or copy/paste are not automatically numbered.

Enable auto-load for new cues automatically sets all newly created cues to auto-load. Existing cues are not affected when this box
is checked or unchecked.

Lock playhead to selection causes the playhead and the selection to move together; anything that causes either the playhead or
the selection to move will cause both to move. When this box is not checked, the playhead and selection move independently. This
makes it easy to view and edit one cue while QLab stands by on another cue.

The File Management tab

The three checkboxes in this tab control the way QLab automatically handles the files targeted by cues as well as files generated by
the workspace. All three boxes are checked by default.

Copy files into project folder when adding to workspace. When this box is checked, any time you set the file target of a cue, QLab
will copy that file into the workspace’s project folder. If there is already an identical copy of the file target in the folder, QLab will
not made an additional copy but will reassign the target of of the cue to use the copy of the file that’s already in the folder. By
keeping this box checked, you can always be confident that the project folder contains all necessary file targets to run your show.
Because of that, you can easily move your workspace to another computer by simply copying the whole project folder.

You can alternately choose to direct QLab to copy media files whenever you wish by unchecking this box, and then choosing
Workspace Files > Copy media files into project folder from the File menu.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

Automatically make backup copies of this workspace. When this box is checked, QLab periodically creates backup copies of your
workspace named {the name of your workspace} (Backup {year-month-day_hourminutesecond}).qlab5backup . These copies
are stored in a folder named {the name of your workspace} backups . QLab never saves or changes your workspace file itself, it
only creates copies. If your workspace document is ever lost or damaged, you can use a backup copy to recover your lost data.

You can configure the autosave interval in QLab Preferences to anywhere between five and 600 seconds (ten minutes.) Once set,
QLab will watch your workspace for changes, and then wait for this amount of time to pass after the last change before autosaving.
The reason for this delay is to minimize the possibility of the autosave interrupting your work. If you work continuously for a very
long time, QLab will always save at least once every ten minutes.

Very important thing: automatic backups can only be made after you’ve manually saved the workspace. Automatic backup does not occur
on unsaved, untitled workspaces.

Make a backup copy of this workspace before saving. When this box is checked, QLab watches for you to manually save and
automatically saves a copy of the workspace as it was before you made the changes that you are currently saving. These copies are
named {the name of your workspace} (Backup {year-month-day_hourminutesecond}) and are also stored in the backups
folder.

If you open your workspace called “Hamlet” on August 30th, 2022 at 12:00 pm and begin work, then save at exactly 12:05, your
workspace will obviously include all the changes you made between 12:00 and 12:05. At that moment, if this checkbox is checked,
QLab will also create a backup called Hamlet (Backup 2022-08-30_120000).qlab4backup which reflects the exact state of your
workspace when you opened it at 12:00.

If you do more work, then manually save again at exactly 12:12 pm, QLab will create another backup named Hamlet (Backup 2022-
08-30_120500).qlab5backup which reflects the exact state of your workspace the last time you saved, at 12:05.

In order to keep from creating too many backups to be useful, QLab will only create one backup per minute. If you manually save
your workspace more than once within a single minute, only the last backup created during that minute will be saved.

This makes it easy to return to an earlier state of your workspace if you discover that you need to revert lots of work, such as when
returning from a dinner break and hearing the director say that dreaded phrase, “you know what, let’s forget everything we did
since lunch.”

Rotate backups. When this box is checked, QLab automatically deletes old backups to prevent gratuitous disk usage. QLab will
keep up to the 20 most recent backups within the last hour, the latest backup per hour from the last day, and the latest backup per
day beyond that. The idea here is to make it simple for you to have very granular backups from your most recent work, somewhat
granular backups over the last day (to help you, say, figure out what you were doing before lunch break), and a daily “end of day”
backup reaching back indefinitely.

The Reveal Backups Folder in Finder → button at the bottom of the tab opens a Finder window showing the folder that contains
your workspace and its backups folder. The current size of the backups folder is displayed next to the button.

The Display tab

QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

The first set of small/medium/large buttons controls the display size of cue list rows.

The second set controls the display size of cue cart buttons.

Choosing “small” will maximize the information available on screen. Choosing “large” will maximum legibility, particularly at a
distance. “Medium” is, unsurprisingly, a balance between the two.

The Sort Active Cues list control lets you choose how the currently playing or paused cues are ordered in the Active Cues tab of
the Workspace sidebar, sorting the most recent cues to the bottom or to the top.

Controls

The three tabs in Controls settings pertain to keyboard shortcuts, MIDI messages, and OSC messages which are used to directly
control the workspace or basic functions of QLab.

The Keyboard tab

QLab allows you to change keyboard shortcuts for core control and editing features to suit your needs. Like all other workspace
settings, these shortcuts apply only to the workspace being edited.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

To remove a keyboard shortcut from a command, click the button next to that shortcut. To change a shortcut, click in the text
field for that shortcut and type the desired shortcut, optionally including one or more modifier keys:

Symbol Meaning

⌘ command

⇧ shift

⌃ control

⌥ option

QLab will not prevent you from using a keyboard shortcut that has another meaning (in case you’re doing it deliberately), so take
care when assigning shortcuts.

Note that a single press of the escape key is always assigned to panic, and a double press of the escape key is always assigned to
hard stop. This is a safety measure; in an emergency, any person familiar with QLab can confidently use the escape key to stop all
playback from any QLab system.

The up and down arrow keys cannot be used for shortcuts, but the left and right arrow keys can be used.

The Workspace MIDI tab

This tab allows you to define the way your workspace will respond to incoming MIDI and MIDI Show Control messages.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

Workspace MIDI Channel can be set to a single channel or to “any”. The workspace will listen on the specified channel for MIDI
messages that have been assigned to the commands below. Cues’ MIDI triggers and the Light Dashboard can also listen on the
workspace channel, or they can be set to listen to a separate channel irrespective of this setting.

Use MIDI Show Control enables the workspace to respond to the following MSC messages:

MSC message QLab function

GO GO.

GO {cue_number} Start cue {cue_number} individually. The playhead is not moved.

STOP Pause all

STOP {cue_number} Pause cue {cue_number} .

RESUME Unpause all

RESUME {cue_number} Unpause cue {cue_number} .

LOAD Load the currently standing-by cue.

LOAD {cue_number} Load cue {cue_number} .

ALL_OFF Panic.

STANDBY+ Move the playhead down one cue.

STANDBY- Move the playhead up one cue.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

MSC message QLab function

SEQUENCE+ Move the playhead down one cue sequence.

SEQUENCE- Move the playhead up one cue sequence.

RESET Stop all cues and move the playhead to the top of the cue list.

QLab listens for MSC commands categorized as Lighting (General), Sound (General), and Video (General).

Device ID should be unique for each device on an MSC network, or at least unique for all devices within a given category. When a
workspace is set to use MIDI Show Control, it will respond to any message sent to this device ID, as well as any message sent to
device ID 127 which is the “all call” identifier in the MSC specification.

MIDI channels and MSC device IDs have nothing to do with each other; all MIDI voice messages ignore MSC device IDs, and all MSC
messages ignore MIDI channels.

Use “Musical” MIDI Voice Messages will enable the commands in the table below. There, you can manually assign an incoming MIDI
message to some or all of the listed commands, or click on the Capture button next to a command to have QLab listen for the next
incoming MIDI message on the workspace MIDI channel, and assign that message to that command.

Message Type can be Note On, Note Off, Program Change, or Control Change.

Byte 1 for Note messages represents the note number. For Program Change, it represents the program number. For Control
Change, it represents the control number.

Byte 2 for Note messages represents the velocity. You can use any number from 0 to 127, inclusive, and you can use greater-than (>)
or less-than (<) symbols to indicate a range. You can also use the word “any” to have QLab respond to any note velocity. For
Program Change, this value is ignored. For Control Change, this value represents the control value.

The OSC tab

QLab has a very robust OSC dictionary which offers direct access to a wide variety of commands, settings, and functions via OSC
messages. Sometimes, however, you may come across a device which you want to use to control QLab, and this device may not be
able to send customized OSC messages.

To accommodate such devices, you can assign OSC messages to each of the commands listed in the table by typing or pasting in
the OSC message, or by clicking the Capture button and letting QLab listen for the next incoming OSC message.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

You do not need to use this section if your sending device can send OSC messages from QLab’s dictionary.

As the text in this tab states, you need to enable incoming OSC messages in [the OSC Access tab of Workspace Settings → Network]
in order to use OSC messages here.

Audition

These controls allow you to define the behavior of the different types of outputs from QLab when cues are auditioned. Each type
of output has two to four of the following options:

Leave output unchanged - output of this type will behave the same way in cues which are auditioned as it will in cues which
are played normally.
No output - output of this type will be entirely prevented from cues which are auditioned.

Alternate patch - output of this type will temporarily use the specified output patch instead of the patch that’s programmed
into the cue.
Audition window (video only) - output of this type will be displayed in a monitor window instead of sent to the video stage
that’s programmed into the cue.
Audition tab (light only) - output of this type will be displayed in the Audition tab of the Light Dashboard, and not output via
Art-Net or USB DMX.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

If an output type is set to an alternate patch, you can click the Edit… button to edit the selected patch.

You can learn more about auditioning cues from the Auditioning Cues section of this manual.

Collaboration

Other computers on your local network can use QLab to remotely connect to and collaborate on your workspace, through the
power of QLab Collaboration, and this tab of Workspace Settings allows you to configure access permission for those connections.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

Allow Collaboration connections. When the box is checked, Collaboration connections will be admitted based on the rest of the
settings in this tab. When this box is unchecked, Collaboration connections will not be accepted, regardless of any other settings. If
any collaborators are connected to the workspace when the box becomes unchecked, those collaborators will be immediately
disconnected.

The upper right corner of the tab displays the current IP address or addresses of your Mac.

Ask before allowing a new collaborator to connect. If this box is checked, a message will appear on screen when a new
collaborator tries to connect to your workspace, and you will have the option to allow or deny that connection, as well as to assign
access permission for the connection. If you allow the connection, the collaborator will be added to the list below with the level of
access that you assign, and will thereafter be allowed to connect to the workspace without the approval message.

When in Show Mode, restrict all collaborators to view-only. If this box is checked, all collaborators will be prevented from editing
the workspace, moving the playhead, starting cues, or stopping cues whenever the workspace is in Show Mode, even if those
collaborators would otherwise be allowed more expansive access. This is a useful way to allow full remote collaboration some of
the time, but prevent accidental edits or playback events from remote collaborators during a performance.

The Collaboration section of Workspace Settings looks different on a Collaboration remote. You can learn more about this from the
Using A Remote section of the Collaboration page of this manual.

The collaboration access table

The first row in the collaboration access table allows you to set the default access permissions for new collaborators. When a
request to collaborate appears, clicking the default button (or pressing the enter or return key) in the connection message will
admit the collaborator and assign these permissions. Then, a new row will appear in the table for that collaborator, identified by
their Collaboration Name, Machine ID, and IP address.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

You can optionally edit a Collaborator’s access permissions after they’ve connected by using the checkboxes in the table. For
example, you might allow your stage manager’s Mac to connect with view permission only, and allow your assistant designer to
connect with view and edit permission.

You can disconnect a client using the button, or disconnect and forget a client using the button. A forgotten client can
reconnect, but will be treated as a new first-time collaborator once more.

Templates

The two tabs in Templates settings pertain to QLab’s behavior when creating new cues and workspaces.

The Cue Templates tab

Cue Templates allow you to adjust the default settings of newly created cues. The Cue Templates section shows a list of all of the
cue types in QLab and a copy of the inspector below that list. You can select one of the cue types and use the inspector to make
any adjustments you like, including cue names, notes, targets, and everything else. Newly created cues in this workspace will use
these settings as their default.

The Workspace Templates tab

Workspace Templates allow you to create your own set of starting conditions for new workspaces. This isn’t really a workspace
setting per se, but a shortcut is available here to open the Workspace Template Manager.

You can learn more about this from the Workspace Templates section of this manual.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

Audio

The two tabs in Audio settings pertain to audio input and output patching, routing, effects, and volume limits.

The Audio Outputs tab

An audio output patch is the mechanism that QLab uses to route audio from cues to your audio output hardware. Any cue which
can generate audio ( Audio cues, Mic cues, Video cues, Camera cues, and :fig-timecode-5; Timecode cues set to LTC
mode) must be assigned to a single audio output patch, and the configuration of the patch defines how the output from that cue
will behave.

Workspaces in QLab 5 can contain any number of audio output patches. You can add an audio output patch by clicking on the New
Output Patch button or by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘N while the Audio Output tab is open and in the foreground. A newly
created blank workspace will automatically start off with a single audio output patch for each audio output device connected to
your Mac at the moment you create the workspace.

Audio devices must have output channels to work with audio output patches.

Several actions are available in the patch table:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

Delete a patch by clicking on the button on the right side of the row for that patch.
Reorder a patch by dragging it up or down in the patch list. You can click anywhere on the background of the row for that
patch, but it’s easiest to click on the left side where the patch number is displayed.

Duplicate a patch by holding down the option key (⌥) and dragging the patch up or down in the patch list.
Copy a patch into another workspace by dragging it into that workspace’s patch list.
Export a patch by dragging it into the Finder.

You can hold down the shift key (⇧) while clicking to select a range of patches, or the command key (⌘) while clicking to select two
or more patches, allowing you to act on all the selected patches at once.

You can learn about editing audio output patches from the Audio Output Patch Editor section of this manual.

Volume Limits

The Max and Min volume limits for a workspace define the range of all audio in the workspace. Audio level controls, like the ones
found in the Levels tab of the inspector for an Audio cue, will use the limits defined here, and setting audio levels via Fade cues,
AppleScript, and OSC will similarly be limited to this range.

The maximum volume limit can be set anywhere from -30 dB and up. +12 is the default setting.

The minimum volume limit can be set anywhere between -180 dB and -40 dB, inclusive. -60 is the default setting.

These levels are not (and in fact cannot be) measures of actual absolute loudness (dB SPL). They are only relative measures of
loudness within QLab. A source file normalized to -3 dBFS will output from QLab at -3 dbFS if all level controls that it passes
through within QLab are set to 0 . What happens downstream of QLab cannot be known to QLab, so that -3 dBFS signal may
translate to 40 dB SPL on a very tiny sound system, or 120 db SPL on a very large sound system.

Setting the maximum volume limit

Note: It is essential to understand that setting the maximum limit too high will make it possible to raise audio levels above a safe volume.
Please be exceedingly careful when adjusting this control, and indeed when first playing back any sound with a new system.

There is no specific rule or guideline for setting the maximum volume limit, but it should be set as low as possible while allowing for
its use.

One productive way to set this limit is to take the quietest audio file that you plan to use in your show, and play it as loudly as you
can imagine wanting to. The maximum volume limit that allows for that will likely be as high as you need to set the limit. That said, if
you’re also using loud audio files in your show, setting a higher maximum limit opens the door to a little danger.

Setting the minimum volume limit

When QLab is used in a sound system that has been configured for optimal dynamic range, properly setting the minimum volume
limit allows smooth fades without the sound dropping out at the end of a fade, or popping in at the beginning. Gain staging is a
complex topic beyond the scope of this manual, but we can address the QLab part of the equation.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

1. Arrange for some time to have full acoustic control of the space that you’re working in. You will need as much quiet as possible
for this process.
2. Get your sound system up and running and adjusted to your preference.

3. In Workspace Settings → Audio → Audio Outputs, set the minimum volume limit to -180 dB.

4. In the cue list, create an Audio cue and target either a test file such as pink noise or a 1 kHz tone, or a piece of music that has
relatively even loudness throughout.
5. Start the cue at a reasonable listening level, then slowly drag the main level control of the Audio cue down, getting quieter and
quieter.

6. When you feel you no longer hear the sound, stop dragging the fader and walk around the space listening.
7. If you discover you can hear the sound anywhere, go back and drag it down a little more. Repeat until you are certain that the
sound is inaudible.
8. Whatever the main level control is set to on that cue is your actual minimum volume. Enter that level as the minimum volume
limit.

Now, when you fade an Audio cue in from silence or fade out to silence, QLab will be using the full range of volume available in your
sound system.

The Audio Inputs tab

An audio input patch is the mechanism that QLab uses to route live audio from external sources into Mic and Camera cues.

Workspaces in QLab 5 can contain any number of audio input patches. You can add an audio input patch by clicking on the New
Input Patch button or by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘N while the Audio Input tab is open and in the foreground. A newly created
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

blank workspace will automatically start off with a single audio input patch for each audio input device connected to your Mac at
the moment you create the workspace.

Audio devices must have input channels to work with audio input patches.

Several actions are available in the patch table:

Delete a patch by clicking on the button on the right side of the row for that patch.
Reorder a patch by dragging it up or down in the patch list. You can click anywhere on the background of the row for that
patch, but it’s easiest to click on the left side where the patch number is displayed.

Duplicate a patch by holding down the option key (⌥) and dragging the patch up or down in the patch list.
Copy a patch into another workspace by dragging it into that workspace’s patch list.
Export a patch by dragging it into the Finder.

You can hold down the shift key (⇧) while clicking to select a range of patches, or the command key (⌘) while clicking to select two
or more patches, allowing you to act on all the selected patches at once.

Video

The four tabs in Video settings pertain to video input and output patching, and the configuration of video output devices.

The Video Outputs Tab

A stage is the mechanism that QLab uses to route video from cues to your video output hardware, as well as to non-physical video
outputs via Syphon and NDI. Any cue which can generate video ( Video cues, Camera cues, and Text cues) must be
assigned to a single video output stage, and the configuration of that stage defines how the output from that cue will behave.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

Workspaces in QLab 5 can contain any number of stages. You can create a new stage by clicking on the New Video Stage button or
by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘N while the Video Outputs tab is open and in the foreground. A newly created blank workspace
will automatically start off with a single stage for each video device connected to your Mac at the moment you create the
workspace.

You can learn more about this tab from the Video Output section of this manual.

The Output Routing Tab

A route is a connection between a region of a stage and an output device such as a projector, screen, Syphon output, or NDI send.
Because a route exists independently from both the stage and the output, you can make adjustments to the route or to the output
device that the route uses without the stage “knowing” about it. This allows you to handle system changes without having to make
cueing changes.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

You can create a new route by clicking on the New Output Route button or by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘N while the Output
Routing tab is open and in the foreground. A newly created blank workspace will automatically start off with a single route for each
video device connected to your Mac at the moment you create the workspace.

You can learn more about this tab from the Video Output section of this manual.

The Output Devices Tab

A device is a physical or virtual endpoint for video. Displays built into or connected to your Mac are devices, as are video
projectors, LED wall controllers, and televisions. Compatible Blackmagic PCI cards and USB-connected boxes are devices too;
Blackmagic cards with multiple independent outputs are actually multiple devices built into one. Finally, each Syphon or NDI output
is its own device.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

The Output Devices tab lists all the devices available to your workspace. Virtual devices and Blackmagic Designs devices can be
adjusted using the Edit button on the right side of the list. Virtual devices can be deleted from the workspace by using the
button.

You can create a new Syphon or NDI device by clicking on the New Virtual Device button or by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘N
while the Output Devices tab is open and in the foreground.

The Video Output Device table consists of four columns.

1. Device name is inherent to physical devices, and editable for virtual devices.
2. Device resolution displays the pixel dimensions of the video device’s raster as width × height.
3. Info displays any other available information about the device. This always includes refresh rate, but can also include other
information depending upon the type of device.

4. The Edit button, which is only available for Blackmagic devices and virtual devices, allows you to adjust the parameters of the
device which vary depending on the type of device. The button, which is only available for virtual devices, deletes the
device when clicked.

The Video Inputs Tab

A video input patch is the mechanism that QLab uses to route live video from external sources into Camera cues.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

Workspaces in QLab 5 can contain any number of video input patches. You can add an video input patch by clicking on the New
Input Patch button or by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘N while the Video Input tab is open and in the foreground. A newly created
blank workspace will automatically start off with a single video input patch for each video input device connected to your Mac at
the moment you create the workspace.

Several actions are available in the patch table:

Delete a patch by clicking on the button on the right side of the row for that patch.
Reorder a patch by dragging it up or down in the patch list. You can click anywhere on the background of the row for that
patch, but it’s easiest to click on the left side where the patch number is displayed.

Duplicate a patch by holding down the option key (⌥) and dragging the patch up or down in the patch list.
Copy a patch into another workspace by dragging it into that workspace’s patch list.
Export a patch by dragging it into the Finder.

You can hold down the shift key (⇧) while clicking to select a range of patches, or the command key (⌘) while clicking to select two
or more patches, allowing you to act on all the selected patches at once.

The Video Input Patch table consists of four columns.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

1. Name is optional and can be any text. Note that if you plan to use OSC to control a patch by name, you must give the patch an
OSC-compatible name, i.e. one without spaces or special characters reserved by the OSC spec.
2. Device lets you select the video input device to use with the patch. QLab can use any USB video device class webcam or input
device (i.e. most normal webcams), any IIDC-compliant camera or input device (these are typically referred to as DV devices),
any Blackmagic Design DeckLink, UltraStudio, or Intensity device, any Syphon source on your Mac, or any NDI source available
to your Mac via its local network.

3. Info displays the IP address and port number of NDI sources, and the Display mode menu for configuring the resolution and
frame rate of Blackmagic devices. For other types of video sources, this column shows nothing.
4. The Monitor button opens a monitor window which lets you view the live input from the patch independently of any
Camera cue. The button deletes the patch when clicked.

Light

The three tabs in Light settings pertain to light patching, instrument definitions, and MIDI control of the Light Dashboard.

The Light Patch tab

The Light Patch tab allows you to view and edit the instruments and light groups in the workspace. You can learn more about the
Light Patch tab in the Light Patch Editor section of this manual.

The Light Definitions tab

The Light Definitions tab lists every light definition used in the workspace, and allows you to edit, copy, and delete definitions in the
workspace. You can learn more about the Light Definitions tab in the Light Patch Editor section of this manual.

The Light Dashboard MIDI tab

This tab allows you to map incoming MIDI messages to light instrument parameters in the Light Dashboard. This lets you, for
example, use MIDI control surfaces to directly control lights in QLab.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

Light MIDI Channel can be set to follow the workspace MIDI channel, any single channel, or to “any”. The Light Dashboard will listen
on the specified channel for MIDI messages that have been assigned to the commands below.

Send MIDI feedback allows MIDI devices such as motorized fader banks to follow along. QLab will send MIDI messages to the
specified device which match the MIDI messages that have been assigned below.

The Light Command table

This table contains one row for each instrument and light group in the workspace, as well as two special-case rows at the top,
which will be discussed in a moment. As you add instruments and light groups to the workspace, this table will be automatically
updated. Rows can be expanded to show the parameters they contain.

The first special-case row is the subcontrollers row, which contains any lighting subcontrollers in the workspace.

The second special-case row is the selected row, which represents whichever instruments and groups are selected in the Light
Dashboard at a given moment. Any MIDI commands mapped to parameters in this row will be directed to the selected instruments
and light groups. This allows you to flexibly use a MIDI controller to work with your lights, even if you have only a small controller
and many lights.

After the special-case rows are rows for instruments and light groups.

When any row is selected, you can either manually assign a MIDI message to it using the controls under the Binding heading below,
or you can click the Capture button and QLab will listen for the next incoming MIDI message on the MIDI channel specified at the
top of the window.

You can assign a MIDI message to individual parameters within an instrument or light group, and you can also assign a message to
the instrument or light group itself, in which case the message will be directed to the default parameter of that instrument or light
group.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

The Command Filter lets you search for the name of an instrument or light group, and temporarily hide everything else. This can
make it easier to work with a complex workspace.

Network

The two tabs in Network settings pertain to Network cues, which send OSC and other network messages, and to settings that
control how your workspace can be accessed over a network using OSC and plain text commands.

The Network Outputs tab

A network patch is the mechanism that QLab uses to route messages from Network cues to their destinations, both within the
same computer that QLab is running on, and other devices on the network. Every Network cue must be assigned to a single
network patch, and the configuration of the patch defines how the output from that cue will behave.

Workspaces in QLab 5 can contain any number of network patches. You can add a network patch by clicking on on the button
labeled New Output Patch or by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘N while the Network Outputs tab is open and in the foreground. A
newly created blank workspace will automatically start off with a single network patch preconfigured to allow QLab to send OSC
messages to itself.

Several actions are available in the patch table:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

Delete a patch by clicking on the button on the right side of the row for that patch.
Reorder a patch by dragging it up or down in the patch list. You can click anywhere on the background of the row for that
patch, but it’s easiest to click on the left side where the patch number is displayed.

Duplicate a patch by holding down the option key (⌥) and dragging the patch up or down in the patch list.
Copy a patch into another workspace by dragging it into that workspace’s patch list.
Export a patch by dragging it into the Finder.

You can hold down the shift key (⇧) while clicking to select a range of patches, or the command key (⌘) while clicking to select two
or more patches, allowing you to act on all the selected patches at once.

The patch table consists of nine columns.

1. The unlabeled column containing a button lets you drag patches to reorder them, copy them into other workspaces, or drag
them to the Finder to save as a workspace settings file.

2. Patch name is optional and can be any text.

3. Type allows you to configure the patch to send generic OSC messages, plain text messages, or OSC messages using QLab’s
built in library of network device definitions. You can learn more about the various network device definitions available and
how to use them in the Network cues section of this manual..
4. The unlabeled column containing a button lets you add destinations to a patch, each with its own network, interface, IP
address, port number, and passcode setting.

5. Network lets you select TCP or UDP transport for the patch.
6. Interface lets you select a specific network interface for the patch to use, or “automatic” to allow macOS to route messages
using that patch. Automatic routing usually works, but if your Mac is connected to multiple networks using similar IP address
schemes, selecting a specific interface may be necessary.
7. The Destination column contains both the IP address (such as 192.168.1.12 ) or mDNS name (such as qlab-
computer.local ) of the destination device and the port number of the destination device. You can enter the word localhost
in place of an IP address to have the patch route messages back into QLab with the lowest possible latency. These messages
never leave QLab. You can enter 127.0.0.1 to route messages to other software on the same Mac.

8. Passcode allows you to use the patch to send messages to a QLab workspace that has a passcode set. This code is QLab-
specific and should only be set when necessary.
9. The button deletes the patch when clicked.

The OSC Access tab

This tab allows you to define how your workspace can be accessed via Open Sound Control (OSC) and plain text messages sent
over UDP.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

The upper left corner has a checkbox which turns OSC access on or off. When this box is unchecked, incoming OSC and plain text
messages will have no effect on the workspace. When the box is checked, incoming OSC and plain text messages will be admitted
based on the rest of the settings in this tab.

The upper right corner of the tab displays the current IP address or addresses of your Mac.

The OSC access table

Any program or device that sends OSC messages can communicate with your workspace using QLab’s extensive OSC dictionary.
QLab 5 allows you to set the scope of access for OSC connections using three permission switches:

View access allows clients to view information about the workspace.

Edit access allows clients to create and delete cues, change parameters of cues, and adjust workspace settings.
Control access allows clients to move the playhead and start and stop cues.

The OSC access table allows you to configure the use of these three levels of permission for incoming OSC.

The first row in the OSC access table is labeled No Passcode and the boxes checked here set the access permission for OSC clients
that connect to QLab without sending a passcode. If all three boxes are unchecked, which is the default, clients will not be able to
connect without a passcode.

New workspaces have a single randomly generated passcode configured to allow full access. You can configure this passcode as
needed using the view, edit, and control checkboxes, and change the passcode itself if you like. Passcodes must be four digit
numbers.

The Add Passcode button adds a row to the table with a new, randomly generated passcode which you can, of course, edit as you
prefer.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

You can delete a passcode using the button on the right side of the table.

Workspaces can have as many passcodes as you like. You can learn about how to connect to a QLab workspace using a passcode
from this section of the OSC dictionary.

Listening Ports

To the right of the OSC access table are two text fields which allow you to define the ports that your workspace uses to listen for
incoming messages. Ports are like doors in a computer’s network connection. Each separate type of message needs its own port.

The OSC listening port is used for OSC messages sent using either TCP or UDP connections. The default port is 53000 , and you
can change it to any valid port number, which is any whole number from 1 to 65,535. Be advised, though, that other software and
network protocols may have a claim on certain port numbers, so do your homework before choosing a port. Generally speaking,
one- and two-digit port numbers are spoken for. When messages come in via UDP, QLab sends replies on port 53001 , no matter
what port you choose here for listening. Individual clients can request a custom UDP reply port by sending the message
/udpReplyPort x where x is the requested port number.

The workspace also receives plain text via UDP using the plain text listening port, which is 53535 by default, and attempts to
interpret it as OSC. For example, sending the text /cue/selected/start via UDP to QLab on this port will have the same result as
sending the actual OSC command /cue/selected/start to the OSC listening port. No replies are sent to plain text messages.

When using plain text messages, it’s wise to learn about and use the /forgetMeNot OSC message, which allows UDP clients to
remain connected to QLab without having to re-send a passcode once per minute.

It’s important to remember that QLab itself always listens on port 53000 . Any application-level OSC messages can still be received
by QLab on port 53000 even if the workspace OSC listening port is changed.

If you are using NDI for video input or output, QLab will warn you of port number collisions to the best of its ability. Nevertheless,
you should take care to only use port numbers that you know are available.

MIDI

The two tabs in MIDI settings pertain to MIDI and MIDI File cues, which send MIDI Voice, MIDI Show Control, and MIDI System
Exclusive (SysEx) messages, and to QLab’s MSC show control broadcast feature.

The MIDI Outputs Tab

A MIDI patch is the mechanism that QLab uses to route messages from MIDI cues, MIDI File cues, Timecode cues using
MTC, and MSC show control broadcast messages to their destinations. Every cue that sends MIDI must be assigned to a single MIDI
patch, and the configuration of the patch defines how the output from that cue will behave.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

Workspaces in QLab 5 can contain any number of MIDI patches. You can add a MIDI patch by clicking on on the button labeled New
Output Patch or by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘N while the MIDI Outputs tab is open and in the foreground. A newly created
blank workspace will automatically start off with a single MIDI patch for each MIDI output available on your Mac at the moment you
create the workspace.

Several actions are available in the patch table:

Delete a patch by clicking on the button on the right side of the row for that patch.
Reorder a patch by dragging it up or down in the patch list. You can click anywhere on the background of the row for that
patch, but it’s easiest to click on the left side where the patch number is displayed.

Duplicate a patch by holding down the option key (⌥) and dragging the patch up or down in the patch list.
Copy a patch into another workspace by dragging it into that workspace’s patch list.
Export a patch by dragging it into the Finder.

You can hold down the shift key (⇧) while clicking to select a range of patches, or the command key (⌘) while clicking to select two
or more patches, allowing you to act on all the selected patches at once.

You can optionally give a name to each MIDI patch, which can be any text.

The pop-up menu for each patch displays all available MIDI destinations available on your Mac.

The MSC Broadcast Tab

This tab allows you to configure MSC broadcast outputs which allow other programs or devices to synchronize starting and
stopping cues along with QLab.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Settings 2.2

MIDI Broadcast
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Templates 2.3

Workspace Templates

Workspace Templates allow you to create your own set of starting conditions for new workspaces.

Creating Workspace Templates

To create a workspace template, make a new workspace and adjust all its settings to suit your preference. If, for example, you
prefer Fade cues to have a default duration of eight seconds, you can visit Workspace Settings → Templates → Cue Templates, select
Fade from the list at the top, and set the duration to 8 .

You can also create cues, cue lists, or carts which will serve as jumping-off points. For example, if you have a set of Script cues that
you routinely install into every workspace, you can place them in this workspace to include them in the workspace template.

Once you’ve arranged the workspace to your liking, save the workspace as a template by choosing Save As Template from the File
menu. Pick any name you like. If you choose the same name as an existing template, you’ll be asked if you want to replace the
existing template.

Making New Workspaces from Templates

To create a new workspace using your template, choose New From Template from the File menu, or use the keyboard shortcut
⌘⇧N. The Template Chooser will appear, and you can select the template you wish to use. Once you do, a new workspace will
open up which is an exact copy of the template as you saved it.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Templates 2.3

Managing Templates

To delete or rename templates, or select a template as the default, choose Manage Templates from the File menu.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Workspace Templates 2.3

Whichever template you select as the default will be used whenever you choose New Workspace from the File menu, or use the
keyboard shortcut ⌘N.

You can also right-click on a template to set it as the default, open a Finder window showing the folder that contains your
templates, export the template (so you can copy it to another Mac), rename the template, or delete the template.

Files which appear to be workspace templates but which QLab cannot use, such as the QLab 3 workspace template in the screen
shots above, are listed as invalid.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Managing Workspaces 2.4

Managing Workspaces
When you first save a workspace in QLab 5, or when you choose Save As… from the File menu, QLab will present you with the
standard macOS window that lets you choose where you want to save your workspace. Towards the bottom of that window is a
pop-up menu with three choices; Save workspace and media to a new project folder, Save workspace only, and Customize
settings.

Save workspace and media to a new project folder

When the default option of Save workspace and media to a new project folder is chosen, saving the workspace also causes a few
other things to happen:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Managing Workspaces 2.4

1. Instead of simply saving your workspace in the place that you select, QLab creates a project folder for your workspace. Your
workspace is saved inside the project folder.
2. Any media files targeted by cues in your workspace are copied into the project folder. Audio files go into an “audio” folder,
video files go into a “video” folder, and MIDI files go into a “midi” folder.

3. If the workspace is set to make backups, the “backups” folder that is created by those settings will also reside within the
project folder.

Moving forward, any time you set the file target of a cue, QLab will copy that file into the workspace’s project folder, sorted into the
appropriate subfolder. If there is already an identical copy of the file target in the folder, QLab will not made an additional copy but
will reassign the target of of the cue to use the copy of the file that’s already in the folder.

Because of this, you can always be confident that the project folder contains all necessary file targets to run your show. If you need
to move your workspace to another computer, you can simply copy the project folder and be confident that all necessary media
targets will come along.

There are two types of external files that QLab cannot copy, however, and it’s important to be aware of them:

QLab cannot copy fonts used by Text cues.

QLab cannot copy AudioUnits used for audio effects.

You’ll need to be sure to manually install any fonts or AudioUnits that your workspace needs.

Save workspace only

If you select Save workspace only from the pop-up menu, QLab will save your workspace in the folder that you select, and do
nothing else. If your workspace is set to copy files into project folder when adding to workspace and/or make backups, the folder
you choose here will effectively be treated as the project folder.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Managing Workspaces 2.4

Customize settings
If you select Customize settings from the pop-up menu, you’ll be presented with additional choices.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Managing Workspaces 2.4

Save workspace into a new project folder. Un-checking this box will prevent QLab from creating a project folder to enclose your
workspace and its associated files.

Copy media files into project folder when necessary. Un-checking this box will prevent QLab from copying media files when your
cues target them. This could be desirable when you are tight on disk space and know for sure you won’t be moving the workspace
to another computer, or if you simply prefer to handle these sorts of things by hand.

It’s worth noting that not copying media can make it more challenging to use the workspace with collaboration remotes, since
remotes can only “see” files that are in the same folder as the workspace, or in folders within that folder.

Unchecking both boxes will make QLab 5’s saving behavior most similar to QLab 4’s saving behavior, and is the same as choosing
Save workspace only.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cues 2.5

Cues

In this section, every time a new tool, interface item, or concept that we feel is particularly essential is mentioned, it will appear in bold text.
This is meant to help you notice that you’re being introduced to a new idea. Thereafter, and throughout the rest of this documentation,
bold text will be used for emphasis, to highlight keyboard shortcuts (like ⌘S), and for indicating a menu name (such as the File menu.)

A cue is the most basic unit of action in QLab. A single cue causes a single event to occur when it is started, and the type of event
which occurs is dependent upon the type of cue.

Here is a cue numbered 1 and named “Preshow announcement,” which is selected (highlighted with the blue bar.) The color of
the selection highlight may be different on different Macs; it can be configured in System Preferences → General.

The white triangle on the left edge of the cue list is called the playhead and it indicates that cue 1 is standing by. When the
button is pressed, the cue that is standing by will be started, and the playhead will advance down the cue list, in this case to cue 2 ,
named “Opening song”.

Making Cues

There are several ways to make a cue in QLab:

1. Click on one of the cue type icons in the toolbar.

2. Drag a cue type icon from the toolbar into the cue list.

3. Double-click on a cue type in the toolbox.

4. Drag a cue type from the toolbar into the cue list.
5. Select a cue type from the Cues menu.

6. Use one of the ⌘-number keyboard shortcuts for the first ten cue types.
7. Drag a compatible audio or video file from the Finder into the cue list.
8. Hold down the option key while dragging a cue in the cue list to make a copy of it.

There are also ways to make cues using OSC and AppleScript, which you can learn more about in the OSC Dictionary and
AppleScript Dictionary sections of this manual.

Setting File Targets, Cue Targets, and Patch Targets

An important basic rule of QLab is that some kinds of cues require a target, which is the thing that the cue acts upon. Some cues
target media files on your computer, some cues target other cues, some cues target other cues or patches, and some cues have no
target. Cues which require targets will not work unless one has been assigned, and they can only ever have one target at a time.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cues 2.5

Audio, Video, and MIDI File cues - file targets

Audio, Video, and MIDI File cues require a file target which is a file on your Mac containing audio (for Audio cues,) video
(for Video cues,) or MIDI data (for MIDI File cues.) There are several ways to assign a file target to cue:

1. Click the button for the cue in the Target column of the cue list.
2. Select the cue and type the keyboard shortcut for Edit target, which is T by default.

3. Double-click in the target field in the Basics tab of the inspector.

4. Drag and drop a file from the Finder onto the cue in the cue list.
5. Drag and drop a file from the Finder into the target field in the Basics tab of the inspector.

If a cue’s file target is deleted or moved to the trash, the cue will break.

Other cues - cue targets

Cues which require a cue target, which is another cue, include Fade, Start, Stop, Pause, Load, Reset, Devamp,
GoTo, Target, Arm, and Disarm. There are several ways to assign a cue target to a cue:

1. Double-click in the target column in the cue list and enter the cue number of the intended target.
2. Select the cue and type the keyboard shortcut for Edit target, which is T by default, then enter the cue number of the
intended target.

3. Double-click in the target field in the Basics tab of the inspector and enter the cue number of the intended target.
4. Drag and drop the intended target cue onto the cue in the cue list.
5. Drag and drop the cue onto its intended target cue in the cue list.

Additionally, QLab has special behavior when you create a new cue that requires cue targets using the toolbar, toolbox, Cues menu,
or ⌘-number keyboard shortcut:

1. If no cues are selected, then the new cue is created without a target.
2. If one cue is selected, then the new cue is created targeting the selected cue.
3. If more than one cue is selected, QLab asks you whether you want to create multiple targeted cues, one after each selected
cue; multiple targeted cues all after the last selected cue, or only one single new cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cues 2.5

You can choose which behavior you want by clicking on the appropriate button, or pressing the corresponding number key on your
keyboard. You can also hit the enter or return key on your keyboard to select the default choice, which is the highlighted button, or
the escape key to dismiss the question and create no cues.

Whichever option you select will become the default option the next time QLab presents this question.

Fade cues and Reset cues - patch targets

Fade cues and Reset cues have the additional ability to target patches as well as cues. When cue targets a patch, it adjusts
parameters of that patch, which can have an effect on every cue which uses that patch. To assign a patch target:

1. Select the cue and navigate to the Basics tab in the inspector.

2. Click the pop-up menu labeled Target and choose Patch.

3. Another pop-up menu will appear immediately to the right. Use that menu to select the attribute you want the cue to adjust.

Types of Cues

Group cues contain other cues, and have several different modes which cause different behaviors. Group cues have different
icons for their different modes, all of which have the same basic shape. You can read more about Group cues here.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cues 2.5

Audio cues play pre-recorded audio using your Mac’s built-in speakers, headphone jack, or another audio device. They require
a target which must be a compatible audio file. You can read more about Audio cues here.

Mic cues route live audio through QLab. You can read more about Mic cues here.

Video cues play pre-recorded moving or still images on one or more projectors, displays, or screens connected to your Mac.
They require a target which must be a compatible video or image file. You can read more about Video cues here.

Camera cues route live video through QLab, using the same outputs as Video cues. You can read more about Camera cues
here.

Text cues display formatted text using the same outputs as Video cues. You can read more about Text cues here.

Light cues control lights and other DMX-controllable equipment connected to your Mac using Art-net or a USB-DMX device.
You can read more about Light cues here.

Fade cues adjust one or more parameters of another cue in your workspace. They require a target, which must be an Audio,
Mic, Video, Camera, or Text cue. Fade cues have different icons for absolute mode and relative mode. You can
read more about Fade cues which target Audio and Mic cues here. You can read more about Fade cues which target Video,
Camera, and Text cues here.

Network cues send OSC messages and some other types of messages using your Mac’s network connection. You can read more
about Network cues here.

MIDI cues send MIDI Voice, MIDI Show Control, or MIDI System Exclusive (SysEx) messages using a MIDI device connected to your
Mac. You can read more about MIDI cues here.

MIDI File cues play pre-recorded MIDI files using a MIDI device connected to your Mac. They require a target which must be a
MIDI file. You can read more about MIDI File cues here.

Timecode cues either generate Linear Timecode (LTC) and play it using an audio device connected to your Mac, or generate
MIDI Timecode (MTC) and play it using a MIDI device connected to your Mac. You can read more about Timecode cues here.

Start cues tell another cue to start playing. They require another cue as a target. You can read more about Start cues here.

Stop cues tell another cue to stop playing. They require a target which can be any cue. You can read more about Stop cues here.

Pause cues tell another cue to pause. They require a target which can be any cue. You can read more about Start cues here.

Load cues tell another cue to load. They require a target which can be any cue. You can read more about Load cues here.

Reset cues tell another cue to reset. They require a target which can be any cue. You can read more about Reset cues here.

Devamp cues tell a cue which is looping to get to the end of the current loop, and then exit the loop. They require an Audio or
Video cue as a target. You can read more about Devamp cues here.

Go To cues move the playhead to their target. They require a target which can be any cue. You can read more about Go To cues
here.

Target cues tell another cue to change its target. They require any cue which can accept targets as their target. You can read
more about Target cues here.

Arm cues arm their target cue. They require a target which can be any cue. You can read more about Arm cues here.

Disarm cues disarm their target cue. They require a target which can be any cue. You can read more about Disarm cues here.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cues 2.5

Wait cues do nothing by themselves, but can be useful as part of a cue sequence. You can read more about cue sequences
here.

Memo cues are placeholders which have no effect when played. They can be used to provide in-line notes to the person
operating QLab or any similar reason.

Script cues execute AppleScript. You can read more about Script cues here.

Rules for cues

Once started, cues continue to play until they reach the end of their programmed action, or until they’re told to stop. For an Audio
or Video cue, a cue’s action is the duration of the media file which it targets unless you program it otherwise. For example, an
Audio cue that targets a one minute long audio file will play that whole file and therefore last for one minute, but the cue can be
programmed to play only a portion of the file and thus last for less than one minute, or to repeat some or all of the file and thus last
for more than one minute. For a Fade cue, the default duration is five seconds, although you can change that default in Workspace
Settings → Templates → Cue Templates → Fade.

By default, cues which are running will ignore additional commands for them to start. You can alter this behavior on a cue-by-cue
basis in the Triggers tab of the inspector.

When you start a cue, the playhead will advance down the cue list. On the next press of the button or its keyboard shortcut
(space by default), the next cue will start. If you’re accustomed to using a non-theatrical playback program such as Apple Music or
Spotify, this behavior can be disorienting at first. Fear not, for this is how QLab is meant to work.

Batch editing cues

When more than one cue is selected, QLab allows you to simultaneously edit properties that the selected cues all have in common.
Not all properties of cues are batch-editable, but you can expect future releases of QLab to expand the list of batch-editable
properties.

Whenever multiple cues are selected, the inspector shows only tabs which contain batch-editable properties. When the selected
cues are of mixed types, only the Basics and Trigger tabs will be shown since those are the only tabs that all cues have in common.

You can set a batch-editable property in all selected cues to the same value by using the contextual menu (right-click, control-
click, or two-finger-click), the inspector, or the keyboard shortcut for editing that property.

You can set a batch-editable property of an individual cue within the selected set by using the mouse in the cue list to edit the
property. The other selected cues will not be edited.

It’s important to remember that batch editing a property sets that property to the same value in all selected cue. For example, if
you have selected two Audio cues whose main audio levels are set to different values, batch editing the main audio level will set
both cues to that same new level.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Inspector 2.6

The Inspector
The inspector is a tabbed interface which lets you view and edit the attributes of the selected cue or cues. You can find it beneath
the cue list, and it can be shown or hidden while in Edit Mode by selecting Inspector from the View menu or using the keyboard
shortcut ⌘I. You can pop the inspector out of the main window by clicking on the button on the right side of the inspector tab
bar. The inspector is disabled when the workspace is in Show Mode.

The tabs shown in the inspector vary depending on the type of cue or cues selected. All cue types, as well as cue lists and cue
carts, have the Basics tab and Triggers tab which are described below. Other tabs are described throughout this manual.

The Basics Tab

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Basics tab shows basic properties which every cue has. Many of these properties are also editable from
the Cue list.

Number
A cue number may be any text, or may be empty. All cue numbers in a given workspace must be unique. Cue numbers do not need
to be consecutive, nor do they need to be digits. Some examples of acceptable cue numbers are: 1 , 1.5 , A , AA , A.5 , Steve ,
or . It’s important to note that while QLab allows you to use digits, letters, punctuation, and emoji in cue numbers, you’ll need to
stick to proper numbers if you plan to use MIDI, MSC, or OSC to remote-control cues.

Cue numbers aren’t necessarily numbers?! That’s right. While several millennia of human history have demonstrated that numerals are the
clearest and most flexible way to uniquely identify items in an arbitrarily large ordered set, theatrical tradition and circumstance have
normalized the use of other indices as well, notably letters. Wherever possible, QLab is designed to avoid making assumptions about how
you work and why you do the things you do. Some folks like using letters for cues, by George, and QLab shall not stand in their way! They’re
still called cue numbers, though, because they have to be called something and “cue numbers or letters or what-have-you” does not make
for attractive screen shots.

You can change the number of a cue in this text field, by double-clicking in the cue’s number column in the cue list, or by selecting
the cue and using the keyboard shortcut for editing cue numbers which is N by default. Changing a cue’s number will not affect any
cues that target it, or really anything else in fact.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Inspector 2.6

It’s important to realize that since cue numbers are text strings, 1 , 1.0 , and 1.00 are technically three different unique cue
numbers in QLab.

Reordering cues in the list does not automatically renumber them, and QLab does not care about “out of order” cue numbers.

Duration
The duration of a cue is the length of time it takes for the cue to complete, not counting its pre-wait or post-wait. The duration of
some cues cannot be edited directly, but for those that can, they can be edited in this field, by double clicking and typing in the
duration column in the cue list, or by using the keyboard shortcut for editing durations which is D by default.

Cues which have an instantaneous action, such as a Pause cue or a MIDI cue that sends a single Note On message, have no
listed duration.

Pre Wait
Pre-wait is an optional delay that transpires before the cue starts. For example, a cue with a pre-wait of 3 would start running
three seconds after being told to start. This can be useful for matching up cues in QLab with outside events or for making cues time
out precisely against each other.

The pre-wait of a cue can be edited in this text field, by double clicking and typing in the pre-wait column in the cue list, or by using
the keyboard shortcut for editing pre-wait which is E by default.

Post Wait
The post-wait of a cue is meaningful only when the cue’s continue mode is set to auto-continue. When a cue is set to auto-
continue, it starts the next cue in the cue list when it is itself started. If the first cue has a post-wait time, QLab waits for the post-
wait to elapse and then starts the second cue. A cue’s post-wait begins to elapse at the same time as the cue’s duration begins to
elapse.

The post-wait of a cue can be edited in this text field, by double clicking and typing in the post-wait column in the cue list, or by
using the keyboard shortcut for editing post-wait which is W by default.

A Note About Time: All times in QLab are precise to the millisecond (0.001 seconds), but are usually displayed on screen using only
hundredths of a second (0.01) or sometimes even tenths of a second (0.1). The reason for this may be unexpected; displaying multiple,
independent timers on a computer is surprisingly computationally expensive, so much so that running timers with three decimal places
versus two has a meaningful impact on performance (and battery life, where applicable.) Rest assured that the imprecision is only visual, not
technical, and serves the greater good of better performance.

Continue
This pop-up menu displays and allows you change the cue’s continue mode:

Do not continue is the default mode. When a cue is set this way, starting it does not automatically cause any other cues to
start as well.
Auto-continue. If a cue is set to auto-continue ( ), starting that cue will start the following cue as well. If the first cue has a
post-wait, the post-wait will be honored before the next cue is started.
Auto-follow. If a cue is set to auto-follow ( ), then the next cue will be started as soon as the first cue completes. When you
set a cue to auto-follow, QLab will automatically show a post-wait time equal to the duration of the cue. This cannot be edited,
and serves as a visual reminder of the auto-follow.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Inspector 2.6

The continue mode of a cue can also be editing by clicking in the cue’s continue mode column in the cue list and using the pop-up
menu which appears, or by using the keyboard shortcut for editing continue mode which is C by default.

Name
A cue name may be any text, or may be empty. For many cue types, QLab fills in a default name which reflects an essential attribute
about the cue.

Cue type Default name

Audio The file name of the target audio file.

Video The file name of the target video or image file.

Text The text entered in the Text tab of the inspector.

If the Light cue contains a single light command, the default name will be that full command.
Light If the Light cue contains more than one command, the default name will be “fade x lights” where x is the number of
instruments that have commands in the cue.

“fade” plus the name of the cue being faded. If the fade is set to stop target when done, the default name is “fade and
Fade
stop” plus the name of the cue being faded.

Network The network command sent by the cue.

MIDI The type of MIDI message sent by the cue.

MIDI File The file name of the target MIDI file.

Timecode The starting frame of timecode sent by the cue.

Start, Stop, Pause, Load, Reset, Go

The type of cue plus the name of the target cue.
To, Arm, Disarm

Wait “wait” plus the duration of the cue.

You can change the name of a cue in this text field, by double clicking in the cue’s name column in the cue list, or by selecting the
cue and using the keyboard shortcut for editing cue names which is Q by default. Unlike cue numbers, cue names do not have to be
unique.

Changing the name of a cue will also change the name of any cues that target it, if those cues are using their default names. For
example, if an Audio cue is named “fanfare”, a Fade cue which targets that Audio cue will have the default name “fade fanfare.” If
you change the name of the Audio cue to “entrance music,” the Fade cue will change its name to “fade entrance music.” If you give
the Fade cue a unique name, changing the Audio cue’s name will not change the Fade cue’s name.

Deleting the name of a cue will reset it to its default name, if that type of cue has one, or to empty if not.

Default names appear in the Basics tab in darker text than unique names.

Target
This field behaves in one of three ways depending on the type of cue that is being inspected.

File Targets

If the cue being inspected accepts file targets, such as Audio cues and Video cues, this field shows the full path to the file
target of the cue. In this case, you can double-click on the field to open a dialogue allowing you to select a target file, or you can
drag a file from the Finder and drop it onto the field.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Inspector 2.6

If the cue has a target, you can click the button to clear the target, and the button to reveal the target file in the Finder.

Cue Targets and Patch Targets

If the cue being inspected accepts cue targets, such as and Start cues and Devamp cues, or both cue targets and patch
targets, such as Fade cues and Reset cues, a menu appears allowing you to choose between cue targets and patch targets. If
the menu is set to Cue, the Target field shows the cue number of the target cue. To the right of the field, the cue name of the
target cue is shown. You can enter a cue number here to set the target. If the menu is set to Patch, the Target field is replaced by a
pop-up menu which allows you to select a patch to fade.

If the cue has a target, you can click the button to clear the target, and the button to move the selection to the target cue.

No Target

If the cue being inspected does not accept a target, this field is disabled and QLab displays (not applicable).

Notes
Text entered in this field is shown in the notes field up in the masthead of the workspace window whenever the selected cue is
standing by, so it is the perfect place for notes or special instructions to your operator. Text in the Notes field is searchable using
the Find tool. It can be styled and formatted, and can include emoji and images.

You can edit a cue’s notes here in this field, or in the masthead when the cue is standing by. You can also select a cue and use the
keyboard shortcut to edit notes, which is O by default.

Color
Cues can be given a highlight color to make them stand out in the cue list. There are twenty colors to choose from here, divided
into eight “basic” colors and twelve “extended” colors. The color doesn’t alter the behavior of the cue in any way, so feel free to
use color coding in whatever way is most useful to you. The expanded selection of colors available in QLab 5.2 and later allows a
variety of color coding schemes that are compatible with a variety of color perception differences.

Second Color
You can optionally set a cue to display a different color after it’s be started for the first time by clicking on the icon to unlock
it. This allows you to choose a color in the second circle.

The cue will display the second color after it’s started, and will continue to display the second color until after the workspace is
closed and reopened, after the cue is reset via a Reset cue or OSC command, or after the workspace is reset using the Reset
button in the workspace sidebar or the associated OSC command.

Flagged
Flagging a cue is a way of marking it for later. You might, for example, flag cues during a run through of your show as a way of
notating which ones need to be reviewed after the run through. Checking this box will display a flag ( ) in the status column of
the cue list (if the cue is in a list) or within the cue cell (if the cue is in a cart.) It will also add the cue to the Warnings tab of the
Workspace Status window.

If a Group cue contains one or more cues that are flagged, the Group cue will display a hollow flag icon ( ) to help you find your
flagged cues when the Group is collapsed (not showing its contents.)

Auto-load
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Inspector 2.6

If this box is checked, this cue will automatically be loaded after the previous cue is played. Loading a cue is not necessary, but can
help keep playback smooth if your workspace is working at or close to the limits of the available computing power.

You can set all new cues to auto-load by default in Workspace Settings → General.

Armed
Cues are armed by default. When disarmed, cues will not execute their action, but an auto-continue or auto-follow will be
triggered if present. Disarming a cue is useful, for example, for temporarily silencing a cue while allowing the surrounding cues to
operate as-is.

The Triggers Tab

The Triggers tab is divided into two sides.

The left side gives you access to four ways to directly start a cue. By configuring any of these triggers, you can set the cue to be
started at any time, regardless of the position of the playhead and separately from the button. You can use these triggers in any
combination. To activate a trigger, check the checkbox next to it. To deactivate a trigger, uncheck the box.

The right side of the Triggers tab gives you several options for shaping QLab’s behavior when the cue runs. Note that these right
side options apply to the cue no matter how the cue is started, including when it’s started by the button, OSC messages, or
AppleScript.

Hotkey Trigger
Nearly any key on the keyboard that’s not being used for something else can be assigned to start a cue when pressed. There are a
few exceptions:

You cannot use the Esc key, which is permanently assigned to Panic (stop) all cues.

You cannot use the up or down arrow keys (although you can use the left and right arrow keys.)
You cannot use a modifier key (command, control, option, function, or shift) by itself, but you can use one or more modifiers in
combination with any otherwise valid key.
You cannot use any keys that have been assigned functions in Workspace Settings → Controls → Keyboard.

To assign a hotkey trigger, check the box to enable the trigger, and then click in the text field and type the key or key combination
that you want to assign to the selected cue. To clear the assignment, click on the button to the right of the text field.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Inspector 2.6

Hotkey triggers behave just like regular keyboard shortcuts for menu items; for example, if you set the hotkey for a cue to J, as in
the screen shot above, any time you press J on the keyboard, that cue will start even if it is not currently standing by. Hotkeys are
particularly useful for starting Network and Script cues that act on selected cues, since using the hotkey means you don’t
need to select the Network or Script cue in order to start it.

MIDI Trigger
MIDI triggers allow you to start cues using external hardware or software using MIDI voice messages.

To assign a MIDI trigger, check the box to enable the trigger and then either program in the message manually, or click the Capture
button to record an incoming message. The screen shot above shows a cue with a MIDI trigger set to Note On, note 1, velocity 127,
channel “any”. When that MIDI message comes in on any MIDI channel, the cue will start even if it is not standing by.

MIDI trigger values can include > and < operators, or be set to “any”. This is particularly helpful for MIDI Note On messages,
where a specific note velocity won’t necessarily be achieved with each press of the MIDI controller. If you set the velocity (byte 2)
to “any”, QLab will respond to the specified MIDI note regardless of velocity.

Wall Clock Trigger

The wall clock trigger will start a cue at a specific time of day and, optionally, only on certain days of the week.

To assign a wall clock trigger, check the box to enable the trigger and then enter a time in the field. Be sure to enter the hours,
minutes, and seconds; if you type “10:30” QLab will interpret that as ten minutes, thirty seconds past midnight, not as ten hours,
thirty minutes, and no seconds. You can select either AM, PM, or 24-hour time as suits your preference, and you can click on the
button labeled Every Day to select the days of the week on which you want the trigger to be active. The screen shot above shows a
cue with a wall clock trigger of 12:53 PM every day. As long as the workspace is open, this cue will run every day right at 12:53 PM.

Please note that computer clocks will drift if left to their own devices, so if your show computer is offline or if you’ve disabled
online clock setting, be sure to check your clock’s accuracy at least weekly.

Timecode Trigger
Cues can be started from incoming LTC (SMPTE) or MTC timecode, but only if timecode has been enabled for the enclosing cue list
or cart. You can enable timecode for a list or card in the Timecode tab of the inspector when that list or cart is selected.

To assign a timecode trigger, check the box to enable the trigger and then enter a time in the field. The drop-down menu to the
right of the field lets you choose to enter the timecode trigger using either the timecode format of hour:minutes:seconds:frames
or the real-time format of hours:minutes:seconds:decimals . The screen shot above shows a cue with a timecode trigger set at
1:00:08:12 .

Fade & Stop Others Over Time

When this box is checked, starting the cue will fade and stop other cues over the given time. The drop down menu lets you choose
which other cues will be faded and stopped. You can choose one of three options:

Peers. When this option is selected, the cue’s peers will be faded and stopped. A cue’s peers are those at the same
hierarchical level in the cue list. For a cue in a list or cart, the other cues in that list or cart are its peers. For a cue within a
Group, the other cues within that same Group are its peers.
List or cart. When this option is selected, all other cues within the same list or cart will be faded and stopped.
All. When this option is selected, all other cues within the entire workspace will be faded and stopped.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Inspector 2.6

Duck/Boost Audio of Other Cues In This List While Running

When this box is checked, all other cues in the same cue list or cart that have audio will be ducked or boosted by the given level,
fading over the given time.

The label text automatically changes to “duck” or “boost” based upon the number you enter. Negative numbers cause a duck,
positive numbers cause a boost.

If this cue has a pre-wait time, the duck or boost begins after the pre-wait has elapsed.

Second Triggers
A second trigger is any signal to start that is received by a cue while it’s already running, including triggers from the left side of the
Triggers tab, the button, OSC messages… everything. When a cue receives a second trigger, it can be set to behave in one of six
ways:

Second trigger does nothing. The cue will ignore all signals to start while it’s running. This is the default setting.
Second trigger panics. The cue will panic (fade out and stop) when it receives a second trigger.
Second trigger stops. The cue will stop when it receives a second trigger.

Second trigger hard stops. The cue will hard stop (stop, and also immediately stop any audio effects on the cue) when it
receives a second trigger.
Second trigger hard stops & restarts. The cue will hard stop and then immediately restart when it receives a second trigger.
Second trigger devamps. If the cue is looping when it receives a second trigger, it will exit the loop at the conclusion of the
current iteration. If the cue is not devamp-able (or not devamp-able at the time of a second trigger,) then the second trigger
will do nothing. This option is new to QLab 5.

There are two additional options in this list when the selected cue is a Group cue in Playlist mode, and you can learn more about
those options in the section on the Playlist Tab in the Group cue section of this manual.

The checkbox marked Second trigger on release pertains only when the cue is started using a hotkey trigger or MIDI trigger, or
when the cue is in a cart. If so, and this box is checked, then QLab responds to the release of the trigger as though it’s a second
trigger. This is a straightforward way to get sampler-like behavior out of QLab. If you assign a hotkey to a cue, set that cue to stop or
panic on a second trigger, and check this box, then pressing the hotkey will start the cue, and releasing the hotkey will stop it.

Secondary Inspectors

QLab allows you to open multiple inspector windows, each of which can be independently assigned to inspect a specific cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Inspector 2.6

In the screen shot above, the main inspector is showing the Time & Loops tab of the selected cue, cue 41 , and a secondary
inspector has been opened which is showing the Levels tab of cue 42 .

You can open secondary inspector windows by…

…choosing Inspector for Selected Cue from the View menu

…using the keyboard shortcut ⇧⌘I

…right-clicking (or control-clicking, or two-finger-clicking) on any cue and choosing Open in new inspector window from the
contextual menu.

If you have multiple cues selected, QLab will open one inspector window for each cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Inspector 2.6

Unlike the main inspector, which always inspects the selected cue in the main workspace window, secondary inspector windows do
not automatically change which cue they’re inspecting. The left side of the footer of secondary inspector windows contains a pop-

up menu showing the cue number and name of the cue being inspected. You might call this menu the inspector selector. If you
look closely, you might call yourself the inspector selector detector. If you choose to ignore this menu, which is fine, you might be
the inspector selector neglector.

The right side of the footer contains a checkbox labeled Float which causes that secondary inspector to float above other
windows, and a Clone button which creates another secondary inspector.

Inspector Inspector

When the main inspector is popped out, it can be difficult to distinguish from secondary inspectors.

The screen shot above shows the main inspector on top and a secondary inspector below it. There are three clues to help you
identify which is which:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - The Inspector 2.6

The main inspector window shows the name of the workspace and the selected cue; the secondary window shows the name
of the workspace, the word “Inspector,” and the name of the cue being inspected.
The main inspector window has a button to pop it back in to the main workspace window; secondary inspectors do not
have this button.

The main inspector window shows the number of selected cues in the lower left corner; secondary inspectors show the
inspector selector.

Textual Editing in QLab

Textual editing in QLab behaves according to the basic rules and expectations of standard macOS text entry, and can be subdivided
into four basic categories: text, numbers, times, and decibel values.

Editing Text
Most places that accept text will accept ASCII characters, unicode characters, and system-supported emoji. Please note that OSC
does not support unicode or emoji, so if you want to use OSC to control something in your workspace, you should only use ASCII
characters to identify that thing. For example, even though you can name a cue , which QLab has no trouble with, the OSC
message /cue/ /start will not work because OSC cannot interpret non-ASCII characters.

Editing Numbers
Numbers in QLab are generally distinguished by whether they can include decimal values or not. Parameters which cannot include
decimal values, often called integers, will generally allow you to enter a number with a decimal value, but QLab will throw away the
decimal portion automatically.

Parameters which can include decimal values, called real numbers by math people or floating point numbers or simply floats by
computer people, can also accept values without decimals. In this case, QLab will assume a decimal value of .0 .

Editing Times
Times in QLab can be entered in a few ways to make it easy and quick to get things done. You can enter times as:

seconds

minutes : seconds

hours : minutes : seconds

In all cases, QLab accepts decimal values down to the millisecond ( 0.001 ) and automatically reformats the time you enter as hours
(if necessary) : minutes : seconds. If you enter, say, 100 seconds, QLab displays that as 01:40.00 . If you enter 65:02.5 , QLab
displays that as 1:05:02.5 .

Editing Decibels
Audio levels are expressed in decibels (DBFS, to be precise) which are just numbers with decimal values that have special meaning
(i.e. they specifically represent audible volume, not just some numerical value.)

To help you edit levels quickly and to err on the side of caution, if you edit an audio level in QLab and omit the + or - sign, QLab
will assume you mean - , so entering 12 in an audio level will automatically correct to -12 . If you want to enter a positive value,
you have to enter it using the + sign.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cue Lists 2.7

Cue Lists
A cue list is a linear collection of cues, ordered visually from top to bottom. When a cue in a cue list receives the instruction to ,
it starts playing and the playhead moves to the next cue or cue sequence. While it’s easy to jump around in a cue list, the basic
design of cue lists assumes that you will use it in a more or less linear way.

A workspace in QLab can contain an unlimited number of separate cue lists. By default, all new QLab workspaces have one cue list,
titled “Main Cue List” and all newly created cues go in that list.

To see the cue lists in a workspace and to add or remove cue lists, open the sidebar by choosing Lists / Carts & Active Cues from
the View menu, or use the keyboard shortcut ⌘L. You can also click on the button on the right side of the workspace window
footer. The sidebar has two tabs; the left tab shows cue lists (and cue carts too, but we’re talking about cue lists right now.)

You can create a new list by clicking on the New List button. You can delete a cue list by selecting it and choosing Delete from the
Edit menu or by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘⌫ (delete, sometimes labeled “backspace”).

Note: deleting a cue list deletes all the cues within that list too. Be careful! But also, rest easy knowing that you can Undo cue list deletion.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cue Lists 2.7

You can open additional windows to view separate cue lists and carts by selecting the list and clicking the Open in New Window
button towards the bottom of the sidebar, or by right-clicking (or control-clicking or two-finger-clicking) on the name of the list or

cart.

Cue lists have cue names and cue numbers just like cues, and they follow the same rules and can be edited in the same ways.

Working with Cue Lists

The cue list whose cues are displayed in the main area of the workspace is called the active cue list. Only one cue list or cart can
be active at a time, but the other cue lists and carts in a workspace can still be used even when they’re not active.

The following things are true for the active cue list or cart only:

Selected cues can appear in the main inspector window.

The toolbar, Find tool, or Load to Time tool appear in the masthead.
The commands in Workspace Settings → Controls → Workspace MIDI control playback and playhead positioning.
The commands in Workspace Settings → Controls → OSC control playback and playhead positioning.

Keyboard shortcuts from the View menu control the position of the playhead and the selection.
OSC and AppleScript commands that refer to the active cue list, naturally, only have their effect on the active cue list.

The following things are true for all cue lists and carts, whether or not they are active:

Cues’ triggers will work.

MIDI and OSC commands that refer to “all” cues, like Panic All and Pause All will work.
OSC and AppleScript commands that do not specifically refer to the active cue list will work.

In short, cue lists and carts that are not active can still be quite active and are fully useable.

Starting a cue list is the same thing as pressing in a window displaying that list. This means that you can use the Triggers tab to
assign a hotkey or a MIDI message to a specific cue list, turning that hotkey or MIDI message into a list-specific button.

Cues can target cue lists, or cues in other lists. For example, a Start cue in your main cue list could target a separate cue list and
anytime that Start cue ran, it would effectively be like pressing on that list. A Fade cue in your main cue list could target that cue
list, and any time that Fade cue ran it would fade any and every cue playing in that list.

When a cue list is selected, the inspector shows three tabs: Basics, Triggers and Timecode. Please refer to the Inspector section of
this manual to learn about the Basics and Triggers tabs of the inspector.

The Timecode Tab

With an Audio, Video, or Bundle license installed, QLab can listen to incoming timecode and start cues using timecode triggers,
discussed in the Triggers tab section of this manual. In order for timecode triggers on cues to work, however, incoming timecode
must be enabled for the cue list that contains those cues.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cue Lists 2.7

To enable incoming timecode on a cue list, check the box labeled Sync cues in this list to incoming timecode.

Sync source lets you choose whether the cue list will listen for MTC (which stands for MIDI timecode,) or LTC (which stands for
linear timecode or longitudinal timecode.) QLab does not support VITC (vertical integrated timecode) because we’ve frankly never
heard of it being used outside of a film set.

Note: LTC is sometimes referred to as SMPTE, which is similar to the way that a tissue is often called a Kleenex®, or a photocopy is often
called a Xerox®. Strictly speaking, SMPTE, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, is the name of the organization that
invented LTC, and LTC is the name of the timecode format. But we digress.

If you choose MTC, the following pop-up menu will populate with available MIDI devices to listen to. If you choose LTC, the pop-up
menu will populate with available Audio devices, and an input channel selector will appear to the right. Enter a channel number
here to have QLab listen for LTC on that input channel of the specified audio device.

SMPTE format. Once you’ve chosen the mode and the sync source, select the format of your incoming timecode. This is usually
referred to as frame rate. It’s important to be sure that every device on your timecode network is using the same format, or else
your cues will not line up properly.

The View button to the right of the format pop-up will open the Timecode Status window to allow you to watch the incoming
timecode and verify that everything is working properly. To the right of this button is a small textual indicator that shows the status
of incoming timecode, or waiting… when there is no incoming timecode.

On Start. This pop-up menu tells QLab how this cue list should behave when it begins receiving timecode. There are five options,
all of which pertain only to cues which have timecode triggers:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cue Lists 2.7

Do not start cues which precede the timecode. This behavior is the most straightforward. When timecode begins, say with
frame 1:02:00:00 , cues with timecode triggers at 1:02:00:00 or later will be started in time with their trigger. Any cues
whose triggers are before 1:02:00:00 will not be started, except cues with durations which ought to still be running. For
example, if a cue with a length of thirty seconds was set to start playing at 1:01:50:00 , it would start playing from ten seconds
in when timecode started.
Start cues since most recent minute of timecode. When timecode begins, QLab looks at the first frame that it receives and
then reaches back and starts any cue whose timecode trigger falls within the previous minute of timecode. QLab refers to this
as the lookback time. For example, if timecode starts at 1:02:00:00 then any cue whose trigger falls between 1:01:00:00
and 1:02:00:00 will be started.

Start cues since most recent hour of timecode. Similarly to the previous option, QLab starts any cue whose timecode trigger
falls within the previous hour of timecode. In our example, that’s every cue from 0:02:00:00 through 1:02:00:00 .

Start cues which precede the timecode by X seconds. This option provides a text field to enter a custom lookback time
which QLab will use to start cues. If you enter, say, 5 seconds, then cues from 1:01:55:00 through 1:02:00:00 would be
started.
Start all cues which precede the incoming timecode. When timecode begins, QLab starts all cues whose timecode trigger
precedes the first incoming frame.

Very important note: no matter which of these five options is selected, any cue with a duration which ends before the lookback
time will not be started.

On Stop. This pop-up menu determines how cues which are triggered by timecode will behave when timecode stops: they can
either pause, stop, or keep running. When the pause or stop options are selected, the Freewheel time sets the window of time
during which a dropout of timecode is considered accidental, and will therefore be ignored. Freewheel time can be set from 0 to
2 seconds. For example, if the freewheel time is set to 1 second and timecode stops for half
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cue Carts 2.8

Cue Carts

A cue cart is a grid-shaped collection of cues. Cue carts have no playhead and no concept of ordering; a cue cart is meant to make
it easy to play cues in any order you like, and to play individual cues as many times as you like.

Cue carts can contain all types of cues except for Group cues. Cues in a cart behave the same way they do in a list, with one key
exception: cues in a cart cannot be set to auto-continue or auto-follow. Put another way, cue carts cannot contain cue sequences.
You can, of course, use a Start cue in a cart to run a cue sequence in a separate list, but the cue sequence itself cannot be
inside the cart.

A workspace in QLab can contain an unlimited number of separate cue carts.

To see the cue carts in a workspace and to add or remove cue carts, open the sidebar by choosing Lists / Carts & Active Cues from
the View menu, or use the keyboard shortcut ⌘L. You can also click on the button on the right side of the workspace window
footer. The sidebar has two tabs; the left tab shows cue carts (and cue lists too.)

You can create a new cart by clicking on the New Cart button. You can delete a cue cart by selecting it and choosing Delete from
the Edit menu or by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘⌫ (delete, sometimes labeled “backspace”).
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cue Carts 2.8

Note: deleting a cue cart deletes all the cues within that cart too. Be careful! But also, rest easy knowing that you can Undo cue cart
deletion.

You can open additional windows to view separate cue lists and carts by selecting the list or cart and clicking the Open in New
Window button towards the bottom of the sidebar, or by right-clicking (or control-clicking or two-finger-clicking) on the name of
the list or cart.

Cue carts have cue names and cue numbers just like cues, and they follow the same rules and can be edited in the same ways.

The minimum size of cue art cells can be set to any of three sizes. The smallest size allows the cart to be smaller overall or to show
the greatest number of cues on screen at once, but of course is harder to read from a distance. You can adjust the display size in
Workspace Settings → General → Display Size.

Show Mode and Edit Mode

When the workspace is in edit mode, the button in the masthead is labeled “Preview,” because cue carts do not have a
playhead, so starting an individual cue does not have any of the sequential behavior that the button implies. Clicking on this
Preview button starts the selected cue or cues. You can also start cues in a cart while in edit mode by clicking on the button in
the upper right corner of the cue, or by selecting the cue and using the keyboard shortcuts for (space by default) or preview (V
by default.)

When the workspace is in show mode, or when the cart is open in a secondary window, the masthead is not visible.

Working with Cue Carts

The cue cart whose cues are displayed in the main area of the workspace is called the active cue cart. Only one cue list or cart can
be active at a time, but the other cue lists and carts in a workspace can still be used even when they’re not active.

The following things are true for the active cue list or cart only:

Selected cues can appear in the main inspector window.

The toolbar, Find tool, or Load to Time tool appear in the masthead.
The commands in Workspace Settings → Controls → Workspace MIDI control playback and playhead positioning.
The commands in Workspace Settings → Controls → OSC control playback and playhead positioning.

Keyboard shortcuts from the View menu control the position of the playhead and the selection.
OSC and AppleScript commands that refer to the active cue list, naturally, only have their effect on the active cue list.

The following things are true for all cue lists and carts, whether or not they are active:

Cues’ triggers will work.

MIDI and OSC commands that refer to “all” cues, like Panic All and Pause All will work.
OSC and AppleScript commands that do not specifically refer to the active cue list will work.

In short, cue lists and carts that are not active can still be quite active and are fully useable.

Starting a cue cart loads all the cues in the cart.

When a cue cart is selected, the inspector shows three tabs: Basics, Triggers, and Grid Size. Please refer to the Inspector section of
this manual to learn about the Basics and Triggers tabs of the inspector.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cue Carts 2.8

The Grid Size Tab

The grid size tab lets you set the number of rows and columns in the cart, from a minimum size of 1 × 1 up to a maximum size of 15 ×
15. If there are cues in a cart, QLab will not allow you resize the cart smaller than the minimum size necessary to accommodate
those cues. To make the cart smaller in that case, you’ll need to move or delete cues.

If a cart has forcibly been resized to be too small, for instance via AppleScript or OSC commands, the cart will generate a warning
to make it easy for you to notice and address the issue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Group Cues 2.9

Group Cues
The Group cue is a type of cue which contains other cues. The cues within a Group, called “child” cues, can be any type of
cue including other Group cues, and will behave in one of several ways depending on the mode of the “parent” Group.

The default keyboard shortcut to create a Group cue is ⌘0. If you create a Group cue while two or more other cues are
selected, those cues will be placed inside the newly created Group cue. Once a Group cue is created, it can be collapsed or
expanded for visual simplicity using the gray triangular indicator to the left of the Group cue’s name. Group cues behave
exactly the same way whether they are collapsed or expanded.

You can collapse all Group cues in the workspace by using the keyboard shortcut < (⇧ comma). You can expand all Group
cues in the workspace by using the keyboard shortcut > (⇧ period).

The Mode Tab

Group cues have five modes which can be set in the Mode tab of the inspector.

Timeline
Timeline Groups have a green border with square corners.

When a Timeline Group is started, all its children start simultaneously. If the Timeline Group cue was standing by and started
via a , the playhead will advance to the next cue after the Timeline Group cue.

If any of the child cues have pre-waits, of course, those pre-waits will start counting down when the Timeline Group is started.
Since all child cues start at once, their order within the Timeline Group cue doesn’t matter, technically. This means you can
order cues inside a Timeline Group cue however you prefer.

You can learn more about Timeline Group cues in the Timeline tab section below.

Playlist
Playlist Group cues have an orange outline with square corners.

When a Playlist Group cue is started via a , its first child cue is started and the playhead advances to the first cue after the
Playlist Group cue. Children of the Playlist Group cue are then played sequentially, one at a time, with optional crossfading,
looping, and shuffling.

You can learn more about Playlist Group cues in the Playlist tab section below.

Start First And Enter

Start First And Enter Group cues have a blue outline with rounded corners.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Group Cues 2.9

When a Start First And Enter Group cue is started via a , its first child cue starts and the playhead advances to the next child
cue within the Start First And Enter Group cue. When the last child cue is started, the playhead will advance to the first cue after
the Start First And Enter Group cue.

You may have observed that this is not at all different from how the same list of cues would behave if there were no Group cue,
and you’d be entirely correct. This mode is essentially an organizational tool to visually separate cues into different sections within
the cue list, and to hide or show an entire batch of cues with a single click (on the grey triangular disclosure indicator to the left of
the Group cue’s name.)

Start First
Start First Group cues have a blue outline with square corners.

When a Start First Group cue is started via a , its first child cue starts and the playhead advances to the next cue after the
Start First Group cue. Therefore, other cues within the Start First Group cue will get skipped over unless they are connected
with auto-continues or auto-follows. By using auto-follows and/or auto-continues, the children within the Start First Group cue
can be made into a cue sequence, which will progress independently of the playhead.

Since the playhead advances to the cue after the Start First Group cue, you can continue to press , starting other cues and
advancing the playhead, while the cues within the Start First Group cue are running.

Start Random
Start Random Group cues have a purple outline with square corners.

When a Start Random Group cue is started via a , a randomly selected child cue that is both armed and not currently playing
is started, and the playhead advances to the first cue after the Start Random Group cue. If the Start Random Group cue is
started more than once, each child cue that is armed will be started once before any of the cues is started a second time. This
form of cueing is often referred to as “round robin” triggering. This is admittedly not truly random, but “start-random-cue-that-
isn’t-disarmed-or-playing-and-be-sure-to-start-each-child-once” mode doesn’t quite have the same snappy sound to it.

The internal “memory” of a Start Random Group cue is reset each time the workspace is opened.

The Timeline Tab

Timeline Group cues have a Timeline tab in the inspector which displays the Timeline Group cue’s children in a visual timeline
editor similar to the timeline found in many audio and video editing programs.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Group Cues 2.9

Each child cue in the Timeline Group cue appears in its own row in the timeline, in the same order as the cues are arranged in
the Timeline Group cue. Cues show their type icon, their cue number, and their cue name. If a cue has a color, that color is also
reflected in the timeline.

If an Audio cue or Video cue in the Timeline Group cue has slices, those slices are displayed. If a slice repeats a finite
number of times, the slice is drawn the appropriate number of times with a grey bar to help make it visually clear which section of
the cue is repeating. If a slice repeats infinitely, it’s only drawn once and the grey bar displays an infinity sign (∞). If a slice is set to a
count of zero, it is not drawn. Integrated fade curves are also drawn.

Cues can be adjusted in the Timeline tab in several ways:

Drag

When the pointer is hovering over a cue, it will turn into a hand. Click and drag left or right to move the cue in the timeline, thus
adjusting its pre-wait time. While a cue is being dragged, blue guidelines appear indicating the start and end of all the other cues in
the Group, as well as any slices within those cues. The dragged cue will snap to these guidelines in order to make it easy to align
cues with each other. If you want to focus on the guidelines belonging to only a single cue, drag over that cue’s “lane.” The
guidelines for all other cues will be hidden, and you can then drag left or right as normal. Dragged cues also snap to the current
playback time which is indicated by the vertical yellow line. This makes it easy to pause playback at a desired moment, then drag a
cue to exactly that moment.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Group Cues 2.9

To temporarily disable snapping, hold down the command key (⌘) while dragging.

Nudge

When one or more cues are selected in the timeline, the following keyboard shortcuts are available to nudge those cues forward
and backward in the timeline by adding to or subtracting from their pre-waits:

⌥← - reduce pre-waits by 0.1 seconds.

⌥→ - increase pre-waits by 0.1 seconds.
⇧⌥← - reduce pre-waits by 0.01 seconds.

⌥⇧→ - increase pre-waits by 0.01 seconds.

Trim

When the pointer is hovering at the beginning or end of a cue which has a duration, it will turn into a bi-directional horizontal
arrow. Click and drag left or right on the start of the cue adjust its start time and pre-wait time simultaneously, or on the end of
the cue to adjust the end time of the cue. These adjustments necessarily also adjust the duration of the cue.

Slip

When the pointer is hovering over an Audio or Video cue, hold down the option key (⌥) to slip the cue, adjusting its start and end
time without adjusting its pre-wait time or duration. Note that only cues without slices can be slipped.

Scale

When the pointer is hovering over the bottom edge of a cue, it will turn into a bi-directional vertical arrow. Click and drag up or
down to scale the display of the cue. This adjustment is purely visual and does not alter the behavior of the cue in any way.

To scale the whole timeline view, instead of just a single cue, you can scroll vertically while holding down the option key (⌥), or use
the keyboard shortcuts ⇧⌘- and ⇧⌘=.

Pin

Cues can be pinned to the top of the timeline view in order to make it easier to compare them to other cues lower down in the
Group. Select a cue and click to pin it to the top of the timeline. If the selected cue is already pinned, click to unpin the
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Group Cues 2.9

selected cue. You can hold down the command key (⌘) while clicking to select multiple cues.

On the right side of the timeline view, beneath the pin/unpin button, are three more buttons:

Click to preview the selected cue.

Click to zoom in on the timeline.

Click to zoom out on the timeline.

You can also zoom in and out on the timeline by using pinch gestures on a trackpad, by scrolling horizontally while holding down the
option key (⌥), or by using the keyboard shortcuts ⌘- and ⌘=.

Timeline Groups as Cue Sequences

Timeline Group cues are the easiest way to create a cue sequence in which each cue is timed relative to the beginning of the
sequence.

In this screen shot, cue 11 is a Timeline Group cue. When cue 11 starts, that causes cues 11-6 through 11-12 to start as
well. Since all the children except 11-7 have pre-waits, those elapse before the main action of those cues begins. The total result
is that at the moment of on cue 11 , cue 11-7 starts playing the intro music, then two seconds later cue 11-8 causes the intro
music to fade down in level, then the welcome voiceover plays after that, and so on.

The Playlist Tab

Children of Playlist Group cues are treated as a discrete set of cues which play one at a time in sequence. Quintessential uses of
a Playlist Group cue include pre-show, post-show, and intermission music, still-image slide shows, or sets of MIDI or OSC
commands that need to be sent together but not simultaneously. Any type of cue can be placed inside a Playlist Group cue.

The Playlist tab in the inspector allows you to define the behavior of the Playlist Group cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Group Cues 2.9

Cues inside a Playlist Group cue are necessarily and automatically set to auto-continue with a non-editable post-wait time
equal to their duration.

Auto-shuffle
When this box is checked, the children of the Playlist Group are randomly reordered each time the Group is loaded or started.
When the cues are shuffled, their cue numbers and names are displayed in italics to remind you that they are not in their true
order. This random order is not saved, and unchecking the auto-shuffle box restores the cues to their true order.

Loop until stopped

When this box is checked, the Playlist Group cue loops itself, automatically restarting its first child when it’s last child finishes
playing. When this box is checked, the last child in the Playlist Group cue displays a U-shaped arrow ( ) as its continue mode,
indicating that when that cue completes, the Playlist Group cue will loop back around to the first child cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Group Cues 2.9

If a Playlist Group cue is set to loop, it must contain at least one cue with a non-zero duration. If it contains only zero-duration
cues, the Playlist Group and its children will report as :fig-broken-5: broken. Setting least one child to a duration greater than
zero will un-break all the cues.

Crossfade
When this box is checked, QLab will crossfade between cues in the Playlist Group cue. This only applies to cues with audio levels
or video geometry; it’s the main audio level and the opacity parameters that are crossfaded. When a Playlist Group cue is set to
crossfade, several more controls are enabled and a crossfade curve display appears on the right side of the tab.

The duration of the crossfade can be as long or as short as you like, but any cue in the Playlist Group cue that is shorter than the
crossfade duration will break since you cannot crossfade through a cue over more time than the cue lasts.

Pop-up menus allow you to select the fade curve shape of the fade out and fade in independently. The fade out curve is shown in
yellow and the fade in curve is shown in blue.

Editing fade curves

The start time and end time of each fade curve are editable by dragging the control points in the corners of the fade curve
display.
When using Custom or linear fade curve shapes, you can click along the fade curves to add control points. These can be
dragged around to adjust the shape of the fade.
When a control point is selected, the time for that control point is displayed at the bottom left of the inspector. You can type a
time into that field to precisely adjust the time of the control point.

When editing a control point that isn’t the start or end point of a curve, the fade percentage is also displayed and can also be
editing. This control describes the level of the audio and/or opacity at that moment in the fade, where 100% is the level that
the audio and/or opacity are set to in the fading cue, and 0% is silence and/or 0% opacity.
When a control point is selected, the fade curve that the control point belongs to is drawn with a solid line. The opposite curve
is drawn with a dotted line.

Second Triggers
By default, Playlist Group cues automatically play through their children sequentially, starting each child cue when the previous
child completes. However, you can also set a Playlist Group cue to advance to the next child cue, or step back to the previous
child cue, using the Second Triggers pop-up menu in the Triggers tab of the inspector.

If a Playlist Group cue receives a while one of its children is playing, and its second trigger behavior is set to plays next, the
Playlist Group cue will start the child cue after the one that’s currently playing, crossfading if that option is set, and looping around
from the last child cue to the first if that option is set.

If the behavior is set to plays previous, a will cause the Playlist Group cue to start the child cue previous to the one that’s
currently playing, likewise respecting crossfading and looping settings.

These options are particularly useful when the Playlist Group cue contains cues with an indeterminate length, such as an
infinitely looping Audio cue, a Video cue targeting a still image, or a Text cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Group Cues 2.9

Broken Cues

Group cues can become broken for the following reasons:

A cue inside the Group is broken

Fix all the broken cues inside the Group to clear this warning.

A cue inside a Timeline Group is set to auto-continue or auto-follow

Auto-continue and auto-follow are not permitted for child cues of Timeline Groups. Set all child cues to do not continue to clear
this warning.

A cue inside a Playlist Group is too short for the Group’s crossfade settings

Adjust the length of the child cue or the length of the crossfade to clear this warning.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cue Sequences 2.10

Cue Sequences
When two or more cues are started together from one single press of the button (or one single incoming MIDI command, MSC
command, OSC command, hotkey press, etc.), this is called a cue sequence. Plainly put, cue sequences are the most
straightforward way that you can have QLab do more than one thing in response to a single command.

Cue sequences can be built in three different ways:

By connecting cues with auto-continues,

By connecting cues with auto-follows,
By putting cues into a Group cue set to Timeline mode.

You can download an example workspace which explores cue sequences here.

Auto-continue

A cue set to auto-continue will cause the following cue to start after the initial cue’s post-wait time has elapsed. By default, cues
have no post-wait time, so by default an auto-continue will cause the two cues to start simultaneously. If a post-wait is added to
the first cue, the post-wait will begin to elapse at the moment that the cue is started. Once the post-wait elapses, the second cue
will start.

This screen shot shows a cue sequence made up of three cues connected with auto-continues. Cue 1 (“intro music”) is set to auto-
continue and has a post-wait of 3 seconds. Cue 2 (“level down intro music”) is also set to auto-continue and has a post-wait of 1
second. When cue 1 is standing by and you press , QLab will:

Start cue 1 immediately, then,

Three seconds later, start cue 2, then,

One second later, start cue 3.

To set a cue to auto-continue, select that cue and then look in the Basics tab of the inspector. Click on the Continue pop-up menu
in the bottom-left corner and choose Auto-continue. A straight arrow ( ) will appear in the far-right column of that cue’s row in
the cue list. To remove the auto-continue, select Do not continue from the pop-up menu.

Auto-follow

A cue set to auto-follow will cause the following cue to start after the initial cue has completed.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cue Sequences 2.10

This screen shot shows a cue sequence made up of three cues connected with one auto-continue and one auto-follow. Cue 21
(“intro music”) is set to auto-continue with no post-wait. Cue 22 (“level down music”) has a pre-wait of 3 seconds, a duration of 2
seconds, and is set to auto-follow. When cue 21 is standing by and you press , QLab will:

Start cue 21 and cue 22’s pre-wait immediately, then,

Three seconds later, start cue 22, then,
Two seconds later, start cue 23.

If you change the length of cue 22 to eight seconds and then run the cue sequence again, QLab will start cue 21 and cue 22’s pre-
wait, wait eight seconds, and then start cue 23. Cue 23 will always start after cue 22 has completed.

To set a cue to auto-follow, select that cue and then look in the Basics tab of the inspector. Click on the Continue pop-up menu in
the bottom-left corner and choose Auto-follow. An arrow with a flagged top ( ) will appear in the far-right column of that cue’s
row in the cue list. To remove the auto-follow, select Do not continue from the pop-up menu.

Other ways to edit continue mode

You can also adjust the continue mode of a cue by…

…clicking in the Continue column in the cue list to bring up a pop-up menu,
…using the keyboard shortcut for editing the continue mode of the selected cues, which is C by default,
…right-clicking (or control-clicking, or two-finger-clicking) on the cue in the list and choosing Edit → Continue Mode from the
contextual menu.

Group Cues

The Group cue, whose job it is to contain other cues, is a great way to make cue sequences. Not every sequence needs to use a
Group cue, and not every Group cue necessarily creates a sequence, but the two go together very often and very nicely.

The other modes of the Group cue can be used for cue sequences as well, which you can learn more about them from the Group
cue section of this manual.

Disarmed Cues in Cue Sequences

Disarmed cues in a sequence do not interrupt or change the flow of events in a sequence. Their pre-waits, post-waits, and follows
are still respected, but the cue itself does not execute. Disarmed Audio cues play no audio, disarmed Video cues play no video,
disarmed MIDI cues send no messages, and so on.

GO, Start, Trigger, and Preview

There are several ways to start a cue in QLab, and some of these ways can change whether or not a cue sequence plays as normal.

If a cue in a cue sequence is started

… then:
via:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Fundamentals - Cue Sequences 2.10

If a cue in a cue sequence is started

… then:
via:

The cue and the rest of the sequence play as programmed and the playhead moves to the first cue after the
GO
sequence.

A hotkey trigger, MIDI trigger,

The cue and the rest of the sequence play as programmed, but the playhead does not move.
Timecode trigger, or Wall Clock trigger

The cue and the rest of the sequence play as programmed, with all cues playing to the outputs specified in
Audition GO
Workspace Settings → Audition, and the playhead moves to the first cue after the sequence.

Preview The cue itself plays in isolation. The other cues in the sequence are not played, and the playhead does not move.

The cue itself plays to the output specified in Workspace Settings → Audition. The other cues in the sequence are not
Audition preview
played, and the playhead does not move.
Chapter 3: Tools

3.1 The Tools Menu

3.2 Find
3.3 Paste Cue Properties
3.4 The Launcher Window
3.5 Monitor Windows
3.6 Auditioning Cues
3.7 Override Controls
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - The Tools Menu 3.1

The Tools Menu

The Tools menu contains items related to assisting and managing your workflow, which is to say the process of building cues and
cue sequences and operating QLab. The menu is context-sensitive, and can display different tools when different windows in QLab
are active. When a cue list or cart window is active the Tools menu shows its default set of items.

Load To Time
The Load to Time tool allows you to scrub through the standing-by cue (or cue sequence) to a particular time before starting the
cue. When the cue or sequence is started after loading-to-time, it will begin playing from that time. For example, if you are
rehearsing a bit of your show that happens thirty seconds into the start of a cue, you can load that cue to 0:30 and then start it
right at the moment you want to rehearse.

To access this tool, select Load to Time from the Tools menu, or use the keyboard shortcut ⌘T. Load to Time is one of the tools
that occupies the toolbar, and selecting the menu item or using the keyboard shortcut cycles the toolbar through three states:

1. When the Load to Time tool isn’t displayed, the command will display it.

2. When the Load to Time tool is displayed but the cursor isn’t in its text box, the command will move it there.
3. When the Load to Time tool is displayed and the cursor is in the text box, the command will close the Load to Time tool and
move focus back to the cue list.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - The Tools Menu 3.1

To use the Load to Time tool, type a number into the text field or drag the slider to load the selected cue or cue sequence to your
desired time.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - The Tools Menu 3.1

Negative Times
If you type a negative value into the field, QLab will load to that amount of time back from the end of the cue or sequence, if
possible. For example, if you type -10 into the field and press enter, QLab will load the selected cue to ten seconds before the
end of the cue.

Cue Numbering
Renumber selected cues… (⌘R) will open a tool window that allows you to programmatically renumber all of the currently
selected cues. There are four text fields in the renumber tool. The first two must be filled in, and the second two are optional.

Start at is the first number you want QLab to use. Any whole or decimal number can be used here.

Increment by is the amount you want QLab to add to create successive numbers. In the screen shot above, the selected cues
will be renumbered to 10 , 11 , 12 , and so on. Any whole or decimal number can be used here.

Prefix is optional. Any text entered here will be prefixed to the new cue numbers. If you entered Test- in the screen shot
above, the selected cues would be renumbered Test-10 , Test-11 , Test-12 , and so on.

Suffix is optional. Any text entered here will be appended to the new cue numbers. If you entered backup in the screen shot
above, the selected cues would be renumbered 10backup , 11backup , 12backup , and so on.

The renumber tool will skip over any existing cue numbers when it runs. Using the screen shot above as an example, if you selected
three cues before using the renumber tool, they would be renumbered 10 , 11 , and 12 . If there was already a cue 11
somewhere else in the workspace, however, the selected cues would be renumbered 10 , 12 , and 13 .

Delete numbers of selected cues (⌘D) will, as stated, delete the cue numbers of all selected cues. This will not alter cue targets or
anything else at all, just the cue numbers.

Jump
Jump to selected cues’ targets (⌥⌘J). When the cue or cues that are selected target other cues in the workspace, this will move
the selection to those target cues.

A similar tool from QLab 4, Jump to cue, has been renamed Select cue… and moved to the View menu.

Record Cue Sequence…

QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - The Tools Menu 3.1

The sequence recorder tool allows you to play through cues by hand, and have QLab record your timing. When you stop recording,
QLab will create a Group cue filled with Start cues which target the cues that you played while recording. The Start cues
will have pre-wait times which exactly match your timing.

To use this tool, choose Record cue sequence… from the Tools menu. Then, choose whether you want to create a Timeline
Group cue, with pre-waits on the Start cues relative to the beginning of the sequence, or a Start First Group cue with auto-
continues on the Start cues and pre-waits relative to the previous Start cue. Then, click Start Recording and run the cues
that you want to include in the sequence.

When you’re done running your cues, click Stop Recording. QLab will create the new Group cue, full of Start cues, below the
selected cue. Your original cues remain untouched. If you want to re-record the sequence, simply delete the new Group cue
and try the process again. If you like the sequence and want to use it in your show, you can move the original cues into another cue
list to keep them out of the way. It’s important to remember that they cannot be deleted, however, since the sequence is made up
of Start cues which target the original cues.

Always Audition
When always audition is turned on, clicking the button or using its keyboard shortcut (space by default) will behave as an
audition instead of a regular . Likewise, previewing a cue by using the button in the Time & Loops tab or by using the
keyboard shortcut (V by default) will behave as an audition preview instead of a regular preview.

Always audition has no effect on workspace MIDI controls or MSC messages, workspace OSC controls, or commands sent using
OSC or AppleScript.

You can learn more about auditioning cues from the Auditioning Cues section of this manual.

Live Fade Preview

When live fade preview is turned on, any adjustments you make to a Fade cue or a Network cue in 2D Fade mode will be
immediately reflected, as long as the target cue is playing. So, if you play an Audio cue, and then create a Fade cue targeting
that Audio cue, any adjustments you make in the Fade cue will be audible.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - The Tools Menu 3.1

When live fade preview is turned off, you can make adjustments to a Fade cue or a Network cue without hearing or seeing
those changes until you run the cue. This can be helpful while building cues in rehearsal, to allow you to run an Audio or
Video cue for the performers to work with, and then prepare a Fade cue for future use without disturbing them.

Beginning with QLab 5.4, live fade preview is a property of the workspace, not QLab as a whole. If you have multiple workspaces
open at the same time, each will maintain its own live fade preview status.

Highlight Related Cues

When highlight related cues is turned on, QLab will highlight all cues which target or which are targeted by the selected cue. QLab
uses a grey highlight for related cues, to distinguish from the regular highlight color as well as the yellow highlight color used by the
Find tool.

Black Out and Restore Desktop Backgrounds

You can choose Black out desktop backgrounds from the Tools menu to have QLab set the desktop background of every screen
connected to your Mac to plain black. This is, perhaps obviously, particularly helpful when working with Video cues. QLab will
remember the existing desktop backgrounds before replacing them with black, and you can restore them by choosing Restore
saved desktop backgrounds.

Tools for Group Cues

When a Group cue is selected, the Tools menu also shows a Group-specific item, Shuffle order of cues in Group. This item only
operates on Playlist Group cues.

Tools for Audio and Video Cues

When an Audio or Video cue is selected, the Tools menu also shows the following file-target-specific items:

Open target file in external editor. This will open the target media file of the selected cue in whichever application is
designated as the default for that media type. For example, by default, .MP3 files will open in iTunes, .MOV files will open in
QuickTime Player, and so forth. You can change these defaults by selecting a media file in the Finder, choosing Get Info from
the File menu, and changing the assignment under the heading “Open with:”
Reveal target file in Finder. This will open a window in the Finder showing the folder which contains the target media file of
the selected cue.
Open file target search tool. This will open a window that helps you address the problem of cues missing their file targets. This
can happen when a workspace is moved from one computer to another, or when media files are reorganized on disk while the
QLab workspace is closed. The search tool allows you to specify a folder which QLab will search inside of, looking for files that
match the missing file targets of cues in the workspace. You can confirm or reject each match, and then have QLab
automatically relink one or multiple cues automatically.

Paste audio levels. This will bypass the Paste Cue Properties sheet and simply paste the audio levels of a previously copied
cue, if possible.
Paste integrated fade shape. This will bypass the Paste Cue Properties sheet and simply paste the integrated fade curve of a
previously copied cue, if possible.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - The Tools Menu 3.1

Tools for Fade Cues

When a Fade cue is selected, the Tools menu also shows the following fade-specific items:

Paste audio levels. This will bypass the Paste Cue Properties sheet and simply paste the audio levels of a previously copied
cue, if possible.

Paste integrated fade shape. This will bypass the Paste Cue Properties sheet and simply paste the fade curve of a previously
copied cue, if possible.
Set Parameters From Target. This will display the Paste Cue Properties sheet, allowing you to choose properties of the Fade
cue’s target cue to copy into the Fade cue.
Set Audio Levels From Target (⇧⌘T). This will bypass the Paste Cue Properties sheet and simply copy the Audio Levels tab of
the Fade cue’s target, if applicable.

Set Video Geometry From Target (⌃⌥⌘V). This will bypass the Paste Cue Properties sheet and simply copy the Video
Geometry tab of the Fade cue’s target, if applicable.
Revert Fade Action (⇧⌘R). When this command is invoked after running a Fade cue, QLab reverts the levels of the target
cue to whatever they were before the Fade cue ran except for levels which have been otherwise changed. That is to say, the
only adjustments that are reverted are the ones that the selected Fade cue caused.

Tools for the Light Dashboard

When the Light Dashboard is the frontmost window, the contents of Tools menu is re-populated with items pertinent to lighting.
You can learn about those items from the page on the Light Dashboard in the Lighting section of this documentation.

Tools for Light Settings (Patch menu)

When Workspace Settings → Light is being viewed, the Tools menu is replaced by the Patch menu, which contains the following light
patch-specific items:

Unpatch all unpatches all instruments in the workspace, removing all address and output assignments.
Unpatch selected unpatches only the selected instruments, leaving the rest alone.
Auto-patch all opens a dialog box which allows you to select the DMX output you want to use, as well as the starting address. If
you select Art-net for output, you can also choose a starting universe, sub-net, and net. QLab then assigns addresses to all
instruments according to those settings.

Auto-patch selected behaves like auto-patch all, but only operates on the selected instruments.
Select all instruments does precisely what it seems like it does. You can also select all instruments by using the keyboard
shortcut ⌘A while viewing the light patch.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - Find 3.2

Find

You can search your workspace by selecting Find from the Edit menu in the toolbar, or by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘F. QLab
will search cue names, cue numbers, the file names of Audio and Video cue targets, cue notes, the contents of Text cues, the
contents of Network cues, and the contents of Script cues. Searches are limited to one cue list or cue cart at a time.

Find is one of the tools that occupies the toolbar, and selecting the menu item or using the keyboard shortcut cycles the toolbar
through three states:

1. When the Find tool isn’t displayed, the command will display it.
2. When the Find tool is displayed but the cursor isn’t in its text box, the command will move it there.
3. When the find tool is displayed and the cursor is in the text box, the command will close the Find tool and move focus back to
the cue list.

Clicking the left and right arrow buttons will jump the selection to the previous or next found cue.

Clicking Select Found will select all found cues at once.

Clicking Done will clear the search and close the Find tool.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - Find 3.2

If a found cue is standing by, the playhead is drawn in black instead of the usual grey in the interest of visibility.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - Paste Cue Properties 3.3

Paste Cue Properties

QLab allows you to copy the properties of one cue to other cues in order to simplify the process of making changes to groups of
cues, or duplicating the behavior of one cue in another.

To do this, first select the cue whose properties you want to duplicate, and copy that cue by choosing Copy from the Edit menu or
using the keyboard shortcut ⌘C.

Next, select the cue or cues that you want to paste the properties onto, and choose Paste Cue Properties… from the Edit menu or
use the keyboard shortcut ⇧⌘V.

QLab will display a sheet showing a categorized list of properties to paste.

Categories will be hidden if they are not relevant to the selected cue. In this screen shot, for example, only the categories that are
paste-able onto both Audio cues and Fade cue are visible, because both those cue types are selected.

You can navigate the list of properties with the mouse, using the disclosure triangles to unfold each category and checkboxes to
select properties, or you can use the arrow keys to navigate and the space bar to check or uncheck boxes.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - Paste Cue Properties 3.3

Hitting the enter key or clicking Apply will paste the selected properties onto the selected cue or cues. Hitting escape or clicking
Cancel will close the sheet without making any changes.

On the right side of the sheet is a list of presets to quickly toggle sets of checkboxes that are commonly used together. Simply press
the key corresponding to a preset to toggle the checkboxes belonging to that preset. The p key (short for previous) always
corresponds to the most recently used set of checkboxes.

At the bottom of the list of presets is a drop-down menu that lets you select a default preset. The preset chosen from this menu
will dictate which checkboxes are checked when Paste Cue Properties is invoked. So, for example, if you pretty much always use
Paste Cue Properties to paste audio levels, you could select “Audio Levels” from this drop-down. Then, whenever you invoke Paste
Cue Properties, the audio checkboxes will be checked to begin with, so you can just hit enter and be done with it.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - The Launcher Window 3.4

The Launcher Window

The Launcher window, which appears by default when you open QLab 5, provides a centralized place to get started working with
QLab.

On the left side of the window, you’ll see the exact version of QLab that you’re using, followed by four links to the web.

Documentation links to this manual.

Tutorials links to the Tutorials section of this manual.

Support links to https://qlab.app/support/ which tells you all about how to get technical support for QLab.
https://qlab.app links to the main QLab website.

Beneath those links are four buttons which correspond to four of the most commonly used first actions after QLab opens.

Open Workspace displays a window which lets you browse for and open a preexisting workspace.
New Workspace creates a new workspace using the default workspace template.
Connect to Workspace displays the QLab Collaboration connection window, which allows you to connect to a workspace
on another Mac.

Licenses opens the license manager window, where you can install, remove, or just check in on your licenses.

On the right side of the window, you’ll find two tabs.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - The Launcher Window 3.4

The Recent Workspaces tab lists the most recently opened workspaces, which is the same list found when you select Open
Recent… from the File menu. Double click on a workspace to open it, or click once and then either click the Open Workspace

button at the bottom of the window, or use the return or enter key on your keyboard.

To clear this list, choose Clear Menu from the bottom of the list of recent workspaces in the File menu.

The Templates tab lists all the workspace templates on your Mac. Double click on a template to create a new workspace using that
template, or click once and then either click the New Workspace from Template button at the bottom of the window, or use the
return or enter key on your keyboard.

When this tab is active, you can click on the Manage button to delete or rename workspace templates, or to select a new default
template.

Launcher Window behavior

If QLab is set to open the Launcher window at launch, which can be configured in QLab Preferences, it will appear whenever you
launch QLab directly. It will not appear if you launch QLab by opening a workspace. The Launcher window closes itself whenever
you use it to open a workspace or create a new one, and will reappear when the last workspace has been closed.

To open it at any time, you select Launcher Window from the Window menu.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - Monitor Windows 3.5

Monitor Windows

Monitor windows allow you to view video that passes through your workspace outside of its regular context. There are three types
of monitor windows in QLab, each designed to help with a different situation.

Video Output Monitor Windows

A video output monitor window shows a live copy of the output that’s going to a particular video output stage. All video which is
visible on a stage is likewise visible in the monitor window that belongs to that stage.

Output monitor windows are helpful as confidence monitors, when the person operating QLab cannot see an audience-facing
display but still needs to view the output.

You can open an output monitor window using the Monitor buttons found in Workspace Settings → Video → Video Output or the
I/O Tab of a Video, Camera, or Text cue.

Video Input Monitor Windows

A video input monitor window shows the live signal from a video input patch. This can help you ensure that your video input device
is working properly, or make sure a camera’s framing is correct before starting a Camera cue that uses that input.

You can open an input monitor window using the Monitor buttons found in Workspace Settings → Video → Video Input or the I/O
Tab of a Camera cue.

Audition Monitor Windows

If a workspace is set to redirect video output to audition windows in Workspace Settings → Audition, any Video, Camera, and
Text cues which are auditioned will display in an audition monitor window instead of on their assigned video output stage.

If the audition window for a stage is not visible when you audition a cue that needs it, QLab will open the window for you. You can
also manually open audition monitor windows using the Open Audition Windows button in Workspace Settings → Audition.

Unlike earlier versions of QLab, audition monitor windows don’t turn always audition on and off by virtue of being open or closed.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - Auditioning Cues 3.6

Auditioning Cues

Auditioning a cue means playing that cue outside of the context of your show as a whole, perhaps experimentally or while
developing the cue for later use. In situations like this, it can be preferable to play the cue in a different way than normal. For
example, you might want to audition an individual Audio cue in your headphones instead of through the sound system for everyone
to hear. If you are working on a complex video system, but the lighting designer is focusing lights and the projectors must be turned
off, you might want to audition all Video cues on your computer’s screen so that you can get work done without disturbing your
colleague.

Setting Up Audition
Workspace Settings → Audition is where you tell your workspace what you want it to do when you audition a cue of a particular
type. There, you’ll find a table which divides all output from QLab into seven categories:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - Auditioning Cues 3.6

Audio means the audible output of Audio, Mic, Video, and Camera cues.
Video means the visual output of Video, Camera, and Text cues.

MIDI means the output of MIDI and MIDI File cues, including MIDI Voice, MSC, and SysEx messages.
Timecode (MTC) means the output of Timecode cues set to MTC (MIDI timecode) mode.
Timecode (LTC) means the output of Timecode cues set to LTC (linear timecode) mode.

Network means all output of all Network cues.

Light means all DMX output from QLab, including from Light cues, the Light Dashboard, and the DMX status window.

Each type of output has a pop-up menu next to it which contains two to four of the following options:

Leave output unchanged - output of this type will behave the same way in cues which are auditioned as it will in cues which
are played normally.

No output - output of this type will be entirely prevented from cues which are auditioned.
Alternate patch - output of this type will temporarily use the specified output patch instead of the patch that’s programmed
into the cue.
Redirect to Audition window - (Video only) output of this type will be displayed in an audition-only monitor window instead of
sent to the video stage that’s programmed into the cue.

Redirect to Audition tab - (Light only) output of this type will be displayed in the Audition tab of the Light Dashboard and not
sent to DMX output hardware.

Note that using an alternate patch to audition video requires a video license.

Leave No Alternate Audition

Output type Applies to
unchanged output patch window/tab

Audio cues, Mic cues, and audio output from Video and Camera
Audio
cues.

Video Video output fron Video, Camera, and Text cues.

MIDI MIDI cues, MIDI File cues.

Timecode
Timecode cues set to MTC.
(MTC)

Timecode
Timecode cues set to LTC.
(LTC)

Network Network cues.

Light Light cues.

Using Audition
There are two workspace-wide controls for auditioning cues: audition and audition preview selected, both of which have
keyboard shortcuts which can be customized in Workspace Settings → Controls → Keyboard. When these controls are used, any
cues that they start will play through the audition output that has been selected for their output type.

The default keyboard shortcut for audition is ⌥space. The default keyboard shortcut for audition preview is ⌥V.

If a cue sequence is standing by, audition will cause the entire cue sequence to run according to its regular timing, with every
cue in the sequence playing through the audition output that has been selected for its output type.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - Auditioning Cues 3.6

Cues which are started normally while other cues are auditioning will play through their normal outputs.

will start the standing-by cue/cue sequence through normal outputs and move the playhead to the next cue/cue
sequence.
Preview will start the selected cue or cues through normal outputs, skipping any pre-waits, ignoring any auto-continues and
auto-follows, and leave the playhead where it is.
Audition will start the standing-by cue/cue sequence through audition outputs and move the playhead to the next cue/cue
sequence.

Audition preview will start the selected cue or cues through audition outputs, skipping any pre-waits, ignoring any auto-
continues and auto-follows, and leave the playhead where it is.

If a cue is in the midst of auditioning and it’s instructed to start normally, which is to say to play through normal outputs and not
audition, then the cue will immediately stop and restart through normal outputs. You do not need to manually stop it first. The idea
here is to make it as easy as possible to audition a cue, then play it normally as quickly as possible.

Always Audition
Sometimes, you might prefer to audition all cues for a while, such as in the above example of a projection designer working while
the video system is switched off.

In this case and others like it, you can select Turn on always audition from the Tools menu. When always audition is turned on, the
button will become an Audition button, colored blue to help clarify that the button is in a different mode. Additionally, the word
Audition will appear in the workspace footer. When always audition is on, clicking the Audition button or using its keyboard
shortcut (space by default) will behave as an audition instead of a regular . Likewise, previewing a cue by using the button
in the Time & Loops tab or by using the keyboard shortcut (V by default) will behave as an audition preview instead of a regular
preview.

Always audition has no effect on workspace MIDI controls or MSC messages, workspace OSC controls, or commands sent using
OSC or AppleScript.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tools - Override Controls 3.7

Override Controls

The Override Controls window can be opened by choosing Override Controls from the Window menu or by using the keyboard
shortcut ⇧⌘O. This window provides a way to temporarily suspend input and output of various types of signals to and from QLab.

You can independently override input and output of each of the following types of signals:

“Musical” MIDI voice messages

MIDI Show Control (MSC)

MIDI SysEx
Network messages to and from other devices on the network

Network messages within QLab and between QLab and other software on the same Mac
Timecode
Art-Net and USB DMX

Because QLab does not respond to incoming Art-Net or DMX, there is no Art-Net and USB DMX input override.

When input overrides are engaged, QLab will display a message in red text in the footer of the workspace. When output overrides
are engaged, any cue whose output is overridden will show a red circle icon in the status column ( ) to indicate that the cue will
not output anything when it’s run.

Override controls are global, which means that they apply to all open workspaces.
Chapter 4: Workflow Tools

4.1 The Workspace Status Window

4.2 The Timecode Status Window
QLab 5 Reference Manual Workflow Tools - The Workspace Status Window 4.1

The Workspace Status Window

The Workspace Status window contains six tabs which are designed to assist with programming cues and troubleshooting your
workspace.

The Warnings Tab

Warnings are created by cues and workspaces settings that have a detectable problem. Sometimes these problems will definitely
cause trouble in performance, such as an Audio cue that has no target file, but other times these problems might not cause
trouble. For example, a Light cue which contains several light commands that are functional and a single light command which
controls a light that is unpatched might be a problem or might not, but only you, the human person, can know for sure.

There are several kinds of warnings:

Broken cues cannot be played because they lack some necessary bit of information, or because they depend upon a
workspace setting which is incompletely or improperly configured. Broken cues will not play when they’re started, but if they
are part of a cue sequence QLab will attempt to leave |the sequence intact by running the broken cue’s pre-wait, duration,
post-wait, and auto-continue or auto-follow. QLab’s goal is to prevent a single broken cue from causing any trouble outside
itself.

Flagged cues count as warnings so that you can easily work through the list of flagged cues to address the reason for their
flag. A flag doesn’t change the behavior of a cue, it’s just a marker for you to use however you see fit.
Non-breaking warnings are created when QLab has detected a problem but cannot determine whether the problem is
important or not. A misconfigured light instrument definition is an example of a non-breaking warning; as long as there is no
light instrument using that definition, it won’t cause a problem in your show.
Breaking warnings are created when QLab has detected a problem that can be determined to prevent a show from running
correctly, or when the problem causes other warnings. A misconfigured audio patch that causes cues to break is a good
example of a breaking warning.

Disconnection warnings stem from missing hardware or software that was previously connected to QLab, but which cannot
be found. For example, a MIDI output patch that was assigned to use a MIDI interface will generate a disconnection warning if
the MIDI interface is unplugged.

Using the Warnings Tab

When a broken cue is selected, the Inspect Cue button in the lower left corner of the window causes QLab to select that cue in
the main workspace window and, if the workspace is in edit mode, display the inspector so that you can immediate edit the cue
and address the reason for the cue’s brokenness.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Workflow Tools - The Workspace Status Window 4.1

When a non-cue warning is selected, the button in the lower left corner of the window adapts to the selected warning. In the
screen shot below, the button is labeled Open Light Patch and clicking it will open the Light Patch tab in Workspace Settings →
Light.

No matter what type of warning is selected, the Open Help… button in the lower right corner of the window opens a new window
in your default web browser and brings you to the section of this manual that’s most relevant to the problem. In the screen shot
showing the broken cue, the Open Help… button brings you to the section on fading audio levels. In the screen shot showing the
unpatched light instrument, the Open Help… button brings you to the section on the Light Patch.

Hide and Show hidden

You can check the box in the Hide column to hide a warning from view. Hidden warnings will only be shown when the Show hidden
checkbox at the top right of the window is checked. This allows you to focus on distinct groups of warnings while choosing to ignore
others. For example, you may wish to hide a few flagged cues from the warnings list because you know you won’t be addressing
them until tomorrow and you want a clear view of the other warnings in your workspace.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Workflow Tools - The Workspace Status Window 4.1

When warnings are hidden, the header text in the upper right corner of the window will be adjusted to remind you.

The Logs Tab

The Logs tab has four checkboxes for enabling or disabling logging of specific kinds of events in QLab. Please note that these logs
are entirely separate and different from your Mac’s Console logs and from the logging level set in Qlab Preferences.

Cue triggers. QLab will report any time a cue, cue list, or cue cart is started via a or a trigger.
MIDI input. QLab will report any MIDI messages received by the workspace.

OSC input. QLab will report any OSC messages received by the workspace.
OSC replies. QLab will report any replies that it receives after sending OSC messages to other workspaces, devices, or
programs.

The Triggers Tab

The Triggers tab provides a central place to view and edit all the cue triggers and workspace controls in your workspace.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Workflow Tools - The Workspace Status Window 4.1

The list of triggers can be sorted by clicking on the column headers in the table.

Clicking the Edit button next to a cue trigger will select that cue in the main workspace window and display the Triggers tab of the
inspector. Clicking the Edit button next to a workspace trigger will open the Workspace Settings window showing the appropriate
tab of Controls settings.

The Art-Net Tab

If your workspace contains at least one lighting instrument, QLab will scan your local network for available Art-Net devices. If any
are found, they will be listed in this tab with their name, IP address, and available Art-Net output information.

Some devices do not support discovery which is the part of the Art-Net specification that facilitates this scanning and reporting. If
your Art-Net device is connected and properly configured but still does not appear in this list, you may find that it works anyway, If
QLab 5 Reference Manual Workflow Tools - The Workspace Status Window 4.1

it doesn’t, you may find that it will work if you enable Art-Net broadcast mode in QLab Preferences.

The Video Metrics Tab

The Video Metrics tab displays the framerate, target framerate, and render time for each stage and video output device currently in
use by your workspace.

The FPS column shows the actual current frame rate. It is normal for this number to drift slightly higher or lower than the target
frame rate, both because clock timing can drift slightly and because the sampling rate of the metrics tab can be slightly offset from
the refresh cycle of the stage or device.

The Target column shows the target FPS of the stage or device. For video devices, this is determined by the device’s clock. For
stages that use a single video device, that device’s clock is the clock for the stage. For a stage that uses multiple devices, QLab
determines the most suitable clock to follow. Often it’s as simple as “whichever hardware video device is used by this stage or
output that has the highest refresh rate.”

If the current frame rate drops below 90% of the target FPS, it will be drawn in orange. If it drops below 80%, it will be drawn in red.

The Render time column shows the amount of time QLab is taking to render one frame of video for the given stage or device, both
as an absolute figure in milliseconds and as a percentage of one frame as defined by the stage or device. For example, in the screen
shot above, the device has a target refresh rate of 60 FPS, and the render time of one frame of video for that output is 0.523
milliseconds, which is 3.1% of 1/60 of a second.

It’s important to note that a frame rate below the target frame rate isn’t necessarily a sign of trouble. For example, some Apple
displays have a variable refresh rate up to 120 Hz, and so stages or outputs which use those displays will always show a target rate of
120, even if the screen is actually running at 60 FPS or even lower. As with all metrics, the numbers don’t always tell the whole story.

The Info Tab

The Info tab shows basic information about your workspace.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Workflow Tools - The Workspace Status Window 4.1

Workspace ID. The workspace ID is a unique identifier for this workspace, which you can select and copy in order to use in
AppleScripts, OSC messages, or any other situation in which you need to know the unique ID of the workspace.

Machine ID. This number is unique to each Mac, and is the identifier that the license system uses to associate license seats with
Macs. You may need to grab this number if you’re communicating with support@figure53.com about license questions.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Workflow Tools - The Timecode Status Window 4.2

The Timecode Status Window

The Timecode Status window gives you a centralized place to view the status of all the incoming and outgoing timecode connected
to the open workspaces on your Mac.

If no Timecode cues are running, and no cue lists are set to sync to incoming timecode, the window will be empty.

Incoming Timecode
If a cue list has been set to sync to incoming timecode, that cue list will be displayed in the upper portion of the window, along with
the name of the workspace that contains it, the form of timecode that the list wants (LTC or MTC), and the input on which that
timecode is expected.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Workflow Tools - The Timecode Status Window 4.2

If multiple lists are set to sync to timecode, they’re all listed one after another.

Once timecode starts coming in, the cue list displays a running status icon and the right-most column displays the timecode.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Workflow Tools - The Timecode Status Window 4.2

You can click the upper Show button while timecode is incoming to display a large and resizable timecode monitor window,
suitable for viewing at a distance. If there are multiple incoming streams of timecode, the most recently started one will appear in
this monitor window.

When incoming timecode stops, the display changes based on how the list has been configured in its Timecode tab. If the list is
configured not to freewheel at all, the display simply changes back to the “waiting” stage. If the list is configured to freewheel and
to stop timecode-triggered cues when timecode stops, a red disc shows the freewheel time elapsing.

The disc is shown in yellow if the list is configured to pause timecode-triggered cues when timecode stops, and in grey if the list is
configured to do nothing when timecode stops.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Workflow Tools - The Timecode Status Window 4.2

Outgoing Timecode
When a Timecode cue runs, that cue’s details appear in the lower portion of the window.

If multiple Timecode cues run at once, they all appear.

You can click the lower Show button while timecode is outgoing to display a large and resizable timecode monitor window, suitable
for viewing at a distance. If there are multiple outgoing streams of timecode, the most recently started one will appear in this
monitor window.
Chapter 5: Audio

5.1 Intro to Audio

5.2 Audio Cues
5.3 Mic Cues
5.4 The Audio Output Patch Editor
5.5 Fading Audio & Audio Effects
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Intro to Audio 5.1

Intro to Audio

Audio is the heart of QLab.

Audio can come into QLab from an audio file, an audio track within a video file, a live input on an audio device connected to your
Mac, or the audio track within an incoming NDI stream.

Audio can go out from QLab using the built-in speakers or headphone jack on your Mac, any macOS-compatible1 audio interface
(usually connected via USB or Thunderbolt), or network-based audio output systems like Dante, AVB, and NDI.

Note: Timecode cues set to LTC output also generate audio in the form of an LTC signal from scratch. Since LTC is not meant to be a
signal that human beings listen to, at least not on purpose, it’s treated rather differently in QLab. Therefore, this section of the manual does
not apply to Timecode cues which you can learn more about from the Timecode cue section of this manual.

Audio cues and Video cues generate output by reading audio from an audio file such as an AIFF, WAV, or other compatible file
type, or by reading audio data from a compatible video file.

Mic cues and Camera cues generate output by reading audio from a live audio input such as a microphone or line input
connected to your Mac’s audio interface, or from audio contained in an NDI stream.

Once inside QLab, audio is treated more or less the same way no matter how it arrived.

Each cue that generates audio has a cue matrix mixer, which is unique to that cue and can be found in the Audio Levels tab of the
inspector. The cue matrix mixer routes audio from the cue to the patch matrix mixer of the audio output patch that the cue is
using. The patch matrix mixer, in turn, routes audio to the outputs of the audio device that the patch is using.

What Is A Matrix Mixer?

A matrix mixer is a mixer in which the signal from each input can be sent to each output at an individually set level. You can visualize
a matrix mixer as a set of rows and columns. In QLab, each row represents an input, and each column represents an output. The
intersection of each row and column is called a crosspoint; the point at which the row and column cross each other. Crosspoints
are effectively volume knobs which control how much signal flows from the row into the column.

The matrix mixers in QLab consist of four sets of controls:

Input level controls set the overall level of individual inputs. Adjusting an input level control will adjust that signal’s volume in
every output.

Output level controls set the overall level of individual outputs. Adjust an output level control will adjust the level of all signals
mixed into that output, but have no effect on those signals’ level in other outputs.
Crosspoint level controls set the level that an input feeds into an output.
The main level control sets the overall level of the output from the whole matrix.

The Cue Matrix Mixer

QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Intro to Audio 5.1

These images show a close-up view of the cue matrix mixer in QLab (with some
additional annotations). The top row, row 0, contains the output level controls. Each
successive row represents an input with audio entering the mixer on the left edge
and flowing to the right.

The left-most column, column 0, contains in the input level controls. Each
successive column represents a cue output with audio entering each output via the
crosspoints in the middle of the matrix and flowing upwards to the output level
controls.

In the top left corner, at row 0/column 0, is the main level control which sets the
overall level for the whole cue.

In this example, the cue has three input channels routed to four cue outputs. If the
cue is an Audio or Video cue, the inputs represent channels of audio in the
target file. If the cue is a Mic cue or Camera cue, the inputs represent input
channels on the source audio device.

In QLab, like most digital audio environments, a level of 0 represents unity gain
which means “this level control makes no change in level.” Whatever level comes in
is the level that goes out. Therefore, we see that input channel 1 is routed to cue
output 1 with no change in level, because the input, crosspoint, and output level
controls for that signal path are all set to 0 dB . If input channel 1 is a recording of
test tone that measures, say, -14 dB in the audio file, then a measurement of cue
output 1 would also be -14 dB assuming no other sound was being played.

The whole point of the matrix, however, is that every level control can be set to any
value. Input channel 3, for example, is set to -3 dB at the input, meaning its overall
level is 3 dB quieter than the level recorded in the file. The crosspoint at the
intersection of input 1 and output 1 is set to +2 dB , so the sum total level of input 3
in cue output 1 is -3 + 2 or -1 dB in cue output 1.

Input channel 3 is also routed to cue output 3, with the crosspoint at unity. Cue
output 3’s output level is set to -2 dB , however, so the sum total level of input 3 in
cue output 3 is -3 + -2 or -5 dB in cue output 3.

Much of the time, particularly with smaller sound systems, this flexibility is not
necessary and level adjustments to cues can be done largely with the main level
control alone. When you need to get more exact, however, the full flexibility of the
matrix mixer is there for you.

The Patch Matrix Mixer

In the patch matrix mixer, each row represents the cue outputs from the cue matrix mixer. All the audio from all the cues is
summed together and feeds into this matrix from the left side. The columns represent the device outputs, the outputs that are
offered by your audio interface.

In these images, the audio patch is using a virtual audio device called Dante Virtual Soundcard which has 64 output channels, but to
keep this discussion simpler we’ll only consider the first eight outputs. The first image shows each cue output routed to a single
device output at unity gain, so each cue output is effectively a direct path to one corresponding device output.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Intro to Audio 5.1

This is a great way to start working with a multichannel

sound system in QLab, but it’s certainly not the only way.
For example, imagine this assignment of device outputs:

1. Main house left speaker

2. Main house right speaker
3. Main center speaker

4. Subwoofer
5. Onstage effect speaker 1
6. Onstage effect speaker 2

7. House left front fill

8. House right front fill

In this situation, device outputs 7 and 8 are feeding

speakers that cover a section of audience that cannot
hear the main speakers fed by outputs 1, 2, and 3. It
might be nice if those outputs could automatically
receive an appropriate mix if the signals being sent to
those other device outputs, and voila, that is possible!

The second image shows cue output 1 routed to device

output 1 at unity, and also routed to device output 7 at
-3 dB (assuming that the front fills need a bit less
oomph than the mains.) Cue output 2 repeats this with
cue output 8. Cue output 3 routes to both 7 and 8 at -6
dB to reinforce the center channel.

You can learn more about the capabilities of audio

output patches from the section on the Audio Output
Patch Editor in this manual.

Levels Inside QLab

While levels in QLab are of course measured in decibels,

it’s important to understand that QLab necessarily uses
dBFS (decibels relative to full scale) and not dB SPL
(decibels of sound pressure level). QLab cannot know
the absolute loudness of a sound for a number of
reasons, but the simplest one is that QLab cannot know
about the hardware that is being used beyond QLab. You
might be playing QLab into a pair of tiny headphones, or you might be plugged into a million-watt sound system.

When a control is set to a level of 0 dB inside QLab, it simply means that the signal entering that control will be the same level
when it leaves. If the control is set to -3 dB then the signal exits the control 3 dB quieter than it entered. That difference of -3 ,
however, might translate into a larger or smaller difference depending upon the rest of the sound system.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Intro to Audio 5.1

The World Beyond QLab

In the most technical sense, what QLab knows as the device outputs are not necessarily the actual outputs of the audio device.
Device manufacturers are responsible for creating the software drivers for their devices, which tell the Mac about the outputs and
other capabilities of the hardware. The Mac, in turn, tells QLab. So, the device might have its own internal routing or other special
features which could make for a discrepancy between what QLab sees and what’s really there. For example, the iConnectivity
device in the images above is listed as having eight outputs, but some of those outputs do not correspond to physical connections
on the outside of the device. That’s something that QLab cannot know.

By and large, any devices we’ve seen that do things like this are well designed and documented, so all that’s needed to get the full
picture is to read the manual for your audio interface and make sure you understand what’s going on. If you find yourself having
trouble, we encourage you to contact the manufacturer of the device before reaching out to us.

If the audio interface has a software control panel or virtual mixer interface, that control panel or mixer acts as a final post-QLab
set of controls for the hardware.

The simplest example of this is the headphone jack on your Mac, which has volume controls on the keyboard and in the menu bar.
These volume controls come “after” QLab, and therefore behave as an ultimate arbiter of the overall output volume. Other audio
interfaces use other software controls, but the principle is the same.

Synchronization and Simultaneity

Because QLab is designed for a live playback environment, in which different things may happen at different times and each
performance of the same workspace may be slightly different, QLab uses an elastic approach to synchronization which is a bit
unusual when compared to other audiovisual software. The end goal of this approach is to allow you to not think about sync at all if
you don’t want to worry about it, and to allow you to get specific, predictable behavior if you do want to worry about it.

If you do not want to worry about it, feel free to skip over this section.

If you do want to worry about it, there are two guidelines to remember when working on your cues:

1. Playback of cues which have audio is controlled by the clock of the audio device to which they are assigned2, so cues which
are assigned to the same audio output patch will maintain sample-accurate synchronization.
2. Cues which are started at the same time via a single action will start simultaneously3.

Since there are two guidelines with two possible conditions each, there are four possible cases:

In sync and simultaneous

In this example, Cue A and Cue B are both assigned to the same audio output patch and both started simultaneously, either
because they are both contained within a Timeline Group with identical pre-wait times, or because the first cue is set to auto-
continue with no post-wait and the second cue, which is started via the auto-follow, has no pre-wait.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Intro to Audio 5.1

The simultaneous start causes the first sample from each cue to be played at the same time, and the clock of the audio device
guarantees that samples from each cue will be played at the same cadence. As a result, the cues will start at the same time, and
stay in sync for as long as they both run.

In sync, but not simultaneous

In this example, Cue A and Cue B are both assigned to the same audio output patch but they are not started simultaneously. This
could be because one of them has a pre-wait; wait times use the system clock, not the audio device clock, and so wait times and
audio playback cannot be perfectly synchronized. It could also be because they are not connected at all, and are started by two
separate presses of the button, or one is started via the button and the other is started by a MIDI trigger or something else
like that.

Because the start is not simultaneous, the first sample of each cue is played at a different time, but because both cues are still
assigned to the same audio output patch the audio device clock still guarantees that samples from each cue are played at the same
cadence. As a result, the two cues will remain in sync for as long as they both run, offset by the exact same amount of time
throughout.

Not in sync, but simultaneous

In this example, Cue A and Cue B are assigned to different audio output patch and both started simultaneously.

The start is simultaneous, so the first sample of each cue is played at the same time. Since the two audio output patches use
different audio device clocks, though, the time between samples is different for the two cues. As a result, they will not remain in
sync and will drift apart over time. The longer the cues are, the more audible the difference will become.

If sync is needed in this situation, using audio devices that have word clock connections can solve the problem by provided an
external mechanism to sync the two clocks, thus converting this scenario into a “in sync and simultaneous” scenario.

Not in sync, not simultaneous

QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Intro to Audio 5.1

In this example, Cue A and Cue B are assigned to different audio output patch and not started simultaneously.

As a result, the first sample of each cue is played at a different time, and the cadence of each cue is different because they follow
different clocks. These two cues have basically nothing to do with each other.

1. Most technically, an audio interface needs to be Core Audio compliant to work with QLab. There are some audio interfaces that work with
Macs in general, but only with specific software. Those devices are in the tiny minority however. If an audio interface appears in the Sound
section of System Preferences, it will almost definitely work with QLab.↩
2. This can be changed for Video cues, but don’t worry about that for now.↩

3. In both a philosophical sense and a computer science sense, it’s hard to quantify what “simultaneous” truly means, since measuring time is
done in discrete chunks, whereas Time Itself is a fluid continuum, as far as we know, and one which behaves Very Weirdly if you examine it
closely. In order to have a reasonable conversation about it without graduate level coursework as a prerequisite, this manual will assume a
meaning of “simultaneous” which is confined to human-level perception… if two things happen so close together that a typical organic
human person perceives them to be simultaneous, then we will say that they are simultaneous.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Audio Cues 5.2

Audio Cues

Audio cues allow you to play sound files with precise control over timing, levels, and routing. Audio cues must have a file target,
which is a sound file on your computer, and an audio output patch, which connects QLab to a sound output destination such as
your computers’ speakers or headphone jack, an audio interface, or a network-based output such as Dante, AVB, or NDI.

Audio Files

Audio cues may target any file type supported by Core Audio (Apple’s audio framework), but we recommend the following types:

AIFF - the Audio Interchange File Format

WAV - the Waveform Audio File format
CAF - Core Audio Format

AAC - Advanced Audio Coding format

MP4 - MPEG-4 part 14 container format (which is usually just an AAC audio file wearing a different set of clothes.)
M4A - MPEG-4 Audio container format (which is also just AAC.)

QLab also supports MP3 files, by their very design they incur a variable and unpredictable delay when decoding and playback begins.
This makes exact timing impossible when using MP3 files. For this reason, and also because they usually don’t sound very good, we
do not recommend using them unless you are certain that their limitations are not relevant to your show.

Audio cues can also target any file type supported by Video cues; the audio portion of the file will be used and the video
portion of the file will be ignored.

Without getting too far into the technical weeds, AIFF, WAV, and CAF files will give you the best audio quality and the least technical
trouble and those are the formats that we recommend most highly.

Audio File Details

QLab can target multichannel audio files and will recognize the first 24 channels in an audio file2.

QLab supports audio file targets at any sample rate from 8 kHz up to 192 kHz, and any bit depth from 8-bit up to 32-bit3.

Through the low-level audio frameworks built into macOS, QLab automatically and seamlessly performs any necessary sample rate
and bit depth conversion on the fly to match the requirements of the audio output patch. This means that you do not need to
choose a single sample rate and bit depth to work with; workspaces can target audio files of various rates and depths, and you can
use audio outputs with various rates and depths.

This on-the-fly conversion is a very efficient process and in most situations you will not need to concern yourself with the matter. If
you are trying to squeeze every available drop of performance out of your system, you can convert all your audio to the same
sample rate and bit depth as your output hardware is using.

The Inspector for Audio Cues

QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Audio Cues 5.2

When an Audio cue is selected, the inspector shows the Basics tab and Triggers tab, used by all cues, as well as the following
tabs:

The I/O Tab

The I/O tab lets you assign a target audio file and audio output patch, and view details about them as well.

File Target. If a target audio file is assigned, this field shows the path to that file. You can double-click on the field to select a file
target, or you can drag and drop a file in from the Finder.

Clicking the button removes the target file from the cue (though it does not delete the file itself, of course.)

Clicking the button reveals the target file in the Finder.

These controls are also visible in the Basics tab; you can use either one or both interchangeably.

Format displays some technical details of the target audio file, including the type of file and codec in use, number of channels, and
sample rate.

Audio Output. This pop-up menu allows you to select an audio output patch for the cue to use. Clicking on the menu allows you to
select one of the audio output patches already configured in the workspace, or (unpatched) if you want to ensure that the cue
does not play when started. You can also choose Open Audio Settings to edit patch list… to quickly get to Workspace Settings →
Audio → Audio Outputs, or choose New patch with audio device to quickly generate a new audio output patch and select it for use.

The Edit… button opens the audio output patch editor for the currently selected audio output patch, for quick access.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Audio Cues 5.2

Format displays the number of channels and sample rate of the audio device used by the selected audio output patch. Note that
for virtual audio devices such as Existential Audio’s BlackHole or the venerable Soundflower, the sample rate may not display
accurately at all times, or even at all. Virtual devices are not always able to provide this information; it’s not necessarily a sign of a
problem.

The Time & Loops Tab

The Time & Loops tab lets you adjust time-based behaviors of the cue and view a waveform representation of the target audio file.

Start Time and End Time

Start time defaults to 00:00.000 and represents the timestamp in the target audio file at which QLab will start playing the file. You
can change the start time of the cue in three ways:

1. You can type a new value into the text field.

2. You can drag the start time marker, which is the downwards-pointing grey triangular handle at the top left side of the
waveform view.

3. You can click anywhere in the waveform view, or preview the cue and then pause it, then use the keyboard shortcut ⇧I (“I for
in”) to set the start time to the current playback time.

End time defaults to the end of the target audio file, and so displays the timestamp of the final sample of audio in the target file.
You can change the end time of the cue in three ways:

1. You can type a new value into the text field.

2. You can drag the end time marker, which is the downwards-pointing grey triangular handle at the top right side of the
waveform view.

3. You can click anywhere in the waveform view, or preview the cue and then pause it, then use the keyboard shortcut ⇧O (“O
for out”) to set the end time to the current playback time.

If you click and drag within the waveform view to select a section of the file, you can use both ⇧I and ⇧O one right after the
other to quickly crop the cue to the selected region.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Audio Cues 5.2

Play count and infinite loops

Play count defaults to 1 and is the number of times that the target audio file will be played when the cue is run. You can enter any
whole number in the text field to loop the target audio file that number of times, or select Infinite loop below to loop the target
audio file indefinitely.

Waveform contextual menu

Right-clicking (or two-finger-clicking, or clicking while holding down the option [⌥] key) within the waveform view brings up a
contextual menu which lets you open the target audio file in an external audio editor or select which channel of audio you wish to
view.

The “open with external editor” submenu lists all programs on your Mac which self-identify as an editor for audio files.

The “select channel to view” submenu allows you to choose between viewing a sum of all channels, which is the default, or any
single channel. The channel names in this menu reflect names set in the Levels tab.

Slices
The play count and infinite loop options allow you to loop the entire target audio file, but QLab allows you to loop specific sections
of the file as well. To this, you create slices within the cue, and set each slice to loop as needed.

To create a slice, click in the waveform view and then click the Add Slice button to the left of the waveform, or use the keyboard
shortcut M. A green marker, called a slice marker, will appear in the waveform at the spot where you clicked. A section of the cue
between two slice markers, or between a marker and the start or end of the cue, is a slice.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Audio Cues 5.2

The green numbers which appear along the bottom of the waveform view are play counts for each slice. The play count will default
to 1, but you can easily edit the count of an individual slice by double-clicking the number at the bottom of the slice and entering a
value. To loop a slice infinitely, type any letter. To seamlessly skip a slice, type 0 . The slice will receive a darkened tint, and QLab
will skip over that slice while playing the cue. At least one slice of a cue must have a play count greater than zero.

You can click the green handle at the top of a slice marker and slide it left and right along the waveform to adjust its position, or
click on the handle and then enter a value manually in the text field that appears on the left side of the waveform view. Slice
markers cannot be closer together than .05 seconds.

If you click and drag within the waveform to select a section of the file, the Add Slice button (and the M shortcut) will create slice
markers on both sides of the selected section.

If the target audio file is an AIFF or WAV file which contains markers, those markers will automatically appear in QLab as slice markers.
Markers closer together than .05 seconds will be discarded by QLab, though the markers in your file will remain untouched.

To delete a selected slice, select it and hit ⌫ (delete) on the keyboard, or drag its slice handle upwards out of the waveform view.

ProTools users will find that markers from ProTools projects are not included in bounced files, which makes QLab’s automatic marker
importing somewhat less useful. Fortunately, there is a workaround as long as you have a two-track editor that allows importing markers
(such as TwistedWave):

1. Bounce or export your audio as usual.

2. In ProTools, choose Export… from the File menu and export your session info as text.

3. Open your audio file in your two-track editor and import the text file you created from ProTools. Et voila!

The Delete All button deletes all slices from the cue. Markers in the target audio file are not deleted.

Vamping and devamping

Looping and slicing cues starts to get really interesting when used in combination with the Devamp cue, which allows you to
dynamically exit loops while cues are playing. You can learn more about this from the section on Devamp cues in this manual.

Rate and pitch

You can adjust the playback rate of the Audio cue by typing a value in the Rate text field to the right of the waveform, or by clicking
in that field and dragging up or down. By default, adjusting the rate will adjust pitch as well in a manner similar to changing the
playback speed of analogue tape. If you check the Preserve pitch box, however, the pitch will not be changed along with the rate.

Rate 1 = 100% (normal speed) - no pitch shift Rate .5 = 50% (half speed) - pitched down one octave Rate 2 = 200% (double speed) -
pitched up one octave The minimum rate is 0.03 , and the maximum rate is 33 .

It is worth noting that checking the Preserve pitch box requires slightly more processor power than leaving the box unchecked.

The Integrated fade envelope

QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Audio Cues 5.2

The integrated fade envelope allows you to adjust the overall volume of the cue graphically over its duration. This can be useful for
evening out dramatic volume differences, or modulating volume for creative effect.

To use the integrated fade envelope, check the box underneath the waveform view labeled Integrated fade. A yellow line will
appear along the top of the waveform view, and you can click and drag along the line to create control points.

The pop-up menu next to the Integrated fade checkbox allows you choose between Custom Curve, which makes the integrated
fade envelope curve smoothly between and around control points, or Linear Curve, which creates sharp angles precisely at each
control point.

The pop-up menu also gives you the option to Lock fade to start/end, which automatically stretches the integrated fade curve to
fit within the start and end time of the cue. With this option not set, the integrated fade curve will remain locked to the natural start
and end time of the target audio file, regardless of the start and end times set in the cue.

Note that if you edit the envelope while the cue is playing, you won’t hear your changes until you stop and restart the cue.

You can edit and navigate between control points using the arrow keys:

Command Key

Select previous control point ←

Select next control point →

Move selected control point up ⌥↑

Move selected control point down ⌥↓
Move selected control point left ⌥←
Move selected control point right ⌥→
Move selected control point up a small amount ⇧⌥↑
Move selected control point down a small amount ⇧⌥↓
Move selected control point left a small amount ⇧⌥←
Move selected control point right a small amount ⇧⌥→

Preview, Reset, and Zoom

You can use the and buttons to zoom in and out on the waveform. If you’re using a trackpad, you can zoom in and out by
placing the cursor over the waveform view and pinching in and out, or by holding down the ⌥ (option) key and scrolling vertically. If
you’re using a mouse or trackball with a scroll wheel, you can zoom in and out by placing your mouse cursor over the waveform
view and scrolling.

The button resets the cue, stopping it and resetting all temporary properties such as conditional cue colors.

The button starts playing the cue without advancing the playhead or triggering any auto-follow or auto-continue. The default
keyboard shortcut for previewing a cue is V. While the cue is playing, this button changes to a pause button.

The Levels Tab

The Levels Tab lets you adjust volume levels for the cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Audio Cues 5.2

Controls
Set Default Levels. This button sets all levels of the cue to match the levels in the Audio cue template, which can be found and
adjusted to suit your needs in Workspace Settings → Templates → Cue Templates.

Set all silent. This button does exactly what it seems: it sets all levels for the current Audio cue to -INF.

Inputs. Clicking this button allows you to assign names to each input (row) in the cue.

Input names are unique for each cue, so they can reflect the specific details of that cue.

Gangs. When you click this button, all audio levels will be hidden and the mixer will switch to gang assignment mode. In this mode,
you can type anything (for example, a single letter) into any level field. All fields which receive the same text will become part of the
same gang, or level group.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Audio Cues 5.2

When you click Assign Gangs again, the mixer will switch back to its regular view, and ganged fields will be shown with matching
colored backgrounds so you can tell at a glance which fields are ganged. Then, you can simply click and drag one control to adjust

every level in that gang by the same amount.

If you gang levels together while they’re at different starting points and start moving them up or down, one level might reach its
maximum or minimum level before another. Then and only then will the levels be adjusted disproportionately with one movement.
Once the levels catch up to each other at their maximum or minimum, they will all move together.

The Edit Audio Patch button opens the Audio Output Patch Editor for the audio output patch in use by the cue.

The Cue Matrix Mixer

The cue matrix mixer is a grid made of rows and columns, like a spreadsheet. The main output level for the cue is in the top left, the
cue outputs are the column headers, and channels in the audio file are the rows. The number of rows in the mixer is dictated by
the number of channels in the target audio file.

Cue outputs which are assigned to device outputs have a yellow fader handle. Cue outputs which are not assigned to device
outputs, and which therefore cannot be heard, have a grey fader handle.

Crosspoints are the level controls for routing a given input (row) to a given output (column).

Levels can be typed into each control, or you can click in a field and drag up or down. QLab won’t allow you to drag above 0 dB as
a safety measure, but you can type a level above 0 manually, limited by the maximum level set in Workspace Settings → Audio.
Since the majority of levels set are below 0 db , QLab will interpret a number entered without a + or - sign as a negative number.

A level control showing no value can be assumed to be set at -INF (silent).

Adjustments made in the Levels tab take effect live and in realtime, so you can start the cue and then adjust levels by ear. Please be
careful at the beginning of a project, since a very small movement of the mouse can cause a very large adjustment in level.

The Trim Tab

The Trim tab provides a set of “post-fader” overall level adjustment controls for the main output and the cue outputs of a cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Audio Cues 5.2

These controls are not adjustable using Fade cues, MIDI, OSC, or any other automation; their purpose is specifically to exist outside
the realm of automation and other sources of control so that they are guaranteed to stay the way you set them.

If you make a cue sequence with a bunch of fades and lots of intricate level movement, and then afterwards you decide that one
output is too loud throughout the whole sequence, you can adjust the trim in the audio cue instead of adjusting that output in each
and every fade cue; just one adjustment and you’re done.

If you build a cue sequence with a set of audio files and then need to replace those audio files with new versions, but accidentally
normalize the new versions differently so the new versions are all 3 dB hotter than the old versions, you can correct for that using
the Trim tab.

The Audio FX Tab

With an Audio license installed, QLab can use AudioUnit effects installed on your Mac to process sound dynamically in realtime. For
an AudioUnit to work in QLab, it must be compatible with the version of macOS that you’re using, must be defined as an effect (i.e.
MIDI synthesizers won’t be available in QLab because they are generators, not effects), and must report a “tail time” (for example, a
reverb’s decay time.)

Additionally, the number of channels in the target audio file must match the number of channels supported by the AudioUnit.
Different AudioUnits behave differently if there is a mismatch in channel count. Some will pass the audio straight through as though
no effect is in use, some won’t pass any audio at all, and some may have other unpredictable consequences. A good example of this
behavior is exhibited by Apple’s AUMatrixReverb, which requires a two-channel (stereo) source. If you use AUMatrixReverb on a
mono audio track, the audio will pass through the AudioUnit unchanged.

To use an audio effect, select it from the pop-up menu labeled Add Audio Effect… When you select an effect, it will appear in the
list to the right of the menu, and an AudioUnit editor window will open automatically. You may close the window and access it again
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Audio Cues 5.2

easily anytime by clicking the Edit button next to the name of the effect in the list. The editor window looks different for each
AudioUnit because each effect requires different controls. QLab uses the built-in interface created by the designer of the
AudioUnit, which means the look and feel (as well as quality and usability) of AudioUnits can vary widely.

You can bypass an audio effect by unchecking the box to the left side of the effect, and you can remove an audio effect from the
cue by clicking the button to the right side. If the AudioUnit editor window is open, you can also turn the effect on or off by
using the checkbox labeled Enabled in the top right corner of the effect window.

Audio effects will be applied to the cue in the order in which they appear in the effects list. To change this order, simply click on an
effect and drag it up or down within the list.

You can also insert AudioUnits on cue outputs and device outputs. You can find out more about using AudioUnits on outputs in the
Audio Output Patch Editor section of this manual.

Broken Audio Cues

Audio cues can become broken for the following reasons:

No audio file selected

The cue has no target, and Audio cues require an audio file as a target. Select an audio file as the target of this cue to clear this
warning.

Missing audio file

The cue had a target file assigned, but that file is missing. Perhaps the file was on a removable drive or network drive which is not
currently connected. Re-locate the target file, or assign a new target file to clear this warning.

File target in Trash

The cue’s target file is in the Trash, and files in the Trash cannot be used. Either move the target file out of the Trash, or assign a
new target file to clear this warning.

File target lacks read permissions

This is a bit of a bizarre error that is technically possible, but very unusual. If the target file lacks read permissions, it cannot be
used. Since it cannot be used, though, it probably could not have been selected as a target in the first place. Despite this seeming
paradox, it still is technically possible that this could happen, and so QLab tries to handle it. Fix the target file’s permissions, or
assign a new target file to clear this warning.

No audio output patch

The cue has no audio output patch assigned. Assign an audio output patch to clear this warning.

Issue with audio output patch

The cue has an audio output patch assigned, but something is wrong with it. The audio output patch will have warnings of its own,
listed in the Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window, which you can use to figure out what’s wrong with it. Either fix the audio
output patch or select a new audio output patch to clear this warning.

Missing cue audio effect

The cue has an audio effect assigned, but that AudioUnit is not installed. Either remove the audio effect from the cue or install the
missing AudioUnit to clear this warning.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Audio Cues 5.2

Invalid slice play counts

The cue is sliced, and all slices have a play count of 0 . This means that no part of the target file will be played, which means the
cue effectively does nothing. Either set at least one slice to a play count greater than zero, or delete this cue that does nothing
anyway to clear this warning.

License required

An audio license is required to use more than the first two cue outputs, audio effects, or Timecode triggers. Install an audio license
or adjust the cue to avoid using licensed features to clear this warning.

1. Requires an Audio license. Without an Audio license installed, QLab recognizes the first two channels in an audio file.↩

2. While reasonable people may differ on the audible effects of sample rates above 48 kHz and bit depths above 24-bit, what is undebatable is
this: 96 kHz audio requires double the processing power of 48 kHz audio. We recommend avoiding sample rates above 48 kHz unless using
them is required by other equipment in your system.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Mic Cues 5.3

Mic Cues

Mic cues allow you to play live audio through QLab, using the same cueing, routing, and audio effects that are available to
Audio cues. The source of this live audio can be any audio input available to your Mac, including the built-in microphone, the
mic/line input jack, inputs on a connected audio interface, or incoming Dante or AVB channels. Mic cues run indefinitely (until
they are stopped, of course) unless you give them a finite duration.

macOS Security
macOS requires you to proactively grant permission to each program that wants to use any microphone or audio input device in
order to limit sneakiness and make it harder for programs to spy on you. You will need to grant QLab permission for microphone
access in order to use Mic cues. If you’re not automatically prompted to do this the first time you try, or if you need to change
QLab’s permission, you can do that by visiting System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone, finding QLab in the list, and
flipping the switch on or off.

The Inspector for Mic Cues

When a Mic cue is selected, the inspector shows the Basics tab and Triggers tab, used by all cues, as well as the following tabs:

The I/O Tab

The I/O tab lets you configure the cue’s audio source and destination, as well as the number of channels used by the cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Mic Cues 5.3

Audio Input. This pop-up menu allows you to select an audio input patch for the cue to use as the source of audio in the cue.
Clicking on the menu allows you to select one of the audio input patches already configured in the workspace, or (unpatched) if
you want to deliberately prevent the cue from passing any audio when it’s started. You can also choose Open Audio Settings to edit
patch list… to quickly get to Workspace Settings → Audio → Audio Inputs, or choose New patch with audio device to quickly
generate a new audio input patch and select it for use.

The Edit… button also opens Workspace Settings → Audio → Audio Inputs.

Format. This pair of pop-up menus allow you to configure the input channels of the cue. The first menu sets the number of
channels, which can be anywhere from 1 to the number of input channels available in the audio input patch, up to a maximum of 24.
In the screen shot above, you can see that the audio input patch uses a device with two inputs, so for this cue, the number of input
channels could be 1 or 2. The second menu sets the number of the first input that the cue should use, which can be anywhere from
1 to the number of input channels available.

Audio Output. This pop-up menu allows you to select an audio output patch for the cue to use. Clicking on the menu allows you to
select one of the audio output patches already configured in the workspace, or (unpatched) if you want to ensure that the cue
does not play when started. You can also choose Open Audio Settings to edit patch list… to quickly get to Workspace Settings →
Audio → Audio Outputs, or choose New patch with audio device to quickly generate a new audio patch and select it for use.

The Edit… button opens the audio output patch editor for the currently selected audio output patch, for quick access.

Format displays the number of channels and sample rate of the audio device used by the selected audio output patch. Note that
for virtual audio devices such as Existential Audio’s BlackHole or the venerable Soundflower, the sample rate may not display
accurately at all times, or even at all. Virtual devices are not always able to provide this information; it’s not necessarily a sign of a
problem.

Using different devices for input and output

In QLab 5, Mic cues (and Camera cues) can use different audio devices for incoming audio and outgoing audio. In order to
compensate for differences in clocking and sample rates between the input and output device, QLab applies a synchronization
algorithm which guarantees that the maximum drift between audio input and audio output stays within a very small, predicable
range. The range is defined by this simple equation:

Maximum drift ≤ (buffer size of input audio device) + (buffer size of output audio device) + (very small safety margin)1

A two-hour test2 which recorded audio passing through QLab using this algorithm measured the total range of drift between the
input and output between 0 and 3 milliseconds. That’s not nothing, to be sure, but it’s comfortably below the threshold of
human perception for most use cases.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Mic Cues 5.3

The Levels Tab

The Levels tab behaves the same as the Levels tab for Audio cues.

The Trim Tab

The Trim tab behaves the same as the Trim tab for Audio cues.

The Audio FX Tab

The Audio FX tab behaves the same as the Audio FX tab for Audio cues.

Broken Mic Cues

Mic cues can become broken for the following reasons:

No microphone access

QLab has not been given permission to access audio inputs. To clear this warning, open System Preferences → Security & Privacy,
then click on the Privacy tab and select Microphone from the list on the left. Then, find QLab in the list on the right and check the
box next to it. This step typically does not need to be repeated, but may need to be if you completely uninstall and then reinstall
QLab or perform a major macOS version update on your Mac.

Audio input patch does not have enough input channels

The cue has been configured to use more channels than the input device has available. Either select an audio input patch which
uses a device with enough input channels, or reduce the number of channels used in the cue to clear this warning.

Missing cue audio effect

The cue has an audio effect assigned, but that AudioUnit is not installed. Either remove the audio effect from the cue or install the
missing AudioUnit to clear this warning.

No audio input patch

The cue has no audio input patch assigned. Assign an audio input patch to clear this warning.

Issue with audio input patch

The cue has an audio input patch assigned, but something is wrong with it. The audio input patch will have warnings of its own,
listed in the Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window, which you can use to figure out what’s wrong with it. Either fix the audio
input patch or select a new audio input patch to clear this warning.

No audio output patch

The cue has no audio output patch assigned. Assign an audio output patch to clear this warning.

Issue with audio output patch

The cue has an audio output patch assigned, but something is wrong with it. The audio output patch will have warnings of its own,
listed in the Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window, which you can use to figure out what’s wrong with it. Either fix the audio
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Mic Cues 5.3

output patch or select a new audio output patch to clear this warning.

License required

An audio license is required to use Mic cues. Install an audio license or remove the cue to clear this warning.

1. The “very small safety margin” is determined by CoreAudio, the low-level macOS framework that QLab uses for everything audio-related, and
is not a specific value that QLab can know. It is larger for devices that use higher sample rates and bit depths, and smaller for lower sample
rates and bit depths, and in any case it truly is quite small; somewhere in the sub-millisecond range.↩
2. In this test, the output device was set to 24-bit depth at a 48 kHz sample rate, and the input device was set to 24-bit depth at a 44.1 kHz
sample rate. The devices were each configured to use their own internal clock, and were not configured as an aggregate audio device.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - The Audio Output Patch Editor 5.4

The Audio Output Patch Editor

The Audio Output Patch Editor, which is available on Macs with an Audio (or Bundle) license installed, allows you to customize the
configuration, labeling, and behavior of an audio output patch. This allows you to create complex routing, matrixing, and output
processing entirely within QLab.

To open the Audio Output Patch Editor, visit Workspace Settings → Audio → Audio Outputs, then click the Edit button next to the
audio output patch that you wish to edit. Alternately, you can select to any cue which uses the audio output patch, navigate to the
I/O tab of the inspector, and click the Edit… button on the right side next to the audio output patch menu, or navigate to the
Levels tab of the inspector and click the Edit Audio Patch button.

At the top of the Audio Output Patch Editor are three controls:

The Patch Name field lets you edit the name of the patch.

The Cue Outputs field lets you adjust the number of cue outputs in the patch.

– The Audio Device pop-up menu lets you select the audio device used by the patch.

Audio output patches can have anywhere from one to 128 cue outputs. Larger patches require more computing power to run, so
it’s best to set this number as low as your design allows. Otherwise, QLab will have to expend processing power to look after
outputs that you aren’t using, thus reducing the amount of processing power available to do things like play cues and render
effects.

Below these controls are three tabs: Cue Outputs, Patch Routing, and Device Outputs.

In the lower left corner of the window is a pop-up menu labeled Set from other patch or defaults… which allows you to copy
settings from other audio output patches in the workspace, or reset settings to QLab’s defaults. The menu contains four items,
which together make up the entirety of the contents of the three tabs of the Audio Output Patch Editor.

In the lower right corner is a button labeled Done which commits the changes you’ve made, and closes the window.

The Cue Outputs tab

QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - The Audio Output Patch Editor 5.4

Each row in this tab represents one cue output; cue outputs are the columns in the cue matrix mixer found in the Levels tab of the
inspector for Audio, Mic, Video, and Fade cues.

You can rename cue outputs by editing the text field which defaults to the number of the cue output. The text you enter will
appear beneath the output sliders in the Levels tab of the inspector. There’s not a lot of space there, so it’s best to use fairly brief
names. You can type ⌥return while editing to add a second line of text inside the text field.

To the right of the text fields are two pop-up menus which say Add effect… and 1 channel. The first menu allows you to choose an
available AudioUnit effect to insert on the cue output. All AudioUnits installed on the Mac which appear to be compatible with
QLab will be listed under the drop-down.

Some AudioUnits, notably Apple’s AUMatrixReverb, only work when they’re supplied with two channels of input, so for this reason
the 1 channel menu can be used to group a cue output with the following cue output. This grouping-together is only relevant to
AudioUnits on cue outputs, and has no effect anywhere else in QLab.

AudioUnits inserted on cue outputs appear in the area to the right of the pop-up menus. Effects are applied in order, left to right,
and the number of effects per output is limited only by the processing power of your computer.

The Patch Routing tab

QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - The Audio Output Patch Editor 5.4

The matrix mixer in this tab allows you to do the actual routing of cue outputs to device outputs. Rows in this matrix mixer
represent cue outputs and columns represent device outputs. The number of rows is dictated by the number of cue outputs in the
patch, from 1 to 128, and the number of columns in the matrix mixer is dictated by the number of outputs on the device that is
assigned to the patch.

The overall volume of all audio sent through the audio output patch can be adjusted using the main level control in the top left
corner of this matrix mixer.

Any cue output can be routed to any device output, or to any combinations of device outputs. You can, for example, route two
different cue outputs to one device output, and use effects on only one of the cue outputs in order to effectively create an
auxiliary effects send for that output.

The Device Outputs tab

QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - The Audio Output Patch Editor 5.4

Each row in this tab represents one device output, which are the outputs made available by your audio device.

Device outputs cannot be named in QLab, but other than that the Device Outputs tab works precisely the same way as the Cue
Outputs tab.

Signal Flow In QLab

This illustration demonstrates the signal flow of audio through QLab for a basic Audio cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - The Audio Output Patch Editor 5.4

In this example, the file target of the cue named “Birds and crickets” is a two-channel WAV file named forest atmo, birds,
crickets.wav . The audio from the first channel of this audio file is represented by the purple arrow, and the second channel is
represented by the yellow arrow.

Starting the the Levels tab of the inspector for the cue, the first channel of the target audio file goes from input 1 of the Audio
cue, through crosspoint (1,1), and out through cue output 1.

Then, in the Patch Routing tab of the Audio Output Patch editor, the signals sent from cues to cue output 1 are received at input 1,
routed through crosspoint (1,1), and out through device output 1.

Device output 1 represents the XLR output on the physical audio device, which can be verified using the Audio MIDI Setup
application found in Applications → Utilities.

This routing can, of course, be changed as needed; these are only the default settings.

Audio Output Patch Warnings

Audio Output Patches can become broken or warned for the following reasons:

No audio output device selected.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - The Audio Output Patch Editor 5.4

The audio output patch has not had an audio device assigned to it, so it has nowhere to send audio. Assign an audio device to
the patch in order to clear this warning.

Audio output device missing.

The audio device being used by the audio output patch cannot be seen by QLab, most likely because it’s been turned off or
unplugged, or because of some other problem within the device. Reconnect, turn on, or otherwise troubleshoot the audio device
assigned to the patch in order to clear this warning.

Audio device has no outputs.

The audio output patch has been set to use an audio device with no output channels, such as the built-in microphone in most
Macs. Assign an audio device with at least one output channel to clear this warning.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Fading Audio & Audio Effects 5.5

Fading Audio & Audio Effects

The Fading Audio tutorial is a hands-on exploration of the topics discussed in this section.

A Fade cue can be used to adjust the volume levels of a targeted Audio, Mic, Video, Camera cue, or an audio output
patch.

Fade cues can also adjust video parameters of Video cues, Camera cues, and Text cues. When a Fade cue is
selected, the inspector will only show the tabs relevant to the type of cue that the Fade cue is targeting.

The word “fade” can often be taken to mean one thing or another, but in QLab “fade” simply means “change a value over time.”

Fade cues require a cue target or a patch target, have a duration, and must adjust at least one level or parameter of their cue
target in order to be considered functional.

The Inspector for Fade Cues

The tabs shown in the inspector when a Fade cue is selected vary based on the Fade cue’s target.

The Basics Tab

The Basics tab is always visible, but has a small but important difference from how the Basics tab usually appears.

Because Fade cues can target both cues and patches, a pop-up menu appears next to the Target field to switch between cue
targeting and patch targeting. When Patch is selected from this menu, a second pop-up menu appears which allows you to select
the patch that you want to fade.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Fading Audio & Audio Effects 5.5

The Triggers Tab

The Triggers tab is always visible and behaves the same way that it always does.

The following tabs are visible when an Audio cue, Mic cue, or audio output patch are the target of the Fade cue:

The Curve Tab

The fade curve, drawn in yellow on the right side of the tab, determines the rate of change of the parameters being faded. The
curve on the left is for levels which increased by the fade, and the curve on the right is for levels which are decreased by the fade.

The horizontal axis of the curve represents time and the labels across the top will change based on the duration of the Fade
cue. The vertical axis represents percentage of the total change made by the Fade cue. For the rising curve, the one of the left,
the bottom left corner represents the beginning of the fade, which is to say “time = 0, completion = 0%.” The top right corner
represents the end of the fade, or “time = (duration of the Fade cue), completion = 100%.” For the falling curve, the top left corner
represents the beginning and the bottom right corner represents the end.

The curve shape that appears by default is set according to the Fade cue’s cue template, but you can choose another fade
shape from the pop-up menu in the top left corner of the tab.

There are five options for Fade curve shapes:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Fading Audio & Audio Effects 5.5

S-Curve. QLab’s default curve shape follows an “ease-in, ease-out” envelope designed to sound natural with audio levels and
look smooth with video geometry.
Custom Curve. This option allows you to click anywhere along the fade curve and a create control points, which can be
dragged to change the shape of the curve. Moving control points will smoothly bend the curve in the direction of the control
point. To delete a control point, click on it to select it and press the delete key on your keyboard. To start over entirely, click
Reset to Default Shape in the bottom left corner of the tab. The lock button between the two curves allows you to mirror
the left and right curves. When the curves are locked, any change to either curve will apply to both curves.

Parametric Curve. This option adds a text field labeled Intensity below the pop-up menu which allows you to use a
mathematically precise parametric fade shape.
Linear Curve. This option is similar to the custom curve option but instead of smoothly ending the curve, control points create
a precise, sharp bend. To delete a control point, click on it to select it and press the delete key on your keyboard. To start over
entirely, click Reset to Default Shape in the bottom left corner of the tab. The lock button between the two curves allows
you to mirror the left and right curves. When the curves are locked, any change to either curve will apply to both curves.
2D Path. This option is not yet available for Fade cues which target Audio or Mic cues.

Both the rising and the falling curve use the same fade shape type, but if you use custom curve or linear curve you can create
individual curve shapes for each.

The Audio Domain pop-up menu lets you choose the scale that QLab uses to fade audio levels. This pop-up is only relevant to
fading audio levels; it has no effect on any other parameters, and no effect on audio levels when they are not being actively faded.
There are three options for the audio domain:

Slider domain. The slider domain emulates the design of physical sound consoles, maximizing the useful range of audible levels
and making a straight fade sound as smooth and natural as possible.

Decibel domain. The decibel domain uses a logarithmic scale.

Linear domain. The linear domain uses a linear scale.

Equal Power and Equal Gain fades

To create an equal power fade, use a parametric curve with audio in the linear domain.

To create an equal gain fade, use a linear curve with audio in the linear domain.

The Levels Tab

The Levels tab allows you to specify which audio levels you wish to fade, and what their final volume will be. You can specify a
different volume for each level, and one Fade cue can fade as many different levels as you like.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Fading Audio & Audio Effects 5.5

The left side of the Levels tab contains a few setup tools:

Set Levels from Target. Clicking this button will invoke the paste cue properties sheet in a special way. First, it will behave as
though the target cue was selected and copied, and second it will automatically select the “Audio” set of properties to paste. You
can choose other properties if you like, but if you simply hit the enter key, QLab will paste the levels from the target cue onto the
Fade cue. This is a convenient way to get started building a fade, as it will help you keep track of the starting point from which
you will be fading. Using the keyboard shortcut ⇧⌘T will set levels from the target cue without invoking the sheet.

Set All Silent Levels. Clicking this button will return the Fade cue to a pristine state, with no levels set to change.

Assign Gangs. This button behaves the same way as it does in an Audio cue.

Stop Target When Done. If this box is checked, the target cue will stop once the fade is complete. If the box is unchecked, the
target cue will continue to run after the fade is complete.

Absolute Fade. This drop-down menu lets you choose between an absolute fade, which is QLab’s default, and a relative fade.
Relative fades are discussed in detail below.

Preview. This button provides quick access and a visual reference to the live fade preview setting.

When the Fade cue targets a cue, the right side of the Levels tab contains a cue matrix mixer which shows the same number of
input rows as the Fade’s target cue with the same input names. When the Fade cue targets a patch, it shows a matrix mixer
which duplicates the Patch Routing tab of the target patch.

Adjusting any level in the matrix mixer will turn it yellow, which means that level is “active.” When the Fade cue is run, any active
levels will be faded. Inactive (grey) levels will remain untouched. You can activate or deactivate a level by clicking on it.

Audio levels are specified in decibels (dBFS). The default range of volumes in QLab is +12 dB to -60 dB . The lower volume limit is
regarded as silent, and displayed as -INF. You can change the volume limits if your workspace in Workspace Settings → Audio

The Audio FX Tab

In addition to adjusting audio levels, Fade cues can be used to adjust any audio effects on their target cue. When you apply an
audio effect to a cue, any Fade cues which target that cue will automatically recognize the effects you’ve applied, and those
effects will be listed in the Audio FX tab of the inspector for the Fade cue. By default, the checkbox next to an effect will be
unchecked, meaning that the Fade cue will not adjust parameters of that effect. To adjust an effect with the Fade cue, just
check the box next to the effect.

Unlike fading audio levels, there is no way to activate or deactivate individual parameters of an audio effect in a fade. You can only
fade the entire audio effect from one “state” to another. Thus, to avoid accidentally adjusting more parameters than you intend,
you can click Set Audio FX from Target to copy the state of the audio effect from the target cue and paste it into the Fade cue.
Otherwise, the levels in the Fade cue will default to the built-in default state for that audio effect.

Once you’ve done that, or elected not to, you can click the Edit button for the effect to adjust the effect.

It’s important to understand that when you click Edit to view the effect, you’re not opening the same window as when you click Edit
in the target cue. The title bar of the effect window will show the cue name and number of the cue it belongs to, but nevertheless it
can be difficult to keep track of which edit window you’re looking at. Take your time and be sure that you’re making changes in the
place you intend.

With the effect editor window open, you can make any adjustments you wish to the effect. This is a situation in which Live fade
preview can be very helpful. It’s turned on by default, but if you’ve turned it off, consider turning it back on when adjusting audio
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Fading Audio & Audio Effects 5.5

effects in a Fade cue. That way, you can make adjustments in the Fade cue while the target cue is running, so that you can
hear those adjustments in real time.

When you’re done, close the editor window.

Now, when you run the Fade cue, the parameters you adjusted will smoothly fade from their initial values, set in the target cue,
to the values you set in the Fade cue.

While AudioUnits can also be placed on Cue Outputs and on Device Outputs, Fade cues cannot adjust those effects. You can
learn more about effects on outputs from the the Audio Output Patch Editor section of this manual.

Fading Rate
If the target of the Fade cue is an Audio cue or a Video cue, the Audio Effects tab of the inspector also lets you fade the
playback rate of the target cue by checking the box labeled Fade rate to, and setting a target rate.

The maximum playback rate in QLab is 33 , or 33× normal speed, and the minimum is 0.03 .

Relative Fades
By default, Fade cues are Absolute. This means that any parameters that you adjust with a Fade cue will arrive at their final
levels regardless of their status before the Fade cue runs. If you use a Fade cue to set the main level of a target Audio cue
to -12 , then the main level of that Audio cue will end up at -12 after running the Fade no matter where that level was set.

However, using the pop-up menu on the left side of the Levels tab, you can set a Fade cue to be a relative fade. Instead of
setting levels to a specific value, relative fades add or subtract a given amount to the active parameters, so the starting point of
those parameters very much matters. When set to relative, the cue’s icon changes to the relative form.

In this screen shot, the Fade cue raises the main level of its target cue by 20 db . So if the main level of target cue were set at
-40 , running this Fade cue would bring the main level to -20 . If the main level of the target cue were set at -10 , running this
Fade cue would bring the main level to +10 .

Be very careful with relative fades that raise levels. If, for example, you were to create a relative Fade cue to raise the main level
of an Audio cue from a very soft level, say -50 , up to -10 , you’d need a relative Fade cue with a level change of +40 . If you
accidentally ran that Fade cue twice, QLab would attempt to fade the main level of that Audio cue to +30 , which is rather
loud!

To help protect you against this, QLab has a maximum level which is set in Workspace Settings → Audio. By default, this is set to
+12 , meaning that in the example above, the Audio cue would end up at +12 , not +30 . Depending on the gain structure of
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Fading Audio & Audio Effects 5.5

your sound system, though, this may still be uncomfortably or even dangerously loud.

In QLab 4, using an absolute Fade cues on a parameter that had previously been adjusted by a relative Fade cue could have
unpredictable results. In QLab 5, however, absolute fades supersede relative ones. In QLab 5, an absolute fade is absolutely more
absolute.

Routing and Panning

While fading in, fading out, and adjusting the overall volume of an Audio cue are probably the most common uses of a Fade
cue, you can also use a Fade cue to pan an Audio cue amongst any pair or group of outputs.

The best way to understand this is to walk through a simple example. Let’s say you have an Audio cue whose file target is a mono
audio file, and you want to pan that audio from one speaker to another. QLab will recognize the track has one channel, and one row
will appear in the Levels tab of the inspector for that Audio cue.

In the Audio cue, set the level for the cue output that’s routed to the first speaker to 0 , and set the level for cue output that’s
routed to the second speaker to -INF. Note that QLab treats a blank field in this cue matrix mixer as -INF.

Next, create a Fade cue which targets the Audio cue, and reverse the levels: set the first output to -INF and the second output
to 0 .

When you run the Audio cue, you will hear it exclusively through cue output 1. When you run the Fade cue, it will fade down in
output 1 and fade up in output 2 over the same duration.

If you watch the Levels tab of the target Audio cue while the runs, you’ll see the meters in the cue outputs (though not the
controls themselves) change in realtime.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Fading Audio & Audio Effects 5.5

Remember too that one Fade cue can affect as many controls as you wish. If you have a track with four channels instead of just
one, and you have seven speakers instead of two, you can enter values in the matrix or adjust the sliders to have different channels
come up or down in different outputs.

A key concept here is that if multiple Fade cues share a target, but each Fade cue has different active controls, then those
Fade cues can run simultaneously without interfering with each other. Because of this, in the scenario with a four-channel Audio
cue fading amongst seven speakers, very complex fades can be achieved by using simultaneous Fade cues with different active
controls, different curve shapes, and different durations.

Reverting Fades
QLab has a sort of special-case undo command that applies only to Fade cues, called Revert Fade Action. You can find this
command under the Tools menu when a Fade cue is selected, or you can use the keyboard shortcut ⇧⌘R.

When Revert Fade Action is invoked on a Fade cue after that Fade cue has been run, QLab reverts the levels of that Fade
cue’s target to whatever they were before the Fade ran except for levels which have been otherwise changed. That is to say, the
only adjustments that are reverted are the ones that the selected Fade cue caused.

Broken Fade Cues

Fade cues can become broken for the following reasons:

Missing cue target

Assign a target cue to this cue.

No parameters set to fade

Set this cue to adjust at least one parameter. You can enable or disable an audio parameter by clicking in it; active controls will be
highlighted in yellow. You can enable or disable a video parameter by checking or unchecking the box next to it.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Audio - Fading Audio & Audio Effects 5.5

Missing cue audio effect

Either install the missing audio effect and restart QLab, or remove the missing effect from the Audio FX tab of the inspector of the
target cue.

License required

An audio or video license is required to fade playback rate, fade audio effects, fade patches, or use Timecode triggers. A video
license is required to fade video geometry or video effects. Install the appropriate type of license or adjust the cue to avoid using
licensed features to clear this warning.
Chapter 6: Video

6.1 Intro to Video

6.2 Video Cues
6.3 Camera Cues
6.4 Text Cues
6.5 Video Output
6.6 Using NDI
6.7 Fading Video & Video Effects
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Intro to Video 6.1

Intro to Video

QLab 5’s video system, built on Apple’s Metal framework, gives you a powerful, flexible system for cueing, routing, and displaying still
and moving images. The input side gives you precise positioning and timing of both prerecorded and live imagery, while the output
side gives you sophisticated pixel-perfect control over how your video is displayed on monitors, televisions, projectors, LED walls,
Syphon servers, and NDI feeds.

A note on style

This manual follows the nomenclature used in professional theater in the US, where “projection” is taken to mean any form of video or film
used in a live theatrical performance. Whether the imagery is moving or still, digital or analogue, displayed via a projector, a TV, an LED wall,
or a projection-enabled intelligent light, it’s all grouped together under the name “projection design.” In QLab, Video, Camera, and
Text cues are the types of cues that deal with projection. “Screen” means any physical device that displays the contents of these cues.
The words “screen” and “display” are used more or less interchangeably.

Sources Of Video

Video cues play back prerecorded video or still images stored on your Mac.

Camera cues display live video from webcams, Blackmagic Design video capture devices, Syphon servers, and NDI streams.

Text cues render styled text as still images using fonts installed on your Mac.

Output Of Video

QLab’s video output patches are called stages. Cues are assigned to stages, and then stages are rendered onto one or more actual
video output devices, with a few intermediary steps in between. You may not need to use every feature that’s available in every one
of these steps, but taken together they afford the maximum possible flexibility.

The signal path for video goes like this:

1. Cues receive a source of video and display it on a stage.

2. Stages are divided into regions, which cover some or all of the stage.

3. Each region is assigned to exactly one output route.

4. Each output route represents exactly one output device.
5. Output devices are connections to physical video displays like monitors and projectors, Syphon outputs, and NDI outputs.

QLab can use any or all of the following as output devices:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Intro to Video 6.1

Any display that appears in the Displays section of System Preferences.

Outputs of Blackmagic Design devices.

Any number of Syphon outputs1.

Any number of NDI outputs1.

While it’s possible that USB DisplayLink displays will also work with QLab, we do not recommend nor do we support using them
because of their many unpredictable variables. Likewise, AirPlay is not supported in QLab due to its variable latency.

Most Macs these days use USB-C connections for video, a thorough discussion of which can be found in the USB-C tutorial in this
manual.

Sizes and Shapes

Many media servers have ties to the cinema or broadcast worlds, in which the size and shape of a video signal conforms to an exact
standard. You may be familiar with terms like “standard definition”, “1080p”, or “4K”; these are all terms for video standards that
have specific resolutions, aspect ratios, frame rates, and other attributes.

QLab is completely agnostic when it comes to these standards. Video cues can play any compatible media file onto any stage,
without the need to preemptively match resolution or frame rate.

When you create or edit a stage, you can set its width and height to suit your exact needs2. If the stage you create is larger than the
size of the imagery you project onto it, the surrounding area will be filled with black pixels. If the stage is smaller than the imagery,
the imagery will simply extend off the “canvas” of the stage. Individual cues can be scaled up or down to fit on any surface.

Frame rate is another question that you pretty much don’t need to worry about in QLab. Cues’ sources can have any frame rate;
they do not need to match the frame rate of the output device or devices in use. You can even display multiple cues on the same
stage at the same time with different frame rates. While it’s impossible to guarantee that there will never be visible artifacts if you
have extreme mismatches between frame rates, generally speaking the Mac does a very good job of invisibly handling the necessary
computation.

Take Your Time

As has been said in other parts of this manual, the secret to success with projection design is time. Give yourself time to
experiment, time to troubleshoot, and time to learn the powers and limitations of your Mac.

1. Limited by your computer’s resources.↩

2. Up to a maximum of 16384 × 16384 pixels.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Cues 6.2

Video Cues

Video cues allow you to play video and still images files with precise control over timing, opacity, scale, position on screen, and
3D rotation, and with a full suite of effects and blending tools. Video cues must have a file target, which is a video or image file on
your computer, and must be assigned to a stage, which connects QLab to a video output destination such as a projector, screen,
LED wall, or a virtual output device such as Syphon or NDI. When a Video cue has a still image as a target, it will run indefinitely
(until they are stopped, of course) unless you give it a finite duration.

Video Files

Unlike audio files, video files have two attributes that determine whether they are compatible with QLab. The first attribute is the
codec used by the file. Codec is short for either “compressor/decompressor” or “code/decode” and it describes the way that
video data is encoded in the file. The second attribute is the container format used by the file. The container is like an envelope
which contains the video, its audio tracks, and metadata about the media.

The following codecs are compatible with QLab 5 for moving images:

MPEG-1

MPEG-2
MPEG-4
H.263

H.264
H.265, also called HEVC
ProRes 422 Proxy

ProRes 422 LT
ProRes 422
ProRes 422 HQ
ProRes 4444

ProRes 4444 XQ
Photo-JPEG
DV/DVCPRO NTSC

DVCPRO50 NTSC
DV PAL
DVCPRO PAL

DVCPRO50 PAL
Hap Standard
Hap Alpha

Hap Q
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Cues 6.2

Recommended codecs
While all those codecs technically work with the underlying video frameworks that power QLab 5, the following codecs give the
best performance in QLab for moving images without transparency (listed in preferential order):

1. ProRes 422 Proxy

2. Hap Standard

3. ProRes 422 LT
4. Hap Q
5. Photo-JPEG

If you require better picture quality, you can also use ProRes 422 or ProRes 422 HQ. These codecs provide sharper images at the
cost of greater processing power, and require exceptionally good video output equipment and viewing conditions to be worthwhile.

For moving images with transparency, we recommend one of the following codecs (listed in preferential order):

1. ProRes 4444

2. Hap Alpha

If you require better picture quality with transparency, you can use ProRes 4444 XQ. The same disclaimer applies; ProRes 4444 HQ
provides superlative picture quality, requires dramatically more processing power, and is not worth it unless you have absolutely
top-quality equipment and viewing conditions.

Videos with transparency (alpha channel)

Videos with transparency, also called alpha channel support, must be rendered with premultiplied alpha to work properly in QLab.
Premultiplying alpha is a rendering option in all video editing and compositing software, and is what allows partially transparent
areas to accurately composite within QLab.

We strongly recommend against using Adobe Media Encoder, because it does not reliably produce files that play nicely with QLab.
If you edit in Adobe Premiere or After Effects, use the built-in export tools from those programs. In After Effects, the composition’s
background color must be set to black for premultiplied alpha output to look correct.

Apple’s Compressor is the best tool for transcoding pre-existing videos.

Other codecs
The following codecs generally work well, but perform especially poorly when sped up, slowed down, or when scrubbing forward or
back:

1. H.265
2. H.264

All other compatible video formats are not recommended, even though they may work, or appear to work, with QLab 5.

Containers
The following containers are recommended for use with QLab 5 for moving images:

MOV

MP4
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Cues 6.2

Other container formats may work, but are not recommended because they are more likely to contain incompatible codecs or
other data.

Still image formats

Most still image formats work with QLab 5, but we recommend PNG and JPG files. QLab 5 does not support PSD or PDF formats.

The Inspector for Video Cues

When a Video cue is selected, the inspector shows the Basics tab and Triggers tab, used by all cues, as well as the following tabs:

The I/O Tab

The I/O tab lets you assign a target video file and video output, and view details about them as well.

File Target. If a target video file is assigned, this field shows the path to that file. You can double-click on the field to select a file
target, or you can drag and drop a file in from the Finder.

Clicking the button removes the file target from the cue (though it does not delete the file itself, of course.)

Clicking the button reveals the file target in the Finder.

These controls are also visible in the Basics tab; you can use either one or both interchangeably.

Video Format displays the type of codec, pixel dimensions, and frame rate of the video in the file target.

Clock. This pop-up menu allows you to select the clock that will be used to set the timing for the playback of this cue.

Follow video clock prioritizes the timing and smoothness of video playback by using the display clock to control playback
timing.1 This generally results in the best-looking playback, but can possibly reduce the accuracy with which this cue
synchronizes with any other cues which don’t use the same display clock. Notably, if this cue has an audio track and uses the
video clock for timing, it is not guaranteed that it will remain in sync with other cues using the same audio output patch.
Follow audio clock prioritizes the timing and smoothness of audio playback by using the clock of the audio device used by the
audio output patch that the cue is using. This causes the cue to stay in perfect synchronization with other cues that use the
same audio output patch, but can result in occasional visible timing imperfections which usually look like a single skipped or
repeated frame.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Cues 6.2

Audio Format displays the codec, number of channels, and sample rate of the audio encoded within the video file. If you are using
a video file with multiple video tracks, a pop-up menu appears here allowing you to select which audio track you’d like to use.

Each item in the menu displays the codec, number of channels, channel layout2, and sample rate of the audio encoded in each
track.

Video Output. This pop-up menu allows you to assign the cue to a stage, which is QLab’s video output mechanism. Every Video
cue must be assigned to exactly one stage, and the way that the stage is configured defines how the imagery will ultimately be
displayed. You can learn more about stages from the Video Output section of this manual. Clicking on the menu allows you to
select one of the stages already configured in the workspace, or (unpatched) if you want to ensure that the cue does not play when
started. You can also choose Open Video Settings to edit stage list… to quickly get to Workspace Settings → Video → Video Outputs,
or choose New stage with video route to quickly generate a new stage and select it for use.

The Monitor button opens the monitor window for the selected stage.

To the right of that button, QLab displays the pixel dimensions of the selected stage. QLab always displays the actual pixel
dimensions, not the effective point size, so for Retina displays, these numbers may be considerably higher than the resolution
reported in System Preferences.

To the right of that, the Edit… button opens the video stage editor for the currently selected stage.

Audio Output. This pop-up menu allows you to select an audio output patch for the cue to use. Clicking on the menu allows you to
select one of the audio output patches already configured in the workspace, or (unpatched) if you want to ensure that the cue
does not play when started. You can also choose Open Audio Settings to edit patch list… to quickly get to Workspace Settings →
Audio → Audio Outputs, or choose New patch with audio device to quickly generate a new audio output patch and select it for use.

To the right of that menu, QLab displays the sample rate of the audio device associated with the audio output patch.

To the right of that, the Edit… button opens the audio output patch editor for the currently selected audio output patch.

The Geometry Tab

The Geometry tab lets you adjust the basic visible parameters of the cue. There are two forms the Geometry tab can take,
depending upon the mode of the cue.

Fill Stage mode

If the Mode pop-up menu is set to Fill Stage, the Geometry tab looks like this. Cues set to Fill Stage can be displayed in one of
three styles, which can be set using the Style pop-up menu just to the right and below the Mode pop-up menu. The three styles
are Fit, Fill, and Stretch.

Fit
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Cues 6.2

A cue using the Fit style will be symmetrically scaled as large as possible to display the entire image without changing the aspect
ratio of the cue’s file target. If the aspect ratio of the cue’s file target is different than the aspect ratio of the stage, there will be
blank space to the sides or above and below. QLab does not fill this space with black pixels; if there is a cue on a lower layer that
truly fills the stage, it will be seen in these empty spaces.

Fill

A cue using the Fill style will be symmetrically scaled to fill every pixel of the stage without changing the aspect ratio of the cue’s
file target. If the aspect ratio of the cue’s file target is different than the aspect ratio of the stage, either the sides or the top and
bottom of the image will fall outside the bounds of the stage, and will therefore not be displayed.

Stretch

A cue using the Stretch style will be asymmetrically scaled to fill every pixel of the stage. If the aspect ratio of the cue’s file target is
different than the aspect ratio of the stage, the image will be stretched either horizontally or vertically.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Cues 6.2

Opacity sets the opacity of the cue on a scale of 0%, meaning fully transparent, to 100%, meaning fully opaque. Transparency in
the target media is not altered by this control; if a cue’s target has transparent pixels, they remain transparent when the cue is set
to 100% opacity. The button resets the cue’s opacity to its default value.

The Smooth checkbox determines whether the cue will be drawn using smooth anti-aliased scaling or nearest-neighbor scaling.
Leaving the box checked will smooth out the jagged edges that can appear when images are scaled up. Unchecking the box will
keep the sharp edges, which can sometimes be preferable depending upon your aesthetic goals.

Layer sets the stacking order of the cue relative to other cues assigned to the same stage.

QLab has 1001 layers: top is the layer closest to the viewer. Layer 999 is directly beneath, then layers continue downwards to
1 , then bottom . Any cues assigned to the top layer will play on top of all other currently running cues. Any cues assigned to the
bottom layer will play beneath all other currently running cues. Cues assigned to the same layer as each other will stack in the
order in which they are started. So, for example, if you have three cues assigned to layer 10 , whichever cue is started last will
appear on top of the other two, but any cue assigned to layer 11 (or higher) will appear on top of all three cues on layer 10 ,
regardless of the order in which those cues are started. Similarly, any cue on layer 9 (or lower) will appear beneath all three of the
cues on layer 10 .

Custom mode

If the Mode pop-up menu is set to Custom, the Geometry tab looks like this. Cues display at their natural pixel dimensions, and
several more controls appear to allow you to customize the appearance of the cue. To the right, a thumbnail of the cue appears
within a blue box. The blue box represents the stage that the cue is assigned to.

Crop. The four text fields of the crop parameter allow you to trim or shutter in from the four sides of the cue. Each text field
represents one edge (top, bottom, left, right), and the number is the number of pixels to crop off counting from the edge towards
the center of the cue. The button resets the cue’s crop to its default value. Note: the crop parameter is not fade-able. If you
want to fade the crop of a cue, use the Shutter or Window video effect instead.

Translation is the position of the cue on the stage, measured in pixels relative to the center of the surface. A translation of (0, 0)
is centered, negative values are down and to the left, and positive values are up and to the right. You can also adjust the translation
by clicking and dragging the thumbnail of the cue. The button resets the cue’s translation to its default value.

Scale is the size of the cue relative to its natural pixel dimensions, expressed as a multiplier. 1.0 represents the natural size, 0.5
is half the natural size, 2.0 is double, and so on. If the lock icon between the scale fields is closed, the aspect ratio of the video
will be preserved while scaling. You can click the lock to unlock it and adjust the height and width independently. You can also
adjust scale by vertically scrolling on the thumbnail of the cue using your mouse, trackpad, or other pointing device. The button
resets the cue’s scale to its default value.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Cues 6.2

Rotation is the attitude of the cue in a virtual 3D space. You can click and drag on the (X) , (Y) , and (Z) buttons to manipulate the
cue’s rotation around the desired axis, or click on each and type values into the text field that appears. The button resets the
cue’s rotation to its default value.

A Word About Quaternions: QLab uses quaternion math to handle rotation of Video cues in 3D space. The advantage to quaternions is
that when fading a cue from one position to another, QLab will always produce smooth, natural motion. The tradeoff is that there is no
useful way to numerically display the current rotational position of a cue. Therefore, when you adjust the rotation of a cue, you’ll see
numbers in the pop-up which represent the degrees of single-axis rotation since you started this particular adjustment, not any sort of
absolute measure.

Anchor is the point around which a Video cue rotates, translates, and scales. The default anchor point is (0, 0) , which is the
center of the cue. Adjusting the anchor will change the way the cue moves when you adjust other geometry parameters. You can
also adjust the anchor by clicking and dragging the light blue cross in the thumbnail of the cue. The button resets the cue’s
anchor to its default value.

The Time & Loops Tab

The Time & Loops tab behaves the same as the Time & Loops tab for Audio cues, with one small but important additional control.

Underneath the waveform view, towards the right side of the window, is a checkbox labeled Hold at end. If this box is checked,
when the Video cue plays and reaches its final frame, that final frame will remain visible and the cue will remain active until
stopped.

If the Hold at end box is not checked, the cue will stop itself after it reaches its last frame.

The Levels Tab

The Levels tab only appears if the file target of the cue contains an audio track. If so, this tab behaves the same as the Levels tab
for Audio cues.

If the target video file contains channel layout metadata, that metadata will be used to name the input channels in the mixer. For
example, the video file targeted by the cue in the screen shot below has a 5.1 surround track, with channels for left, right, center,
low frequency element (subwoofer), left surround, and right surround.

These names can be edited using the Inputs button. Editing the names will only change the names inside QLab; the metadata in
the video file will not be changed.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Cues 6.2

The Trim Tab

The Trim tab only appears if the file target of the cue contains an audio track. If so, this tab behaves the same as the Trim tab for
Audio cues.

The Audio FX Tab

The Audio FX tab only appears if the file target of the cue contains an audio track. If so, this tab behaves the same as the Audio FX
tab for Audio cues.

The Video FX Tab

The Video FX tab lets you set the blend mode of the cue and add live video effects to the cue.

Blend Modes
The blend mode of a Video cue, selected using the Blend Mode pop-up menu, dictates the way that the cue interacts and
combines with other Video cues that occupy the same space on the stage. Blend modes are best understood as a per-pixel
mathematical operation which combines the values of each channel of a given pixel in the “foreground”, which is a cue on a higher
layer, with the values from the pixel in the same position in the “background”, or a cue on a lower layer. In this context, channel
values are represented on a scale from 0.0 to 1.0 in which 0.0 is off, and 1.0 is full brightness. A pure red pixel would be
represented as (1.0, 0.0, 0,0) . A pure white pixel would be (1.0, 1.0, 1.0).

The Blend Mode page of this manual contains descriptions and reference videos demonstrating the effects of the various blend modes
available in QLab 5. The Blend Mode Demo tutorial is a downloadable, hands-on copy of the workspace which was used to create those
reference videos.

Video Effects
The Add video effect… pop-up menu allows you to add a video effect to the cue. QLab 5 supports multiple video effects on a
single cue, and effects are rendered in the order in which they appear in the list. Video effects are “live”, meaning that they are
rendered on the spot, in realtime.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Cues 6.2

Please note that video effects can be extremely processor-intensive and can cause visible performance problems, sometimes even
on powerful Macs. Please take time to experiment with video effects and learn their idiosyncrasies before using them in a
production environment. That said, the underpinnings of the QLab 5 video system affords very good video effects performance,
particularly on Apple Silicon-based Macs.

When a video effect is selected, it is highlighted with a light grey border and its controls become visible on the right side of the
inspector. Each video effect has its own parameters which can be adjusted either by typing into their text fields or clicking and
dragging their sliders. Some video effect parameters use color swatch selectors which require a click to start editing.

Clicking Set Default Parameters will reset the currently visible video effect to its default state. Other video effects will not be
altered.

To remove a video effect from a cue, click the button next to its name.

A full list of available video effects and their parameters can be found in the Parameter Reference section of this manual.

Broken Video Cues

Video cues can become broken for the following reasons:

No video file selected

The cue has no target, and Video cues require a video or image file as a target. Select an appropriate file as the target of this
cue to clear this warning.

Missing video file

The cue had a file target assigned, but that file is missing. Perhaps the file was on a removable drive or network drive which is not
currently connected. Re-locate the file, or assign a new file target to clear this warning.

File target in Trash

The cue’s file target is in the Trash, and files in the Trash cannot be used. Either move the file target out of the Trash, or assign a
new file target to clear this warning.

File target lacks read permissions

This is a bit of a bizarre error that is technically possible, but very unusual. If the file target lacks read permissions, it cannot be
used. Since it cannot be used, though, it probably could not have been selected as a target in the first place. Despite this seeming
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Cues 6.2

paradox, it still is technically possible that this could happen, and so QLab tries to handle it. Fix the file target’s permissions, or
assign a new file target to clear this warning.

File target uses an incompatible codec

This is error is exceedingly unlikely, since QLab prevents you from choosing a file target which isn’t compatible. Still, it is technically
possible. Choose a new file target with a compatible codec to clear this warning.

File target is an incorrect size

The cue’s file target has a width or height greater than 16,000 pixels. Choose a file target with both a width and height of 16,000
pixels or smaller to clear this warning.

No video output stage

The cue has no video output stage assigned. Assign the cue to a stage to clear this warning.

Incomplete video output

The cue is assigned to a stage, but the stage is incompletely configured. Visit the Video Stage Editor to complete the configuration
of the stage and clear this warning.

No audio output patch

The file target has audio, but no audio output patch is assigned to the cue. Assign an audio output patch to clear this warning.

Issue with audio output patch

The cue has an audio output patch assigned, but something is wrong with it. The audio output patch will have warnings of its own,
listed in the Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window, which you can use to figure out what’s wrong with it. Either fix the audio
output patch or select a new audio output patch to clear this warning.

Missing cue audio effect

The cue has an audio effect assigned, but that AudioUnit is not installed. Either remove the audio effect from the cue or install the
missing AudioUnit to clear this warning.

Invalid slice play counts

The cue is sliced, and all slices have a play count of 0 . This means that no part of the file target will be played, which means the
cue effectively does nothing. Either set at least one slice to a play count greater than zero, or delete this cue that does nothing
anyway to clear this warning.

License required

A video license is required to use custom geometry, blend modes, video effects, audio effects, or Timecode triggers. Install a video
license or adjust the cue to avoid using licensed features to clear this warning.

1. When a Video cue is assigned to a stage that goes to only one output, QLab will use the clock associated with that output. When a Video cue
is assigned to a stage that goes to more than one output, QLab follows a slightly complex heuristic: if one output has a higher refresh rate
than all the others, QLab will use that output’s clock. If two or more outputs are tied for highest refresh rate, QLab will prioritize clocks
belonging to physical outputs (screens and projectors) over virtual outputs (NDI and Syphon.) If two or more outputs are still tied for best
candidate, QLab picks one effectively at random.↩

2. The channel layout is provided by metadata within the video file, and may not always be available.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Camera Cues 6.3

Camera Cues
Camera cues allow you to display live video through QLab using the same cueing, routing, and video effects that are available to
Video cues. New to QLab 5, every Camera cue contains an embedded Mic cue which allows you to play live audio along
with the live video. The source of the live audio can either be the same device that’s providing the live video, or a different one.
Camera cues run indefinitely (until they are stopped, of course) unless you give them a finite duration.

Camera cues can use any of the following as sources of video:

Any USB video device class camera or input device. This includes most webcams and any video capture device that does not
require its own drivers or software to be installed.
Any IIDC-compliant camera or input device. These are typically referred to as DV devices[^1], and are FireWire-based which
means they are rather passé and hard to come by.
Any Blackmagic Design DeckLink, UltraStudio, or Intensity device.

Any Syphon source on your Mac.

Any NDI source available to your Mac via its local network.

macOS Security
macOS requires you to proactively grant permission to each program that wants to use a camera or any video input device in order
to limit sneakiness and make it harder for programs to spy on you. You will need to grant QLab permission for camera access in
order to use Camera cues. If you’re not automatically prompted to do this the first time you try, or if you need to change QLab’s
permission, you can do that by visiting System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera, finding QLab in the list, and flipping the
switch on or off.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Camera Cues 6.3

The Inspector for Camera Cues

When a Camera cue is selected, the inspector shows the Basics tab and Triggers tab, used by all cues, as well as the following
tabs:

The I/O Tab

The I/O tab lets you configure the cue’s source and destination for both video and audio, as well as the number of audio channels
used by the cue.

Video Input. This pop-up menu allows you to select a video input patch for the cue to use as its source of video. Clicking on the
menu allows you to select one of the video input patches already configured in the workspace, or (unpatched) if you want to
ensure that the cue does not play when started. You can also choose Open Camera Settings to edit patch list… to quickly get to
Workspace Settings → Video → Video Inputs, or choose New patch with camera device to quickly generate a new video input patch
and select it for use.

The Monitor button opens the monitor window for the selected video input patch, showing you an immediate live view of the input
from that patch.

The Edit… button opens Workspace Settings → Video → Video Inputs.

Audio Input. This pop-up menu allows you to select an audio input patch for the cue to use as the source of audio in the cue.
Clicking on the menu allows you to select one of the audio input patches already configured in the workspace, or (unpatched) if
you do not want the cue to handle audio. You can also choose Open Audio Settings to edit patch list… to quickly get to Workspace
Settings → Audio → Audio Inputs, or choose New patch with audio device to quickly generate a new audio input patch and select it
for use.

If the selected video input patch uses an NDI source, QLab automatically uses the audio from the NDI source as the audio input for
the cue. This input comes directly from NDI and does not use an audio input patch. Camera cues which use NDI sources for
video cannot be configured to use other sources of audio.

x input(s) starting at channel y. This pair of pop-up menus allow you to configure the audio input channels of the cue. The first
menu sets the number of channels, which can be anywhere from 1 to the number of input channels available in the audio input
patch, up to a maximum of 24. In the screen shot above, you can see that the audio input patch uses a device with only one inputs,
so for this cue, the number of input channels can only be 1. The second menu sets the number of the first input that the cue
should use, which can be anywhere from 1 to the number of input channels available.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Camera Cues 6.3

To the right of those menus, QLab displays the sample rate of the audio device used by the selected audio input patch. Note that
for virtual audio devices such as Existential Audio’s BlackHole or the venerable Soundflower, the sample rate may not display
accurately at all times, or even at all. Virtual devices are not always able to provide this information; it’s not necessarily a sign of a
problem.

The Edit… button opens Workspace Settings → Audio → Audio Inputs.

Video Output. This pop-up menu allows you to assign the cue to a stage, which is QLab’s video output mechanism. Every
Camera cue must be assigned to exactly one stage, and the way that the stage is configured defines how the imagery will ultimately
be displayed. You can learn more about stages from the Video Output section of this manual. Clicking on the menu allows you to
select one of the stages already configured in the workspace, or (unpatched) if you want to ensure that the cue does not play when
started. You can also choose Open Video Settings to edit stage list… to quickly get to Workspace Settings → Video → Video Outputs,
or choose New stage with video route to quickly generate a new stage and select it for use.

The Monitor button opens the monitor window for the selected stage.

To the right of that button, QLab displays the pixel dimensions of the selected stage. QLab always displays the actual pixel
dimensions, not the effective point size, so for Retina displays, these numbers may be considerably higher than the resolution
reported in System Preferences.

To the right of that, the Edit… button opens the video stage editor for the currently selected stage.

Audio Output. This pop-up menu allows you to select an audio output patch for the cue to use. Clicking on the menu allows you to
select one of the audio output patches already configured in the workspace, or (unpatched) if you want to ensure that the cue
does not play when started. You can also choose Open Audio Settings to edit patch list… to quickly get to Workspace Settings →
Audio → Audio Outputs, or choose New patch with audio device to quickly generate a new audio patch and select it for use.

To the right of those menus, QLab displays the sample rate of the audio device used by the selected audio input patch. Note that
for virtual audio devices such as Existential Audio’s BlackHole or the venerable Soundflower, the sample rate may not display
accurately at all times, or even at all. Virtual devices are not always able to provide this information; it’s not necessarily a sign of a
problem.

The Edit… button opens the audio output patch editor for the currently selected audio output patch, for quick access.

Using different devices for audio input and audio output is possible. You can read more about the technical considerations related
to this in this part of the section on Mic cues in this manual.

The Geometry Tab

The Geometry tab behaves the same as the Geometry tab for Video cues.

The Levels Tab

The Levels tab only appears if the cue uses audio. It behaves the same as the Levels tab for Audio cues.

The Trim Tab

The Trim tab only appears if the cue uses audio. It behaves the same as the Trim tab for Audio cues.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Camera Cues 6.3

The Audio FX Tab

The Audio FX tab only appears if the cue uses audio. It behaves the same as the Audio FX tab for Audio cues.

The Video FX Tab

The Video FX tab behaves the same as the Video FX tab for Video cues.

Broken Camera Cues

Camera cues can become broken for the following reasons:

No camera access

QLab has not been given permission to access camera inputs. To clear this warning, open System Preferences → Security & Privacy,
then click on the Privacy tab and select Camera from the list on the left. Then, find QLab in the list on the right and check the box
next to it. This step typically does not need to be repeated, but may need to be if you completely uninstall and then reinstall QLab
or perform a major macOS version update on your Mac.

No video input patch

The cue has no video input patch assigned. Assign a video input patch to clear this warning.

Incomplete video input patch

The cue has a video input patch assigned, but something is wrong with it. The video input patch will have warnings of its won, listed
in the Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window, which you can use to figure out what’s wrong with it. Either fix the video input
patch or select a new video input patch to clear this warning.

No video output stage

The cue has no video output patch assigned. Assign a video input patch to clear this warning.

Incomplete video output patch

The cue has a video output patch assigned, but something is wrong with it. The video output patch will have warnings of its won,
listed in the Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window, which you can use to figure out what’s wrong with it. Either fix the video
output patch or select a new video output patch to clear this warning.

No microphone access

QLab has not been given permission to access audio inputs. To clear this warning, open System Preferences → Security & Privacy,
then click on the Privacy tab and select Microphone from the list on the left. Then, find QLab in the list on the right and check the
box next to it. This step typically does not need to be repeated, but may need to be if you completely uninstall and then reinstall
QLab or perform a major macOS version update on your Mac.

Audio input patch does not have enough input channels

The cue has been configured to use more audio channels than the input device has available. Either select an audio input patch
which uses a device with enough input channels, or reduce the number of channels used in the cue to clear this warning.

Issue with audio input patch

QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Camera Cues 6.3

The cue has an audio input patch assigned, but something is wrong with it. The audio input patch will have warnings of its own,
listed in the Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window, which you can use to figure out what’s wrong with it. Either fix the audio
input patch or select a new audio input patch to clear this warning.

No audio output patch

The cue has no audio output patch assigned. Assign an audio output patch to clear this warning.

Issue with audio output patch

The cue has an audio output patch assigned, but something is wrong with it. The audio output patch will have warnings of its own,
listed in the Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window, which you can use to figure out what’s wrong with it. Either fix the audio
output patch or select a new audio output patch to clear this warning.

Missing cue audio effect

The cue has an audio effect assigned, but that AudioUnit is not installed. Either remove the audio effect from the cue or install the
missing AudioUnit to clear this warning.

License required

A video license is required to use Camera cues. Install a video license or remove the cue to clear this warning.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Text Cues 6.4

Text Cues

Text cues allow you to display styled text as video output. You can adjust the font, size, style, alignment, color, and background
color of the text that the Text cue will display, and then when the cue runs your text will be rendered as video. This means that
Text cues have access to all the features of Video cues.

The Inspector for Text Cues

When a Text cue is selected, the inspector shows the Basics tab and Triggers tab, used by all cues, as well as the following tabs:

The I/O Tab

The I/O tab lets you assign a video output and view details about the selected output.

Video Output. This pop-up menu allows you to assign the cue to a stage, which is QLab’s video output mechanism. Every Video
cue must be assigned to exactly one stage, and the way that the stage is configured defines how the imagery will ultimately be
displayed. You can learn more about stages from the Video Output section of this manual. Clicking on the menu allows you to
select one of the stages already configured in the workspace, or (unpatched) if you want to ensure that the cue does not play when
started. You can also choose Open Video Settings to edit stage list… to quickly get to Workspace Settings → Video → Video Outputs,
or choose New stage with video route to quickly generate a new stage and select it for use.

The Monitor button opens the monitor window for the selected stage.

To the right of that button, QLab displays the pixel dimensions of the selected stage. QLab always displays the actual pixel
dimensions, not the effective point size, so for Retina displays, these numbers may be considerably higher than the resolution
reported in System Preferences.

To the right of that, the Edit… button opens the video stage editor for the currently selected stage.

The Geometry Tab

The Geometry tab behaves the same as the Geometry tab for Video cues.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Text Cues 6.4

The Text Tab

The Text tab allows you to edit and style the text that will be displayed by the cue.

The text editing area behaves similarly to most text editing in macOS. Because the default background of Text cues is
transparent, running a Text cue by itself will drawn the text over black. Therefore, the background of the text editing area is drawn
in black and the default color of text is white.

Below the text editing area are controls which adjust the style and presentation of the text in the cue.

Font and color

Clicking on the grey Q opens the font panel which lets you change the typeface, size, and style of the selected text. As you can see,
one Text cue can contain text with multiple styles at once.

Clicking on the multicolored Q opens a color picker which lets your change the color of the selected text.

Clicking on the grey Q with multicolored background opens a color picker which lets your change the color of the background of
the selected text.

Alignment

To the right of the font and color buttons are four buttons that allow you set the alignment of the cue’s text; left, center, justified,
or right. All text in a single Text cues shares the same alignment.

Width and spacing

When a Text cue is started, QLab renders the text as a PNG image and displays that image. By default, the image dimensions are
automatically calculated to fit the text exactly. The Width field allows you to set the width of the rendered image. The height of the
image remains automatically set, based on the amount and size of text in the cue. You can manually increase the height of the
image by adding carriage returns above and below your text.

The rendered dimensions of the cue are displayed next to the width field.

The Line Spacing field lets you set the vertical spacing between lines of text, which is a product of the font face and size. Smaller
numbers result in less space between lines; larger ones create more space.

The Preview pop-up menu scales the display size of the text in the inspector to make it easier to edit at very small or very large
font sizes. It does not have any effect on the actual output of the cue.

Above the text field is a ruler which shows the actual width of the cue in pixels.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Text Cues 6.4

The Video FX Tab

The Video FX tab behaves the same as the Video FX tab for Video cues.

Broken Text Cues

Text cues can become broken for the following reasons:

Missing font

The font used by the Text cue is missing. Close the workspace without saving and install the font to clear this warning. If you save
the workspace before replacing the font, the broken Text cue will adopt the default font that it was using temporarily.

Invalid size
This error usually means that through a combination of some or all of font size, scale, width, and video effects, the size of the image
rendered by the cue is invalid. Adjust any of those parameters to create a valid image size and clear this warning.

No video output stage

The cue has no video output stage assigned. Assign the cue to a stage to clear this warning.

Incomplete video output

The cue is assigned to a stage, but the stage is incompletely configured. Visit the Video Stage Editor to complete the configuration
of the stage and clear this warning.

License required

A video license is required to use Text cues. Install a video license or remove the cue to clear this warning.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

Video Output

The video output system of QLab 5 supports a wide variety of workflows and setups, from a single TV built into a set, to multi-
projector blends mapped onto complex scenery, to LED walls, to broadcast feeds. This section of the manual will take you through
all the steps necessary to fully configure video output, but it will also help guide you to simple solutions when that’s what you need.

All aspects of video output are configured in Workspace Settings → Video.

Video Terminology

QLab uses the following terminology in the realm of video. Care has been taken to make sure these terms are approachable and
not ambiguous, but nevertheless it can be difficult to keep track of. Here is a brief glossary of the essential video terms in QLab.

A stage is a sort of virtual raster1 to which Video, Camera, and Text cues are assigned. The imagery created by those
cues is displayed on the stage, and the stage is displayed on screens, projectors, NDI streams, and Syphon outputs.

A region is a section of a stage which will be displayed on a device. A region can cover the whole stage or just a part of it, and
multiple regions can overlap or not as needed.
An output route or simply route is the intermediary between regions and devices. Regions are assigned to routes, and the
route takes care of the particulars of sending video to the assigned device. This intermediary makes it possible for cues, stages,
and regions to behave consistently even if you need to trade out your devices for other hardware.
A device is QLab’s internal representation of an actual, physical video display device such as a computer monitor, television,
video projector, or LED wall. A device can also be an NDI output or a Syphon output, since these have the same function as a
physical video display.

Using Video Without A Video License

QLab can be used for video without a license installed, which allows you to address simple video needs without spending any
money on QLab. You can find a list of which features are free and which require a license from the Features section of this manual.

When no video license is installed, video output from QLab is restricted to a single device.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

The pop-up menu at the top of the Video Outputs tab, labeled “Video output for all cues”, allows you to select a single device
connected to your Mac. Any device which appears as a display in the macOS Displays preference pane will be available here.
Whichever device you choose will be used by all video output from your workspace. You do not need to adjust cues if you change
this setting; every cue is automatically routed to the device selected here.

The remainder of this section of this manual assumes the use of a video license. If you use QLab without a video license, you may
find the rest of this section of the manual unnecessary.

Getting Started

When you create a new workspace, QLab will automatically create a stage for each display connected to your Mac. If you don’t
need anything fancy, you can start programming cues as quickly as possible. If you need something more specific, you can edit
these stages to suit your needs or delete them and create your own stages.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

This screen shot was taken on a 2021 16” MacBook Pro with a 5120 × 2880 monitor connected to its HDMI port. When this
workspace was created, QLab automatically created Stage 1 with the MacBook Pro’s internal display assigned to it, and Stage 2 with
the external monitor assigned to it.

The stages in the workspace are listed in a table with several columns.

The Stage Name column lets you see and edit the name of the stage. Note that if you plan to use OSC to control a stage by
name, you must give the stage an OSC-compatible name, i.e. one without spaces or special characters reserved by the OSC
spec.
The Stage Resolution column shows the pixel dimensions of the stage. The automatically created stages in this screen shot
have the same dimensions as the devices that they are assigned to use, but stages can be any size up to 16384 × 16384, limited
of course by the processing power and memory available on your Mac.

The Devices column lists the devices in use by the stage. The automatically created stages have one device each. A stage that
uses multiple devices would list them here separated by commas.
The Edit button opens the video stage editor, which allows you to change the properties of the stage. The video stage editor is
discussed below.
The Monitor button opens a monitor window for the stage.

The button deletes the stage. This is an undo-able operation, by the way.

To create a new stage, click the New Video Stage button. When the Video Outputs tab is open and frontmost, the keyboard
shortcut ⌘N (which ordinarily creates a new workspace) is a shortcut for this button. The button opens a pop-up menu to allow
you to create a new stage with some initial settings if you so choose.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

Empty Stage - create a new stage with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels and with no regions created, and no output routes
assigned.
Stage with output - listed under this heading are the output routes defined in the workspace. Choosing one will create a new
stage with the same resolution as the route and configured to output to that route. This is essentially what QLab does to create
the default stages in a new workspace.

Stage with partial output - each output route in the workspace is listed here again, but each with its own sub-menu that
allows you to create a stage that’s the same size as a portion of that output only. Partial outputs are discussed below.
Multi-Output Stage… will prompt you to describe a multi-projector setup, including the number of projectors, their
resolution, and their physical arrangement. QLab will then create a stage that is pre-configured to work with that projector
layout.
Stage with new NDI output… will prompt you to create and configure a new NDI output. Qlab will then create a stage using
that output. NDI outputs are discussed below.

Stage with new Syphon output… will prompt you to create and configure a new Syphon output. Qlab will then create a stage
using that output. Syphon outputs are discussed below.

The Video Stage Editor

We’re not going to lie to you; the video stage editor is the most complicated part of QLab’s interface. There is a lot going on here
because there is a lot of power here. If you are new to configuring video in QLab, give yourself plenty of time to get acquainted with
it, and don’t forget that you can always write to support@figure53.com with any questions, big or small.

It is highly encouraged to work your way through this section of the manual with the video stage editor open so you can look and
poke and test and try things as you read about them.

The editor window has a top area with two tabs below it, Layout and Warping, which cover the rest of the window. The top area,
pictured here, contains controls which adjust the basic attributes of the stage.

Basic Stage Attributes

Stage name can be any text and is more important to humans than to software. You can name the stage however you like.

The Layer control for stages defines the stacking order for the stage relative to other stages that use the same device. If a
workspace has two stages, “Angelica” on layer 100 and “Eliza” on layer 50, and both of these stages use the same area of the same
device, then all the cues on “Angelica” will render on top of all the cues on “Eliza”, regardless of the layer settings for each cue,
since “Angelica” is on a higher layer than “Eliza.”

Keep rendering between cues. Whenever a Video, Camera, or Text cue is running, QLab draws a black background across
the whole stage that the cue is assigned to. If no cues are playing, QLab does not draw that background, which allows the macOS
desktop to show through. Sometimes that might be what you want, sometimes not. If this checkbox is checked, QLab will keep the
black background up until QLab quits or the workspace receives the command to panic. This not only obscures the desktop, but
can help ensure a smoother transition between cues, particularly on Macs whose GPU performance is just at (or possibly just
below) the level of performance required for the workspace.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

Stage size shows the resolution, a.k.a. the pixel dimensions, of the stage. The Resize… button allows you to resize the stage, with
options to ensure that the aspect ratio of the stage stays the same after the resize, and options to either resize the regions on the
stage or not.

Masks
A stage mask is a way to completely or partially block certain pixels of a stage from displaying. Masks have several uses, including:

Making a stage that isn’t rectangular.

Feathering the edges of a stage for a vignetting effect.

Cutting a hole in a stage to allow another stage to show through from a lower layer.

To add a mask to a stage, click on the Load mask… button and select an image file.

A mask should be a greyscale image that matches the dimensions of the surface, but QLab will convert any image used as a mask to
greyscale and scale it to fit the surface if necessary. Any compatible still image file type can be used as a mask, and there is no
performance difference between formats when rendering because QLab re-renders the image when importing it for use as a mask.
However, if the size of the mask image is different from the size of the surface, QLab must scale it “live” and that can negatively
affect performance, so try to match your surface dimensions whenever possible.

Wherever the mask image is black, the stage will be masked. Wherever the mask image is white, the stage will be visible.

Example

Stages are rectangular. A cue displayed full-stage will therefore, of course, also be rectangular.

If you wanted a stage to be oval in shape, you could create a mask that defines that shape.

With that image applied as a mask to the stage, the visible area of the stage is clipped by the mask.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

It’s important to understand that the black area in this image isn’t the mask being shown, it’s the backdrop. If you place another
image on another stage set to a lower layer, that image will be shown everywhere that the top layer is masked.

QLab does not have an integrated mask editor. Instead, it watches the mask image file to look for changes; when it sees that the file
has changed, it automatically reloads it. Thus, you can use any graphics editing program to make adjustments to a mask, and see
changes applied live as you go.

To remove a mask, click the button to the right.

The Layout Tab

The Layout tab of the video stage editor allows you to define and arrange the stage’s regions. The stages which QLab automatically
creates use a have a single region covering the whole stage.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

We’ll walk thorough the controls in the Layout tab first, and then go into more detail about regions and when you’d want to use
more than one of them after.

The Region List

In the upper left part of the Layout tab is a table showing the regions of the stage. The table has five columns.

Each Region are automatically assigned a letter index and a color; A and dark blue, in this screen shot.

A thumbnail, or miniature version of the region, can help you keep track of what’s what on stages that use several regions.
The output route pop-up menu lets you tell QLab which output route the region should be sent to.
The grid checkbox displays a monochrome alignment grid on the region. The grid has a few configuration options which are
discussed below.

The button deletes the region.

Underneath the list is a drop-down menu which lets you quickly create a new region using a specific output route. Next to that
menu is a switch with two states. When the switch is set to Move Regions, you can use your cursor to move and resize existing
regions in the canvas below. When the switch is set to Draw Regions, you can use your cursor to draw a new region in the canvas.
Drawn regions will need to be assigned to an output route using the menu in the region list.

Region Parameters
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

The upper right part of the Layout tab shows several parameters of the region that’s selected in the list.

Size shows the width and height of the region, and lets you edit the size by either typing in new values or clicking and dragging
the cursor up or down. Regions cannot extend outside of the stage boundaries, so these text fields are limited based on the
size of the stage and the position of the region.
Lower left shows the coordinates of the lower left corner of the region compared to the center of the stage. The region can
be positioned precisely by typing in new values or clicking and dragging up or down. Regions cannot extend outside of the
stage boundaries, so these text fields are limited based on the size of the stage and the position of the region.
Upper right shows the coordinates of the upper right corner of the region compares to the center of the stage. These values
are not editable and are for reference only.

The Edge blend text fields and checkboxes work together to define the amount of feathering, or fall-off, of each side of the
region. Edge blending is best understood in the context of a stage with multiple regions (see below), but you can also use edge
blends to soften the edges of a single-region stage.

Underneath these parameters is a text box which lets you set the gamma, or brightness curve, of all the edge blends in the current
stage.

The Canvas

The canvas view is a white rectangle with black gridlines which represents the stage. Regions are drawn as colored rectangles
labeled with their name and assigned output. When the Move Regions/Draw Regions switch is set to Move Regions, you can click on
drag on an edge of a region to resize it, or in the center of the region to move it. The sides, vertical centerline, and horizontal
centerline of the canvas are “magnetic,” so if you drag the edge of a region close by, it will snap to fit exactly. Edges of regions are
also magnetic, making it easy to snap regions together and ensure that there is no accidental gap or overlap. You can hold down the
command (⌘) key to disable snapping.

You can also adjust the selected region using the keyboard:

Arrow keys move the selected region by one pixel.

⇧ + arrow keys move the selected region by ten pixels.

⌥ + arrow keys resize the selected region by one pixel.

⌥⇧ + arrow keys resize the selected region by ten pixels.

The selected region is drawn darker than unselected regions. Regions that have no output route assigned are drawn with dotted
outlines.

Regions that use edge blends will draw the blend area with a hatched background.

By default, the canvas is scaled to fit the available space in the window, so enlarging the window will let you see the canvas in more
detail. You can use the pop-up menu in the lower right corner of the window to set a particular scale factor if you prefer.

The Grid options… button displays a popover which allows to show all grids, hide all grids, and export a PNG image of the grid. It
also allows you to switch between a white-on-black grid and a black-on-white grid, and optionally disable edge-blending between
regions while the grid is showing. These options all exist in service of making it easier to configure the stage under a variety of
conditions.

The checkbox labeled Show alignment guides on all output routes used by this stage displays a colored border, centerlines, and
text labels on every output route that any region of the stage is assigned to use. Alignment guides always demonstrate the full raster
of each route, without any warping, cropping, or other modification. The purpose of the alignment guides is to both positively
identify each output route and its associated device, and to aid in the physical alignment and setup of the devices.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

Understanding Regions
So, what are regions really and why does QLab have them?

The first and simplest answer is that regions are how a screen or projector (or NDI or Syphon output) knows which pixels of a stage
to display. If you’re only using a single screen, regions feel like an unnecessary step. They can be easier to understand if you look at
a stage that uses multiple screens.

This stage is 3840 pixels wide by 1080 pixels tall; the size of two FHD2 rasters next to each other. If we imagine a situation in which
two FHD2 projectors are perfectly aligned side by side and both projecting on, say, the cyclorama at the upstage edge of a traditional
theater, it’s easier to see what regions do for us. Region A uses the output route for the house left projector and covers the camera
left half of the stage, and region B uses the output route for the house right projector and covers the camera right half of the stage.

If you have two projectors laid out like this, though, the more common way to use them is to overlap their coverage a little bit at the
center, and blend their edges together. This creates a very nice, seamless transition between the two projectors.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

This stage is 3400 pixels wide by 1080 pixels tall. By overlapping regions A and B by the same amount as the actual projector
beams are overlapped, you can create a single, seamless image across both projectors. The crosshatching in the center notates the
area of each region that is blended. In this area, the same pixels from the stage are sent to both projectors, and QLab automatically
calculates a soft dissolve across that area, fading the image for each projector so that the overall brightness of the stage remains
constant.

You can manually adjust the size of the blend region by unchecking the Auto edge blends box, and you can adjust the brightness
curve of the blend by using the Blend gamma control.

Regions can also be used to subdivide a stage into sections that need to be individually controlled.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

Here, three of the quadrants of a stage are covered by three regions. Each of those regions uses the same output route, and
therefore the same screen. Each of those three regions can be individually positioned within the raster of the output, and
individually warped as we’ll discuss in the next section.

The Warping Tab

The Warping tab has the same basic form as the Layout tab and an identical region list, but it displays different parameters of the
selected region, and gives you different things to adjust in the canvas.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

The purpose of the Warping Tab is to let you adjust the geometry of the stage on a per-region basis. Regions can be warped for any
number of reasons, the most straightforward of which is to correct for keystoning caused by an off-axis projector. Warping can also
be used to match a video projection to a non-flat projection surface, or for other creative effects.

Region Parameters

The upper right part of the Warping tab shows several other parameters of the region that’s selected in the list.

Center shows the coordinates of the center of the region compared to the center of the stage. When a region is warped, as
will be discussed below, it can be difficult to mathematically define the true center of the region. Therefore, in this view only,
“center” really means the functional center of the region, and not necessarily the exact actual center. You can edit these
values by typing new ones in or by clicking and dragging up or down.

Selected shows the coordinates of the currently selected control point below. You can edit these values by typing new ones in
or by clicking and dragging up or down.
Mesh splits are a pair of up/down arrow buttons which let you increase or decrease the number of controls points used to
warp the selected region. Each control can be adjusted from 1 up to 32 using powers of two.

Below the editable attributes are two buttons which reset the selected region. You can use these to start over if you’ve tangled
yourself up.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

Size on Stage resets both mesh splits to 1 and sets the region to match the size of region defined in the Layout tab.
Size of Route resets both mesh splits to 1 and sets the region to match the size of the output route that it’s assigned to use.

The Canvas

In the Warping tab, the canvas looks different depending on which region is selected. The grey rectangle with the thin, purple-ish
border represents the output route that the selected region is assigned to use. Every region of the stage that’s assigned to use that
output route is drawn in color. The selected region is drawn with a yellow border.

By default, the output route is drawn with a 4 × 4 grid of warping guidelines. These lines never appear in QLab’s output, they’re only
visible here to aid with warping and alignment. You can change their layout using the pop-up menu in the lower right corner of the
window next to the scale pop-up menu. The edges of the output route and the guidelines are all “magnetic”, so control points snap
to them.

Regions can be adjusted in a great number of ways here. Holding down the shift (⇧) key while doing any of these adjustments
allows fine-tuning. Holding down the command (⌘) key while doing any of these adjustments temporarily disables snapping.

Click and drag on a control point (which is drawn as either a circle or diamond for reasons discussed below) to warp the region
using that control point.
Click and drag on a control point while holding down the option (⌥) key to move the whole region using that control point as
the reference.
Place your cursor within the region where it displays as a hand, then click and drag to move the whole region.

Place your cursor on an edge of the region where it displays as a line with a bidirectional arrow, then click and drag to warp the
region by moving the whole edge.
Place your cursor just inside an edge of the region where it display as a line with an inwards-pointing arrow, then click and drag
to warp the region along a single axis only by moving the whole edge.

You can also use keyboard shortcuts to navigate between control points and adjust them:

W, A, S, and D keys move the selection between control points, selecting the point that is above, to the left, below, or to the
right of the currently selected point.

Arrow keys move the selected control point by one pixel.

⇧ + arrow keys move the selected control point by ten pixels.

The Warp Type pop-up menu, which applies to all regions that share an output route, lets you choose the geometric approach that
QLab uses to warp the regions on that route.

Perspective warping, which is the default type, is the most generally applicable.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

Using perspective warping, a projected object will appear the same size no matter where it’s placed on the region. However, in
order to allow complex perspective warped shapes, QLab uses “continuous perspective” warping which guarantees continuity of
the warp, but means that extreme warps might not be truly 100% perspective-correct.

Linear warping is a more direct, mathematically straightforward warp.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

This type might look better with very complex, multi-faceted warps, but will typically look odd at extreme angles.

Bézier warping is a more complex type, used to project onto curved surfaces.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

This warp type gives you sixteen control points per mesh split, and each control point bends the warp smoothly in the direction
that it’s pulled, as though the region is made of an elastic material.

The menu contains two menu items which are relevant to a very specific situation: when control points of two or more regions
are overlapping precisely. When they are, this menu can be used to link those control points together so that they move as one, or
unlink them to move them independently.

When control points are linked, they are drawn as a diamond instead of a circle. Linked, diamond-shaped control points behave
just like round ones except that moving them changes the region that each linked point belongs to simultaneously.

Using the region example above with three regions assigned to a stage, all using the same output route, we get a nice example of
linking control points.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

Imagine the output route is connected to a projector that is pointing at a cube-shaped object on stage. Here, the three regions are
each warped to conform to a single face of the cube, and the control points on each region that coincide with controls points on
other regions are linked. This allows you to warp the regions to fit the cube as a single object, instead of three separate objects.

Output Routes

Output routes connect QLab to video output devices.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

This workspace contains eight output routes of various types. The output routes in the workspace are listed in a table with several
columns.

The Route Name column lets you see and edit the name of the route. Note that if you plan to use OSC to control a route by
name, you must give the route an OSC-compatible name, i.e. one without spaces or special characters reserved by the OSC
spec.

The Route Resolution column shows the pixel dimensions of the route.
The Device column contains two pop-up menus which let you see and change which device the route uses, and how that
device is used. These menus are discussed below. When a route was configured using a device which is not currently available,
like the last four routes in the screen shot above, the device name is displayed in italics and appended with the word (missing).
The Guides column contains checkboxes which let you display a colored alignment guide for each route. When the checkbox
is checked, QLab displays a colored outline, centerlines, circular corner and center registration marks, and the route name on
the full raster of the output. These guides, which are not affected by region warping, can be used to identify and physically
align video devices.

The Edit button opens the route editor, which allows you to change the properties of the route. The route editor is discussed
below.
The button deletes the route, which is an undo-able operation.

To create a new output route, click the New Output Route button. When the Output Routing tab is open and frontmost, the
keyboard shortcut ⌘N (which ordinarily creates a new workspace) is a shortcut for this button. The button opens a pop-up menu
to allow you to create a new route with some initial settings if you so choose.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

New output route with device: - select a device to create a new output route using the selected output device, with the route
configured according to the properties of that device.
New NDI output route… - this option prompts you to enter the configuration details for a new NDI device, then creates that
device and an output route using it.

New Syphon output route… - this option prompts you to enter the configuration details for a new Syphon device, then
creates that device and an output route using it.
New output route with partial screen device: - this option is discussed below.

The Output Route Editor

Clicking the Edit button next to a route opens the output route editor.

Route name can be any name you choose, and is a name which matters more to humans than to the computer.

Route dimensions can be anywhere from 1 × 1 pixels to 30,000 × 30,000 pixels. The Set from Device button sets the route
dimensions to match the dimensions of the assigned device.

Rotation lets you rotate the output raster in 90° increments. The Rear projection checkbox mirrors the output horizontally to
correct for rear projection.

Scaling mode tells the route how to behave if the route dimensions and the device dimensions do not perfectly match.

Center will align the centers of the route and the device, and display the route at its original pixel density. If the route is larger,
the edges of the route will be cut off. If the device is larger, the route will display black around the edges.
Fit will scale the route to fit the device while maintaining the original aspect ratio of the route, adding black fill where
necessary.
Stretch will scale the route to fit the device exactly, scaling the width and height independently.

Fill will scale the route to fit the device exactly, but instead of stretching the route if it doesn’t fit perfectly, it will crop either
the width or height.

Device gives you another place to select the device being used by the route. The dimensions of the selected device are displayed
right below.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

Using scaling modes

Scaling mode mainly only comes into play if you ever need to use an existing route with a new video device of a different resolution.
One example of this situation is a touring show which carries its own Mac and QLab workspace, but uses whatever video projector
each venue has available.

Imagine a workspace that was created using a projector with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 and then brought on tour. Perhaps one
tour stop has a 1920 × 1200 projector, another has a 1280 × 720 projector, and a third has a 3840 × 2160 projector.

When setting up at each venue, you’d connect the house projector to your Mac, open QLab, visit Workspace Settings → Video →
Output Routing, select the output route for your stage, and using the menu in the Device column to configure the route to use the
new projector.

The way your stage appears on the projector will be determined using the scaling mode of the route. Experimenting with the four
modes will help you learn how each behaves and which one best matches your technical and aesthetic needs.

Partial Outputs
Display splitters such as the Matrox DualHead2Go, TripleHead2Go, and QuadHead2Go, the Datapath Fx4 and Hx4, and the AJA
HA5-4K appear to macOS as a single, very large display. You then connect two, three, or four displays to the output of the splitter,
and the splitter provides one half, one third, or one quarter of the pixels of its input to each output.

These devices can be configured to present as a wide display sliced into side-by-side sections, a tall display sliced into top-to-
bottom sections, or a large display slice into rows and columns.

To give you the greatest amount of control when working with devices like these, you can configure an output route to use only a
specific portion of an output device and behave as though that portion is a whole device. In this way, QLab can be made to behave
the way the splitter is behaving.

Output Devices

Output devices are QLab’s representation of the actual devices that video is displayed upon. Those devices can be:

Monitors, televisions, screens, and projectors directly connected to your Mac.

Any Blackmagic Design UltraStudio, Intensity, and DeckLink devices with output capabilities.
NDI network video outputs.

Syphon server video outputs.

Devices available to the workspace are listed in a table with several columns.

The name columns shows the name of the device. For most hardware devices, this name is set by the manufacturer and not
editable. NDI and Syphon device names are editable and can be set to any name of your choosing.
The resolution column shows the pixel dimensions of the device.

The info column shows any other available information. For many devices, this is simply the frame rate (refresh rate) of the
device. For NDI devices with audio output configured, audio channel information is also shown.
The Edit button next to Blackmagic Design, NDI, and Syphon devices allows you to edit the properties of those outputs.
The button next to NDI and Syphon devices deletes the device, which is an undo-able operation.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

Blackmagic Design Outputs

Blackmagic Design makes a number of video input and output devices across a fairly wide range of prices and capabilities. Some of
these devices have inputs only, and naturally those will not appear amongst the list of available output devices. Others have
anywhere from one to eight outputs.

Blackmagic devices which have multiple outputs will appear a separate devices in the Output Devices list. For example, the
DeckLink Duo, which is a PCIe card, is really two two-channel video interfaces built into a single card. If all four channels are
configured as outputs, they will each appear as a separate device.

Clicking the Edit… button will allow you to edit the Blackmagic device’s settings. The available settings and options vary based on
the exact type of device, but they are all generally similar.

Device name
This name is read-only in QLab. You can change the device name in the About section in the Blackmagic Desktop Video Setup app.
QLab must be restarted to recognize a name change.

Device mode
This menu lets you select the resolution and frame rate mode for output. The available modes vary based upon the device. This
setting is also available in the Blackmagic Desktop Video Setup app. Qlab’s setting here is a sort of remote-control for the setting in
that app.

Keying
Some Blackmagic devices offer internal and external alpha keying, and QLab 5 supports keying on these devices. Alpha keying relies
on transparency, or alpha, in the source image. If your source image uses a green or blue background, such as a Camera cue
showing a performer in front of a green or blue screen, you can use a linear key video effect to convert the solid color background
into a transparent background.

The Keying pop-up menu lets you choose between None, which is the default, External keying, or Internal keying.

Choosing Internal or External Keying

External keying uses two physical outputs on the device to output a pair of video signals called the “key” and the “fill” which can be
sent to another video device such as a vision mixer. The vision mixer can then overlay the fill signal on top of another video source,
using the key to “cut” out the parts of the fill that are supposed to be transparent. The Blackmagic device maintains frame-
accurate synchronization between these two outputs.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

If you are using a desktop or rackmount device, the two outputs in question are usually a pair of SDI connectors labeled “A” and
“B”. If you are using PCIe card device, you’ll need to manually configure the card to use two SDI connectors for a single output. This
is done in the Connectors section of the Blackmagic Desktop Video Setup app.

Using external keying requires hardware downstream of your QLab system to be able to take in and make use of a key/fill pair.
Otherwise, the key signal will simply look like a greyscale version of the fill signal, and the fill signal will simply look like itself, but with
any transparency replaced with opaque black.

Internal keying allows you to overlay the output of QLab on top of a separate live input to the Blackmagic device. This compositing
is done inside the Blackmagic hardware and is extremely low-latency, so if you are using QLab to overlay graphics on top of a live
video signal, you may prefer the visual results of routing the live signal through the Blackmagic device (and not through a Camera
cue), and then using internal keying to superimpose your graphics.

Using internal keying requires an input signal to the Blackmagic device that does not pass through QLab. Otherwise, there’s nothing
to combine with and the output will look the same as it would if you set the keying mode to “none.”

Many Blackmagic devices which support internal keying require all inputs and outputs involved to use the exact same resolution
and frame rate. If you are having problems with internal keying, this is the best first thing to check.

Pixel format
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

Most Blackmagic devices allow you to choose between two video output formats: BGRA and Y’CbCr. Whole books could be written
about these two color models, so this manual will offer a few brief details and leave further research to the curious reader.

BGRA offers the best theoretical picture quality, although its superiority may not be visible in many practical applications.
BGRA must be used if you are using either of the optional keying modes detailed above.
Y’CbCr may be required when using some resolutions above 1920 × 1080 or frame rates above 60 Hz.

Y’CbCr may be required when connecting directly to some broadcast video equipment.

The guiding principle is this: if you are using a Blackmagic device which supports both BGRA and Y’CbCr formats, and your picture
looks wrong, try changing this setting. If it looks right, it is right.

NDI Outputs
NDI outputs are virtual devices, and therefore do not have an inherent resolution, frame rate, or name. The Edit button opens the
NDI device editor to allow you to configure those properties.

When a Video or Camera cue is assigned to a stage that uses an NDI device for output, that cue’s audio output can use the
audio portion of the NDI device if you like, but does not need to.

In order to remain predictable to external equipment, once a workspace starts sending video to an NDI output, QLab will keep that
NDI output active until the workspace is closed, even if the workspace is panicked or hardStopped.

Syphon Outputs
Syphon outputs are also virtual devices, similarly editable.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

In order to remain predictable to external equipment, once a workspace starts sending video to a Syphon output, QLab will keep
that Syphon output active until the workspace is closed, even if the workspace is panicked or hardStopped.

Video Signal Flow Examples

There are several stages in QLab’s video pipeline, each of which can modify an image in its own ways.

In brief, as discussed in the Introduction To Video In QLab, the video signal path in QLab does like this:

Source → Cue → Stage → Region → Route → Device.

For Video cues, the source is a moving or still image file stored on your Mac. For Camera cues, the source is a video input
patch which brings images in from a camera or other external source of live video. For Text cues, the source is the text entered
in the Text tab of the inspector for the cue which is then rendered as a PNG image internally by QLab.

For these examples, we’ll use a Video cue targeting a still image and set to fill stage mode. We could use a moving image target
or another type of video-related cue and get the same results, of course, but this straightforward source cue helps make the
examples clear. The cue is assigned to a stage named “Upstage Center”.

These examples also use Syphon to simulate a video projector. This lets us use the Simple Client, a very straightforward Syphon
display app, to make nice screen shots of the output instead of setting up an actual projector, pointing it at an actual wall, and
taking photographs.

Example 1: one-to-one
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

If we’re using a single projector for this stage, and pointing that projector at a single flat surface like a wall, screen, or cyclorama,
our needs might be very simple: just display the whole cue without doing much to it.

To achieve this, the stage has a single region which covers the whole stage in the Layout tab of the stage editor:

That region also fills the whole output route in the Warping tab of the stage editor:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

The route is configured to use the full raster of its assigned output device:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

The result is that every pixel of the device is utilized to display every pixel of the cue. Since the stage, route, and device all have a
resolution of 1920 × 1080, there is a straight one-to-one correspondence between the cue’s pixels and the device’s pixels.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

Example 2: right half

Perhaps the left half of the projector beam is hitting scenery which we don’t want to project upon, but we want the right half to be
left exactly as it was.

To achieve this, the region only covers the right half of the stage in the Layout tab of the stage editor:

The region similarly covers only the right half of the route in the Warping tab:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

The result is that the right half of the cue is displayed using the right half of the device.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

Example 3: right half reversed

What if we want to use the right half of the source image, just like in example 2, but we want to display it on the opposite side of the
screen?

To achieve this, the Layout tab looks the same:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

But in the Warping tab, we move the region to the left half of the route:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

The route stays the same:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

The result is that the right half of the cue is displayed using the left half of the device.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Video Output 6.5

1. Raster originally meant the grid of dots in a television which produced a visible image. It now refers to the pattern of pixels which represent a
digital image, both as encoded data within the computer and as a physical collection of pixels in a display device like a monitor or
projector.↩
2. Full High Definition, or 1920 × 1080 pixels.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Using NDI 6.6

Using NDI

NDI, which stands for Network Device Interface, is a standard that allows cameras, video switchers, computers, and other devices
to send and receive high-quality video over a regular IP network. NDI streams can contain video at any resolution, frame rate,
aspect ratio, and format, as well as multiple channels of embedded audio, control signals, and metadata. Starting with QLab 5.0,
you can use incoming NDI streams as sources for Camera cues, and publish Stages as NDI streams for other devices to receive.

QLab uses the format DEVICE_NAME (NDI_SOURCE_NAME) to uniquely identify NDI streams. For this reason, it’s best not to have two
(or more) devices on the same network which have the same name. If there are multiple devices with the same name, NDI
automatically adds a numerical suffix which prevents problems, but is difficult to troubleshoot. Furthermore, there is no guarantee
that the same-named devices will appear in the same order after a restart of the system, so the numerical suffixes can change.

Using NDI input with Camera Cues

To use an incoming NDI video source with a Camera cue, first go to Workspace Settings → Video → Video Input. Then, either create
a new video input patch using the button on screen or the keyboard shortcut ⌘N, or identify an existing video input patch that you
want to use.

When you click on the Device pop-up menu next to the video input patch you’ve chosen, you’ll see all available video input signals
listed by category. NDI video sources are listed towards the bottom under the rather appropriate heading NDI sources. Select the
source you wish to use.

Now, in the cue list, you can create a Camera cue, navigate to the I/O tab of the inspector, and select the video input patch that
you just configured. If the NDI source that you selected includes audio, you can also choose how many channels of that audio you
wish to use within the cue.

Camera cues using NDI sources behave just like any other Camera cue.

Setting Up Your Network for NDI

NDI has fairly low-intensity networking needs, with no esoteric hardware or stringent technical requirements. There are a few basic
rules, though, and some helpful minimum specs to keep in mind.

NDI Networking Basics

Every device that you want to use together via NDI needs to be on the same subnet, unless you’re using NDI Bridge.

The network must not block any of the ports listed below.
The network must support multicast traffic.
The network must have sufficient bandwidth as described below.

Network Ports used for NDI

QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Using NDI 6.6

NDI uses mDNS to detect sources on a network. mDNS uses TCP port 5353.
NDI uses TCP port 5960 for messaging between servers and clients.

Most NDI devices send their first video stream on port 5961, their second stream on 5962, and so on with one port for each
stream. Older NDI devices made prior to 2016 use ephemeral ports for streams, with each stream using a port somewhere in
the range of 49152 to 65535. Unless you’re sure which ranges of ports are used by the devices you’re using, it’s safest to
assume that access to both ranges of ports will be necessary. QLab uses ports starting at 5961 and counting up from there.

Networking Tips from NewTek

While NDI does not require specific networking hardware, NewTek provides some guidelines which can be helpful:

Use network switches with 1 Gbps (or higher) full duplex ports.
Turn auto-negotiation off for any port used for NDI traffic.
Turn EEE (Energy Efficient Ethernet) off for any port used for NDI traffic, or use switches that do not support EEE.

Always be sure to use properly terminated ethernet cables.

Use “basic line-cascade” network structures; avoid “pyramid” or “tree” network structures.
QoS settings are not required, but if you use Qos, always configure NDI traffic as real-time and high priority/time critical.

Network packet loss should be 1% or less.

One-way latency between any two devices using NDI should be 150 ms or less.
Jitter should be 30 ms or less.

NDI Bandwidth Examples

Examples below include 16 channels of embedded audio.

Example NDI video stream Approximate bandwidth required

1 × SD video stream 20 Mbps

1 × 720p60 video stream 90 Mbps

1 × 1080i60 video stream 100 Mbps

1 × 1080p60 video stream 125 Mbps

1 × UHDp30 video stream 250 Mbps

1 × UHDp60 video stream 400 Mbps

The total bandwidth of your network should be high enough that all NDI traffic combined does not exceed 75% of the capacity of
the network.

Troubleshooting Links
NDI Problem Solving

Adding NDI To Your Network

NDI Tools
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Fading Video & Video Effects 6.7

Fading Video & Video Effects

A Fade cue can be used to adjust the geometry and video effect parameters of a targeted Video, Camera, or Text cue.

Fade cues can also adjust audio parameters of Video cues, Camera cues, Audio cues, Mic cues, and audio output
patches. When a Fade cue is selected, the inspector will only show the tabs relevant to the type of cue that the Fade cue is
targeting.

The word “fade” can often be taken to mean one thing or another, but in QLab “fade” simply means “change a value over time.”

Fade cues require a cue target or a patch target, have a duration, and must adjust at least one level or parameter of their cue
target in order to be considered functional.

The Inspector for Fade Cues

The tabs shown in the inspector when a Fade cue is selected vary based on the more of the Fade cue and its target.

The Basics Tab

The Basics tab is always visible, but has a small but important difference from how the Basics tab usually appears.

Because Fade cues can target both cues and patches, a pop-up menu appears next to the Target field to switch between cue
targeting and patch targeting. When Patch is selected from this menu, a second pop-up menu appears which allows you to select
the patch that you want to fade.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Fading Video & Video Effects 6.7

The Triggers Tab

The Triggers tab is always visible and behaves the same way that it always does.

The following tabs are visible when a Video cue, Camera cue, or are the target of the Fade cue:

The Curve Tab

The fade curve, drawn in yellow on the right side of the tab, determines the rate of change of the parameters being faded. The
curve on the left is for levels which increased by the fade, and the curve on the right is for levels which are decreased by the fade.

The horizontal axis of the curve represents time and the labels across the top will change based on the duration of the Fade
cue. The vertical axis represents percentage of the total change made by the Fade cue. For the rising curve, the one of the left,
the bottom left corner represents the beginning of the fade, which is to say “time = 0, completion = 0%.” The top right corner
represents the end of the fade, or “time = (duration of the Fade cue), completion = 100%.” For the falling curve, the top left corner
represents the beginning and the bottom right corner represents the end.

The curve shape that appears by default is set according to the Fade cue’s cue template, but you can choose another fade
shape from the pop-up menu in the top left corner of the tab.

There are four options for Fade curve shapes:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Fading Video & Video Effects 6.7

S-Curve. QLab’s default curve shape follows an “ease-in, ease-out” envelope designed to sound natural with audio levels and
look smooth with video geometry.
Custom Curve. This option allows you to click anywhere along the fade curve and a create control points, which can be
dragged to change the shape of the curve. Moving control points will smoothly bend the curve in the direction of the control
point. To delete a control point, click on it to select it and press the delete key on your keyboard. To start over entirely, click
Reset to Default Shape in the bottom left corner of the tab. The lock button between the two curves allows you to mirror
the left and right curves. When the curves are locked, any change to either curve will apply to both curves.

Parametric Curve. This option adds a text field labeled Intensity below the pop-up menu which allows you to use a
mathematically precise parametric fade shape.
Linear Curve. This option is similar to the custom curve option but instead of smoothly ending the curve, control points create
a precise, sharp bend. To delete a control point, click on it to select it and press the delete key on your keyboard. To start over
entirely, click Reset to Default Shape in the bottom left corner of the tab. The lock button between the two curves allows
you to mirror the left and right curves. When the curves are locked, any change to either curve will apply to both curves.

Both the rising and the falling curve use the same fade shape type, but if you use custom curve or linear curve you can create
individual curve shapes for each.

The Audio Domain pop-up menu is only relevant if the target cue contains audio and if anything pertaining to audio is being faded.
You can learn about this control from the Fading Audio section of this manual.

The Levels Tab

The Levels tab will only appear if the target cue contains audio. It behaves the same as the Levels tab for Fade cues targeting Audio
cues.

The Geometry Tab

The Geometry tab allows you to specify which parameters of the target cue you wish to fade, and what their final value will be.

The left side of the Geometry tab contains a few setup tools:

The Curve/Path buttons switch the tab between curve mode, which fades the selected parameters (that is, the ones whose
checkboxes are checked, and which are colored yellow) according to the settings in the Curve tab, and path mode, which fades
two parameters simultaneously according to a 2D path, discussed below.

Clicking the Set Geometry from Target button, or using the keyboard shortcut ⌃⌥⌘V, will invoke the paste cue properties sheet
in a special way. First, it will behave as though the target cue was selected and copied, and second it will automatically select the
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Fading Video & Video Effects 6.7

“Video” set of properties to paste. You can choose other properties if you like, but if you simply hit the enter key, QLab will paste
the geometry from the target cue onto the Fade cue. This is a convenient way to get started building a fade, as it will help you
keep track of the starting point from which you will be fading.

Stop Target When Done. If this box is checked, the target cue will stop once the fade is complete. If the box is unchecked, the
target cue will continue to run after the fade is complete.

Absolute Fade. This drop-down menu lets you choose between an absolute fade, which is QLab’s default, and a relative fade.
Relative fades are discussed in detail below.

Preview. This button provides quick access and a visual reference to the live fade preview setting.

The center section of the Geometry tab contains controls for the fade-able parameters of a Video, Camera, or Text cue.
By default, the checkbox next to each parameter is unchecked which means that the Fade cue will not adjust that parameter. To
“activate” a parameter, so that the Fade cue will adjust it, check the box next to that parameter. To reset a parameter to the
default value for that parameter, click the :button-reset-alt-5: reset button next to that parameter.

Opacity. You can fade the opacity of the target cue to any whole-number opacity between 0% and 100%.

Translation. You can move the target cue left to right and up to down by fading translation. Change the position of the video along
the X-axis and/or Y-axis by entering values in the text fields or by clicking and dragging the thumbnail image in the preview box to
the desired location.

Scale. You can scale the target cue in both the X and Y axes together, or individually by clicking the icon to unlock the axes
and adjust them separately. You can also adjust the scale by scrolling vertically on the thumbnail image in the preview box.

Rotation. Click and drag on each of the (X) , (Y) , and (Z) buttons to fade the rotation of the target cue.

3D orientation. By default, Fade cues use three-dimensional quaternion math to rotate their target. This results in smooth,
natural movements when rotating along multiple axes, but necessarily means that a fade will never pass through more than 180
degrees of movement in each axis. If you instead want to rotate the target a specific number of degrees about a single axis, you can
use this pop-up menu to choose an axis, and then enter the number of degrees you wish to rotate.

The right section of the Geometry tab contains a blue preview box, representing the stage that the target cue is assigned to, and a
thumbnail image of the target cue showing the finished results of the fade.

2D Paths
If the Curve/Path switch is set to Path, the other inspector tabs besides Basics and Triggers are disabled. In QLab 5.4, Fade cues
can only be used to fade the translation, rotation, and scale of Video, Camera, and Text cues. Then, the Geometry tab
allows you to select the parameters that will be faded by the cue, and edit the 2D path along which they will fade. The fade path is
shown in the center canvas area of the tab as a yellow line over a blue background. The starting point of the path is drawn in green
and the ending point is drawn in red. There are also small directional carets pointing away from the starting point and towards the
ending point, to help differentiate these points without relying on their color.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Fading Video & Video Effects 6.7

The left side of the path tab contains a few setup tools:

The Curve/Path button is described above.

The Parameters menu lets you select the parameters which are represented by each axis of the canvas view in the middle of the
inspector. The default setting is translation, meaning that the X axis (left to right) of the Fade cue represents the X-axis
translation of the target cue, and the Y axis (up to down) of the Fade cue represents the Y-axis translation of the target cue.

If you choose to use custom parameters, then each axis of the path can be assigned to any available axis of translation, rotation, or
scale.

In the screen shot below, the Parameters menu is set to Custom, then the X-Axis menu is set to Rotation Z and the Y-Axis menu is
set to Scale X.

With these settings, as the Fade cue runs, the target cue’s Z-axis rotation will steadily go down, while the X-axis scale will
oscillate up and down while trending down overall.

Stop Target When Done. If this box is checked, the target cue will stop once the fade is complete. If the box is unchecked, the
target cue will continue to run after the fade is complete.

Absolute Fade. This drop-down menu lets you choose between an absolute fade, which is QLab’s default, and a relative fade.
Relative fades are discussed in detail below.

Preview. This button provides quick access and a visual reference to the live fade preview setting.

The center section of the Path tab displays the path and provides tools for you to use to create and edit the path.

The select tool lets you click on individual control points to select them for precise editing:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Fading Video & Video Effects 6.7

With one point selected, you can use the text fields in the lower right corner to type in a value or click and drag up and down to
adjust the value.

You can also click and drag a selection box around several control points:

The draw tool lets you click to add points to the path, or click, hold, and drag to draw a freeform line. Holding down the option key
(⌥) key allows you to add a point in the middle of a path, otherwise each drawn point will be added to the end of the path. Double-
clicking while using the draw tool finishes drawing and switches to the select tool.

The circle tool lets you draw a perfectly circular path. The first click sets the starting (and ending) point of the circle, and the
second click defines the diameter of the circle. Holding down the option key (⌥) allows you to instead click once to define the
center point, and then click again to define the radius of the circle.

Flip vertical flips the selected group of points around the X axis.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Fading Video & Video Effects 6.7

Flip horizontal flips the selected group of points around the Y axis.

Rotate spins the selected group of points in 90 degree increments around the center point of the selection.

Reverse leaves the points in the same location, but reverses their order in the path. For example, consider this simple path with
two points:

After using the reverse tool, what was the start point is now the end point, and vice versa:

The help button displays a list of the keyboard shortcuts and modifiers for the Path tab.

The alignment menu in the upper right corner of the center area lets you choose where the axis is placed on the canvas. By
default, it is placed at the center, both horizontally and vertically, corresponding with QLab’s center origin point for video
geometry. However, this menu allows you to place the axis in one of the corners to help achieve your mathematical goals. It has no
functional difference beyond how the canvas is displayed, and therefore what sorts of values are easiest to enter.

To the right side of the canvas are a few more controls for configuring the canvas and the overall behavior of the path:

Width and Height allow you set the width and height of the blue rectangle. By default, QLab uses the size of the stage that the cue
target is assigned to use, but you can enter any values you like. These values are not a limit; the Fade cue can send values
outside the defined range. They are simply tools to help you visualize the extent of the space within which you are fading.

If you were using this Fade cue to fade scale, for example, you may prefer to set the width and height to the maximum scale that
you expect to fade to.

Merge percentage. If the starting point of the path does not align with the current position of the target cue, QLab can make the
fade smoother by merging the current position of the target with the path. The merge percentage is the point along the path by
which the target cue will “catch up” with the path. If the target is very close to the path, a merge may complete before the
specified percentage, but it will never complete later.

For example, if the merge is set to 25%, when the Fade cue starts running, the target cue will start moving organically towards
the values indicated by the path starting from wherever it is currently positioned. By the time the :fig-fate-2d-5: Fade cue is 25%
complete, the target cue will have arrived on the path, and the remaining 75% of the fade will proceed as drawn.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Fading Video & Video Effects 6.7

The interpolated path is drawn in green, showing you exactly where the target cue will travel from its current position, indicated by
the circle and crosshairs, to meet up with the path.

A higher merge percentage will result in a smoother meeting if the target cue is far away from the starting point of the path, but of
course it will also result in more of the movement being off the path as drawn.

Smooth path. When this box is un-checked, paths will be drawn precisely between each control point. When the box is checked,
the path will be smoothed between points to create a naturally curving line.

You can use the and buttons to zoom in and out on the canvas. If you’re using a trackpad, you can zoom in and out by placing
the cursor over the canvas and pinching in and out. If you’re using a mouse or trackball with a scroll wheel, you can zoom in and
out by holding down the option key (⌥) and scrolling vertically.

While zoomed in, you can pan around using two-finger swipes on a trackpad. If you have a mouse or trackball with a middle button
(oftentimes the scroll wheel can be clicked; this is usually the middle button,) you can pan around my holding that button down.

The Reset Points button resets the path to the default shape defined by the cue template.

The Audio FX Tab

The Audio FX Tab tab will only appear if the target cue contains audio. It behaves the same as the Audio FX tab for Fade cues
targeting Audio cues.

The Video FX Tab

QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Fading Video & Video Effects 6.7

Fade cues automatically recognize video effects added to their target cues, and list all of the parameters of all of the video
effects in use. By default, the checkbox next to each effect parameter is unchecked, which means the Fade cue will not adjust
that parameter. To fade a parameter, just check the box next to that parameter. Fade cues can adjust any number of parameters
simultaneously.

Clicking the Set Video FX from Target button will set all video effects parameters to the levels that they contain in the target cue.
This is a convenient way to get started building a fade, as it will help you keep track of the starting point from which you will be
fading.

Checking the box labeled Fade rate to, and setting a target rate, allows you to fade the playback rate of the target cue. The
maximum playback rate in QLab is 33 , or 33× normal speed, and the minimum is 0.03 . This control has no effect on Camera
or Text cues.

Stop Target When Done. If this box is checked, the target cue will stop once the fade is complete. If the box is unchecked, the
target cue will continue to run after the fade is complete.

Preview. This button provides quick access and a visual reference to the live fade preview setting.

Relative Fades

By default, Fade cues are Absolute. This means that any parameters that you adjust with a Fade cue will arrive at their final
levels regardless of their status before the Fade cue runs. If you use a Fade cue to set the scale of a target Video cue to
2 , then the scale of that Video cue will end up at 2 after running the Fade no matter where that level was set to begin with.

However, using the pop-up menu on the left side of the Levels tab or Geometry tab, you can set a Fade cue to be a relative
fade. Instead of setting levels to a specific value, relative fades either add or subtract a given amount or multiply or divide a given
amount from, to, or by the active parameters, so the starting point of those parameters very much matters. When set to relative,
the cue’s icon changes to the relative form.

In this screen shot, the Fade cue has its scale set to 0.9 which has the effect of reducing the size of the target to 90 % of its
current size. If you ran the Fade cue three times, the cumulative result would be reducing the size of the target cue to 72.9 %
of its original size, since each time the Fade cue runs, it causes a 90 % reduction of the then-current size.

Relative opacity changes are similarly multiplicative; a relative Fade cue set to an opacity of 90 % will reduce the opacity of its
target by 10 % of its then-current opacity.

Relative translation and rotation changes are additive, so a relative Fade cue set to an X-axis translation of 100 will add 100
pixels to the X-axis translation of its target each time it runs.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Video - Fading Video & Video Effects 6.7

Relative fades which adjust 3D rotation or video effects can have results which are difficult to predict, and so this manual will
refrain from making blanket statements about them.

In QLab 4, using absolute Fade cues on a parameter that had previously been adjusted by relative Fade cues could have
unpredictable results. In QLab 5, however, absolute fades supersede relative ones. In QLab 5, an absolute fade is absolutely more
absolute.

Reverting Fades

QLab has a sort of special-case undo command that applies only to Fade cues, called Revert Fade Action. You can find this
command under the Tools menu when a Fade cue is selected, or you can use the keyboard shortcut ⇧⌘R.

When Revert Fade Action is invoked on a Fade cue after that Fade cue has been run, QLab reverts the levels of that Fade
cue’s target to whatever they were before the Fade ran except for levels which have been otherwise changed. That is to say, the
only adjustments that are reverted are the ones that the selected Fade cue caused.

Broken Fade Cues

Fade cues can become broken for the following reasons:

Missing cue target

Assign a target cue to this cue.

No parameters set to fade

Set this cue to adjust at least one parameter. You can enable or disable an audio parameter by clicking in it; active controls will be
highlighted in yellow. You can enable or disable a video parameter by checking or unchecking the box next to it.

Missing cue audio effect

Either install the missing audio effect and restart QLab, or remove the missing effect from the Audio FX tab of the inspector of the
target cue.

License required

An audio or video license is required to fade playback rate, fade audio effects, fade patches, or use Timecode triggers. A video
license is required to fade video geometry or video effects. Install the appropriate type of license or adjust the cue to avoid using
licensed features to clear this warning.
Chapter 7: Lighting

7.1 Intro to Lighting

7.2 Light Cues
7.3 The Light Dashboard
7.4 The Lighting Command Language
7.5 The Light Patch Editor
7.6 Light Library
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Intro to Lighting 7.1

Intro to Lighting

A note on style

On this page, every time a new tool, interface item, or concept that we feel is particularly essential is mentioned, it will appear in bold text.
This is meant to help you notice that you’re being introduced to a new idea. Thereafter, and throughout the rest of this documentation,
bold text will be used in the traditional manner, as well as to indicate a menu name (such as the File menu.)

How QLab Communicates With Lights

QLab 5 communicates with lighting equipment in two ways. The first is by using the Art-Net protocol, which uses an ethernet or
WiFi network to transmit data. QLab sends Art-Net messages into the network, and those messages are received by other devices
on the network which can interpret Art-Net messages.

While some lighting instruments, dimmers, and other devices are able to receive and directly interpret Art-Net messages, most
lighting equipment must be controlled using the DMX control protocol. To connect to DMX-controlled lighting equipment, you’ll
need an Art-Net interface, often called a node, which is a device that receives Art-Net messages from a network and outputs DMX
messages over a traditional DMX connection. QLab is compatible with any Art-net interface that uses ethernet or WiFi. QLab uses
Art-net version 3, and is therefore theoretically compatible with any device that uses Art-net 4 or below, although it’s possible that
very old devices might not work well in a modern Art-net network.

The second way QLab can communicate with lighting equipment is by using any of the following compatible USB-DMX interfaces:

Enttec DMX USB Pro

Enttec DMX USB Pro Mk2

DMXking ultraDMX Micro
DMXking ultraDMX RDM Pro

DMXking ultraDMX2 Pro

DMXking ultraDMX MAX
DMXking eDMX1 MAX

DMXking eDMX2 MAX

DMXking eDMX4 MAX
Yarilo DMX PRO

These devices connect directly to your Mac over USB, and output DMX using a traditional XLR-3 or XLR-5 DMX connection.

A Very Brief Introduction To DMX

DMX, which is short for Digital MultipleX, is a venerable, reliable digital communication standard for lighting equipment. DMX is
generally transmitted using five-pin XLR cables, with one cable carrying a single universe of DMX. One universe contains 512
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Intro to Lighting 7.1

channels, and each channel is simply an address paired with a value. The status of the entire group of 512 channels is broadcast
every 23 milliseconds or so; that’s called one frame of data. You can imagine a frame of DMX like this:

Address Level

1 50

2 75

3 08

… …

512 00

(The … represents the rows for addresses 4 through 511.)

In this frame, address 1 is set to 50 , address 2 is set to 75 , address 3 is set to 8 , and address 512 is set to 0 . If the cable that
carries this DMX data is plugged into, say, a rack of dimmers that are addressed as 1 through 24, then that frame of DMX will set the
level of dimmer 1 to 50 , dimmer 2 to 75 , dimmer 3 to 8 and so on up to 24. The dimmer will ignore the data for the rest of the
DMX universe.

Levels in DMX range from 0 to 255 , although most equipment represents that range on a percentage scale of 0 to 100 .

You will sometimes encounter DMX-controlled devices which use RJ-45 connectors, which is the same type of connector used for
ethernet1. It’s important to keep in mind that while the connector is physically identical, the language being “spoken” is not
ethernet or Art-Net. You cannot plug such a device straight into an ethernet network and expect anything to happen.

The Light Patch

Before you can use lights in Light cues, you need to tell your workspace about the lights it will be controlling: how many are they,
what should they be called, what kind are they, and what DMX addresses do they use? You do this for each QLab workspace in
Workspace Settings → Light → Light Patch. There, you create instruments in the workspace and map them to the Art-Net/DMX
addresses of real fixtures or dimmers in the physical world. You can also define light groups which allow you to issue a single
command to a collection of instruments.

Parameters
In QLab, an instrument represents a single physical DMX-controlled object in the world. Your workspace will therefore need one
instrument for each lighting fixture, DMX-controlled accessory, and dimmer in your plot. Each instrument has one or more
parameters. Conventional lights, controlled by dimmers, have a single parameter: intensity. QLab also supports instruments with
more than one parameter. This could include any kind of fixture that uses more than a single DMX address, such as lights which can
pan, tilt, zoom, change color, etc.

Instruments in QLab can also contain virtual parameters, which are combinations of parameters that have special controls. For
example, color parameters on a light can be combined to let you use a graphical color picking tool, instead of manually adjusting
each color parameter individually. Virtual parameters are discussed in more detail throughout the Light section of this manual.

Light Definitions
The parameters available for each instrument are specified by a light definition. QLab comes with a variety of light definitions for a
range of lighting fixtures and dimmers, which you can find in the Light Library. You can use these definitions as-is, copy and edit
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Intro to Lighting 7.1

them to suit your needs, and create new light definitions from scratch for any fixtures you’ll be using which are not already in
QLab’s library. Any light definition you use in a workspace will be saved both in QLab’s global library, as well as a library embedded
within the workspace, so that the workspace may be safely moved from computer to computer.

If you do not wish to create your own definitions, please contact support@figure53.com and tell us the exact model name of the
fixtures you want to use, ideally with a link to its manual online, and we will be happy to create definitions for you.

Light Groups
In QLab, a light group is a collection of instruments or other light groups. For example, you might create a light group that contains
all the front light in your plot, to allow you to quickly set them all to a given level. Instruments within a group can still be controlled
individually at any time; the group is just a quick way to control several instruments at once.

Instruments and lighting groups may be given any name you like using letters, numbers, and spaces. By default, instruments are
given numeric names, but they are not limited to numbers. For example, if you have an instrument that lights a particular location
on the stage, such as a specific chair, you could name that instrument “chair” and refer to it as such. Similarly, you can name groups
to reflect their function, such as “front light” or “warms”.

To add an instrument to a group, select the instrument and click the button labeled Add to Group…

Once you have created instruments (and, optionally, groups) for all of your lights, you are ready to start building cues.

Light Cues in QLab

In many respects, Light cues in QLab work just like cues in any other lighting console: they fade some number of instruments to
specific levels over a given amount of time. An important difference, however, between QLab and most other lighting consoles is
that in QLab, any instrument that is not included in a cue is given no level, rather than an assumed level of 0 . Consider a show with
six conventional lights in it:

Cue 1 2 3 4 5 6

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

(Here, each row is a cue, and each column is an instrument.)

Now, let’s add cue 1 which brings all the lights to full:

Cue 1 2 3 4 5 6

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 100 100 100 100 100 100

Let’s say that the next scene is on one half of the stage, so for cue 2 we want to turn the other half of the stage down very low. In
QLab, that might look like this:

Cue 1 2 3 4 5 6

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 100 100 100 100 100 100

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Intro to Lighting 7.1

Cue 1 2 3 4 5 6

2 15 15 15

For instruments 4, 5, and 6, the levels from cue 1 persist since cue 2 does not assign any levels to those instruments. When you
launch QLab and then run cue 1 followed by cue 2, the real-world levels look like this:

Cue 1 2 3 4 5 6

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 100 100 100 100 100 100

2 15 15 15 100 100 100

The italicized levels in cue 2 are actually levels from cue 1 which have persisted. Cue 1 is the originating cue for the levels of
instruments 4, 5, and 6. Cue 2 is the originating cue for the levels of instruments 1, 2, and 3.

If you open your workspace, starting with all lights off, and then run only cue 2, you’ll get this:

Cue 1 2 3 4 5 6

2 15 15 15 0 0 0

Lights 1, 2, and 3 will come on to 15% , and lights 4, 5, and 6 will remain off. Put another way, the order in which you run Light cue
matters to QLab.

QLab provides a few tools which help you make use of this difference without letting it get in your way. You’ll learn more about
those tools in the rest of the Lighting section of this manual.

1. To be 100% fully accurate, perhaps overly so, the connector that most folks call an “ethernet” connector is called an RJ-45 connector only
when it’s used in a telephone or network system. When it’s used for any other purpose, it’s supposed to be called an “8P8C” connector. We
promise we did not make this up.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Cues 7.2

Light Cues

Light cues allow you to set and save lighting commands which set levels for lighting parameters. Light cues behave similarly to
Fade cue in that they have a specific duration and a curve shape which define how the cue’s saved levels will be applied to the
live lighting state over time. Light cues do not have a target; they can act upon one lighting instrument parameter, several, or
every parameter for every light in your workspace.

The Inspector for Light Cues

When a Light cue is selected, the inspector shows the Basics tab and Triggers tab, used by all cues, as well as the following tabs:

The Levels Tab

The Levels tab shows the lighting commands contained by the cue.

At the top of the Levels tab is the lighting command line. Lighting commands can be typed in to the command line to quickly add
them to the current cue. You can learn more about lighting commands in the Lighting Command Language section of this
documentation.

The Add Command pop-up menu contains an ordered list of all the instruments and light groups contained in the workspace.
Selecting an instrument or light group will add a command for that instrument or light group to the cue. This is an alternative to the
command line, and you can use whichever you prefer, or both. Instruments or light groups which already have commands in the
cue will be greyed out.

The Safe Sort Commands button sorts the light commands in the cue alphabetically, but since commands in a Light cue are
interpreted in order from top to bottom, QLab considers whether moving the command would change the end result of the cue. If
moving a particular command by sorting would change the result, that command is left un-sorted.

The Lighting Commands list

The commands contained by the Light cue are listed here in the order in which they were added to the cue, with the most
recent addition at the bottom. You can view the cue’s lighting commands as sliders, tiles, or text by using the pop-up menu at the
bottom left of the command list.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Cues 7.2

Slider View

In slider view, a yellow mark indicates the current value of each parameter. For example, in the screen shot above, instruments 101,
102, and 103 are all currently at 0 .

Additive color, subtractive color, and pan/tilt virtual parameters do not display a slider since they represent a compound value of
two or more parameters. When one of these virtual parameters is selected, the appropriate control appears on the right side of
the command list.

Commands can be dragged up and down in the list to re-order them. You can change a command by typing values into the text
fields or dragging the slider handles. Changes made in a Light cue will not be immediately reflected on stage; you need to run
the cue in order to see those changes. In this way, editing a Light cue in the inspector is analogous to editing in “blind” on a
traditional lighting console.

To edit “live”, make your changes in the Light Dashboard.

You can remove a command from the cue by clicking on the on the right side of the command.

Tile View

In tile view, a yellow outline reflects the level for each command; brighter for higher values.

Commands cannot be reordered in tile view. You can change a command by typing values into the text fields, or by clicking and
dragging up or down on a tile.

Individual tiles cannot be selected; rows of tiles can be. When a row is selected, the appropriate controls appear on the right side
of the command list.

You can delete a command from the cue in tile view by hovering your mouse over the tile, and clicking on the that appears.

Text View
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Cues 7.2

Text view gives you direct access to edit the light commands textually. You can delete a command from the cue in text view by
selecting and deleting the text of that command, and reorder commands by copying and pasting.

Other controls
Beneath the light command list are several controls.

The pop-up menu on the left allows you to choose amongst the slider, tile, or text view for the commands in this cue. Switching
between these options doesn’t change the cue itself, it simply changes the view.

When the box labeled Collate effects of previous light cues is checked, QLab will behave as though all prior Light cues in the same
list have been run when running this Light cue. This will result in the exact same total look on stage regardless of which other cues
have been run. Checking this box causes QLab’s behavior to most closely resemble the behavior of a traditional lighting console.

When the box labeled Use as subcontroller in dashboard is checked, the cue becomes available to use as a subcontroller in the
Light Dashboard. You can learn more about subcontrollers from the Subcontroller section of the Light Dashboard page of this
manual.

The Light Patch… button opens the Light Patch tab of Workspace Settings → Light.

The Dashboard… button opens the Light Dashboard window.

The Curve Tab

The curve shape determines the rate at which the parameter or parameters recorded into the cue are adjusted over the course of
the fade. The curve is drawn in yellow, overlaid on a grey grid. The curve on the left is used for levels which are increasing, and the
curve on the right is used for levels which are decreasing.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Cues 7.2

The pop-up menu at the top left of the tab allows you select one of four types of curves:

Custom curve, the default, allows you to create a smooth fade curve of any shape by clicking on the fade curve to create a
control point, and then dragging that control point around. The control point smoothly bends the fade curve towards the
point. To delete a control point, select it and press the delete key on your keyboard.
Linear curve allows you to precisely bend the curve using control points.
S-Curve is a fixed, “ease-in, ease-out” curve which provides a relatively even fade, but prevents the beginning and end of the
fade from feeling too sudden.

Parametric curve allows you to create a mathematically precise curve whose shape can be adjusted using the Intensity text
field.

The Duration field lets you edit the duration of the cue. This is the same as editing the duration in the Basics tab or in the Duration
column in the cue list.

The Reset to Default Shape button resets the fade curve to its default state.

Broken Light Cues

Light cues can become broken for the following reasons:

Invalid light command

The cue contains at least one light command that does not conform to QLab’s lighting command language, or perhaps includes a
typo. Invalid light commands can only be viewed when the Levels tab is in text mode. Remove or correct the light command(s) in
question to clear this error.

No instrument in this cue is patched

All light commands in the cue refer to instruments which are fully or partially unpatched. Add at least one light command for a
patched instrument, or complete the patch for least one instrument to which the cue already refers to clear this error.

Broken light definition

The cue contains one or more light commands that refers to an instrument whose definition is broken. Either remove the
command(s), correct the definition(s), or use a different definition for the light(s) in question to clear this error.

Missing USB DMX device

The cue contains one or more light commands for lights that are patched via a USB DMX device that is disconnected. Either
repatch the light(s) or reconnect the USB DMX device to clear this error.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

The Light Dashboard

The Light Dashboard consists of two tabs. The Live tab shows you the current, live levels of all lighting instruments in your
workspace and lets you manipulate them in real time. If you change a value in the Light Dashboard, the change will be sent
immediately to the lighting hardware, and you will see that change reflected in the fixtures and devices connected to your QLab
lighting system. Similarly, when you run a Light cue, you’ll see the changes made by that cue in the Light Dashboard as they
happen.

The Audition tab shows you light levels adjusted by Light cues that have been auditioned. The Audition tab is discussed below.

You can open the Light Dashboard by choosing it from the Window menu or by using the keyboard shortcut ⇧⌘D.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

Levels in the Dashboard can be modified a number of ways:

By typing commands into the Light Command Line;

By clicking and dragging on the sliders or tiles;
By double clicking in individual parameters’ text fields and typing values;

By clicking and dragging on parameters’ text fields.

The Light Command Line

Across the top of the Dashboard is a command line which allows you to manipulate the Dashboard quickly and powerfully. You can
learn how to use it in the Lighting Command Language section of this manual.

Over Time
Typically, any commands you type into the command line will execute immediately when you hit enter. If you type a time into this
field, however, the command will fade over that amount of time. This concept, called sneak on some other lighting consoles, allows
you to make changes to the live state of your lights in a gentle, subtle way. The Over Time field resets itself to 0 after every use.

All or Used
When this pop-up menu is set to All, the Dashboard will display every instrument and light group defined in the workspace’s patch.

When the pop-up is set to Used, the Dashboard will only display instruments and light groups which are currently recorded into
cues plus any instruments or light groups which have been manually adjusted (i.e. any control that is drawn in yellow.)

Sliders or Tiles
The Dashboard offers two ways to look at your lighting:

Slider view shows one instrument or light group per line, sorted alphabetically, with a text field on the left side and a slider on the
right. Values can be typed into the text field, or modified by clicking and dragging on the sliders. Multiple values can be adjusted at
once by shift-clicking on two or more sliders and then dragging.

Decimal values are supported for parameters that use a percentage scale. You can only enter decimal values by typing or dragging
on parameters’ text fields; dragged sliders or tiles will snap to whole numbers.

When dragging on parameters’ text fields, the number of decimal places shown depends on whether the parameter is 8-bit or 16-
bit; more decimal places are shown for 16-bit parameters in order to give you as much precision as possible.

You can hold down the ⇧ (shift) key while dragging to be even more precise.

When a parameter has been modified in the Dashboard, that parameter’s control turns yellow. The slider handle displays as a
triangle pointing in the direction that the parameter last moved.

Rows which represent groups show yellow marks to indicate different levels of individual instruments within the group.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

Instruments and light groups that have more than one parameter will display a disclosure triangle on the left edge of the Light
Dashboard. When the triangle is pointing to the right, only the default parameter of the instrument or light group (typically the
intensity parameter) will be shown. If you click the triangle, the slider will “unfold” to show all the parameters of the instrument or
group.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

Light groups contain all the parameters for every instrument they contain.

Tile view shows each parameter of every instrument or light group as a tile with the level of the parameter above in larger text, and
the name of the instrument and parameter below in smaller text. Tiles are divided into light groups, single-parameter “simple”
instruments, and multi-parameter “fancy” instruments. The brightness of the outline of each parameter control reflects the
current value of that parameter.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

Any tile containing a value that has been manually adjusted since a Light cue was run is displayed with a yellow background.

Virtual Controls
Whenever an instrument is selected that has an additive color, subtractive color, hue/saturation/intensity, or pan/tilt virtual
parameter, controls for those virtual parameters are displayed in the sidebar of the Light Dashboard.

The Additive Color Picker

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

The additive color picker has at least red, green, and blue components, but can also include other components such as amber,
white, lime, indigo, or others as specified by the light definition.

You can click and drag the circular pip around the triangle, or swipe with two fingers on a trackpad. Holding down the ⇧ (shift) key
while swiping allows you to move more slowly and precisely.

Each component of the picker also has its own slider beneath the triangle, and these sliders update in real-time as you drag the
pip. You can also drag the sliders to increase or decrease the level for individual color components. When adjusting sliders for
colors other than red, green, or blue, the shading of the triangle will change to simulate the range of colors that become available
in response to the adjustment.

The % slider allows you to proportionally scale all the color components at once, which is particularly helpful when using lighting
instruments that have no intensity parameter.

The Subtractive Color Picker

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

The subtractive color picker has only cyan, magenta, and yellow components, and is shown upside-down with respect to the
additive picker.

The Hue/Saturation/Intensity (HSI) Picker

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

The hue/saturation/intensity (HSI) picker is circular. Unlike the % slider in the additive color picker, the intensity slider in the HDI
picker is directly connected to the intensity parameter of the instrument.

The Pan/Tilt control

The pan/tilt control shows pan in the horizontal axis and tilt in the vertical axis with light grey gridlines every ten percent.

Additional Controls
You can right-click or control-click in the sidebar to optionally display additional sliders for the default parameter and all other
parameters of the selected instrument. This can be useful if you wish to keep multi-parameter instruments “folded up” in the main
area of the dashboard, and use the sidebar to control all of their parameters.

Latest Light cue

Unlike many other lighting consoles, QLab is not confined to being “in” a cue, since each Light cue does not necessarily contain
commands for every light in the patch. Put another way, the results of more than one cue can be reflected on stage at once, and
when that’s the case there’s no clear cue that QLab is “in”. Rather, QLab tracks cues as they are run, and lists the most recently run
Light cue here.

Revert Changes & Clear All

Clicking Revert Changes ⌘R will restore all parameters that you’ve changed in the Light Dashboard to the levels that they were
last set to. This restore happens over the workspace’s panic duration.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

The Dashboard also supports undo (and redo). Undo can be used to revert individual changes.

Clicking Clear All will clear any modifications made in the Dashboard and set all parameters of all lights to their home value. Please
be aware that this generally causes a blackout. This button is the QLab equivalent of what many other consoles refer to as “Go To
Cue out.”

Recording and Updating Cues

In the lower right corner of the Dashboard are four buttons for creating and updating cues. Cues created using these buttons will
appear in the current cue list or cart, directly after the selected cue. If no cue is selected, new cues will appear at the end of the
current cue list or cart.

Record All
The Record All… button displays a pop-up menu with three options, each of which may or may not be available depending upon
the situation:

Latest Cue. Record all current light levels into the latest Light cue, overwriting any levels already in that cue. If no Light
cues have been run, and no cue is displayed to the left as the latest Light cue, then this option is not available.

Selected Cue(s). Record all current light levels into the currently selected Light cue or cues, overwriting any levels already
in those cues. If there are no currently selected Light cues, then this option is not available.
New Cue. Record all current light levels into a new Light cue. In QLab, in the context of lighting, the word record is used to
mean “capture the current level of all parameters of all instruments in the workspace.” What this means is that any parameters
that do not have an explicit level in the Light Dashboard (i.e. those parameters which haven’t been touched since the
workspace was opened) will be recorded at their home value (typically 0 .) In this way, cues created or modified using Record
All… function as blocking cues.

Update
The Update… button becomes enabled whenever the Dashboard contains modified (yellow) values. It displays a pop-up menu with
three options, each of which may or may not be available depending upon the situation:

Latest Cue (⌘U). Copy all modified light levels into the latest Light cue. If the modified levels belong to lights or groups that
are already in the latest cue, QLab will overwrite those levels. If not, QLab will add them and leave everything else alone. If no
Light cues have been run, and no cue is displayed to the left as the latest Light cue, then this option is not available.
Selected Cue (⇧⌘U). Copy all modified light levels into the currently selected Light cue or cues. If the modified levels
belong to lights or groups that are already in the selected cue or cues, QLab will overwrite those levels. If not, QLab will add
them and leave everything else alone. If there are no currently selected Light cues, then this option is not available.
Originating Cue (⌥⌘U). Copy all modified light levels into the cue or cues which originated their current levels. This concept
is most similar to “record track” and is explained in more detail below.

New Cue with All

This button serves as a shortcut for Record All > New Cue. You can also use the keyboard shortcut ⇧⌘N.

New Cue with Changes

This button records only changed levels into a new Light cue. For example, consider this screen shot:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

Here, a Light cue has been run which raised instrument 4 to 24 and instrument src4 to 69 . Then, instrument 2 has been
manually set to 36 and instrument 3 has been manually set to 50

If you click New Cue with Changes when the Dashboard looks like that, QLab would create a new cue containing 2 = 36 and 3 =
50 . Instruments 1 , 4 , src4 , and viper are not recorded into the cue because their levels have not been modified in the
Dashboard.

When you run this new cue, only 2 and 3 will change, and the other lights will be left alone at whatever levels they’re already set
to. In this way, cues created using New Cue with Changes function as tracking cues.

Originating Cues Explained

Since not every cue needs to provide a value for every instrument, it is possible that, after running several cues, the Dashboard
reflects the handiwork of more than one cue. Update Originating Cue(s) will update the value of each instrument in the cue that
originated the level for that instrument. This is complicated, so we’ll walk through that step by step. Consider a show with six
instruments, and five cues:

Cue 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 100 100 100 100 100 100

2 15 15 15

3 80

4 25 25

5 50

After running all five cues, in order, the live state of the lights in this show are:

Cue 1 2 3 4 5 6
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

Cue 1 2 3 4 5 6

Live: 15 80 50 25 25 100

The levels for each instrument originate in different cues:

Cue 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 100 100 100 100 100 100

2 15 15 15

3 80

4 25 25

5 50

If you ran those five cues, and then adjusted all six instruments to 75, the button would read Update 5 Originating Cues because
those instruments’ levels originate in five different cues. If you then clicked the button, those originating cues would all be updated:

Cue 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 100 100 100 100 100 75

2 75 15 15

3 75

4 75 75

5 75

The DMX Status Window

The DMX Status Window, which you can find under the Window menu, is a diagnostic and troubleshooting tool that’s not part of
the Light Dashboard, but is related. The DMX Status Window shows the current value of one universe of DMX at a time, and lets you
manually set the level of individual addresses. You cannot record changes you make in this window; it’s intended only to help you
solve patching errors, discover whether a misbehaving fixture is correctly addressed, etc.

The Tools Menu

When the Light Dashboard is the frontmost window, the contents of the Tools menu is re-populated with relevant menu items:

Tool Keyboard Shortcut

New Cue with Changes (⌘N)

New Cue with All (⇧⌘N)

Update Latest Cue (⌘U)

Update Selected Cues (⇧⌘U)

Update Originating Cues (⌥⌘U)

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

Tool Keyboard Shortcut

Record All to Latest Cue

Record All to Selected Cues

Clear All

Revert Changes (⌘R)

Park Selected Lights

Unpark Selected Lights

Parking
Parking an instrument freezes its current state until it is unparked. While parked, neither cues nor the Light Dashboard can alter the
actual live state of the parameter, and the parked value cannot be recorded into cues. This can be helpful for things like keeping
house lights at a glow during focus, or preventing a strobe light or fog machine from turning on while working on cues.

To park an instrument, set the Light Dashboard to Slider view, select the instrument’s slider, and choose Park Selected Lights from
the Tools menu. If the instrument has more that one parameter, you can select the top-level slider to park the whole instrument,
or you can select one or more parameters’ sliders to park only those parameters.

You can park multiple instruments, groups, or parameters by command-clicking on multiple sliders.

When a parameter is parked, it is drawn with a diagonal striping overlay much like a disarmed cue.

Parameters can still be edited while parked, but the actual DMX output from QLab will remain locked to whatever value was set
when the parameter was parked. The parked value will be shown on the fader track using a yellow light mark.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

In this screen shot, two parameters of the light called 101 have been parked: the strobe parameter is parked at 0 , and the fan
parameter is parked at 160 . The fan parameter has subsequently been set to 80 , and the light mark shows that the current live
value of the fan parameter remains at 16 . All other parameters of the instrument remain unparked and can be used as normal.

To unpark an instrument or parameter, select it in the Light Dashboard and choose Unpark Selected Lights from the Tools menu.

When an instrument or parameter is unparked, QLab immediately updates the live value being sent to that instrument or
parameter. This could cause surprising behavior if, for example, you park a group of strobe lights at 0 , then run a cue which brings
them to full, and then unpark them. Because of this, QLab displays confirmation dialogue boxes for both parking and unparking.

Subcontrollers
Subcontrollers can be thought of as light groups which have proportional control over the parameters which they include. A
subcontroller is defined by creating a Light cue, giving that cue a number, and checking the box labeled Use as subcontroller in
dashboard in the Levels tab of the inspector.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

Again, only Light cues with cue numbers can be used as subcontrollers.

When that checkbox is checked, a slider appears in the Light Dashboard labeled with the cue number of the cue. Dragging the
slider or the level field, or typing in a level, proportionally controls all the parameters recorded into the subcontroller.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Dashboard 7.3

Any parameters can be included in subcontrollers, so it’s important to be careful and specific when building Light cues that will
be used as subcontrollers. Including parameters such as timing control channels for moving lights can have unpredictable results.
Including parameters which instruct arc lamps to strike or extinguish can be potentially dangerous for the lamps.

Highest Takes Precedence

Subcontrollers interact with cues according to a rule called highest takes precedence, often referred to simply as HTP. When both
a cue and a subcontroller are simultaneously setting levels for a parameter, the parameter is set to whichever level is higher. For
example, if a subcontroller is holding a light at 20% and a cue runs which brings all lights out, the one light in the subcontroller will
remain at 20% . If another cue runs which brings all lights to 100% , the light in the subcontroller will go up to 100% as well, since
that’s the higher level.

Subcontrollers do not interact with each other or with the rest of the Light Dashboard according to HTP. All controls within the
Light Dashboard behave according to latest takes precedence or LTP. Under LTP rules, parameters simply respond to the most
recent level they’re given.

The Audition Tab

When a Light cue is auditioned or audition previewed, its commands are run in the Audition tab of the Light Dashboard instead
of the Live tab. The Audition tab does not connect to actual DMX output, and as a result, auditioning a Light cue shows you its
results in the Light Dashboard only, without altering the actual levels of your actual instruments. Traditional lighting consoles often
refer to this type of behavior as “blind.”

The buttons at the bottom of the Light Dashboard behave the same way in the Audition tab as they do in the Live tab, with one
exception; the Audition tab does not have a Clear All button. In its place is a Reset from Live button which snaps all levels in the
Audition tab to match the current state of the Live tab.

The Audition tab has a dark blue background to help distinguish it from the Live tab.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Lighting Command Language 7.4

The Lighting Command Language

QLab 5 uses a textual light command language which you can use to control your lighting instruments. At its core, every light cue
contains a plain block of text which is interpreted as this command language. The basic formats of lighting commands are as
follows:

instrument = value
instrument.parameter = value
group = value
group.parameter = value

Note that spaces in a lighting command are always optional. 10=53 is the exact same thing as 10 = 53 .

When a command omits a parameter and instead takes the form of instrument = value , QLab fills in the default parameter as
specified by the instrument’s definition. Typically, this default parameter is intensity but it can be any parameter. So, if instrument
20 uses an instrument definition that sets the default parameter to intensity, 20 = 75 is the exact same thing as 20.intensity =
75 .

When a command refers to group.parameter , the value of that command is passed to all instruments within the group that have
that parameter. So the command group.blue = 50 would set the blue parameter of any instruments in that group to 50 .
Instruments which do not have the given parameter are ignored.

Percentages, DMX values, and decimal numbers

QLab supports both percentage values and “raw” DMX values. Individual parameters of instruments can be set to use one or the
other in their definitions. If a parameter uses percentage values, QLab will accept decimal numbers on the command line or when
typing into the text field of sliders or tiles. QLab will round your entry to the nearest DMX level equivalent.

For example, if instrument 1 in your workspace is a conventional dimmer set to accept percentage values, and you enter 1 =
10.7 , QLab will round down to 10.59 , because 10.7% is mathematically closest to DMX level 25 , and the exact representation of
25 in DMX is 10.59% .

Pass

An instrument or group can be set to the value pass to explicitly prevent them from being adjusted by the current cue. Consider a
show with a group called backlight , and three instruments in the group called 10 , 11 , and 12 . If a cue consists of the following
commands:

backlight = 75
12 = pass

then instruments 10 and 11 would be set to 75 , and 12 would be left un-adjusted.

Home

The command instrument = home or instrument.parameter = home sets the instrument or parameter to its home value, as
specified in the instrument definition. For example, the included “dimmer” definition has a home value of 0 , so setting an
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Lighting Command Language 7.4

instrument that uses the dimmer definition to home turns it off. The included “DMX iris” definition has a home value of 100 , so
setting an instrument that uses the DMX iris definition to home opens the iris all the way.

Up arrow

The up arrow key scrolls through the history of the command line, providing an easy way to experiment with a level. For example:

1 = 80 |Enter|
|Up|
70 |Enter|
|Up|
75 |Enter|

Instrument 1 is set to 80 , then 70 , then 75 , and reentering the 1= is not necessary.

Ranges
A lighting command can also refer to a range of instruments:

1 - 3 = 50
10, 12, 14 = 75

The range will be expanded to its constituent commands before being added to the cue, or applied to the Dashboard. Thus, the
commands above would appear in a cue as:

1 = 50
2 = 50
3 = 50
10 = 75
12 = 75
14 = 75

Ad-hoc Groups
You can alternately define an “ad-hoc” group by enclosing a range in brackets:

[1 - 3] = 50
[10, 12, 14] = 50

Bracketed commands remain as single commands in the cue, and behave just like light groups.

Pull From Cue

Parameters can be set to “pull” a level from another cue, dynamically inserting the level from that other cue at the moment the cue
is run. Those familiar with the idea of palettes or presets on other lighting consoles will find this concept familiar.

To pull levels from one cue into another, instead of entering a level for a parameter, enter cue and the number of the cue you
want to pull from:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Lighting Command Language 7.4

10 = cue A

This command sets instrument 10 to whatever values it’s set to in cue A. If instrument 10 is not recorded in cue A, then this
command has no effect. If instrument 10 is a multi-parameter instrument, the above command will set all the parameters of
instrument 10 to the values they’re set to in cue A. You can also be more precise, if you like:

10.zoom = cue A

This command sets only the zoom parameter of instrument 10 to the value stored in cue A. If cue A contains light groups, you can
pull the whole group or only part of the group into the new cue by making use of the fact that QLab interprets light commands
sequentially. Consider a workspace where group1 contains instruments 1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 :

group1 = cue A
3 = pass
4 = 75

This series of commands combines together to give you the following results:

1 = (whatever it is in cue A)
2 = (whatever it is in cue A)
3 = (left alone)
4 = 75

If cue A is updated, any cues which pull from it will receive the updated values the next time they run. In this way, you can think of a
pull command as being “linked” to the cue that it pulls from. To “break” this link, and make the command stop pulling from the
source cue, you can click the Expand button next to the light command in the inspector. This copies the pulled level into the
current cue, and turns that command into a normal light command.

Proportional Pulls
You can scale a pulled value using the asterisk (*) character:

10 = cue A * .5

This command sets instrument 10 to half of whatever values it has in cue A. This can be an easy way to mimic a look from an
earlier cue, but make it a bit dimmer or a bit brighter.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Patch Editor 7.5

The Light Patch Editor

The Light Patch Editor comprises the first two tabs found in Workspace Settings → Light: the Light Patch tab and the Light
Definitions tab.

The Light Patch Tab

The Light Patch tab allows you to view and edit the instruments and light groups in the workspace.

The New Instrument ⌘N button lets you add one or more instruments to the workspace. When you click the button, a popover
will appear giving you several options, including the number of instruments you want to create, the definition they should use, and
so on.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Patch Editor 7.5

The New Group ⌘G button lets you add one or more light groups to the workspace. When you click the button, a popover will
appear giving you several options, including how many groups you want to create and whether you would like the currently selected
instruments to be included in the newly created group or groups.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Patch Editor 7.5

The Auto-patch Selected… button lets you automatically assign DMX addresses to the instruments currently selected in the patch
list. QLab will display a dialog box which allows you to choose the DMX device you want to use, as well as the starting address. QLab
will then assign addresses to the selected instruments according to the specifics you enter into the box.

The Delete Selected ⌘⌫ button deletes the selected instrument(s) and/or light groups(s) from the workspace.

The Patch Table

All instruments and light groups in the workspace are listed here, sorted alphabetically by name. You can click on the right-pointing
disclosure triangle to reveal the parameters for each instrument, or the instruments contained in each light group.

Status. The status column displays a icon for a broken instrument, or a icon for an instrument without an address assigned.
Otherwise, this column displays nothing.

Name. Names must be unique within a workspace, and can contain letters, numbers, and spaces only.

Address(es). This column displays the DMX address or addresses for the instrument. You can double click on the address to edit it.
If the instrument requires multiple addresses, enter only the starting address. Although multiple instruments cannot be assigned to
the same address, QLab will allow you to enter an address which is already used. Instruments with conflicting addresses will be
marked as broken and will not work until the conflict is solved. Without an applicable license installed, any instruments using
more than the freely allowed 16 addresses will be marked as broken.

Addresses must be unique per universe, per device.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Patch Editor 7.5

Output. This column displays the output device, Art-net or USB, that the instrument is set to use. If the output device supports
more than one universe of DMX, that information is shown as well.

For multi-universe devices, the first universe is numbered 0 . Art-net additionally allows 128 nets, each containing 16 sub-nets.
Each sub-net contains 16 universes. So, the first 512 addresses in a lighting device are all part of universe 0, which is part of sub-net
0, which is part of net 0. Since sixteen universes contain 8,192 addresses, you likely will not need to worry about net or sub-net
unless you have a very complex show.

Note. For your notational pleasure.

You can right-click (or control-click or two-finger-click) on the column headings to show two more columns which are hidden by
default:

Definition. Shows the instrument definition for the instrument. Click on the definition icon to choose a different instrument
definition.

Groups. Lists the light groups that the instrument belongs to, not including the default “all” light group, which all instruments always
belong to.

You can also hide any of the default columns as you prefer.

Beneath the patch table is a sort of mini-inspector that shows details of the selected instrument or light group.

Name, Note, and Definition are all duplicate, alternative views for the same information listed in the patch table. You can view and
change each of these properties in both places.

Output. QLab can use both Art-net and certain USB DMX devices to communicate with lighting equipment. Each individual
instrument can be assigned to either the Art-net network or to an individual USB DMX device.

If you assign the instrument to Art-net, QLab will display Universe, Sub-Net, and Net fields for you to fill in. These fields should
correspond with the configuration of the Art-net node that the instrument is connected to.

If you assign the instrument to a USB device, QLab will display a Device pop-up menu of available USB DMX devices. If you select a
USB device has more than one universe, a text field will also be displayed allowing you to select which universe the selected
instrument should use. Note that the first universe of a device is always universe 0 .

If you select “None”, the instrument will remain unpatched. Unpatched instruments are not displayed in the Dashboard.

It’s important to remember that all Art-net nodes on a network share one set of Universes, Sub-Nets, and Nets, whereas all USB
DMX devices have their own, unique sets of Universes. If you have two single-universe Art-net nodes both set to universe 1, sub-net
2, net 3, then the address space is shared on both devices, and you have a total of 512 addresses available to use. If you have two
single-universe USB DMX devices, they each refer to themselves as universe 0, but they are in fact separate address spaces and you
have a total of 1024 addresses available to use.

The Add to Group… button displays a pop-up of all light groups in the workspace, and allows you add the selected instrument(s)
and/or light group(s) to a light group. Light groups can indeed contain other light groups.

Below the button is a list of the light groups that the selected instrument(s) and/or light group(s) belong to.

The Light Definitions Tab

The Light Definitions tab lists every light definition used by at least one instrument in the workspace. Definitions are copied into the
workspace from the Light Library when that definition is selected for an instrument in the light patch. If all the instruments using a
particular definition are deleted from the workspace, however, the definition remains in the workspace until it’s manually removed.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Patch Editor 7.5

There are five buttons across the top of the Light Definitions tab:

The New button creates a new instrument definition in the workspace.

The Duplicate button creates a copy of the selected definition within in the workspace.
The Delete button deletes the selected definition from the workspace. QLab will not permit you to delete a definition that is
currently being used. Note that deleting a definition from a workspace does not delete that definitions from the Light Library.
The Save to library is enabled when a definition is selected that exists in the workspace, but not in the Light Library. Clicking
this button saves the definition to the Light Library, which allows it to be used in any workspace.

The Update from library button is enabled if the definition in the workspace has the same name as a definition in the global
Light Library, but different parameters. Clicking this button replaces the workspace’s definition with the global one.

Filter. Type here to temporarily filter the list of definitions by name, to make it easier to find what you’re looking for.

Definition List. Definitions are hierarchically sorted by manufacturer, and listed in alphabetical order. Selecting a definition allows
you to view and edit its details to the right of the window.

Editing Instrument Definitions

Instrument definitions must include a unique name, a manufacturer, and at least one parameter. Definitions can optionally also
include virtual parameters which enable the use of complex controls like color pickers.

Default. A definition can optionally have a default parameter, which is the parameter that will respond to commands that do not
specify a parameter. In most cases, the default parameter is intensity , so that you can use commands like 1 = 100 or 1 = 50
and control the brightness of the light. If you want to set a different default parameter, or set no default parameter, use this drop-
down menu.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Patch Editor 7.5

To add a parameter to the currently selected instrument definitions, click the Add parameter button below the Parameters table.
To delete the last parameter from the current instrument definition, click Remove last parameter .

The Parameters tab five columns: #. The order in which parameters are listed is defined by the manufacturer of the lighting
instrument. If you are creating your own definitions, be sure to add parameters in the correct order according to the
manufacturer’s specifications.

Name. Parameter names must be unique per instrument, and can contain only letters, numbers, and spaces.

16-bit. Some lighting instruments and accessories use two DMX addresses for a single parameter to allow much more precise
control; two DMX addresses allows for a range of 0 to 65,535. Check this box to assign the parameter to use two adjacent addresses
together as a single 16-bit address.

Use %. DMX values range from 0 to 255. Check this box to have QLab express the parameter in terms of a percentage scale. This
does not alter the behavior of the parameter at all; it only alters how the parameter is displayed in the Light Dashboard and in cues.

Home. Set the home position for the parameter. For dimmers, that’s usually 0%, meaning off. For irises it’s typically 100%, meaning
open. For moving mirrors it’s usually 50%, meaning center.

Virtual Parameters
Virtual parameters are a way of grouping together several related parameters of a light. These parameters can then be controlled
together with a single light command, and with a corresponding control tool in the Light Dashboard.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Patch Editor 7.5

There are four types of virtual parameters, each of which behaves in a specific way. To create a new virtual parameter, navigate to
the Virtual Parameters tab of the Parameters table, click on the Add… button at the bottom, and select from the four options:

RGB Color. This virtual parameter is used to combine color parameters on lights which use additive color mixing. Lights with
this virtual parameter display an additive color picker control in the Light Dashboard and in the Light cue inspector. A light
needs at least one red , one green , and one blue parameter to include in an RGB Color virtual parameter, and if the light
has additional colors, such as white , amber , or lime , those can be added as well. If your light contains multiple cells or
zones with their own color controls, you can create multiple RGB Color virtual parameters; one for each cell or zone.
CMY Color. This virtual parameter is used to combine cyan , magenta , and yellow color parameters on lights which use
subtractive color mixing (or simulated subtractive color mixing.) Lights with this virtual parameter display a subtractive color
picker control in the Light Dashboard and in the Light cue inspector.
HSI Color. This virtual parameter is used to combine hue , saturation , and intensity (or value ) parameters on lights
which use HSI or HSV color mixing. Lights with this virtual parameter display an HSI color picker control in the Light Dashboard
and in the Light cue inspector.

Pan/Tilt. This virtual parameter is used to combine pan and tilt parameters. Lights with this virtual parameter display a
pan/tilt control in the Light Dashboard and in the Light cue inspector.
One-to-Many. This virtual parameter is used to create a single control that simultaneously commands multiple individual
parameters. For example, if you have a multi-cell strip light that does not have an overall intensity channel, you could create a
One-to-Many virtual parameter that includes the intensity parameter for each cell. This virtual parameter will then function as
an overall intensity control for the whole fixture. One-to-Many virtual parameters can include both regular parameters and
other virtual parameters.

The Light Dashboard MIDI Tab

The Light Dashboard MIDI tab allows you to map incoming MIDI messages to light instrument parameters in the Light Dashboard.
This lets you, for example, use MIDI control surfaces to directly control lights in QLab. You can learn more about the Light
Dashboard MIDI tab in the Workspace Settings → Light section of this manual.

The Patch Menu

When the Light Patch Editor is active, the Tools menu becomes the Patch menu, containing tools for working with the light patch:

Unpatch All. Remove the DMX address assignment for all instruments in the workspace. Needless to say, the instruments will need
to have DMX addresses reassigned before they can be used. Unpatched instruments are not displayed in the Dashboard.

Unpatch Selected. Remove the DMX address assignment for the instruments currently selected in the patch list.

Auto-patch All… Automatically assign DMX addresses to all instruments in the patch list. QLab will display a dialog box which allows
you to choose the device you want to use, as well as the starting DMX address. QLab will then assign addresses to all instruments
according to the specifics you enter into the box, moving sequentially through to the last parameter of the last instrument. This will
overwrite any existing DMX assignments, but will not alter instrument names, definitions, light group assignments, or any other
attributes.

Auto-patch Selected… Automatically assign DMX addresses to the instruments currently selected in the patch list. QLab will display
a dialog box which allows you to choose the device you want to use, as well as the starting DMX address. QLab will then assign
addresses to the selected instruments according to the specifics you enter into the box, moving sequentially through to the last
parameter of the last instrument. This will overwrite any existing DMX assignments, but will not alter instrument names, definitions,
light group assignments, or any other attributes.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - The Light Patch Editor 7.5

Select all instruments selects every instrument in the light patch.

Select all unpatched instruments selects only instruments with absent or incomplete patch information.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Light Library

QLab’s global Light Library can be found by choosing Light Library from the Window menu. The Light Library works exactly like the
Definitions tab of the Light Patch Editor except that it lets you view and edit the global collection of lighting definitions on your
Mac, rather than the collection of lighting definitions within the workspace.

Light definitions (other than the stock definitions shipped with QLab) are stored in ~/Library/Application
Support/QLab/LightLibrary ; each definition is a JSON file with the file extension .qlablight .

If you are only just getting started with lighting in QLab, and have not done much work with light definitions, this folder may not yet
exist since QLab only creates it to store definitions that you add or edit. If you go looking for this folder and cannot find it, you can
create it yourself by hand. Just navigate to ~/Library/Application Support/QLab/ and create a new folder called LightLibrary .

QLab ships with definitions for the following fixtures. These definitions do not appear in the LightLibrary folder; they reside in
the QLab application itself. The inclusion of a particular fixture in QLab’s library should not be construed as an endorsement of that
fixture, and omission of a fixture should not necessarily be construed as an admonishment. There are quite a lot of lights out there,
and we cannot possibly assess each one individually. We try to include definitions for as many lights as possible that we think are
likely to be used with QLab. If you would like us to create definitions for a specific fixture, or a whole range of fixtures, please
contact us at support@figure53.com and tell us about it. We’ll be happy to create the instrument definitions for you, and we may
also add them to a subsequent release of QLab.

Generic
Dimmer
DMX Iris, 8-bit and 16-bit

RGB fixture, with and without intensity channel, 8-bit and 16-bit
RGBW fixture, with and without intensity channel, 8-bit and 16-bit
RGBAW fixture, with and without intensity channel, 8-bit and 16-bit

Scroller
Variable white fixture with intensity channel, 8-bit and 16-bit

Acme

Aeco 5
Aeco 10
Aurora

Beluga Diabolo

Cetus Ellipsoidal 10

Chiron Ellipsoidal 40

Coolie 14FC Ellipsoidal 300

Coolie 545 Energy Hybrid

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Energy Spot Pro Stage PAR 100 IP CW

Flamenco CW Stage PAR 100 IP WW

Flamenco WW Stage PAR 100 IP Colour

Geist Beam Stage PAR 400 Zoom IP
Geist BSWF Stage PAR 600 Zoom IP

Geist Framing Stage PAR CCT

Glamour 350Z III Stage PAR CCT D15
Glamour 700Z Stage PAR Colour

Glory Framing 5000 Stage PAR Colour D15

Glory Framing N Stage PAR Tungsten
Glory Profile T Stage PAR UV

Glory Wash 5000 Sunrise

Icarus 320 Super Geist Framing
Icarus 620 Theatre Spot 150

Leo Theatre Spot 300

Libra Thunder
Nebula CW Thunderbolt

Nebula WW Thunderstruck
Ocellaris Thunder Breaker
Orion Thunder Roar

Oxozone Tour Pixel Bar 1010 II

Oxygen TV Light Panel 1000 CW
Ozone TV Light Panel 1000 WW

Pageant 300ZR II TV Light Panel 1000 VW

Pageant 600Z II TV Light Panel 2000 CW
Ray 500 TV Light Panel 2000 WW

Rayzor Hybrid TV Light Panel 2000 VW

Scorpius TV Panel 100
Solar Flare II TV Panel 200

Solar Impulse Willow 500

Solaris
Sparkling

Spartan Hybrid
Stage Blinder IP CW
Stage Blinder IP WW
Stage Blinder IP VW

Stage Blinder IP RGBW

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Altman
AP-150 RGBW LED Par
Spectra Series fixtures (all models)
PHX Series fixtures (all models)

American DJ

5P Hex

5PX Hex
12P Hex
18P Hex Eliminator Stryker Wash

7P Hex IP Encore Burst RGBW IP

12P Hex IP Encore Burst UV IP

18P Hex IP Entour Faze

15 Hex Bar IP Encore FR Pro Color

32 Hex Panel IP Encore FR50Z

3 Sixty 2R Encore FR150Z

64B LED Pro Encore LP5IP

7PZ IP Encore LP7IP

Asteroid 1200 Encore LP12IP

Chameleon QBar Pro Encore LP18IP

COB Cannon LP200ST Encore Profile 1000 Color

COB Cannon Wash Encore Profile 1000 WW

COB Cannon Wash DW Encore Profile Mini Color

COB Cannon Wash ST Encore Profile Pro Color

COB Cannon Wash ST DW Encore Profile Mini WW

Dotz Matrix Encore Profile Pro WW

Dotz Panel 2.4 Encore Z7LP

Dotz Par Entour Haze Pro

Dotz Par 100 Entour Ice

Eco UV Bar DMX Entour Snow

Eliminator Stealth Beam Entour Venue

Eliminator Stealth Craze Entourage

Eliminator Stealth Spot Event Bar Pro

Eliminator Stealth Wash Zoom Flat Par QA5XS

Eliminator Stinger Spot 30 Flat Par TRI7XS

Eliminator Stryker Beam Flat Par TRI18XS

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Flat Par TW5 Mega Bar 50RGB

Flat Par TW12 Mega Bar 50RGB RC

Focus Flex Mega Bar RGBA

Focus Flex L7 Mega Flash DMX
Focus Hybrid Mega HEX Par

Focus Profile Mega PAR Profile Plus

Focus Spot One Mega TriPar Profile
Focus Spot Two Mega TriPar Profile Plus

Focus Spot Three Z MOD HEX100

Focus Spot 2X MOD QA60
Focus Spot 4Z MOD QW100

Focus Spot 5Z MOD STQ

Focus Spot 6Z MOD TW100
Focus Wash 400 Ninja 5RX

Fog Fury 3000 PAR Z Move

Fog Fury Jett PAR Z Move RGBW
Fog Fury Jett Pro PAR Z100 3k

Hydro Beam X1 PAR Z100 5k

Hydro Beam X2 PAR ZP100 3k
Hydro Beam X12 PAR Z120 RGBW

Hydro Profile PAR ZP120 RGBW

Hydro Spot 1 Pocket Pro
Hydro Spot 2 Profile Panel RGB

Hydro Wash X7 Profile Panel RGBA

Hydro Wash X19 Saber Bar 6
Inno Color Beam Z7 Saber Spot RGBW

Inno Color Beam Z19 Starship

Inno Pocket Roll Stinger Spot
Inno Pocket Scan Sweeper Beam Quad LED

Inno Pocket Spot LZR UB 6H

Inno Pocket Spot Twins UB 9H
Inno Pocket Wash UB 12H

Inno Pocket Z4 Ultra Bar 6

Inno Spot Pro Ultra Bar 9
Jelly PAR Profile Ultra Bar 12
Lightning COB Cannon Ultra Hex Par 3

Mega 64 Profile Plus Ultra Hex Bar 6

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Ultra Hex Bar 12

UV 72IP

UV COB Cannon
UV LED Bar20 IR
Vizi Beam 5RX

Vizi Beam 12RX

Vizi Beam RXONE
Vizi BSW 300

Vizi CMY300
Vizi Hex Wash7
Vizi Hybrid 16RX

Vizi Q Wash7
Vizi Roller Beam 2R
Vizi Wash Z19

Vizi Wash Z37

WiFly Bar QA5
WiFly EZR HEX5 IP

XS 600
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

AO Lighting

Falcon 4000 LED-Video

Falcon 4000 white

Falcon Beam color 3000W

Falcon Beam color 7000W Mite Beam

Falcon Beam 2 Arc colour 3000W Sky Falcon Arc colour 1200W

Falcon Beam 2 Arc colour 7000W

Falcon Beam 2 Arc white 3000W
Falcon Beam 2 Arc white 7000W

Falcon Flower colour 3000W

Falcon Static Arc colour 3000W
Falcon Static Arc colour 7000W

Falcon Static Arc white 3000W

Falcon Static Arc white 7000W

ARRI
SkyPanel series
L-series DT

L-series TT
L-series C

Astera
Note: all Astera instruments use the same set of definitions, although not all definitions are available for use with every instrument.

AX1 Pixeltube
AX2-50 Pixelbar
AX2-100 Pixelbar

AX3 Lightdrop FP3 Hyperion Tube

AX5 TriplePAR FP5 NYX Bulb

AX7 Spotlite FP6 HydraPanel

AX9 PowerPAR PB15 Pixelbrick

AX10 Spotmax
FP1 Titan Tube

FP2 Helios Tube

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Ayrton

AlienPix-RS
Bora

CosmoPix-R
Diablo WildSun K25-TC

Domino WildSun S25

DreamPanel Shift
DreamPanel Twin
Eurus

Ghibli
Huracán-X
IntilliPix-XT

Karif-LT
Khamsin
Levanta

MagicBlade-FX
MagicBurst
MagicDot-R

MagicDot-SX
MagicDot-XT
MagicPanel-FX

MiniBurst
MiniPanel-FX
Mistral

NandoBeam S3
NandoBeam S6
NandoBeam S9

Perseo
VersaPix-RS

Barco

DMX Adapter

F70
F80
HDQ
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

HDX
UDM

UDX
XDL

BeamZ

BAC503
BAC504
BAC509

BPP210 Panther 25

BPP220

Big Dipper
LM70

LM70S
LM70N
LM70SN

Blizzard

Aria Profile RGBW

Aria Profile WW
QLabColorise
5 Reference
ZoomManual
RGBAW Lighting - Light Library 7.6
Cyc Out

G-Max 200
HotBox 5
Kryo Mix CMY

Oberon Profile NZ
Oberon Profile WZ
Oberon Fresnel

Oberon Fresnel Zoom

PixelStorm 240
The Puck Fab5 Skywire

Stiletto GLO19
Stiletto Ray-Z

Boomtone DJ
SilentPAR 7x10

BriTeQ
- BT-Orbit - BT-Profile HD - BT-Profile WW - BT-Shark - BT- Theatre 1

Cameo

Auro Bar 100

Auro Beam 150

Auro Beam 200 DC
Auro Matrix 500 Auto Spot Z300

Auro Spot 100 Auro Spot 400

Auro Spot 200 Azor B1

Auro Spot 300 CL 200

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Evos S3 IODA 1000 RGB

Evos W3 LUKE 400 RGY

Evos W7 LUKE 700 RGB

F2 D LUKE 1000 RGB
F2 FC Movo Beam 100

F2 T Movo Beam Z 100

F4 D Nanobeam 300
F4 FC Nanobeam 600

F4 T Nanospot 120
Flat 1 RGB 10 IR Nanospot 300
Flat 1 TRI 3W IR Opus H5

Flat 1 TW Opus S5
Flat Moon Opus SP5
Flat PAR RGBW IR Opus SP5 FC

Flat Pro 7 Opus X

Flat Pro 7 IP Otos H5
Flat Pro 7 G2 Outdoor PAR TRI 12 IP

Flat Pro 7Spot PAR 56 Q 8W

Flat Pro 7XS PAR 56 RGB 10
Flat Pro 12 PAR 56 RGB 5

Flat Pro 12 IP PAR 56 TRI 3W

Flat Pro 12 G2 PAR 64 Q 8W
Flat Pro 18 PAR 64 RGB 10

Flat Pro 18 IP PAR 64 RGB 10

Flat Pro 18 G2 PAR 64 RGB 3W
Flat Pro Flood 600 IP65 PAR 64 RGBA 10

Flat Pro Flood IP65 TRI PAR 64 RGBWAU 10W

Flat Star PAR 64 TRI 3W
Flat Storm Phantom H2

Flat UV Phantom F5
Flood 600 Pixbar 200 Pro
Hydrabeam 1000 RGBW Pixbar 300 Pro

Instant Fog 1700 Pro Pixbar 400 Pro

Instant Hazer Pro 1400 Pixbar 450 Pro
Instant Hazer Pro 1500T Pixbar 500 Pro
IODA 400 RGY Pixbar 600 Pro

IODA 600 RGB Pixbar 650 pro

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Pixbar DTW Pro Wookie 200 RGY

Q-Spot 15 RGBW Wookie 400 RGB

Q-Spot 15W Wookie 600 B

Q-Spot 40 CW Zenit B60
Q-Spot 40 RGBW Zenit B200

Q-Spot 40 TW Zenit P40

Q-Spot 40 WW Zenit P130
Q-Spot 40i Zenit P100 DTW

ROOT PAR 4 Zenit P200 DTW

ROOT PAR 6 Zenit W300
ROOT PAR TW Zenit W600

Steam Wizard 1000 Zenit W600-D

Steam Wizard 2000 Zenit Z120
Studio Mini COB 30W Zenit Z120 G2

Studio Mini Q 4W W
Studio Mini Q 8W
Studio Mini TRI 3W

Studio PAR 64 Q 8W
Studio PAR 64 RGBA Q 8W
Studio PAR 64 TRI 3W

Studio PAR DTW

Studio PAR 64 RGBWA+UV 12W
SuperFly XS

Thunder Wash 100 RGB

Thunder Wash 100 W
Thunder Wash 600 RGB

Thunder Wash 600 RGBW

Thunder Wash 600 UV
Thunder Wash 600 W

Tribar IR series
TS 40 WW
TS 60 W RGBW

TS 100 WW
TS 200 FC
TS 200 WW
Wookie 150 G

Wookie 200 R
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Chauvet DJ

4Bar Flex Q ILS

4Bar LTBT ILS

4Bar Tri
4Bar Quad Intimidator Wash Zoom 450

Abyss LED 3.0 Kinta KX

COLORband H9 USB LED Followspot 120ST

COLORband PiX Mini Kinta

COLORband Q4 IP Rotosphere HP

COLORband T3 BT Shocker Panel FX

COREpar 40 USB SlimBANK T18 USB

COREpar 80 USB SlimPANEL TRI 24 IP

COREpar Q60 ILS SlimPAR 38

COREpar Q120 ILS SlimPAR 64

COREpar UV USB SlimPAR 64 RGBA

COREpar UV 120 ILS SlimPAR H6 USB

Cosmos HP SlimPAR PRO H USB

Cubix 2.0 SlimPAR Q12 USB

Cumulus SlimPAR T12BT

EZPar 64 RGBA Wash FX 2

EZpar T6 USB Wash FX Hex

FXpar 3 Wedge Tri

FXpar 9
Freedom H1

Freedom Q1N
Freedom Stick
Geyser P7

Geyser RGB
GigBAR 2
GigBar Move ILS
Hurricane Haze 2D

Intimidator Barrel 305 IRC

Intimidator Free Spot 60 ILS
Intimidator Spot 355Z IRC

Intimidator Spot 375Z IRC

Intimidator Spot LED 150
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Chauvet Professional

AmHaze ECO
AmHaze Stadium

AmHaze Whisper
Color STRIKE M Maverick Force 2 Profile

COLORado 1 Quad Maverick Force 2 BeamWash

COLORado 1 Quad Zoom Maverick Force 2 SoloWash

COLORado 1 Solo Maverick Force 3 Profile

COLORado 1 Tri IP Maverick Force S Profile

COLORado 1 Tri Tour Maverick Force S Spot

COLORado 1QS Maverick MK Pyxis

COLORado 2 Quad Zoom Maverick MK1 Hybrid

COLORado 2 Solo Maverick MK1 Spot

COLORado 3 Solo Maverick MK2 Profile

COLORado Batten 72 Maverick MK2 Spot

COLORado Batten 72X Maverick MK2 Wash

COLORado Batten Q15 Maverick MK3 Profile

COLORado M Solo Maverick MK3 Profile CX

COLORado Panel Q40 Maverick MK3 Spot

COLORado Solo Batten Maverick MK3 Wash

COLORado Solo Batten 4 Maverick Silens 2 Profile

COLORdash Accent 3 Maverick Storm 1 Beam

COLORdash Accent Quad Maverick Storm 1 Hybrid

COLORdash Batten-Quad 12 Maverick Storm 1 Spot

COLORdash Batten-Quad 6 Maverick Storm 1 Wash

COLORdash Par H7X Maverick Storm 2 BeamWash

COLORdash Par H12X Maverick Storm 2 Profile

COLORdash Par H18X Maverick Storm 4 Profile

COLORdash Par Hex 12 onAir IP Panel Min

COLORdash Par Hex 7 onAir IP Panel 1

COLORdash Par Q12 IP onAir IP Panel 2

COLORdash Par Quad 7 onAir Panel 3 IP

COLORdash S-Par 1 Ovation B-1965FC

Cloud 9 Ovation B-565FC

Legend 230SR Ovation CYC 1 FC

Maverick Force 1 Spot Ovation CYC 3 FC

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Ovation E-2 FC Rogue Outcast 2 Hybrid

Ovation E-4WW IP Rogue Outcast 2W Wash

Ovation E-120WW Rogue Outcast 3 Spot

Ovation E-120WW IP Rogue R1 Beam
Ovation E-160WW Rogue R1 BeamWash

Ovation E-260CW Rogue R1 Spot

Ovation E-260WW Rogue R1 Wash
Ovation E-260WW IP Rogue R1X Spot

Ovation E-910FC Rogue R1X Wash

Ovation E-930VW Rogue R2 Beam
Ovation ED-190WW Rogue R2 Spot

Ovation ED-200WW Rogue R2 Wash

Ovation F-55FC Rogue R2X Beam
Ovation F-55WW Rogue R2X Spot

Ovation F-145WW Rogue R2X Wash

Ovation F-165WW Rogue R2X Wash VW
Ovation F-265WW Rogue R3 Beam

Ovation F-415FC Rogue R3 Spot

Ovation F-415VW Rogue R3 Wash
Ovation F-915FC Rogue R3E Spot

Ovation F-915VW Rogue R3X Wash

Ovation FD-105WW Rogue RH1 Hybrid
Ovation FD-165WW Strike 1

Ovation FD-205WW Strike 4

Ovation H-265WW Strike Array 2
Ovation H-55FC Strike Array 4

Ovation H-55WW Strike P38

Ovation P-56FC Strike Saber
Ovation P-56UV Vesuvio II

Ovation P-56VW Well Gobo

Ovation P-56WW Well Panel
Ovation Rêve E-3

Ovation Rêve F-3 IP

Rogue Outcast 1 Beam
Rogue Outcast 1L Beam
Rogue Outcast 1 Hybrid

Rogue Outcast 2 Beam

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Christie
Pandora’s Box

Chroma-Q (Philips)
Color Force 12

Color Force 48
Color Force 72
Color One 100

Color One 100X

CITC
Maniac II

City Theatrical
AutoYoke
QolorPIX Tape Controller

Clay Paky

A.leda B-EYE K10

A.leda B-EYE K10 CC

A.leda B-EYE K10 Easy

A.leda B-EYE K20 Alpha Profile 800 ST

A.leda B-EYE K20 CC Alpha Profile 1500

A.leda Wash K10 Alpha Spot 300

A.leda Wash K10 CC Alpha Spot HPE 300

A.leda Wash K10 TW Alpha Spot HPE 700

A.leda Wash K10 W Alpha Spot QWO 800

A.leda Wash K20 Alpha Spot HPE 1500

A.leda Wash K20 CC Alpha Wash 300

A.leda Wash K20 TW Alpha Wash 700

A.leda Wash K20 W Alpha Wash 1500

Alpha Beam 700 Arolla Aqua

Alpha Beam 1500 Arolla Profile HP

Alpha Profile 700 Arolla Profile MP

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Arolla Spot MP Sharpy Plus Aqua

Axcor Beam 300 Sharpy Wash

Axcor Profile 400 Sharpy Wash 330 PC

Axcor Profile 400 HC Sharpy X Frame
Axcor Profile 600 Sharpy X Frame FD

Axcor Profile 900 Sharpy X Spot

Axcor Spot 300 Show Batten 100
Axcor Spot 400 Show Batten 100 AS

Axcor Spot 400 HC Sinfonya Profile 600

Axcor Wash 300 Skylos
Axcor Wash 600 Spheriscan

Axcor Wash 600 HC Stormy

Hepikos Supersharpy
HY B-EYE K15 Supersharpy 2

HY B-EYE K25 Volero Batten Aqua

K-EYE K10 HCR Volero Wave
K-EYE K20 HCR Xtylos

K-EYE S10 HCR

K-EYE S20 HCR
Midi-B

Midi-B FX
Mini Xtylos
Mini Xtylos HPE

Mini-B
Mini-B Aqua
Mini-B ParLED Aqua

Mini-B Spot
Mythos
Mythos 2

Panify
ReflectXion
Scenius Profile

Scenius Spot
Scenius Unico
SharBar
Sharpy

Sharpy Plus
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

CLF Lighting

Aorun
Apollo

Apollo XS
Apollo XL Xena

Ares Yara

Ares XS
Beam 6
Color PAR 12

Conan
Dynamic White PAR
EF Smoke 1500

EF Smoke 3100
Haze I
Haze II

Hera
Hercules
Juno

LEDbar Pro
LED Fan
LED Fan XL

LED Wash CW-WW

LED Wash RGBW
LEDWash XL

Odin
Orion
Poseidon Beam

Poseidon Hybrid
Quadcolor Mini PAR
Serius
Spectrum P1

Spectrum P2
Stinger
Tricolor Mini PAR
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Coemar
Risalto LED S
Risalto LED M

Color Kinetics (Philips)

ColorBlast
ColorBlast RGBA

ColorBlast RGBW
ColorBlaze 48 ColorBlaze RGBW 48

ColorBlaze 72 ColorBlaze RGBW 72

ColorBlaze RGBA 48
ColorBlaze RGBA 72

CrowdGlow
CrowdGlow

disguise
State Listen or Command Mode
Timeline Listen
Variable Video Module

Draco
Dracast Fresnet Studio Series 1000B

Elation

ACL 360 BAR

ACL 360i

Artiste DaVinci
Artiste Monet Chorus Line 16

Artiste Van Gogh Color Chorus 12

Chorus Line 8 Color Chorus 24

Color Chorus 48
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Color Chorus 72 Platinum Spot LED II

Colour 5 Profile Proteus Beam

CW Profile HP Proteus Hybrid

CW Profile HP IP Proteus Maximus
DARTZ 360 Proteus Smarty Hybrid

DLED Strinp RGBAW Proteus Smarty Max

DTW PAR 300 Proteus Rayzor 760
DW Chorus 12 Protron 3K

DW Chorus 24 Protron 3K Color

DW Chorus 48 Rayzor 360Z
DW Chorus 72 Rayzor 760

DW Fresnel Rayzor Beam 2R

DW PAR Z19 IP Rayzor Q7
DW Profile Rayzor Q12

E Spot III Satura Profile

Emotion SEVEN Batten 14
Fuze Par Z60 SEVEN Batten 42

Fuze Par Z120 IP SEVEN Batten 72

Fuze Par Z175 IP SEVEN PAR 7IP
Fuze Profile SEVEN PAR 19IP

Fuze Profile CW SixBar 1000

Fuze Spot SIX PAR Z19 IP
Fuze Wash 575 SIXPAR 100

Fuze Wash Z120 SIXPAR 100IP

Fuze Wash Z350 SIXPAR 200
KL Fresnel 4 SIXPAR 200IP

KL Fresnel 6 SIXPAR 200WMG

KL Fresnel 8 SIXPAR 200WMG HW
Opti Tri Par SIXPAR 300

Paladin SIXPAR 300IP

Platinum Beam 5R SIXPAR 300WMG
Platinum Beam 5R Extreme SIXPAR 300WMG HW

Platinum FLX TVL Cyc RGBW

Platinum HFX TVL Panel DW
Platinum Seven TVL Softlight DW
Platinum Spot 15r WW Profile

Platinum Spot III WW Profile HP IP

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

ZCL 360i
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Electronic Theater Controls (ETC)

ColorSource Cyc
ColorSource Linear

ColorSource PAR
ColorSource Fresnel V Source Four LED Series 2 (Lustr, Daylight HD, and Tungsten
HD)
ColorSource Spot
Source Four LED Series 3 (Daylight HDR and Lustr X8)
ColorSource Spot jr
ColorSource Spot V
Desire Fresnel

fos/4 Fresnel
fos/4 Panel
Relevé

Selador Desire D40 series

Selador Desire D60 series
Selador Vivid 11 (Lustr, Paletta, and R)

Selador Vivid 21 (Lustr, Paletta, and R)

Selador Vivid 42 (Lustr, Paletta, and R)
Selador Vivid 63 (Lustr, Paletta, and R)

Source 4WRD Color II

Source Four LED Series 1 (Lustr+ and Studio HD)

Epson

EB-PU2100 series

EB-PU2200 series
Pro L1405U
Pro L1500U

Pro L1505U

Eurolite
QLabLED
5 Reference
PARty TCLManual
Spot Lighting - Light Library 7.6
LED PFE-100 RGBW Profile Spot

LED PLL-480 QCL Panel

LED STP-14 Sunbar
LED THA-100F (MK1, MK2, and MK3)

LED THA-250F COB

Stage Panel 16 HCL LED.

Froggy’s Fog

Boreas C6

Fobbles F4
Hyperion D4
Hyperion D6 Titan Hazer H4

Hyperion SJ8 Titan Hazer HT6

Poseidon Aqua 2
Poseidon Aqua 4

Poseidon A6
Titan Hazer H2

Gantom
Gantom 7
Gantom DMX Flood

Gantom DMX Spot

Gantom IQX
Precision

German Light Products (GLP)

Force 120

GT-1
Highlander
Impression 120RZ Impression 240XL
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Impression 90 RGB
Impression 90 RGB Static

Impression 90 WhiteAmber
Impression E350
Impression FR1

Impression S350
Impression S350 Wash
Impression SpotOne

Impression WashOne
Impression X1
Impression X4

Impression X4 L
Impression X4 S
Impression X4 S Tunable White

Impression X4 Tunable White

Impression X4 XL
Impression X4 Bar 10

Impression X4 Bar 20
Impression X5
Impression X5 Compact

JDC1
Volkslicht RGB
Volkslicht RGB Spot

Volkslicht Spot
X4 Atom PSU-6
X4 Atom PSU-12
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

High End Systems (ETC)

Cyberlight LED
Halcyon Gold

Halcyon Platinum
Halcyon Titanum Technobeam

Lonestar TurboRay

Quad
SolaFrame 750
SolaFrame 1000

SolaFrame 1500
SolaFrame 2000
SolaFrame 3000

SolaFrame Studio
SolaFrame Theatre
SolaHyBeam 1000

SolaHyBeam 2000
SolaHyBeam 3000
SolaPix 7

SolaPix 19
SolaPix 37
SolaSpot 1000

SolaSpot 2000
SolaSpot 3000
SolaSpot Pro CMY

SolaWash 1000
SolaWash 2000
SolaWash 3000

Studio Color 575

Talen

ibiza-light
LED Bar24-RC

Infinity (Highlite)
QLabB401
5 Reference
Beam Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6
Furion S201 Profile

Furion S401 Spot

Furion S601 Profile
iB-2R

iB-5R
iB-16R
iFX-615

iM-2515
iS-100
iS-200

iS-250
iW-720 RDM
iW-740 RDM

iW-741 RDM
iW-1240 RDM
iW-1915 Pixel

iW-1941 RDM
TCYC-7 Cyclorama
TF-300 Fresnel

TF-300 Profile
TFLD-7 Floodlight
TS-260C7 Fresnel

TS-260C7 Profile

JB Lighting

A8
A12
A8 Tunable White

A12 Tunable White P12 Wash

P7 Spot P12 Wash mk2

P12 Spot Sparx 7

P12 Profile Sparx 10

P18 Profile mk2 Sparx 18

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Sparx 30

K9
Bulldog
Bulldog Pro
Labrador

Pup

Martin

Atomic 3000
Atomic 3000 LED
ELP CL

ELP WW ERA 300 Profile

ELP PAR ERA 400 Performance CLD

ERA 150 Wash ERA 400 Performance WRM

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

ERA 500 Hybrid IP MAC TW1

ERA 600 Performance MAC Ultra Performance

ERA 600 Profile MAC Ultra Wash

ERA 700 Performance IP MAC Viper AirFX
ERA 800 Performance MAC Viper AirFX Quadray

ERA 800 Profile MAC Viper Performance

MAC 250 MAC Viper Profile
MAC 250+ MAC Viper Wash

MAC 250 Krypton MAC Viper Wash DX

MAC 250 Entour MAC Viper XIP
MAC 250 Wash RUSH Blinder 1 WW

MAC 301 Wash RUSH CS

MAC 350 Entour RUSH FiberSource 1
MAC 500 RUSH MH 1 Profile Plus

MAC 575 Krypton RUSH MH 2 Wash

MAC 600 RUSH MH 3 Beam
MAC 600 NT RUSH MH 4 Beam

MAC 700 Profile RUSH MH 5 Profile

MAC 700 Wash RUSH MH 6 Wash
MAC 1200 RUSH MH 6 Wash CT

MAC 2000 Performance RUSH MH 7 Hybrid

MAC 2000 Performance II RUSH MH 8
MAC 2000 Wash XB RUSH MH 10 Beam FX

MAC Allure Profile RUSH MH 11 Beam

MAC Allure Wash PC RUSH PAR 1 RGBW
MAC Aura RUSH PAR 2 CT Zoom

MAC Aura PXL RUSH PAR 2 RGBW Zoom

MAC Aura XB RUSH PAR 3 RGB
MAC Auda XIP RUSH PAR 4 UV

MAC Axiom Hybrid RUSH Scanner 1

MAC Encore Performance CLD THRILL Compact Par 64 LED
MAC Encore Performance WRM VDO Atomic Bold

MAC Encore Wash CLD VDO Atomic Dot CLD

MAC Encore Wash WRM VDO Atomic Dot WRM
MAC One
MAC Quantum Profile

MAC Quantum Wash

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Marq
Gesture Spot 300
Gesture Spot 500

Mega-Lite (MEGA Systems)

Axis Grid
Axis Mini Grid

Baby Color H84

Baby Color Q70 Nova-Lite UV200

Baby Color VW O Blinder 700

Circa Scoop Obra Flood N180

Circa Scoop XS Outshine Q500

Circa Scoop XL Outshine Strip Q80

Color PAC Q900 Piccolo Blinder 120

Color PAC Spot W300 Spotbot

Colorlite Q120 Tiltbot Trio

Drama FS-800 Tuff Baby P84

Drama FS-900 Tuff Baby Q60

Drama W50 Tuff Baby UV35

Drama W120 Tuff Baby VW42

Drama Profile C3 Washbot

Drama Profile Q2 XS LED RGB

Drama Profile VW2 XL LED RGB

Drama Profile W3 XS LED W

Drama Z50 W XL LED W

Drama Z50 CW

Drama Z50 WW
Drama Strip P840
MB1

MS1
MW1
N-E Color FX18

Nova-Lite CW150
Nova-Lite VW150
Nova-Lite WW150

Nova-Lite Q200
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Minute Une
IVL Carré
IVL Pyramide
IVL Square

Monoprice (Stage Right)

3-Color LED Light Bar

3-Color LED Moving Head Light

3-Color LED PAR-64
Ellipsoidal 60-watt COB LED Stage Wash 12-watt x7 LED Moving Head RGBW with zoom

Ellipsoidal 180-watt COB RGBW LED Truss Wash 3-watt x3 Uplight

Ellipsoidal 200-watt COB LED

PAR 8-watt x7 RGBW LED

PAR 10-watt x6 RGBW LED IP65

PAR 10-watt x9 RGBW LED
PAR 12-watt x7 RGBAW-UV LED

PAR 15-watt x12 RGBAW LED

PAR 18 Watt x18 RGBWA-UV LED
PAR 18-watt x18 RGBWA-UV LED with zoom
Stage Beam 30-watt LED Moving Head

Stage Wash 10-watt x7 RGBW LED Moving Head

Stage Wash 10-watt x36 LED RGBW Moving Head with zoom

Ocean Thin Films

SeaChanger Color Engine

Panasonic

PT-DS20K

PT-DS20K2
PT-DW17
PT-DW17K2 PT-DW830E

PT-DW750 PT-DX100E

PT-DX820
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

PT-DZ16K2
PT-DZ21K

PT-DZ21K2
PT-DZ780
PT-DZ870E

PT-FRZ50
PT-FRZ60
PT-MZ10K

PT-MZ13K
PT-MZ16K
PT-RCQ10

PT-RCQ80
PT-RQ13K
PT-RQ22K

PT-RQ32K
PT-RQ35K
PT-RS20K

PT-RS30K
PT-RW620
PT-RW730

PT-RW930
PT-RX110
PT-RZ16K

PT-RZ21K
PT-RZ31K
PT-RZ120

PT-RZ570
PT-RZ575
PT-RZ660

PT-RZ670
PT-RZ690
PT-RZ770

PT-RZ790
PT-RZ870
PT-RZ890
PT-RZ970

PT-RZ990
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

PR Lighting
XR220 BWS

Prolights

Air 5Fan
ArenaCob 4FC
ArenaCob 4Halo

Aria 700Profile EclProfile CT+

Astra Beam260IP EclProfile FC

Astra Wash7Pix EclProfile FS

Astra Wash19Pix EclProfile FW

Diamond 7 EclProfile HDTWC

Diamond 19 EclProfile HD2

Diamond 19CC EclProfile JrZIP

Diamond 19TW Jade

DisplayCob DY Jet Beam1

DisplayCob FC Jet Beam2

DisplayCob WW Jet Spot1

EclCyclorama 50 Jet Spot2

EclCyclorama 100 Jet Spot3

EclFresnel DY or PDY Jet Spot4Z

EclFresnel TU or PTU Luma 1500SH

EclFresnel TW Luma 1500SP

EclFresnel Jr DY or PDY LumiPar 7IP

EclFresnel Jr TU or PTU LumiPar 12IP

EclFresnel Jr TW LumiPar 12UAW

EclFresnel Mini DY or PDY LumiPar 12UH

EclFresnel Mini TU or PTU LumiPar UQPro

EclFresnel Mini TW LumiPix 8H

EclFresnel 2K DY or PDY LumiPix 12UQ

EclFresnel 2K TU or PTU LumiPix 16H

EclFresnel 2K TW LumiPix 15IP

EclPanel TWC PanoramaIP AirBeam

EclPanel Jr TWC PanoramaIP Spot

EclPar DY, TU, or UV PanoramaIP WBX

EclPar FC Pin SpotD

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Pixie Beam
Pixie Spot

Pixie Wash
Pixie WashXB
Pixie Zoom

Pixie ZoomXB
Ra 2000Profile
Ra 2000ProfileHB

Ra 3000Profile
Razor 440
Ruby

Ruby FCX
Solar 27Q
Solar 48Q

Stark 400
Stark 1000
Stark Bar1000

Stark Blade8
StudioCob DY
StudioCob FC

StudioCob UV
StudioCob WW
StudioCob Plus DY2

StudioCob Plus FC
StudioCob Plus TW
StudioCob Plus UV

StudioCob Plus WW
Sunbar 2000FC
Sunbar 2500Max

Sunblast 3000FC
Sunblast 3500Max
Sunrise 2IP

Sunrise 2L
Sunrise 4
VersaPar
Mini VersaPar
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Rayzr
MC series

Robe

BMFL Blade
BMFL Followspot
BMFL Followspot LT

BMFL Spot Footsie 2 TW

BMFL Wash Footsie 2 WW

BMFL Wash XF Forte

BMFL WashBeam Forte FS

BMFL WashBeam EV iBar 15

Colormix 240 iBeam 350

CycBar 15X iForte

CycFX 4 iPainte

CycFX 8 iParfect 150 FW

Cyclone iParfect 150 RGBA

DigitalSpot 3500 DT iParfect 150 FW RGBA

Divine 60 UV iPointe

Divine 160 RGBW iTetra 2

Divine 160 SC iSpiider

Divine 160 SW LEDBeam 100

DL4F Wash LEDBeam 100 DayLight

DL4S Profile LEDBeam 100 SmartWhite

DL4X Spot LEDBeam 150

DL7F Wash LEDBeam 150 FW

DL7S Profile LEDBeam 150 RGBA

Dominator 1200 XT LEDBeam 150 FW RGBA

Esprite LEDBeam 350

Esprite FS LEDBeam 350 FW

Esprite Fresnel LEDWash 300

Esprite PC LEDWash 300 SmartWhite

Footsie 1 RGBW LEDWash 300+

Footsie 1 TW LEDWash 300X

Footsie 1 WW LEDWash 600

Footsie 2 RGBW LEDWash 600+

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

LEDWash 600X T2 Fresnel

LEDWash 800 T2 PC

LEDWash 800 DayLight T2 Profile

LEDWash 800 SmartWhite T2 Profile FS
LEDWash 800X T11 Fresnel

LEDBeam 1000 T11 PC

LEDWash 1200 T11 Profile
MegaPointe TX1 PosiProfile

MiniMe Tarrantula
MiniMe DV Tetra 1
MiniPointe Tetra 2

MMX Blade Viva

MMX Spot Viva CMY
MMX WashBeam

Painte
ParFect 100
ParFect 100 DL

ParFect 100 SW
ParFect 150
ParFect 150 FW

ParFect 150 RGBA

ParFect S1
PATT Driver (suitable for the onePATT, picklePATT, pixelPATT,
and PATT 2017)

Pointe
ProMotion
RoboSpot Motion Camera

SilverScan
Spiider
Spikie

Spote
SuperSpikie
Strobe IP

T1 Fresnel
T1 PC
T1 Profile
T1 Profile FS
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Robert Juliat

Alice
Charles 961 SX

Charles 963 SX
Charles 964 SX ZEP2 640 SX2

Dalis 860 ZEP2 660 SX2

Dalis 861
Dalis 862
Dalis 862S

Dalis 863
Dalis 864
Dalis 864S

Oz
Roxie2
RJ-LED

RJ-NET
Tibo 533
Tibo 535

ZEP2 340 LF2

ZEP2 360 LF2

Rockville

Motion Strip

Rock Par 50
Rock Spot 260w
RockOn-7 Rockstrip 252

RockPAR TRI Stage Matrix 36 RGB

Rosco
I-Cue
RevoPRO
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Selecon (Philips)
PLCYC1 mkII
PLFRESNEL1 mkII
PLPROFILE1 mkII

PLPROFILE4 mkII

SGM

G-1 Beam
G-1 Wash
G-4 Wash Motorized Barndoors

G-4 Wash S-4

G-4 Washbeam SixPack

G-4 Wash White

G-4 Washbeam White

G-7 Spot
G-Profile

G-Profile Turbo
G-Spot
G-Spot Turbo
G-Wash

i-2
i-5
P-1

P-2
P-5
P-6

P-10
Q-2
Q-7

Q-10

Showline (Philips)

SL Band 300 RGBW

 SL Band 300 TW

QLabSL5 Bar
Reference
510 Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6
SL Bar 510N

SL Bar 520
SL Bar 620
SL Bar 640

SL Bar 660
SL Bar 720ZT
SL Beam 100

SL ePar 180
SL eStrip 10 RGBW
SL eSTROBE 130

SL Hydrus 350
SL LEDSpot 300
SL Nitro 510

SL Nitro 510C
SL PAR 155 Zoom RGBW
SL ParBlazer 100 UV

SL Punchlite 220
SL Strip 10 IP
SL Wash 350

ShowPro
EX35 LED Flood
Hex 16 Strip

Showtec (Highlite)

ACT Flood 80 RGBW

ACT PC 60 RGBW

ACT Fresnel 50 WW
ACT Profile 50 WW Compact Par 7 Q4

Compact Par 7 Tri MKII Followspot LED 75W

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Galactic RGB-300 Shark Combi Spot One

Kanjo Spot 10 Shark Spot One

Kanjo Spot 60 Shark Wash One

Par65 LED 100z 3200 Shark Zoom Wash One
Performer Fresnel 1000 LED MkII Spectral PC 600Z IP

Performer Fresnel 1500 Daylight Spectral PC 1800Z IP

Performer Fresnel 1500 Q6 Sunstrip Active
Performer Fresnel 1500 Tungsten

Performer Fresnel 2000 DDT MkII

Performer Fresnel 2000 LED
Performer Fresnel 2000 RGBAL

Performer Fresnel 2500 Daylight

Performer Fresnel 2500 Q6
Performer Fresnel 2500 Tungsten

Performer Pendant Q6
Performer Profile 600 DDT
Performer Profile 600 LED MkII

Performer Profile 600 LED MkIII

Performer Profile 600 Q4
Performer Profile 600 Q5

Performer Profile IP 3200K

Performer Profile IP Q4
Phantom 3R Beam

Phantom 3R Hybrid
Phantom 60 LED Bar
Phantom 65 Spot

Phantom 100 Spot

Phantom 130 Spot
Phantom 180 Wash

Phantom 280 Hybrid

Phantom 1220 Zoombar
Phantom Matrix FX

Polar 100 Beam

Polar 300 Hybrid
Polar 340 WashFX
Saber

Shark Beam FX One

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Stairville

Beam Moving Head B5R

CLB2.4 Compact LED Par System

HL-x18 QCL RGBQ Floor 18x8W

LED Vintage Bowl RevueLED 150

MH-X25 xBrick Quad 16x8W

MH-X50+ LED Spot

Octagon Theater CW WW 36x1W
Quad Par Profile 5x8W RGBW

Strand Lighting (Philips)

Aurora LED Strip 4 Cell

Aurora LED Strip 12 Cell

Canata LED Fresnel Full Color

Canata LED Fresnel Tunable Cold White Leko LED Profile Tunable Cold White

Canata LED Fresnel Tunable Warm White Leko LED Profile Tunable Warm White

Coda LED Cyc

Leko LED Profile Full Color

Ultratec
Radiance

Vari*Lite (Philips)

VL5LED
VL10 BeamWash

VL440 Spot
VL500 Wash VL800 EVENTPAR RGBA

VL550 Wash VL800 EVENTPAR WW

VL770 Spot VL800 EVENTPROFILE

VL800 BeamLine VL800 EVENTWASH

QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

VL800 PROPAR
VL880 Spot

VL1000 (TI, AI, TS, AS)

VL1100 (TI, AI, TS, AS)
VL1100 LED

VL1100 LED HP
VL2000 Spot
VL2000 Wash

VL2500 Spot
VL2500 Wash
VL2600 Profile

VL2600 Spot
VL2600 Wash
VL3000 Spot

VL3000 Wash
VL3000Q Spot
VL3000Q Wash

VL3015 Spot
VL3015LT Spot
VL3500 Spot

VL3500 Wash
VL3500 Wash FX
VL3515 Spot

VL4000 BeamWash
VL4000 Spot
VL6000 Beam

VL6500 Wash
VLX Wash
VLX3 Wash

VLZ Profile
VLZ Spot
VLZ Wash
QLab 5 Reference Manual Lighting - Light Library 7.6

Wybron
Coloram
CXI
Forerunner

Yellow River
P1012-H

Yorkville
LP-LED/x Bar series
Chapter 8: Networking, MIDI, and Show Control

8.1 Collaboration
8.2 QLab Remote
8.3 Using OSC
8.4 Using MIDI & MSC
8.5 Using Timecode
8.6 Show Control Broadcast
8.7 Network Cues
8.8 MIDI Cues
8.9 MIDI File Cues
8.10 Timecode Cues
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Collaboration 8.1

Collaboration
QLab Collaboration allows multiple people using multiple Macs to collaborate on a single QLab 5 workspace over a local network.

Terminology

The Mac that hosts the QLab workspace which others will connect to is called the primary Mac. The workspace on that Mac,
therefore, is called the primary workspace.

A Mac which connects to the primary is called a remote client, or sometimes either a remote or a client. The workspace as it
appears on a remote mac is called a remote workspace.

The types of access that a remote has while collaborating are called the remote’s access permissions. There are three types of
permissions:

Connect & View access, also called just view access, allows the remote to connect and view the primary workspace but does
not allow starting, stopping, pausing, or resuming cues; moving the playhead; or editing anything in the workspace other than
flagging or un-flagging cues and editing cue notes. A remote without view access will not be allowed to connect to the
primary.
Edit access allows the remote to edit all parameters of all cues and workspace settings, but does not allow starting, stopping,
pausing, or resuming cues or moving the playhead.

Control access allows the remote to start, stop, pause, and resume cues and set the position of the playhead, but does not
allow editing cues or settings.

Requirements

Any Mac that can run QLab 5 can be a collaboration primary. The license or licenses installed on the Mac dictate the available
behavior.

With no license installed on the primary Mac:

Any number of Macs with licensed copies of QLab can connect with any level of access. While connected, they behave as
though they have no license installed.

Any number of Macs with un-licensed copies of QLab can connect with connect & view access only.

When one or more licenses installed on the primary Mac:

Each license installed on the primary allows one Mac with an un-licensed copy of QLab to connect with any level of access.
Any number of Macs with licensed copies of QLab can connect with any level of access.

Any number of Macs with un-licensed copies of QLab can connect with connect & view access only.

Collaboration sessions are always subject to the license installed on the primary. Every Mac collaborating on a workspace will
behave according to the license or licenses installed on the primary Mac.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Collaboration 8.1

Example
The primary Mac, a Mac Studio in the tech booth, has an audio license and a video license installed. This means:

Two Macs with un-licensed copies of QLab can both connect with any level of access permission. Both of them will behave as
though they have audio and video licenses installed while they are connected to the primary.
Additional Macs can also connect with any level of access permission as long as those Macs have at least one license of any
kind installed. No matter what license they have, though, they will behave as though they have audio and video licenses
installed while they are connected to the primary.

Additional Macs with un-licensed copies of QLab can connect with view-only access. This makes it easy for a stage manager or
backstage crew members to follow along with QLab visually as long as they already have access to a Mac.

Physically, all Macs involved in collaboration must be connected to the same local area network via ethernet or WiFi, and must use
compatible IP addressing schemes. Collaboration also works over virtual private networks (VPNs) so with a little careful planning, an
off-site Mac can be included in your collaboration setup. In short, if two Macs are able to connect via file sharing or screen sharing,
they will be able to connect via QLab Collaboration as well.

The Basic Computer Networking for the Theater tutorial provides an overview of the basics of setting up a network geared towards theater
practitioners. If all this networking stuff is making your head spin a little, this tutorial can help!

QLab Collaboration uses Bonjour to make connections between Macs, which means less configuration work for you.

Setting Up A Primary

This topic is covered in the Workspace Settings → Collaboration section of this manual.

Connecting As A Remote

There are three ways to connect as a remote to a primary Mac:

From the Launcher Window, click the Connect to Workspace button

Choose Connect to Workspace… from the File menu

Use the keyboard shortcut ⇧⌘K

Any of these three options will open a window listing the QLab workspaces available to connect to.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Collaboration 8.1

If the primary is set to ask before allowing new collaborators to connect, and this client has never connected to this primary
before, attempting to connect will display a permission request on the primary:

Clicking the blue button or pressing the return or enter key will allow the connection and assign the default access permissions set
in Workspace Settings → Collaboration. Clicking any of the other “accept” buttons will allow the connection and assign the access
permissions indicated by the button. Clicking Reject connection will, of course, reject the connection and not add the remote to
the list of collaborators.

After a remote connects and is accepted, future re-connections will happen without approval.

Remotes can have their access permissions changed and can be removed from the list of approved collaborators in Workspace
Settings → Collaboration.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Collaboration 8.1

Using A Remote

A remote workspace is visually distinct from a normal, local workspace in several ways:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Collaboration 8.1

The title bar is drawn in purple, and the word “Remote” appears before the workspace name.
The button is drawn with a purple border.
The footer displays the collaboration icon with the current access permissions listed beside it. You can click on the icon to
display the IP address and other details of the primary.

Both remote and primary workspaces (while collaborating) display an additional column on the right side of the cue list view; the
collaboration column. A colored dot here indicates a cue that is currently selected by a collaborator on another Mac. If multiple
collaborators are connected, one dot appears for each collaborator.

When two or more collaborators have the same cue selected, the inspector shows a colored indicator on the inspector tab that
each other collaborator is viewing.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Collaboration 8.1

By default, the selection on all remote workspaces is unlocked from the playhead, so each collaborator can independently select
separate cues. The playhead position, meanwhile, is necessarily a state shared across all collaborators, because it is a property of
each cue list on the primary. Any collaborator that has control permission can move the playhead to a cue by clicking in the status
column for that cue. Any collaborator with control permissions can also quickly jump the playhead to their locally selected cue by
pressing the keyboard shortcut for load, which is L by default.

Additionally, you can optionally set any collaboration remote with control permission to lock the playhead to its selection by visiting
Workspace Settings → Collaboration on that remote.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Collaboration 8.1

If this box is checked, the playhead will be locked to the selection on this remote. If multiple collaborators have this box checked,
they will all be able to move the playhead by moving their selection. This can make some workflows much simpler, but can
complicate others.

Working With Cues

All edits made while collaborating follow a last-edit-wins policy. Because of network latency, however, it can sometimes be
surprising which edit was in fact last. For this reason, collaborators are encouraged to devise their own person to person guidelines
about how to work together smoothly without confusing each other.

Undo and Redo

Each collaborator maintains their own, unique undo history for edits made in cue lists and carts. This allows you to focus on your
own work, and not worry about keeping track of what your collaborators are doing.

The Light Dashboard has a single undo history shared across all collaborators.

Each settings area (General, Controls, Audition, etc…) has its own single undo history shared across all collaborators.

Creating, Deleting, and Moving Cues

While collaborating, creating a cue, deleting a cue, and moving a cue cannot be undone. This blocking of undo allows QLab to avoid
having more complex rules which you need to follow while collaborating, and prevents the workspace from entering an un-
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Collaboration 8.1

synchronizable state. Because this is different from how QLab normally behaves, QLab will display an explanatory message when
you add, delete, or move a cue while collaborating.

Assigning File Targets

When assigning file targets on a remote, QLab displays a collaboration-specific file browser which shows files available in the folder
within which the workspace is saved on the primary. This means that the primary must be saved at least once on the primary
before a remote can assign file targets to cues. It also means that remotes can only “see” files in the same folder as the primary
workspace, or in folders within that folder.

QLab only shows folders which contain files that are valid targets for the selected type of cue. In the screen shot above, an
Audio cue is selected. The “video” folder on the primary is not visible because it does not contain any files which are valid targets
for an Audio cue.

Running Cues
Cues always run on the primary. When a remote with control permission tells a cue to or preview, the same thing happens as
though the primary told that cue to or preview.

Editing Audio Effects

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Collaboration 8.1

As of QLab 5.4, you can edit audio effects via collaboration. To do this, the audio effect needs to be installed on both the primary
and the remote computer. If a workspace uses an audio effect that a remote does not have installed, that remote will be able to

see that the effect is in use but will not be able to adjust its parameters.

Collaboration Error Messages

The following error messages may appear on a remote while collaborating.

Access Denied

If a new remote attempts to connect to the primary, and the person at the primary clicks Reject connection , the remote will see
this message. If the rejection was made in error, simply try to connect again. If the rejection was deliberate, please understand that
many people read for this part and we thank you for your time.

Action Rejected

If a remote does not have control permission, this error message will appear if the remote attempts to move the playhead, or start,
stop, pause, or resume a cue.

Change Rejected
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Collaboration 8.1

If a remote does not have edit permission, this error message will appear if the remote attempts to make any edit other than
flagging or unflagging a cue, or editing the notes of a cue.

Connection Rejected

If a remote attempts to connect to a primary which has been configured to refuse access, this error message appears.

View Permission Disabled

If a remote attempts to connect to a primary that has that remote in its collaborators list, but the Connect & view checkbox is
unchecked, this error message appears.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

QLab Remote
QLab Remote is an iOS app, available on the App Store, that can connect to QLab to remotely view, edit, and run cues. QLab
Remote requires iOS 15 or later and is compatible with QLab 3.0 or later1. QLab Remote can run on any iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
that can run iOS 15.

QLab Remote adapts to different screen sizes and orientations as best as it can, and it supports Split View and multiple windows on
iPad. Some features will only be available when screen space permits, which means some features are only available on iPad.

Features

QLab Remote is a free app with two optional available in-app purchases.

Tapping the Purchases… button in the upper right corner of QLab Remote’s initial screen lets you view and make in-app purchases.

If you purchased an older version of QLab Remote, your Apple ID should automatically enable the Show Control & Editing
purchase. If it does not, you can tap Restore Previous Purchases to correct the situation.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

Read-only Mode (free)

When QLab Remote is in Read-Only mode, you cannot use it to start or stop cues, move the playhead, or change any attributes of
any cues except flags and notes.

Read-Only mode is intended to be used, for example, by a designer during a run-through or preview performance. In this situation,
it can be desirable to edit notes and flag or unflag cues, but disallow any other editing.

Read-Only mode is also great for a remote cue list monitor for a stage manager or any other member of the team who needs to
see what QLab is up to, but does not need to control QLab.

Show Control & Editing

This in-app purchase unlocks QLab Remote’s abilities to send commands to QLab. You can run cues, move the playhead, edit
parameters of cues (with some limitations), and adjust video stage geometry.

Light Tools
This in-app purchase unlocks QLab Remote’s Light Keypad remote, which gives remote access to the Light Dashboard and lets you
quickly and easily enter light commands, change levels, and record and update cues.

It also unlocks the Light Instrument Check tool which lets you quickly run a channel check on your lighting system.

You do not need to purchase Show Control & Editing to use Light Tools.

Backwards Compatibility
We make every effort to keep QLab Remote compatible with all releases of QLab 3, QLab 4, and QLab 5. Some features of QLab
Remote can only work when connecting to newer versions of QLab, however. For example, QLab Remote’s Light Keypad requires
QLab 4.2 or newer. Anything relating to lighting requires at least QLab 4, since QLab 3 does not control lighting at all. Encrypted
network communications require QLab 5. This manual is written with the assumption that you are using QLab 5.

Using the most recent version of QLab and the most recent version of QLab Remote guarantees access to the most complete set
of features.

You can see a complete chart showing which features require which version of QLab at the bottom of this page.

Getting Started

To begin, the iOS device running QLab Remote and the Mac running QLab must be on the same local network, and must be able to
“see” each other. If you have a firewall on the network, it must be configured to permit traffic on ports 53000 and 53001. If you are
connecting to a workspace that uses a customized port for OSC traffic, that port also needs to be accessible.

Alternately, you can connect your iOS device to the Mac running QLab using a Lightning-to-USB cable.

Whether you’re connecting via a network or via USB tethering, your QLab workspace must also be set to use OSC controls, which
can be set in Workspace Settings → Network → OSC Access. OSC controls are turned on by default in all QLab workspaces.

With your devices connected physically, and your workspace open on your Mac, launching QLab Remote will give you this screen:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

QLab Remote will automatically “see” any workspaces open on your Mac via Bonjour, and you can simply tap to connect. If you
have an unusual network setup, such as a network which blocks the Bonjour protocol, you can tap “Other” to directly enter the IP
address of the Mac running QLab.

QLab 3 and QLab 4 workspaces which use a passcode will display with a padlock icon on the right, to indicate that you’ll be
prompted for a passcode before connecting. All QLab 5 workspaces are displayed with a padlock because the QLab 5 access
system allows for multiple passcodes, so QLab Remote can’t know what the passcode situation is for a given workspace until after it
connects. Therefore, whenever you connect to a QLab 5 workspace, you’ll be presented with the passcode keypad.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

If the workspace allows no-passcode connections, you can simply tap No passcode to connect.

A Tour Of QLab Remote

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

The bottom of the main display shows the familiar button, standby indicator, notes field, and transport buttons (reset all, pause
all, resume all, and panic all) from QLab.

Above this is the cue list, which works exactly like the cue list display in QLab. To move the playhead, swipe right on a cue:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

To edit a cue, swipe left to reveal four edit buttons:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

You can also double-tap on a cue to edit that cue.

To move a cue within the list, long-press on that cue and then drag it up or down the list.

Cue Carts
QLab Remote is a great way to view and operate Cue Carts.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

While in the cart view:

Tap on a cue to start it.

Two-finger double-tap on a cue to edit it.
Two-finger long-press-and-hold on a cue to drag it to a new cell in the grid.

Pinch to zoom in or out on the cart view.

The Toolbar
Above the cue list is a toolbar showing the name of the workspace, the name of the currently displayed cue list, and the name of
the Mac that QLab Remote is connected to. Surrounding this label are five tools.

Workspace Actions
Tapping on the Workspace Actions menu ( ) reveals ten actions:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

About QLab Remote. Tap this item to reveal a submenu with three items: Preferences, View Help, and Contact Support.

Preferences allows you set the log level and text size of QLab Remote.
View Help links to this manual in the default web browser.
Contact Support lets you send a message, optionally including console logs from your device, to support@figure53.com.

Show/Hide Toolbox. Tap to show or hide the toolbox in the cue list view. The toolbox works just like the toolbox in QLab; you
use it to add new cues to your cue list.
Save Workspace has the exact same effect as choosing Save on the Mac.

Undo has the exact same effect as choosing Undo on the Mac.
Redo has the exact same effect as choosing Redo on the Mac.
Lock playhead to selection lets you toggle this workspace setting from QLab Remote. You can learn more about the setting
from the Workspace Settings → General section of this manual.

Enable/disable Read-Only Mode. Switching off Read-only mode requires the Show Control & Editing in-app purchase, as
discussed above.
Edit Stages. If your workspaces has any video stages, and you have a Video or Bundle license installed, you can make basic
edits to stage geometry using QLab Remote. See below for more details.
Load to time… works just like the Load To Time tool in QLab. You can also access it using its own button in the toolbar.

Disconnect. Tap here to disconnect QLab Remote from the current workspace.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

Light Tools
Tapping on the Light Tools menu ( ) reveals two actions:

Light Keypad. The Light Keypad is an optional tool for interacting with the Light Dashboard, adjusting lights, and creating and
updating Light cues. You can read more about it below.

Instrument Check. This is a tool to let you quickly check every instrument in your workspace, bringing one instrument or
group up at a time so that you can confirm that everything is working correctly. More details can be found below.

Load To Time
The Load To Time ( ) tool works just like the Load To Time tool in QLab.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

Resize Controls
The Resize Controls ( ) button allows you to resize the footer, the GO button, and the transport controls.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

Tap the button to reveal the resize controls, then tap and drag them to arrange them as you prefer. You can enlarge, shrink, or
entirely hide the button and transport controls, hide the entire footer, and so forth. Tap the button again to finish.

Cue Lists
The Cue Lists ( ) menu allows you to switch between the lists and carts in your workspace.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

The last item in the Cue Lists menu is Active Cues, which is similar to the Active Cues display in QLab’s sidebar.

Editing Cues

QLab Remote can edit some attributes of all cues:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

You can also make some adjustments to Audio cues, Video cues, and Light cues:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

Editing Video Stages

If you have a video license installed in QLab, you can use QLab Remote to edit the geometry of stages in your workspace.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

You will need to set up the stage on the Mac, but once it’s basically set up you can use QLab Remote to make precise adjustments.

Light Keypad

The Light Keypad is a tool for interacting with the Light Dashboard in QLab. It’s designed to let you adjust lights quickly and easily,
and then save those adjustments by creating new cues, or recording or updating existing cues.

The Light Command Line

You can tap on the command line and enter text using the regular iOS keyboard (or a physical keyboard connected to your iOS
device.) This command line behaves exactly like the the command line in the Light Dashboard. Any text you enter here will be sent
to the Dashboard when you press enter.

Over time
Typically, any commands you type into the command line will execute immediately when you hit enter. If you type a time into this
field, however, the command will fade over that amount of time. This concept, called sneak on some other lighting consoles, allows
you to make changes to the live state of your lights in a gentle, subtle way.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

Instruments & Parameters

This tabbed area allows you to swiftly select an instrument or light group, then select the parameter you wish to edit. When the
Light Keypad first opens, you’ll be presented with the Instruments tab:

You can tap on an instrument or light group to select it, and place its name in the command line.

If your instruments or light groups are numbered, you can also use the number keys from the beginning to enter the number of
your instrument or light group. Once you enter a valid instrument or light group number, QLab Remote will display the Parameters
tab. If you then enter a dash or comma, QLab Remote realizes that you’re trying to enter a range and returns to the Instruments
tab.

Once you enter a name, QLab Remote will display the Parameters tab:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

You can then tap on the parameter that you want to adjust, and then use the number keys to make the adjustment.

Once an equals sign is entered, the ”=”, ”-”, and ”,” buttons on the keypad become “cue”, “pass”, and “home” buttons which you
can tap to add those keywords to the command line.

When your command is complete, the Enter button will become enabled, and you can tap on it to transmit the command to QLab.
You will see the adjustment reflected in the Dashboard right away. If your QLab system is connected to your lights, you will of
course also see your adjustment reflected in real life.

You can also always tap in the command line to use the onscreen keyboard or an attached physical keyboard to type commands
from scratch or edit commands before committing them.

A note on the Light Keypad’s layout

The Instruments tab always shows light groups on the left, with the group “all” listed first. Individual instruments are shown on the
right, alphabetically sorted.

The Parameters tab dynamically adjusts to show the most relevant set of information. If the command line is empty, QLab Remote
shows all parameters of all instruments, listed in four columns: intensity, color, beam, and custom. Each column is scrollable as
needed, and on narrow layouts you can swipe left and right to move between them.

If the command line contains the name of an instrument or light group, only the parameters belonging to that instrument or light
group are enabled.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

The layout of all parameters, however, remains constant no matter what instruments are selected, active, or patched. The purpose
of this is to help you develop a sense of “muscle memory” to aid you in locating the buttons for each parameter. Some buttons may
be visible or not, some may be enabled or not, but each button will always be in the same spot (taking into account scrolling, device
rotation, and device screen size, of course.)

Recording and Updating Light Cues

QLab Remote provides the same buttons for recording and updating cues as the Light Dashboard does in QLab.

Each button is only enabled when the corresponding action is available.

Revert, Clear all, Jump to cue

These buttons also perform the same function as their QLab counterparts.

Light Instrument Check

The Light Instrument Check tool lets you flip through each lighting instrument and light group in your show in order to ensure that
everything is working properly.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

When you begin an instrument check, all lights are reset to their home positions. When each instrument is checked, its default
parameter is brought to either 100%, 50%, or 10%. You can choose this level using the Setting adjustment on the right side of the
screen.

Keyboard Shortcuts

QLab Remote supports keyboard shortcuts when a hardware keyboard is connected. Pressing and holding the command key
displays a list of all supported shortcuts.

Requirements

The following features in QLab Remote are available when connected to a specific minimum version of QLab.

QLab 5.0 or newer

Connect to QLab 5 workspaces.

Communicate using encrypted network connection.

Start cues with audition GO and audition preview.

QLab 4.6 or newer:

Options for Second Triggers in the Triggers inspector panel.

Display audio output names in the Device & Levels inspector panel.

QLab 4.5 or newer:

Set Levels… button in the Device & Levels inspector panel.

Set Geometry from Target button in the Geometry panel of Fade cue inspector.

QLab 4.3 or newer:

Browsing folder aliases in the File Target document picker of the cue inspector.

QLab 4.2 or newer:

Light Keypad.
Instrument Check.

Cues can be deselected in the cue list.

Override status indicators.
Adjusting video geometry in Fade cues.

Add Command… button in Light cue inspector.

QLab 4.1 or newer:

GO in QLab Remote is covered by workspace double-go protection.

QLab Remote respects Show/Edit mode.

QLab 4.0 or newer:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - QLab Remote 8.2

Connect to QLab 4 workspaces.

Load to Time.

The Cues Toolbox.

Long-pressing on cues to reorder them in the cue list.
Validating audio levels set in QLab Remote against QLab’s Minimum volume limit.

Editing video surfaces.

On-screen animations to indicate panicking cues.
Progress bars in the Active Cues list.

Assigning targets to Audio and Video cues.

Adjusting Video cues’ surface assignments.
Adjusting rotation of Video cues.

Adjusting absolute/relative mode of Fade cues.

Activating/deactivating individual audio levels in Fade cues.
Adjusting Triggers.

1. While QLab 3 is still compatible with QLab Remote, it is unsupported as of the release of QLab 5 and may not work perfectly, or not in all
configurations.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Using OSC 8.3

Using OSC
QLab has extensive support for the Open Sound Control protocol, a network communication standard for computers and
multimedia devices. OSC is a great way to control QLab from other software and hardware because it’s relatively simple to set up,
requires no specialized hardware, and uses networking infrastructure that is often either already in place or easy to implement.

Understanding OSC

All software or devices which support OSC have their own dictionary of commands. You can use programs like Max, Medialon
Manager, and TouchOSC, or hardware like ETC’s EOS family to send messages that exist in QLab 5’s OSC dictionary.

Alternately, if your software or hardware does not allow you to program your own messages, you can use the OSC controls in
Workspace Settings → Controls to capture your device’s OSC messages, and map them to several of QLab’s workspace-level
commands like , Panic, Load, and so on.

Physical Requirements

QLab accepts incoming OSC messages via TCP and UDP over a local network. The sending device must be on the same network,
and both the Mac running QLab and the other device must be configured correctly to share network traffic. A good, but rather dry,
introduction to setting up devices on a network can be found here.

The long and short of it is that devices must be on the same network, on the same subnet, and use IP addresses that permit them
to communicate with each other.

Controlling The Workspace

QLab accepts commands like /go , /panic , and /save , which are referred to as workspace level messages because they are
directed at a workspace. When QLab receives these messages, it behaves exactly as though the corresponding button, menu item,
or keyboard shortcut occurred within QLab. So sending /go to QLab from an external device will cause the exact same thing to
happen as sitting down in front of QLab and clicking on the GO button with the mouse. You can find a list of workspace level OSC
messages in the Workspace Messages section of QLab’s OSC dictionary.

If you are using a device or program which sends specific OSC messages that you want to associate with workspace level events
such as and panic, you can do that in Workspace Settings → Controls → OSC.

There are also several application level messages which interact with QLab itself, “above” the workspace level. You can find a list of
application level OSC messages in the Application Messages section of QLab’s OSC dictionary.

Controlling Individual Cues

There are also a variety of commands that can be directed at cues themselves. These commands have the structure
/cue/{identifier}/{command} , where {identifier} is the piece of information that QLab uses to determine where to send the
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Using OSC 8.3

command. There are five identifiers available for OSC commands:

/cue/{x} - replace {x} with the cue number of the cue you want to target.
/cue/selected - the command will target all selected cues. If one or more of the selected cues can’t accept the command,
they will be ignored; the command will be applied only to the cues which can accept it.
/cue/playhead - the command will target the cue that’s standing by in the current cue list.

/cue/* - the * character is a wildcard. A command directed to /cue/* will target all cues in a workspace. You can combine
the wildcard with other text, though, so a command directed to /cue/*1 will target all cues whose cue numbers end with 1 ,
like cue 1 , cue 11 , cue 41 , and cue alternate1 . You can also use the wildcard in the middle or at the end of a cue
number, so you can use ham* to target hamlet , hamster , and, of course, hamilton .

/cue_id/{id} - replace {id} with the cue ID of the cue you want to target. Cue ID is a unique identifier for each cue which never
changes, even if you change the cue’s name and number. A cue’s ID can be discovered using the AppleScript property
uniqueID

Important: Spaces are not permitted in OSC addresses, so if you are using OSC to control your workspace, it’s a good idea to avoid
spaces in cue numbers. For example, /cue/oh hello/start is an invalid command, since there’s a space between oh and
hello . Also, sadly, OSC does not support unicode or emoji characters so cues with numbers like 繁 or are not addressable via
OSC.

The Benefits of OSC

OSC’s two main strengths are it’s infrastructure requirements and its flexibility. It runs over standard networking infrastructure,
including WiFi, which is fairly cheap and very easy to obtain. You can buy network equipment pretty much anywhere, so if you’re on
tour and a piece of your OSC infrastructure breaks, it may be relatively easy to find a replacement. MIDI cables and devices are a bit
harder to come by if you’re not in a large city.

Complex networks of devices with bi-directional OSC control are fairly simple to set up; just connect everything to a network
switch and assign IP addresses in the same subnet range. MIDI, on the other hand, requires a more carefully designed and laid out
infrastructure, with “in” and “out” cables for each device, careful management of power, and a mere 16 channels for separation of
messages.

OSC is more flexible than MIDI, too, because each program or device defines its own set of OSC commands, rather than re-
purposing MIDI messages such as Note On and Program Change. The set of commands that a given device can use is based on the
exact needs of that device.

The Perils of OSC

Despite these advantages, OSC is not without its drawbacks.

The more we use networks, the more important it is to secure them. If your show network includes WiFi, it’s important to follow
best practices for securing your WiFi network. Audience members are more likely to have a cell phone in their pocket than a MIDI
device, after all, and it’s not hard to imagine a curious individual doing a little recreational hacking during intermission.

OSC is also, frankly, a little complicated when you’re trying to do complicated things. You have to know a good amount about
networking in order to troubleshoot subtle problems, and it can be time consuming to gather and retain all the necessary
information about which commands do what for each device or program.

A small but frustrating technical detail is that OSC does not support use of the comma (,) as a decimal separator, only the period (or
“full stop”.) This is important to keep in mind if your Mac, or other devices on your network, are configured to use comma decimal
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Using OSC 8.3

separators, as is common in many European nations.

Finally, there are some political implications of using OSC. Folks are typically pretty skeptical when approached by someone from a
different department with the end of a network cable. Coordinating IP addresses and address schemes can be complicated, and
someone has to do it, and everyone has to agree who that someone is. While this is becoming more and more common on large
shows, it’s still unfamiliar territory to many.

Ultimately, though, we believe that the benefits of OSC far outweigh the drawbacks, and with a little careful planning, all the dangers
can be overcome.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Using MIDI & MSC 8.4

Using MIDI & MSC

QLab can be controlled from another program or device using MIDI. MIDI, which stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, is a
digital protocol created for allowing electronic musical instruments, computers, and other related equipment to connect and
communicate with each other. While not originally designed for show control, MIDI has been adopted (and adapted) for use in
theaters, theme parks, concerts, and all manner of live entertainment venues.

Workspace MIDI control

QLab allows you to map incoming MIDI voice messages to controls at the workspace level, such as , Pause All, Panic, and so forth,
so that you can use a MIDI device as a remote control for running QLab. This could be as simple as a single physical GO button, or
as complex as a full MIDI surface with a button for each MIDI-mappable control in QLab. Any device capable of sending MIDI voice
messages can be used, including keyboards, drum pads, purpose-built remote devices, or the user-defined keys on many popular
digital audio consoles.

QLab also accepts MIDI Show Control (MSC) messages.

To configure QLab to respond to MIDI Voice Messages and/or MSC messages, visit Workspace Settings → Controls → Workspace
MIDI window.

At the top of the window, you can select which of the 16 MIDI channels QLab will listen to. You can also select Any to allow QLab to
respond to incoming messages on any channel. QLab will listen on the selected channel for incoming MIDI messages from all MIDI
devices connected to the computer.

The next section of MIDI Controls pertains to MIDI Show Control, which is discussed below.

Checking the box labeled Use “Musical” MIDI Controls will enable incoming MIDI controls for the workspace. You can then enter the
MIDI message that you want to assign to each workspace control. Workspace controls can respond to four types of MIDI messages:
Note On , Note Off , Program Change , and Control Change . Choose the message type from the dropdown menu, and then
enter the two bytes of data for the message. For Note On and Note Off messages, byte 1 is the note number, and byte 2 is the
velocity. For Control Change messages, byte 1 is the control number, and byte 2 is the control value. For Program Change
messages, byte 1 is the program number, and byte 2 is ignored.

You can use greater-than (>) or less-than (<) signs in the byte fields. So, for example, if you want to use a Note On message to ,
and you’re using a velocity-sensitive keyboard, you may wish to enter >0 for byte 2, so that the occurs no matter the velocity of
the keypress.

You can also use the word any in the byte fields. It is recommended that you proceed with caution, though, especially when using
any in conjunction with Note On messages. Many MIDI devices don’t actually use Note Off , and instead send a Note On
message with a velocity of 0 to indicate a Note Off . If your MIDI device does that, and you’re using a Note On message with any
as byte 2, you will get double triggers: one when the key is pressed, and another when it’s released.

Instead of manually entering each MIDI message, you can also click the Capture button next to the workspace control that you wish
to use. Once you click it, you’ll see “Waiting…” in yellow text appear in the two byte fields. QLab will listen for the next compatible
incoming MIDI message, and assign it to that control. To cancel listening for a new message without capturing one, just click the
“Capture…” button a second time.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Using MIDI & MSC 8.4

Workspace MSC control

MSC stands for MIDI Show Control, and it was created to help simplify the process of using MIDI for show control purposes. Rather
than arbitrarily assigning Note On or Program Change messages to show control commands like “go” and “stop”, MSC has a set of
commands designed for a show control environment.

Checking the box labeled Use MIDI Show Control, will allow QLab to respond to a selection of incoming MSC messages associated
with common tasks, without requiring you to manually set up connections between MIDI voice messages and controls or triggers in
QLab. The MSC specification includes a wide variety of categories for devices that can be addressed by MSC; QLab will respond to
messages sent as Audio (General), Lighting (General), and Video (General).

With that box checked, you need to set QLab’s MSC Device ID, which is a number between 0 and 126 . Every device on an MSC
network must have a Device ID number, and must respond to incoming messages within their own categories if the messages are
addressed to that Device ID. Also, all devices must respond to messages sent to Device ID 127 .

Once you’ve set the Device ID, there’s nothing else to configure in QLab. QLab will respond to the following MSC commands:

ALL_OFF. Stop all currently playing cues.

STANDBY+/-. Move the playhead to the next or previous cue.

SEQUENCE+/-. Move the playhead to the next or previous cue sequence.
RESET. If RESET is sent without a cue number, reset the workspace to the state it would be in when it is first opened. If RESET
is sent with a cue number, stop that cue if it’s playing, and revert any temporary changes made to it, such as with a Target cue.

GO. If GO is sent without a cue number, start the standing by cue and advance the playhead to the next cue or cue sequence,
just as though the on-screen GO button was pressed. If GO is sent with a cue number, start that cue.
STOP. If STOP is sent without a cue number, pause the currently selected cue(s). If STOP is sent with a cue number, pause that
cue. We do not know why the MSC spec uses the word “STOP” to mean “pause”, but it does, so this is what QLab does.
RESUME. If RESUME is sent without a cue number, resume all currently paused cues. If RESUME is sent with a cue number,
resume that cue.

LOAD. If LOAD is sent without a cue number, load the currently selected cue(s). If LOAD is sent with a cue number, load that
cue.

One extremely important thing to remember when using MSC is that cue numbers in MSC, and in QLab, are strings not actual
numbers. What that means is that you need to be sure to match the cue numbers exactly on both ends. 1 , 01 , 1.0 , 1.00 are all
the same number, but they’re all different cue numbers!

MIDI triggers

You can also set MIDI voice messages to start individual cues in your workspace. You can learn more about that from the Triggers
Tab section of the Inspector section of this manual.

The Benefits of MIDI

MIDI can be a great choice for controlling QLab because it’s a simple and reliable protocol with a long-proven track record, and it’s
spoken by thousands of devices and programs all over the world. Lighting consoles, video mixers, musical instruments… you can
find MIDI in use in almost all of them.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Using MIDI & MSC 8.4

MIDI is quick to set up, often only requiring a single cable if you only need control in one direction, and doesn’t usually require a ton
of programming knowledge to configure.

It’s also extremely easy to send from place to place in a theater, since it can be sent over long distances on regular XLR cable using
a simple, inexpensive adapter. A common misconception is that MIDI can’t be sent farther than 50 feet (about 15 meters) without
using an active amplifier, but this usually isn’t the case. In fact, MIDI amplifiers often cause more trouble than they solve. For more
details, see this guide to MIDI cable length by Richmond Sound Design.

The Perils of MIDI

Its advantages notwithstanding, using MIDI to control QLab, or any other aspect of a show for that matter, isn’t without its
downsides.

Getting MIDI in and out of a computer requires a MIDI interface. There are hundreds of different brands of MIDI interfaces out
there at all price points, and unfortunately the vast majority of them are unsuitable for show-critical use. This is because the
amount of MIDI data generated by, say, a keyboard controller is comparatively low, and even a world class pianist can’t play faster
than the MIDI interface can follow. But a computer generating MIDI, MSC, or MIDI timecode sends a lot more data, and sends it a lot
faster than a typical musical performance. This higher load can outstrip the capacity of lower end MIDI interfaces, causing them to
either skip or corrupt messages. Needless to say, that’s problematic.

For this reason, the only MIDI interfaces we currently recommend are those manufactured by iConnectivity, Kenton, or ESI. We’ve
experienced problems with nearly every other brand of MIDI interface we’ve encountered in the field. Naturally, your mileage may
vary, and you may have perfect success with other interfaces. By and large, though, if your show depends on MIDI control, we
strongly encourage sticking with one of these proven brands.

Another reason to be cautious of MIDI has to do with what MSC calls “controlled devices” and “controllers.” Most lighting consoles
are designed as “controlled devices,” which means the level of control you have over the MSC messages they send out is limited. In
ETC EOS family consoles, for example, MSC can only be enabled on a per-list basis. Once enabled on a cue list, the console will
send an MSC GO with the cue number of every cue that it starts in that cue list. While this is very convenient if it’s what you need,
it can also create quite a challenge if that’s not what you need. Since the lighting console sends an MSC GO for every single cue,
any cue in QLab with a matching cue number will be started. The only way to ensure that certain cues are started via MSC and
others are not is to use matching cue numbers for the MSC-triggered cues, and make sure that other cues in QLab do NOT have
the same cue number as any cue on the lighting console. The more advanced ETC consoles also let you work around this with a
complicated arrangement of multiple cue lists and macros.

You can also solve the problem by using QLab to send MSC messages to the lighting console, rather than the other way around,
since QLab only sends MIDI and MSC messages when you tell it to. But there are any number of reasons why that might not be
practical, which leaves you with the hassle described here.

Our intention is not to discourage the use of MIDI and MSC, only to try to point out potential issues, hopefully before you encounter
them. With a little care, MIDI can be a very powerful and useful tool in a show control environment.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Using Timecode 8.5

Using Timecode
Timecode is a standard developed for use in the film industry to keep cameras and sound recording equipment synchronized both
on set and in post production. It has since been adopted by theme parks, cruise ships, and theaters as a mechanism for linking
lighting, audio, video, and automation equipment.

QLab can be controlled by either LTC (linear or longitudinal timecode) or MTC (MIDI timecode.) LTC is also often referred to
casually as “audio timecode” or “SMPTE” (pronounced “SIMP-tee”.) Neither term is wrong; LTC uses an audio signal to transmit
timecode, so “audio timecode” is a perfectly fair description. SMPTE stands for the Society of Motion Picture and Television
Engineers which is the organization that created and maintains the technical standards for timecode. Most accurately, though,
SMPTE is the name of the organization, not the name of the timecode standard.

QLab 5 also syncs to timecode, which means that when incoming timecode stops, skips ahead, or skips back, QLab is able to
respond appropriately.

A note on terminology: many different terms are used in the world of timecode, some of which have linguistic roots which are racist or
otherwise violent. Since there is absolutely no reason to adhere to these terms, we do not. Abandoning archaic terms which cause hurt is a
small and ridiculously easy thing that we can do to make the places that QLab is used more accessible and inclusive to all.

Controlling Individual Cues

To use timecode to start cues in QLab, you first need to enable incoming timecode for the list or cart that contains those cues. This
can be done in the Timecode tab of the inspector when a list or cart is selected.

Check the box labeled Sync cues in this list from incoming timecode, and then choose the sync source, sync input channel (if
applicable), and SMPTE format appropriate for your system. QLab must be set to use the same format as the device that’s sending
timecode in order to operate correctly.

The On Start pop-up menu allows you to configure QLab’s behavior when incoming timecode starts; should QLab start any cues
whose timecode trigger precedes the first incoming frame? This can be helpful, for example, when you want to make sure that
“setup” cues are run when jumping into the middle of a sequence in rehearsal. More details can be found in the Timecode tab
section of this manual.

The On Stop pop-up menu allows you to configure QLab’s behavior when incoming timecode stops; should cues started via
timecode stop, pause, or keep running?

The Freewheel time box lets you enter any duration between 0 and 2 seconds which QLab will use as a window of time within
which timecode drop-outs will be ignored. This can help protect against stopping or pausing cues because of a momentary drop or
corruption of timecode which is common (especially with MIDI timecode.)

Once that’s set, you can visit the Triggers tab for any cue within the cue list, check the Timecode checkbox, and enter a trigger time
for the cue.

You can set the pop-up menu to Timecode and enter the time in the format hour:minute:second:frame , or set the pop-up menu
to Real Time and enter the time in the format hour:minute:second:millisecond . You should use whichever format makes the
most sense for your situation.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Using Timecode 8.5

The Benefits of Timecode

Timecode can be advantageous when you need to link several devices to a single timeline that is non-negotiable and deliberately
rigid. Each device can receive timecode from a central source, and then each device can be individually responsible for doing the
right thing at the right time. If you use LTC for your timecode distribution, it can be very simple to route it since it’s just a line-level
audio signal and you can use conventional audio infrastructure.

MTC, on the other hand, uses MIDI infrastructure which is frankly pretty irritating to deal with unless you’re just connecting one
thing to another.

Shows that are run “on rails,” such as themed attractions, dance-only or dance-centric shows performed to prerecorded tracks, or
shows in which 100% repeatability is required for safety purposes are often organized around timecode.

The main reason why you might want to use timecode instead of another show control protocol is that lots and lots of legacy
equipment supports it.

The Perils of Timecode

Timecode is a bit at odds with the fundamental design premise of QLab, which is that you don’t necessarily know the amount of
time that will elapse between cues. After all, in traditional live theater that’s the whole point of having cues in the first place! Using
timecode locks a series of events in place without any flexibility. Obviously, that’s sometimes quite useful, but not always.

We recommend using timecode when you’re adding QLab into a situation that’s already using timecode, or when you’re connecting
QLab to equipment that does not support OSC, MIDI, or MSC.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Show Control Broadcast 8.6

Show Control Broadcast

Show control broadcast is QLab’s name for a set of MIDI Show Control (MSC) and Open Sound Control (OSC) messages which report
on the status of a workspace while in performance. These messages can be used to monitor QLab’s status, for example by a stage
manager or director of production who wants to be kept informed about “where we are” in the show, or used to remote-control
another device by having that device start cues of its own whenever a matching cue in QLab starts.

Show control broadcast can be switched on and off per workspace, and is entirely optional.

Show Control Broadcast With MSC

MSC show control broadcast uses the same MIDI output patches that MIDI cues and MIDI File cues use. To configure MIDI
output patches, visit Workspace Settings → MIDI → MIDI Outputs.

Once you have at least one MIDI output patch configured, go to the MSC Broadcast tab.

The upper left corner has a checkbox which allows you to enable or disable MSC broadcast messages for the entire workspace. To
add an MSC broadcast output, click on the New Destination button or use the keyboard shortcut ⌘N while this tab of this window
has focus.

Each destination is an individually configurable output for MSC broadcast messages, which requires three settings:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Show Control Broadcast 8.6

A MIDI Patch, which the MIDI output patch that will receive the messages. The MIDI output patch, in turn, connects the
workspace to a MIDI device (or virtual device, such as an IAC bus or RTP-MIDI session.)
Under the Message heading is a pop-up menu which lets you set the command format for the destination. Command format is
an MSC term for the category of device or software that will be receiving the messages. The MSC spec defines a number of
specific categories and each device or software must self-identify as belonging to one or more category. QLab itself, for
example, responds to messages in the Sound (General), Video (General), and Lighting (General) categories. Refer to the
documentation of the device that you’re sending messages to in order to learn which category to use.

Also under the Message heading is a field to enter the Device ID of the device that will be receiving the messages. Device ID
127 is the “all-call” ID, so if you set a destination to use, say, the Lighting (General) format and device ID 127, then all devices
which are physically connected to that MIDI output patch and which self-identify as Lighting (General) will receive the
messages.

To remove a destination, click the button at the right edge of that destination in the list.

Example
In the screen shot above, there are three MSC broadcast destinations.

The first one sends MSC messages to “All Types” via an IAC bus. Since IAC busses are internal to the Mac, any other programs
running on the same Mac which are using device ID 9 will receive these messages.

The second one sends MSC messages to “Lasers” via a different IAC bus. Any laser-specific software running on the same Mac
which uses device ID 2 will receive these messages.

The third one sends MSC messages to “Robots” via an RTP-MIDI session. Any robots out there listening to the same RTP-MIDI
session and using device ID 53 will receive these messages.

MSC Show Control Messages

Action in QLab Corresponding MSC message

GO MSC GO {cue number of the cue which ran}

Panic All MSC ALL_OFF

Stop All MSC ALL_OFF

HardStop All MSC ALL_OFF

Reset All MSC RESET

Show Control Broadcast With OSC

OSC show control broadcast consists of a set of OSC messages which another program or device can send to QLab which will
cause QLab to keep that other program or device informed about show control status. If the QLab workspace is closed and
reopened, the remote program or device will need to re-send the message to continue receiving updates.

Messages To QLab
The highest-level commands are /listen and /ignore which start and stop the flow of all show control messages.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Show Control Broadcast 8.6

Message sent to QLab Result

/listen Client will receive all show control messages.

/ignore Client will stop receiving all show control message.

Once a client requests updates, QLab can send show control messages in three basic forms.

Workspace Event messages with arguments

The first form of OSC show control broadcast message is a workspace event message with arguments, which looks like this:

/qlab/event/workspace/{event} {cue number} {cue name} {cue uniqueID} {cue type}

Action in QLab Corresponding {event}

GO go

Audition Go auditionGo

Stop cue/stop

Start cue/start

Playhead move playhead

When any of those events occur in the workspace, the corresponding message will be sent with arguments filled in based on the
cue that was related to the event. For example, consider this screen shot:

If someone pressed at this moment, QLab would send this show control broadcast message:

/qlab/event/workspace/go "24" "intro music" "F8CD48F4-B06B-4992-ACD6-5753D0224" "Audio"

QLab also sends four individual messages containing each of those four arguments individually:

/qlab/event/workspace/go/number 24

/qlab/event/workspace/go/name "intro music"

/qlab/event/workspace/go/uniqueID F8CD48F4-B06B-4992-ACD6-5753D0224

/qlab/event/workspace/go/type Audio
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Show Control Broadcast 8.6

GO and Start
Whenever a cue starts for a reason other than a , that is considered a “start.” So, if cue 1 is a Start cue which targets cue 2 ,
and you select cue 1 and press , QLab would report a /qlab/event/workspace/go message for cue 1 , and a
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/start message for cue 2 .

As far as show control broadcast is concerned, “previewing” a cue is the same as “starting” it.

Stop
Whenever a cue stops, whether it’s stopped manually or as a result of a Stop cue or because it simply runs out, QLab reports a
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/stop message for that cue.

Playhead Move
Whenever the playhead in the current cue list moves for any reason, QLab reports a /qlab/event/workspace/playhead message
for the cue that the playhead moves to.

Workspace Event messages without arguments

The second form of OSC show control broadcast message is a workspace event message without arguments, which looks like this:

/qlab/event/workspace/{event}

Action in QLab Corresponding {event}

Pause All pauseAll

Resume All resumeAll

Panic All panicAll

Stop All stopAll

HardStop All hardStopAll

Reset All resetAll

Whenever any of those events occurs in the workspace, the corresponding message is sent.

Setting scope
While a comprehensive set of show control messages is hardly overwhelming, it still may be desirable to receive only a subset of
these messages instead of every single one.

To that end, the /listen and /ignore messages have a set of extended forms which allow you to receive or stop receiving
exactly the show control messages you want. The extended forms look like this:

/{command}/{event}/{optional detail}

{command} can be either listen or ignore

{event} can be any event listed above, such as go , playhead , cue/start , or stopAll .

You can stop there with messages like /listen/go or /listen/resumeAll , or add any of the following optional details:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Show Control Broadcast 8.6

number

name

uniqueID

type

Adding those details further reduces the variety of messages which get sent.

Example
If a client sends QLab only this message:

/listen/go

It will only receive /qlab/event/workspace/go messages, including all forms of that message with all arguments.

If a client sends QLab only these messages:

/listen/go/number , /listen/panicAll

It will receive one /qlab/event/workspace/go {number} message with every with only that single argument. It will also receive a
/qlab/event/workspace/panicAll message whenever the workspace panics.

By using the extended forms of /listen and /ignore messages in combination, you can subscribe to the exact set of messages
you want, with nothing extraneous.

Customizing outgoing OSC show control broadcast messages

Sometimes, you may need to send show control broadcast messages from QLab which are formatted differently than the default
messages listed above. For example, you may be using a device which can only respond to OSC messages formatted in a specific
way.

You can set your own format by sending the OSC message /eventFormat to QLab from the client that wants the custom-formatted
messages. This message accepts one argument which is a text string containing the desired message format. The string can contain
any or all of the following tokens which will be replaced with live data when the message is sent:

#workspace_id# - the workspace ID.

#address# - the address of show control broadcast message.

#status# - this token returns “error” if either the incoming or outgoing message is malformed or in any other way
problematic, or “ok” if everything is ok.

#data# - the argument of the show control broadcast message.

When you use /eventFormat , QLab will only send single-argument show control broadcast messages. The multi-argument
message will not be sent.

At present, you are only able to use a single /eventFormat at a time (per client) which will format all OSC show control broadcast
messages for the given client. This means it’s possible to create a format which will generate invalid messages. For this reason, it’s
probably best to /listen to specific events which are compatible with your chosen format.

To find out the current format, send /eventFormat without any arguments. QLab will reply with the current format.

To reset to the default format, send /eventFormat "" (an empty string argument.)
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Show Control Broadcast 8.6

Examples
The default format can be re-created using /eventFormat "#address# #data"

To format a message which starts cues in another copy of QLab on another Mac, you could use this format: /eventFormat
"/cue/#data#/start . Then send /listen/go/number and optionally also /listen/start/number

To send the message expected by an ETC Eos family console, use /eventFormat "/eos/cue/#data#/fire . Then send
/listen/go/number and optionally also /listen/start/number
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

Network Cues
Network cues you to send messages from QLab to other software or devices using the network connections of your Mac. They
can also be used to send control messages to QLab itself. Messages can be sent via TCP or UDP.

The Network cue can send three types of network messages:

OSC messages, which use the Open Sound Control protocol; a flexible, extensible, network-based messaging system designed
as a sort of spiritual successor to MIDI.
Plain Text messages, which send plain ASCII text.
Hex Code messages, which send hexadecimal codes.

In addition, QLab includes the following collection of network device descriptions which allow a network patch to be configured to
communicate with a specific device or program:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

QLab 5
Go Button 3

Audio Definition Model (ADM)

atemOSC
Behringer WING

Behringer X32 family / Midas M32 family

Behringer WING
Behringer X-Air family

BitFocus Companion
Blackmagic Designs Videohub
Borealis Vor

Chamsys MagicQ
Christie products which support Christie’s RS232C protocol via a network connection.
Christie HS Series

Cockos Reaper
Creative Connors Spikemark 5
d&b DS100 (Soundscape)

Dan Murfin ShowPlay

DiGiCo SD series consoles
disguise

ETC ColorSource AV family

ETC Eos Family
Flamingo Software Atlas

Flux Spat Revolution

GarageCube MadMapper 5
High End Hog 4

Innovate Audio panLab 2

Innovate Audio panLab Console
L-Acoustics L-ISA

Lightkey 4
MA Lighting grandMA3
Mark Of The Unicorn (MOTU) AVB Audio Interfaces

Meyer GALAXY (in Normal mode and in Spacemap mode)

Mixeffect
Shure Axient Digital Wireless System
Shure P10T Wireless PSM Transmitter

Shure ULX-D Digital Wireless System

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

Synthe FX Luminair 4
TheatreMix 3

VISCA-over-IP
Yamaha DM3
Yamaha DM7 series

Yamaha Rivage family

ZoomOSC

These network device descriptions include the full library of commands required to communicate with these devices or programs.1
When a network patch is configured to use one of these network device descriptions, the inspector shows a series of menus and
controls specific to that description. This makes it easy to work with a device without having to constantly be referring to the
device’s manual to look up specific commands or syntax. Examples are provided below.

Network cues require a license of any type.

The Inspector for Network Cues

When a Network cue is selected, the inspector shows the Basics tab and Triggers tab, used by all cues, as well as a Settings tab.

Settings

The controls in the Settings tab very depending upon two factors: the selected network patch, and whether or not the cue has a
duration. The examples and screen shots in this section of the manual use a variety of combinations of settings in order to give a
sense of the possible layouts.

Patch. This pop-up menu allows you to select a network patch for the cue to use. Clicking on the menu allows you to select one of
the network patches already configured in the workspace, or (unpatched) if you want to ensure that the cue does not play when
started. You can also choose Open Network Settings to edit patch list… to quickly get to Workspace Settings → Network → Network
Outputs, or choose New patch with network device to quickly generate a new network patch and select it for use. If a cue’s patch
has multiple destinations, the message sent by the cue will be sent to each destination simultaneously. This is convenient, for
example, for easily controlling a primary and a backup device at the same time without needing to create separate cues to control
each.

The contents of the lower portion of the Settings tab will change based upon the type of patch in use.

Fade. This pop-up menu will default to No Fade if the Network cue has no duration, or Resend if it does have a duration. This
menu lets you set the Network cue to send its message just once (no duration, no fade), to send it repeatedly over time
(duration, resend), or to perform a one-dimensional (1D) or two-dimensional (2D) fade to send more complex messages over time.
These options are discussed more below.

Duration. You can edit the duration of the cue here, as well as in the Basics tab or in the Duration column of the cue list.

Send. Clicking this button will test-send your message and is the same as previewing the cue.

OSC Messages Without Durations

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

If the Network cue uses a patch configured to send an OSC message, the lower part of the Settings tab shows a single, large text
field.

The text field allows to enter any single OSC command. OSC messages are made up of an address which is the part that looks like a
web address, and zero or more arguments which follow the address. QLab uses the following formatting rules for OSC messages:

A single space separates the address from the first argument and arguments from each other
String arguments that contain spaces must be “enclosed in quotation marks.”

Arguments made of only digits are assumed to be integers.

Arguments made of digits with a decimal separator are assumed to be floating point numbers (floats).
The following OSC 1.1 arguments are allowed:

\T is a boolean true.

\F is a boolean false.

\I is an impulse.

\N is a Null.

While OSC itself only supports using a period (a.k.a. a “full stop”) as a decimal separator, QLab is aware of the location settings on
your Mac and will invisibly substitute a period in outgoing OSC messages if your Mac is set to use a comma as the decimal separator.

Examples
Here are a few examples showing proper OSC message formatting in QLab.

/my/groovy/message 2 10 12

This sends a message to address /my/groovy/message with three integers, 2 , 10 , and 12 , as separate arguments.

/day/start "mornin', ralph" "morning', sam"

This sends a message to address /day/start with two strings, morning', ralph and mornin', sam , as separate arguments.

/osc/rocks \T

This sends a TRUE value to the address /osc/rocks .

OSC Messages With Durations

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

If the Network cue uses a patch configured to send an OSC message and the cue has a duration, the Fade control comes into
play.

Resend
If the Fade pop-up menu is set to Resend, the cue sends its message repeatedly over its duration. The frequency that the message
is sent is adjusted by the fps pop-up menu which has several options from 1 message per second up to 120 messages per second.

The cue in this screen shot will send its message 30 times per second for ten seconds:

1D Fade
If the Fade pop-up menu is set to 1D Fade, the cue also sends its message repeatedly over its duration, but allows you to configure
the message to change over time.

This cue is set to use a 1D Fade, resending its message at 60 fps using floats. This means:

A single value will be faded over the duration of the cue,

That value will be updated and sent 60 times per second,
The value will include decimal values (to six decimal places.)

The right side of the tab displays a fade curve (which you can edit to suit your needs) and two text fields. The From field sets a
starting value, and the To field sets a final value.

The text field fills the left side of the tab. Note that the OSC message includes the text #v# . This is a token, which is like a stand-in
for an actual value.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

When the cue runs, QLab calculates a fade starting at the From value and ending at the To value. Each time the message is sent,
the calculated value is sent in place of the #v# token.

The token is most commonly used in the place of an argument, but if the OSC message that you’re sending includes a numerical
value in the address, the token can be used there as well.

The pop-up menu in the lower right corner lets you choose between using a custom curve shape or a linear curve shape, and lets
you reset the curve to its default state.

2D fade
If the Fade pop-up menu is set to 2D Fade, the cue allows you to fade two values at the same time over the duration of the cue.

This cue is set to use a 2D Fade, resending its message at 100 fps using integers. This means:

Two values will be faded over the duration of the cue,

The values will be updated and sent 100 times per second,

The values will be integer values only; no decimals.

The left side of the tab is filled by a large text field. Here, you can enter an OSC message including two tokens, #x# and #y# .
When the cue runs and the fade animates, the X-axis value will replace the #x# token and the Y-axis value will replace the #y#
token.

The right side of the tab shows a blue rectangular area inside which you can draw a path using your mouse or trackpad. The fade
path is shown as a yellow line over a blue background. The starting point of the path is drawn in green and the ending point is
drawn in red. There are also small directional carets pointing away from the starting point and towards the ending point, to help
differentiate these points without relying on their color.

Just to the left of the path are a set of tools for you to use to create and edit the path.

The select tool lets you click on individual control points to select them for precise editing.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

With one point selected, you can use the text fields in the lower right corner to type in a value or click and drag up and down to
adjust the value.

You can also click and drag a selection box around several control points:

The draw tool lets you click to add points to the path, or click, hold, and drag to draw a freeform line. Holding down the option key
(⌥) key allows you to add a point in the middle of a path, otherwise each drawn point will be added to the end of the path. Double-
clicking while using the draw tool finishes drawing and switches to the select tool.

The circle tool lets you draw a perfectly circular path. The first click sets the starting (and ending) point of the circle, and the
second click defines the diameter of the circle. Holding down the option key (⌥) allows you to instead click once to define the
center point, and then click again to define the radius of the circle.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

Flip vertical flips the selected group of points around the X axis.

Flip horizontal flips the selected group of points around the Y axis.

Rotate spins the selected group of points in 90 degree increments around the center point of the selection.

Reverse leaves the points in the same location, but reverses their order in the path. For example, consider this simple path with
two points:

After using the reverse tool, what was the start point is not the end point, and vice versa:

The help button displays a list of the keyboard shortcuts and modifiers for the Path tab.

The alignment menu to the upper right of the path lets you choose where the axis is placed on the canvas. By default, it is placed
at the center, both horizontally and vertically, corresponding with QLab’s center origin point for video geometry. However, this
menu allows you to place the axis in one of the corners to help achieve your mathematical goals. It has no functional difference
beyond how the canvas is displayed, and therefore what sorts of values are easiest to enter.

To the right side of the canvas are a few more controls for configuring the canvas and the overall behavior of the path:

Width and Height allow you set the width and height of the blue rectangle, which defines the range of values sent by the cue.

Smooth path. When this box is un-checked, paths will be drawn precisely between each control point. When the box is checked,
the path will be smoothed between points to create a naturally curving line.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

You can use the and buttons to zoom in and out on the canvas. If you’re using a trackpad, you can zoom in and out by placing
the cursor over the canvas and pinching in and out. If you’re using a mouse or trackball with a scroll wheel, you can zoom in and

out by holding down the option key (⌥) and scrolling vertically.

While zoomed in, you can pan around using two-finger swipes on a trackpad. If you have a mouse or trackball with a middle button
(oftentimes the scroll wheel can be clicked; this is usually the middle button,) you can pan around my holding that button down.

The Reset Points button resets the path to the default shape defined by the cue template.

If Live Preview is on, QLab will transmit OSC messages as you click and drag so that you can see or hear the results in real time.

Plain Text Messages

If the Network cue uses a patch configured to send a Plain Text message, the lower part of the Settings tab shows a single, large
text field.

Plain text messages cannot be given a duration, and so cannot be faded or resent. Only ASCII characters can be used in plain text
messages.

Hex Code Messages

If the Network cue uses a patch configured to send a Hex Code message, the lower part of the Settings tab shows a single, large
text field.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

Plain text messages cannot be given a duration, and so cannot be faded or resent. Only hexadecimal symbols can be used in plain
text messages; the numerals 0 through 9 and the letters A through F.

Network Device Description messages

If the Network cue uses a patch configured with a network device description, the lower part of the Settings tab can show a
variety of pop-up menus, text fields, checkboxes, sliders, 1D fade curves, and 2D fade curves. The specific controls that are
available depend upon the network device description in use.

When using Network cues to communicate with another computer running QLab, or to send OSC messages from QLab back to
itself, this option provides a very simple interface for accessing the commonly used OSC commands that QLab recognizes. Enter a
cue number, and choose a command to send. Some commands have additional arguments, and additional fields will appear when
those commands are chosen.

QLab 5 - Workspace GO

ETC EOS Family - Channel 10 at 50%

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

ETC EOS Family - Fade channel 10 from 50% to 0%

d&b DS100 (Soundscape) - Fade input 1 from downstage left to upstage right

Yamaha Rivage - Enable delay on input channel 8

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

If you would like us to create a network device description for a specific network-controllable device or program, please contact us
at support@figure53.com and tell us about it. We may be able to create a description, and if so we may be able to include it in a
subsequent release of QLab.

Network Cues and Cue Templates

As discussed in the section on Cue Templates in this manual, cues can be given a customized default state. Newly created cues in a
workspace come into existence using this default state. If, for example, most of the Network cues in your workspace will be used
to start a cue on an ETC console, you might configure the Network cue template like this:

Then, every new Network cue would start off looking like that, and would need only a cue numbered to be entered in the
Settings tab in order to be used.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

However, if your QLab workspace communicates with several different OSC-controllable devices, say an ETC console, a d&b DS100,
and another remote copy of QLab, you might find yourself wishing there were a way to make multiple cue templates. To address
this need, follow these steps:

1. In Workspace Settings → Network → Network Outputs, set up a network patch for each device that your workspace will
communicate with.
2. In Workspace Settings → Templates → Cue Templates, select the Network cue, click on the Settings tab, and choose one of
the network patches.
3. Configure the rest of the Settings tab as you would like cues which use that patch to appear.

4. Now, select a different network patch and configure the Settings tab for the defaults that you want associated with that patch.
5. Repeat for each network patch in your workspace.
6. Finally, select whichever network patch you plan to use most often, and leave the cue template set to use that patch.

Now, newly created Network cues will appear using that patch and all its associated settings, but if you switch the cue to another
patch, the default settings you created in the cue template will suddenly appear. In this way, you can capture the default state of
each type of Network cue that you plan to use.

Broken Cues and Warnings

Network cues can become broken or warned for the following reasons:

No Patch

The cue has no network patch assigned. Assign a network patch to clear this warning.

Incomplete network patch

The cue has a network patch assigned, but something is wrong with it. The network patch will have warnings of its own, listed in
the Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window, which you can use to figure out what’s wrong with it. Either fix the network
patch or select a new network patch to clear this warning.

Missing message.

Fill in a valid message in the Settings tab of the inspector to clear this warning.

Missing values.

The cue uses a network device description and one or more parameters have no value. Fill in values for every control in the
Settings tab of the inspector to clear this warning.

Invalid OSC message.

The cue uses a patch configured to send OSC, but the OSC messages is malformed. Edit the OSC message in the Settings tab of
the inspector to clear this warning.

Invalid hex codes.

The cue uses a network device description which sends hexadecimal values, but the cue contains at least one character that is
invalid. Edit the message in the Settings tab of the inspector to clear this warning.

Missing image file.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Network Cues 8.7

This non-breaking warning will appear on a Network cue which had a 2D fade background image assigned which QLab is not
able to locate. Replace the image or click Remove Background in the Settings tab of the inspector to clear this warning.

External network output disabled.

This non breaking warning will appear on a Network cue whose patch directs messages to some other device on the network
when external network output is disabled via Override Controls. Re-enable external network output to clear this warning.

Local network output disabled.

This non breaking warning will appear on a Network cue whose patch directs messages to QLab or to other software on the
local Mac when local network output is disabled via Override Controls. Re-enable local network output to clear this warning.

License required

A license of any kind must be installed to use Network cues.

1. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners, and their inclusion in this manual and in QLab does not represent any official
relationship between Figure 53, LLC and any other entity. The inclusion of a particular device or program should not be construed as an
endorsement, and omission of a device or program should not necessarily be construed as an admonishment. Every effort has been made to
ensure that these network device descriptions are accurate and functional, but it is impossible to make a complete guarantee since
manufacturers may change their devices or command libraries without notice.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - MIDI Cues 8.8

MIDI Cues
MIDI cues allow you to send MIDI voice messages, MIDI Show Control (MSC) messages, or MIDI System Exclusive (SysEx) messages.
MIDI cues have no target and, by default, no duration since they send a single message more or less instantaneously. However,
certain types of MIDI messages can be set to fade from one value to another over time, and when sending those messages, MIDI
cues can have a duration.

MIDI cues require a license of any kind.

The Inspector for MIDI cues

When a MIDI cue is selected, the inspector shows the Basics tab and Triggers tab, used by all cues, and a Settings tab.

The Settings Tab

Along the top of the Settings tab are three controls which are present for all MIDI cues. Everything below those three controls
changes depending upon the type of message the cue sends.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - MIDI Cues 8.8

MIDI Patch. This pop-up menu allows you to select a MIDI patch for the cue to use. Clicking on the menu allows you to select one
of the MIDI patches already configured in the workspace, or (unpatched) if you want to ensure that the cue does not play when
started. You can also choose Open MIDI Settings to edit patch list… to quickly get to Workspace Settings → MIDI, or choose New
patch with MIDI device to quickly generate a new MIDI patch and select it for use.

Message Type. This pop-up menu lets you choose among MIDI Voice Message, MIDI Show Control Message, and MIDI SysEx
Message.

Send Message. Click this button to test-send your message.

MIDI Voice Message (“Musical MIDI”)

When the message type is set to MIDI Voice Message, the following controls appear:

Command. QLab can send the following types of MIDI Voice commands: Note On, Note Off, Program Change, Control Change, Key
Pressure (Aftertouch), Channel Pressure, and Pitch Bend Change. All commands require a channel, but the other controls available
will vary depending on the type of command selected.

Control Change, Key Pressure, Channel Pressure, and Pitch Bend commands can be faded from one value to another over time. If
you select any of these options, a set of controls will appear to enable fading.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - MIDI Cues 8.8

To fade a message, check the box marked Fade over duration and enter the desired duration in the field provided.

You can also adjust the curve of the fade using the graph on the right. The pop-up menu allows you to choose between a custom
curve shape and a linear curve shape, and lets you reset the curve to its default state.

Because MIDI cues have no way of knowing the current value of the parameters that they are controlling, you need to enter both a
starting value, which is the field labeled Value underneath the Command drop-down menu, and an ending value, which is the field
labeled Fade to value towards the middle of the inspector.

MIDI Show Control Message (MSC)

When the message type is set to MIDI Show Control Message, the following controls appear:

Command Format. The MSC spec defines a number (a surprisingly large number, really) of specific categories within which devices
or software can self-identify. Choose the category for the receiving device here. Some devices belong to more than one category;
QLab itself responds to messages in the Sound (General), Video (General), and Lighting (General) categories. Refer to the
documentation of the device that you’re sending messages to in order to learn which category to use.

Command. Select the MSC command you wish to send here.

Device ID. Enter the MSC device ID number of the receiving device here. Device ID 127 is the “all-call” ID, and all MSC devices on
your MSC network will respond to the message.

Q Number, Q List, and Q Path should be filled in according to the needs of the receiving device. If you’re having trouble in this
area, there are two quick guidelines that can help:

1. If you’re sending MSC to an ETC Eos family console, leave Q List blank if the cue you’re starting is in the active cue list. Only fill
it in if the cue you’re starting is in a different cue list.

2. As far as we’ve seen, very few devices or programs use Q Path. It’s usually best to leave it blank.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - MIDI Cues 8.8

MIDI SysEx Message

When the message type is set to MIDI SysEx Message, a single large text entry field appears. Enter your SysEx message here in
hexadecimal format. Omit the leading F0 and F7 ; QLab adds those for you.

This SysEx message, as an example, sets the fader level of input channel 1 on a Yamaha CL series console to -INF.

Broken MIDI Cues

MIDI cues can become broken for the following reasons:

No MIDI patch

The cue has no MIDI patch assigned. Assign a MIDI patch to clear this warning.

Incomplete MIDI patch

The cue has a MIDI patch assigned, but something is wrong with it. The MIDI patch will have warnings of its own, listed in the
Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window, which you can use to figure out what’s wrong with it. Either fix the MIDI patch or
select a new MIDI patch to clear this warning.

Invalid SysEx message length

Edit the SysEx message in the Settings tab of the inspector.

Invalid characters in SysEx message

Edit the SysEx message in the Settings tab of the inspector.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - MIDI Cues 8.8

License required

MIDI cues require a license of any kind.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - MIDI File Cues 8.9

MIDI File Cues

MIDI File cues allow you to play a MIDI file containing a sequence of MIDI events to a single MIDI output. While QLab does not
have a native concept of tempo and meter maps, MIDI File cues provide a way to create individual timelines on which events
occur with tempo- and meter-based timings. This can be useful, for example, when synchronizing MIDI-triggered events with a
piece of music.

MIDI File cues require a license of any kind.

MIDI Files
MIDI File cues support both Type 0 (single-track) and Type 1 (multitrack) standard MIDI files. Type 2 files (an uncommon multiple-
sequence format) are not supported.

The Inspector for MIDI File cues

When a MIDI File cue is selected, the inspector shows the Basics tab and Triggers tab, used by all cues, and a Settings tab.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - MIDI File Cues 8.9

The Settings Tab

MIDI Patch. This pop-up menu allows you to select a MIDI patch for the cue to use. Clicking on the menu allows you to select one
of the MIDI patches already configured in the workspace, or (unpatched) if you want to ensure that the cue does not play when
started. You can also choose Open MIDI Settings to edit patch list… to quickly get to Workspace Settings → MIDI, or choose New
patch with MIDI device to quickly generate a new MIDI patch and select it for use.

Playback rate. This field is a multiplier for all tempi in the MIDI file. A rate of 0.5 , for example, will result in half-speed playback.

The MIDI File cue supports any number of tracks, and events can occur on any MIDI channel (1-16), but all messages in the file
are sent to a single MIDI port. This can be a physical port connected to a tone generator, lighting board, or other gear, or a software
MIDI destination such as ipMIDI. It can also be an IAC bus, which allows MIDI events to loop back into QLab and start other cues, or
to route to another application running on the same computer.

MIDI File cue timings are based on the computer’s internal clock, and are not clocked to any audio or video devices.

Broken MIDI File Cues

MIDI File cues can become broken for the following reasons:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - MIDI File Cues 8.9

No MIDI file selected

The cue has no target, and MIDI File cues require a MIDI file as a target. Select a MIDI file as the target of this cue to clear this
warning.

Missing MIDI file

The cue had a target file assigned, but that file is missing. Perhaps the file was on a removable drive or network drive which is not
currently connected. Re-locate the target file, or assign a new target file to clear this warning.

Invalid MIDI File.

Either the file is missing or damaged, or it’s not a valid MIDI file. assign a new target file to clear this warning.

File target in Trash

The cue’s target file is in the Trash, and files in the Trash cannot be used. Either move the target file out of the Trash, or assign a
new target file to clear this warning.

No MIDI patch

The cue has no MIDI patch assigned. Assign a MIDI patch to clear this warning.

Incomplete MIDI patch

The cue has a MIDI patch assigned, but something is wrong with it. The MIDI patch will have warnings of its own, listed in the
Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window, which you can use to figure out what’s wrong with it. Either fix the MIDI patch or
select a new MIDI patch to clear this warning.

License required

MIDI File cues require a license of any kind.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Timecode Cues 8.10

Timecode Cues
Timecode cues allow you to generate timecode and send it out of QLab to be received by other software or devices. QLab
supports sending both LTC (Linear or Longitudinal Timecode) and MTC (MIDI Timecode), and unlike most timecode-enabled
applications which have a single, fixed timeline from which timecode can be generated directly, QLab allows you to generate as
many simultaneous, independent timecode streams as you need, each with its own configuration. Timecode cues require a
license of any kind.

The Inspector for Timecode Cues

When a Timecode cue is selected, the inspector shows the Basics tab and Triggers tab, used by all cues, as well as a single
Settings tab.

The Settings Tab

The Settings tab allows you to configure the type of timecode that the cue will send, its routing, its frame rate, its starting frame,
and (optionally) its ending frame.

Type. Timecode cues can generate either MIDI Timecode (MTC) or Linear Timecode (LTC). Depending on which type you select
here, the inspector will show different output options.

MTC (MIDI Timecode) is a stream of constantly changing MIDI data. When MTC is selected, the MIDI Patch pop-up menu allows you
to select a MIDI output patch to use. No channel number is required because MTC messages are not associated with a MIDI
channel.

Sending MTC over a network is discouraged, as the inconsistent latency of a network connection can often render the timecode signal
inaccurate, or even unreadable, on the receiving end. Inexpensive MIDI interfaces often create the same problem, even those that work
well for normal musical MIDI. Always use a reliable, high-quality MIDI interface when working with MTC.

LTC is an audio signal, meant to be carried on a line-level audio connection. When LTC is selected, the Audio Patch poop-up menu
allows you to select an audio output patch to use, and the cue output field allows you to enter the number of the output channel
QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Timecode Cues 8.10

to use. The channel number defaults to 0 as a safety measure; 0 is not a valid channel, so you need to proactively specify the
output channel you want to use.

Warning: Use caution when setting up the routing of an LTC signal, from QLab or any source. LTC signals are meant to be run at fairly high
levels and have strong high-frequency content which, if accidentally routed out to speakers, can cause serious damage to hearing and to
friendships.

The Framerate pop-up menu behaves the same way with both MTC and LTC. QLab supports both video speed and film speed
options at all common framerates. Be sure to match the framerate on the receiving end precisely.

Broadly speaking, “film speed” refers to the timecode formats with integer framerates (24, 25, 30 drop, 30 non-drop), while “video
speed” refers to their non-integer counterparts (23.976, 24.975, 29.97 drop, and 29.97 non-drop).

Each video speed framerate is an identical timecode format to its film speed counterpart, but pulled down by 0.1%. For example,
one frame of 29.97 non-drop timecode consists of the same data as the same frame of 30 non-drop, but played at a 0.1% slower
rate. Neither LTC nor MTC differentiates between video speed and film speed in how the bits are encoded, so timecode at the
wrong speed will initially appear correct on the receiving end. However, the timecode will drift noticeably over time from what is
expected unless the speeds match.

Timecode cues are clocked differently depending on the type selected. LTC follows the clock of the audio device to which it
outputs, and is guaranteed not to drift from that clock. MTC, on the other hand, follows the computer’s internal clock. Under
normal use, drift between high-quality devices is usually minimal, but if drift-free synchronization with another machine is required
over long stretches of time, the best option is to output LTC to an audio device that can resolve to the same audio clock (for
example, via a word clock connection or something similar) as the other machine.

Start time. This field allows you to specify the first frame of timecode that is transmitted when the cue is started. Bear in mind that
devices listening to timecode sometimes require a few frames to be received before they sync up. If an event needs to be triggered
on a specific frame, it is best to start timecode output at least a few frames earlier as a preroll into that event. Because there is no
room for preroll before 0:00:00:00 , the best practice is to treat 1:00:00:00 as the beginning of the timeline and use hour 0 for
preroll.

End time. You can optionally specify the final frame of timecode that is to be transmitted by this cue. If you do not enter an ending
frame, this field will show the same frame as the start time field. You can also edit the duration of the cue in the Basics tab of the
inspector, or in the Duration column in the cue list, and this field will update itself correspondingly.

If you set an end time or duration, the Timecode cue will stop itself once the duration elapses. If you do not set a duration, the
Timecode cue will run until stopped.

Monitoring Timecode

Outgoing and incoming timecode can both be monitored using the Timecode window which can be found in the Window menu.
Note that if you have multiple simultaneously playing Timecode cues, only the most recently started cue will display in the
Timecode window. Fear not; the other timecode is still running.

Broken Timecode Cues

Timecode cues can become broken for the following reasons:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Networking, MIDI, and Show Control - Timecode Cues 8.10

No MIDI patch

The cue has no MIDI patch assigned. Assign a MIDI patch to clear this warning.

Incomplete MIDI patch

The cue has a MIDI patch assigned, but something is wrong with it. The MIDI patch will have warnings of its own, listed in the
Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window, which you can use to figure out what’s wrong with it. Either fix the MIDI patch or
select a new MIDI patch to clear this warning.

No audio output patch

The cue has no audio output patch assigned. Assign an audio output patch to clear this warning.

Issue with audio output patch

The cue has an audio output patch assigned, but something is wrong with it. The audio output patch will have warnings of its own,
listed in the Warnings tab of the Workspace Status window, which you can use to figure out what’s wrong with it. Either fix the audio
output patch or select a new audio output patch to clear this warning.

Invalid output channel.

The cue has a valid audio output patch, but an invalid cue output. Select a valid cue output number to clear this warning.

License required

Timecode cues require a license of any kind.

Chapter 9: Scripting

9.1 OSC Dictionary

9.2 OSC Queries
9.3 Script Cues
9.4 AppleScript Dictionary
9.5 Parameter Reference
9.6 OSC & Scripting Examples
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

OSC Dictionary
QLab has an extensive API (application programming interface) for OSC which allows you to control QLab from any device or
software which can broadcast OSC messages. What follows here is a complete dictionary of QLab 5’s OSC implementation. OSC
messages are sorted more or less alphabetically in each section, which is to say they’re alphabetically sorted, but messages which
are closely related to each other are sometimes grouped together even if they are not alphabetically adjacent if that makes it
easier to understand their relationship.

Getting Started

The QLab OSC API can be used over both UDP and TCP transport layers. QLab listens for incoming OSC on port 53000. Individual
workspaces can be configured to listen for incoming OSC on any port in the Network → OSC Access section of Workspace Settings,
although it’s important to remember that QLab itself still listens on port 53000.

When a client talks to QLab via UDP, each OSC message corresponds to one UDP datagram. Replies to OSC messages sent via UDP
are sent on port 53001 by default, but can be customized using /udpReplyPort ; see below.

When a client talks to QLab via TCP, messages are framed using the double end SLIP protocol (RFC 1055) as required by the OSC 1.1
specification.

QLab also listens for plain text on UDP port 53535, and attempts to interpret it as OSC. For example, sending the text
/cue/selected/start to QLab on UDP port 53535 will have the same result as sending the actual OSC command
/cue/selected/start to port 53000. The plain text UDP port can also be customized on a per-workspace basis, just like the OSC
port.

The OSC API behaves almost identically when using both UDP and TCP. Exceptions are noted below, such as cases where a reply
may be larger than the maximum size of a UDP datagram.

Important: OSC messages which arrive on a given port will be received by every open workspace listening to that port. This is a
change from QLab 4 in which only the front-most workspace received OSC messages. If you are using multiple workspaces
simultaneously and wish to route OSC messages selectively, you can use different port numbers for each workspace, prefix
messages with /workspace/{id} , or prefix messages with /workspace/{name} (discussed below.)

Three Ways To Use OSC With QLab

OSC can be used in essentially three ways with QLab: as a relatively simple “remote control” protocol in the spirit of MIDI, as a
robust two-way protocol for tight integration with other systems, and (as of QLab 5.3) as a show control broadcast method.

Those readers interested in using OSC for simple remote control can skip ahead to the section titled “How To Read This
Dictionary.” Those only interested in show control messaging should read the Show Control Broadcast section of this manual,
although the OSC messages relating to show control broadcast are also listed on this page for completeness.

For those who are interested in using OSC to talk to QLab and getting answers back, and then doing things with those answers, read
on here.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Getting status updates from QLab

When a client has requested status updates, that client will receive messages from QLab whenever the client needs to update its
knowledge of a cue, cue list, or workspace.

Clients who have requested status updates might receive the following messages at any time:

/update/workspace/{workspace_id} - the client needs to reload the cue lists for the workspace. This message is also sent
whenever various other aspects of a workspace are updated.
/update/workspace/{workspace_id}/cue_id/{cue_id} - the client needs to reload the state for the specified cue. If the cue
is a Group cue or cue list, the client should also reload the children of that cue.

/update/workspace/{workspace_id}/cueList/{cue_list_id}/playbackPosition {cue_id} - the playback position of

cue_list_id has changed to cue_id . If there is no current playback position, there will be no cue_id argument.

/update/workspace/{workspace_id}/disconnect - the client must disconnect from the given workspace (e.g. because it is
closing.)

To receive status updates from QLab, send the following OSC command:

/updates 1

To stop receiving updates, send:

/updates 0

The /updates message can be used by clients with any level of access permission.

Replies from QLab

Most, but not all, OSC messages sent to QLab will result in a reply being sent back to the client who sent the message. This is
separate from the idea of updates, as discussed above, which are sent proactively by QLab. Replies are only sent in response to
incoming OSC messages.

Messages which perform discrete actions in QLab, like /go and /panic , do not generate replies by default, although you can
request a reply for every message using the /alwaysReply command, discussed below.

Replies from QLab take the form:

/reply/{/invoked/osc/method} json_string

json_string takes the form:

{
"workspace_id" : string,
"address": "/osc/message/that/was/sent",
"status": string,
"data": value
}

workspace_id is optional, and only present if the reply is specifically from the given workspace, rather than from QLab as a whole.

status can be:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

ok - the OSC message was received and everything is good.

error - the OSC message was malformed, invalid, or something else has gone wrong.

denied - the client has not yet successfully connected to QLab and needs to do that before sending this OSC message, or the
client is connected using a passcode that does not have suitable access privileges to send this OSC message.

data is the JSON-encoded result of the OSC message that was sent.

Show control broadcast messages are not sent using this reply format. They are sent as standard OSC messages, without any JSON
encoding.

Example

Sending a workspace cueLists method:

/workspace/34200B51-835A-4918-A137-B6511784B6CA/cueLists

would cause QLab to respond with:

/reply/workspace/34200B51-835A-4918-A137-B6511784B6CA/cueLists {json_string}

where {json_string} would be a list of the cue lists in the workspace.

How To Read This Dictionary

Every OSC message that QLab will respond to is listed in this dictionary. Each definition starts with a horizontal separator followed
by the OSC message itself written out like so:

/cue/{cue_number}/preWait {number}

The parts that are enclosed in {braces} are the parts which you have to fill in to make the message work, and the dictionary tries to
give you clues about what sort of thing you’ll need to fill it with. For example, in the message above, you need to replace
{cue_number} with the cue number of the cue you want to talk to, and you need to replace {number} with a number of some
kind. This OSC message uses the number you fill in to set the pre-wait of the cue that you specify.

Next comes a table which looks like this:

view edit control query +/-? Live

read read/write read only edit, control

View, Edit, Control

The first three columns in this table describe the degree of access to this message for clients with view, edit, and control
permission.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read means that a client can send the message without arguments and get data back from QLab. For example,
/cue/10/preWait will return the pre-wait of cue 10 .

Read/write means that a client can read data from QLab, and can also send data to QLab to make changes. For example,
/cue/10/preWait 5 will set the pre-wait of cue 10 to 5 seconds.

Read only means that this message can only be used to read; there is no “write” form.
means that a client can send this message. This is used only for messages which are “actions” such as /go and /panic ,
which neither read nor write data.
means that a client cannot send this message (well, it can send it, but QLab will ignore it.)

Query

The fourth column shows whether or not this message can be used by QLab’s internal OSC query mechanism.

+/-?

The fifth column is only present for OSC messages which are directed at cues, and it shows whether or not the message can be
used with QLab’s increment/decrement syntax:

/cue/1/property/+ {delta} adds {delta} to the current value.

/cue/1/property/- {delta} subtracts {delta} from the current value.

For example, /cue/10/preWait/+ 1 increases the preWait of cue 10 by one second.

Live

The last column is only present for OSC messages which have a live form. “Live” messages are the same as their non-live
counterparts but operate on the active, “live” value of a parameter rather than changing the saved initial state of the parameter.
Sending these messages does not cause the document to have unsaved changes.

For example, /cue/1/rate 2 sets the playback rate of cue 1 to 2 , but /cue/1/rate/live 2 sets the live playback rate of cue 1 to
2 . When cue 1 (or the whole workspace) is reset, the live adjustment will vanish and cue 1 will revert to its saved rate.

To use the live form of an OSC message, add /live as the very last part of its address.

+/- and Live together

Live goes last, always.

/cue/x/opacity/live/+ 10 - this will not work.

/cue/x/opacity/+/live 10 - this will work.

After the table comes a description of the behavior of the OSC message, including separate explanations for read and write usage
if applicable.

Finally, some OSC messages come with examples showing how to use them. Readers are heartily encouraged to request that
specific additional examples be added by emailing the QLab support team.

OSC Booleans in QLab

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Many OSC messages in QLab require an argument which sets a value to either true or false. QLab 5 allows several different data
types for these arguments. All of the following are valid:

Booleans. OSC 1.1 has a boolean data type, allowing you to send True or False as an argument.

Integers or Floats. If QLab receives any number as an argument where it’s expecting a true or false value, 0 will be
interpreted as false, and any other number (including, for example, 0.5 ) will be interpreted as true.

Strings. If QLab receives a text string as an argument where it’s expecting a true or false value, any string which begins with N ,
n , F , f , or the digit 0 will be interpreted as false. Any string which begins with Y , y , T , t , or any digit 1 through 9 will
be be interpreted as true.

Examples

The following messages will all flag cue 12 :

/cue/12/flagged Yes

/cue/12/flagged yippee

/cue/12/flagged "you betcha"

/cue/12/flagged 1

/cue/12/flagged 1.0

/cue/12/flagged true

The following messages will all un-flag cue 12 :

/cue/12/flagged No

/cue/12/flagged never

/cue/12/flagged "forget it"

/cue/12/flagged 0

/cue/12/flagged 00

/cue/12/flagged false

Starting with QLab 5.2, any OSC message in QLab’s dictionary that accepts a boolean argument can also accept the argument
toggle or append /toggle to the end of their address. Doing this will toggle the current value.

Example

/cue/12/flagged/toggle or /cue/12/flagged toggle will flag cue 12 if it is currently un-flagged, or un-flag it if it is currently
flagged.

Application Messages

The following OSC messages pertain to QLab as a whole, not to a specific workspace. For security, however, if every open
workspace requires a passcode, then a client must connect to at least one of those workspaces with the passcode before any
application messages will be accepted.

There are two exceptions to this rule: /version and /workspaces will always be accepted, even without a passcode.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/alwaysReply {number}

view edit control query

read/write read/write read/write

By default, QLab will only reply to an incoming OSC message if that message generates a reply to send. For example, /go does not
generate a reply.

Read: If number is not given, return the alwaysReply status for the sending client.

Write: If number is given and is not zero, send a reply for every OSC message received from the client. Messages that would not
normally generate a reply will generate one with a JSON string argument that contains:

{
"workspace_id" : {string},
"address": "/osc/message/that/was/sent",
"status": {"ok" or "error"}
}

If number is given and is 0 , stop sending replies to messages that do not generate replies.

/disconnect

view edit control query

Disconnect from QLab. Clients should send this message when they will no longer be sending messages to QLab.

If you are communicating with QLab via UDP, QLab will automatically disconnect your client if it has not heard any messages from it
in the last 61 seconds. Any message (e.g. /thump ) will serve to keep the client connected, or you can send /forgetMeNot or
/udpKeepAlive (see below) to override this 61-second timeout. If you are disconnected, you will need to reconnect before further
commands will be accepted. If you are using a connection with a passcode, the passcode needs to be sent again, just as though you
were connecting for the first time.

If you are communicating with QLab via TCP, QLab will not automatically disconnect your client, because TCP is nice like that.
Clients will remain connected until they send /disconnect or until the TCP connection itself is disconnected.

/fontNames

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return an array of the names/PostScript names of all available fonts. For example:

[
"AppleColorEmoji",
"AppleSDGothicNeo-Bold",
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

"AppleSDGothicNeo-ExtraBold",
"AppleSDGothicNeo-Heavy",
"AppleSDGothicNeo-Light",
...
]

/fontFamiliesAndStyles

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a dictionary with each available font family name (e.g. “Helvetica”, “Courier New”) paired with an array of its available styles
(e.g. “Regular”, “Light Oblique”). For example:

{
"Apple Color Emoji" :
[
"Regular"
],
"Apple SD Gothic Neo" :
[
"Regular",
"Medium",
"Light",
"UltraLight",
"Thin",
"SemiBold",
"Bold",
"ExtraBold",
"Heavy"
],
...
}

/forgetMeNot {boolean}

/udpKeepAlive {boolean}

view edit control query

read/write read/write read/write

Sending /forgetMeNot or /udpKeepAlive with a true argument will cause QLab to remember the client and all its settings (such
as /alwaysReply ) until QLab quits or until the client sends /forgetMeNot or /udpKeepAlive with a false argument. This allows
a client to send a passcode, ask for specific replies, etc. only once at the beginning of a session, and not worry about being
disconnected after 61 seconds of inactivity.

It is best practice to always send /forgetMeNot or /udpKeepAlive with a false argument when you’re done, to allow QLab to
clear its record of the now-inactive client.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/overrides/dmxOutputEnabled {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current state of the DMX output override.

Write: Set the DMX output override to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/overrides/toggleDmxOutput

view edit control query

Enable or disable DMX output.

/overrides/midiInputEnabled {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current state of the MIDI input override.

Write: Set the MIDI input override to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/overrides/toggleMidiInput

view edit control query

Enable or disable MIDI input.

/overrides/midiOutputEnabled {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current state of the MIDI output override.

Write: Set the MIDI output override to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/overrides/toggleMidiOutput
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query

Enable or disable MIDI output.

/overrides/mscInputEnabled {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current state of the MSC input override.

Write: Set the MSC input override to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/overrides/toggleMscInput

view edit control query

Enable or disable MSC input.

/overrides/mscOutputEnabled {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current state of the MSC output override.

Write: Set the MSC output override to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/overrides/toggleMscOutput

view edit control query

Enable or disable MSC output.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/overrides/sysexInputEnabled {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current state of the MIDI SysEx input override.

Write: Set the MIDI SysEx input override to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/overrides/toggleSysexInput

view edit control query

Enable or disable SysEx input.

/overrides/sysexOutputEnabled {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current state of the MIDI SysEx output override.

Write: Set the MIDI SysEx output override to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/overrides/toggleSysexOutput

view edit control query

Enable or disable SysEx output.

/overrides/networkExternalInputEnabled {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current state of the external network input override.

Write: Set the external network input override to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

The external network input override pertains to network messages that come from other devices on the network. It does not
pertain to network messages from QLab itself, or from other software running on the same Mac as QLab.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/overrides/toggleNetworkExternalInput

view edit control query

Enable or disable external network input.

The external network input override pertains to network messages that come from other devices on the network. It does not
pertain to network messages from QLab itself, or from other software running on the same Mac as QLab.

/overrides/networkExternalOutputEnabled {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current state of the external network output override.

Write: Set the external network output override to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

The external network output override pertains to network messages that QLab sends to other devices on the network. It does not
pertain to network messages that QLab sends to itself or to other software running on the same Mac as QLab.

/overrides/toggleNetworkExternalOutput

view edit control query

Enable or disable external network output.

The external network output override pertains to network messages that QLab sends to other devices on the network. It does not
pertain to network messages that QLab sends to itself or to other software running on the same Mac as QLab.

/overrides/networkLocalInputEnabled {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current state of the local network input override.

Write: Set the local network input override to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

The local network input override pertains to network messages that come from QLab itself or other software running on the same
Mac as QLab. It does not pertain to network messages from other devices on the network.

/overrides/toggleNetworkLocalInput
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query

Enable or disable local network input.

The local network input override pertains to network messages that come from QLab itself or other software running on the same
Mac as QLab. It does not pertain to network messages from other devices on the network.

/overrides/networkLocalOutputEnabled {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current state of the local network output override.

Write: Set the local network output override to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

The local network output override pertains to network messages that QLab sends to itself or to other software running on the
same Mac as QLab. It does not pertain to network messages sent to other devices on the network.

/overrides/toggleNetworkLocalOutput

view edit control query

Enable or disable local network output.

The local network output override pertains to network messages that QLab sends to itself or to other software running on the
same Mac as QLab. It does not pertain to network messages sent to other devices on the network.

/overrides/timecodeInputEnabled {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current state of the timecode input override.

Write: Set the timecode input override to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/overrides/toggleTimecodeInput

view edit control query

Enable or disable timecode input.

/overrides/timecodeOutputEnabled {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current state of the timecode output override.

Write: Set the timecode output override to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/overrides/toggleTimecodeOutput

view edit control query

Enable or disable timecode output.

/overrideWindow {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current visibility of the Override Window.

Write: Show or hide the Override Window. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/toggleOverrideWindow

view edit control query

Show or hide the Override Window.

/replyFormat {format_string}

view edit control query

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query

read/write read/write read/write

Set the format of QLab’s reply messages to suit your needs. format_string is a string containing your desired reply format. The
string can optionally contain the following tokens that will be replaced when sending the reply:

#workspace_id# - the workspace ID

#address# - the OSC address of the reply

#status# - ok / error

#data# - the data of the reply

QLab will do its best to create a reply message with the format you specify.

Sending an empty string will reset QLab’s reply format to its default form.

Example

Let’s say you set QLab’s reply format with the following message:

/replyFormat “#data# #address#”

Then, if you sent /cue/1/colorName , you would get the reply:

green /cue/1/colorName

The #data# token resolves to green , assuming the color of cue 1 is in fact green, and the #address# token resolves to
/cue/1/colorName , since that was the address portion of the OSC command that you sent.

/timecodeWindow {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current visibility of the Timecode Window.

Write: Show or hide the Timecode Window. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/toggleTimecodeWindow

view edit control query

Show or hide the Timecode Window.

/udpReplyPort {number}

view edit control query

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query

read/write read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the port number that QLab is using to send UDP messages to the sender.

Write: Set the port number on which the sender wants to receive UDP messages to number . number must be an integer from 0
to 65535 . Sending 0 resets the port number to the default of 53001 .

/updates {boolean}

view edit control query

read/write read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the current subscription status for this client.

Write: Subscribe or unsubscribe to updates from QLab. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/version

view edit control query

Return QLab’s version number.

/workingDirectory {path}

view edit control query

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the current working directory, which is the directory that appears in Open or Save dialogue
boxes.

Write: If path is provided, set the current working directory to path . You can provide two kinds of paths:

Full paths, e.g. /a/full/path/to/some/directory/

Paths beginning with a tilde, e.g. ~/a/path/to some/directory

Paths beginning with a tilde (~) will be expanded; the tilde signifies “relative to the user’s home directory.”

This message provides direct access to the macOS working directory command and therefore might seem to behave strangely to
those who have not dealt with the inner workings of how macOS apps open and save things. If in doubt, you can consider this
message to only really matter if you are opening or saving via OSC messages. If you are, you should try to set the working directory
explicitly via OSC before trying to open or save via OSC.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/workspaces

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return an array of dictionaries for each open workspace. Each dictionary looks like this:

[
{
"uniqueID": string,
"displayName": string,
"port": number,
"udpReplyPort": number,
"version": string
}
]

Workspace messages

Workspace OSC messages use the form /workspace/{id}/command , where {id} may be either the display name of the
workspace, such as hamlet.qlab5 , or the unique ID of the workspace, which can be found in the Info tab of the Workspace Status
Window.

Note, however, that addressing by display name will work only if the display name is composed of characters allowed in OSC
method names. This does NOT include spaces, unicode characters, diacriticals, or other “special” characters.

Addressing a workspace by its unique ID looks like this:

/workspace/1B11984A-3EBC-4A9C-A004-B9E3AA32DA6B/go

Addressing a workspace by its display name looks like this:

/workspace/hamlet/go

Note that the extension of the filename, the .qlab5 part, is omitted.

If you send a workspace message without the /workspace/{id} portion of the address, then the message will be sent to all open
workspaces listening on the port to which the message is sent. So, if your hamlet.qlab5 workspace is the only open workspace, or
the only workspace listening to a particular port, and you send QLab the OSC command /go to that port, then hamlet.qlab5 will
GO. If both hamlet.qlab5 and twelfthnight.qlab5 are open and listening to the same port, sending the OSC command /go to
that port will cause both workspaces to GO.

/workspace/{id}/alwaysAudition {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return true if the specified workspace is set to always audition or false if not.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Write: Turn always audition on or off for the specified workspace. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/workspace/{id}/auditionMonitors {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return true if all audition monitor windows for the specified workspace are open or false if at
least one audition monitor window is closed.

Write: Show or hide all audition monitor windows for the specified workspace. See details on booleans at the beginning of this
section.

/workspace/{id}/toggleAuditionMonitors

view edit control query

Show or hide all audition monitor windows for the specified workspace.

/workspace/{id}/basePath

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a string which is the path to the directory containing the QLab workspace. If the workspace is not yet saved, this will be an
empty string.

/workspace/{id}/connect {passcode_string}

view edit control query

Connect to the specified workspace. {passcode_string} is optional; if it is not sent, the client will connect to the workspace with
whatever permissions have been set for OSC connections without passcodes. If the workspace has no permissions enabled for
passcode-less connections, then connecting without a passcode is not possible.

If connecting to a workspace using a passcode, you must supply it before any other OSC messages will be accepted by the
workspace or the cues it contains.

Returns ok if the supplied passcode matches a passcode entry in the workspace.

Returns badpass if the passcode does not match any passcode entries in the workspace.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Returns error if the specified workspace does not exist or is not open.

Starting with QLab 5, repeatedly sending this message with incorrect passcodes will introduce a progressively longer delay until the
next /connect message will be accepted. This helps to protect against unauthorized users attempting to guess the passcode.

/workspace/{id}/cueLists

/workspace/{id}/selectedCues

/workspace/{id}/runningCues

/workspace/{id}/runningOrPausedCues

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return an array of cue dictionaries listing the following information about all cues that fall within the scope of the message:

[
{
"uniqueID": string,
"number": string
"name": string
"listName": string
"type": string
"colorName": string
"colorName/live": string
"flagged": number
"armed": number
}
]

The scope of each message is as follows:

cueLists are all cue lists and carts which appear in the sidebar.

selectedCues are all cues which are currently selected.

runningCues are all cues which are currently running (visible in Active Cues, and with an elapsing duration.)

runningOrPausedCues are all cues which are currently visible in Active Cues, whether or not their duration is elapsing.

If any of the included cues are Group cues, the dictionary will include an array of cue dictionaries for all children in the group:

[
{
"number": "{string}",
"uniqueID": {string},
"cues": [ {a cue dictionary}, {another dictionary}, {and another} ],
"flagged": true|false,
"listName": "{string}",
"type": "{string}",
"colorName": "{string}",
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

"colorName/live": "{string}",
"name": "{string}",
"armed": true|false,
}
]

Note: These messages may generate large replies, which can easily be larger than the maximum size supported by UDP datagrams.
You should communicate with QLab via a TCP connection if you wish to use these messages.

Starting with QLab 4.4.3, versions of these commands are available which return smaller amounts of data.

The following messages are identical to the similar messages above, except they do not include any data for the children of Group
cues:

/cueLists/shallow
/selectedCues/shallow
/runningCues/shallow
/runningOrPausedCues/shallow

The following messages return only the cue IDs of the cues in question, and not all the other information about them. Cue IDs of
children of Group cues are included.

/cueLists/uniqueIDs
/selectedCues/uniqueIDs
/runningCues/uniqueIDs
/runningOrPausedCues/uniqueIDs

The following messages return only the cue IDs of the cues in question, and do not include children of Group cues.

/cueLists/uniqueIDs/shallow
/selectedCues/uniqueIDs/shallow
/runningCues/uniqueIDs/shallow
/runningOrPausedCues/uniqueIDs/shallow

/workspace/{id}/currentCueList {string}

view edit control query

read read read/write

Read: If no argument is provided, return the cue number of the current cue list or cart of the specified workspace.

Write: Set the current cue list or cart of the specified workspace to string . string must be the cue number of a cue list or cart
in the workspace.

/workspace/{id}/currentCueListID {string}

view edit control query

read read read/write

Read: If no argument is provided, return the cue ID of the current cue list or cart of the specified workspace.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Write: Set the current cue list or cart of the specified workspace to string . string must be the cue ID of a cue list or cart in the
workspace.

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/clear

view edit control query

Clear all modifications made in the Dashboard and set all parameters of all lights to their home value. Parked parameters are not
affected. Please be aware that this generally causes a blackout. This message is the QLab equivalent of what many other consoles
refer to as “Go To Cue out.”

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/mode {string}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is provided, this message has no effect.

Write: Set the Dashboard’s view mode to string . Supported modes are sliders and tiles .

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/newCueWithAll

view edit control query

Record all current light levels into a new Light cue. Parameters which have no explicit level set will be recorded at their home value.

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/newCueWithChanges

view edit control query

Record all manually adjusted light levels in the Dashboard into a new Light cue. Parameters which have not been manually adjusted
will not be recorded.

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/nextMode

view edit control query

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Toggle between “sliders” and “tiles” view modes in the Dashboard.

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/recordAllToLatest

view edit control query

Record all manually adjusted light levels in the Dashboard into the latest-run Light cue, overwriting any levels already in that cue. If
no levels have been manually adjusted, or Light cues have been run and no cue is displayed in the Dashboard as the latest Light
cue, this message has no effect.

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/recordAllToSelected

view edit control query

Record all manually adjusted light levels in the Dashboard into the currently selected Light cue or cues, overwriting any levels
already in those cues. If no levels have been adjusted, or there are no currently selected Light cues, this message has no effect.

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/redo

view edit control query

Redo the last un-done action taken in the Dashboard. If nothing has been un-done in the Dashboard, this message has no effect.

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/revert

view edit control query

Revert all manually adjusted light levels in the Dashboard to the levels that they held before they were adjusted. If no levels have
been adjusted, this message has no effect.

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/setLight {string} {setting} {time}

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/setLight/{string} {setting} {time}

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/setLight/live {string} {setting} {time}

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/setLight/{string}/live {setting} {time}

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query live

control

Set instrument or light group string to level setting in the Dashboard. string may include a parameter name; if it does not,
the default parameter for the specified instrument or light group will be addressed.

setting must be an acceptable value for the specified parameter of the specified instrument or group. If setting is a decimal
number, the Light Dashboard may round it to the nearest equivalent DMX value.

time is an optional whole or decimal number. If provided, the parameter will be faded from its current value to level over that
many seconds. If time is omitted, it will be assumed to be 0.0 seconds.

Examples

/dashboard/setLight frontlight 50 5 sets the default parameter of the light or group called “frontlight” to 50, fading from its
current level over 5 seconds.

/dashboard/setLight myMover.cyan 75 sets the cyan parameter of the light or group called “myMover” to 75 immediately.

/dashboard/setLight/6 25 sets the default parameter of the light or group called “6” to 25 using the single-argument form of this
OSC message.

/dashboard/setLight myMover.pantilt pantilt(20,30) sets the pantilt virtual parameter of the light or group called
“myMover” to pan 20, tilt 30.

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/undo

view edit control query

Un-does the last action taken in the Dashboard. If nothing has been done in the Dashboard, this message has no effect.

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/updateLatestCue

view edit control query

Copy all manually adjusted light levels into the latest Light cue. If the adjusted levels belong to lights or groups that are already in
the latest cue, QLab will overwrite those levels. If not, QLab will add them and leave everything else alone. If no Light cues have
been run, and no cue is displayed to the left as the latest Light cue, this message has no effect.

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/updateOriginatingCues

view edit control query

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Copy all manually adjusted light levels into the cue or cues which originated their current levels. Originating cues are discussed in
detail in the page on Light Dashboard in the Lighting section of this documentation.

/workspace/{id}/dashboard/updateSelectedCues

view edit control query

Copy all manually adjusted light levels into the currently selected Light cue or cues. If the adjusted levels belong to lights or groups
that are already in the selected cue or cues, QLab will overwrite those levels. If not, QLab will add them and leave everything else
alone. If there are no currently selected Light cues, this message has no effect.

/workspace/{id}/delete/{cue_number}

/workspace/{id}/delete_id/{cue_id}

/workspace/{id}/delete/selected

view edit control query

Delete the specified cue(s).

/workspace/{id}/delete/active

view edit control query

Delete all cues that are currently running or paused.

/workspace/{id}/doubleGoWindowRemaining

view edit control query

read only read only read only

When workspace “double go protection” is engaged, return the number of seconds that must elapse until the next GO is permitted.
Returns 0 when a GO is currently allowed or if double go protection is not enabled.

/workspace/{id}/fullScreen {boolean}

view edit control query

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is provided, return the current full screen status of the workspace.

Write: Set the full screen mode status of the main workspace window. true will switch the main workspace window into macOS’
full screen mode; false will switch the main workspace window into regular window mode.

/workspace/{id}/toggleFullScreen

view edit control query

Turn full screen mode on or off for the main workspace window.

/workspace/{id}/go {cue_number}

view edit control query

If no cue_number is given, tell the current list of the given workspace to GO.

If cue_number is given and matches the cue number of a list in the given workspace, tell that list to GO.

If cue_number is given and matches the cue number of a cue in any list in the given workspace, jump the playhead to that cue and
then GO.

If cue_number is given and either does not match the cue number of a cue in any list, or matches the cue number of a cue in a
cart, this message has no effect. (Cue carts do not have a playback position, so GO means nothing to a cart. Use /start instead.)

cue_number is optional; if given, it must be a string and must match a cue number in the given workspace. QLab will jump to the
specified cue and then GO. If no argument is provided, the current cue list in the given workspace will GO on whatever cue is
currently standing by.

When handling this OSC message, QLab cannot use the same technique it uses in other places to turn numbers into strings when
necessary. This is why cue_number , if given, must be a string. If you’re sending the message from QLab, the way to ensure that a
number is sent as a string is to enclose the argument in quotation marks.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Correct: /go

Correct: /go "53"

Incorrect: /go 53

Other OSC-sending devices or programs will have their own ways to specify an argument as a string.

/workspace/{id}/go/{cue_number}

view edit control query

This message is equivalent to the above /go command, except here cue_number is part of the address, not an argument, and is
not optional. Since it’s part of the address, it should not include quotation marks as discussed above.

/workspace/{id}/auditionGo {cue_number}

/workspace/{id}/auditionGo/{cue_number}

view edit control query

These messages are equivalent to the above /go commands, except they trigger an audition GO instead of a regular GO. Audition
GO causes the cue or cues which are started to play through their audition outputs, defined in Workspace Settings.

/workspace/{id}/hardStop

view edit control query

Stop all playback and cut all audio effects immediately.

/workspace/{id}/liveFadePreview {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read

Enable or disable live fade preview. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section. If no argument is given, return the
current status of live fade preview.

/workspace/{id}/toggleLiveFadePreview
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query

read/write

Enable or disable live fade preview.

/workspace/{id}/lightDashboard {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the current visibility of the Dashboard.

Write: Show or hide the Light Dashboard. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/workspace/{id}/toggleLightDashboard

view edit control query

If the Light Dashboard is closed, open it and place focus in the command line. If the Light Dashboard is open, but focus is not in the
command line, place focus in the command line. If the Light Dashboard is open and focus is in the command line, move focus to
the main workspace window.

/workspace/{id}/move/{cue_id} {new_index} {new_parent_cue_id}

view edit control query

new_parent_cue_id is optional, and must be a string.

If new_parent_cue_id is not provided, move the specified cue ( cue_id ) from its current position to the given new_index position
within the cue’s current parent Group, Cart, or List. new_index is required and must be an integer.

If new_parent_cue_id is provided, move the specified cue from its current position to the given new_index position within the
Group, Cart, or List whose unique ID is new_parent_cue_id .

If the move fails for any reason (i.e. a Group cue cannot be moved inside of another Group cue that it already contains), QLab will
send an error reply.

If the move succeeds, QLab will reply with "status": "ok" and "data" containing a dictionary with 2 key/value pairs:

[
{
"parent_cue_id": string,
"index": integer
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

}
]

parent_cue_id is a string with the unique ID of the Group, Cart, or List that contains the cue that was moved. index is an integer
with the index of the position of the moved cue in its new parent.

/workspace/{id}/new {cue_type}

view edit control query

Create a new cue. cue_type is a string stating the type of cue to create. Supported strings include: audio , mic , video , camera ,
text , light , fade , network , midi , midi file , timecode , group , start , stop , pause , load , reset , devamp , goto ,
target , arm , disarm , wait , memo , script , list , cuelist , cue list , cart , cuecart , or cue cart .

This method returns the unique ID of the new cue. The newly created cue will also be selected, so subsequent commands can
address the new cue either using the unique ID or simply by addressing the currently selected cue.

This method has three optional additional arguments:

/workspace/{id}/new {cue_type} {cue_ID} {cart_row} {cart_column}

If {cue_ID} is supplied, the new cue will be created after that cue.

If {cue_ID} specifies a cart, the new cue will be created within the cart. You must then specify the position in the cart using
{cart_row} and {cart_column} , which must be integers.

/workspace/{id}/panic

view edit control query

Tell the workspace to panic. A panic is a brief gradual fade out leading into a hard stop. Sending a second instruction to panic
during that gradual fade out will cause an immediate hard stop.

/workspace/{id}/panicInTime {number}

view edit control query

Panic over the specified time, rather than over the panic time defined in the workspace. {number} can be any number 0 or
greater, decimals allowed.

/workspace/{id}/pause
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query

Pause all currently running cues in the workspace.

/workspace/{id}/playhead/{cue_number}

/workspace/{id}/playheadID/{cue_id}

/workspace/{id}/playbackPosition/{cue_number}

/workspace/{id}/playbackPositionID/{cue_id}

view edit control query

Set the playhead (also called the playback position) of the active cue list to the given cue. When using /playheadID or
/playbackPositionID , sending the value none will unset the playhead.

/workspace/{id}/playhead/active

view edit control query

Move the playhead (also called the playback position) of the active cue list to the first active cue.

/workspace/{id}/playhead/next

/workspace/{id}/playbackPosition/next

view edit control query

Move the playhead (also called the playback position) of the active cue list to the next cue.

/workspace/{id}/playhead/previous

/workspace/{id}/playbackPosition/previous

view edit control query

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Move the playhead (also called the playback position) of the active cue list to the previous cue.

/workspace/{id}/playhead/nextSequence

/workspace/{id}/playbackPosition/nextSequence

view edit control query

Move the playhead (also called the playback position) of the active cue list to the next cue sequence.

/workspace/{id}/playhead/previousSequence

/workspace/{id}/playbackPosition/previousSequence

view edit control query

Move the playhead (also called the playback position) of the active cue list to the previous cue sequence.

/workspace/{id}/playhead/selected

view edit control query

Move the playhead (also called the playback position) of the active cue list to the first selected cue.

/workspace/{id}/redo

view edit control query

Redo the last un-done action in the workspace. If nothing has been un-done in the workspace, this message has no effect.

/workspace/{id}/renumber {startNumber} {incrementNumber} {prefix} {suffix}

view edit control query

Renumber the selected cues, starting at startNumber and incrementing by incrementNumber . Both numbers must be a positive
number, decimals allowed. prefix and suffix are both optional and can be any text.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/workspace/{id}/reset

view edit control query

Reset the workspace. Resetting stops all cues, returns the playhead to the top of the current cue list, and restores any temporary
changes made to cues (such as retargeting via a Target cue or adjustments using a “live” OSC message.)

/workspace/{id}/resume

view edit control query

Un-pause all paused cues in the workspace.

/workspace/{id}/save

view edit control query

Tell the given workspace to save itself to disk.

/workspace/{id}/select/{cue_number}

/workspace/{id}/select_id/{id}

view edit control query

Select the specified cue(s).

/workspace/{id}/select/next

view edit control query

Move the selection down one cue.

/workspace/{id}/select/previous

view edit control query

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query

Move the selection up one cue.

/workspace/{id}/showMode {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is provided, return true if the workspace is currently in show mode, and false if the workspace is currently
in edit mode.

Write: If boolean is true, set the workspace to show mode. If false, set the workspace to edit mode. See details on booleans at the
beginning of this section.

/workspace/{id}/toggleEditShowMode

view edit control query

Switch between show mode and edit mode.

/workspace/{id}/stop

view edit control query

Stop playback but allow audio effects which decay over time (for example, reverbs) to continue rendering.

/workspace/{id}/thump

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Returns a string thump . This is a simple “heartbeat” message (thump-thump, thump-thump) which you can use to verify a
connection, keep a session active, etc.

/workspace/{id}/undo

view edit control query

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query

Undo the most recent change in the workspace. If there is no valid action to undo, this message has no effect.

Workspace Settings messages

Workspace Settings OSC messages use the form /workspace/{id}/settings/command , where {id} may be either the display
name of the workspace, such as hamlet.qlab5 , or the unique ID of the workspace, which can be found in the Info tab of the
Workspace Status Window.

Note, however, that addressing by display name will work only if the display name is composed of characters allowed in OSC
method names. This does NOT include spaces, unicode characters, diacriticals, or other “special” characters.

Addressing a workspace by its unique ID looks like this:

/workspace/1B11984A-3EBC-4A9C-A004-B9E3AA32DA6B/settings/light/patch

Addressing a workspace by its display name looks like this:

/workspace/hamlet/settings/light/patch

Note that the extension of the filename, the .qlab5 part, is omitted.

If you send a workspace message without the /workspace/{id} portion of the address, then the message will be sent to all open
workspaces listening on the port to which the message is sent. So, if your hamlet.qlab5 workspace is the only open workspace, or
the only workspace listening to a particular port, and you send QLab the OSC command /light/patch to that port, then
hamlet.qlab5 will receive that message and respond appropriately. If both hamlet.qlab5 and twelfthnight.qlab5 are open
and listening to the same port, sending the OSC command /light/patch to that port will cause both workspaces to respond
appropriately.

/settings/audio/cueOutputChannelCounts

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary of cue output counts for audio output patches:

[
{
"{patch uniqueID}":{number of cue outputs},
"{another patch uniqueID}":{number of cue outputs},
et cetera...
}
]

The number of patches in a workspace varies, so the number of items in this dictionary will vary.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/settings/audio/maxVolume

/settings/audio/minVolume

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return the decibel value of the “Min:” and “Max:” levels from the Volume Limits section of Workspace Settings → Audio.

/settings/audio/outputChannelNames

/settings/mic/outputChannelNames

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary of output names for audio output patches:

[
{
"{patch uniqueID}" :
{
"{cue output number}": "{output name}",
"{another cue output number}": "{another output name}",
et cetera...
}
},
{ ... }
]

{ ... } represents a second audio patch; the number of patches in a workspace varies, so the number of items in this dictionary
will vary.

If an audio output patch does not have customized output names, that patch will not be included in the dictionary. If no audio
output patches have customized output names, the data returned will be an empty JSON object.

The /mic form of this message is deprecated in QLab 5.0. This message works in QLab 5, but will be removed in a future version
of QLab. Use the /audio form instead.

/settings/audio/patch/{name}

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary describing the specified audio output patch.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

[
{
"name" : "{string}",
"uniqueID" : "{string}",
"routing" : [number,number,number,...]
}
]

The numbers listed for routing are the device output numbers which have cue outputs routed to them. For example, if the patch
is using a device with four outputs, and all four device outputs have cue outputs routed to them, the list will be [1,2,3,4] . If
device output 3 has no cue outputs routed to it, the list will be [1,2,4] .

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/cueOutputChannels {number}

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/cueOutputChannels {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the number of cue outputs of the specified patch.

Write: If number is given, set the number of cue outputs of the specified patch to number , which must be a whole number from 1
to 128.

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/level/{inChannel}/{outChannel} {decibel}

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/level/{inChannel}/{outChannel}/live {decibel}

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/level/{inChannel}/{outChannel} {decibel}

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/level/{inChannel}/{outChannel}/live {decibel}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write control

Read: If no argument is given, return the volume level of the specified crosspoint.

Write: If decibel is given, set the specified crosspoint to decibel . decibel can be any number, decimals allowed, or a string
such as -INF. If decibel is a string (any string, in fact) QLab will set the crosspoint to -INF.

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/mute {output} {boolean}

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/mute/{output} {boolean}

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/mute {output} {boolean}

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/mute/{output} {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return TRUE if the device output of the specified patch is muted, or FALSE if it is not.

Write: Mute or unmute the specified device output of the specified patch. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/mute/clear

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/mute/clear

view edit control query +/-?

read/write

Un-mute all device outputs of the specified patch.

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/muteChannels

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/muteChannels

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return an array of the numbers of device outputs that are muted.

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/name {string}

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/name {string}

view edit control query +/-?

Set the name of the specified patch to string .

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/reset

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/reset

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Reset all faded parameters of the specified audio patch (cue output effects, routing, and device output effects) to their saved state.

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/routing

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/routing

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only

Return the device output numbers which have cue outputs routed to them. For example, if the patch is using a device with four
outputs, and all four device outputs have cue outputs routed to them, the list will be [1,2,3,4] . If device output 3 has no cue
outputs routed to it, the list will be [1,2,4] .

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/routing/reset

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/routing/reset

view edit control query +/-?

Reset faded audio levels of the specified audio patch to their saved state.

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/solo {output} {boolean}

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/solo/{output} {boolean}

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/solo {output} {boolean}

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/solo/{output} {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return TRUE if the device output of the specified patch is soloed, or FALSE if it is not.

Write: Solo or un-solo the specified device output of the specified patch. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/solo/clear

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/solo/clear

view edit control query +/-?

read/write
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Un-solo all device outputs of the specified patch.

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/soloChannels

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/soloChannels

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return an array of the numbers of device outputs that are soloed.

/settings/audio/patch/{name}/uniqueID

/settings/audio/patchID/{id}/uniqueID

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return the unique ID of the specified audio output patch.

/settings/audio/patchList

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary describing all audio output patches defined in the workspace:

[
{
"name" : "{string}",
"uniqueID" : "{string}",
"routing" : [number,number,number,...]
},
{ ... }
]

The numbers listed for routing are the device output numbers which have cue outputs routed to them. For example, if the patch
is using a device with four outputs, and all four device outputs have cue outputs routed to them, the list will be [1,2,3,4] . If
device output 3 has no cue outputs routed to it, the list will be [1,2,4] .

If an audio output patch does not have a name, QLab will use the name of the audio device assigned to that patch as its name .

/settings/audio/undo
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query

Undo the most recent change in the Audio section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to undo, this message has no
effect.

/settings/audio/redo

view edit control query

Redo the most recent un-done change in the Audio section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to redo, this message
has no effect.

/settings/general/minGoTime {number}

view edit control query

read read/write read

Read: If number is not given, return the minimum time required between each GO (a.k.a. “double GO protection time” or
“minimum GO time.“)

Write: Set the minimum time required between each GO to number seconds. number can be any number greater than or equal to
0 , decimals allowed.

/settings/general/selectionIsPlayhead {boolean}

view edit control query

read read/write read/write

Read: If no argument is provided, return true if the selection is currently locked to the playhead, and false if it is not.

Write: If boolean is true, lock the selection and the playhead together. If boolean is false, unlock the selection from the
playhead.

/settings/general/toggleSelectionIsPlayhead

view edit control query

Lock or unlock the selection to the playhead.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/settings/general/undo

view edit control query

Undo the most recent change in the General section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to undo, this message has no
effect.

/settings/general/redo

view edit control query

Redo the most recent un-done change in the General section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to redo, this
message has no effect.

/settings/light/patch

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a (rather verbose) JSON dictionary describing the light patch for the workspace:

{
"settingKeywords":[
"home",
"pass",
"cue"
],
"groups":[
{
"instruments":[
{
"conflicted":true|false,
"patched":true|false,
"name":"{instrument name}",
"definition":{
"isBroken":true|false,
"manufacturer":"{manufacturer name}",
"defaultParameter":{number of default parameter},
"name":"{definition name}",
"definitionVersion":{version of definition},
"parameters":{
"{parameter number}":{
"isBroken":true|false,
"homeValue":{value},
"valueIsPercentage":true|false,
"name":"{parameter name}",
"type":"scalar"|"pantilt"|"rgbcolor"|"cmycolor"|"muxer",
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

"twoBytes":true|false
},
(more parameters as needed...)
}
},
"parameters":[
{
"valueIsPercentage":true|false,
"homeValueInDMX":{value},
"twoBytes":true|false,
"uniqueName":"{instrument name}.{parameter name}",
"definitionParameter":{
"isBroken":true|false,
"homeValue":{value},
"valueIsPercentage":true|false,
"name":"{parameter name}",
"type":"scalar"|"pantilt"|"rgbcolor"|"cmycolor"|"muxer",
"twoBytes":true|false
},
"instrumentName":"{instrument name}",
"homeValue":{value},
"name":"{parameter name}"
},
(more parameters as needed...)
]
},
(more instruments as needed...)
],
"name":"{light group name}",
"members":[
{"name":"{instrument name"},
(more instruments as needed...)
],
"parameters":[
{
"isBroken":true|false,
"homeValue":{value},
"valueIsPercentage":true|false,
"name":"{parameter name}",
"type":"scalar"|"pantilt"|"rgbcolor"|"cmycolor"|"muxer",
"twoBytes":true|false
},
(more parameters as needed...)
]
},
(more groups as needed...)
],
"instruments":[
{
"conflicted":true|false,
"patched":true|false,
"name":"{instrument name}",
"definition":{
"isBroken":true|false,
"manufacturer":"{manufacturer name}",
"defaultParameter":{number of default parameter},
"name":"{definition name}",
"definitionVersion":{version of definition},
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

"parameters":{
"{parameter number}":{
"isBroken":true|false,
"homeValue":{value},
"valueIsPercentage":true|false,
"name":"{parameter name}",
"type":"scalar"|"pantilt"|"rgbcolor"|"cmycolor"|"muxer",
"twoBytes":true|false
},
(more parameters as needed...)
}
},
"parameters":[
{
"valueIsPercentage":true|false,
"homeValueInDMX":{value},
"twoBytes":true|false,
"uniqueName":"{instrument name}.{parameter name}",
"definitionParameter":{
"isBroken":true|false,
"homeValue":{value},
"valueIsPercentage":true|false,
"name":"{parameter name}",
"type":"scalar"|"pantilt"|"rgbcolor"|"cmycolor"|"muxer",
"twoBytes":true|false
},
"instrumentName":"{instrument name}",
"homeValue":{value},
"name":"{parameter name}"
},
(more parameters as needed...)
]
},
(more instruments as needed...)
]
}

/settings/light/undo

view edit control query

Undo the most recent change in the Light section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to undo, this message has no
effect.

/settings/light/redo

view edit control query

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Redo the most recent un-done change in the Light section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to redo, this message
has no effect.

/settings/mic/patchList

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary describing all audio input patches defined in the workspace:

[
{
"uniqueID" : "{string}",
"name" : "{string}",
},
{ ... }
]

If an audio input patch does not have a name, QLab will use the name of the audio device assigned to that patch as its name .

NOTE: The /mic form of this message is changed in QLab 5.0 to list audio input patches. For output patches, use the /audio
form instead.

/settings/mic/undo

view edit control query

Undo the most recent change in the Mic section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to undo, this message has no
effect.

/settings/mic/redo

view edit control query

Redo the most recent un-done change in the Mic section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to redo, this message
has no effect.

/settings/midi/patchList

view edit control query

read only read only read only

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Return a JSON dictionary describing all MIDI patches defined in the workspace:

[
{
"uniqueID" : string,
"name" : string
},
{ ... }
]

{...} represents a second MIDI patch; the number of patches in a workspace varies, so the number of items in this dictionary will
vary.

/settings/midi/undo

view edit control query

Undo the most recent change in the MIDI section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to undo, this message has no
effect.

/settings/midi/redo

view edit control query

Redo the most recent un-done change in the MIDI section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to redo, this message
has no effect.

/settings/network/patchList

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary describing all network patches defined in the workspace:

[
{
"uniqueID" : string,
"name" : string
},
{ ... }
]
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

{...} represents a second network patch; the number of patches in a workspace varies, so the number of items in this dictionary
will vary.

/settings/network/undo

view edit control query

Undo the most recent change in the Network section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to undo, this message has no
effect.

/settings/network/redo

view edit control query

Redo the most recent un-done change in the Network section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to redo, this
message has no effect.

/settings/video/inputPatchList

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary describing all video input patches defined in the workspace:

[
{
"uniqueID" : string,
"name" : string
},
{ ... }
]

{...} represents a second video input patch; the number of patches in a workspace varies, so the number of items in this
dictionary will vary.

/settings/video/routes

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary describing all video output routes defined in the workspace:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

{
"enableGuides":true|false,

"destinationInfo":
{
"name":"Name of video device",
"destinationType":
"videoOutputKeyPath":"screen.screenID.1", -- macOS ID number of screen
"videoOutputRasterSize":{"width":xxxx,"height":yyyy},
"videoOutputRefreshRate":zzz -- frame rate in Hz
},
"rotationDegrees":0|90|180|270,
"uniqueID":"some unique ID code",
"scalingMode":0|1|2|3,
"naturalSize":{"width":xxxx,"height":yyyy},
"name":"Name of output route",
"rear":true|false
},
{
(more routes as needed...)
}

The contents of each destinationInfo dictionary will contain additional information which depends upon the type of output
being described.

Standard macOS-visible displays also have screenID and screenSerialNumber

Blackmagic Designs devices also have deckLinkHandle , displayName , displayMode , displayModeInfo , and keyingMode

NDI devices also have pixelSize , audioChannels , audioSampleRate , and audioBufferSize

Syphon devices also have pixelSize

The displayModeInfo for Blackmagic Designs devices is itself a dictionary containing identifier , displayName ,
pixelDimensions , fpsDuration , fpsScale , and fieldDominance

/settings/video/route/{name}

/settings/video/routeIndex/{number}

/settings/video/routeID/{route_id}

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary describing the specified video output route.

Routes are zero-indexed, and the index order is the order in which the routes appear in Workspace Settings → Video → Output
Routing.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/settings/video/route/{name}/enableGuides {boolean}

/settings/video/routeIndex/{number}/enableGuides {boolean}

/settings/video/routeID/{route_id}/enableGuides {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the current visibility of the guides for the specified video output route.

Write: Set the visibility of the guides for the specified video output route to true or false . See details on booleans at the
beginning of this section.

/settings/video/route/{name}/uniqueID

/settings/video/routeIndex/{number}/uniqueID

/settings/video/routeID/{route_id}/uniqueID

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return the unique ID of the specified video output route.

/settings/video/stages

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary describing all stages defined in the workspace:

{
"uniqueID":"unique ID of stage",
"name":"name of stage",
"width":xxxx,
"height":yyyy,
"regions":[
{
"boundsOnStage":{"y":yyyy,"x":xxxx,"width":wwww,"height":hhhh},
"meshWidth":number,
"warpType":number,
"uniqueID":"unique ID of region",
"controlPoints":[
{"x":xxx,"y":yyy},
{ mode control points as needed...}
],
"name":"A",
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

"meshHeight":number
},
{ more regions as needed... }
]
},
{
( more stages as needed )
}

/settings/video/stage/{name}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary describing the specified stage.

/settings/video/stage/{current_name}/name {string}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/name {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the name of the specified stage.

Write: If string is given, set the name of the specified stage to string .

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regions

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regions

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary describing the regions in the specified stage.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/size

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/size

view edit control query

read only read only read only

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Return a JSON dictionary describing the size of the specified stage.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/size/height

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/size/height

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return the height of the specified stage.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/size/width

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/size/width

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return the width of the specified stage.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/uniqueID

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/uniqueID

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return the unique ID of the specified stage.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{index}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}

view edit control query

read only read only read only

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Return a JSON dictionary describing the specified region.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/bounds {x} {y} {width} {height}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/bounds {string}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds {x} {y} {width} {height}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds {string}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds {x} {y} {width} {height}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds {string}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}/bounds {x} {y} {width} {height}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}/bounds {string}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds {x} {y} {width} {height}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds {string}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds {x} {y} {width} {height}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no arguments are given, return a JSON dictionary describing the position, width, and height of the specified region.

Write: Set the position and size of the specified region. Arguments can be provided either as four separate numbers or as single
string in the form "{{x,y}{width,height}}" . In either case, all four numbers must be integers and must refer to a value within the
bounds of the specified stage. x sets the horizontal position of the bottom left corner of the region, y sets the vertical position
of the bottom left corner of the region, width sets the width of the region, and height sets the height of the region.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/bounds/origin {x} {y}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/bounds/origin {string}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/origin {x} {y}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/origin {string}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/origin {x} {y}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/origin {string}
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}/bounds/origin {x} {y}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}/bounds/origin {string}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/origin {x} {y}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/origin {string}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/origin {x} {y}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/origin {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no arguments are given, return a JSON dictionary describing the position of the specified region.

Write: Set the position of the bottom left corner of the specified region. Arguments can be provided either as two separate
numbers or as a single string in the form "{x,y}" . In either case, both numbers must be integers and must refer to a value within
the bounds of the specified stage. x sets the horizontal position of the bottom left corner of the region, and y sets the vertical
position of the bottom left corner of the region.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/bounds/origin/x {number}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/origin/x {number}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{regionIndex}/bounds/origin/x {number}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}/bounds/origin/x {number}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/origin/x {number}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/origin/x {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the horizontal position of the specified region.

Write: If number is given, set the horizontal position of the bottom left corner of the specified region to number . Number must be
an integer and must refer to a value within the bounds of the specified stage.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/bounds/origin/y {number}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/origin/y {number}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{regionIndex}/bounds/origin/y {number}
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}/bounds/origin/y {number}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/origin/y {number}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/origin/y {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the vertical position of the specified region.

Write: If number is given, set the vertical position of the bottom left corner of the specified region to number . Number must be an
integer and must refer to a value within the bounds of the specified stage.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/bounds/size {width} {height}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/bounds/size {string}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/size {width} {height}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/size {string}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/size {width} {height}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/size {string}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}/bounds/size {width} {height}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}/bounds/size {string}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/size {width} {height}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/size {string}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/size {width} {height}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/size {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no arguments are given, return a JSON dictionary describing the size of the specified region.

Write: Set the size of the specified region. Arguments can be provided either as two separate numbers or as a single string in the
form "{width,height}" . In either case, both numbers must be integers and must refer to a value within the bounds of the
specified stage. width sets the width of the region, and y sets the height of the region.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/bounds/size/height {number}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/size/height {number}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/size/height {number}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}/bounds/size/height {number}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/size/height {number}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/size/height {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the height of the specified region.

Write: If number is given, set the height of the specified region to number . Number must be an integer and must refer to a value
within the bounds of the specified stage.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/bounds/size/width {number}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/size/width {number}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/size/width {number}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}/bounds/size/width {number}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}/bounds/size/width {number}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}/bounds/size/width {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the width of the specified region.

Write: If number is given, set the width of the specified region to number . Number must be an integer and must refer to a value
within the bounds of the specified stage.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/subregionIndex/{index}/controlPointIndex/{index} {x} {y}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/subregionIndex/{index}/controlPointIndex/{index}
{x} {y}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{index}/subregionIndex/{index}/controlPointIndex/{index}
{x} {y}
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/settings/video/stageID/{id}/region/{name}/subregionIndex/{index}/controlPointIndex/{index} {x} {y}

/settings/video/stageID/{id}/regionID/{region_id}/subregionIndex/{index}/controlPointIndex/{index} {x}
{y}

/settings/video/stageID/{id}/regionIndex/{index}/subregionIndex/{index}/controlPointIndex/{index} {x}
{y}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no arguments are given, return the coordinates of the specified control point.

Write: If x and y are given, set the coordinates of the specified control point to { x , y }. x and y must both be given together,
must be integers, and must refer to a location within the bounds of the specified area.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/enableGrid {boolean}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/enableGrid {boolean}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{index}/enableGrid {boolean}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}/enableGrid {boolean}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}/enableGrid {boolean}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}/enableGrid {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the current visibility of the grid for the specified region.

Write: Set the visibility of the grid for the specified region to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this
section.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/enableGuide {boolean}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/enableGuide {boolean}

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{index}/enableGuide {boolean}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}/enableGuide {boolean}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}/enableGuide {boolean}

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}/enableGuide {boolean}
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the current visibility of the guides for the specified region.

Write: Set the visibility of the guides for the specified region to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this
section.

/settings/video/stage/{name}/region/{name}/resetControlPoints

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionID/{region_id}/resetControlPoints

/settings/video/stage/{name}/regionIndex/{index}/resetControlPoints

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/region/{name}/resetControlPoints

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionID/{region_id}/resetControlPoints

/settings/video/stageID/{stage_id}/regionIndex/{index}/resetControlPoints

view edit control query

Set all control points for the specified region to their default initial positions.

/settings/video/undo

view edit control query

Undo the most recent change in the Video section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to undo, this message has no
effect.

/settings/video/redo

view edit control query

Redo the most recent un-done change in the Video section of Workspace Settings. If there is no valid action to redo, this message
has no effect.

Show Control Broadcast messages

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Show control broadcast messages are sent by QLab in response to requests from clients. Clients request updates by sending a
/listen message in one or more of the forms below. Every /listen message has a corresponding /ignore message which

stops updates from being sent by QLab.

The format of these messages can be modified to suit individual needs using the /eventFormat message. You can read about this
message and how to use it in the section on customizing OSC show control broadcast messages.

Show control broadcast messages require view access.

/listen
Requests all show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client.

/listen/auditionGo
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for audition GO events only. Each audition GO event will result
in four messages being sent:

/qlab/event/workspace/auditionGo "{cue number}" "{cue name}" "{cue uniqueID}" "{cue type}"

/qlab/event/workspace/auditionGo/number "{cue number}"

/qlab/event/workspace/auditionGo/name "{cue name}"

/qlab/event/workspace/auditionGo/uniqueID "{cue uniqueID}"

/listen/auditionGo/number
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for audition GO events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/auditionGo/number "{cue number}" form.

/listen/auditionGo/name
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for audition GO events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/auditionGo/number "{cue name}" form.

/listen/auditionGo/uniqueID
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for audition GO events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/auditionGo/number "{cue uniqueID}" form.

/listen/cue/start
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for cue start events only. Each audition GO event will result in
four messages being sent:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/qlab/event/workspace/cue/start "{cue number}" "{cue name}" "{cue uniqueID}" "{cue type}"

/qlab/event/workspace/cue/start/number "{cue number}"

/qlab/event/workspace/cue/start/name "{cue name}"

/qlab/event/workspace/cue/start/uniqueID "{cue uniqueID}"

/listen/cue/start/number
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for cue start events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/start/number "{cue number}" form.

/listen/cue/start/name
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for cue start events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/start/name "{cue name}" form.

/listen/cue/start/uniqueID
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for cue start events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/start/uniqueID "{cue uniqueID}" form.

/listen/cue/stop
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for cue stop events only. Each audition GO event will result in
four messages being sent:

/qlab/event/workspace/cue/stop "{cue number}" "{cue name}" "{cue uniqueID}" "{cue type}"

/qlab/event/workspace/cue/stop/number "{cue number}"

/qlab/event/workspace/cue/stop/name "{cue name}"

/qlab/event/workspace/cue/stop/uniqueID "{cue uniqueID}"

/listen/cue/stop/number
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for cue stop events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/stop/number "{cue number}" form.

/listen/cue/stop/name
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for cue stop events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/stop/name "{cue name}" form.

/listen/cue/stop/uniqueID
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for cue stop events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/stop/uniqueID "{cue uniqueID}" form.

/listen/go
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for GO events only. Each GO event will result in four messages
being sent:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/qlab/event/workspace/go "{cue number}" "{cue name}" "{cue uniqueID}" "{cue type}"

/qlab/event/workspace/go/number "{cue number}"

/qlab/event/workspace/go/name "{cue name}"

/qlab/event/workspace/go/uniqueID "{cue uniqueID}"

/listen/go/number
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for GO events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/go/number "{cue number}" form.

/listen/go/name
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for GO events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/go/number "{cue name}" form.

/listen/go/uniqueID
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for GO events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/go/number "{cue uniqueID}" form.

/listen/hardStopAll
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for HardStop All events only.

/listen/panicAll
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for Panic All events only.

/listen/pauseAll
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for Pause All events only.

/listen/playhead
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for playhead move events only. Each playhead move event will
result in four messages being sent:

/qlab/event/workspace/playhead "{cue number}" "{cue name}" "{cue uniqueID}" "{cue type}"

/qlab/event/workspace/playhead/number "{cue number}"

/qlab/event/workspace/playhead/name "{cue name}"

/qlab/event/workspace/playhead/uniqueID "{cue uniqueID}"

/listen/playhead/number
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for playhead move events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/playhead/number "{cue number}" form.

/listen/playhead/name
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for playhead move events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/playhead/number "{cue name}" form.

/listen/playhead/uniqueID
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for playhead move events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/playhead/number "{cue uniqueID}" form.

/listen/resetAll
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for Reset All events only.

/listen/resumeAll
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for Resume All events only.

/listen/stopAll
Requests show control broadcast messages to be sent to the client for Stop All events only.

/ignore
Stops all show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client.

/ignore/auditionGo
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for audition GO events only.

/ignore/auditionGo/number
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for audition GO events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/auditionGo/number "{cue number}" form.

/ignore/auditionGo/name
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for audition GO events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/auditionGo/number "{cue name}" form.

/ignore/auditionGo/uniqueID
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for audition GO events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/auditionGo/number "{cue uniqueID}" form.

/ignore/cue/start
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for cue start events only.

/ignore/cue/start/number
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for cue start events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/start/number "{cue number}" form.

/ignore/cue/start/name
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for cue start events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/start/name "{cue name}" form.

/ignore/cue/start/uniqueID
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for cue start events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/start/uniqueID "{cue uniqueID}" form.

/ignore/cue/stop
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for cue stop events only.

/ignore/cue/stop/number
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for cue stop events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/stop/number "{cue number}" form.

/ignore/cue/stop/name
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for cue stop events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/stop/name "{cue name}" form.

/ignore/cue/stop/uniqueID
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for cue stop events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/cue/stop/uniqueID "{cue uniqueID}" form.

/ignore/go
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for GO events only.

/ignore/go/number
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for GO events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/go/number "{cue number}" form.

/ignore/go/name
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for GO events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/go/number "{cue name}" form.

/ignore/go/uniqueID
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for GO events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/go/number "{cue uniqueID}" form.

/ignore/hardStopAll
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for HardStop All events only.

/ignore/panicAll
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for Panic All events only.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/ignore/pauseAll
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for Pause All events only.

/ignore/playhead
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for playhead move events only.

/ignore/playhead/number
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for playhead move events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/playhead/number "{cue number}" form.

/ignore/playhead/name
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for playhead move events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/playhead/number "{cue name}" form.

/ignore/playhead/uniqueID
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for playhead move events only, and only in the
/qlab/event/workspace/playhead/number "{cue uniqueID}" form.

/ignore/resetAll
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for Reset All events only.

/ignore/resumeAll
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for Resume All events only.

/ignore/stopAll
Stops show control broadcast messages from being sent to the client for Stop All events only.

Cue messages

Cue OSC messages use the form /workspace/{id}/cue/{cue_number}/command , where {id} may be either the display name of
the workspace, such as hamlet.qlab5 , or the unique ID of the workspace, which can be found in the Info tab of the Workspace
Status Window.

Note, however, that addressing by display name will work only if the display name is composed of characters allowed in OSC
method names. This does NOT include spaces, unicode characters, diacriticals, or other “special” characters.

Addressing a workspace by its unique ID looks like this:

/workspace/1B11984A-3EBC-4A9C-A004-B9E3AA32DA6B/cue/x/start

Addressing a workspace by its display name looks like this:

/workspace/hamlet/cue/x/start
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Note that the extension of the filename, the .qlab5 part, is omitted.

If you send a cue message without the /workspace/{id} portion of the address, then the message will be sent to all open
workspaces listening on the port to which the message is sent. So, if your hamlet.qlab5 workspace is the only open workspace, or
the only workspace listening to a particular port, and you send QLab the OSC command /cue/x/start to that port, then cue x in
the workspace called hamlet.qlab5 will start. If both hamlet.qlab5 and twelfthnight.qlab5 are open and listening to the same
port, and both have a cue numbered x , then sending the OSC command /cue/x/start to that port will cause cue x in both
workspaces to start.

Addressing Cues
Cues can be addressed either by their cue number or their unique ID. Cues always have a unique ID. They do not always have a
number, but if it exists it will be unique within the workspace.

For all cue OSC messages, any instance of the address pattern /cue/{cue_number} can be replaced by the equivalent unique ID
address pattern /cue_id/{id} .

Additionally, QLab supports a few special addresses for cues:

/cue/selected addresses the currently selected cue or cues.

/cue/playhead addresses the cue that’s currently standing by at the playhead.

/cue/playbackPosition is the same as /cue/playhead .

/cue/active addresses all active cues (currently playing or paused).

Finally, because QLab supports OSC address patterns, you may use an asterisk * and a question mark as wildcards within
{cue_number} or {id} .

Examples

/cue/*/armed 0 would disarm all cues in the workspace; * matches any character or characters.

/cue/?/armed 0 would disarm all cues in the workspace with a single-character cue number; ? matches any single
character.

/cue/[*]/armed 0 would disarm only cues which have a cue number, and have no effect on cues which have no cue number.

/cue/understudy-*/colorName green would set green as the display color for all cues that have a number that starts with the
string “understudy-”.

Important: Spaces are not permitted inside OSC addresses, so cue numbers with spaces in them will not work properly with OSC. If
you are using OSC to control your workspace, avoid using spaces in cue numbers.

/cue/{cue_number}/actionElapsed

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the elapsed action (in seconds) of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/percentActionElapsed
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the elapsed action (as a percentage of the total action) of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/allowsEditingDuration

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the specified cue has an editable duration, such as an Audio, Video, or Fade cue. Otherwise, return false .

/cue/{cue_number}/armed {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the armed state of the specified cue.

Write: If boolean is true, arm the specified cue. If false, disarm the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this
section.

/cue/{cue_number}/auditionGo

view edit control query +/-?

Tell the specified cue to audition GO. Auditioning a cue starts it according to the audition behavior defined for its output type.

/cue/{cue_number}/auditionPreview

view edit control query +/-?

Audition preview the specified cue. Audition previewing a cue starts it according to the audition behavior defined for its output
type, skipping over its pre-wait time, and does not advance the playhead. Also, if the cue has an auto-follow or auto-continue, the
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

followed or continued cue is not started.

/cue/{cue_number}/autoLoad {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the auto-load state of the specified cue.

Write: If boolean is true, set the specified cue to auto-load. If false, set the specified cue to not auto-load. See details on
booleans at the beginning of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/canHavePatchTargets

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the specified cue can target a patch, such as a Fade or Reset cue. Otherwise, return false .

/cue/{cue_number}/captureTimecode

view edit control query +/-?

Set the timecode trigger time of the the specified cue to the currently incoming timecode. If there is no incoming timecode, this
message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/cartPosition/

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return an array with the row and column numbers for the specified cue’s position within a cart. A cue that is not contained within a
cart will return [0,0] .

/cue/{cue_number}/cartPosition/column

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the column number for the specified cue’s position within a cart. A cue that is not contained within a cart will return 0 .
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/cartPosition/row

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the row number for the specified cue’s position within a cart. A cue that is not contained within a cart will return 0 .

/cue/{cue_number}/children/

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

If the specified cue is a list, cart, or Group cue, return an array of cue dictionaries listing the following information about all cues
within the specified list, cart, or Group cue:

[
{
"number":"{string}",
"uniqueID":"{string}",
"cues":[ {a cue dictionary}, {another dictionary}, {and another} ],
"flagged":true|false,
"listName":"{string}",
"type":"{string}",
"colorName":"{string}",
"colorName/live": "{string}",
"name":"{string}",
"armed":true|false
},
{ ... }
]

The “cues” item is relevant only if the cue is a Group cue which contains other cues, in which case the “cues” item will contain cue
dictionaries for each of the children of the enclosing Group cue. If any of those children are themselves Group cues, with their own
children, then it’s Group turtles all the way down.

{…} represents a second cue dictionary; the number of cues within the specified list, cart, or Group cue will vary, so the number of
items in this dictionary will vary.

If the specified cue is not a list, cart, or Group cue, this message will return an OSC reply containing an empty “data” field.

/cue/{cue_number}/children/shallow

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

This message behaves identically to the above message ( /cue/{cue_number}/children ) except that it omits the “cues” item, and
therefore returns a smaller set of information. Nested Groups will not be queried, and so only the first “layer” of the cue hierarchy
will be returned.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/children/uniqueIDs

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

If the specified cue is a list, cart, or Group cue, return an array of cue dictionaries listing the following information about all cues
within the specified list, cart, or Group cue:

[
{
"uniqueID":"{string}",
"cues":[ {a cue dictionary}, {another dictionary}, {and another} ]
},
{ ... }
]

The “cues” item is relevant only if the cue is a Group cue which contains other cues, in which case the “cues” item will contain cue
dictionaries which contain the uniqueID and cues for each of the children of the enclosing Group cue.

{…} represents a second cue dictionary; the number of cues within the specified list, cart, or Group cue will vary, so the number of
items in this dictionary will vary.

/cue/{cue_number}/children/uniqueIDs/shallow

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

This message behaves identically to the above message ( /cue/{cue_number}/children/uniqueIDs ) except that it omits the “cues”
item, and therefore returns a smaller set of information. Nested Groups will not be queried, and so only the first “layer” of the cue
hierarchy will be returned.

/cue/{cue_number}/colorCondition {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the color condition mode of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the color condition mode of the specified cue to number . Valid color condition modes are:

0 - Always
1 - Before action
2 - After action

Removed in QLab 5.2. This message works in QLab 5.0.x and QLab 5.1.x only. In QLab 5.2 and later, use the /useSecondColor
message instead.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/colorName {string}

/cue/{cue_number}/colorName/live {string}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the color of the specified cue.

Write: If string is given, set the color of the specified cue to string . As of QLab 5.2, valid colors are:

berry
blue
crimson
cyan
forest
gray
green
hot pink
indigo
lavender
magenta
midnight
olive
orange
peach
plum
purple
red
sky blue
yellow

and

none

Certain other colors may also be valid…

/cue/{cue_number}/secondColorName {string}

/cue/{cue_number}/secondColorName/live {string}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the second color of the specified cue.

Write: If string is given, set the second color of the specified cue to string .
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/useSecondColor {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Use second color lock button of the specified cue.

Write: Set the state of the Use second color lock button of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this
section.

/cue/{cue_number}/continueMode {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the continue mode of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the continue mode of the specified cue to number . Valid continue modes are:

0 - No continue
1 - Auto-continue
2 - Auto-follow

/cue/{cue_number}/cueTargetID {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the cue ID of the target of the specified cue. Empty string ( "" ) means that the cue has no cue
target.

Write: If string is given, and if the specified cue can have cue targets, set the target of the specified cue to string . If string is
"none" or empty ( "" ), unset the cue target. If string is anything else, it must be a valid uniqueID of a cue in the workspace.

/cue/{cue_number}/cueTargetNumber {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the cue number of the target of the specified cue. Empty string ( "" ) means that the cue has
no cue target.

Write: If string is given, and if the specified cue can have cue targets, set the target of the specified cue to string . string
must be a valid cue number of a cue in the workspace.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/currentCueTarget

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the cue ID of the current target of the specified cue. Empty string ( "" ) means that the cue has no current target.

/cue/{cue_number}/tempCueTargetNumber {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, and the specified cue has a temporary target, return the cue number of that temporary target.
Empty string ( "" ) means that the cue has no temporary target.

Write: If string is given, and if the specified cue can have cue targets, temporarily set the target of the specified cue to string .
The specified cue will revert to its previous target if it is reset, if the workspace is reset, or if the workspace is closed and reopened.
string must be a valid cue number of a cue in the workspace.

/cue/{cue_number}/tempCueTargetID {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

This works exactly the same as /cueTargetID , but refers to the temporary target. See /tempCueTargetNumber for more detail
about temporary targets.

/cue/{cue_number}/defaultName

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the default name of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/displayName

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the display name of the specified cue.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/duckLevel {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the duck or boost level of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the duck or boost level of the specified cue to number . If number is a negative number, it will set a
duck level. If number is a positive number, it will set a boost level. number can be any number, decimals allowed, from -120 to
12 .

NOTE: This message worked differently in QLab 4; it used a scaled range of 0 to 4 , in which 0 = -120 dB, 1 = 0 dB, and 4 =
+12 dB. In QLab 5, the message simply uses decibel values directly.

/cue/{cue_number}/duckOthers {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Duck audio of other cues checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Set the state of the Duck audio of other cues checkbox of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this
section.

/cue/{cue_number}/duckTime {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the Duck audio of other cues time of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the Duck audio of other cues time of the specified cue to number .

/cue/{cue_number}/duration {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the duration of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, and the selected cue has an editable duration, set the duration of the specified cue to number .

/cue/{cue_number}/currentDuration {number}
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the current duration of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/tempDuration {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, and if the specified cue has a temporary duration, return that temporary duration.

Write: If number is given, and if the specified cue has a duration, temporarily set the duration of the specified cue to number . The
specified cue will revert to its previous duration if it is reset, if the workspace is reset, or if the workspace is closed and reopened.

/cue/{cue_number}/fadeAndStopOthers {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the Fade and stop mode of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the Fade and stop mode of the specified cue to number . Valid modes are:

0 - None
1 - Peers
2 - List or cart
3 - All

Mode 0 is equivalent to the Fade and stop checkbox being unchecked.

/cue/{cue_number}/fadeAndStopOthersTime {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the Fade and stop others time of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the Fade and stop others time of the specified cue to number .

/cue/{cue_number}/fileTarget {string}

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the target of the specified cue. Empty string ( "" ) means that the cue has no file target.

Write: If string is given, and if the specified cue can have file targets, set the target of the specified cue to string . If string is
"none" or empty ( "" ), unset the file target. If string is anything else, string should be a file path and name in any of the
following three forms:

Full paths, e.g. /Volumes/MyDisk/path/to/some/file.wav

Paths beginning with a tilde, e.g. ~/path/to some/file.mov

Relative paths, e.g. this/is/a/relative/path.mid

Paths beginning with a tilde (~) will be expanded; the tilde signifies “relative to the user’s home directory”.

Relative paths will be interpreted according to the current working directory. Use the /workingDirectory application message to
set or get the current working directory.

/cue/{cue_number}/flagged {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Flagged checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Set the flagged state of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/go

view edit control query +/-?

If the specified cue is not a cue list, tell QLab to move the playhead to cue cue_number and then GO.

If the specified cue is a cue list, tell that cue list to GO. This GO respects the current playback position for that list, as well as double
go protection for the workspace.

/cue/{cue_number}/hardPause

view edit control query +/-?

Pause the specified cue without allowing audio effects to decay naturally. If the specified cue is not playing, this message has no
effect.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/hardStop

view edit control query +/-?

Stop the specified cue without allowing audio effects to decay naturally. If the specified cue is not playing, this message has no
effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/hasCueTargets

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the specified cue is able to target another cue. Examples of such a cue include Fade cues and Stop cues.

/cue/{cue_number}/hasFileTargets

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the specified cue is able to target a file. Examples of such a cue are Audio, Video, and MIDI File cues.

/cue/{cue_number}/isActionRunning

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the action of the specified cue (not the pre-wait or post-wait) is running.

/cue/{cue_number}/isAuditioning

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the specified cue is auditioning.

/cue/{cue_number}/isBroken

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Return true if the specified cue is broken.

/cue/{cue_number}/isCrossfadingOut

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the specified cue is crossfading out. This only applies to cues inside Playlist Group cues.

/cue/{cue_number}/isLoaded

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the specified cue is loaded.

/cue/{cue_number}/isOverridden

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the specified cue’s output is currently suppressed by an override control.

/cue/{cue_number}/isPanicking

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the specified cue is panicking.

/cue/{cue_number}/isPaused

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the specified cue is paused.

/cue/{cue_number}/isRunning

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the specified cue is running.

/cue/{cue_number}/isTailingOut

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the specified cue has an audio effect which is decaying.

/cue/{cue_number}/isWarning

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return true if the specified cue has a non-breaking warning.

/cue/{cue_number}/listName

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the list name of the specified cue. The list name is the name that is displayed in the cue list, which can be either the default
name, a manually set display name, or nothing.

/cue/{cue_number}/load

view edit control query +/-?

Load the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/loadAt {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/loadAt {hours} {minutes} {seconds}

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

If a single argument, number , is given and is a positive number, load the specified cue to number seconds. If number is a negative
number, load the specified cue to number seconds before the end of the cue. If the cue has a pre-wait, that time is counted as

part of the load time.

If three arguments are given, and each are positive numbers, load the specified cue to hours : minutes : seconds . Negative
numbers are not accepted. If the cue has a pre-wait, that time is counted as part of the load time.

If no argument is given, this command is equivalent to load .

Examples:

/cue/10/loadAt 15 loads cue 10 to 15 seconds.

/cue/20/loadAt -30 loads cue 20 to 30 seconds before the end (so that, for example, you can rehearse the last 30 seconds
of a dance number.)
/cue/30/loadAt 0 4 6.5 load cue 30 to 4:06.5 (four minutes, six point five seconds.)

/cue/{cue_number}/loadActionAt {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/loadActionAt {hours} {minutes} {seconds}

view edit control query +/-?

If a single argument, number , is given and is a positive number, load the specified cue to number seconds. If number is a negative
number, load the specified cue to number seconds before the end of the cue. QLab will automatically add the pre-wait of the
specified cue so that the cue is loaded to the given time as though it has no pre-wait.

If three arguments are given, and each are positive numbers, load the specified cue to hours : minutes : seconds . Negative
numbers are not accepted. QLab will automatically add the pre-wait of the specified cue so that the cue is loaded to the given
time as though it has no pre-wait.

If no argument is given, this command is equivalent to load .

/cue/{cue_number}/loadFileAt {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/loadFileAt {hours} {minutes} {seconds}

view edit control query +/-?

If a single argument, number , is given and is a positive number, load the specified cue to number seconds ignoring any slice loop
counts. If number is a negative number, load the specified cue to number seconds before the end of the cue. QLab will
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

automatically add the pre-wait of the specified cue so that the cue is loaded to the given time as though it has no pre-wait.

If three arguments are given, and each are positive numbers, load the specified cue to hours : minutes : seconds ignoring any slice
loop counts. Negative numbers are not accepted. QLab will automatically add the pre-wait of the specified cue so that the cue is
loaded to the given time as though it has no pre-wait.

If no argument is given, this command is equivalent to load , but ignores slice loop counts.

/cue/{cue_number}/loadAndSetPlayhead

view edit control query +/-?

Move the playhead to the specified cue and load that cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/maxTimeInCueSequence

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the maximum time required to complete the cue sequence starting at the specified cue, as used e.g. for the “load to time”
slider. Any infinite loops within the sequence are only counted once.

/cue/{cue_number}/name {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the name of the specified cue.

Write: If string is given, set the name of the specified cue to string .

/cue/{cue_number}/notes {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read/write read/write read/write

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no argument is given, return the notes of the specified cue.

Write: If string is given, set the notes of the specified cue to string .

/cue/{cue_number}/number {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the cue number of the specified cue.

Write: If string is given, set the cue number of the specified cue to string .

/cue/{cue_number}/panic

view edit control query +/-?

Panic the specified cue. Panicked cues fade out and stop over the panic duration specified in the General section of Workspace
Settings.

/cue/{cue_number}/panicInTime {number}

view edit control query +/-?

Panic the specified cue, using number for the panic duration instead of the panic duration specified in Workspace Settings.

/cue/{cue_number}/parent

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the cue ID of the parent of the specified cue. If the specified cue is inside a Group, then the Group is the parent. Otherwise,
the cue list or cue cart that contains the cue is the parent.

/cue/{cue_number}/patchTargetID {id}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the ID of the patch that is targeted by the specified cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Write: If id is given, set the target of the specified cue to the patch with ID id .

/cue/{cue_number}/pause

view edit control query +/-?

Pause the specified cue, allowing any audio effects on the cue to decay naturally. If the specified cue is not playing, this message
has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/togglePause

view edit control query +/-?

If the specified cue is playing, pause it. If the specified cue is paused, resume it. If the specified cue is not playing and not paused,
this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/postWait {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the post-wait of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the post-wait of the specified cue to number .

/cue/{cue_number}/postWaitElapsed

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the elapsed post-wait time (in seconds) of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/percentPostWaitElapsed

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the elapsed post-wait time (as a percentage of the total post-wait time) of the specified cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/preview

view edit control query +/-?

Preview the specified cue. Previewing a cue starts it, skipping over its pre-wait time, and does not advance the playhead. Also, if
the cue has an auto-follow or auto-continue, the followed or continued cue is not started.

/cue/{cue_number}/preWait {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the pre-wait of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the pre-wait of the specified cue to number .

/cue/{cue_number}/preWaitElapsed

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the elapsed pre-wait time (in seconds) of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/percentPreWaitElapsed

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the elapsed pre-wait time (as a percentage of the total pre-wait time) of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/reset

view edit control query +/-?

Reset the specified cue. Resetting a cue returns any temporary changes (such as those caused by a “live” OSC method) to be
reverted.

/cue/{cue_number}/resume
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

Resume the specified cue. If the specified cue is not paused, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/secondTriggerAction {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the second trigger action of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the second trigger action of the specified cue to number . Valid actions are:

0 - Do nothing
1 - Panic
2 - Stop
3 - Hard stop
4 - Hard stop & restart
5 - Devamp
6 - Playlist Next
7 - Playlist Previous

Options 6 and 7 are only valid when sent to a Playlist Group cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/secondTriggerOnRelease {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Second trigger on release checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Set the state of the Second trigger on release checkbox of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of
this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/soloCueInTime {number}

view edit control query +/-?

Fade and stop all other cues in the same cue list as the specified cue over number seconds. number is required, and can be any
number greater than or equal to zero, decimals allowed.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/start

/cue/start {cue_number}

/cue_id/start {cue_id}

view edit control query +/-?

Start the specified cue. This does not move the playhead.

/cue/{cue_number}/startAndAutoloadNext

view edit control query +/-?

Start the specified cue and load the following cue or cue sequence if that cue or cue sequence is set to auto-load. This does not
move the playhead.

/cue/{cue_number}/stop

view edit control query +/-?

Stop the specified cue. If the specified cue is not playing, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/targetMode {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return 0 if the specified cue targets a cue or 1 if the specified cue targets a patch.

Write: If number is given, set the target mode of the specified cue. Valid target modes are:

0 - Cue target
1 - Patch target

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeTrigger

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Return the timecode time of the specified cue’s timecode trigger.

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeTrigger/hours {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read only read/write read only

Read: If no argument is given, return the “hours” portion of the specified cue’s timecode trigger.

Write: If number is given, set the “hours” portion of the specified cue’s timecode trigger.

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeTrigger/minutes {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read only read/write read only

Read: If no argument is given, return the “minutes” portion of the specified cue’s timecode trigger.

Write: If number is given, set the “minutes” portion of the specified cue’s timecode trigger.

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeTrigger/seconds {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read only read/write read only

Read: If no argument is given, return the “seconds” portion of the specified cue’s timecode trigger.

Write: If number is given, set the “seconds” portion of the specified cue’s timecode trigger.

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeTrigger/frames {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read only read/write read only

Read: If no argument is given, return the “frames” portion of the specified cue’s timecode trigger.

Write: If number is given, set the “frames” portion of the specified cue’s timecode trigger.

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeTrigger/bits {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read only read/write read only

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no argument is given, return the “bits” portion of the specified cue’s timecode trigger.

Write: If number is given, set the “bits” portion of the specified cue’s timecode trigger.

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeTrigger/text {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read only read/write read only

Read: If no argument is given, return the specified cue’s timecode trigger as a text string.

Write: If string is given, set the specified cue’s timecode trigger to string . string must be in the form of a valid timecode
entry.

/cue/{cue_number}/type

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the type (Audio, Video, Fade, etc.) of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/uniqueID

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the uniqueID of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/valuesForKeys {json_string}

view edit control query +/-?

This special method can be used to request a custom collection of state information about the specified cue. json_string must
be a JSON-formatted string representing an array of keys you wish to query.

Example:

/cue/2/valuesForKeys "[\"opacity\",\"surfaceSize\"]"

would return the values for the “opacity” and “surfaceSize” properties of cue 2, assuming cue 2 is a Video, Camera, or Text cue.

Invalid use of this message has no effect.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/valuesForKeysWithArguments {json_string}

view edit control query +/-?

This special method can be used to request a custom collection of state information about the given cue. json_string must be a
JSON-formatted string representing a dictionary of keys and arguments you wish to query.

Example:

/cue/2/valuesForKeysWithArguments "{\"level\":[0,0]}"

would return a dictionary that contains the value of the main volume level of cue 2, assuming cue 2 has audio levels. Note that this
method is limited to returning one value per key, even if you send multiple keys with different arguments.

Group cue/List/Cart messages

Messages specific to Group cues, cue lists, and cue carts (which are really also Group cues.)

/cue/{cue_number}/cartColumns

/cue/{cue_number}/cartRows

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

If the specified cue is a cart, these messages return the number of rows or columns in the cart. If the specified cue is not a cart,
these messages have no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/collapse

view edit control query

If the specified Group cue is expanded, displaying its children, collapse it.

/cue/{cue_number}/expand

view edit control query

If the specified Group cue is collapsed, not displaying its children, expand it.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/currentTimecode

/cue/{cue_number}/currentTimecode/hours

/cue/{cue_number}/currentTimecode/minutes

/cue/{cue_number}/currentTimecode/seconds

/cue/{cue_number}/currentTimecode/frames

/cue/{cue_number}/currentTimecode/bits

/cue/{cue_number}/currentTimecode/text

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

If the specified cue is a cue list or cart which is set to receive timecode, these messages return the all or part of the current
incoming timecode, either as a number or as a string.

/cue/{cue_number}/isChildAuditioning

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

If the specified cue is a list, cart, or Group cue, return true if there is at least one currently auditioning cue amongst the children
of the specified cue. If there are none, return false .

If the specified cue is not a list, cart, or Group cue, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/isChildFlagged

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

If the specified cue is a list, cart, or Group cue, return true if there is at least one flagged cue amongst the children of the
specified cue. If there are none, return false .

If the specified cue is not a list, cart, or Group cue, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/mode {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no argument is given, return the mode of the specified Group cue, list, or cart.

Write: If number is given, set the mode of the specified Group cue. Valid modes are:

0 - List
1 - Start first and enter
2 - Start first
3 - Timeline
4 - Start random
5 - Cart
6 - Playlist

Modes 0 and 5 are read-only; a cue list will return mode 0 , but mode cannot be set to 0 , and a cue cart will return mode 5 ,
but mode cannot be set to 5 .

/cue/{cue_number}/moveCartCue/{child} {row} {column}

view edit control query +/-?

If the specified cue is a cart, then move child cue child to position row , column within the cart.

child can be the cue number or cue ID of the child cue. row and column must be valid for the specified cart cue.

If the specified cue is not a cart, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/playhead {string}

/cue/{cue_number}/playhead/{string}

/cue/{cue_number}/playbackPosition {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the cue number of the standing-by cue, or “none” if there is no cue standing by.

Write: If the specified cue is a cue list, set the playhead (playback position) to the cue whose cue number matches string . If
string is none , unset the playhead.

/cue/{cue_number}/playheadID {string}

/cue/{cue_number}/playheadID/{string}

/cue/{cue_number}/playbackPositionID {string}
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read read read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the cue ID of the standing-by cue, or “none” if there is no cue standing by.

Write: If the specified cue is a cue list, set the playhead (playback position) to the cue whose uniqueID is string . If string is
none , unset the playhead.

/cue/{cue_number}/playhead next

/cue/{cue_number}/playhead/next

view edit control query +/-?

If the specified cue is a cue list, set the playhead in that cue list to the next cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/playhead previous

/cue/{cue_number}/playhead/previous

view edit control query +/-?

If the specified cue is a cue list, set the playhead in that cue list to the previous cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/playhead/nextSequence

view edit control query +/-?

If the specified cue is a cue list, set the playhead in that cue list to the next cue sequence.

/cue/{cue_number}/playhead/previousSequence

view edit control query +/-?

If the specified cue is a cue list, set the playhead in that cue list to the previous cue sequence.

/cue/{cue_number}/playlist/doCrossfade {boolean}
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Crossfade checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Enable or disable crossfading on the specified Playlist Group cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

If the specified cue is not a Playlist Group cue, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/playlist/doLoop {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Loop checkbox of the specified Playlist Group cue.

Write: Enable or disable looping on the specified Playlist Group cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

If the specified cue is not a Playlist Group cue, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/playlist/doShuffle {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Shuffle checkbox of the specified Playlist Group cue.

Write: Enable or disable shuffle on the specified Playlist Group cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

If the specified cue is not a Playlist Group cue, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/playlist/next

view edit control query +/-?

If the specified cue is a Playlist Group cue, start the next cue in that playlist.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/playlist/previous

view edit control query +/-?

If the specified cue is a Playlist Group cue, start the previous cue in that playlist.

/cue/{cue_number}/playlist/crossfade/duration {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/playlistCrossfadeDuration {number}

view edit control query +/-?

Read: If no argument is given, return the crossfade duration of the specified Playlist Group cue.

Write: If number is given, set the crossfade time of the specified Playlist Group cue to number seconds. number can be any
whole or decimal number greater than or equal to zero.

If the specified cue is not a Playlist Group cue, this message has no effect.

playlistCrossfadeDuration is deprecated in QLab 5.0.4. This message works but will be removed in a future version of QLab.
Use /playlist/crossfade/duration instead.

/cue/{cue_number}/playlistCrossfade {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Crossfade checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Enable or disable crossfading on the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

If the specified cue is not a Playlist Group cue, this message has no effect.

Deprecated in QLab 5.0.4. This message works but will be removed in a future version of QLab. Use /playlist/doCrossfade
instead.

/cue/{cue_number}/playlistLoop {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Loop checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Enable or disable looping on the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

If the specified cue is not a Playlist Group cue, this message has no effect.

Deprecated in QLab 5.0.4. This message works but will be removed in a future version of QLab. Use /playlist/doLoop instead.

/cue/{cue_number}/playlistShuffle {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Shuffle checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Enable or disable shuffle on the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

If the specified cue is not a Playlist Group cue, this message has no effect.

Deprecated in QLab 5.0.4. This message works but will be removed in a future version of QLab. Use /playlist/doShuffle instead.

/cue/{cue_number}/shuffle

view edit control query +/-?

If the specified cue is a Playlist Group cue, shuffle the contents of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeFreewheelTime

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If number is not given, return the timecode freewheel time of the specified list or cart.

Write: Set the timecode freewheel time of the specified list or cart to number seconds. number can be any number from 0 to 2,
decimals allowed.

If the specified cue is not a list or cart, this message has no effect. Also, note that this setting is separate from the question of
whether the list or cart is set to sync to timecode at all.

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeLookbackTime {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If number is not given, return the timecode lookback time of the specified list or cart.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Write: Set the timecode lookback time of the specified list or cart to number seconds. number can be any number greater than
or equal to 0, decimals allowed.

If the specified cue is not a list or cart, this message has no effect. Also, note that this setting is separate from the question of
whether the list or cart is set to sync to timecode at all.

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeSMPTEFormat {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the SMPTE format of the specified list or cart.

Write: If number is given, set the SMPTE format of the list or cart. Valid formats are:

0 - 24 fps
1 - 25 fps
2 - 30 fps drop-frame
3 - 30 fps
4 - 29.97 fps
5 - 29.97 fps drop-frame
6 - 60 fps
7 - 59.94 fps
8 - 60 fps drop-frame
9 - 59.94 fps drop-frame
10 - 50 fps
11 - 23.98 fps

If the specified cue is not a list or cart, this message has no effect. Also, note that this setting is separate from the question of
whether the list or cart is set to sync to timecode at all.

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeStartBehavior {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the timecode start behavior of the specified list or cart.

Write: If number is given, set the timecode start behavior of the list or cart. Valid behaviors are:

0 - do not start cues whose triggers precede the incoming timecode

1 - start cues whose triggers fall within the most recent minute of timecode
2 - start cues whose triggers fall within the most recent hour of timecode
3 - start cues whose triggers fall within the lookback time
4 - start all cues which precede the timecode

If the specified cue is not a list or cart, this message has no effect. Also, note that this setting is separate from the question of
whether the list or cart is set to sync to timecode at all.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeStopBehavior {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the timecode stop behavior of the specified list or cart.

Write: If number is given, set the timecode stop behavior of the list or cart. Valid behaviors are:

0 - do nothing
1 - pause timecode triggered cues
2 - stop timecode triggered cues

If the specified cue is not a list or cart, this message has no effect. Also, note that this setting is separate from the question of
whether the list or cart is set to sync to timecode at all.

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeSyncMode {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the timecode sync mode of the specified list or cart.

Write: If number is given, set the timecode sync mode of the list or cart. Valid timecode sync modes are:

0 - MTC (MIDI timecode)

1 - LTC (Linear timecode)

If the specified cue is not a list or cart, this message has no effect. Also, note that this setting is separate from the question of
whether the list or cart is set to sync to timecode at all.

Audio cue messages

Messages specific to Audio cues. Most of these messages work with Mic cues, Video cues, and Camera cues, as well.

/cue/{cue_number}/addSliceMarker {time} {play_count}

view edit control query +/-?

Add a slice marker to the specified cue. If time is given, add the marker at that time. If not, add the marker at the current time of
the cue. time can be any positive whole or decimal number.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

If play_count is given, set the play count of the new slice (the slice preceding the new marker) to play_count . If play_count is
not given, the play count will be 1 . play_count can be any positive whole number, or -1 to set the slice to infinite loop.

Slice markers are zero-indexed, meaning the first marker of a cue is marker 0.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary describing the specified audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue.

[
{
"name" : "{string}",
"uniqueID" : "{string}",
"routing" : [number,number,number,...]
}
]

The numbers listed for routing are the device output numbers which have cue outputs routed to them. For example, if the patch
is using a device with four outputs, and all four device outputs have cue outputs routed to them, the list will be [1,2,3,4] . If
device output 3 has no cue outputs routed to it, the list will be [1,2,4] .

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/cueOutputChannels {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/cueOutputChannels {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write

Read: If no argument is given, return the number of cue outputs of the audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the number of cue outputs of the audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue to
number , which must be a whole number from 1 to 128.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/level/{inChannel}/{outChannel} {decibel}

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/level/{inChannel}/{outChannel}/live {decibel}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write control

Read: If no argument is given, return the volume level of the specified crosspoint of the audio output patch currently in use by the
specified cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Write: If decibel is given, set the specified crosspoint of the audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue to
decibel . decibel can be any number, decimals allowed, or a string such as -INF. If decibel is a string (any string, in fact) QLab
will set the crosspoint to -INF.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/mute {output} {boolean}

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/mute/{output} {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return TRUE if the device output of the audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue is
muted, or FALSE if it is not.

Write: Mute or unmute the specified device output of the audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue. See details on
booleans at the beginning of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/mute/clear

view edit control query +/-?

read/write

Un-mute all device outputs of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/muteChannels

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return an array of the numbers of device outputs that are muted.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/name {string}

view edit control query +/-?

Set the name of the specified patch to string .

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/reset

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

Reset all faded parameters of the audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue (cue output effects, routing, and device
output effects) to their saved state.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/routing

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only

Return the device output numbers which have cue outputs routed to them. For example, if the patch is using a device with four
outputs, and all four device outputs have cue outputs routed to them, the list will be [1,2,3,4] . If device output 3 has no cue
outputs routed to it, the list will be [1,2,4] .

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/routing/reset

view edit control query +/-?

Reset faded audio levels of the audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue to their saved state.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/solo {output} {boolean}

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/solo/{output} {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return TRUE if the device output of the audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue is
soloed, or FALSE if it is not.

Write: Solo or un-solo the specified device output of the audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue. See details on
booleans at the beginning of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/solo/clear

view edit control query +/-?

read/write

Un-solo all device outputs of the specified cue.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/soloChannels

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return an array of the numbers of device outputs that are soloed.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatch/uniqueID

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return the unique ID of the audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatchName {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the name of the audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue. String "none"
means that the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the name of an audio output patch in the workspace, set the audio output patch of the
specified cue to that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is anything else, this
message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatchNumber {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the index of the audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue. Index 0 means that
the cue is un-patched, index 1 means the first patch in the audio output patch list in Workspace Settings, 2 means the second
patch, and so on.

Write: If number is given, set the audio output patch of the specified cue to that patch. If number is 0 , un-patch the specified
cue. If number is greater than the number of audio output patches in the workspace, this message has no effect. number must be
a whole number.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatchID {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no argument is given, return the patch ID of the audio output patch currently in use by the specified cue. Empty string
( "" ) means that the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the patch ID of an audio output patch in the workspace, set the audio output patch of the
specified cue to that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. For Video and Camera cues which
use an NDI device for output, string may also be "ndi-output" . If string is anything else, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioTrackFormats

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary containing any available metadata about the file target of the specified cue. The exact form and contents
of the dictionary varies depending upon the type of file, but generally includes things like channel count, sample rate, and file
format.

This message may be most helpful when used with Video cues.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioTrackID

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the ID of the track currently in use by the specified cue. This is only relevant if the file target of the specified cue is a video
file which contains multiple audio tracks.

This message may be most helpful when used with Video cues.

/cue/{cue_number}/currentFileTime

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

If the specified cue has a file target, return the current playback time of the target file in seconds.

Examples

If the cue is not running, the playback time is 0 .

If the cue has been playing for ten seconds, and the playback rate of the cue is 1.0 , then the playback time is 10 .

If the cue has been playing for fifteen seconds, and the playback rate of the cue is 0.5 , then the playback time is 7.5 .

/cue/{cue_number}/deleteSliceMarker {index}

/cue/{cue_number}/deleteSliceMarker/{index}
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

Delete slice marker index of the specified cue. index can be zero or any positive whole number.

/cue/{cue_number}/deleteSliceMarkers

view edit control query +/-?

Delete all slice markers of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/doFade {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Use integrated fade checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Enable or disable the integrated fade curve of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/endTime {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the end time of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the end time of the specified cue to number seconds. number can be any whole or decimal number
greater than or equal to zero.

/cue/{cue_number}/gang {inChannel} {outChannel} {gang}

/cue/{cue_number}/gang/{inChannel}/{outChannel} {gang}

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

inChannel is required and must be an integer from 0 to 24 . 0 is the main column.

outChannel is required and must be either an integer from 0 to 128 , or a string that is the name of a cue output. 0 is the main
row.

Read: If no gang is given, return the gang of the specified crosspoint.

Write: If gang is given, set the gang of the specified crosspoint. gang must be a string. While it’s not technically necessary, in
practice at least two crosspoints must have exactly matching gang strings for it to really do anything.

/cue/{cue_number}/infiniteLoop {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return true if the specified cue is set to loop infinitely, and false if it is not.

Write: Set the infinite loop of the specified cue to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/inputChannelName/{number} {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the name of audio input number of the specified cue. Inputs are numbered starting at 1 .

Write: Set the name of input number to string .

/cue/{cue_number}/lastSliceInfiniteLoop {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return true if the last slice of the specified cue is set to loop infinitely, and false if it is not.

Write: Set the infinite loop of the last slice of the specified cue to true or false . See details on booleans at the beginning of this
section.

/cue/{cue_number}/lastSlicePlayCount {number}

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the play count of the last slice of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the play count of the last slice of the specified cue to number . number can be any positive whole
number, or -1 to set the slice to infinite loop.

/cue/{cue_number}/level {inChannel} {outChannel} {decibel}

/cue/{cue_number}/level/{inChannel}/{outChannel} {decibel}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

inChannel is required and must be an integer from 0 to 24. 0 is the main column.

outChannel is required and must be either an integer from 0 to 128, or a string that is the name of a cue output. 0 is the main row.

Read: If no decibel is given, return the volume level of the specified crosspoint.

Write: If decibel is given, set the specified crosspoint to decibel . decibel can be any number, decimals allowed, or a string
such as -INF. If decibel is a string (any string, in fact) QLab will set the crosspoint to -INF,

/cue/{cue_number}/levels

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return all the audio levels currently available in the specified cue’s inspector. The levels are returned as an array of arrays, like so:

[
[ main level, output 1 level, output 2 level, ...],
[ input 1 main level, input 1/output 1 level, input 1/output 2 level, ...],
[ ... ]
]

[ ... ] represents a second row in the crosspoint matrix, which is present if and only if the specified cue has at least two audio
input channels. There could be as many as 24 rows.

Row 0 of /levels is equivalent to the results of the /sliderLevels method.

/cue/{cue_number}/liveAverageLevel/{outputChannel} {low} {high}

/cue/{cue_number}/liveAverageLevel/{outputChannel}/{low}/{high}
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the RMS level of outputChannel . outputChannel can be either the number or name of a cue output.

low and high are optional numerical values. If they are present, they will cause QLab to re-scale the output of this message to a
range of values from low to high .

Examples:

/cue/1/liveAverageLevel/1 0 100 will return the level of cue output 1 of cue 1 on a scale of 0 (silent) to 100 (as loud as
possible).
/ cue/10/liveAverageLevel/center/-20/20 will return the level of the cue output named “center” of cue 10 on a scale of
-20 (silent) to 20 (as loud as possible).

/cue/{cue_number}/lockFadeToCue {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Lock fade to start/end checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Set the state of the Lock fade to start/end checkbox of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this
section.

/cue/{cue_number}/mute {output} {boolean}

/cue/{cue_number}/mute/{output} {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return TRUE if the cue output of the specified cue is muted, or FALSE if it is not.

Write: Mute or unmute the specified cue output of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section. You
can refer to the cue output by its number or its name, if it has one.

/cue/{cue_number}/mute/clear

view edit control query +/-?

read/write

Un-mute all cue outputs of the specified cue.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/muteChannels

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return an array of the numbers of cue outputs that are muted.

/cue/{cue_number}/numChannelsIn

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the number of input channels in the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/patch {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the index of the patch of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the patch of the specified cue. number must be a positive whole number.

Deprecated in QLab 5.0. This message works in QLab 5, but incompletely, and will be removed in a future version of QLab. Use
/audioOutputPatchNumber or /audioOutputPatchID instead.

/cue/{cue_number}/patchList

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Deprecated in QLab 5.0. This command is present for backwards compatibility and will be removed in a future version of QLab.
For now, it is a synonym of /settings/audio/patchList .

/cue/{cue_number}/playCount {number}

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the play count of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the play count (number of times to loop) of the specified cue to number . number can be any whole
number greater than zero.

/cue/{cue_number}/preservePitch {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Preserve pitch checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Enable or disable the Preserve pitch checkbox of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/rate {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/rate/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the rate of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the rate of the specified cue to number . number can be any positive whole or decimal number from
0.03 to 33.0.

Note: If using both increment/decrement and live at the same time, the /live part of the address must come last, after the /+
or /- part.

/cue/{cue_number}/setDefaultLevels

view edit control query +/-?

Set the audio levels of the specified cue to the default levels set in the cue template for the specified cue’s type.

/cue/{cue_number}/setSilentLevels

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Set the audio levels of the specified cue to silent.

/cue/{cue_number}/sliceMarker {index} {time} {play_count}

/cue/{cue_number}/sliceMarker/{index} {time} {play_count}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

index is required and can be zero or any positive whole number.

Read: If time and play_count are not given, return a JSON dictionary listing the time and play count of slice index , like so:

[
{
"time":(time in seconds),
"playCount":(whole number or -1 for infinite loop)
}
]

Write: For the specified cue, set the time of slice marker index to time , and the play count of slice index to play_count .
time can be any positive whole or decimal number. play_count can be any positive whole number, or -1 to set the slice to
infinite loop.

time and play_count must both be given if either one is.

/cue/{cue_number}/sliceMarker/{index}/time {time}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the time of slice marker index of the specified cue.

Write: If time is given, set the time of slice marker index of the specified cue to time . time can be any positive whole or
decimal number.

/cue/{cue_number}/sliceMarker/{index}/playCount {play_count}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the play count of slice index of the specified cue.

Write: If play_count is given, set the play count of slice index of the specified cue to play_count . play_count can be any
positive whole number, or -1 to set the slice to infinite loop.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/sliceMarkers

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: Return a JSON dictionary listing the marker time and play count of all slices of the specified cue:

[
{
"time": number,
"playCount": number
},
{ ... }
]

{ ... } represents a second slice; the number of slices in a cue varies, so the number of items in this dictionary will vary.

Slices end with slice markers. Therefore, time corresponds to the end time of the slice whose playCount is being reported.

Write: The “write” form of this message is only available via the increment/decrement syntax discussed above.

Examples:

/cue/10/sliceMarkers/+ 5 would shift all slice markers in cue 10 to be five seconds later.

/cue/10/sliceMarkers 5 would be invalid, and have no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/sliderLevel {channel} {decibel}

/cue/{cue_number}/sliderLevel/{channel} {decibel}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Get or set a single cue output slider volume level.

outChannel is required and must be either an integer from 0 to 128, or a string that is the name of a cue output. 0 is the main row.

Read: If no decibel is given, return the volume level of the specified cue output.

Write: If decibel is given, set the volume level of channel to decibel . decibel can be any number, decimals allowed, or a
string such as -INF. If decibel is a string (any string, in fact) QLab will set the crosspoint to -INF.

/cue/{cue_number}/sliderLevels

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return an array of the output levels of the specified cue, including the cue main. The array is therefore 65 numbers.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/solo {output} {boolean}

/cue/{cue_number}/solo/{output} {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return TRUE if the cue output of the specified cue is soloed, or FALSE if it is not.

Write: Solo or un-solo the specified cue output of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section. You
can refer to the cue output by its number or its name, if it has one.

/cue/{cue_number}/solo/clear

view edit control query +/-?

read/write

Un-solo all cue outputs of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/soloChannels

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return an array of the numbers of cue outputs that are soloed.

/cue/{cue_number}/startTime {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the start time of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the start time of the specified cue to number seconds. number can be any whole or decimal number
greater than or equal to zero.

Mic cue messages

Messages specific to Mic cues. Mic cues also respond to any Audio cue messages that pertain to the I/O or Levels tabs of the
inspector.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/audioInputPatchName {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the name of the audio input patch currently in use by the specified cue. String "none" means
that the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the name of an audio input patch in the workspace, set the audio input patch of the
specified cue to that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is anything else, this
message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioInputPatchNumber {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read only read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the index of the audio input patch currently in use by the specified cue. Index 0 means that
the cue is un-patched, index 1 means the first patch in the audio input patch list in Workspace Settings, 2 means the second
patch, and so on.

Write: If number is given, set the audio input patch of the specified cue to that patch. If number is 0 , un-patch the specified cue.
If number is greater than the number of audio input patches in the workspace, this message has no effect. number must be a
whole number.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioInputPatchID {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the patch ID of the audio input patch currently in use by the specified cue. Empty string ( "" )
means that the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the patch ID of an audio input patch in the workspace, set the audio input patch of the
specified cue to that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is anything else, this
message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/channelOffset {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read only read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the input channel offset of the specified cue, as set in the I/O tab of the inspector.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Write: If number is given, set the input channel offset of the specified cue to number . number can be any whole number, zero or
greater.

/cue/{cue_number}/channels {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the number of input channels used by the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the number of input channels used by the specified cue to number . number can be any positive
whole number.

/cue/{cue_number}/duration {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/tempDuration {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the duration of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the duration (or temporary duration) of the specified cue to number . number can be any number
greater than zero.

Video cue messages

Messages specific to Video cues. Most of these messages will also work with Camera and Text cues as well.

Video cues will also respond to Audio cue messages, although some Audio cue messages will have no effect if the target video file
does not have an audio track.

/cue/{cue_number}/anchor {x} {y}

/cue/{cue_number}/anchor/live {x} {y}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no arguments are given, return the anchor point of the specified cue.

Write: Set the anchor point of the specified cue to (x,y) . x and y can be any decimal numbers.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/anchor/x {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/anchor/x/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the X-axis anchor point of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the X-axis anchor point of the specified cue to number . number can be any decimal number.

Note: If using both increment/decrement and live at the same time, the /live part of the address must come last, after the /+
or /- part.

/cue/{cue_number}/anchor/y {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/anchor/y/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the Y-axis anchor point of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the Y-axis anchor point of the specified cue to number . number can be any decimal number.

Note: If using both increment/decrement and live at the same time, the /live part of the address must come last, after the /+
or /- part.

/cue/{cue_number}/blendMode {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read only read/write read only

Read: If no argument is given, return the blend mode of the specified cue.

Write: If string is given, set the blend mode of the specified cue to string . string must be the name of a blend mode, a list of
which can be found in the Parameter Reference page of this manual.

/cue/{cue_number}/clockType {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read only read/write read only

Read: If no argument is given, return the clock type used by the specified cue (either audio or video.)

Write: If string is given, set the clock type of the specified cue to string . string can be either “audio” or “video”.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

NOTE: There are two alternate forms of this message: /cue/{cue_number}/clockType/audio and
/cue/{cue_number}/clockType/video which allow you to set the clock type of a cue without needing an argument. This form may

be easier to use with some OSC-sending clients.

/cue/{cue_number}/crop {top} {bottom} {left} {right}

/cue/{cue_number}/crop/live {top} {bottom} {left} {right}

view edit control query +/-? live

read only read/write read only edit, control

Read: If no arguments are given, return the current crop for the specified cue. Crop values are expressed in terms of numbers of
pixels counting inwards from each edge of the cue. So 0,0,0,0 is a cue that isn’t cropped at all, and 10,20,30,40 is a cue that is
cropped 10 pixels in from the top, 20 pixels in from the bottom, 30 pixels in from the left side, and 40 pixels in from the right side.

Write: If top , bottom , left , and right are given, set the crop of the specified cue to those values. Each value must be a
number, and all four values must be given.

/cue/{cue_number}/cropTop {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/cropTop/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read only read/write read only edit, control

Read: If no argument is given, return the current crop for the top edge of specified cue. Crop values are expressed in terms of
numbers of pixels counting inwards from each edge of the cue, so a cropTop of 10 means that the top ten pixels of the cue are
cropped out.

Write: If number is given, set the top crop of the specified cue to number . number can be any number.

/cue/{cue_number}/cropBottom {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/cropBottom/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read only read/write read only edit, control

Read: If no argument is given, return the current crop for the bottom edge of specified cue. Crop values are expressed in terms of
numbers of pixels counting inwards from each edge of the cue, so a cropBottom of 10 means that the bottom ten pixels of the cue
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

are cropped out.

Write: If number is given, set the bottom crop of the specified cue to number . number can be any number.

/cue/{cue_number}/cropLeft {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/cropLeft/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read only read/write read only edit, control

Read: If no argument is given, return the current crop for the left edge of specified cue. Crop values are expressed in terms of
numbers of pixels counting inwards from each edge of the cue, so a cropLeft of 10 means that the left ten pixels of the cue are
cropped out.

Write: If number is given, set the left crop of the specified cue to number . number can be any number.

/cue/{cue_number}/cropRight {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/cropRight/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read only read/write read only edit, control

Read: If no argument is given, return the current crop for the right edge of specified cue. Crop values are expressed in terms of
numbers of pixels counting inwards from each edge of the cue, so a cropRight of 10 means that the right ten pixels of the cue are
cropped out.

Write: If number is given, set the right crop of the specified cue to number . number can be any number.

/cue/{cue_number}/cueSize

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the natural size of the cue’s video frame:

{
"width": number,
"height": number
}

/cue/{cue_number}/cueSize/height
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/cueSize/height/live

view edit control query +/-? live

read only read only read only control

Return the height of the natural size of the cue’s video frame.

/cue/{cue_number}/cueSize/width

/cue/{cue_number}/cueSize/width/live

view edit control query +/-? live

read only read only read only control

Return the width of the natural size of the cue’s video frame.

/cue/{cue_number}/fillStage {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return true if the specified cue is set to play in full-stage mode, or false if it is not.

Write: Set the full-stage mode of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/fillStyle {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the fill style of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the fill style mode of the specified cue. Valid styles are:

0 - Fit
1 - Fill
2 - Stretch

/cue/{cue_number}/holdLastFrame {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no argument is given, return true if the specified cue is set to hold last frame, or false if it is not.

Write: Set the state of the Hold last frame checkbox of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/layer {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the layer of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the layer of the specified cue to number . number can be any whole number from 0 to 1000. Layer 0
is the “bottom” layer and layer 1000 is the “top” layer.

/cue/{cue_number}/opacity {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/opacity/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the opacity of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the opacity of the specified cue to number . number can be any decimal number from 0 to 1, where 0
represents 0% opacity and 1 represents 100% opacity.

Note: If using both increment/decrement and live at the same time, the /live part of the address must come last, after the /+
or /- part.

/cue/{cue_number}/origin {x} {y}

/cue/{cue_number}/origin/live {x} {y}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no arguments are given, return the anchor point of the specified cue.

Write: Set the anchor point of the specified cue to (x,y) . x and y can be any decimal numbers.

Deprecated in QLab 5.0.2. This command is present for backwards compatibility and will be removed in a future version of QLab.
For now, it is a synonym of /cue/{cue_number}/anchor .

/cue/{cue_number}/origin/x {number}
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/origin/x/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the X-axis anchor point of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the X-axis anchor point of the specified cue to number . number can be any decimal number.

Note: If using both increment/decrement and live at the same time, the /live part of the address must come last, after the /+
or /- part.

Deprecated in QLab 5.0.2. This command is present for backwards compatibility and will be removed in a future version of QLab.
For now, it is a synonym of /cue/{cue_number}/anchor/x .

/cue/{cue_number}/origin/y {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/origin/y/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the Y-axis anchor point of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the Y-axis anchor point of the specified cue to number . number can be any decimal number.

Note: If using both increment/decrement and live at the same time, the /live part of the address must come last, after the /+
or /- part.

Deprecated in QLab 5.0.2. This command is present for backwards compatibility and will be removed in a future version of QLab.
For now, it is a synonym of /cue/{cue_number}/anchor/y .

/cue/{cue_number}/preserveAspectRatio {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the scale ratio lock of the specified cue.

Write: Set the state of the scale ratio lock of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/quaternion {a} {b} {c} {d}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no arguments are given, return an array of four numbers representing the cue’s rotation as a quaternion.

Write: If four numbers are given ( a , b , c , and d ), set the rotation of the specified cue. Each number can be any number,
decimals allowed.

Caution: you need to understand quaternion math to make any meaningful use of this message. Quaternion math is really hard.
Good luck!

/cue/{cue_number}/resetRotation

view edit control query +/-?

Reset the rotation of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/rotate/x {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/rotate/y {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/rotate/z {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/rotate/x/live {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/rotate/y/live {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/rotate/z/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

control

Add number to the current quaternion rotation of the specified cue. number can be any decimal number.

Note: If using both increment/decrement and live at the same time, the /live part of the address must come last, after the /+
or /- part.

/cue/{cue_number}/scale {x} {y}

/cue/{cue_number}/scale/live {x} {y}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no arguments are given, return the scale of the specified cue.

Write: If x and y are given, set the scale of the specified cue to (x,y) . x and y can be any number, decimals allowed.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/scale/x {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/scale/x/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the X-axis scale of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the X-axis scale of the specified cue to number . number can be any number, decimals allowed.

Note: If using both increment/decrement and live at the same time, the /live part of the address must come last, after the /+
or /- part.

/cue/{cue_number}/scale/y {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/scale/y/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the Y-axis scale of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the Y-axis scale of the specified cue to number . number can be any number, decimals allowed.

Note: If using both increment/decrement and live at the same time, the /live part of the address must come last, after the /+
or /- part.

/cue/{cue_number}/smooth {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Smooth checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: If boolean is given, enable or disable the Smooth checkbox on the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning
of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/stage

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary containing all available information of the stage that the specified cue is assigned to. The exact contents
of this dictionary can vary widely, but generally includes information such as the name, size, and warping details for all regions, the
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

size and gamma of edge blend zones, control point positions and link information, and so on.

/cue/{cue_number}/stage/name {string}

/cue/{cue_number}/stageName {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the name of the video stage currently in use by the specified cue. String "none" means that
the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the name of a video stage in the workspace, set the video stage of the specified cue to that
stage. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is anything else, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/stage/size

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return a JSON dictionary describing the size of stage in use by the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/stage/size/height

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return the height of stage in use by the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/stage/size/width

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return the width of stage in use by the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/stageNumber {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no argument is given, return the index of the video stage currently in use by the specified cue. Index 0 means that the cue
is un-patched, index 1 means the first stage in the video stage list in Workspace Settings, 2 means the second stage, and so on.

Write: If number is given, set the video stage of the specified cue to that stage. If number is 0 , un-patch the specified cue. If
number is greater than the number of video stages in the workspace, this message has no effect. number must be a whole
number.

/cue/{cue_number}/stage/uniqueID

view edit control query

read only read only read only

Return the unique ID of the stage in use by the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/stageID {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the stage ID of the video stage currently in use by the specified cue. Empty string ( "" ) means
that the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the stage ID of a video stage in the workspace, set the video stage of the specified cue to
that stage. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is anything else, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/surfaceID

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Deprecated in QLab 5.0. This command is present for backwards compatibility and will be removed in a future version of QLab. For
now, it is a synonym of /cue/{cue_number}/stageID .

/cue/{cue_number}/surfaceList

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Deprecated in QLab 5.0. This command is present for backwards compatibility and will be removed in a future version of QLab. For
now, it is a synonym of /settings/video/stages .

/cue/{cue_number}/surfaceName {string}
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Deprecated in QLab 5.0. This command is present for backwards compatibility and will be removed in a future version of QLab. For
now, it is a synonym of /cue/{cue_number}/stageName .

/cue/{cue_number}/surfaceSize

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Deprecated in QLab 5.0. This command is present for backwards compatibility and will be removed in a future version of QLab. For
now, it is a synonym of /cue/{cue_number}/stage/size .

/cue/{cue_number}/translation {x} {y}

/cue/{cue_number}/translation/live {x} {y}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no arguments are given, return the translation of the specified cue.

Write: If x and y are given, set the translation of the specified cue to (x,y) . x and y can be any numbers, decimals allowed.

/cue/{cue_number}/translation/x {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/translation/x/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the X-axis translation of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the X-axis translation of the specified cue to number . number can be any number, decimals allowed.

Note: If using both increment/decrement and live at the same time, the /live part of the address must come last, after the /+
or /- part.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/translation/y {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/translation/y/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the Y-axis translation of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the Y-axis translation of the specified cue to number . number can be any number, decimals allowed.

Note: If using both increment/decrement and live at the same time, the /live part of the address must come last, after the /+
or /- part.

/cue/{cue_number}/videoEffects

/cue/{cue_number}/videoEffects/live

view edit control query +/-? live

read only read only read only control

Return a list of the video effects in use by the specified cue.

Video effects have OSC-compatible names which can be discovered by hovering your mouse over a video effect currently in use in
the Video FX tab of the inspector, or in the video effects section of the Parameter Reference page of this manual.

/cue/{number}/videoEffects/add {name}

view edit control query +/-?

Add a video effect, specified by name , to the specified cue. If the cue already has one or more video effects in use, the new video
effect will be added as the last video effect. name must be the OSC name of a video effect in QLab, a list of which can be found in
the video effects section of the Parameter Reference page of this manual.

/cue/{number}/videoEffects/insert {name} {index}

view edit control query +/-?

Add a video effect, specified by name , to the specified cue at position index . Video effects are zero-indexed; the first video
effect on a cue is at position 0 . If there is already a video effect at position index , that effect and any effects after it will be
pushed down by one, and the new effect will occupy position index . If index is greater than one plus the number of video
effects currently in use by the cue, the new effect will be added as the last video effect. name must be the OSC name of a video
effect in QLab and index must be a whole number, 0 or higher.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{number}/videoEffect/{name}/delete

view edit control query +/-?

Remote the video effect named name from the specified cue. If there is no video effect of the specified name in use by the cue,
this message has no effect. If there is more that one video effect with the same name in use by the cue, this command addresses
the first instance of the video effect.

/cue/{number}/videoEffectIndex/{index}/delete

view edit control query +/-?

Remote the video effect at position index from the specified cue. Video effects are zero indexed; the first video effect on a cue is
at position 0 . If there is no video effect at position index , this message has no effect. index must be a whole number, 0 or
higher.

/cue/{number}/videoEffect/{name}/enabled {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return true if the specified video effect on the specified cue is enabled, and false if it is not. The
video effect is specified by name which is the OSC name of the video effect.

Write: If boolean is given, enable or disable the specified video effect on the specified cue. See details on booleans at the
beginning of this section.

/cue/{number}/videoEffectIndex/{index}/enabled {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return true if the specified video effect on the specified cue is enabled, and false if it is not. The
video effect is specified by index which is a zero-indexed count of the video effects in use by the cue.

Write: If boolean is given, enable or disable the specified video effect on the specified cue. See details on booleans at the
beginning of this section.

/cue/{number}/videoEffect/{name}/move {newIndex}

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

Move the video effect specified by name to position newIndex . If newIndex is greater than one plus the number of video effects
currently in use by the cue, the effect will be moved to the end of the list of video effects. name must correspond to a video effect
in use by the cue, and newIndex must be a whole number, 0 or higher. If there is more that one video effect with the same name
in use by the cue, this command addresses the first instance of the video effect.

/cue/{number}/videoEffectIndex/{index}/move {newIndex}

view edit control query +/-?

Move the video effect at position index to position newIndex . If newIndex is greater than one plus the number of video effects
currently in use by the cue, the effect will be moved to the end of the list of video effects. index must correspond to a position of
a video effect, and both index and newIndex must be whole numbers, 0 or higher.

/cue/{number}/videoEffect/{name}/parameter/{parameterKey} {setting}

/cue/{number}/videoEffect/{name}/parameter/{parameterKey}/live {setting}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the current setting or value for the given parameter of the specified video effect on the
specified cue. parameterKey must be the OSC parameter name of the specified video effect. The video effect is specified by
name which is the OSC name of the video effect.

Write: If setting is given, set the value of the given parameter of the specified video effect on the specified cue to setting .
setting must be valid for the given parameter. parameterKey must be the OSC parameter name of the specified video effect.
The video effect is specified by name which is the OSC name of the video effect.

/cue/{number}/videoEffectIndex/{index}/parameter/{parameterKey} {setting}

/cue/{number}/videoEffectIndex/{index}/parameter/{parameterKey}/live {setting}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the current setting or value for the given parameter of the specified video effect on the
specified cue. parameterKey must be the OSC parameter name of the specified video effect. The video effect is specified by
index which is a zero-indexed count of the video effects in use by the cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Write: If setting is given, set the value of the given parameter of the specified video effect on the specified cue to setting .
setting must be valid for the given parameter. parameterKey must be the OSC parameter name of the specified video effect.
The video effect is specified by index .

/cue/{number}/videoEffect/{name}/parameters {json_string}

/cue/{number}/videoEffect/{name}/parameters/live {json_string}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return a JSON string containing the names and current settings or values for the given parameter of
the specified video effect on the specified cue in the form {"parameter1_name":value,"parameter2_name",value...} . The video
effect is specified by name which is the OSC name of the video effect.

Write: If json_string is given, set the value of the parameters of the specified video effect on the specified cue according to
json_string . json_string must be formatted appropriately and contain only valid parameter names and values for the specified
video effect. The video effect is specified by name which is the OSC name of the video effect.

Example

Assuming cue 1 is a Video cue with the Color Controls video effect, the following OSC message would appropriately set all four
parameters of that video effect:

/cue/1/videoEffect/ColorControls/parameters "
{\"inputContrast\":1,\"inputAngle\":0,\"inputBrightness\":0.25,\"inputSaturation\":1}"

Note the backslashes surrounding most of the quotation marks; these are necessary because those quotation marks are part of the
JSON string that needs to be sent, but QLab uses quotation marks to denote the beginning and end of a text string in OSC
messages. The backslashes tell QLab’s OSC interpreter to send the quote as part of the string and not use it to mark the end of the
string.

/cue/{number}/videoEffectIndex/{index}/parameters {json_string}

/cue/{number}/videoEffectIndex/{index}/parameters/live {json_string}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return a JSON string containing the names and current settings or values for the given parameter of
the specified video effect on the specified cue in the form {"parameter1_name":value,"parameter2_name",value...} . The video
effect is specified by index which is a zero-indexed count of the video effects in use by the cue.

Write: If json_string is given, set the value of the parameters of the specified video effect on the specified cue according to
json_string . json_string must be formatted appropriately and contain only valid parameter names and values for the specified
video effect. The video effect is specified by index which is a zero-indexed count of the video effects in use by the cue.

Example
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Assuming cue 1 is a Video cue with the Color Controls video effect, the following OSC message would appropriately set all four
parameters of that video effect:

/cue/1/videoEffect/0/parameters "
{\"inputContrast\":1,\"inputAngle\":0,\"inputBrightness\":0.25,\"inputSaturation\":1}"

Note the backslashes surrounding most of the quotation marks; these are necessary because those quotation marks are part of the
JSON string that needs to be sent, but QLab uses quotation marks to denote the beginning and end of a text string in OSC
messages. The backslashes tell QLab’s OSC interpreter to send the quote as part of the string and not use it to mark the end of the
string.

Camera cue messages

Messages specific to Camera cues. Camera cues also respond to Audio cue, Mic cue, and Video cue messages that pertain to the
I/O, Geometry, Levels, and Video FX tabs of the inspector.

/cue/{cue_number}/cameraPatch {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Deprecated in QLab 5.0. This message works in QLab 5, but incompletely, and will be removed in a future version of QLab. Use
/videoInputPatchNumber or /videoInputPatchID instead.

/cue/{cue_number}/duration {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/tempDuration {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the duration of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the duration (or temporary duration) of the specified cue to number . number can be any number
greater than zero.

/cue/{cue_number}/videoInputPatchName {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the name of the video input patch currently in use by the specified cue. String "none" means
that the cue is un-patched.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Write: If string is given and matches the name of a video input patch in the workspace, set the video input patch of the specified
cue to that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is anything else, this message has no

effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/videoInputPatchNumber {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the index of the video input patch currently in use by the specified cue. Index 0 means that
the cue is un-patched, index 1 means the first patch in the patch list in Workspace Settings, 2 means the second patch, and so
on.

Write: If number is given, set the video input patch of the specified cue to that patch. If number is 0 , un-patch the video input of
the specified cue. If number is greater than the number of video input patches in the workspace, this message has no effect.
number must be a whole number.

/cue/{cue_number}/videoInputPatchID {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the patch ID of the video input patch currently in use by the specified cue. Empty string ( "" )
means that the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the patch ID of a video input patch in the workspace, set the video input patch of the
specified cue to that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is anything else, this
message has no effect.

Text cue messages

Messages specific to Text cues. Text cues also respond to Video cue messages that pertain to the I/O, Geometry, and Video FX tabs
of the inspector.

/cue/{cue_number}/fixedWidth {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no argument is given, return the width of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, and is greater than 0, set the fixed width of the specified cue to number . If number equals 0, set the
width of the specified cue to automatic. number can be any number greater than or equal to zero, decimals allowed.

/cue/{cue_number}/text {string}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/live {string}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the text of the specified cue.

Write: If string is given, set the text of the specified cue to string . When setting text, the formatting of the new text will match
the first character of the existing text.

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format {json_string}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/live {json_string}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return an array of JSON dictionaries describing each substring in the text of the specified cue. A
substring, in this case, is defined as a subset of the text with uniform format attributes. If the entire text string is uniformly
formatted, the array will have only one dictionary.

[
{
"fontFamily": string,
"fontStyle": string,
"fontName": string,
"fontSize": number,
"lineSpacing": number,
"color": [red, green, blue, alpha],
"range": [index, length]
},
{ ... }
]

color is an array of four numbers, each from 0 to 1, decimals allowed, representing a percentage value for that parameter.

range is an array of two numbers; index is the position of the first character of the substring within the entire text of the cue (the
first character in the cue’s text has an index of 0 ), and length is the total number of characters in the substring.

{ ... } represents a second substring; the number of substrings in a Text cue varies, so the number of items in this dictionary will
vary. If the entire text of the cue is uniformly formatted, the array will have only one dictionary.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Write: If json_string is given, this command can be used to set the formatting of the whole text or a substring of the specified
cue. range is optional; if omitted, the message will apply to the whole text of the cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/alignment {alignment}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/alignment/live {alignment}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the alignment of the specified cue.

Write: If alignment is given, set the text alignment of the specified cue to alignment . Valid alignments are left , center ,
right , or justify .

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamily

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamily/live

view edit control query +/-? live

read only read only read only control

Return the font family name (“Helvetica”, “Courier New”, etc.) used in the text of the specified cue.

This command has several optional alternate forms:

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamily/{index}/{length}

index is a whole number or a percentage (e.g. 53% ) which specifies the start of a substring. The first character is index 0 .

length is a whole number or percentage which specifies the length of that substring, or is -1 which specifies “to the end of the
string”

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamily/word/{word_index}

word_index is a whole number which specifies a single word within the text of the cue. The first word is word 0 .

Examples

/cue/1/text/format/fontFamily/4/12 will return the font family name used for characters 5 through 17 of the text of cue 1.

/cue/10/text/format/fontFamily/25%/75% will return the font family name used for the latter 75% of the text of cue 10.

/cue/12/text/format/fontFamily/word/8 will return the font family name used for the eighth word in the the text of cue 10.

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontStyle

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontStyle/live
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-? live

read only read only read only control

Return the style (“Bold Oblique”, “Regular”, etc.) used in the text of the specified cue.

This command may also use the optional /{index}/{length} and /word/{word_index} forms as described above in the entry for
/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamily .

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamilyAndStyle {family} {style}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamilyAndStyle/live {family} {style}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no arguments are given, return the font family and style for the text of the specified cue.

Write: If family and style are given, set the font family and style of the text of the specified cue to family and style .
Individual commands for font family and style are not available because the combination of both values is required to reliably
describe an individual font.

This command may also use the optional /{index}/{length} and /word/{word_index} forms as described above in the entry for
/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamily .

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontName {name}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontName/live {name}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the name of the font used for the text of the specified cue.

Write: If name is given, set the font of the text of the specified cue.

This command may also use the optional /{index}/{length} and /word/{word_index} forms as described above in the entry for
/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamily .

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontSize {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontSize/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no argument is given, return the font size of the text of the specified cue.

Write: If number is specified, set the font size of the text of the specified cue to number .

This command may also use the optional /{index}/{length} and /word/{word_index} forms as described above in the entry for
/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamily .

Note: If using both increment/decrement and live at the same time, the /live part of the address must come last, after the /+
or /- part.

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/lineSpacing {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/lineSpacing/live {number}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the line spacing of the text of the specified cue.

Write: If number is specified, set the line spacing of the text of the specified cue to number .

This command may also use the optional /{index}/{length} and /word/{word_index} forms as described above in the entry for
/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamily , although it only works if you index the first word or character in a line. It’s also
important to remember that the invisible “return” character at the end of a line (created by pressing the “return” key) counts as a
character.

Note: If using both increment/decrement and live at the same time, the /live part of the address must come last, after the /+
or /- part.

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/color {red} {green} {blue} {alpha}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/backgroundColor {red} {green} {blue} {alpha}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/strikethroughColor {red} {green} {blue} {alpha}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/underlineColor {red} {green} {blue} {alpha}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/color/live {red} {green} {blue} {alpha}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/backgroundColor/live {red} {green} {blue} {alpha}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/strikethroughColor/live {red} {green} {blue} {alpha}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/underlineColor/live {red} {green} {blue} {alpha}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no arguments are given, return the color for the given attribute of the text of the specified cue.

Write: If red , green , blue , and alpha are specified, set the color for the given attribute of the text of the specified cue.

red , green , blue , and alpha must be numbers between 0.0 and 1.0, decimals allowed, where 1.0 is the maximum level. Thus, 1
0 0 1 is primary red, and 1 1 1 0.5 is white at 50% transparency.

This command may also use the optional /{index}/{length} and /word/{word_index} forms as described above in the entry for
/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamily .

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/strikethroughStyle {style}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/strikethroughStyle/live {style}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the strikethrough style for the text of the specified cue.

Write: If style is given, set the strikethrough style of the text of the specified cue to style . style may be none , single , or
double .

This command may also use the optional /{index}/{length} and /word/{word_index} forms as described above in the entry for
/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamily .

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/underlineStyle {style}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/underlineStyle/live {style}

view edit control query +/-? live

read read/write read control

Read: If no argument is given, return the underline style for the text of the specified cue.

Write: If style is given, set the underline style of the text of the specified cue to style . style may be none , single , or
double .

This command may also use the optional /{index}/{length} and /word/{word_index} forms as described above in the entry for
/cue/{cue_number}/text/format/fontFamily .

/cue/{cue_number}/text/outputSize

/cue/{cue_number}/text/outputSize/live

view edit control query +/-? live

read only read only read only control

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Return a JSON dictionary describing the width and height of the text of the specified cue:

{
"width": number,
"height": number
}

/cue/{cue_number}/text/outputSize/height

/cue/{cue_number}/text/outputSize/height/live

view edit control query +/-? live

read only read only read only control

Return the height of the text of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/text/outputSize/width

/cue/{cue_number}/text/outputSize/width/live

view edit control query +/-? live

read only read only read only control

Return the width of the text of the specified cue.

Light cue messages

Messages specific to Light cues.

/cue/{cue_number}/alwaysCollate {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return true if the Collate effects of previous light cues checkbox of the specified cue checked, and
false if it is not.

Write: Set the state of the Collate effects of previous light cues checkbox of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the
beginning of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/collateAndStart
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

Collate and start the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/lightCommandText {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the full command text of the specified cue.

Write: If string is given, set the full command text of the specified cue to string .

/cue/{cue_number}/prune

/cue/{cue_number}/pruneCommands

view edit control query +/-?

Prune the command text of the specified cue. Pruning removes any commands which have no effect.

Example

Take for example a Light cue containing these commands:

myLight.intensity = 50
myLight.intensity = 100

Running this light cue would result in myLight.intensity being set to 100 , since light commands are interpreted sequentially.
Pruning this Light cue would remove the first command, since it is obviated by the second command.

/cue/{cue_number}/removeLightCommandsMatching {string}

view edit control query +/-?

If the specified cue contains a command that matches string , remove that command. Otherwise, do nothing.

/cue/{cue_number}/replaceLightCommand {old_command} {new_command}

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

If the specified cue contains a light command matching old_command , replace that command with new_command . Both
old_command and new_command must be strings which are valid light commands. If the specified cue does not have a command
matching old_command , this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/safeSort

/cue/{cue_number}/safeSortCommands

view edit control query +/-?

Lexically (alphanumerically) sort the command text of the specified cue, as long as sorting doesn’t change the cue’s output.

/cue/{cue_number}/setLight {string} {setting}

view edit control query +/-?

Add a command to the specified cue in the form string = setting . string can be the name of an instrument or group, with or
without a parameter. setting must be an acceptable value for the specified parameter of the specified instrument or group.

/cue/{cue_number}/subcontroller {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Use as subcontroller in dashboard checkbox for the specified cue.

Write: Set the the state of the Use as subcontroller in dashboard checkbox for the specified cue. See details on booleans at the
beginning of this section.

Fade cue messages

Messages specific to Fade cues. Fade cues also respond to most of the OSC messages that their targets respond to. For example, a
Fade cue which targets an Audio cue will respond to /levels , and a Fade cue which targets a Video cue will respond to
/opacity .
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/doOpacity {boolean}

/cue/{cue_number}/doRate {boolean}

/cue/{cue_number}/doRotation {boolean}

/cue/{cue_number}/doScale {boolean}

/cue/{cue_number}/doTranslation {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the relevant geometry parameter checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Set the state of the geometry parameter checkboxes of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this
section.

/cue/{cue_number}/fadeType {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the fade type of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the fade type of the specified cue. Valid types are:

1 - 1D fade (curve)
2 - 2D fade (path)

/cue/{cue_number}/geoMode {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the geometry fade mode of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the geometry fade mode of the specified cue. Valid modes are:

0 - absolute fade
1 - relative fade

/cue/{cue_number}/levelsMode {number}

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the audio fade mode of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the audio fade mode of the specified cue. Valid modes are:

0 - absolute fade
1 - relative fade.

/cue/{cue_number}/mode {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Deprecated in QLab 5.0. This command is present for backwards compatibility and will be removed in a future version of QLab.
For now, it is a synonym of /levelsMode .

/cue/{cue_number}/pathHeight {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the path height of the specified cue. If the specified cue is not a 2D fade, this message has no
effect.

Write: If number is given, set the path height of the specified cue. number can be any positive number.

/cue/{cue_number}/pathWidth {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the path width of the specified cue. If the specified cue is not a 2D fade, this message has no
effect.

Write: If number is given, set the path width of the specified cue. number can be any positive number.

/cue/{cue_number}/rotation {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no argument is given, and the specified cue is using single-axis rotation, return the current rotation of the specified cue. If
the specified cue is not using single-axis rotation, return 0 .

Write: If number is given, and if the specified cue is using single-axis rotation, set the rotation in degrees to number . If the
specified cue is not using single-axis rotation, this message has no effect.

To work with Fade cues using 3D orientation, use /quaternion or /rotate{N} .

/cue/{cue_number}/rotationType {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the rotation type of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the rotation type of the specified cue to number . Valid rotation types are:

0 - 3D orientation
1 - X rotation
2 - Y rotation
3 - Z rotation

/cue/{cue_number}/setGeometryFromTarget

view edit control query +/-?

Set the geometry of the specified cue to the geometry of its target cue. If the target cue has no geometry, this message has no
effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/setLevelsFromTarget

view edit control query +/-?

Set the audio levels, trim, and gangs of the specified cue to match those of its target. If the target cue has no audio levels, this
message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/stopTargetWhenDone {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Stop target when done checkbox of the specified cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Write: Set the state of the Stop target when done checkbox of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this
section.

/cue/{cue_number}/willFade {row} {column} {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no arguments are given, return all the currently active crosspoints in the specified cue. The levels are returned as an array
of arrays, like so: [row0Array, row1Array, row2Array, ...]

If row and column are given, but not boolean , return the active state of crosspoint { row , column }.

row must be an integer from 0 to 24. 0 is the main column.

column must be either an integer from 0 to 128, or a string that is the name of a cue output. 0 is the main row.

Write: If number , row and column are all given, set the active state (i.e. yellow or grey) of crosspoint { row , column }. See details
on booleans at the beginning of this section.

Network cue messages

Messages specific to Network cues.

/cue/{cue_number}/customString {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the message of the specified cue.

Write: If string is given, and the specified cue’s patch is set to “OSC Message,” set the OSC message of the specified cue to
string . If string is given, and the specified cue’s patch is set to “Plain Text,” set the text of the specified cue to string . In all
other cases, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/fadeEntries {array_of_values}

/cue/{cue_number}/fadeEntries {json_string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return a JSON array of point dictionaries comprising the complete set of fade handles for the
specified cue’s fade shape or path.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

[
{"x": number, "y": number},

{"x": number, "y": number},

{ ... }
]

Write: If array_of_values or json_string is given, define the fade curve (1D) or path (2D) of the fade, which in turn defines the
values sent by the specified cue when it runs. If the cue has a preexisting set of point values, setting new ones with this message
entirely replaces the previous set.

Points can be represented as a single string in the form "{x,y}" , as a two number array in the form [x,y] , or as a JSON
dictionary with numeric values for keys x and y .

For 1D fades, x must be a value between 0 and the fade duration (in seconds), and y must be a value between the starting value
and ending value specified in the cue. Any invalid point value returns an error status. The array of points must include both the
starting and ending points of the fade, i.e. an entry where x is 0.0 and an entry where x is equal to the fade duration.

For 2D fades, x and y can be any number, decimals allowed.

/cue/{cue_number}/fadeFrom {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the starting value for the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, and the specified cue is set to 1D fade, set the starting value for the fade. If the specified cue is not set to
1D fade, this message has no effect. number can be any number within the appropriate range for the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/fadeNumberType {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the number format of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, and the specified cue is set to fade, set the format of the values sent by the specified cue. number can
be one of the following:

0 - Integers
1 - Floats
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

If the specified cue is not set to fade, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/fadeTo {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the ending value for the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, and the specified cue is set to 1D fade, set the ending value for the fade. If the specified cue is not set to
1D fade, this message has no effect. number can be any number within the appropriate range for the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/fadeType {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the fade type of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, and the specified cue can be set to fade, set the fade type of the specified cue to number . number can
be one of the following:

0 - No Fade/Resend
1 - 1D Fade
2 - 2D Fade

If the specified cue cannot fade, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/fps {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the frame rate of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the frame rate at which messages are sent by the specified cue. number must be a whole number
from 1 to 120.

/cue/{cue_number}/message

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Return the completed message that will be sent by the specified cue, as displayed towards the bottom of the Settings tab of the
inspector, next to the Copy button. This can be most helpful when examining Network cues whose patches use network device
descriptions.

/cue/{cue_number}/messageError

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

If the specified cue is a Network cue with an invalid outgoing message, return the yellow error message found towards the bottom
of the Settings tab of the inspector.

/cue/{cue_number}/networkPatchName {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the name of the network patch currently in use by the specified cue. String "none" means
that the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the name of a network patch in the workspace, set the network patch of the specified cue
to that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is anything else, this message has no
effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/networkPatchNumber {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the index of the network patch currently in use by the specified cue. Index 0 means that the
cue is un-patched, index 1 means the first patch in the patch list in Workspace Settings, 2 means the second patch, and so on.

Write: If number is given, set the network patch of the specified cue to that patch. If number is 0 , un-patch the specified cue. If
number is greater than the number of network patches in the workspace, this message has no effect. number must be a whole
number.

/cue/{cue_number}/networkPatchID {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the patch ID of the network patch currently in use by the specified cue. Empty string ( "" )
means that the cue is un-patched.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Write: If string is given and matches the patch ID of a network patch in the workspace, set the network patch of the specified
cue to that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is anything else, this message has no

effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/parameterFadeEnabled/{index} {boolean}

/cue/{cue_number}/parameterFadeEnabled/{key} {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return true if the specified parameter of the specified cue is set to fade, and false if it is not.

Write: Enabled or disable fading for the specified parameter of the specified cue. There are two ways to identify the parameter in
question:

index is a 0-based counter which counts the parameters in a Network cue from top to bottom, counting visible parameters
only.
key refers to the key name of the parameter, which is sometimes different from its display name.

If a parameter that is not fade-able is specified, this message will have no effect.

See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/parameterFadesEnabled {array_of_values}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return an array of boolean values representing the state of the Fade checkboxes for all parameters of
the specified cue.

Write: If array_of_values is given, set the state of the Fade checkboxes for all parameters in the specified cue. The array must be
booleans, and values are applied only to the fade-able parameters from top to bottom in the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/parameterValue/{index} {value}

/cue/{cue_number}/parameterValue/{key} {value}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read (mixed)

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no argument is given, return the value for the specified parameter of the specified cue.

Write: If value is given, set it as the value for the specified parameter of the specified cue. There are two ways to specify a
parameter:

index is a 0-based counter which counts the parameters in a Network cue from top to bottom, counting visible parameters
only.

key refers to the key name of the parameter, which is sometimes different from its display name.

value must be formatted according to the requirements of the parameter being set. That is to say, if the command specifies a
parameter which requires string input, such as cue name, then value must be a string. This command can only use
increment/decrement syntax when value is a number.

When setting a parameter with values of type "point" , value can be a string in the form "{x,y}" , a two number array in the
form [x,y] , or a JSON dictionary with numeric values for keys x and y .

When setting a parameter with values of type "menu" , value can either be the display name or the key name of the menu item.
For example, these two OSC messages are equivalent: /cue/1/parameterValue/0 "Workspace Settings" and
/cue/1/parameterValue/0 "settings" .

NOTE: If fading is enabled for the specified parameter, the value returned for that parameter is null . The actual values are
generated by the cue when it runs.

If value is improperly formatted or otherwise invalid, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/parameterValues {array_of_values}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return a JSON-formatted array of values for the parameters of the specified cue.

Write: If array_of_values is given, set the values for all parameters of the specified cue. The array must be equal in size to the
number of parameters of the specified cue, and each item in the array must be of the appropriate type and in the appropriate
range of values for each given parameter. That is to say, if the specified cue is expecting two integers and a string, then
array_of_values must be [{integer}, {integer}, {string}] .

If array_of_values is improperly formatted or otherwise invalid, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/patch {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Deprecated in QLab 5.0. This message works in QLab 5, but incompletely, and will be removed in a future version of QLab. Use
/networkPatchNumber or /networkPatchID instead.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/patchList

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Deprecated in QLab 5.0. This command is present for backwards compatibility and will be removed in a future version of QLab.
For now, it is a synonym of /settings/network/patchList .

/cue/{cue_number}/pathHeight {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the maximum Y value for the 2D fade grid of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the maximum Y value for the 2D fade grid for the specified cue. number can be any number greater
than 0 , decimals allowed.

If the specified cue is not set to 2D fade, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/pathWidth {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the maximum X value for the 2D fade grid of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the maximum X value for the 2D fade grid for the specified cue. number can be any number greater
than 0 , decimals allowed.

If the specified cue is not set to 2D fade, this message has no effect.

MIDI cue messages

Messages specific to MIDI cues. Most of these messages will only work if the specified MIDI cue is in the appropriate mode. For
example, if a MIDI cue is not set to send MSC messages, then OSC messages which get or set parameters concerning MSC will not
work with that cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/byte1 {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no argument is given, return byte 1 of the MIDI message of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set byte 1 of the MIDI message of the specified cue to number . number must be a whole number from 0
to 127.

/cue/{cue_number}/byte2 {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return byte 2 of the MIDI message of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set byte 2 of the MIDI message of the specified cue to number . number must be a whole number from 0
to 127.

/cue/{cue_number}/byteCombo {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the value of bytes 1 and 2 (as a single number) of the MIDI message of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set both bytes of the MIDI message of the specified cue based on number . number must be a whole
number from 0 to 16383.

/cue/{cue_number}/channel {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the MIDI channel of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the MIDI channel of the specified cue to number . number must be a whole number from 1 to 16.

/cue/{cue_number}/command {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the MSC command of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the MSC command of the specified cue to number . number must be a whole number from 0 to 127
representing the index of an MSC command, a list of which can be found in the Parameter Reference page of this manual.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/commandFormat {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the MSC command format of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the MSC command format of the specified cue to number . number must be a whole number from 0
to 127 representing the index of an MSC command format, a list of which can be found in the Parameter Reference page of this
manual.

/cue/{cue_number}/controlNumber {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the MSC control number of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the MSC control number of the specified cue to number . number must be a whole number from 0 to
16383.

/cue/{cue_number}/controlValue {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the MSC control value of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the MSC control value of the specified cue to number . number must be a whole number from 0 to
16383.

/cue/{cue_number}/deviceID {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the outgoing MSC device ID of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the outgoing MSC device ID of the specified cue to number . number must be a whole number from
0 to 127.

/cue/{cue_number}/doFade {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Fade checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Set the state of the Fade checkbox of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/endValue {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the fade ending value of the MIDI message of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the fade ending value of the MIDI message of the specified cue to number . number must be a whole
number from 0 to 127, unless the message type of the specified cue is pitch bend, in which case number must be a whole number
between 0 and 16383.

/cue/{cue_number}/hours {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/minutes {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/seconds {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/frames {number}

/cue/{cue_number}/subframes {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the appropriate section of the MSC timecode message of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the appropriate section of the MSC timecode message of the specified cue to number . number must
be a whole number in the correct range for the appropriate section.

/cue/{cue_number}/macro {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the MSC macro of the specified cue.

*Write: If number is given, set the MSC macro of the specified cue to number . number must be a whole number from 0 to 127.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/messageType {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the message type of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the message type of the specified cue to number . Valid message types are:

1 - MIDI Voice Message ("Musical MIDI")

2 - MIDI Show Control Message (MSC)
3 - MIDI SysEx Message

/cue/{cue_number}/midiPatchName {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the name of the MIDI patch currently in use by the specified cue. String "none" means that
the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the name of a MIDI patch in the workspace, set the MIDI patch of the specified cue to that
patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is anything else, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/midiPatchNumber {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the index of the MIDI patch currently in use by the specified cue. Index 0 means that the cue
is un-patched, index 1 means the first patch in the patch list in Workspace Settings, 2 means the second patch, and so on.

Write: If number is given, set the MIDI patch of the specified cue to that patch. If number is 0 , un-patch the specified cue. If
number is greater than the number of MIDI patches in the workspace, this message has no effect. number must be a whole
number.

/cue/{cue_number}/midiPatchID {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the patch ID of the MIDI patch currently in use by the specified cue. Empty string ( "" ) means
that the cue is un-patched.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Write: If string is given and matches the patch ID of a MIDI patch in the workspace, set the MIDI patch of the specified cue to
that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is anything else, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/patch {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Deprecated in QLab 5.0. This message works in QLab 5, but incompletely, and will be removed in a future version of QLab. Use
/midiPatchNumber or /midiPatchID instead.

/cue/{cue_number}/qList {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the outgoing MSC cue list number of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the outgoing MSC cue list number of the specified cue to number .

/cue/{cue_number}/qNumber {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the outgoing MSC cue number of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the outgoing MSC cue number of the specified cue to number .

/cue/{cue_number}/qPath {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the outgoing MSC cue path number of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the outgoing MSC cue path number of the specified cue to number .

/cue/{cue_number}/rawString {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Read: If no argument is given, return the MIDI SysEx string of the specified cue.

Write: If string is given, set the MIDI SysEx string of the specified cue to string . string must be a valid SysEx string, formatted
in hexadecimal, and omitting the starting F0 and ending F7 .

/cue/{cue_number}/status {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is provided, return the MIDI message type of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the MIDI message type of the specified cue to number . Valid message types are:

0 - Note Off
1 - Note On
2 - Key Pressure (Aftertouch)
3 - Control Change
4 - Program Change
5 - Channel Pressure Change
6 - Pitch Bend Change

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeFormat {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If not, return the MSC timecode format of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the MSC timecode format of the specified cue to number . Valid formats are:

0 - 24 fps
1 - 25 fps
2 - 30 fps drop
3 - 30 fps non-drop

/cue/{cue_number}/timecodeString {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If not, return the MSC timecode string of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the MSC timecode string of the specified cue to number .
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

MIDI file cue messages

Messages specific to MIDI File cues.

/cue/{cue_number}/midiPatchName {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the name of the MIDI patch currently in use by the specified cue. String "none" means that
the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the name of a MIDI patch in the workspace, set the MIDI patch of the specified cue to that
patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is anything else, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/midiPatchNumber {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the index of the MIDI patch currently in use by the specified cue. Index 0 means that the cue
is un-patched, index 1 means the first patch in the patch list in Workspace Settings, 2 means the second patch, and so on.

Write: If number is given, set the MIDI patch of the specified cue to that patch. If number is 0 , un-patch the specified cue. If
number is greater than the number of MIDI patches in the workspace, this message has no effect. number must be a whole
number.

/cue/{cue_number}/midiPatchID {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the patch ID of the MIDI patch currently in use by the specified cue. Empty string ( "" ) means
that the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the patch ID of a MIDI patch in the workspace, set the MIDI patch of the specified cue to
that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is anything else, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/patch {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

Deprecated in QLab 5.0. This message works in QLab 5, but incompletely, and will be removed in a future version of QLab. Use
/midiPatchNumber or /midiPatchID instead.

/cue/{cue_number}/rate {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the rate of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the rate of the specified cue. number can be any number greater than 0.01, although the range of
numbers that is genuinely useful in practice is rather smaller than that.

Timecode cue messages

Messages specific to Timecode cues.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatchName {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given and the type of the specified cue is LTC, return the name of the audio output patch currently in use
by the specified cue. String "none" means that the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the patch ID of an audio output patch in the workspace, and the type of the specified cue is
LTC, set the audio output patch of the specified cue to that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified
cue. If string is anything else, this message has no effect.

If the type of the specified cue is not LTC, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatchNumber {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given and the type of the specified cue is LTC, return the index of the audio output patch currently in use
by the specified cue. Index 0 means that the cue is un-patched, index 1 means the first patch in the patch list in Workspace
Settings, 2 means the second patch, and so on.

Write: If number is given and the type of the specified cue is LTC, set the audio output patch of the specified cue to that patch. If
number is 0 , un-patch the specified cue. If number is greater than the number of audio output patches in the workspace, this
message has no effect. number must be a whole number.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

If the type of the specified cue is not LTC, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/audioOutputPatchID {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given and the type of the specified cue is LTC, return the patch ID of the audio output patch currently in
use by the specified cue. Empty string ( "" ) means that the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the patch ID of an audio output patch in the workspace, and the type of the specified cue is
LTC, set the audio output patch of the specified cue to that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified
cue. If string is anything else, this message has no effect.

If the type of the specified cue is not LTC, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/midiPatchName {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given and the type of the specified cue is MTC, return the name of the MIDI patch currently in use by the
specified cue. String "none" means that the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the patch ID of a MIDI patch in the workspace, and the type of the specified cue is MTC, set
the MIDI patch of the specified cue to that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is
anything else, this message has no effect.

If the type of the specified cue is not MTC, this message has no effect.

/cue/{cue_number}/midiPatchNumber {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given and the type of the specified cue is MTC, return the index of the MIDI patch currently in use by the
specified cue. Index 0 means that the cue is un-patched, index 1 means the first patch in the patch list in Workspace Settings, 2
means the second patch, and so on.

Write: If number is given and the type of the specified cue is MTC, set the MIDI patch of the specified cue to that patch. If number
is 0 , un-patch the specified cue. If number is greater than the number of MIDI patches in the workspace, this message has no
effect. number must be a whole number.

If the type of the specified cue is not MTC, this message has no effect.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

/cue/{cue_number}/midiPatchID {string}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given and the type of the specified cue is MTC, return the patch ID of the MIDI patch currently in use by the
specified cue. Empty string ( "" ) means that the cue is un-patched.

Write: If string is given and matches the patch ID of a MIDI patch in the workspace, and the type of the specified cue is MTC, set
the MIDI patch of the specified cue to that patch. If string is "none" or empty ( "" ), un-patch the specified cue. If string is
anything else, this message has no effect.

If the type of the specified cue is not MTC, this message has no effect.

Devamp cue messages

Messages specific to Devamp cues.

/cue/{cue_number}/devampType {number}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the devamp type of the specified cue.

Write: If number is given, set the devamp type of the specified cue. Valid types are:

1 - Devamp currently looping slice

2 - Devamp looping cue

/cue/{cue_number}/startNextCueWhenSliceEnds {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Start next cue when slice ends checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Set the state of the Start next cue when slice ends checkbox of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning
of this section.

/cue/{cue_number}/stopTargetWhenSliceEnds {boolean}

view edit control query +/-?

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Dictionary 9.1

view edit control query +/-?

read read/write read

Read: If no argument is given, return the state of the Stop target when slice ends checkbox of the specified cue.

Write: Set the state of the Stop target when slice ends checkbox of the specified cue. See details on booleans at the beginning of
this section.

Script cue messages

Messages specific to Script cues.

/cue/{cue_number}/compileSource

view edit control query +/-?

Compile the script of the specified cue.

/cue/{cue_number}/scriptSource

view edit control query +/-?

read only read only read only

Return the contents of the script of the specified cue.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Queries 9.2

OSC Queries

OSC querying is a powerful capability of the Network cue which allows you to capture the current, live value of nearly any
property that can be accessed via OSC and include that value as a part of an OSC message. This is one of those concepts that is
easiest to understand through examples.

Imagine a show which is using QLab and some other device on a network. The other device needs to be given a cue number via
OSC, so in QLab we make a Network cue and build this message:

/device/standby 53

Sending that message sends the value 53 to the address /device/standby , and in our imaginary situation, that’s the address that
the receiving devices wants.

That’s all well and good if we only need to send this one value, or maybe just a few, but if we want the device to simply follow QLab,
and we have lots and lots of cues, it could get arduous to program. What we’d really like is for the device to just always know which
cue is selected in QLab.

Enter OSC queries. By replacing the 53 with a query, we can build a single OSC message which inserts a value at the moment the
message is sent. All we need to do is choose the right query, which in this case is:

#/cue/selected/number#

The query, which is enclosed in hashmarks1, asks QLab for the cue number of the currently selected cue. When an OSC message
including this query is actually sent by QLab, the query is replaced with the result of that query. The message, therefore, is built like
this:

/device/standby #/cue/selected/number#

Which you can think of as:

/device/standby [the number of the selected cue in QLab]

So if cue 53 is selected when the OSC message is sent, it becomes:

/device/standby 53

But if cue 101 is selected when the OSC message is sent, it becomes:

/device/standby 101

Continuously Updating Queries

The above example works fine when you just need to extract a piece of information from QLab at a given moment, but you can also
use queries to send a continuously updating value. When you use an OSC query in a Network cue, and you give that cue a
duration, the query is continuously updated as long as the cue is running.

So, if you set a duration for the Network cue that sends the message:

/device/standby #/cue/selected/number#
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC Queries 9.2

then the output of that cue would dynamically update its query for as long as it was running, and therefore keep our mystery device
updated about the currently selected cue.

Using Queries With Localhost

QLab’s ability to route OSC to itself via the network address localhost allows you to use OSC queries to dynamically change
QLab’s behavior based on what’s currently happening in your workspace. For example, you might like to use the loudness of an
actor’s voice to control the brightness of a lighting instrument. If you put a microphone in front of that actor and route it through a
Mic cue, you can capture the level of the Mic using liveAverageLevel . Imagine a workspace with a lighting instrument called
“myLight” and a Mic cue with the cue number 10. You could create a Network cue with the OSC message:

/dashboard/setLight myLight #/cue/10/liveAverageLevel/1 0 100#

Let’s pull that apart into its individual pieces:

/dashboard/setLight myLight {x} is an OSC command to set myLight to level x . In this case, though, we replace x with a
query which will return a numeric value:

#/cue/10/liveAverageLevel/1 0 100#

The hashmarks denote the query, and this particular message says “talk to cue 10, get the live average audio level of output 1, and
re-scale it to a range of 0 to 100.”

If you wanted the loudness of the Mic to only vary the brightness of the light from 50% to 100%, you could change the message to:

/dashboard/setLight myLight #/cue/10/liveAverageLevel/1 50 100#

To make the most use of this, you’d probably also want to give the Network cue a duration so that it stays “alive” for as long as you
need it to.

Reading the OSC Dictionary

OSC messages which can be queried are indicated in the QLab 5 OSC Dictionary with a checkmark under the heading “query”, like
so:

query

1. Also called pound signs or, no joke, octothorpes.↩

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Script Cues 9.3

Script Cues
Script cues allow you to execute AppleScript from within QLab. AppleScript is a very old (and frankly pretty weird) scripting
language which has deep integration into macOS and into many, many programs which run on macOS. A good, though fairly
technical, introduction to AppleScript can be found here at macosxautomation.com. Script cues require a license of any kind.

The Inspector for Script Cues

When a Script cue is selected, the inspector shows the Basics tab and Triggers tab, used by all cues, as well as the Script tab.

The Script Tab

In a newly created Script cue, the text field in the Script tab will show the default AppleScript defined in the Script cue template.

Text entered here will follow Apple’s standard formatting rules for AppleScript.

Click the Compile Script button to compile your script. If your script contains errors, QLab will display an error message next to
this button in order to help you find and address the issue.

The Run in separate process checkbox is checked by default. When it is checked, QLab spins off the script in a Script cue to an
external invisible application which handles the execution of the AppleScript. This allows complex scripts to execute in the
background, without monopolizing QLab and preventing you from interacting with QLab while the script runs. Uncheck this box if
your script needs to execute from within QLab. Executing the script inside QLab improves the timing precision with which the script
interacts with QLab.

Broken Script Cues

Script cues can become broken for the following reasons:

AppleScript error

Correct the error in the Script tab of the inspector to clear this warning.

License required

Script cues require a license of any kind.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

AppleScript Dictionary
The list of commands, functions, properties, and so on that AppleScript can use to interact with an application is called that
application’s dictionary. You can find QLab’s AppleScript dictionary here, or view it within the Script Editor application, which is
found in /Applications/Utilities.

In Script Editor, choose Open Dictionary… from the File menu, and choose QLab from the list of applications.

AppleScript dictionaries are grouped by “suite”; all applications that use AppleScript must include the Standard Suite, and then any
application-specific commands or properties are generally grouped together into another suite named after the application.

This documentation only describes the commands, classes, enumerations, and records from the QLab Suite. Items from the
Standard Suite can also be used in QLab, such as the save command, which saves a specified workspace.

Readers are enthusiastically encouraged to use the navigation sidebar on this page, as AppleScript dictionaries are exceedingly
verbose. Readers of the PDF version of this manual are encouraged to brace themselves accordingly.

Commands

audition go
(verb): make a workspace Audition GO.

Syntax

audition go {workspace}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter workspace The workspace to GO.

Classes

The following classes respond to the audition go command:

workspace

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

audition go
end tell
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

audition go workspace "hamlet.qlab5"
end tell

audition preview
(verb): Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing a cue starts the action of that cue, skipping pre-waits and ignoring auto-
follows and auto-continues.

Syntax

preview {cue}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue The cue(s) to preview.

Classes

The following classes respond to the audition preview command:

any type of cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

audition preview cue "1"
end tell

(verb): Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

capture timecode
Syntax

capture timecode {cue}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue The cue whose timecode trigger is to be captured.

Classes

The following classes respond to the capture timecode command:

any type of cue

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

capture timecode cue "1"
end tell

clear
(verb): clear the levels in the Light Dashboard.

Syntax

clear {light dashboard}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter light dashboard The Light Dashboard you want to clear.

Classes

The following classes respond to the clear command:

light dashboard

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theDashboard to current light dashboard
tell theDashboard to clear
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theDashboard to current light dashboard
clear theDashboard
end tell

collapse
(verb): collapse a Group cue or cue list.

Syntax

collapse {group cue}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter group cue The Group cue that will collapse.

Classes

The following classes respond to the collapse command:

group cue
cue list

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

collapse cue "1"
end tell

collateAndStart
(verb): collate and start a Light cue.

Syntax

collateAndStart {light cue}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter light cue The Light cue that you want to collate and start.

Classes

The following classes respond to the collateAndStart command:

light cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

collateAndStart cue "1"
end tell

compile
(verb): verify and prepare the script for use.

Syntax

compile {script cue}

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter script cue The Script cue whose source you want to (re)compile.

Classes

The following classes respond to the compile command:

script cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

compile cue "1"
end tell

delete
(verb): delete a cue or list of cues.

Syntax

delete {cue}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue or list The cue or cues to delete.

Classes

The following classes respond to the delete command:

cue

Examples

-- the cue whose cue number is "1"

delete cue "1"

-- one or several selected cues

delete selected

-- a list of cues based on position in the cue list

set listOfCues to cues 3 thru -1 of myCueList
delete listOfCues

-- an indivdual cue by position

delete last cue of myGroupCue
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

expand
(verb): expand a Group cue or cue list.

Syntax

expand {group cue}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter group cue The Group cue that will expand.

Classes

The following classes respond to the expand command:

group cue
cue list

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

expand cue "1"
end tell

getGang
(verb): get the gang for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

Syntax

set theResult to getGang {cue} row {row_number} column {column_number}

Result

text: the value of the gang at the specified location in the cue’s matrix.

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue The cue from which you want to get the gang.

column integer The column of the level matrix. Column 0 is the main and input levels column.

row integer The row of the level matrix. Row 0 is the main and output levels row.

Classes

The following classes respond to the getGang command:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

audio cue
mic cue

video cue
fade cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theGang to getGang 1 row 0 column 1
display dialog "The gang for row 0, column 1 is: " & theGang
end tell

getInputChannelName
(verb): get the input name for a specified input channel.

Syntax

set theResult to getInputChannelName {cue} row {row_number}

Result

text: the name for the input channel.

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue The cue from which you want to get the audio input name.

row integer The row of the level matrix. Starts at 1.

Classes

The following classes respond to the getGang command:

audio cue
mic cue

video cue
camera cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theName to getInputChannelName 1 row 2
display dialog "The input name for input 2 of cue 1 is: " & theName
end tell

getLevel
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

(verb): get the level for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

Syntax

set theResult to getLevel {cue} row {row_number} column {column_number}

Result

real number: the level in decibels of the specified location in the cue’s matrix.

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue The cue from which you want to get the level.

column integer The column of the level matrix. Column 0 is the main and input levels column.

row integer The row of the level matrix. Row 0 is the main and output levels row.

Classes

The following classes respond to the getLevel command:

audio cue

mic cue
video cue
fade cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theLevel to getLevel 1 row 0 column 1
display dialog "The level for row 0, column 1 of cue 1 is: " & theLevel
end tell

go
(verb): make a workspace GO.

Syntax

go {workspace}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter workspace The workspace to GO.

Classes
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

The following classes respond to the go command:

workspace

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

go front workspace
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

go workspace "hamlet.qlab5"
end tell

hardStop
(verb): hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

Syntax

hardStop {reference}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter reference The cue(s) or workspace(s) to hardStop.

Classes

The following classes respond to the hardStop command:

workspace

cue list
any type of cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

hardStop cue "1"
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

hardStop front workspace
end tell

load
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

(verb): load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time. A negative value loads that many seconds back from the end of the
cue.

Syntax

load {reference} time {real number}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter reference The cue(s) or workspace(s) to load.

time real number Load time.

Note: Because “load” is both a noun and a verb in QLab (load vs. Load cue), you need to place the reference within parentheses;
see examples below.

Classes

The following classes respond to the load command:

workspace
cue list
any type of cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

-- load the cue whose cue number is "1"
load (cue "1")
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

-- load the cue whose cue number is "2" to 15 seconds
load (cue "2") time 15
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

-- load the cue whose cue number is "3" to 20 seconds before the end of the cue
load (cue "3") time -20
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

-- load the cue whose cue id is 4
load (cue 4)
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

-- this does not work!
-- AppleScript thinks you're talking about a Load cue whose cue number is "5"
load cue "5"
end tell
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

make
(verb): make a new cue in a workspace. The cue will be created below the currently selected cue.

Syntax

make {workspace} type {text}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct
workspace The workspace in which the cue will be made.
parameter

The name of the kind of cue you want to create (audio, video, camera, etc.) To create a new cue list, use “cue list”.
type text
To create a new cue cart, use “cue cart”.

Classes

The following classes respond to the make command:

workspace

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

make front workspace type "audio"
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

make front workspace type "cue list"
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

make workspace "hamlet.qlab5" type "midi"
end tell

move
(verb): move a cue or list of cues to a new location.

Syntax

move {reference to cue or list} to {location specifier}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter reference to cue or list of cues The cue or list of cues to move.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Parameter Required? Type Description

to location specifier The new location for the cue or cues.

Examples

-- moving a cue
set theCue to cue "FROMCUE"
set theDestination to cue "DESTCUE"
move theCue to {after|before|beginning of|end of} theDestination

-- moving a list of cues

set theCues to {list_of_cues}
set theDestination to cue "DESTCUE"
move theCues to {after|before|beginning of|end of} theDestination

-- by position within a group or list

set theGroupCue to cue "MYGROUP"
set theDestination to cue "DESTCUE"
move last cue of theGroupCue to {after|before|beginning of|end of} theDestination

movePlayheadDown
(verb): move the playhead to the next cue.

Syntax

movePlayheadDown {specifier}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

workspace If addressing this command to QLab in general, this refers to the workspace whose playhead will move. If addressing
direct
or cue this command to a workspace, this refers to the cue number of a cue list. If this reference is left out, the active cue
parameter
number list is assumed.

Classes

The following classes respond to the movePlayheadDown command:

workspace
cue list

Examples

-- move the playhead to the next cue in the active cue list of the front workspace
tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace
movePlayheadDown
end tell
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

-- move the playhead to the next cue in the active cue list of a specific workspace
tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"
movePlayheadDown workspace "hamlet.qlab5"
end tell

-- move the playhead to the next cue in a cue list numbered "101" in the front workspace
tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace
movePlayheadDown cue "101"
end tell

-- move the playhead to the next cue in a cue list numbered "101" in a specific workspace
tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell cue "101" of workspace "ophelia"
movePlayheadDown
end tell

movePlayheadDownASequence
(verb): move the playhead to the top of the next cue sequence.

Syntax

movePlayheadDownASequence {workspace}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter workspace The workspace whose playhead will move.

Classes

The following classes respond to the movePlayheadDownASequence command:

workspace

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

movePlayheadDownASequence
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

movePlayheadDownASequence workspace "hamlet.qlab5"
end tell

movePlayheadUp
(verb): move the playhead to the previous cue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Syntax

movePlayheadUp {specifier}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

workspace If addressing this command to QLab in general, this refers to the workspace whose playhead will move. If addressing
direct
or cue this command to a workspace, this refers to the cue number of a cue list. If this reference is left out, the active cue
parameter
number list is assumed.

Classes

The following classes respond to the movePlayheadUp command:

workspace

Examples

-- move the playhead to the next cue in the active cue list of the front workspace
tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace
movePlayheadUp
end tell

-- move the playhead to the next cue in the active cue list of a specific workspace
tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"
movePlayheadUp workspace "hamlet.qlab5"
end tell

-- move the playhead to the next cue in a cue list numbered "101" in the front workspace
tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace
movePlayheadUp cue "101"
end tell

-- move the playhead to the next cue in a cue list numbered "101" in a specific workspace
tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell cue "101" of workspace "ophelia"
movePlayheadUp
end tell

movePlayheadUpASequence
(verb): move the playhead to the top of the previous cue sequence.

Syntax

movePlayheadUpASequence {workspace}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter workspace The workspace whose playhead will move.

Classes

The following classes respond to the movePlayheadUpASequence command:

workspace

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

movePlayheadUpASequence
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

movePlayheadUpASequence workspace "hamlet.qlab5"
end tell

moveSelectionDown
(verb): select the next cue.

Syntax

moveSelectionDown {workspace}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter workspace The workspace whose selection will change.

Classes

The following classes respond to the moveSelectionDown command:

workspace

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

moveSelectionDown
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

moveSelectionDown workspace "hamlet.qlab5"
end tell
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

moveSelectionUp
(verb): select the previous cue.

Syntax

moveSelectionUp {workspace}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter workspace The workspace whose selection will change.

Classes

The following classes respond to the moveSelectionUp command:

workspace

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

moveSelectionUp
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

moveSelectionUp workspace "hamlet.qlab5"
end tell

newCueWithAll
(verb): create a new Light cue containing levels for all parameters of all instruments.

Syntax

newCueWithAll {light dashboard}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter light dashboard The Light Dashboard from which you want to create a new Light cue.

Classes

The following classes respond to the newCueWithAll command:

workspace

Examples
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theDashboard to current light dashboard
newCueWithAll theDashboard
end tell

newCueWithChanges
(verb): create a new Light cue containing levels for all manually adjusted parameters in the Light Dashboard.

Syntax

newCueWithChanges {light dashboard}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter light dashboard The Light Dashboard from which you want to create a new Light cue.

Classes

The following classes respond to the newCueWithChanges command:

workspace

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theDashboard to current light dashboard
newCueWithChanges theDashboard
end tell

panic
(verb): panic one or more cues or workspaces.

Syntax

panic {reference}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter reference The cue(s) or workspace(s) to panic.

Classes

The following classes respond to the panic command:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

workspace
any type of cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

panic
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

panic front workspace
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

panic cue "1"
end tell

pause
(verb): pause one or more cues or workspaces.

Syntax

pause {reference}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter reference The cue(s) or workspace(s) to pause.

Classes

The following classes respond to the pause command:

workspace
any type of cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

pause
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

pause front workspace
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

pause cue "1"
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

end tell

preview
(verb): preview one or more cues. Previewing a cue starts the action of that cue, skipping pre-waits and ignoring auto-follows and
auto-continues.

Syntax

preview {cue}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue The cue(s) to preview.

Classes

The following classes respond to the preview command:

any type of cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

preview cue "1"
end tell

prune
(verb): remove light commands that have no effect from a Light cue.

Syntax

prune {light cue}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter light cue The Light cue(s) whose command text you want to prune.

Classes

The following classes respond to the prune command:

light cue

Examples
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

prune cue "1"
end tell

recordAllToLatest
(verb): record all levels for all parameters of all instruments into the latest run Light cue.

Syntax

recordAllToLatest {light dashboard}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter light dashboard The Light Dashboard from which you want to record all to the latest cue.

Classes

The following classes respond to the recordAllToLatest command:

light dashboard

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theDashboard to current light dashboard
recordAllToLatest theDashboard
end tell

recordAllToSelected
(verb): record all levels for all parameters of all instruments into the selected Light cue(s).

Syntax

recordAllToSelected {light dashboard}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter light dashboard The Light Dashboard from which you want to record all to the selected cue(s).

Classes

The following classes respond to the recordAllToSelected command:

light dashboard
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theDashboard to current light dashboard
recordAllToSelected theDashboard
end tell

redo
(verb): redo the last undone action.

Syntax

redo {reference}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter reference The workspace or Light Dashboard in which you want to redo the last undone action.

Classes

The following classes respond to the redo command:

workspace
light dashboard

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

redo
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theDashboard to current light dashboard
redo theDashboard
end tell

removeLightCommandsMatching
(verb): remove existing light commands in the specified cue matching the command provided.

Syntax

removeLightCommandsMatching {cue} command {text}

Parameters
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue The cue from which you want to remove light commands.

command text The full text of the light command you want to remove.

Classes

The following classes respond to the removeLightCommandsMatching command:

light cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

removeLightCommandsMatching cue "1" command "myLight.intensity = 100"
end tell

replaceLightCommand
(verb): replace a specified light command in the specified cue with a new light command.

Syntax

replaceLightCommand {cue} oldCommandText {text} newCommandText {text}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue The cue in which you want to replace light commands.

newCommandText text The full text of the light command that will replaced the old.

oldCommandText text The full text of the light command that will be replaced.

Classes

The following classes respond to the replaceLightCommand command:

light cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

replaceLightCommand cue "1" oldCommandText "myLight.intensity = 100" newCommandText "myLight.intensity = 80"
end tell

reset
(verb): reset one or more cues or workspaces.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Syntax

reset {reference}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter reference The cue(s) or workspace(s) to reset.

Classes

The following classes respond to the reset command:

workspace

any type of cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

reset cue "1"
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

reset
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"

reset workspace "hamlet.qlab5"
end tell

revert
(verb): revert changes in the specified Light Dashboard.

Syntax

revert {light dashboard}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter light dashboard The Light Dashboard in which you want to revert changes.

Classes

The following classes respond to the revert command:

light dashboard
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theDashboard to current light dashboard
revert theDashboard
end tell

save
(verb): save the last undone action.

Syntax

save {reference}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter reference The workspace or Light Dashboard in which you want to save the last undone action.

Classes

The following classes respond to the save command:

workspace
light dashboard

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

save
end tell

setGang
(verb): set the gang for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

Syntax

setGang {cue} row {row_number} column {column_number} gang {text}

Parameters
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue The cue for which you want to set the gang.

column integer The column of the level matrix. Column 0 is the main and input levels column.

gang text The gang to set.

row integer The row of the level matrix. Row 0 is the main and output levels row.

Classes

The following classes respond to the setGang command:

audio cue

mic cue
video cue
fade cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set cue "1" row 0 column 1 gang "a"
end tell

setInputChannelName
(verb): set the input name for a specified row of a cue.

Syntax

setInputChannelName {cue} row {row_number} name {text}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue The cue for which you want to set the audio input name.

name text The name for the input channel.

row integer The row of the level matrix. Starts at 1.

Classes

The following classes respond to the setInputChannelName command:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

audio cue
mic cue

video cue
camera cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set cue "1" row 0 input "vocals"
end tell

setLevel
(verb): set the level in decibels for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

Syntax

setLevel {cue} row {row_number} column {column_number} db {real number}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue The cue for which you want to set the level.

column integer The column of the level matrix. Column 0 is the main and input levels column.

db real number The level in decibels to set.

row integer The row of the level matrix. Row 0 is the main and output levels row.

Classes

The following classes respond to the setLevel command:

audio cue
mic cue
video cue

fade cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

setLevel cue "1" row 0 column 1 db "-6"
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

end tell

setLight
(verb): add a light command to the specified cue or to the Light Dashboard.

Syntax

setLight {reference} selector {text} value {real number or text}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct
reference The Light cue or Light Dashboard for which you want to add a light command.
parameter

The instrument or group name for the command you want to add. Using a parameter name as well is
selector text
optional.

real number or
value Optional parameter value to set.
text

Classes

The following classes respond to the setLight command:

light dashboard

light cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

setLight cue "1" selector "myLight"
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theDashboard to current light dashboard
setLight theDashboard selector "myLight.red" value "50"
end tell

shuffle
(verb): shuffle the order of child cues in a Group cue.

Syntax

shuffle {group cue}

Parameters
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter group cue The Group cue(s) whose child cues you want to shuffle.

Classes

The following classes respond to the start command:

group cue

cue list

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

start
end tell

start
(verb): start one or more cues or workspaces.

Syntax

start {reference}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct The cue(s) or workspace(s) to start. Starting a workspace unpauses all paused cues; it does not start cues which are
cue
parameter not paused.

Classes

The following classes respond to the start command:

workspace

any type of cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

start
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

start cue "1"
end tell
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

stop
(verb): stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Syntax

stop {reference}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue The cue(s) or workspace(s) to stop.

Classes

The following classes respond to the stop command:

workspace
any type of cue

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

stop
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

stop cue "1"
end tell

undo
(verb): undo the last action.

Syntax

undo {reference}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter cue The workspace or Light Dashboard in which you want to undo the last action.

Classes

The following classes respond to the undo command:

workspace
light dashboard
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

undo
end tell

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theDashboard to current light dashboard
undo theDashboard
end tell

updateLatestCue
(verb): copy all manually adjusted levels into the latest run Light cue.

Syntax

updateLatestCue {light dashboard}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter light dashboard The Light Dashboard from which you want to update the latest cue.

Classes

The following classes respond to the updateLatestCue command:

light dashboard

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theDashboard to current light dashboard
updateLatestCue theDashboard
end tell

updateOriginatingCues
(verb): copy all manually adjusted levels into their originating Light cue(s).

Syntax

updateOriginatingCues {light dashboard}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter light dashboard The Light Dashboard from which you want to update the originating cue(s).

Classes

The following classes respond to the updateOriginatingCues command:

light dashboard

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theDashboard to current light dashboard
updateOriginatingCues theDashboard
end tell

updateSelectedCues
(verb): copy all manually adjusted levels into the selected Light cue(s).

Syntax

updateSelectedCues {light dashboard}

Parameters

Parameter Required? Type Description

direct parameter light dashboard The Light Dashboard from which you want to update the selected cue(s).

Classes

The following classes respond to the updateSelectedCues command:

light dashboard

Examples

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set theDashboard to current light dashboard
updateSelectedCues theDashboard
end tell

Classes

application
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

(noun): the top-level scripting object of QLab.

Properties

Property Access Type Description

frontmost get boolean Is this the frontmost (active) application?

name get text The name of the application.

overrides get override controller Application-wide communication overrides.

preferences get preferences controller Application-wide preferences and settings.

version get text The version of the application.

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

document get by name, by index, by range, relative to others, by whose/where, by unique ID

window get by name, by index, by range, relative to others, by whose/where, by unique ID

workspace get by name, by index, by range, relative to others, by whose/where, by unique ID

Commands

The application class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

open Open QLab.

print This command has no effect in QLab.

quit Quit QLab.

audio cue
*(noun), pl. audio cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, audio cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

The number of audio input channels for this cue (i.e. the number of distinct channels in the target
audio input channels get integer
audio file.)

audio output patch

get/set text The name of this cue’s audio output patch. none means “unpatched.”
name

audio output patch

get/set integer The 1-indexed number of this cue’s audio output patch. 0 means “unpatched.”
number
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Property Access Type Description

audio output patch id get/set text The unique ID of this cue’s audio output patch. Empty string or none means “unpatched.”

end time get/set real number Time in the target file where playback ends.

infinite loop get/set boolean Does this cue loop infinitely?

enabled or
integrated fade get/set State of the integrated fade checkbox.
disabled

last slice infinite loop get/set boolean Does the last slice of this cue loop infinitely?

last slice play count get/set integer Number of times the last slice of this cue plays. Always >= 1 .

enabled or
lock fade to cue get/set State of the lock fade to start/end checkbox.
disabled

The 1-indexed number of this cue’s audio output patch. Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use audio
patch get/set integer
output patch number instead.

play count get/set boolean Number of times this cue plays. Always >= 1 .

preserve pitch get/set enabled disabled State of the preserve pitch checkbox.

rate get/set real number Playback rate of this cue.

list of slice marker

slice markers get/set List of slice markers in this cue.
record

start time get/set real number Time in the target file where playback begins.

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

Commands

The audio cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other
audition preview
cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

getGang Get the gang for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

getInputChannelName Get the input name for a specified row in the cue’s matrix.

getLevel Get the level for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Command Description

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

setGang Set the gang for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

setInputChannelName Set the intput name for a specified row in the cue’s matrix.

setLevel Set the level for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The audio cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

camera cue
*(noun), pl. camera cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, camera cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

real
anchor x get/set Anchor along the x axis.
number

real
anchor y get/set Anchor along the y axis.
number

The number of audio input channels for this cue (i.e. the number of distinct channels in the target audio
audio input channels get integer
file.)

audio input patch name get/set text The name of this cue’s audio input patch. none means “unpatched.”

audio input patch

get/set integer The 1-indexed number of this cue’s audio input patch. 0 equals “unpatched.”
number

audio input patch id get/set text The unique ID of this cue’s audio input patch. Empty string or none equals “unpatched.”

audio output patch

get/set text The name of this cue’s audio output patch. none means “unpatched.”
name

audio output patch

get/set integer The 1-indexed number of this cue’s audio output patch. 0 means “unpatched.”
number

audio output patch id get/set text The unique ID of this cue’s audio output patch. Empty string or none means “unpatched.”

blend mode get/set text Display name of the video blend mode.

The 1-indexed number of this cue’s camera patch. Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use video input patch
camera patch get/set integer
number instead.

fill stage get/set boolean Is the cue displaying in fill stage mode?

fill style get/set fill styles How does the cue fill the stage?

full screen get/set boolean Is the cue displaying in full-stage mode? Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use ‘fill stage’ instead.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Property Access Type Description

full surface get/set boolean Is the cue displaying in full-stage mode? Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use ‘fill stage’ instead.

layer get/set integer The display layer of this cue. 0 is the bottom layer; 1000 is the top layer.

real
opacity get/set The opacity of this cue. 0 = 0%; 0.5 = 50%; 1 = 100%
number

real
scale x get/set The X-axis scale of this cue.
number

real
scale y get/set The Y-axis scale of this cue.
number

smooth get/set boolean Should the cue be scaled using smoothing interpolation?

stage name get/set text Video output stage name. Empty string or none means “unpatched.”

stage number get/set integer Video output stage number. 0 means “unpatched.”

stage id get/set text Video output stage unique ID. Empty string or none means “unpatched.”

real
translation x get/set The X-axis translation (position) of this cue.
number

real
translation y get/set The Y-axis translation (position) of this cue.
number

video input patch name get/set text The name of this cue’s video input patch. none means “unpatched.”

video input patch

get/set integer The 1-indexed number of this cue’s video input patch. 0 means “unpatched.”
number

video input patch id get/set text The unique ID of this cue’s video input patch. Empty string or none means “unpatched.”

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

Commands

The camera cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other
audition preview
cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

getGang Get the gang for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

getInputChannelName Get the input name for a specified row in the cue’s matrix.

getLevel Get the level for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Command Description

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

setGang Set the gang for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

setInputChannelName Set the intput name for a specified row in the cue’s matrix.

setLevel Set the level for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The camera cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

cue
*(noun), pl. cues *

Properties

All cues have properties from this list, but not every type of cue has every property. For example, only cue type which accept a file
target (Audio, Video, and MIDI file) have the file target property.

Property Access Type Description

action real
get The time in seconds that have elapsed in the action of this cue.
elapsed number

armed get/set boolean Is this cue armed?

autoload get/set boolean Does this cue auto-load?

broken get boolean Is this cue broken?

row
The row and column numbers for the position of this cue within a cart. A cue that is not contained within a cart will
cart position get column
return row and column 0 .
record

continue contine
get/set The continue mode of this cue.
mode modes

cue target get/set cue The cue this cue targets, if any.

current real The current duration of this cue’s action in seconds. This property reflects the temporary duration, if it has been
get
duration number set. Otherwise, it returns this cue’s duration.

real
duck level get/set The “duck or boost others” audio level. Accepts a range of -120 to 12 .
number

enabled or
duck others get/set The “duck or boost others” setting of this cue.
disabled
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Property Access Type Description

real
duck time get/set The “duck or boost others” fade time.
number

real
duration get The duration of this cue’s action in seconds. Not editable for all cue types.
number

The “fade and stop others” setting of the cue:

0 = disabled
fade and stop
get/set integer 1 = peers
others
2 = list
3 = all

fade and stop real

get/set The “fade and stop others” time in seconds.
others time number

file target get/set file The file this cue targets, if any.

flagged get/set boolean Is this cue flagged?

enabled or
hotkey trigger get/set State of the hotkey trigger checkbox.
disabled

loaded get boolean Is this cue loaded?

midi byte one get/set string Byte 1 of this cue’s MIDI trigger, if any.

midi byte one

get/set string Display string of byte 1 of this cue’s MIDI trigger, if any.
string

midi byte two get/set integer Byte 2 of this cue’s MIDI trigger, if any.

midi byte two

get/set string Display string of byte 2 of this cue’s MIDI trigger, if any.
string

midi midi Type of MIDI command used for this cue’s MIDI trigger, if any. NOTE: pitch bend messages cannot be used for MIDI
get/set
command commands triggers.

enabled or
midi trigger get/set State of the MIDI trigger checkbox.
disabled

midi trigger
get/set integer MIDI channel used for the MIDI trigger of the cue. 0 is the workspace channel, -1 is “any channel”.
channel

notes get/set text The notes for this cue.

parent get cue The parent cue of this cue.

parent list get cue The cue list or cue cart that contains this cue.

paused get boolean Is this cue paused?

percent
real
action get The percentage of this cue’s action that has elapsed.
number
elapsed

percent post real

get The percentage of this cue’s post-wait that has elapsed.
wait elapsed number

percent pre real

get The percentage of this cue’s pre-wait that has elapsed.
wait elapsed number

real
post wait get/set The time in seconds before this cue auto-continues, if this cue is set to auto-continue.
number

post wait real

get The time in seconds of this cue’s post-wait that has elapsed.
elapsed number
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Property Access Type Description

real
pre wait get/set The time in seconds that this cue’s action will delay after being started.
number

pre wait real

get The time in seconds of this cue’s pre-wait that has elapsed.
elapsed number

q color get/set text The name of this cue’s color, or “none” if no color is set.

q color 2 get/set text The name of this cue’s second color, or “none” if no color is set.

q default
get text The name that QLab would give to this cue by default.
name

q display
get text The name of this cue as displayed in the standby view. Never empty.
name

q list name get text The name of this cue as displayed in the cue list or cart. Might be a default name.

q name get/set text The name of this cue.

q number get/set text The number of this cue. Unique if present. May be empty.

q type get text The name of this type of cue (i.e. “Audio”, “Video”, etc.)

running get boolean Is this cue running?

The second trigger action of the cue:

0 = do nothing
1 = panic
2 = stop
second
get/set integer 3 = hard stop
trigger action
4 = hard stop and restart
5 = devamp
6 = (playlist only) play next
7 = (playlist only) play previous

second
enabled or
trigger on get/set State of the “second trigger on release” checkbox.
disabled
release

temp real The temporary duration of this cue’s action in seconds. Not all cues support temporary durations. Setting the
get/set
duration number temporary duration does not mark the document as edited. Reset the cue to restore its original, saved duration.

timecode bits get/set integer The bits field of the timecode trigger of this cue.

timecode
get/set integer The frames field of the timecode trigger of this cue.
frames

timecode
get/set integer The hours field of the timecode trigger of this cue.
hours

timecode
get/set integer The minutes field of the timecode trigger of this cue.
minutes

timecode
get/set integer The seconds field of the timecode trigger of this cue.
seconds

timecode
show as get/set boolean True if the timecode trigger is shown as timecode; false if shown as real time.
timecode

timecode text get/set text Text representation of the timecode trigger.

timecode enabled or
get/set State of the timecode trigger checkbox.
trigger disabled
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Property Access Type Description

use q color 2 get/set boolean Whether this cue will use the second cue color after it starts.

uniqueID get text The unique ID of this cue.

wall clock
get/set integer The hours field of the wall clock trigger of this cue.
hours

wall clock
get/set integer The minutes field of the wall clock trigger of this cue.
minutes

wall clock
get/set integer The seconds field of the wall clock trigger of this cue.
seconds

wall clock enabled or

get/set State of the wall clock trigger checkbox.
trigger disabled

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID Cues contained by this cue, if any.

Commands

The cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

audition preview Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Subclasses

All cue classes inherit the elements and properties of the cue class.

Where Used

The cue class is used in the following ways:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

direct parameter to the getLevel command.

direct parameter to the setLevel command.

direct parameter to the getGang command.

direct parameter to the setGang command.
direct parameter to the replaceLightCommand command.

direct parameter to the removeLightCommandsMatching command.

element of workspace class.
active cues property of the workspace class.

cue target property of the cue class.

parent property of the cue class.
parent list property of the cue class.

playback position property of the cue list class.

playhead property of the cue list class.
selected property of the workspace class.

cue list
*(noun), pl. cue lists *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, cue list inherits properties from cue and from group cue.

Property Access Type Description

current timecode text get text The timecode currently being received.

ltc sync channel get/set integer Audio channel supplying an LTC sync signal.

mtc sync source name get/set text Name of the MIDI device supplying an MTC sync signal.

The playback position of a cue list is the cue which is standing by and which will start at the next
playback position get/set cue
GO.

playhead get/set cue Synonym for playback position.

smpte format get/set smpte format The SMPTE format of the incoming timecode.

sync mode get/set sync mode Which type of incoming timecode this cue list listens for.

enabled or
sync to timecode get/set State of the sync to timecode checkbox.
disabled

timecode start
get/set timecode start How cues in this list will behave when timecode starts.
behavior

timecode stop
get/set timecode stop How cues in this list will behave when timecode stops.
behavior

Elements
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID Cues contained by this cue list, if any.

Commands

The cue list class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to
audition preview
other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

collapse Collapse the cue list in the sidebar.

expand Expand the cue list in the sidebar.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

movePlayheadDown Move the playhead in the active cue list to the next cue.

movePlayheadDownASequence Move the playhead in the active cue list to top of the next cue sequence.

movePlayheadUp Move the playhead in the active cue list to the previous cue.

movePlayheadUpASequnce Move the playhead in the active cue list to top of the previous cue sequence.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The cue list class inherits elements and properties from the group cue class.

Where Used

The cue list class is used in the following ways:

element of the workspace class.

current cue list property of the workspace class.

devamp cue
*(noun), pl. devamp cues *

Properties
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

In addition to the properties listed here, devamp cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

start next cue when slice ends get/set boolean Start the next cue at the moment the target slice ends?

stop target when slice ends get/set boolean Stop the target at the moment the target slice ends?

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

Commands

The devamp cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

audition preview Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The devamp cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

fade cue
*(noun), pl. fade cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, fade cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Property Access Type Description

absolute
audio fade
get/set or Set absolute or relative mode for fading audio levels.
mode
relative

absolute
fade mode get/set or Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use audio fade mode instead.
relative

do opacity get/set boolean Does this cue animate opacity?

do rotation get/set boolean Does this cue animate rotation?

do scale get/set boolean Does this cue animate scale?

do
get/set boolean Does this cue animate translation?
translation

real
opacity get/set Video opacity to fade to. 0 = 0%; 0.5 = 50%; 1 = 100%
number

preserve
get/set boolean Does this cue preserve aspect ratio?
aspect ratio

real Rotation in degrees when this cue’s rotation type is set to a single-axis mode (modes 1, 2, or 3). When rotation type is
rotation get/set
number 3D orientation (mode 0), this cannot be used to set and returns 0.0 when used to get.

0 = 3D orientation
rotation 1 = X axis
get/set integer
type 2 = Y axis
3 = Z axis

real
scale x get/set X-axis scale to fade to.
number

real
scale y get/set Y-axis scale to fade to.
number

stop target
get/set boolean Stop the target cue when this cue completes?
when done

absolute
video fade
get/set or Set absolute or relative mode for fading video geometry.
mode
relative

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

Commands

The fade cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

audition preview Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

getGang Get the gang for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Command Description

getLevel Get the level for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

setGang Set the gang for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

setLevel Set the level for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The fade cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

group cue
*(noun), pl. group cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, group cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

mode get/set group modes The playback behavior of this group.

playlist crossfade get/set boolean Does this playlist group crossfade between its child cues?

playlist crossfade duration get/set real number The duration of the cue’s playlist crossfade in seconds.

playlist loop get/set boolean Does this playlist group loop?

playlist shuffle get/set boolean Does this playlist group shuffle the order of its child cues?

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID Cues contained by this cue, if any.

Commands

The fade cue class responds to the following commands:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Command Description

audition preview Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

collapse Collapse the cue list in the cue list.

expand Expand the cue list in the cue list.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The group cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

Subclasses

The cue list class inherits elements and properties from the group cue class.

Where Used

The group cue class is used in the following ways:

direct parameter to the collapse command.

direct parameter to the expand command.

light cue
*(noun), pl. light cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, light cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

always collate get/set boolean Flag for whether this cue should always collate the effects of previous light cues in the same list when it runs.

command text get/set text The light command text of this cue.

subcontroller get/set boolean Is this cue used as a subcontroller in the Light Dashboard?

Elements
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

Commands

The light cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to
audition preview
other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

collateAndsStart Collate and start the light cue.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

prune Remove light commands that have no effect from a light cue.

removeLightCommandsMatching Remove existing light commands in the specified cue matching the command provided.

replaceLightCommand Replace a specified light command in the specified cue with a new light command.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

setLight Add a light command to the specified cue.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The light cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

Where Used

The light cue class is used in the following ways:

direct parameter to the prune command.

direct parameter to the collateAndStart command.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

light dashboard
(noun)

Property Access Type Description

dashboard fade The duration in seconds over which the next light command entered will fade from current to new
get/set real number
time level(s). Resets to 0.0 after each use.

dashboard light dashboard

get/set The view mode of the Light Dashboard.
mode view mode

dashboard
get/set boolean Is the Light Dashboard currently visible?
visibility

properties get/set record All of the Light Dashboard’s properties.

Commands

The light dashboard class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

clear Clear the levels in the light dashboard

newCueWithAll Create a new Light cue containing levels for all parameters of all instruments.

newCueWithChanges Create a new Light cue containing levels for all manually adjusted parameters in the light dashboard.

recordAllToLatest Record all levels for all parameters of all instruments into the latest run Light cue.

recordAllToSelected Record all levels for all parameters of all instruments into the selected Light cue(s).

redo Redo the last undone action.

revert Revert changes in the light dashboard.

setLight add a light command to the light dashboard.

undo Undo the last action.

updateLatestCue Copy all manually adjusted levels into the latest run Light cue.

updateOriginatingCues Copy all manually adjusted levels into their originating Light cue(s).

updateSelectedCues Copy all manually adjusted levels into the selected Light cue(s).

Where Used

The light dashboard class is used in the following ways:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

direct parameter to the clear command.

direct parameter to the updateLatestCue command.

direct parameter to the updateOriginatingCues command.

direct parameter to the updateSelectedCues command.
direct parameter to the newCueWithAll command.

direct parameter to the newCueWithChanges command.

direct parameter to the recordAllToLatest command.
direct parameter to the recordAllToSelected command.

direct parameter to the revert command.

current light dashboard property of the workspace class.

load cue
*(noun), pl. load cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, load cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

load time get/set real number Load target cue to this time.

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

Commands

The load cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

audition preview Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Command Description

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The load cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

mic cue
*(noun), pl. mic cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, mic cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

audio input
get integer The number of audio input channels for this cue.
channels

audio input patch

get/set text The name of this cue’s audio input patch. none means “unpatched.”
name

audio input patch

get/set integer The 1-indexed number of this cue’s audio input patch. 0 equals “unpatched.”
number

audio input patch id get/set text The unique ID of this cue’s audio input patch. Empty string or none equals “unpatched.”

audio output patch

get/set text The name of this cue’s audio output patch. none means “unpatched.”
name

audio output patch

get/set integer The 1-indexed number of this cue’s audio output patch. 0 means “unpatched.”
number

audio output patch

get/set text The unique ID of this cue’s audio output patch. Empty string or none equals “unpatched.”
id

The 1-indexed number of this cue’s audio output patch. Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use audio input patch
patch get/set integer
number or audio output patch number instead.

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

Commands

The mic cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Command Description

Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other
audition preview
cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

getGang Get the gang for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

getInputChannelName Get the input name for a specified row in the cue’s matrix.

getLevel Get the level for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

setGang Set the gang for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

setInputChannelName Set the intput name for a specified row in the cue’s matrix.

setLevel Set the level for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The mic cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

midi cue
*(noun), pl. midi cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, midi cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

(MIDI voice message type) Value when first and second bytes of the MIDI message are interpreted as parts of one
byte combo get/set integer
number. Used for pitch bend messages.

byte one get/set integer (MIDI voice message type) First byte of the MIDI message.

byte two get/set integer (MIDI voice message type) Second byte of the MIDI message.

channel get/set integer (MIDI voice message type) MIDI channel number.

midi
command get/set (MIDI voice message type) MIDI command.
command
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Property Access Type Description

command
get/set integer (MSC message type) MSC command format.
format

command
get/set integer (MSC message type) MSC command.
number

control
get/set integer (MSC message type) MSC control number.
number

control value get/set integer (MSC message type) MSC control value.

deviceID get/set integer (MSC message type) MSC device ID number.

end value get/set integer (MIDI voice message type) The end value for a faded MIDI message.

fade get/set boolean (MIDI voice message type) Does the MIDI message fade?

macro get/set integer (MSC message type) MSC macro parameter.

message type get/set midi type The type of MIDI message for this cue (msd, sysex, or voice.)

midi patch id get/set text The unique ID of this cue’s MIDI patch. Empty string or none means “unpatched.”

midi patch
get/set text The name of this cue’s MIDI patch. none means “unpatched.”
name

midi patch
get/set integer The 1-indexed number of this cue’s MIDI patch. 0 means “unpatched.”
number

msc frames get/set integer (MSC message type) MSC frames parameter.

msc hours get/set integer (MSC message type) MSC hours parameter.

msc minutes get/set integer (MSC message type) MSC minutes parameter.

msc seconds get/set integer (MSC message type) MSC seconds parameter.

msc
get/set integer (MSC message type) MSC subframes parameter.
subframes

patch get/set integer The 1-indexed number of this cue’s MIDI patch. Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use midi patch number instead.

q_list get/set text (MSC message type) Q List message parameter.

q_number get/set text (MSC message type) Q Number message parameter.

q_path get/set text (MSC message type) Q Path message parameter.

send time
get/set boolean (MSC message type) Send the timecode parameters with the SET command?
with set

smpte
smpte format get/set (MSC message type) SMPTE format of the timecode parameters.
format

start value get/set integer (MIDI voice message type) The start value for a faded MIDI message.

sysex (SysEx message type) The raw SysEx message. Use only hexadecimal characters and whitespace. Omit the starting
get/set text
message F0 and the ending F7 .

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Commands

The midi cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

audition preview Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The midi cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

midi file cue

*(noun), pl. midi file cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, midi file cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

midi patch name get/set text The name of this cue’s MIDI patch. none means “unpatched.”

midi patch number get/set integer The 1-indexed number of this cue’s MIDI patch. 0 means “unpatched.”

midi patch id get/set text The unique ID of this cue’s MIDI patch. Empty string or none means “unpatched.”

patch get/set integer The 1-indexed number of this cue’s MIDI patch. Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use midi patch number instead.

rate get/set real number Playback rate of the MIDI file.

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

Commands
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

The midi file cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

audition preview Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The midi file cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

network cue
*(noun), pl. network cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, network cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

custom The custom OSC message, for custom type messages. Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use parameter values
get/set text
message instead.)

The list of {x,y} coordinates representing entries which define the shape (1D) or path (2D) of the current
fade entries get/set list of text
fade.

The rate in frames per second in which fade values are sent. Must be a positive integer between 1 and
fade fps get/set integer
120 .

fade from get/set real number The starting value for a 1D fade.

fade number
get/set integer Whether the fade sends integer (0) or float (1) values.
type

fade path The maximum Y value for the grid displayed in the inspector for a 2D fade. Must not be a negative
get/set real number
height number.

The maximum X value for the grid displayed in the inspector for a 2D fade. Must not be a negative
fade path width get/set real number
number.

fade to get/set real number The ending value for a 1D fade.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Property Access Type Description

0 = no fade/resend
1 = 1D fade
fade type get/set integer
2 = 2D fade
Writeable only for string type parameters.

network patch
get/set text The name of this cue’s Network patch. none means “unpatched.”
name

network patch
get/set integer The 1-indexed number of this cue’s Network patch. 0 means “unpatched.”
number

network patch
get/set text The unique ID of this cue’s Network patch. Empty string or none means “unpatched.”
id

parameter The list of boolean values that represent the fade-enabled states of all fade-able parameters in this
get/set list of boolean
fades enabled Network cue.

parameter list of text, boolean,

get/set The list of parameter values used to configure the current command.
values or number

The 1-indexed number of this cue’s Network patch. Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use network patch
patch get/set integer
number instead.

The QLab OSC command for QLab-type Network cues. Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use parameter
q_command get/set number
values instead.

The QLab cue number for QLab-type Network cues. Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use parameter values
q_num get/set text
instead.

The QLab command parameters for QLab-type Network cues. Not all messages have parameters.
q_params get/set text
Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use parameter values instead.

The raw UDP message for UDP-type Network cues. Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use parameter values
udp message get/set text
instead.

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

Commands

The network cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

audition preview Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Command Description

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The network cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

override controller
(noun)

Properties

Property Access Type Description

dmx output enabled get/set boolean Allow DMX output (default is TRUE.)

midi input enabled get/set boolean Allow MIDI Voice input (default is TRUE.)

midi output enabled get/set boolean Allow MIDI Voice output (default is TRUE.)

msc input enabled get/set boolean Allow MSC input (default is TRUE.)

msc output enabled get/set boolean Allow MSC output (default is TRUE.)

osc input enabled get/set boolean Allow OSC input (default is TRUE.)

osc output enabled get/set boolean Allow OSC output (default is TRUE.)

overrides visibility get/set boolean Is the Overrides Controls window visible?

sysex input enabled get/set boolean Allow SysEx (other than MSC and MTC) input (default is TRUE.)

sysex output enabled get/set boolean Allow SysEx (other than MSC and MTC) output (default is TRUE.)

timecode input enabled get/set boolean Allow timecode input (default is TRUE.)

timecode output enabled get/set boolean Allow timecode output (default is TRUE.)

Where Used

The override controller class is used in the following ways:

overrides property of the application class.

Examples

-- override MIDI output (i.e. "don't output any MIDI")

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"
tell overrides to set midi output enabled to false
end tell
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

-- open the override controls window

tell application "QLab" to tell overrides to set overrides visibility to true

preferences controller
(noun)

Properties

Property Access Type Description

live fade preview get/set boolean Is live fade preview enabled?

Where Used

The preferences controller class is used in the following ways:

preferences property of the application class.

Example

-- turn on live fade preview

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5"
tell preferences to set live fade preview to true
end tell

script cue
*(noun), pl. script cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, script cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

script source get/set text AppleScript source for the cue. The script will be recompiled when set.

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

Commands

The script cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Command Description

audition preview Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

compile Verify and prepare the script for use.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The script cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

Where Used

The script cue class is used in the following ways:

direct parameter to the compile command.

target cue
*(noun), pl. target cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, target cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

assigned The cue number of the cue to assign. The cue with this number will be assigned as the new target of the cue which this
get/set text
number cue targets.

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

Commands

The target cue class responds to the following commands:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Command Description

audition preview Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The target cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

text cue
*(noun), pl. text cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, text cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

anchor x get/set real number Anchor along the x axis.

anchor y get/set real number Anchor along the y axis.

blend mode get/set text Display name of the video blend mode.

fill stage get/set boolean Is the cue displaying in fill stage mode?

fill style get/set fill styles How does the cue fill the stage?

full screen get/set boolean Is the cue displaying in full-stage mode? Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use ‘fill stage’ instead.

full surface get/set boolean Is the cue displaying in full-stage mode? Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use ‘fill stage’ instead.

fixed width get/set number Fixed width of the text cue. Setting this to 0 specifies “auto” width.

layer get/set integer The display layer of this cue. 0 is the bottom layer; 1000 is the top layer.

live text get/set text Live text of this cue. Setting this does not mark the workspace as edited.

live text Text alignment of the live text of this cue. Possible values are “left”, “center”, “right”, and
get/set text
alignment “justify”. Setting this does not mark the workspace as edited.

live text The list of text formats in the live text of this cue. Setting this does not mark the workspace as
get/set list of text format record
format edited.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Property Access Type Description

live text
get list of number A 2-item list representing the width and height of the live text of this cue.
output size

opacity get/set real number The opacity of this cue. 0 = 0%; 0.5 = 50%; 1 = 100%

preserve
get/set boolean Does this cue preserve aspect ratio?
aspect ratio

scale x get/set real number The X-axis scale of this cue.

scale y get/set real number The Y-axis scale of this cue.

Should the cue be scaled using

smooth get/set
smoothing interpolation?

stage name get/set text Video output stage name. Empty string or none means “unpatched.”

stage
get/set integer Video output stage number. 0 means “unpatched.”
number

stage id get/set text Video output stage unique ID. Empty string or none means “unpatched.”

text get/set text Text of this cue.

text
get/set text Text alignment of this cue. Possible values are “left”, “center”, “right”, and “justify”.
alignment

text format get/set list of text format record The list of text formats in the text of this cue.

text output
get list of number A 2-item list representing the width and height of the text of this cue.
size

translation x get/set real number The X-axis translation (position) of this cue.

translation y get/set real number The Y-axis translation (position) of this cue.

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

Commands

The text cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

audition preview Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Command Description

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The text cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

timecode cue
*(noun), pl. timecode cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, timecode cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

audio output patch

get/set text (For cues in LTC mode.) The name of this cue’s audio output patch. none means “unpatched.”
name

audio output patch

get/set integer (For cues in LTC mode.) The 1-indexed number of this cue’s audio output patch. 0 means “unpatched.”
number

audio output patch (For cues in LTC mode.) The unique ID of this cue’s audio output patch. Empty string or none means
get/set text
id “unpatched.”

midi patch name get/set text (For cues in MTC mode.) The name of this cue’s MIDI patch. none means “unpatched.”

midi patch number get/set integer (For cues in MTC mode.) The 1-indexed number of this cue’s MIDI patch. 0 means “unpatched.”

midi patch id get/set text (For cues in MTC mode.) The unique ID of this cue’s MIDI patch. Empty string or none means “unpatched.”

(For cues in LTC mode.) The 1-indexed number of this cue’s audio output patch. Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use
patch get/set integer
audio output patch number instead.

(For cues in MTC mode.) The 1-indexed number of this cue’s MIDI patch. Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use midi
patch get/set integer
patch number instead.

smpte
smpte format get/set SMPTE format of the outgoing timecode.
format

real
start time offset get/set Time in seconds where the timecode clock begins counting.
number

mtc or
type get/set The type of timecode used by this cue.
ltc

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Commands

The timecode cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

audition preview Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The timecode cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

video cue
*(noun), pl. video cues *

Properties

In addition to the properties listed here, video cue inherits properties from cue.

Property Access Type Description

anchor x get/set real number Anchor along the x axis.

anchor y get/set real number Anchor along the y axis.

audio input The number of audio input channels for this cue (i.e. the number of distinct channels
get integer
channels in the target audio file.)

audio output
get/set text The name of this cue’s audio output patch. none means “unpatched.”
patch name

audio output
get/set integer The 1-indexed number of this cue’s audio output patch. 0 means “unpatched.”
patch number

audio output The unique ID of this cue’s audio output patch. Empty string or none means
get/set text
patch id “unpatched.”

blend mode get/set text Display name of the video blend mode.

clock type get/set audio or video The clock type of the cue.

end time get/set real number Time in the target file where playback ends.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Property Access Type Description

fill stage get/set boolean Is the cue displaying in fill stage mode?

fill style get/set fill styles How does the cue fill the stage?

Is the cue displaying in full-stage mode? Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use ‘fill stage’
full screen get/set boolean
instead.

Is the cue displaying in full-stage mode? Deprecated in QLab 5.0 - use ‘fill stage’
full surface get/set boolean
instead.

Should the final frame of the video be left visible when playback reaches the end of
hold at end get/set boolean
the file?

infinite loop get/set boolean Does this cue loop infinitely?

integrated fade get/set enabled or disabled State of the integrated fade checkbox.

last slice infinite

get/set boolean Does the last slice of this cue loop infinitely?
loop

last slice play

get/set integer Number of times the last slice of this cue plays. Always >= 1 .
count

layer get/set integer The display layer of this cue. 0 is the bottom layer; 1000 is the top layer.

lock fade to cue get/set enabled or disabled State of the lock fade to start/end checkbox.

opacity get/set real number The opacity of this cue. 0 = 0%; 0.5 = 50%; 1 = 100%

The 1-indexed number of this cue’s audio output patch. Deprecated in QLab 5.0 -
patch get/set integer
use audio output patch number instead.

play count get/set boolean Number of times this cue plays. Always >= 1 .

preserve aspect
get/set boolean Does this cue preserve aspect ratio?
ratio

preserve pitch get/set enabled or disabled State of the preserve pitch checkbox.

rate get/set real number Playback rate of this cue.

scale x get/set real number The X-axis scale of this cue.

scale y get/set real number The Y-axis scale of this cue.

slice markers get/set list of slice marker record List of slice markers in this cue.

Should the cue be scaled using

smooth get/set
smoothing interpolation?

stage name get/set text Video output stage name. Empty string or none means “unpatched.”

stage number get/set integer Video output stage number. 0 means “unpatched.”

stage id get/set text Video output stage unique ID. Empty string or none means “unpatched.”

start time get/set real number Time in the target file where playback begins.

translation x get/set real number The X-axis translation (position) of this cue.

translation y get/set real number The Y-axis translation (position) of this cue.

Elements
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get/make/delete by name, by index, by uniqueID

Commands

The video cue class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

Audition preview one or more cues. Previewing starts only the action of the cue, skipping any prewait and not continuing to other
audition preview
cues.

capture timecode Set the cue’s timecode trigger to the current incoming timecode received by its parent cue list.

getGang Get the gang for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

getInputChannelName Get the input name for a specified row in the cue’s matrix.

getLevel Get the level for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

preview Preview one or more cues.

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

setGang Set the gang for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

setInputChannelName Set the intput name for a specified row in the cue’s matrix.

setLevel Set the level for a specified location in the cue’s matrix.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

Superclass

The video cue class inherits elements and properties from the cue class.

workspace
*(noun), pl. workspaces *

Properties

Property Access Type Description

active cues get list of cue The list of active cues (running or paused) in this workspace.

always audition get/set boolean Is the workspace currently set to always audition?

current cue list get/set cue list The cue list that’s currently visible in the main window of the workspace.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Property Access Type Description

current light dashboard get light dashboard The current Light Dashboard for the workspace.

edit mode get/set boolean Is the workspace currently in edit mode?

inspector visibility get/set boolean Is the inspector visible?

selected get/set list of cue The currently selected cue(s) in the current cue list.

show mode get/set boolean Is the workspace currently in show mode?

unique id get text The unique ID of the workspace.

Elements

Element Access Key Forms Description

cue get by name, by unique id The complete list of cues in this workspace.

cue list get/make/delete by name, by index, by unique id The list of cue lists in the workspace.

Commands

The workspace class responds to the following commands:

Command Description

audition go Make a workspace Audition GO.

go Make a workspace GO.

hardStop hardStop one or more cues or workspaces.

load Load one or more cues or workspaces to a given time.

make Create a new cue.

movePlayheadDown Move the playhead in the active cue list to the next cue.

movePlayheadDownASequence Move the playhead in the active cue list to top of the next cue sequence.

movePlayheadUp Move the playhead in the active cue list to the previous cue.

movePlayheadUpASequnce Move the playhead in the active cue list to top of the previous cue sequence.

moveSelectionDown Select the next cue.

moveSelectionUp Select the previous cue.

panic Panic one or more cues or workspaces.

pause Pause one or more cues or workspaces.

redo Redo the last undone action.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Command Description

reset Reset one or more cues or workspaces.

start Start one or more cues or workspaces.

stop Stop one or more cues or workspaces.

undo Undo the last action.

Where Used

The workspace class is used in the following ways:

element of application class.

direct parameter to the make command.

Enumerations

absolute relative
Constants

Constant Description

absolute

relative

Where Used

The absolute relative enumeration is used in the following ways:

audio fade mode property of the fade cue class.

video fade mode property of the fade cue class.

clock types
Constants

Constant Description

audio

video

Where Used
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

The clock types enumeration is used in the following ways:

clock type property of the video cue class.

continue modes
Constants

Constant Description

auto_continue Automatically continue to the next cue after completing the post-wait.

auto_follow Automatically continue to the next cue after completing the action of the cue.

do_not_continue Do not automatically continue to the next cue.

Where Used

The continue modes enumeration is used in the following ways:

continue mode property of the cue class.

enabled disabled
Constants

Constant Description

disabled

enabled

Where Used

The enabled disabled enumeration is used in the following ways:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

fade property of the midi cue class.

hotkey trigger property of the cue class.

integrated fade property of the audio cue class.

integrated fade property of the video cue class.
lock fade to cue property of the audio cue class.

lock fade to cue property of the video cue class.

midi trigger property of the cue class.
preserve pitch property of the audio cue class.

preserve pitch property of the video cue class.

sync to timecode property of the cue list class.
timecode trigger property of the cue class.

wall clock trigger property of the cue class.

fill styles
Constants

Constant Description

fill Fill the entire stage with the cue, preserving aspect ratio. Some portion of the cue may be cut off.

fit Fit the cue inside the stage, preserving aspect ratio. Some empty space may be left to the sides or top and bottom of the cue.

stretch Fill the stage by stretching the cue height and width to match the stage.

Where Used

The fill styles enumeration is used in the following ways:

fill style property of the video cue class.

fill style property of the text cue class.

fill style property of the camera cue class.

group modes
Constants

Constant Description

cue_list The group is a cue list.

timeline Timeline - start all children simultaneously.

start_first_and_enter Start first child and enter into group.

start_first Start first child and go to next cue.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Constant Description

start_random Start a random child and then go to the next cue.

playlist Playlist - one cue at a time.

Where Used

The group modes enumeration is used in the following ways:

mode property of the group cue class.

light dashboard view mode

Constants

Constant Description

sliders

tiles

Where Used

The light dashboard view mode enumeration is used in the following ways:

dashboard mode property of the light dashboard class.

midi command
Constants

Constant Description

channel_pressure

control_change

key_pressure a.k.a. aftertouch

note_off

note_on

pitch_bend a.k.a. pitch wheel

program_change

Where Used

The midi command enumeration is used in the following ways:

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

command property of the midi cue class.

midi command property of the cue class.

midi type
Constants

Constant Description

msc MIDI Show Control message.

sysex MIDI System Exclusive message.

voice MIDI Voice message.

Where Used

The midi type enumeration is used in the following ways:

message type property of the midi cue class.

mtc ltc
Constants

Constant Description

ltc Linear/Longitudinal Timecode.

mtc MIDI Timecode.

Where Used

The mtc ltc enumeration is used in the following ways:

sync mode property of the cue list class.

smpte format
Constants

Constant Description

fps_24 24 frames per second.

fps_25 25 frames per second.

fps_30_drop 30 frames per second, drop frame.

fps_30_non_drop 30 frames per second, non-drop frame.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Where Used

The smpte format enumeration is used in the following ways:

smpte format property of the cue list class.

smpte format property of the midi list class.

smpte format property of the timecode list class.

timecode start
Constants

Constant Description

lookback time start cues whose timecode triggers precede the incoming timecode by the lookback window.

recent hour start cues whose timecode triggers fall within the most recent hour of incoming timecode.

recent minute start cues whose timecode triggers fall within the most recent minute of incoming timecode.

skip do not start cues whose timecode triggers precede the incoming timecode.

start all start all cues whose timecode triggers precede the incoming timecode.

Where Used

The timecode start enumeration is used in the following ways:

timecode start behavior property of the cue list class.

timecode stop
Constants

Constant Description

hard pause hard pause timecode triggered cues when incoming timecode stops.

hard stop hard stop timecode triggered cues when incoming timecode stops.

none do nothing when incoming timecode stops.

Where Used

The timecode stop enumeration is used in the following ways:

timecode stop behavior property of the cue list class.

Records
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

range record
A 2-item record representing the offset and length of a substring.

Properties

Property Access Type Description

rangeLength get/set integer or text The length of the substring range.

rangeOffset get/set integer or text The 1-indexed location of the starting character of a substring range.

Where Used

The range record is used in the following ways:

range property of the text format record.

rgba color record

A 4-item record representing red, green, blue, and alpha percentage values of a color.

Properties

Property Access Type Description

red get/set real number

green get/set real number

blue get/set real number

alpha get/set real number

Where Used

The rgba color record record is used in the following ways:

backgroundRgbaColor property of the text format record.

rgbaColor property of the text format record.

strikethroughRgbaColor property of the text format record.
underlineRgbaColor property of the text format record.

Examples

This script will set the color of all the text in cue 2 to a nice purple-y color:

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set aNiceColor to {rgbaColor:{red:0.5, green:0.2, blue:0.6, alpha:1}}
set text format of cue "2" to aNiceColor
end tell
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

This script will set the color of the underline of all the text in cue 2 to primary blue:

tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

set aNiceColor to {underlineRgbaColor:{red:0, green:0, blue:1, alpha:1}}
set text format of cue "2" to aNiceColor
end tell

row column record

A 2-item record representing a position defined by a numeric row and column value.

Properties

Property Access Type Description

column get/set integer

row get/set integer

Where Used

The row column record is used in the following ways:

cart position property of the cue class.

slice marker record

A 2-item record representing the play count and end time of a slice.

Properties

Property Access Type Description

playCount get/set integer The number of times a slice will play. Play count -1 = infinite loop.

time get/set real number The end time of a slice.

Where Used

The slice marker record record is used in the following ways:

slice markers property of the audio cue class.

slice markers property of the video cue class.

text format record

A record representing the formatting aspects of a text string.

Properties
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - AppleScript Dictionary 9.4

Property Access Type Description

rgba color An RGBA color record representing the percentage values for the red, green, blue, and alpha components
backgroundRgbaColor get/set
record of the background color of this format.

fontFamily get/set text The font family for this format. (e.g. “Helvetica”, “Courier New”)

fontName get/set text The font name for this format. (e.g. “CourierNewPS-BoldItalicMT”)

fontSize get/set real The font size for this format.

fontStyle get/set text The font style (face) for this format. (e.g. “Regular”, “Light Oblique”)

real
lineSpacing get/set The line spacing for this format.
number

range
range get/set A range record representing the index and length for the substring that has this format.
record

rgba color An RGBA color record representing the percentage values for the red, green, blue, and alpha components
rgbaColor get/set
record of the text color of this format.

rgba color An RGBA color record representing the percentage values for the red, green, blue, and alpha components
strikethroughRgbaColor get/set
record of the strikethrough color of this format.

strikethroughStyle get/set text The strikethrough style of this format. Possible values are “none”, “single”, and “double”.

rgba color An RGBA color record representing the percentage values for the red, green, blue, and alpha components
underlineRgbaColor get/set
record of the underline color of this format.

underlineStyle get/set text The underline style of this format. Possible values are “none”, “single”, and “double”.

An optional 1-indexed word number to which this format should be applied. When used, the “range”
wordIndex get/set integer
property will be ignored. (setting only)

Where Used

The text format record record is used in the following ways:

live text format property of the text cue class.

text format property of the text cue class.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Parameter Reference
QLab contains a number of OSC- and AppleScript-controllable parameters which must be referred to in a specific and (in some
cases) difficult-to-remember way.

This section provides a straightforward reference for the scriptable parameters which come from long lists and their scripting name
or index if applicable.

MIDI Show Control Commands

MSC commands are scriptable using their index number.

Command Index

GO 1

STOP 2

RESUME 3

TIMED_GO 4

LOAD 5

SET 6

FIRE 7

ALL_OFF 8

RESTORE 9

RESET 10

GO_OFF 11

GO/JAM_CLOCK 16

STANDBY_+ 17

STANDBY_- 18

SEQUENCE_+ 19

SEQUENCE_- 20

START_CLOCK 21

STOP_CLOCK 22

ZERO_CLOCK 23

SET_CLOCK 24

MTC_CHASE_ON 25

MTC_CHASE_OFF 26
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Command Index

OPEN_CUE_LIST 27

CLOSE_CUE_LIST 28

OPEN_CUE_PATH 29

CLOSE_CUE_PATH 30

MIDI Show Control Command Format Types

MSC command format types are scriptable using their index number.

Command Format Type Index

All Types 127

Lighting (General) 1

Moving Lights 2

Color Changers 3

Strobes 4

Lasers 5

Chasers 6

Sound (General) 16

Music 17

CD Players 18

EPROM Playback 19

Audio Tape Machines 20

Intercoms 21

Amplifiers 22

Audio Effects Devices 23

Equalizers 24

Machinery (General) 32

Rigging 33

Flys 34

Lifts 35

Turntables 36

Trusses 37

Robots 38

Animation 39
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Command Format Type Index

Floats 40

Breakaways 41

Barges 42

Video (General) 48

Video Tape Machines 49

Video Cassette Machines 50

Video Disc Players 51

Video Switchers 52

Video Effects 53

Video Character Generators 54

Video Still Stores 55

Video Monitors 56

Projection (General) 64

Film Projectors 65

Slide Projectors 66

Video Projectors 67

Dissolvers 68

Shutter Controls 69

Process Control (General) 80

Hydraulic Oil 81

H2O 82

CO2 83

Compressed Air 84

Natural Gas 85

Fog 86

Smoke 87

Cracked Haze 88

Pyrotechnics (General) 96

Fireworks 97

Explosions 98

Flame 99

Smoke Pots 100

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Video Blend Modes

Blend modes are scriptable using their full names as strings.

Blend Mode Name

Normal

Darken

Multiply

Color Burn

Linear Burn

Lighten

Screen

Color Dodge

Linear Dodge

Overlay

Soft Light

Hard Light

Pin Light

Difference

Exclusion

Subtract

Divide

Hue

Saturation

Color

Luminosity

Addition Compositing

Maximum Compositing

Source Atop Compositing

Video Effects

Video effects and their parameters are scriptable using their scripting name. Some parameters can accept values beyond those
listed in the “Allowed Values” column, so feel free to try other values.

Effect Name Parameter Name Scripting Name Allowed Values

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Effect Name Parameter Name Scripting Name Allowed Values

Color Controls ColorControls

Brightness inputBrightness -1.0 - 1.0

Contrast inputContrast 0.25 - 4.0

Hue Angle inputAngle -180.0 - 180.0

Saturation inputSaturation 0.0 - 2.0

Exposure Exposure

Exposure Value inputEV -10.0 - 10.0

Gamma Gamma

Power inputPower -0.1 - 3.0

Sepia / Monochrome SepiaMonochrome

0 (Sepia)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect
1 (Monochrome)

Color inputColor Four floats, each 0.0 - 1.0

Intensity inputIntensity 0.0 - 1.0

Min / Max / Invert MinMaxInvert

0 (Minimum Component)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect 1 (Maximum Component)
2 (Color Invert)

White Point WhitePoint

Color inputColor Four floats, each 0.0 - 1.0

Highlights and Shadows HighlightShadow

Highlight inputHighlightAmount 0.0 - 1.0

Shadow inputShadowAmount -1.0 - 1.0

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 100.0

Temperature and Tint TemperatureTint

Source Temperature Source_Temperature 2000.0 - 10000.0

Source Tint Source_Tint -500.0 - 500.0

Target Temperature Target_Temperature 2000.0 - 10000.0

Target Tint Target_Tint -500.0 - 500.0

Vibrance Vibrance

Amount inputAmount -1.0 - 1.0

Tone Curve ToneCurve

Point 1 X Point_0_X 0.0 - 1.0

Point 1 Y Point_0_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Point 2 X Point_1_X 0.0 - 1.0

Point 2 Y Point_1_Y 0.0 - 1.0

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Effect Name Parameter Name Scripting Name Allowed Values

Point 3 X Point_2_X 0.0 - 1.0

Point 3 Y Point_2_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Point 4 X Point_3_X 0.0 - 1.0

Point 4 Y Point_3_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Point 5 X Point_4_X 0.0 - 1.0

Point 5 Y Point_4_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Color Clamp ColorClamp

Minimum Red Min_R 0.0 - 1.0

Maximum Red Max_R 0.0 - 1.0

Minimum Green Min_G 0.0 - 1.0

Maximum Green Max_G 0.0 - 1.0

Minimum Blue Min_B 0.0 - 1.0

Maximum Blue Max_B 0.0 - 1.0

Minimum Alpha Min_A 0.0 - 1.0

Maximum Alpha Max_A 0.0 - 1.0

Color Matrix ColorMatrix

Red to Red R_R -1.0 - 1.0

Green to Red G_R -1.0 - 1.0

Blue to Red B_R -1.0 - 1.0

Alpha to Red A_R -1.0 - 1.0

Red Bias R_Bias -1.0 - 1.0

Red to Green R_G -1.0 - 1.0

Green to Green G_G -1.0 - 1.0

Blue to Green B_G -1.0 - 1.0

Alpha to Green A_G -1.0 - 1.0

Green Bias G_Bias -1.0 - 1.0

Red to Blue R_B -1.0 - 1.0

Green to Blue G_B -1.0 - 1.0

Blue to Blue B_B -1.0 - 1.0

Alpha to Blue A_B -1.0 - 1.0

Blue Bias B_Bias -1.0 - 1.0

Red to Alpha R_A -1.0 - 1.0

Green to Alpha G_A -1.0 - 1.0

Blue to Alpha B_A -1.0 - 1.0

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Effect Name Parameter Name Scripting Name Allowed Values

Alpha to Alpha A_A -1.0 - 1.0

Alpha Bias A_Bias -1.0 - 1.0

Color Threshold ColorThreshold

Threshold inputThreshold 0.0 - 1.0

Spot Color SpotColor

Center Color 1 inputCenterColor1 Four floats, each 0.0 - 1.0

Replacement Color 1 inputReplacementColor1 Four floats, each 0.0 - 1.0

Closeness 1 inputCloseness1 0.0 - 1.0

Contrast 1 inputContrast1 0.0 - 10.0

Center Color 2 inputCenterColor2 Four floats, each 0.0 - 1.0

Replacement Color 2 inputReplacementColor2 Four floats, each 0.0 - 1.0

Closeness 2 inputCloseness2 0.0 - 1.0

Contrast 2 inputContrast2 0.0 - 10.0

Center Color 3 inputCenterColor3 Four floats, each 0.0 - 1.0

Replacement Color 3 inputReplacementColor3 Four floats, each 0.0 - 1.0

Closeness 3 inputCloseness3 0.0 - 1.0

Contrast 3 inputContrast3 0.0 - 10.0

Linear Key LinearKey

0 (Green)
Key Color inputKeyColor
1 (Blue)

Cutoff inputCutoff 0.0 - 4.0

Contrast inputContrast 0.0 - 10.0

Box / Disc / Gaussian Blur BoxDiscGaussianBlur

0 (Box Blur)
Choose Blur Choose_Blur 1 (Disc Blur)
2 (Gaussian Blur)

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 400.0

Bokeh Blur BokehBlur

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 500.0

Ring Amount inputRingAmount 0.0 - 1.0

Ring Size inputRingSize 0.0 - 500.0

Softness inputSoftness 0.0 - 10.0

Motion Blur MotionBlur

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 400.0

Angle inputAngle -360.0 - 360.0

Sharpen Luminance SharpenLuminance

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Effect Name Parameter Name Scripting Name Allowed Values

Sharpness inputSharpness 0.0 - 2.0

Unsharp Mask UnsharpMask

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 100.0

Intensity inputIntensity 0.0 - 1.0

Zoom Blur ZoomBlur

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Amount inputAmount 0.0 - 200.0

Morphology Gradient MorphologyGradient

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 100.0

Morphology Min / Max MorphologyMinMax

0 (Morphology Minimum)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect
1 (Morphology Maximum)

Width inputWidth 1.0 - 101.0

Height inputHeight 1.0 - 101.0

Depth of Field DepthOfField

Point 1 X Point_0_X 0.0 - 1.0

Point 1 Y Point_0_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Point 2 X Point_1_X 0.0 - 1.0

Point 2 Y Point_1_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 100.0

Saturation inputSaturation 0.0 - 5.0

Unsharp Mask Intensity inputUnsharpMaskIntensity 0.0 - 10.0

Unsharp Mask Radius inputUnsharpMaskRadius 0.0 - 20.0

Pixellation Pixellation

0 (Pixellate)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect
1 (Hexagonal Pixellate)

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Scale inputScale 1.0 - 100.0

Screen Screen

0 (Dot Screen)
1 (Line Screen)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect
2 (Hatched Screen)
3 (Circular Screen)

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Effect Name Parameter Name Scripting Name Allowed Values

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Angle inputAngle -360.0 - 360.0

Width inputWidth 2.0 - 50.0

Sharpness inputSharpness 0.0 - 1.0

Bloom and Gloom BloomGloom

0 (Bloom)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect
1 (Gloom)

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 100.0

Intensity inputIntensity 0.0 - 1.0

CMYK Halftone CMYKHalftone

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Angle inputAngle -360.0 - 360.0

Width inputWidth 0.0 - 100.0

Sharpness inputSharpness 0.0 - 1.0

Gray Component Replacement inputGCR 0.0 - 1.0

Under Color Removal inputUCR 0.0 - 1.0

Photo Effects PhotoEffects

0 (Chrome)
1 (Fade)
2 (Instant)
3 (Mono)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect
4 (Noir)
5 (Process)
6 (Tonal)
7 (Transfer)

Color Posterize ColorPosterize

Levels inputLevels 2.0 - 30.0

Crystallize and Pointillize CrystallizePointillize

0 (Crystallize)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect
1 (Pointillize)

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 100.0

Edge Work EdgeWork

0 (Edge Work)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect
1 (Edges)

Intensity inputIntensity 0.0 - 10.0

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 20.0

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Effect Name Parameter Name Scripting Name Allowed Values

Line Overlay LineOverlay

Contrast inputContrast 0.25 - 10.0

Edge Intensity inputEdgeIntensity 0.0 - 1.0

Threshold inputThreshold 0.0 - 1.0

NR Noise Level inputNRNoiseLevel 0.0 - 4.0

NR Sharpness inputNRSharpness 0.0 - 1.0

Kaleidoscope Kaleidoscope

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Angle inputAngle -360.0 - 360.0

Count inputCount 1.0 - 64.0

Triangle Kaleidoscope TriangleKaleidoscope

Center X Point_X 0.0 - 1.0

Center Y Point_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Rotation inputRotation -360.0 - 360.0

Size inputSize 1.0 - 4000.0

Decay inputDecay 0.0 - 1.0

Droste Droste

Inset Point 1 X Point_0_X 0.0 - 1.0

Inset Point 1 Y Point_0_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Inset Point 2 X Point_1_X 0.0 - 1.0

Inset Point 2 Y Point_1_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Periodicity inputPeriodicity 1.0 - 400.0

Strands inputStrands 0.0 - 20.0

Zoom inputZoom 0.0 - 5.0

Rotation inputRotation -360.0 - 360.0

Light Tunnel LightTunnel

Center X Center_X 0.0 - 1.0

Center Y Center_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Radius inputRadius 1.0 - 4000.0

Rotation inputRotation -360.0 - 360.0

Median and Comic Effect MedianComicEffect

0 (Median)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect
1 (Comic Effect)

False Color FalseColor

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Effect Name Parameter Name Scripting Name Allowed Values

No scriptable parameters.

Thermal / X-Ray ThermalXRay

0 (Thermal)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect
1 (X-Ray)

Gabor Gradients GaborGradients

No parameters.

Spotlight Spotlight

Color inputColor Four floats, each 0.0 - 1.0

Brightness inputBrightness 0.0 - 2.0

Concentration inputConcentration 0.0 - 5.0

Light Position X Light_Pos_X -1.0 - 2.0

Light Position Y Light_Pos_Y -1.0 - 2.0

Light Position Z Light_Pos_Z -1.0 - 2.0

Points At X Light_Points_X -1.0 - 2.0

Points At Y Light_Points_Y -1.0 - 2.0

Points At X Light_Points_Z -1.0 - 2.0

Dither Dither

Intensity inputIntensity 0.0 - 5.0

Noise Reduction NoiseReduction

Noise Level inputNoiseLevel 0.0 - 0.1

Sharpness inputSharpness 0.0 - 2.0

Circle Splash / Hole Distortion CircleSplashHoleDistortion

0 (Circle Splash)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect
1 (Hole)

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 1000.0

Pinch / Bump Distortion PinchBumpDistortion

0 (Pinch)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect 1 (Bump)
2 (Bump Linear)

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 1000.0

Angle inputAngle -360.0 - 360.0

Scale inputScale 0.0 - 2.0

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Effect Name Parameter Name Scripting Name Allowed Values

Torus / Lens Distortion TorusLensDistortion

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 500.0

Width inputWidth 0.0 - 200.0

Refraction inputRefraction -5.0 - 5.0

Twirl / Circular Wrap / Vortex TwirlVortexDistortion

0 (Twirl)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect 1 (Circular Wrap)
2 (Vortex)

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 1000.0

Angle inputAngle -360.0 - 360.0

Glass Lozenge GlassLozenge

Point 1 X Point_0_X 0.0 - 1.0

Point 1 Y Point_0_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Point 2 X Point_1_X 0.0 - 1.0

Point 2 Y Point_1_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Radius inputRadius 0.0 - 1000.0

Refraction inputRefraction -5.0 - 5.0

Keystone Correction KeystoneCorrection

0 (Combined)
Correction Type Choose_Effect 1 (Horizontal)
2 (Vertical)

Upper Left X UL_X 0.0 - 1.0

Upper Left Y UL_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Upper Right X UR_X 0.0 - 1.0

Upper Right Y UR_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Lower Left X LL_X 0.0 - 1.0

Lower Left Y LL_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Lower Right X LR_X 0.0 - 1.0

Lower Right Y LR_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Focal Length inputFocalLength 0.0 - 30.0

Op Tile OpTile

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Effect Name Parameter Name Scripting Name Allowed Values

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Angle inputAngle -360.0 - 360.0

Scale inputScale 0.1 - 10.0

Width inputWidth 0.0 - 1000.0

Perspective Tile PerspectiveTile

Bottom Left X Bottom_Left_X 0.0 - 1.0

Bottom Left Y Bottom_Left_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Bottom Right X Bottom_Right_X 0.0 - 1.0

Bottom Right Y Bottom_Right_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Top Left X Top_Left_X 0.0 - 1.0

Top Left Y Top_Left_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Top Right X Top_Right_X 0.0 - 1.0

Top Right Y Top_Right_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Quad Tiles QuadTiles

0 (Fourfold Translated Tile)

Choose Effect Choose_Effect 1 (Fourfold Reflected Tile)
2 (Parallelogram Tile)

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Angle inputAngle -360.0 - 360.0

Acute Angle inputAcuteAngle -360.0 - 360.0

Width inputWidth 1.0 - 200.0

Reflected Tiles ReflectedTiles

0 (Glide Tile)
1 (Sixfold Reflected Tile)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect
2 (Eightfold Reflected Tile)
3 (Twelvefold Reflected Tile)

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Angle inputAngle -360.0 - 360.0

Width inputWidth 1.0 - 200.0

Rotated Tiles RotatedTiles

0 (Triangle Tile)
Choose Effect Choose_Effect 1 (Fourfold Reflected Tile)
2 (Sixfold Reflected Tile)

Input X _protocolInput_X 0.0 - 1.0

Input Y _protocolInput_Y 0.0 - 1.0

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Effect Name Parameter Name Scripting Name Allowed Values

Angle inputAngle -360.0 - 360.0

Width inputWidth 1.0 - 200.0

Nine-Part Stretched NinePartStretched

Lower Left X LL_X 0.0 - 1.0

Lower Left Y LL_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Upper Right X UR_X 0.0 - 1.0

Upper Right Y UR_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Grow Amount X Grow_X 0.0 - 1000.0

Grow Amount Y Grow_Y 0.0 - 1000.0

Nine-Part Tiled NinePartTiled

Lower Left X LL_X 0.0 - 1.0

Lower Left Y LL_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Upper Right X UR_X 0.0 - 1.0

Upper Right Y UR_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Grow Amount X Grow_X 0.0 - 5000.0

Grow Amount Y Grow_Y 0.0 - 5000.0

Flip Vertically inputFlipYTiles BOOLEAN

Shutter Shutter

0 - Rectangle
Shape Shape
1 - Ellipse

Left Left 0.0 - 1.0

Right Right 0.0 - 1.0

Bottom Bottom 0.0 - 1.0

Top Top 0.0 - 1.0

Feaather Feather 0.0 - 800.0

Window Window

Origin X Origin_X 0.0 - 1.0

Origin Y Origin_Y 0.0 - 1.0

Width Size_W 0.0 - 1.0

Height Size_H 0.0 - 1.0

Rectangle inputRectangle Four floats, each 0.0 - 1.0

Drop Shadow DropShadow

Distance Distance 0.0 - 400.0

Angle Angle -360.0 - 360.0

Blur radius BlurRadius 0.0 - 400.0

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - Parameter Reference 9.5

Effect Name Parameter Name Scripting Name Allowed Values

Alpha Alpha 0.0 - 1.0

Color inputColor Four floats, each 0.0 - 1.0

QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC & Scriptin

OSC & Scripting Examples

While having a list of available OSC and AppleScript commands is all well and good, it can sometimes be difficult to put the pieces together int
you started. Remember, you can always write to support@figure53.com and send us your script-in-progress, and we’ll do our best to get you

Remember, too, that there is usually more than one way to get something done, and the examples here are not meant to be authoritatively th

The AppleScript examples here can be run from within a Script cue or from another application such as Script Editor. The OSC examples can

Adjusting Audio Levels

The following AppleScript and OSC examples both set the main level of all selected cues to -10 dB. You could easily replace -10 with some
negative when using AppleScript or OSC.

AppleScript

1 tell application id "com.figure53.qlab.5"

2 repeat with theCue in (selected of front workspace as list)
3 try
4 theCue setLevel row 0 column 0 db -10
5 end try
6 end repeat
7 end tell

tell is how AppleScript starts a block of code. com.figure53.qlab.5 is how you instruct the AppleScript interpreter to send the contents of

repeat starts another block of code which will be repeated until a particular condition is met, and with indicates that the condition has to d
(selected of front workspace as list) sets up the details of the condition: find all of the cues in the front workspace which are selected,
theCue with each successive item.

try starts yet another block of code with a special condition: if, for some reason, the code inside this block doesn’t work for a particular iter
running. This allows the script to handle a case wherein some of the selected cues don’t have audio levels. We want to be able to select a bun
select five Audio cues and one Memo cue, the script should adjust the Audio cues and ignore the Memo cue. The try block allow

setLevel is a QLab-specific AppleScript command which sets the level of the specified matrix crosspoint in the specified cue. theCue is the
audio levels matrix mixer, column 0 is the main input column of the audio levels matrix mixer, and db -10 states the level that you want to se

end try closes the try block.

end repeat closes the repeat block.

end tell closes the tell block.

OSC

The OSC solution to this problem is rather simpler; it’s just a single command:

/cue/selected/level/0/0 -10
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC & Scriptin

/cue/selected directs the OSC message to all selected cues.

/level says that the value we’re sending ( -10 in this case) should be used to adjust the audio level. /0/0 represents the row and column of

And finally -10 is the value that gets sent.

QLab always ignores OSC messages when they’re inapplicable, so AppleScript’s concept of “try” is unnecessary.

Disarming A Specific Cue

The following AppleScript and OSC examples show how to disarm a specific cue. In this example, the cue is numbered “4”, but the same thing
numbers; they can be any text. So cue “panda” works too, if you have cue in your workspace numbered “panda”. Since cue numbers have to b
they are the best identifier to use with scripting.

AppleScript

tell application id "com.figure53.qlab.5" to tell front workspace

set armed of cue "4" to false
end tell

It seems simple enough, but there are a couple of important details in there.

First, notice that the tell block says “tell something to tell something else”. The reason for that is that QLab can have more than one workspac
workspace we want to address. If we wanted to address a specific workspace, whether or not it was in front, we could instead write:

tell application id "com.figure53.qlab.5" to tell workspace "Hamlet.qlab5"

That only works, obviously, if the workspace is saved with the name “Hamlet”.

The second important thing is that the cue number is in quotation marks. If you did not put quotes around the number, QLab would think you
It’s a small difference that makes a big difference.

OSC

The OSC version of this operation is fairly similar:

/cue/4/armed 0

The OSC message /armed interprets “0” as “false” and any other number as true. You could also use /F in place of the 0 , because /F is th

Create And Move a New Cue

This example is not necessarily the most immediately practical, but it demonstrates several useful concepts which can be applied to many diff

AppleScript

This script creates a new Memo cue and then moves the newly created cue into a Group cue. It asks the human to enter the cue numbe
offers the cue number of that as the default choice.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC & Scriptin

1 tell application id "com.figure53.QLab.5" to tell front workspace

2
3 set theGroupNumber to ""
4
5 try
6 set theSelectedCue to last item of (selected as list)
7 if q type of theSelectedCue is "Group" then
8 set theGroupNumber to q number of theSelectedCue
9 end if
10 end try
11
12 display dialog "Enter the cue number of the Group cue that the new cue will be created in:" default answer theGroupNumber with icon
13
14 set theGroupNumber to text returned of result
15 set theGroup to the first cue whose q number is theGroupNumber
16
17 make type "Memo"
18 set newCue to last item of (selected as list)
19 set newCueId to uniqueID of newCue
20 set cueList to parent of newCue
21 move cue id newCueId of cueList to end of theGroup
22
23 end tell

First, the tell block directs the AppleScript at the front workspace in QLab.

Next, we set theGroupNumber to "" which creates an empty variable theGroupNumber . This is necessary because later on, the script is goin
so doing this up front guarantees that there will be something to check.

Next comes a try block, which means “if the code inside this block returns an error, just forget about it and move on.” That’s necessary beca
creates a variable, theSelectedCue , and sets its contents to the selected cue. If more that one cue is selected, the last selected cue is the on
not it returns an error. The try block prevents the script from halting as a result, because the script doesn’t require a selected cue to operat

If a cue is selected, we want to save its cue number for future reference, but only if it’s a Group cue. So we use an if statement to open a
then the code inside the block is executed and the cue number of the cue is stored in theGroupNumber : set theGroupNumber to q number o

The next line displays a dialog box on screen which asks the human for input. This line has a lot of pieces:

display dialog "Some text" is the basic form of this message. The text inside quotation marks will appear as a prompt to the human. T

default answer theGroupNumber fills in a default answer using the contents of the variable theGroupNumber .

with icon note shows an icon in the box. There are three options… icon note shows the application icon, icon stop shows a stop si
application icon as a badge.
with title "New Cue In Group" sets the text which appears in the title bar of the dialog box.

buttons {"Cancel", "OK"} default button "OK" cancel button "Cancel" tells the box to show two buttons with the labels “Cancel” a
shown in color and uses the return or enter key for a keyboard shortcut, and that the button labeled “Cancel” should be the cancel butto
keyboard shortcut.

The first line after the display dialog line stores the text that the human entered in the variable called theGroupNumber : set theGroupNum

Then, set theGroup to the first cue whose q number is theGroupNumber sets theGroup to refer to the actual cue that has that number.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC & Scriptin

Next, the script creates a new Memo cue with make type "Memo" . Newly created cues are automatically selected, which means they are n
store a reference to it: set newCue to last item of (selected as list)

Moving cues can be complicated because they have to be moved relative to the cue list that they are contained within, rather than to the wor
to uniqueID of newCue gets the uniqueID of the new cue and saves it in a variable called newCueId

Next, we need to find out what cue list contains the new cue, and store that in another variable: set cueList to parent of newCue

At last, we know everything we need to know to move the new cue into the Group: move cue id newCueId of cueList to end of theGro

And then we wrap it all up with end tell which closes the outermost block of the script.

OSC

The above can be approximated with a series of OSC messages…

/new memo
/cue/selected/name #/cue/selected/uniqueID#
/move/#/cue/selected/name# {1} {group_cue_id}

First, create a new Memo cue. Then set the name of the selected cue (which is that new cue) to its own uniqueID using an OSC query. Then
(which we just set to the uniqueID of that cue).

Create Fade-in Cues

This is the most complex of these examples: create fade-in cues for every selected cue, fading the main audio level to the level that the sourc

While it’s technically possible to achieve this via OSC, there’s a lot of decision making in this script which is not what OSC is good at. OSC is ab
see, this example gets information from QLab, interprets it, and then makes decisions about how to proceed.

If you skipped over the first example, I recommend going back and reading it first. This example builds on those concepts.

1 tell application id "com.figure53.qlab.5"

2 try
3 repeat with sourceCue in (selected of front workspace as list)
4 if q type of sourceCue is "Audio" or q type of sourceCue is "Mic" or q type of sourceCue is "Video" or q type of sourceCue is "Cam
5 set sourceCueLevel to sourceCue getLevel row 0 column 0
6 sourceCue setLevel row 0 column 0 db -120
7 make front workspace type "Fade"
8 set newCue to last item of (selected of front workspace as list)
9 set cue target of newCue to sourceCue
10 newCue setLevel row 0 column 0 db sourceCueLevel
11
12 if q type of sourceCue is "Video" or q type of sourceCue is "Camera" then
13 set sourceOpacity to opacity of sourceCue
14 set opacity of sourceCue to 0
15 set opacity of newCue to sourceOpacity
16 set do opacity of newCue to true
17 end if
18
19 else if q type of sourceCue is "Text" then
20 make front workspace type "Fade"
21 set newCue to last item of (selected of front workspace as list)
QLab 5 Reference Manual Scripting - OSC & Scriptin

22 set cue target of newCue to sourceCue

23 set sourceOpacity to opacity of sourceCue
24 set opacity of sourceCue to 0
25 set opacity of newCue to sourceOpacity
26 set do opacity of newCue to true
27 end if
28 end repeat
29 end try
30 end tell

We start with a tell block, as always, and immediately follow up with a try block. In this case, we’re going to use other rules to narrow the s
against unexpected outcomes.

repeat with sourceCue in (selected of front workspace as list) tells AppleScript that we’re going to repeat this block of code once fo
repetition.

The next line is our first if statement, and it’s a fairly complex one: if q type of sourceCue is "Audio" or q type of sourceCue is "Mic

AppleScript reads a lot like plain English, so the meaning of this line is actually fairly straightforward. Remember that each time the repeat bl
statement looks at that cue, and if that cue is an Audio, Mic, Video, or Camera cue, then the code within the if block is executed

Assuming the cue passes the test, we move into the if block.

set sourceCueLevel to sourceCue getLevel row 0 column 0 creates a variable called sourceCueLevel , and then fills that variable with the
fade this cue up to the level it was set to.

Once we’ve stored the level, we can set sourceCue to silent by setting its main level to -120 , which is the lowest possible audio level in QLab

Then, we make a new Fade cue with the command make front workspace type "Fade" . That “front workspace” part tells AppleScript wh

set newCue to last item of (selected of front workspace as list) creates a new variable, newCue , and fills it with the Fade cue we

set cue target of newCue to sourceCue sets the target of the new Fade cue to the cue currently being represented by sourceCue for t

newCue setLevel row 0 column 0 db sourceCueLevel sets the main audio level of the new Fade cue to the level we fetched from source

Now, we dive one level deeper with another if block: if q type of sourceCue is "Video" or q type of sourceCue is "Camera" then

This isn’t the most efficient thing, to check on the type of cue twice, but it’s not so terrible and it makes the code easier to read. Here, we’ve a
Camera cue which needs its opacity to be faded in as well.

set sourceOpacity to opacity of sourceCue creates a variable called sourceOpacity , and then fills that variable with the opacity of sour

set opacity of newCue to sourceOpacity sets the opacity of the new Fade cue to the stored sourceOpacity , and set do opacity of

end if closes the inner if block.

The next line is an else statement, which is a cousin to the if statement. This line is only evaluated when the answer to the first if questio
the answer is yes, the code inside the if block executes. If the answer is no, then the script skips down to this else statement, which asks “
answer is yes, then the code is executed.

The reason we need the else statement is that Text cues have no audio component. The code inside the else block is a copy of the opa

end if closes the main if block, end repeat closes the repeat block, end try closes the try block, and end tell closes the tell block.
Chapter 10: Other Cues

10.1 Transport Cues

10.2 Devamp Cues
10.3 GoTo Cues
10.4 Target Cues
10.5 Arm and Disarm Cues
10.6 Wait Cues
10.7 Memo Cues
QLab 5 Reference Manual Other Cues - Transport Cues 10.1

Transport Cues
Transport cues are the five types of cues whose role is to direct the playback of other cues:

Start cues tell their target to begin playing or, if they’re currently paused, to un-pause.
Stop cues tell their target to stop playing.

Pause cues tell their target to pause.

Load cues prepare their target to start playing.
Reset cues tell their target to stop playing and discard any temporary changes they have accumulated.

Transport cues require a cue target, and other than the Load cue they have no unique settings; they simply do what their
name says.

Load cues and Reset cues require some explanation.

It’s important to keep in mind that Transport cues do not move the playhead. For example, a Start cue will start its target cue
playing, but it will not move the playhead to the target cue, or to the cue after its target. To move the playhead to a specific spot,
use a GoTo cue.

The Load Cue

The Load cue has a dual role, loading and loading-to-time. To understand both roles requires a discussion of loading in general.

Loading Cues
At the highest level, loading a cue prepares QLab to start that cue with a minimum of latency. Starting cues generally happens very,
very fast from a human’s perspective, but there are some things that can be done ahead of time to make them start even faster.
When you need a cue to start absolutely as soon as possible after it receives the command to , loading that cue shortly before
it’s started can help.

Loading can also help the situation of a cue sequence that involves either a large number of cues starting at exact same time, or a
modest number of cues starting at the same time, all targeting “heavy” file targets such as multi-track audio files or high resolution
video files. Because QLab prioritizes accuracy over speed, every cue in a cue sequence must be ready before the sequence can
start. Since opening media files and decoding their contents takes time, it is possible to stack up a large enough number of these
cues in a Timeline Group cue or a series of cues set to auto-continue that the delay between pressing and seeing or
hearing the sequence begin can become noticeable. Loading the sequence, which means simply loading all the cues in the
sequence, minimizes this delay.

The list of things that happen in response to loading varies depending upon the type of cue(s) being loaded, but can be
conceptualized as “all the things that are involved in starting the cue, right up to and not including actually starting it.” Loading cues
which have file targets begins to load data from the file into memory, but the exact amount of data is not fixed and depends on a
large number of details.

Most of the time, loading cues is absolutely not necessary. Modern Macs all use high quality SSDs for storage and high-speed RAM
for memory. Apple Silicon Macs in particular have extraordinarily fast SSDs and even more remarkably fast memory. It is our
enthusiastic recommendation to avoid loading cues unless you discover that doing so addresses an observed performance issue.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Other Cues - Transport Cues 10.1

Load To Time
Loading to time means preparing a cue to start somewhere other than at its beginning. Cues can be loaded to time on demand by
using the Load to Time tool, which you can read about in the section on the Tools Menu in this manual, or in a pre-arranged, cue-
like way by using a Load cue.

The Load Time tab of the inspector contains a single text field in which you can enter a time to which the target cue will load when
the Load cue is run. If the target cue is at the beginning or in the middle of a cue sequence, the following cue(s) in the sequence
will follow this load time as well.

If you type a negative value into the field, QLab will load to that amount of time back from the end of the cue or sequence, if
possible. For example, if you type -10 into the field and press enter, QLab will load the selected cue to ten seconds before the
end of the cue.

If you create a Load cue while another cue is loaded to time and selected, the new Load cue will start off targeting that cue
and use the loaded time of the other cue as its load time.

The Reset Cue

Running a Reset cue will stop its target cue and reset any temporary changes that have been made to the cue since the
workspace opened. Possible temporary changes include:

A change of any parameter made by a Fade cue.

A change of target made by a Target cue.
A “before action” or “after action” cue color.

Any cue parameter changed by an OSC message which includes “temp” in the message address.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Other Cues - Transport Cues 10.1

Broken Transport Cues

Transport cues become broken if they have no cue target assigned.

Additionally, Pause cues require any type of license and will become broken if they are used without a license installed.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Other Cues - Devamp Cues 10.2

Devamp Cues

The Devamp tutorial explores the capabilies of the Devamp cue.

Devamp cues are named for the musical term “vamp” which means to play a specific section of music on loop until a signal is
given, then exit the loop naturally at the end of the current iteration. Devamp cues require an Audio or Video cue as a
target. When the target cue is running and the Devamp cue is started, it watches its target cue. When the playback of the target
cue reaches the end of the currently-playing slice, or the end of the cue, the Devamp cue’s action is executed. That action is
configurable in the cue’s Settings tab. Devamp cues require any type of license.

The Inspector for Devamp Cues

When a Devamp cue is selected, the inspector shows the Basics tab and Triggers tab, used by all cues, as well as the Settings tab.

The Settings tab

The Settings tab contains three controls which, used in combination, allow you to use the Devamp cue in several different ways.

Slice or Cue
The first control is a pop-up menu with two options.

The first option, Devamp currently looping slice, tells the Devamp cue to execute its action at the end of the current slice of its
target cue. If that slice is looping, playback exits the loop and continues on to the next slice.

In this screen shot, an Audio cue contains a slice set to loop infinitely from around 21 seconds to around 28 seconds. If a
Devamp cue targets this cue and is run while the section in question is looping, QLab waits until the current loop is complete and
then cleanly exits the loop.

The second option, Devamp looping cue, tells the Devamp cue to ignore slices within the target cue and execute its action
when the cue reaches its end. If the cue is looping, it simply stops playing.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Other Cues - Devamp Cues 10.2

Start next
The second control is a checkbox labeled Start next cue when target reaches the end of the current slice. This box can be thought
of as a special devamp-specific form of auto-continue. When this box is checked, the Devamp cue starts the cue which
follows it exactly simultaneously with the moment that it devamps its target cue.

The post-wait time is dynamically calculated based on the exact playback time of the target cue. If the Devamp cue runs very
early in the loop, the post-wait time will be longer. If it runs closer to the end of the loop, the post-wait time will be shorter.

Stop target
The third control is a checkbox labeled Stop target when it reaches the end of the current slice.* This checkbox is only enabled
when the start next checkbox is checked. If this box is checked, the Devamp cue stops its target instead of devamping. In this
way, a Devamp cue can be used to precisely transition from one cue to another.

Using the Devamp Cue

There are three basic ways to use a Devamp cue, illustrated by the following three examples.

Devamp and Continue

QLab 5 Reference Manual Other Cues - Devamp Cues 10.2

Devamp and continue is the quintessential example of a devamp, musically speaking; the music loops until some appropriate
moment happens, and then the music continues onwards in a musically appropriate way, not skipping ahead to the end of the loop
but simply playing on.

When the target cue is started, it will play into the looping slice and then keep repeating that slice indefinitely… until you run the
Devamp cue. Once you do, and playback reaches the end of the slice, the Devamp cue causes the target cue to exit the loop
and proceed onwards.

If you have multiple looping slices in the target cue, you can use multiple Devamp cues to pop out of each loop. Each
Devamp cue will “un-loop” whichever slice is currently looping at the time that the Devamp cue is run.

Devamp and Start Next

Devamp and start next starts the following cue at the instant of the devamp. You could use this technique with an Audio cue to
layer in an additional instrument to a musical recording, or with a MIDI cue to send a MIDI message at a precise musical moment.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Other Cues - Devamp Cues 10.2

When the target cue is started, it will play into the looping slice and then keep repeating that slice indefinitely… until you run the
Devamp cue. Once you do, and playback reaches the end of the slice, the Devamp cue causes the target cue to exit the loop
and proceed onwards.

At the same moment that the original cue passes the slice marker and continues onwards, the Devamp cue starts the following
cue.

Devamp, Start Next, and Stop Target

Devamp, start next, and stop target “hands off” playback from the target cue to the following cue.

When the target cue is started, it will play into the looping slice and then keep repeating that slice indefinitely… until you run the
Devamp cue. Once you do, and playback reaches the end of the slice, the Devamp cue causes the target cue to stop.

At the same moment that the target cue stops, the Devamp cue starts the following cue.

Thinking In Bars and Beats

The Devamp cue enables you to communicate with QLab in terms of bars and beats by putting slice markers on each beat, and
using Devamp cues to execute actions that line up perfectly with those beats. As with all things, giving yourself plenty of time to
experiment is the key to success.

Broken Devamp Cues

Devamp cues can become broken for the following reasons:

No target cue.

Select a target cue to clear this warning.

License required
QLab 5 Reference Manual Other Cues - Devamp Cues 10.2

Devamp cues require a license of any type.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Other Cues - GoTo Cues 10.3

GoTo Cues
GoTo cues move the playhead to their target cue. As a result, the target of the GoTo cue becomes the cue that’s standing by.
The next press of the button will start that cue. The GoTo cue is a complement to the Start cue.

GoTo cues have only the usual Basics tab and Triggers tab used by all cues.

Broken GoTo Cues

GoTo cues will only become Broken if they do not have a target.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Other Cues - Target Cues 10.4

Target Cues

Target cues change the target of another cue in the workspace. They require any type of license.

Besides the usual Basics tab and Triggers tab, used by all cues, Target cues have a Cue Number tab.

Target cues require a cue target, which itself must be a cue type that accepts a cue target. When the Target cue runs, it sets
the temporary target of its target cue to whatever cue is specified in the Cue Number tab. As you may have surmised, a cue must
have a cue number in order to be set as a temporary target by a Target cue.

Target cues cannot target a Fade cue, however, because the way that Fade cues interact with their targets makes them
difficult to accurately receive a temporary target.

Temporary Targets
Target cues do not permanently change their targets’ target, nor do they cause a workspace to have an unsaved change when
they run. This is because they set a temporary target. If a Target cue is used in a workspace and then that workspace is saved,
closed, and reopened, the cue whose target was changed will have its original target, not the one that was set by the Target cue.

Temporary targets of cues are also reverted when either the cues or the workspace as a whole are reset.

Broken Target Cues

Target cues will become broken if they do not have a target, if they do not have a new target cue set in the Cue Number tab,
or if there is no license installed.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Other Cues - Arm and Disarm Cues 10.5

Arm and Disarm Cues

Arm cues and Disarm cues simply arm or disarm their target cues. They require any type of license.

You can learn more about the function of arming or disarming a cue from the Basics tab section of the inspector section of this
manual.

Arm and Disarm cues have only the usual Basics tab and Triggers tab used by all cues.

Broken Arm and Disarm Cues

Arm and Disarm cues can become broken if they do not have a target or if there is no license installed.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Other Cues - Wait Cues 10.6

Wait Cues

Wait cues’ only role is to elapse. Their post-wait time is automatically set to equal their duration. You can use a Wait cue in
combination with auto-follows or auto-continues to control timing in cue sequences, or as a simple timer for tasks outside of
QLab.

Wait cues have only the usual Basics tab and Triggers tab used by all cues.

Broken Wait Cues

Wait cues should never be broken.

QLab 5 Reference Manual Other Cues - Memo Cues 10.7

Memo Cues
Memo cues have no effect when started. You can use Memo cues as a place to store notes to your operator (as the name of
the cue, or in the cue’s notes field), as a visual separator between other cues, or for some similar reason.

Memo cues have only the usual Basics tab and Triggers tab used by all cues.

Broken Memo Cues

Memo cues should never be broken.

Chapter 11: Tutorials

11.1 The GO Button

11.2 How To Use A Mac
11.3 Basic Networking
11.4 Understanding USB-C
11.5 Sam's Toolbox
QLab 5 Reference ManualTutorials - The GO Button11.1

The GO Button
This tutorial has not yet been written.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - How To Use A Mac 11.2

How To Use A Mac

This document is intended as a brief primer on using macOS computers. It is best viewed in a web browser on a Mac or a PC.

macOS is the name of the operating system that runs Mac computers. An operating system, or OS, is the base-level software that is
always running on a computer. The OS defines how the computer feels to use, what the basic aesthetic is, and how the
fundamental behaviors work. The OS also defines a great number of things which are invisible or at least obscure to you, the human
using the computer, which dictate how other software running on the computer can operate. This is essentially why using a Mac, a
Windows PC, a Linux PC, an iPhone, and an Android tablet all feel similar, yet somehow completely different.

The Desktop
The graphical interface of macOS, which is to say “the part you can look at” is designed around a series of metaphors. The main
metaphor is the desktop which is what you’re looking at when your Mac first starts up. This notion was devised in the 1980s when
computers were almost exclusively used in business settings, so the metaphors all sprang from office culture, where you sit at a
desk and do work.

The desktop holds folders, files, and applications. The idea is that folders contain and organize files, so you open a folder to find
the file you put there, then you work with that file for a while, then you close the file when you’re done with it. Applications, also
called programs, are like tools which can act upon files, just like a photocopier can act upon a printed document. Whether or not
this metaphor works for you personally, it can be useful to understand it.

Unfortunately the metaphor breaks almost immediately, because opening a folder or file results in a window on your screen, which
makes no physical sense at all. But there it is, so we have to get used to it. A window is a rectangular space on your screen which
contains data. If you open a folder, the window which appears shows the contents of that folder. If you open a file, the window
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - How To Use A Mac 11.2

which appears shows the contents of that file. If you open an application, you generally see a window representing a file that the
application is working with.

The Cursor
To use the Mac, you interact with it using a keyboard and a pointing device, which is typically a mouse, a trackpad, or a trackball.
The pointing device allows you to move a cursor around on the screen by either moving the mouse across your desk, dragging your
finger across the trackpad, or rolling the trackball.

The cursor usually takes the shape of an arrow, but can take other shapes too. The shape of the cursor is meant to give you
information about what will happen when you click the button of your pointing device.

The pointer is for selecting things.

The beachball means the computer is busy, please wait.
The I-beam is for selecting text.

The hand is for moving things.

The resize cursor is for, well, resizing things.

There are other cursors as well, and some programs have their own special cursor types for specific uses.

When you click the button on the pointing device, that initiates some kind of action relevant to the location of the cursor on the
screen. There are four basic actions you need to know about: click, double-click, right-click, and click-drag-and-drop.

Mousing Around
Click means to press the mouse button once. If your mouse has two or more buttons, a click is usually the left-most button. If
you’re using a trackpad, pressing down or tapping gently is usually the equivalent of a click. If the cursor is pointing at a
metaphorical object, like a file or folder, clicking selects that item.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - How To Use A Mac 11.2

Note that the animation which appears around the cursor is added to these recordings to show when the mouse button is clicked.
They don’t appear in normal use.

The concept of a “selected” item is very important on the Mac. A common sequence of events is to select an item, and then
instruct the Mac to do something to that item.

If the cursor is pointing at an on-screen button, clicking presses the button, causing it to do whatever it’s supposed to do. So, if
you’re using a program which has a button labeled “copy,” you might click on an item to select it, then click the copy button to
copy that item.

Double-click means to click the mouse button twice in rapid succession. Double-clicking on a file, folder, or application selects
and opens it.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - How To Use A Mac 11.2

You can adjust the required time between clicks in System Preferences → Mouse.

Right-click means to press the other mouse button. If you’re using a trackpad, pressing or tapping with two fingers is the equivalent
of a right-click. In general, you can also achieve a right-click by holding down the control key (often marked with this icon: ⌃) and
clicking normally.

Right-clicking often opens up a contextual menu, which is a list of actions for you to choose from, which are relevant to the current
context. For example, right-clicking on a misspelled word in a text editor often offers spelling options.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - How To Use A Mac 11.2

Right-clicking is handled differently by different applications and in different contexts. Right-clicking is seldom essential; it’s usually
a shortcut to get something done quickly, but rarely is it the only way to get something done.

If you use your pointing device with your left hand, you may prefer to reverse the behavior of your mouse buttons, so that the
button under your index finger or thumb is the primary button. This can be done in System Preferences → Mouse, but do
remember that most folks will refer to clicking the primary mouse button as “left click” and you’ll have to reverse that in your mind.

Click-drag-and-drop is a minor feat of acrobatics; you point at an item like a file, then click. Then, without letting go of the click,
drag the mouse across the screen and notice that the item you clicked on comes with you. When you arrive at a destination, you
release the click and thus drop the thing you’ve been dragging.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - How To Use A Mac 11.2

This is how you put a file into a folder, for example. In QLab, this is a very important operation because it’s the simplest way to
target a cue or place a cue inside a Group.

Menus
At the top of the screen is a thin area which stretches the full width of the screen. This area is called the Menu Bar and it contains a
number of menus which vary depending on context. Menu are so named because, like their real-world counterparts, they contain a
list of options, loosely grouped by category, from which you can make a selection. What happens next depends on the menu item
chosen, and possibly also depends on what item or items you have selected.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - How To Use A Mac 11.2

The Apple menu is always the left-most menu and should be available at all times. It gives you access to basic computer-wide
tools and functions, like accessing System Preferences or shutting down the Mac.
The Application menu is always next, and it displays the name of the application that you’re currently using. When you’re not
using an application, this menu is named Finder because the Finder is the name of the always-on application that you use to
interact with your Mac.
The File menu is almost always next. It usually contains items relevant to opening, closing, and saving files.

The Edit menu is almost always next. It’s home to undo, cut, copy, paste, and often other items pertinent to the minute-to-
minute work you’re doing in a file.

Other menus vary widely from application to application, but there are common conventions which most applications try to adhere
to and which, hopefully, make it easy to move between different applications as you work.

Further Reading
While this primer is deliberately brief, the overall subject of “how to use a Mac” is both broad and deep. If you’re interested in
more, the tutorial materials that Apple has made available on their website are excellent, and cover a wide range of topics.

As always, we encourage you to contact support@figure53.com with any questions, large or small.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Basic Networking 11.3

Basic Networking
The purpose of this document is to provide a basic understanding of networking as it is used in the theater industry. While a fair
amount of background is needed to really get up to speed, the goal here is to get you to the relevant parts as quickly as possible.
The topic of computer networking is both broad and deep, and this document will omit some details that are not directly relevant
in the interest of getting your show up on its feet as quickly as possible. Please assume that any such omissions are both deliberate
and considered.

Understanding IP Addresses

Every device connected to the internet (or to a local network which could connect to the internet) is required to have a unique
address called an IP1 address. There are, confusingly, several different types of IP addresses and as of the writing of this document;
the world is engaged in an excruciatingly slow-motion crossfade from IPv4 to IPv6. Internet experts have been declaring for several
years that IPv4 is dangerously close to collapse and IPv6 is just about to become the dominant system of addressing. That doesn’t
seem to be true, though, so this document will focus on IPv4 addresses and how to use them.

IPv4 addresses consist of four numbers, each between 0 and 255, separated by periods. Each of these numbers is referred to as a
“octet”. As an example, consider the address 142.250.217.78 , which is the address for google.com. If you type or paste that
address into a web browser, you will find yourself looking at the familiar Google search page.

Just like physical addresses, IP addresses represent a hierarchy. Consider this address of a more familiar sort:

Sherlock Holmes
221b Baker Street
London
United Kingdom

If you read that address from bottom to top, each segment of the address represents a progressively more specific area, with
progressively fewer potential addressees. The United Kingdom contains about 67 million people, London contains about 9 million,
Baker Street contains around 165 people, 221b contains maybe eight people, and exactly one of them is Sherlock Holmes2.

IP addresses work much the same way: there are 16.7 million addresses which start with 172 , then 65,534 addresses which start
with 142.250 , then 254 addresses that start with 142.250.217 , and exactly one internet-connected device whose address is
142.250.217.78 , and that internet-connected device is a computer which hosts google.com.

Internet-savvy readers will note that the websites of very large companies are usually hosted on multiple computers spread around the
world, so that whenever a person browses to that website, some clever software directs them to a server that is physically close by. In those
cases, the IP address points not to the web server, but to another computer which does the calculating and re-routing. There are a lot of
layers here, and it gets confusing really quickly. Mostly, just don’t worry about it.

Large organizations have the rights to certain blocks of addresses. Examples include Apple (17.x.x.x), the US Postal Service (56.x.x.x),
and CERN (128.142.x.x). This isn’t specifically important, per se, but it is useful to help understand that in many cases, the IP address
of a device can tell you something about the network it belongs to or the organization that is administering that network.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Basic Networking 11.3

Understanding Networking Hardware

Putting a full glossary of networking hardware here would be an act of cruelty. Here are the really essential bits:

Network switch. A device that lets you connect several devices together with ethernet cables. Switches have a small amount of
“smarts” in that they can be configured to prioritize certain types of network traffic, restrict traffic speed in certain situations, etc.
But in general, they are just there to pass data between other devices.

Network router. A router is the focal point of a network. All traffic which comes into the network from outside, or goes out of the
network from inside, must go through the router. The router “knows” what’s connected to it, and can direct traffic accordingly.
Most routers have DHCP servers built in (discussed below.) Many routers have additional features. Many routers have switches built
in. If your router has more than two ethernet ports on it, it has a switch built in.

Wifi access point. A radio transceiver which sends and receives network traffic wirelessly. Wifi can be thought of as simply
ethernet-without-wires. Many wifi access points are built into routers, but not all of them, and it’s important to know which you’re
using. A wifi access point with no built-in router has very little “smarts” and generally can be treated as a simple adapter that
converts network traffic from electricity in a cable to radio waves in the air.

CAT-5, CAT-5e, CAT-6, CAT-6e, CAT-7. These are types of cables that are used in ethernet networking. They differ only in the
speed and quantity of data that they can handle. You will often hear them colloquially called ethernet cables, which is technically
incorrect in the same way that calling XLR-3 “microphone cable” is technically incorrect: everyone does it and nobody cares, and
it’s only important to make the distinction occasionally.

What Does This Have To Do With Theater?

At this point, you may be wondering why you’re reading this arcane, mind-numbing nonsense when all you want to do is send OSC
messages from QLab to your ION so that your cues sync up really nicely. We absolutely promise you that all of this information is
relevant to theater, but it’s a very slow burn to get there.

This is a great moment to take a break, grab a drink, and stretch.

Too Few Addresses

You may have done a little recreational multiplication so far, and concluded that IPv4 only has about 4.3 billion addresses (256 × 256
× 256 × 256). You are quite right, and actually only about 3.7 billion of them are useable for boring technical reasons. Given that
there are clearly more internet-connected devices in the world than that, what gives?

The answer lies in this trick: many devices which are connected to the internet are not, in fact, actually directly connected to the
internet, thanks to something called Network Address Translation, or NAT.

When you go to a coffee shop and connect to their free wifi network, your laptop or phone does not connect directly to the
internet. Instead, it uses a protocol called DHCP (discussed below) to receive an IP address from the wifi router. This address almost
always starts with 192.168 , and this is a clue that will be useful later on.

What’s going on here is that the wifi router is connected (probably) straight to the coffee shop’s cable modem or other source of
internet, and has a normal public IP address. It’s also running a bit of software called a DHCP server which assigns IP addresses to
devices that connect to it. All those addresses are from a special pool, 192.168.x.x , and the devices which have those addresses
are essentially invisible to the rest of the internet. In order to communicate with the internet, devices on the network use the wifi
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Basic Networking 11.3

router as a sort of personal assistant. Your laptop asks the coffee shop router things like “hey, can I see google.com please?” and
then the router goes and fetches whatever data google.com is serving up, and passes it back to your laptop, translating the request
from the address of your laptop on the internal private network to the public internet and back again.

Think of it like a switchboard in a large office building. Calls within the building can go straight from office to office, but calls into
and out of the building must go through the switchboard.

These private addresses are where we start to get really relevant to theatrical networking.

Local Networks and Private Networks

A local network is a collection of devices which use a common IP address scheme and which are generally physically close
together. A private network is a local network that is isolated from the internet as a whole.

The coffee shop wifi network discussed above is isolated from the internet by virtue of NAT; the router can be “seen” by the
internet, but the computers and phones on the local network cannot. You could also isolate a network from the internet by simply
not connecting it to the internet at all, and that is typical of networks used in theater.

There are three sets of IP addresses which are reserved for private networks:

192.168.0.0 through 192.168.255.255 for a total of 65,536 addresses.

172.16.0.0 through 172.31.255.255 for a total of 1,048,576 addresses.
10.0.0.0 through 10.255.255.255 for a total of 16,777,216 addresses.

When you set up a private network, you’re generally going to want to use one of these three address schemes. If your private
network never, ever connects to the internet, there’s nothing stopping you from using any addresses you like, but it’s good form to
use these three schemes only.

This begs the question: what does it mean to choose an IP address scheme, practically speaking? If you’ve read this far, then you
know that the answer to that question can only come after another little lesson.

Understanding DHCP vs. Static Addresses

In the context of QLab and a private network in a theater, there are two ways to assign IP addresses to devices on the network.

DHCP, which stands for Dynamic Host Control Protocol, is a system whereby any device that connects to a network announces
itself as a new member of the network, and then the DHCP server says, “oh hello, here is your IP address, please hang onto it for
four hours, then ask for a new one.” This is very convenient, since it means that a given network doesn’t need to have enough
available addresses for every device that will ever connect to it, only enough for the likely number of devices that are connected at
once. If device X disconnects from the network and then device Y connects after a while, the DHCP server may “recycle” the
address that device X had and give it to device Y.

When devices on a network are set to use DHCP and there is no DHCP server to be found, they assign themselves an address that
starts with 169.254 3. For some applications (notably Dante), this works perfectly well. For others, seeing that a device has a
169.254 address is a useful troubleshooting tool.

Static, in the context of IP addresses, means that the device’s address is preemptively assigned and manually entered in. The most
common real-world example of a static IP is the example above with Google’s website. The address 172.217.11.174 has been
assigned by Google to its web server. Google has the authority to assign all addresses beginning with 172.217 , and so they
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Basic Networking 11.3

configure the computer hosting their web site to use 172.217.11.174 . Whenever that computer is online (which should be all the
time), that address corresponds directly to google.com. A static IP address can be assumed to “belong” to the device that it’s been
assigned to, and should never be used for another device without first removing it from the first device.

Again, this is glossing over a lot of irrelevant detail. Please don’t consider this explanation to be authoritative on the topic of how IP
addresses belonging to web services operate in general.

Choosing Between DHCP and Static Addresses

When you set up a private network, you’ll need to choose whether your network will use DHCP, static addresses, or a mixture of
both. How do you decide?

If your network is being used for any or all of the following activity, you probably don’t need to use static IPs. Using DHCP will just be
simpler and easier:

File sharing

Screen sharing
QLab Remote
Dante audio

AirBeam video
Art-net

On the other hand, if you’re using the network to send OSC messages, it will be preferable to use static IP addresses because OSC
messages need to know where they’re going, and a static IP address is the simplest way to ensure that.

DHCP
If you decide to use DHCP, you’ll need to set one device on your network to act as a DHCP server. Nearly every wifi or ethernet
router does this, but also you can run a DHCP server on a Mac or PC, or even on an ETC console. All that’s important is that your
network includes exactly one DHCP server, no more and no less.

There’s no way for this document to be all-inclusive on the topic of setting up DHCP serving, so you’ll need to consult the manual
of whatever device or software you’re using.

Static IPs
On a network which uses static IP address, you may not need a router. Or, if you do have one, its DHCP server will not be involved
in the process of assigning IP addresses. Therefore, you need to assign them. Make a list of all the devices that will be connected to
your network, and then give each of them an IP address. Skip addresses ending in 0, 1, and 255 for reasons that will be explained
below.

An example list might look like this:

Device Address

Sound Designer laptop 10.10.0.5

Associate laptop 10.10.0.6

QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Basic Networking 11.3

Device Address

QLab main 10.10.0.10

QLab backup 10.10.0.11

Meyer GALAXY primary 10.10.0.20

Meyer GALAXY secondary 10.10.0.21

ION 10.10.0.100

LD tech table Nomad 10.10.0.101

The choice of address for each device is not important, but each device must have a unique address. Here, devices that logically
go together have sequential addresses, but that’s for the benefit of the humans reading the list, not because the machines care
about it. Do note, however, that for all these addresses, the first three octets are the same. More on that topic below.

Network setup on Macs

Open System Preferences → Network to adjust network settings on your Mac.

Ethernet
Ethernet is preferred over wifi for a number of reasons:

It’s dramatically more reliable

It’s dramatically faster
It’s harder for an interloper to connect to

There are fewer pieces to configure

It’s cheaper to do well
Dante only works over ethernet

If you’re using ethernet and DHCP, the Network preference pane will look like this:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Basic Networking 11.3

There’s a green dot on the left next to “Thunderbolt Ethernet” (it’s truncated in this screen shot; it says “Thunderbolt Ethernet”
because this Mac is using a Thunderbolt adapter to connect to ethernet.) On the right it says Connected, and beneath that you can
see that IPv4 is using DHCP, and you see the IP address and some other details discussed below. All the details are listed in a non-
editable form, because DHCP is designed to work automatically.

If your Mac is physically connected to your network but not working correctly, the window will look like this:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Basic Networking 11.3

The green dot is instead yellow, and the IP address begins with 169.254 . The most common explanation for this scenario is that
the DHCP server isn’t working or cannot be reached. The first thing to try is rebooting the device that’s doing the DHCP serving.

If you’re using the DHCP server built into an ETC console, it’s important to hook up your physical network infrastructure before turning the
console on. If an ETC console does not detect that it’s connected to an ethernet network while it’s booting up, it will deactivate its ethernet
port.

If you’re using a static IP address, the window will look like this:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Basic Networking 11.3

In this case, the green dot only indicates that you’ve entered settings which are technically valid. It does not necessarily mean that
you entered the correct settings for your network, or that the Mac is successfully communicating with other devices on the
network.

A discussion on entering static IP details can be found below.

Wifi
If you’re using wifi to connect your Mac to the network, this is what you should see if everything is working:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Basic Networking 11.3

The green dot next to “Wi-Fi”4 on the left side is the first clue, and the small explanatory text on the right includes the IP address
that the DHCP server has assigned.

If you click the Advanced button at the bottom right, you can see and change the IP address settings:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Basic Networking 11.3

The TCP/IP tab shows you how your IPv4 address is being selected, DHCP in this case, then below that you see the address that’s
been assigned, the subnet mask which we’ll discuss in a bit, and the IP address of the router that’s doing the DHCP serving.

As long as you’re connected to the right wifi network and your router (or other DHCP server) is configured correctly, this is what
you should see, and there’s nothing to adjust or configure. Do not concern yourself with all the other tabs and buttons.

If you’re using static IPs with a wifi network, this is where you choose “Manually” from the Configure IPv4 drop-down menu.

After making any changes to the Network preference pane, it’s necessary to click on the Apply button in the lower right corner for
those changes to take effect.

Setting Up Static IPs

There are three settings that you need to enter when your network is using static IP addresses: the IP address itself, the subnet
mask and the router address.

IP Address
Referring to your list above, enter in the IP address that you’ve planned for this device. Remember these rules:

Each octet can be in a range between 1 and 254 , inclusive. 0 and 255 are reserved for special use.

Dots (periods) separate the four octets.

There are customary address ranges for private networks which you should stick to using unless you have a good reason not to.
The last octet usually shouldn’t be 1 because that’s usually the address of a router. See below.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Basic Networking 11.3

Subnet Mask
A subnet is, unsurprisingly, a subsection of a network. Devices which are on the same subnet are able to communicate to each
other directly, without sending traffic to the router “above” them. Putting devices on the same subnet is a combination of the
physical setup (there must be a physical path for network traffic to move between them), IP address setup (the must have IP
addresses in the same scheme), and subnet mask.

Subnet masks look a lot like IP addresses; four octets separated by periods. There are fancy ways to use the subnet mask, but
they’re not relevant to theatrical networking. The basic way to use a subnet mask involves using only two values for each octet:
255 or 0 .

Remember the hierarchical nature of the IP address? In the subnet mask, each octet is effectively telling the device whether that
level of the hierarchy is part of its subnet. If the value is 255 then that means “this level of the hierarchy is not on your subnet”,
and if the value is 0 , that that means “this level is on your subnet.”

In the screen shot above, the Mac’s IP address is set to 192.168.2.12 and the subnet mask is set to 255.255.255.0 . This Mac is
therefore able to send data straight to any device with an IP address beginning 192.168.2 .

It cannot send data straight to 192.168.50.12 , because the third octet does not match and the subnet mask for that octet is 255 ,
and 255 means “has to match.” That communication must go through a router that is available to both subnets.

A network full of devices configured like this can therefore contain a maximum of 254 devices (since 0 and 255 are not
permissible in regular IP addresses.)

If the subnet mask were instead set to 255.255.0.0 , the Mac would be able to send data straight to any device whose address
begins with 192.168 , allowing for a network with 64,516 devices on it.

The Mac would not be able to send data straight to 192.40.8.19 because the second octet does not match.

Router Address
As discussed above, a router behaves as the central traffic authority of a network, and behaves somewhat like a post office,
dispatching incoming data to the appropriate neighborhoods and passing outgoing data to the outside world (assuming the network
is connected to the outside world.)

All devices on a network must know the IP address of their router in order to properly communicate with the router. While a few
network protocols can sidestep this, most cannot and so it’s crucial to enter the IP address of the network’s router identically on all
devices on the network.

If your network is using only static IP addresses and is not connected to the internet, an actual router is often not required. In this
situation, the correct thing to do is enter the IP address of an imaginary router as though it were really there. Odd as this may
sound, it’s a simple solution to a lot of vague networking problems.

Routers are traditionally given IP addresses that end in .1 although this is not technically required. It is our advice to stick with
tradition here.

So, if you do not have a real router, invent an IP address that is reachable by your other devices (according to their subnet masks)
and ending in 1 and enter it on all your devices.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Basic Networking 11.3

Some Specifics About ETC Consoles

If you’re networking together with the lighting department, chances are good that they’re using ETC gear, which comes with some
very specific default IP settings:

Device Address

Congo 10.101.80.x

Congo jr 10.101.81.x

ColorSource AV 10.101.20.x

Element 10.101.97.x

Eos 10.101.90.x

Eos Ti 10.101.92.x

ETCNet2 nodes 10.101.50.x

ETCNet3 nodes 10.101.50.x

Gio 10.101.91.x

Gio @5 10.101.91.x

Ion 10.101.100.x

Ion Xe 10.101.100.x

Ion RPU 10.101.96.x

Net3 RVI 10.101.85.x

Net3 RVI3 10.101.86.x

Sensor+ 10.101.101.x

Also:

Subnet mask: 255.255.0.0

Router: 10.101.1.1

Since adjusting these settings is more time consuming on the ETC gear than on a Mac, it’s often convenient and neighborly to follow
their scheme.

Because ETC is so careful about their defaults, it’s easy for you to work around their IP scheme and assign addresses to all your
devices in a way which won’t conflict. In short:

Use an IP address scheme starting with 10.101

For the third octet of your addresses, use a number lower than 50 , but not 20 .

For all devices that will communicate with the lighting network (i.e. the QLab mac), use a subnet of 255.255.0.0

For all devices that will not communicate with the lighting network, you can optionally use a more restrictive subnet mask of
255.255.255.0 , but you’ll need to do some extra work to make sure that each device is either on the same subnet as the
other devices it must communicate with, or is able to “see” a router that can see those other devices.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Basic Networking 11.3

Closing Thoughts

As you can see, this is a very, very complex topic. This document barely scratches the surface of the entire topic of computer
networking; we did not discuss physical networking considerations, software considerations, and we glossed over a lot of detail
which is irrelevant to putting up a theatrical production, but which is nevertheless part of the general topic.

You are encouraged to use this document as a jumping-off point. The internet does a terrific job of documenting itself, and it is not
difficult to find articles and tutorials which you can use to expand your knowledge of any of the topics discussed here.

As always, writing to support@figure53.com is the best and fastest way to get help using QLab.

1. Internet Protocol↩

2. Population figures according to Wikipedia as of June 2022.↩

3. This is referred to as a “link-local” address. That’s not super important to remember, but you might come across it.↩

4. Reasonable people may differ on the spelling of wifi, WiFi, or Wi-Fi.↩

QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Understanding USB-C 11.4

Understanding USB-C
Modern Macs make extensive use of the USB-C connector for interconnecting with external hardware like input devices, storage
devices, and displays. This connector has a lot going for it; it’s versatile, durable, symmetrical, and small. Unfortunately, with it
comes a great deal of confusion and difficulty. The goal of this tutorial is to provide you with a full working knowledge of the USB-C
connector and everything it can do.

This tutorial was updated in February of 2023.

Connectors and Protocols

Prior to the invention of USB-C, it was generally true that each type of connector found on a computer were used for one thing
only, so you could just look at the connector and know what it was for. This wasn’t always true, but it was true enough to prevent
mass confusion. The USB-C connector broke from this tradition rather sharply.

Before USB-C, the term “USB” referred to both a set of physical connector types and to the type of signal that was being used by
those connectors. USB-C, on the other hand, is only the name of a connector. There is no protocol or signal called “USB-C.” Had
they simply named it the “C” connector, or really any other name, a considerable amount of confusion could have been prevented.

On top of that, the USB-C connector is used for more than one communication protocol, unlike most of its predecessors, and the
protocols themselves contain other protocols, like digital Matryoshka dolls.

To un-nest the dolls and make sense of things, we’ll discuss the physical design of the USB-C connector, and the three roles that it
fills: USB, Thunderbolt, and USB Power Delivery.

The USB-C Connector design

USB-C connectors have 24 electrical contacts, called “pins.” These pins are connected to wires within the cable, although not all
connections are mandatory:

Four ground pins which connect to a pair of wires. These are mandatory.
Four bus power pins which connect to a pair of wires. These are mandatory.
Four low-speed data pins which connect to a pair of wires. These are mandatory.
Eight high-speed data pins which connect to four pairs of separately shielded wires. These are optional.

Two configuration channel pins which connect to two wires. These are optional.
Two sideband use pins which connect to two wires. These are optional.

Any USB-C cable which includes all optional connections is considered a “full-featured” cable. Cables that do not include all
optional connections do not have a special name, they are just not full-featured cables.

Passive and Active Cables

QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Understanding USB-C 11.4

USB-C cables can be either passive, which is what most cables are, or active. Simply put, active cables have a little microchip inside
their connectors which draws a little power from the device they’re connected to and which amplify, re-time, or otherwise correct
the signals that pass through them.

Passive USB-C cables can achieve full speed only at lengths below 0.8 meters or 2.6 feet. Active USB-C cables can achieve full
speed up to 2.0 meters or 6.6 feet.

USB

USB, which stands for Universal Serial Bus, is a set of closely-related standards that are all, basically, ways to send data back and
forth between a computer and a device connected to that computer. Ever since it was invented in the late 90s, USB has always
embraced the concept of different classes of device, because the essential premise of USB is “you just plug it in, and the machines
will figure out what’s supposed to happen next.” This is a worthy goal, and a frankly ambitious one. It works well most of the time;
you can plug a mouse, a printer, and a synthesizer into the same computer at the same time, using the exact same type of cable,
and pretty much everything works without a hassle.

When the USB-C connector is used for USB, it’s using either USB 3.2 or USB4 (note the deliberately missing space between “USB”
and “4”… we don’t make these rules.) These two versions of the USB protocol are similar but not identical.

USB 3.2
USB 3.2 was released in 2017 and supersedes all previous versions of USB. It defined four data transfer modes with confusing
names:

USB 3.2 Gen 1, called SuperSpeed, is a re-naming of the USB 3.1 Gen 1 protocol, which was itself a re-naming of the USB 3.0
protocol. It transfers data at 5 Gbps1.
USB 3.2 Gen 2, called SuperSpeed+, is a re-naming of the USB 3.1 Gen 2 protocol. It transfers data at 10 Gbps.

USB 3.2 Gen 1x2, also called SuperSpeed+ also transfers data at 10 Gbps, but uses a different technical process than USB 3.2
Gen 2. Since the human-observable behavior is the same, the “marketing” name is the same.
USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, inexplicably also called SuperSpeed+ transfers data at 20 Gbps.

It may be useful to know that while USB 3.2 Gen 1 and USB 3.2 Gen 2 can be used with various types of USB connectors, Gen 1x2 and
Gen 2x2 can only be used with USB-C connectors.

Modes with the “x2” in their name use all four high-speed data connections, which means you’ll usually need a full-featured USB-C
cable to use them. Modes without the “x2” use only two of the high-speed data connections.

USB4
USB4 was released in 2019 and is much more powerful than USB 3.2, but with great power comes great confusion. The best way to
wrap your head around USB4 is to think about it from the perspective of someone planning to build a device that uses USB4. Here
is a list of things that person would learn by reading the USB4 specifications:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Understanding USB-C 11.4

It is based on Thunderbolt 3, but full compatibility with Thunderbolt 3 devices is optional.

It supports data transfer at a minimum of 20 Gbps.

It allows “tunneling” other protocols (discussed below), some of which must be supported and some of which are optional.
It allows “alternate modes” (discussed below), some of which must be supported and some of which are optional.
It can be single-lane per direction (requiring use of two of the high-speed data pairs) or dual-lane per direction (requiring all
four high-speed data pairs.)

It always and only uses USB-C connectors.

There are two data transfer modes that are mandatory for all USB4 devices:

Legacy USB which has a maximum speed of 480 Mbps. Because of this, you can theoretically plug any USB device ever made
into a USB4 port on a computer, and as long as the computer has the appropriate software to talk to the device, it will work.
Tunneled USB 3.2 Gen 2. Again, we’ll get to tunneling in a minute.

There are at least twelve other modes that USB4 devices may support, but don’t have to:

USB4 20 Gbps
USB4 40 Gbps
Host-to-Host communication

Tunneled USB 3.2 Gen 2x2

Tunneled DisplayPort
Tunneled PCI Express

DisplayPort Alternate Mode

Mobile High-Definition Link Alternate Mode
HDMI Alternate Mode

Thunderbolt Alternate Mode

VirtualLink Alternate Mode

USB4 hosts (i.e. computers) must support at least Host-to-Host communication and DisplayPort Alternate Mode. USB4 docks and
hubs must support at least Tunneled PCI Express and Thunderbolt Alternate Mode.

Clear as mud, right?

Tunnels and Alternates

Tunneling, in this context, is the nesting protocol-within-protocol that was mentioned above. When one protocol allows tunneling
of another, the data that belongs to the “inner” protocol is encapsulated into data packets belonging to the “outer” protocol and
sent along with any other data that the outer protocol is sending. When the encapsulated packets get to the other end of the
connection, they are de-capsulated and reassembled to re-form the stream of data that entered the tunnel. Tunneling can
increase the average speed of transmission because it does not require switching the connection back and forth between modes,
although tunneling usually has a lower absolute speed since it necessarily does not use the full bandwidth of the connection.

Alternate modes, by contrast, achieve the same end result as tunneling (allowing more than one type of communication along a
single connection) but instead of the inner/outer protocol concept, they electrically switch one or more of the high-speed data
pairs for dedicated use by the alternate mode. As a result, using an alternate mode necessarily reduces the amount of bandwidth
available for a regular data connection, since some of that bandwidth is being dedicated to the alternate mode connection. In
exchange, they have the highest possible potential speed.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Understanding USB-C 11.4

Alternate Modes
The USB specification allows for any number of alternate modes in theory, but there are only five that exist as of the writing of this
manual:

DisplayPort Alternate Mode which can support DisplayPort 1.2 or higher. This mode can use one, two, or all four of the high-
speed data pairs depending upon the version of DisplayPort being used and the resolution and frame rate of the display being
connected. If all four pairs are used, then only the low-speed (USB 2-speed) data pair remains available for non-video data
transfer. This mode also uses the sideband pins for the DisplayPort Aux channel, which transmits EDID and other metadata
associated with the DisplayPort connection. Most good USB-C to HDMI adapters use DisplayPort Alternate Mode together with
the necessary hardware components to convert the DisplayPort signal to HDMI.
Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) Alternate Mode which is a kind of awkward middle child of multimedia that can be thought
of as basically “HDMI using different connectors.” It behaves very similarly to DisplayPort Alternate Mode, using one, two, or
four high-speed data pairs plus the two sideband pins, but the technical details of the video signal that it uses are different.

HDMI Alternate Mode which behaves very similarly to the above two modes. HDMI and MHL use the same video signal but
different metadata and sideband signals. HDMI Alternate Mode also co-opts one of the bus power pins to provide 5V power
which is part of the HDMI spec.2
Thunderbolt Alternate Mode which allows the USB-C port to use USB or Thunderbolt as needed. Additionally, a dock or hub
which supports this mode can provide up to three downstream Thunderbolt 3 ports, each of which independently switches
data modes and alternate modes based on the devices connected to that port. Needless to say, a dock or hub of this kind
must be connected upstream to a USB-C device that supports this mode, and must use a full-featured cable or a
Thunderbolt-branded cable.
VirtualLink Alternate Mode which was developed to support virtual reality headsets but which, like most virtual reality
technology, failed to catch on and is effectively dead. As of August 2020, the consortium that developed this standard
disbanded. This mode is being listed here only in the interest of completeness, and you should not expect to ever need to
know anything about it.

USB4 Version 2.0

As though the naming scheme so far wasn’t confusing enough, USB4 Version 2.0 was released in October 2022. The first products
to support USB4 Version 2.0 are expected to be released in late 2023 or early 2024, but if you’ve read this far into this tutorial,
you’re likely the sort of person who might enjoy some advance warning.

What’s New
80 Gbps data transfer. This uses all four data lanes at a speed of 40 Gbps per lane. That adds up to 80 Gbps total per
direction.

120 Gbps data transfer. This is optional and uses three data lanes in one direction, leaving 40 Gbps of bandwidth available for
data transfer in the other direction.
Tunneled USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (which provides 20 Gbps data transfer) is now mandatory, not optional.
Tunneled PCIe now supports PCIe 4.0.

HDMI Alternate Mode, as discussed in footnote #2, no longer exists because nobody was using it.
DisplayPort Alternate Mode now supports the DisplayPort 2.1 spec at minimum.3

Device Compatibility
USB4 Version 2.0 is completely backwards-compatible with USB4. All USB4 devices will be able to interconnect with all USB4
Version 2.0 devices, though of course they will only be able to communicate using original USB4 protocols and modes.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Understanding USB-C 11.4

Cable Compatibility
Interestingly, any full-featured USB-C cable will fully support USB4 Version 2.0. Non-full-featured cables will work, of course, but
will be restricted to lower speeds just like with USB4.

A minor update to the USB-C connector design requirements was also released at the same time as USB4 Version 2.0. The changes
are all internal and relate to improved longevity.

Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt is similar to USB on its face; it’s a way to connect devices to a computer. Thunderbolt has a fundamental conceptual
difference, however, which might feel technical and vague at first, but which is essential to unraveling the mysteries of the USB-C
connector.

As you may be expecting at this point, Thunderbolt is not really a protocol in and of itself; rather, it’s a set of hardware that
combines two preexisting protocols plus a supply of electrical power into a single cable. The two protocols that it combines are PCI
Express and DisplayPort which can each be described briefly, mercifully:

PCI Express (or PCIe) is a very old but well-maintained standard for passing data to and from a computer’s CPU at very high
speeds. Cards in a desktop computer usually use PCIe, and the fundamental workings of PCIe are built into most modern CPUs
at the hardware level. The main limitation of PCIe is that it only works over very short distances.
DisplayPort is a modern digital video interconnection standard which provides a direct connection between a display and the
GPU inside a computer, like VGA and DVI did before it. You can think of it as “HDMI, but specifically for computers.” HDMI is
more often seen built into computers because HDMI cables are cheap and ubiquitous, and HDMI inputs are found on TV and
projectors everywhere, so the DisplayPort connector has become somewhat less common. Nevertheless, the digital signal
used by that connector lives on within USB4 and Thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt allows high-bandwidth devices which previously could only be built as PCIe cards and installed in desktop computers
to be built as portable stand-alone devices powered by the same cable that provides the data connection.

Thunderbolt version 1 and version 2 used the Mini DisplayPort connector. Thunderbolt version 3 and version 4 use the USB-C
connector only.

Thunderbolt 3 specifies:

Up to four lanes of PCIe 3.0 data transfer totaling 32.4 Gbps

Up to eight lanes of DisplayPort 1.2 or 1.4 data totaling 32.4 Gbps

A total capacity of 40 Gbps

15 watts of power delivery
Prioritization of video data over general data

Thunderbolt ports on a device are connected to the internal circuitry of that device through a Thunderbolt controller chip.
Controllers come in three forms: a double port controller, a single port controller, and a low power controller.

If a Thunderbolt connection is made between a computer and a non-display device, like a hard disk or an audio interface, then the
full 40 Gbps is available to the data connection. If a display is connected to the same Thunderbolt controller, however, the amount
of bandwidth available for general data is limited to whatever’s left over after the display gets what it needs. Note that these
limitations are per-controller, not per-port.
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Understanding USB-C 11.4

USB Power Delivery

Finally, USB-C connectors are used by the USB Power Delivery standard, which requires hosts to supply a minimum of 1.5 amps at 5
volts DC per physical port.

Hosts can optionally (of course there are options) supply higher amperages and voltages as well, all the way up to 5 amps at 48 volts
(240 watts).

The Power Delivery specification includes a system of signaling and physical wiring which prevents devices from receiving more
power than they are designed for. This is accomplished by always supplying the base amperage and voltage, and only raising the
amount of supplied power if the device requests it.

Accessory Modes

Separately from the three main uses of the USB-C connector, there are also two “accessory modes” which are supported directly
by the USB-C hardware design and which do not involve software at all:

Debug Accessory Mode is employed by using specific resistor values to connect the configuration channel pins to either the
power pins or ground pins. This is generally only used for testing and development purposes.
Audio Adapter Accessory Mode is employed by grounding both configuration channel pins. In this mode, no data connection
is possible at all, and the low speed data and sideband pins are used for headphone and microphone connections. This is how
small, inexpensive USB-C to headset adapters work.

USB4 and Thunderbolt 4

Any device which supports all optional USB4 functionality is, officially, a Thunderbolt 4 device. Since one of the USB4 options is
Thunderbolt Alternate Mode, which is Thunderbolt 3, the definition of Thunderbolt 4 is therefore: Thunderbolt 3 + USB4.

One of the stated goals of the convergence of USB4 and Thunderbolt was to reduce confusion. It is left to the reader to decide
whether this goal has been met, or even approached.

Conclusion

If your head is spinning by this point, you are not alone. One connector is used for multiple protocols, each of which contains other
protocols, many of which include multiple different ways to achieve the exact same results using either identical protocols
implemented in different ways, or different protocols whose differences are necessarily invisible to the end user. It is mind-
boggling. In the hopes of assembling some order out of this chaos, the following recommendations can be used:
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Understanding USB-C 11.4

If you’re using a Thunderbolt-branded device, only use a Thunderbolt-branded cable with it.
Only use “full-featured” USB-C cables (ones which connect wires to every pin) when connecting USB 3.2 or USB4 devices that
have substantial data needs like high-channel-count audio interfaces or anything to do with video.

To keep life simple, consider only keeping Thunderbolt and/or full-featured USB4-branded USB-C cables around at all; they
will always work with everything.
Evenly distribute high-bandwidth devices across ports belonging to separate controllers.
Avoid putting high-resolution displays on the same controller as non-video devices with high bandwidth requirements.

When shopping for docks or hubs:

Prefer USB4 or Thunderbolt 4 branded docks or hubs since they’ll have the best feature set and performance.
Accept Thunderbolt 3 docks or hubs as long as you don’t want or need to connect a wide variety of USB-C devices
downstream of the dock or hub.
Accept other USB-C docks or hubs as long as you’re not using them for performance-critical applications.

When shopping for video adapters (DisplayPort, HDMI, MHL, DVI, or VGA):

Prefer Thunderbolt video adapters, since these will necessarily properly support DisplayPort at high bandwidth.
Accept video adapters that specifically mention using Alternate Modes.
Do not use video adapters that require drivers or other software to be installed.

When shopping for ethernet adapters:

Prefer Thunderbolt ethernet adapters or USB4 adapters that specifically mention PCIe Alternate Mode, since these will
connect via PCIe which is the same technology that a built-in ethernet port would use.
Accept 2.5G or 10G USB4 ethernet adapters, since these higher-bandwidth adapters almost certainly require PCIe Alternate
Mode.
Thoroughly test any other ethernet adapters before using them in a show-critical situation.

1. Gbps stands for gigabits or billion (1,000,000,000 or 109) bits per second. Why is speed expressed in bits when file sizes are expressed in
bytes? The reason is that while there are typically 8 bits to a byte in file storage, data transfer protocols can use different numbers of bits to
make up a byte, and have different quantities of overhead that eat up portions of the total capacity. Measuring data transfer protocols in bits,
not bytes, per second makes it easier to compare any two protocols accurately, even though it makes it harder to understand how long it will
take to transfer a file of a known size.↩
2. Evidently, as of January 11, 2023, HDMI Alternate Mode has been discontinued. Apparently no actual USB-C cables or adapters using HDMI
Alternate Mode were ever manufactured; all USB-C adapters which output HDMI use DisplayPort in some form. As such, we likely will never
know just how useful HDMI Alternate Mode might have been.↩
3. This tutorial will not attempt to brave the depths of the depravity of the DisplayPort 2.1 spec. Suffice to say, it is at least as complicated as
USB4.↩
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Sam's Toolbox 11.5

Sam's Toolbox
One of the Action Figures, Sam Kusnetz, also works as a sound designer and associate sound designer in New York and around the
US. Over the years, he’s developed a set of AppleScripts which he uses in tech rehearsal to help program shows as quickly and
cleanly as possible.

This section of the manual will walk you through these scripts and explain what they do and how to use them.

The workspace has three cue lists: Main Cue List, which is where your cues go, Scripts, which is where the script cues live, and
Script Variables which is where a few settings for the scripts are stored.

Some of these scripts are built upon concepts or whole scripts created by Rich Walsh, Mic Pool, and Chris Ashworth.

Level scripts

Make Fade In
Cue number: FI
Hotkey: ⌃I

This script creates fade-in cues for all selected Audio, Mic, Video, Camera, and Text cues. The duration of the fade is set using the
name of cue “FItime” in the “Script Variables” list.

Make Fade Out

Cue number: FO
Hotkey: ⌃O

This script creates fade-out cues for all selected Audio, Mic, Video, Camera, and Text cues. The duration of the fade is set using the
name of cue “FOtime” in the “Script Variables” list.

Main level change

Cue number: L
Hotkey: ⌃L

This script sets or changes the main audio level of selected Audio, Mic, Video, and Fade cues.

To set a specific level, enter an asterisk (*) followed by a level, including a + or - sign. For example, if you enter * -12 this script will
set the master level of all selected cues to -12 .

To add to or subtract from the current levels of the selected cues, enter either a + or - sign followed by a number. For example, if
you have two cues selected whose master levels are currently -20 and -5 , and you enter +5 , the master levels for those cues
will become -15 and 0 .

Time scripts
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Sam's Toolbox 11.5

Pre-wait change
Cue number: EWC

Hotkey: ⌃E

This script sets or changes the pre-wait of the selected cues. If you enter a number, the pre-wait of all selected cues will be set to
that many seconds. If you enter a + or - sign followed by a number, that many seconds will be added to or subtracted from the pre-
wait of all selected cues.

Post-wait change
Cue number: PWC
Hotkey: ⌃W

This script sets or changes the post-wait of the selected cues. If you enter a number, the post-wait of all selected cues will be set
to that many seconds. If you enter a + or - sign followed by a number, that many seconds will be added to or subtracted from the
post-wait of all selected cues.

Duration change
Cue number: CD
Hotkey: ⌃D

This script sets or changes the duration of the selected cues, assuming the selected cues have editable durations. If you enter a
number, the duration of all selected cues will be set to that many seconds. If you enter a + or - sign followed by a number, that
many seconds will be added to or subtracted from the duration of all selected cues.

Rate change
Cue number: CR

Hotkey: ⇧⌃R

This script sets or changes the rate of selected Audio, Video, and Fade cues. If you enter a number, the rate of all selected cues will
be set to that many seconds. If you enter a + or - sign followed by a number, that many seconds will be added to or subtracted
from the rate of all selected cues.

Geometry Scripts

Opacity change
Cue number: OC

Hotkey: ⌃Y

This script sets or changes the opacity of selected Video, Camera, Text, and Fade cues. If you enter a number, the opacity of all
selected cues will be set to that many seconds. If you enter a + or - sign followed by a number, that many seconds will be added to
or subtracted from the opacity of all selected cues.

Layer change
Cue number: LC
Hotkey: ⌃R
QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Sam's Toolbox 11.5

This script sets or changes the layer of selected Video, Camera, Text, and Fade cues. If you enter a number, the layer of all selected
cues will be set to that many seconds. If you enter a + or - sign followed by a number, that many seconds will be added to or

subtracted from the layer of all selected cues.

Scale X change
Cue number: SXC

Hotkey: ⌃S

This script sets or changes the X scale of selected Video, Camera, Text, and Fade cues. If you enter a number, the X scale of all
selected cues will be set to that many seconds. If you enter a + or - sign followed by a number, that many seconds will be added to
or subtracted from the X scale of all selected cues.

If the selected cues’ scale ratio is locked, setting the X scale will also set the Y scale and vice versa.

Scale Y change
Cue number: SYC

Hotkey: ⇧⌃S

This script sets or changes the Y scale of selected Video, Camera, Text, and Fade cues. If you enter a number, the Y scale of all
selected cues will be set to that many seconds. If you enter a + or - sign followed by a number, that many seconds will be added to
or subtracted from the Y scale of all selected cues.

If the selected cues’ scale ratio is locked, setting the Y scale will also set the X scale and vice versa.

Translation X change
Cue number: TXC
Hotkey: ⌃T

This script sets or changes the X translation of selected Video, Camera, Text, and Fade cues. If you enter a number, the X
translation of all selected cues will be set to that many seconds. If you enter a + or - sign followed by a number, that many seconds
will be added to or subtracted from the X translation of all selected cues.

Translation Y change
Cue number: TYC

Hotkey: ⇧⌃T

This script sets or changes the Y translation of selected Video, Camera, Text, and Fade cues. If you enter a number, the Y
translation of all selected cues will be set to that many seconds. If you enter a + or - sign followed by a number, that many seconds
will be added to or subtracted from the Y translation of all selected cues.

Next Blend Mode

QLab 5 Reference Manual Tutorials - Sam's Toolbox 11.5

Cue number: BMN

Hotkey: ⌃B

This script sets the selected Video, Camera, and Text cues to use the next blend mode. You can learn more about blend modes
from the Blend Mode Demo tutorial.

Previous Blend Mode

Cue number: BMP

Hotkey: ⇧⌃B

This script sets the selected Video, Camera, and Text cues to use the previous blend mode. You can learn more about blend modes
from the Blend Mode Demo tutorial.

Workflow Scripts

Finish all fades

Cue number: FF

Hotkey: ⇧F

This script causes all running Fade cues and Light cues to rush to completion. The duration of the rush is set using the name of cue
“FFtime” in the “Script Variables” list.

Sub-number cues in a group

Cue number: SNC
Hotkey: ⌃N

This script numbers all selected cues within a Group cue using the format “x-y”, where “x” is the cue number of the enclosing
Group cue, and “y” is an integer starting from 1 and counting up to the number of selected cues.

Revised May 2023.