Table of Contents > Inspector
QLab Documentation
This page last modified: 19 Jan 2009 01:43:43 PM.

Inspector

The Inspector describes every available parameter for the currently selected cue. The name, number, and target information of the cue (which may be empty, depending on the cue) are always visible at the bottom of the inspector panel. The bottom of the inspector panel is also colored according to whether the cue is broken or not. The bottom band is colored red if the cue is broken, and green if it is ready to fire. Above this information are tab views organizing all the parameters of the cue. For simple cues, only the Info and Triggers tabs are available. More complex cues will provide other tabs that you may use to access all the cue settings.
Whenever you select a cue in the workspace, the inspector is updated to show the information for that cue.
Useful key commands for the inspector include:
Command-→Select the next inspector tab.
Command-←Select the previous inspector tab.
TabMove from the cue list to the inspector. Move from field to field in the inspector.
Inspector Subtopics:

Info Tab

All cues share several basic parameters which are displayed in the inspector's first tab: the Info tab.

Pre Wait and Post Wait

The Pre Wait and Post Wait parameters of a cue describe how long playback will pause before and after a cue is fired. These wait times are useful for different circumstances.
The Pre Wait parameter, for example, is typically used in conjunction with a Group Cue that is set to fire all its children simultaneously. Used this way, the Pre Wait parameter allows you to build an absolute timeline of cues.
In contrast, the Post Wait parameter is typically used to create a relative timeline of cues, simply by inserting waits between several auto-continued cues in a sequence.

Continue Mode

You may set one of three continue modes:
do not continue
No additional cues are automatically fired after this cue is fired.
auto-continue
After this cue is fired, QLab waits for the duration specified by the post wait (which may be zero) and then automatically fires the next cue.
auto-follow
After this cue is fired, QLab waits for the exact duration of the cue's action (whatever that may be), and then automatically fires the next cue.
Auto-follow mode is commonly used, for example, for creating iTunes-style playlists of music. The next cue will always be triggered precisely at the moment that the current cue is complete.

Color

The color parameter can be used to highlight important cues. Whichever color you choose will be used as a background color in the cue list and also the list of active cues.

Armed

The "armed" parameter specifies with the cue will actually perform its action when it is fired. If the cue is disarmed, the pre-wait, post-wait, and continue mode will still be honored, but the action of the cue itself will not be fired.

Notes

You can store arbitrary notes with each cue. These notes are displayed next to the GO button during playback.
Command-T will show the "Fonts" dialog box, where you can select custom fonts and colors to use for your notes.
You can also drag images into the notes.

Triggers Tab

In addition to the normal "GO" button method of firing cues, you can assign a variety of other triggers to each cue. All of these triggers can be used simultaneously on one cue—you do not have to pick just one kind of trigger to fire the cue.

Hot Key Trigger

You may assign a hot key to any cue. When you press this key, the cue will start.
Any key can be assigned to start any cue. You can also use key modifiers like option, shift, and control...but command is reserved for menu items. QLab will warn you if you've assigned a key that is used in the workspace preferences. You can assign these keys but they will not work until the workspace preferences are changed to avoid the conflict.

MIDI Message Trigger

If you have the Pro MIDI License you may assign a MIDI Voice Message to trigger any cue. The cue will start when QLab receives that MIDI message.
You can use the "Capture..." button to easily assign a MIDI message to a cue. The first MIDI Voice Message received after pressing the capture button will be assigned as the MIDI Trigger.
MIDI triggers can also be set to respond to any velocity or control value instead of a specific value. Simply enter the word "any" into the second text field and the cue will be triggered for any incoming value.

Timecode Trigger

Each cue may be triggered using incoming MIDI timecode or Linear (SMPTE) timecode.
You may specify either the specific timecode when the cue should fire, or the real time in seconds.
After setting the timecode trigger for a particular cue you must also activate timecode for the cue list which contains that cue. The cue list is where you specify the incoming timecode mode and source. Click on the cue list in the cue list drawer to access the timecode settings in the inspector.

The Timecode settings for a cue list.

Wall Clock Trigger

You may assign a wall clock time to any cue. The cue will start at the given time.
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