The Interface
Studio's window has five regions. You pick something in one (a universe, a group, a chase) and edit it in another, so knowing where things are is most of learning Studio. This page is the map; each region's own page explains it in full.
| Region | Where | Use it to |
|---|---|---|
| Toolbar | Top | Open and save shows, set preferences and outputs, run the clock |
| Patch Bay | Left | Browse universes and their fixtures |
| Group Pool | Middle | See groups and their chases, start chases and master rows |
| Visualizer | Right | Watch the rig in 3D |
| Modifier strip | Bottom | Edit what you picked: a universe, a group and its cues, or a chase |
Toolbar
The bar across the top: menus on the left, the show's name in the middle, the clock on the right.
| Menu | Entries | Explained in |
|---|---|---|
| File | New Showfile, Load Showfile, Save Showfile Locally, Export Showfile | Showfiles |
| Preferences | Visualizer (its settings), Outputs (connections to your lights) | Visualizer, Outputs |
| About | Manual (this manual), License (GPL-3.0), Credits, Contact |
Open a menu with a click; with one open, moving over another opens it. Each entry shows its shortcut, which works without opening the menu (Shortcuts).
The show's name in the middle gets a * when it has changes you haven't saved (Showfiles). The clock on the right holds the BPM, the play state and Tap Tempo (Playing a show).
Patch Bay
Lists the universes, each unfolding to its fixtures with their address (U0 - CH14: universe 0, address 14). Unfold a universe to open it in the modifier strip; click a fixture to select it there and outline it in the visualizer. Type in Search items to find fixtures across universes. More in Patching fixtures.
Group Pool
One column per group, with its chases in rows, and the Master column on the right. Click a group's name to open it in the modifier strip; click a chase to open it; click a chase's play button to start it. New creates a group. More in Groups, Chases and Playing a show.
Visualizer
Your rig in 3D, driven by the same values that go to your lights. In this manual it's the floating card at the bottom right of the page: it comes next to any preview that drives the rig, like the patch bay and group pool above. Drag it by its title to move it, from its corner to resize it, and reduce it to its title with –. More in Visualizer.
Modifier Strip
The bottom of the window shows the editing view for what you picked, as a row of widgets. When they don't fit, scroll the strip sideways.
| You picked | The strip shows | Page |
|---|---|---|
| A universe or a fixture | Universe settings and stream, its fixture pool, the fixture's settings, position and controls | Patching fixtures |
| A group | Group settings, its fixture pool, its cue pool, and the selected cue's widgets | Groups, Scenes, Effects |
| A chase | Chase settings and its timeline | Chases |
The demo rig's group view, with Rig's settings, fixtures and cue pool:
Widgets
Each widget has a title bar with its icon. Lists in widgets work the same everywhere: click to select, Ctrl+click to add to the selection, Search items to filter, and Delete or Backspace to delete the selection (with a confirmation).