November 2002

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 Contents 1

CONTENTS

PART I INTRODUCTION 7

1 Introduction 9
How This Guide is Organized 9
Requirements 10
Product Line 10
Product Overview 10
What’s New in Version 5.6 11
Digital Sound 11
Editing 11
Playback 11
Sound Cards 12
Product Support 12
Conventions 12

2 Getting Started 13
Installation 14
Updates 14
Patch, Groups, and Volumes 14
Setting up the Default Patch and Default Volumes 15
Effects File 16
Cues File 16
Workspace 17
Desktops 17
Views 18
Menu and the Active View 18
Toolbar 18
Effects Tool Box 19
Effect Types 19
Example Workspace 20
Different Views 21
Play Desktop 22
Inserting Cues 23
Conclusion 24

PART II REFERENCE 25

3 Working with Effects 27

Effects View 27
Inserting 28
INSERT Button 28
Drag-and-drop: Effects Tool Box 29
Drag-and-drop: Explorer, Folder 29
Deleting 29
Properties 29
Playing Sample 29
Sorting 30
Font and Size 30
Columns 30
Integrity Check 30
Locating Files 30
Patch 31
2 SFX User’s Guide

Printing 31

4 Working with Cues 33

Cues View 34
Font, Size and Color 35
Inserting 35
INSERT Button 35
Drag-and-drop: Effects Tool Box 35
Drag-and-drop: Explorer, Folder 36
Inserting Special Effects 36
Replace 36
Deleting 37
Properties 37
Playing Cues 37
Go Button View 37
Right mouse button 37
Time Code 37
Command cue 37
Keyboard trigger 37
MIDI Command trigger 37
MIDI Show Control 37
Panic 38
Patch 38
Show Control & Triggers 38
Go to Cue 39
Seek Cue to Time 39
Renumbering Cues 39
Clear All Time Code 39
Learn Time Code 40
Sort 40
Integrity Check 40
Locate Files 40
PlayList Mode 40
Columns 42
Printing 42

5 Working with Notes 43

Notes View 43
Entering Notes 43
Script Information Toolbar 43
Font, Size and Color 44

6 Working with Cue Status 45

Cue Status View 45
Adding a Cue Status View 45
Removing a Cue Status View 45
Button Toolbar 46
Status Displays 46

7 Working with Array 47

Array View 47
Instant Play 48
Seek Buttons 48
GO Button 48
Auto Advance 49
Status 49
Integrity Check 49
Locating Files 49
 Contents 3

Patch 49
Show Control & Triggers 49
Printing 49

8 Options 51
Options 51
Preferences 52
Perform Integrity Check on file open 52
Backup Cues files every n minutes 52
Load last used workspace 52
Automatically save workspace on close or exit 52
Right mouse button is GO! for Cues view 52
Flash Notes caption when new notes appear 52
Automatically number cues by 52
Hide decimal in cue numbers 52
Cue numbers for Autofollows and Waits 53
Cue numbers for cues following Autofollows, and Waits 53
Prompt when inserting Waits and Restarts 53
Default Cue Status views 53
Default Wait seconds 53
Default Fade seconds 53
Desktop 53
Desktop Background 53
Background color 53
Image 53
Edit Desktop Password 53
Fonts 53
Column & Background Colors 54
Snap to Grid 54
Screen Saver 54
Default Wave Patch 54
Group, Preempt, Device 54
Default MIDI Patch 54
Default Volume 54
Group, Assign, Gang, Slider 54
Tools 54
Menu contents 54
Add 55
Remove 55
Move Up 55
Move Down 55
Menu Text 55
Command 55
Arguments 55
Initial Directory 55
Prompt for arguments 55
MIDI Command Control 55
Incoming MIDI Command Device 55
MIDI channel to accept commands on 55
MIDI Show Control 56
Command Formats 56
Device IDs 56
Incoming Show Control 56
Slave Time Code 56
Folders 56
Autosave files 56
Cues, Effects, & Workspace files 56
Sound Effects folder 56
4 SFX User’s Guide

Optimization 56
Samples, Channels, Bits 56
Allow Emulated Sound Card Drivers 56

PART III MISCELLANEOUS 57

9 Effect Types 59
Effect Types 60
Effect Properties 60
Effects 60
Attributes 60
Trigger 61
Mixer 61
Output 61
Wave 62
MIDI Sequence 62
MIDI Command 62
CD Track 63
MIDI Show Control (MSC) 63
Media Control Interface (MCI) 63
Autofollow 63
Wait 63
Fade 64
Stop 64
Command 64
Restart 65
Memo 65
Plug-Ins 65

10 Keyboard Triggers 67
Keyboard Triggers 67

11 MIDI Command Messages 69

MIDI Command Message 69
MIDI Command Effects 69
Triggering SFX with MIDI 70

12 MIDI Time Code 71

MIDI Time Code 71
Format 72
Input 72
Output 72
Freeze 72
Learn 72
Set 72

13 MIDI Show Control 73

MIDI Show Control 73
SFX as a Controller 73
Controlling SFX 74
Commands 75

14 Command Interface 79
Command Interface 79
Commands 79

15 Startup Parameters 91
 Contents 5

Startup Parameters 91
Editor Mode 91
Examples 92

16 PlayList Mode 93
Overview 93
System Setup 93
Creating a Workspace 94
Creating an Effect List 94
Creating a Cue List 94
Patching the Cues view 94
Selecting an Effects view to Play 95
Playing the Cues 95
Selecting Alternate Cues 95

17 Troubleshooting 97
Troubleshooting 97

Index 103
 Contents 7

Part I Introduction
 Chapter 1 Introduction 9

1 Introduction
How This Guide is Organized
Requirements
Product Line
Product Overview
Digital Sound
Editing
Playback
Sound Cards
Product Support
Conventions

How This Guide is Organized

Don’t be put off by the size of this guide! Most users quickly learn SFX without every cracking opening this book. As you’ll
see, the best way to tackle SFX is to read the first two chapters of this guide and then to experience the software directly by
experimenting. Most of the content in this guide is reference material and is included for thoroughness about the software.

This User’s Guide is organized into three parts, and discusses the functionality of the SFX product line: Basic, Standard,
ProAudio, and Show Control. Part I: Introduction is relatively brief and is intended to be read before using SFX. The first
chapter of Part I, Chapter 1: Introduction, is an introduction to this guide and SFX. Chapter 2: Getting Started will explain
the basic working concepts of SFX and provide you with a short tutorial to get you acquainted with the application. We
recommend that you read the first two chapters of this Guide before running SFX. Then, launch SFX and work along with the
Example Workspace section (page 20) in Chapter 2.

Part II of this guide is a reference section that explains each of the major components of SFX, devoting to each an entire
chapter. The chapters in this section are intended to introduce you to more of the features of SFX. Part III: Miscellaneous
covers more advanced topics.
10 SFX User’s Guide

Requirements
? Pentium III 500 MHz processor or better.
? 256 MB of RAM
? Windows XP or Windows 2000
? Video resolution of at least 800 x 600 (1024 x 768 preferable)
? CD-ROM drive
? Sound Card(s) with DirectX support (e.g. Echo Layla/Gina – http://www.EchoAudio.com)
? Parallel/USB port

The Windows DirectX technology must be installed for SFX to work properly. SFX is compatible with any sound cards that
have true DirectX sound drivers. DirectX is shipped with SFX or can be downloaded from Microsoft’s WWW home page at:

http://www.microsoft.com/DirectX

Product Line
SFX is a line of products, each with different features and characteristics. The SFX product line is composed of Standard,
ProAudio, and Show Control. This guide will contain all possible features and functionality for the entire product line. Some
features listed below may not be in the SFX edition you own. To determine the edition of SFX you own, select from the main
menu Help | About. The Help dialog box will list the exact product(s) you have.

To Upgrade your edition from one level to another, select from SFX’s main menu, Help | Upgrade Edition for instructions.

The Standard edition does not limit the number of opened Cues files and Effects files per workspace. It gives you four stereo
output channels per Cues view, and limits you to four simultaneous sound cues per stereo output. Sound effect types
included in the Standard edition are the Wave file, MIDI sequence, and CD track. In addition to the Autofollow and Wait cues
contained in every edition, Standard also includes MIDI Command, Trigger, and Restart. The Array view is included with
Standard, as well as Keyboard and MIDI triggering.

The ProAudio edition is similar to the Standard edition, except it allows eight stereo outputs and places no limitation on the
number of simultaneous sound cues. The ProAudio also contains multipart Wave files so that you can create one Wave cue
composed of up to eight separate Wave files all synchronized together. Also with ProAudio, you can create loop segments in
your Wave cues.

The Show Control edition is the Standard edition, but includes the MIDI Show Control effect type and the MCI effect type.
Also, MIDI Time Code is included. Various show control plug-ins are also part of the Show Control Edition.

Product Overview
SFX is a theatrical, sound playback and show control software application, and is designed to aid the sound designer and the
sound technician in creating, maintaining, and executing sound effects or music for a live entertainment environment. With all
the features and ease of use, SFX not only replaces traditional sound playback equipment, but it also provides you with
possibilities that were not previously practical or even possible. For instance, one of SFX’s key features is its ability to play
multiple sound effects through one or more sound cards by using the DirectX technology. SFX is also capable of show
control through MIDI Commands, MIDI Show Control, and MIDI Time Code.

SFX can playback a number of effects. The sound effects that SFX can playback are Wave files, MIDI sequences, and audio
tracks from a CD-ROM. Along with sound effects, SFX is capable of playing other effects such as MIDI Commands to
external MIDI devices and MIDI Show Control commands. Sound effects can be linked into sequences through Waits,
Autofollows, and Trigger cues, or cues can be executed through MIDI Time Code.

A robust interface allows you to place and size windows wherever you like on the desktop, choosing to include or not include
whatever windows or features you want or don’t want. Fonts, backgrounds, and colors are customizable as well. Drag-and-
 Chapter 1 Introduction 11

drop is also included providing you with the convenience of simply dragging sound effect files from your desktop right onto
SFX and into your cue list. In addition, multiple cue lists can be opened on the desktop simultaneously.

Each cue list has a number of other windows, or “views” associated with it. Each view has a particular task or function. For
example, the Go Button view triggers cues and the Notes view displays user-entered information about each cue.

By default, SFX displays a Cues file in a Cues view. The Cues view is really just a Cue List, with each cue listed one after
another. Alternatively, you may display this list in a different way through the Array view. The Array view is still a Cue List,
but each cue is displayed within a large button in the Array. The buttons are contained in a list that you can scroll through.
To play a cue in the Array (through the Instant Play feature) you click on the button with the cue in it. The Array view works
well in an environment that is more spontaneous than a specifically scripted show. The Cues view and the Array view are
synchronized together, so selections made in one view are reflected in the other view.

What’s New in Version 5.6

Building on the successes of version 5.0, version 5.6 adds many powerful features including:
? 24-bit and 32-bit, 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz wave files under Windows XP
? Multipart Wave cues to synchronize multi-channel playback of wave files in the ProAudio edition
? DirectX 8.1 features with and other enhancements for Windows XP and Windows 2000

SFX 5.6 also added other updates including Notes background color, renumbering cues from anywhere in the cue list, and a
tweaked Fade effect. The wave cue effect has had its looping features moved to a special Effect Property tab under the Wave
cue properties. Act, scene, and page information has also been included on the Attributes Property page for the cues, and the
Trigger effect type has been renamed to the Command effect type.

For a complete list of changes, see the ReadMe.txt file located in the SFX folder on your computer.

Digital Sound
SFX is a digital sound playback application that plays the following sound effects files: Wave files (.wav), MIDI sequences
(.mid), and audio tracks from an audio CD in the CD-ROM. Sound effects are played through one or more sound cards in the
computer.

Editing
SFX is strictly a sound playback application and does not allow you to do any digital editing on the effects. Many excellent
software products exist out there already for this purpose. See Sonic Foundry (www.SonicFoundry.com) and Syntrillium
(www.Syntrillium.com) for sound editing and related software. Some of these products also have “CD ripping” abilities which
mean they can convert audio CD tracks into Wave files, which is the preferred format of playback in SFX. You will also find it
easier to work with Wave files then CD tracks. Stand-alone rippers may also be found at www.download.com.

Playback
SFX is designed to chiefly playback sound effects. These sound effects are recorded on the hard disk or on a CD in the CD-
ROM. SFX can also play special cues such as MIDI commands, MCI commands, and MIDI Show Control messages
(depending on the edition of SFX).
12 SFX User’s Guide

Sound Cards
SFX will support sound cards that have proper support of the Windows’ DirectX technology. Such sound cards will have
DirectX or WDM drivers available. A driver is a software program that interfaces the operating system with the hardware of
the sound card. Examples of sound cards compatible with SFX are the Echo line of cards (www.EchoAudio.com).

Product Support
Product Support for Stage Research products is available to registered users. Please consult this documentation and the
README file first if you have any questions. If you do not find answers here, Stage Research maintains a World Wide Web
site with a fully searchable Knowledge Base as well as a Customer Service and Technical Support number.

? World Wide Web: http://www.StageResearch.com

? e-mail: Info@StageResearch.com
? Customer Service, Technical Service, and other Inquires: 1-800-929-1708 or 440-717-7510
? Mail address: PO BOX 470417, Cleveland OH 44147

Email Newsgroup
Join the SFX User’s email newsgroup to converse with other users and stay up on the world of SFX! See the link to the
newsgroup from our web site, or go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SFX_Users/

Conventions
SFX follows the Microsoft Windows convention, and you should be familiar with using it before attempting to use SFX. This
guide assumes you have a basic knowledge of the Windows environment.

This guide will also make references to sequences of menu item separated by the “|” (pipe) character. Menu item or buttons
will be represented in all capitals. For example, “Select FILE | SAVE AS… ” specifies the File menu and the Save As… item
under that menu.
 Chapter 2 Getting Started 13

2 Getting Started
Installation
Updates
Patches, Groups, and Volumes
Setting up the Default Patch and Default Volumes
Effects File
Cues File
Workspace
Desktops
Views
Menus and the Active View
Toolbar
Effects Tool Box
Effect Types
Example Workspace
Different Views
Play Desktop
Inserting Cues
Conclusion
14 SFX User’s Guide

Installation
Connect the hardware key to your first parallel port (printer port) if you have a parallel key, or to a USB port if you have a USB
key. If you do not connect the key to your computer, SFX will run in "Demonstration" mode. If you received a USB key,
connect it after you have completed the install of the software.

Install SFX from the CD-ROM. During installation, the setup program will install Microsoft DirectX. DirectX can also be
obtained directly from Microsoft’s Web page at http://www.Microsoft.com/DirectX. If you do not install SFX in the
recommended location, you may have problems with the Example workspace (see Example Workspace page 20).

Updates
After you install SFX from the CD, you should check the Stage Research web site for any recent updates and install them as
well (see Product Support page 12).

Patch, Groups, and Volumes

Because SFX has the ability to play multiple sound
effects through one or more sound card outputs,
you must specify where you want your output
patched. There are two devices that need patching:
Wave playback devices and MIDI playback
devices.

SFX gives you up to four Groups for Standard and

Show Control and eight Groups for ProAudio. Each
Group is a stereo pair that can be patched to a
stereo output. For instance, in a typical stereo
sound card setup, it would be one Group to one
sound card, but in a multichannel sound card setup,
you could assign each Group to a stereo pair on
that sound card.

In turn, your cues can be Assigned to one or more of these Groups. You can have more than one Group patched to a stereo
output. The diagram at above shows a four channel (two stereo) system. In this instance, three Groups are patched to the
sound card outputs: The first two Groups to the first stereo pair, and the third Group to the second stereo pair. Next, the
sound cues are assigned to the Groups with some cues even being assigned to more than one Group. This allows you to send
a cue to any output as well as multiple outputs.

Patching provides you with a layer between the sound effects files and the sound cards. Instead of specifying the sound card
directly in the sound effect, you assign the effect to a Group that in turn is patched to the sound card. Your effects only
“see” Group numbers, and if you move a show from one computer system to another, those Group assignments remain intact
regardless of what type of sound cards are available.

You can play more than one sound effect to the same Group at the same time.

Another way to visual SFX’s patching scheme is by thinking of it like a mixer:

 Chapter 2 Getting Started 15

You can set up a Group as “preemptive” meaning that only one sound effect will play on that Group, and when another effect
begins to play, it will halt the first.

Setting up the Default Patch and Default Volumes

Each Cue List contains its own independent Patch. When a new Cue List is created, it initializes its own patch by copying the
settings from the Default Patch. Changing the Patch in the Default Patch will have no effect on Effects files or Cues files that
are already created.

During installation, the setup program will automatically setup the Default Patch, but you should examine it before you begin
creating shows. The Default Patch and Default Volumes are used by the Cues files as templates when Cues files are initially
created.

To see the Default Patch and Default Volumes:

1. Select from the main menu TOOLS |
OPTIONS and the “Options” dialog box
will appear.
2. Select the DEFAULT WAVE PATCH tab
or DEFAULT MIDI PATCH tab, or
DEFAULT VOLUME tab.

This DEFAULT WAVE PATCH tab displays the

Groups’ patching to the output sound cards. It shows
which Groups are patched to which sound card
drivers. Click on the DEFAULT MIDI PATCH tab to
see which Groups are patched to which MIDI
instrument drivers. The Group numbers for MIDI and
Wave refer to the same Groups (i.e. there is not a
separate set of eight Groups for each Wave and MIDI).
Click the DEFAULT VOLUME tab to see the volume
levels that new cues will be initially set to when they are created.
16 SFX User’s Guide

The Default Patch exists for you so that you can configure it once, and then not have to worry about patching each time you
create a new Cue List.

Effects File
SFX utilizes two types of files. The first file type is the Effects
file. Effects files contain links to effects on your computer and,
instead of using filenames for the effect names -- which tend to
be cryptically named -- you can assign the effects any names
you want. Effects listed in the Effects view do not have to be
strictly sound effect files, but can be other effect types such as
MIDI commands, etc. Since this view acts as a librarian of your
effects, you don’t directly playback the effects from this file;
it’s only there to help you organize your effects. You can play
a sample of the effects in this view, though, to get an idea of
what it sounds like before you add it to a Cues List. You may
want to create an Effects file for each type of effect. For
instance, you can have an Effects file that contains links to different types of doorbell effects, and you might also have an
Effects file that contains links to environmental sounds.

When you create actual Cue Lists, you can draw upon the effects that are located in this file.

The use of Effects files is optional. You can always just create your cues from dragging-and-dropping from Windows Explorer
or from SFX’s Effects Tool Box.

Cues File
The second type of file used by SFX is the Cues file. Cues files are your Cue Lists and contain the sound effects and other
effects that will be played back during a performance. They also contain Notes and other extra information that will be
displayed during playback. Effects in the Cues files are obtained from one or more Effects files, directly from drag-and-drop
from the Windows Explorer, or from drag-and-drop from the Effects Tool Box.
 Chapter 2 Getting Started 17

Workspace
A workspace is a set of Effects and Cues files, the locations of their windows on the desktop, and individual settings relating
to those files and windows.

You will probably have a separate workspace for each show you work on. When you want to create a new show, you first
create a new workspace. Then, you create or
open any number of Effects and Cues files in
that workspace. When you close the
workspace, SFX will save what files you had
opened, where on the screen they were, and
any extra settings belonging to that particular
workspace (e.g. trigger settings, etc.).

If you are working on multiple shows, you

probably will have multiple workspaces, with
each workspace customized to fit the needs of
that particular show.

Desktops
Each workspace contains two desktops, called the Edit Desktop and the Play Desktop. The desktops provide you with two
areas to display your views. Also, when you are in the Play Desktop, you will not be able to make any modification to the files
that are opened there. You can move and size the windows (if they’re not locked, see page 22), but you can not make any
changes to the effects or cues. The Play Desktop adds a layer of security to your show, protecting it from being modified. In
the Edit Desktop, you may change your Cue Lists and other information, and even run your show. The Edit Desktop can be
password protected so that you can ensure that your show will not be changed by anyone but yourself.

You can configure the windows opened

on your desktop differently for each of
the two desktops. For example, in the
Edit Desktop you might have an Effects
file displayed on the left side of the
desktop so that you may add sound
effects to your Cues file. But, in the Play
Desktop, you may have that same Effects
file minimized so that it is out of the way.
If you close a window completely in one
of the desktops, though, it will also
disappear from the other desktop as well.

Typically, when you are creating your

show and running through rehearsals,
you may choose to use the Edit Desktop.
In this desktop, you can add and edit
cues, or make quick changes to your
show such as volume adjustments or
entering in Notes about the cues. Then, when you move into actual performances, you should switch to the Play Desktop to
prohibit inadvertent or purposeful changes to your show. Also, in the Play Desktop, certain features and toolbars associated
18 SFX User’s Guide

with creating a modifying a show will disappear to give you a cleaner desktop. You will also gain a slight performance boost
in the Play desktop.

To switch desktops:
1. Select from the main menu VIEW | SWITCH DESKTOP.

Views
A view is another name for “window” and implies that it is a visual element to access your data. When you open up an
Effects file in SFX, for example, you will see it displayed on your desktop in a view. This view, called the Effects view, is a
window with a list of effects and controls in it. Opening a Cues File will open up many views, with each view showing you
some different aspect of your data.

View Purpose
Effects Displays the file links in an Effects file
Cues Displays the effects in a Cues file to be played back during a
performance
Array Same as Cues, but displays the Cues file as an array of buttons
(available in the Standard edition and above)
Go Button Plays the currently selected cue
Notes Displays the user-entered information about the currently
selected cue
Cue Status Displays the playing state of a cue

Menu and the Active View

The menu is displayed at the top of the screen immediately under the caption bar. The menu is dynamic and will change
depending on which view is active. You can determine which view is active by looking at the views’ caption bars. The bar that
is highlighted is the view that is active. To activate a view, click anywhere on the view (such as the view’s caption bar).

When you activate a view, the menu will change to accommodate the special features for that particular view. It is important
to remember that if you want to access certain features that affect a certain view, you must activate that view to make those
features available. For example, if you want to renumber cues in your Cue List, you must activate the view that holds the Cue
List in order to renumber it. Or, if you want to save one of your Effects views, you need to click on that view and then select
from the menu, FILE | SAVE.

Some features do not affect any particular view and are available regardless of what view is active. There are also some
features that are available to more than one view, but work differently. For instance, EDIT | CUT is available to the Cues view
and the Notes view. Selecting CUT while the Cues view is active will remove the currently selected effect. If the Notes view
was selected, the currently selected text in that view would be deleted.

Toolbar
The toolbar is the bar of buttons found directly beneath the menu. The toolbar stays the same regardless of what view is
active. Functions found in the toolbar can also be found in the menu.
 Chapter 2 Getting Started 19

To show/hide the Toolbar:

1. Select from the main menu VIEW | TOOLBAR and the toolbar will hide if it is visible or show if it was hidden.

Effects Tool Box

The Effects Tool Box is a floating control panel on the desktop that you can use to easily add effects (see below Effect Types)
to the Effects views and the Cues views. Note: not all effect types may be present in your edition of SFX. The following
figure depicts the Show Control and ProAudio edition of SFX.

To add an effect from the Tool Box to an Effects view or Cues view:
1. Click and hold down on the button of the effect in the Effects Tool Box.
2. Drag the mouse to the location in the Effects view or Cues view you want to add this effect and release the
mouse button.

To show/hide the Effects Toolbar:

1. Select from the main menu VIEW | EFFECTS TOOLBAR and the Effects Toolbar will hide if it is visible or show if
it was hidden.

Effect Types
SFX contains various types of sound effects and other effects depending on the edition of SFX you own. Along with sound
effects like Wave files and MIDI files there are also other “effects” that perform other functions other than sound effect
playback. For instance, the Memo cue is simply an empty effect that displays a line of text in the Cues view. For more detailed
descriptions of the following effect types, please see the chapter entitled Effect Types (page 59).

Effect Type Edition Available

Wave file All
MIDI Sequence Standard, ProAudio, Show Control
CD Track Standard, ProAudio, Show Control
20 SFX User’s Guide

MIDI Command Standard, ProAudio, Show Control

MIDI Show Control Show Control
MCI Command Show Control
Autofollow All
Wait All
Fade All
Stop All
Command Standard, ProAudio, Show Control
Restart Standard, ProAudio, Show Control
Memo All

Wave file - a wave file is the Windows standard audio file. Wave files end with the extension .wav.

MIDI Sequence - a serious of MIDI notes that are played through a MIDI synthesizer, such as a synthesizer chip on a sound
card.

CD Track - an audio track(s) from an audio compact disc placed in the computer’s CD-ROM.

MIDI Command - a MIDI message that is played to an external MIDI device to trigger it in some manner.

MIDI Show Control - a standardized MIDI message used to communicate with other entertainment equipment.

MCI Command - (Media Control Interface) a high-level command interface to multimedia devices and resources such as .avi
files, video discs, etc.

Wait - a type of delay cue that links two cues together. When the cue preceding the Wait is played, the Wait delays a user-
defined number of seconds before triggering the following cue.

Autofollow - a type of delay cue that links two cues together. An Autofollow waits for the previous cue to complete before
triggering the following cue.

Restart - a cue that will delay a user-defined number of seconds before selecting another cue and executing it. This cue is
typically used to make a cue list circular.

Command- a cue that activates another cue, cue list, or time code clock. Each Command cue contains many different command
choices.

Fade - a cue that modifies the volume of a targeted cue. These cues change volume logarithmically over the user-defined time
to ensure smooth fading.

Stop - a cue that halts playback of one or more targeted cues.

Memo - a cue that does not do anything but provide a line of text in the Cues view. You can type any information you want in
here.

Example Workspace
After becoming familiar with the previous topics, you will
be ready to walk-through the demonstration show. The
remaining topics in this chapter will introduce you to SFX.
Once you have a basic understanding of this application,
you can browse the following chapters of this document to
familiarize yourself with SFX’s more advanced features.
 Chapter 2 Getting Started 21

The first time you launch SFX, it will automatically open up to the example workspace. To open the Example workspace up
manually, select from SFX’s main menu File | Open Workspace and navigate to My Documents\SFX. Load the SRExample
workspace found there.

The example workspace and corresponding files should be located under My Documents\SFX after you run the program for
the first time. If you run SFX, and the files are not there, create an SFX folder under My Documents and then copy all the files
found in the C:\Program Files\SFX\Documents folder. Then open the Workspace up manually.

The first time you load the SRExample show, it may report that it is missing the files. See Locating Files (page 30 and page 40)
to have SFX find the files for you.

This workspace contains one Effects file and one Cues file. Initially, you will be in the Edit Desktop. To determine which
desktop you are in, look at the main SFX window caption bar. It should have the name of SFX, the current workspace name,
and a word in brackets. The word will either be “[play]” or “[edit].” If it is “[play]” select from the main menu VIEW | SWITCH
DESKTOP to return to the Edit Desktop.

Different Views
The Effects files and the Cues files are represented on-screen by one or more views (windows) each.

The Effects file is represented on-screen by the Effects view, and for the
SRExample workspace is titled “Effects - SRExampleEffects.”
“SRExampleEffects” is the name of the file.

The Cues file is represented by a number of views. The main view is the
Cues view and for the Example workspace is titled, “Cues -
SRExampleShow”. Similar to the Effects view, “SRExampleShow” is the
name of the Cues file. Along with the Cues view are the Notes view, the Go
button view
and a couple
of Cue
Status
views. Each
of the other
views display a different aspect of the Cues file.

Notice the Notes view. The Notes view displays user-entered

text about the currently selected cue. Click on any cue in the
Cues view and you will see the text in the Notes view change.
Try clicking to other cues to see their notes. Some cues may
not have any notes associated with them.

Click on the first cue in the Cues view. Notice the yellow circle
before the cue number. This dot tells you the current state of the cue. Yellow means the cue is “cued” and ready to be
played. Click on the Go button. Notice that there are two Go buttons on the screen. There is a large Go Button view and there
is a smaller Go button in a toolbar contained within the Cues view. Both perform the same function. When you click the Go
button, the dot will change from yellow to green, the cue will begin playing, and the selection bar will drop down to the next
cue. When the cue has finished playing the green dot will disappear. Click on Go again to play the newly selected cue.

To halt playback, click on the PANIC button in the Toolbar (see Toolbar page 18).

Along with the Wave files in the Cues view, you may notice other cues like Wait and Autofollow. Wait and Autofollow cues
are used to sequence cues together. For example, click on a cue directly before an Autofollow cue. Next, click on one of the
Go buttons. Notice how the selection bar first jumps down to the Autofollow and then jumps on to the following cue. When
the first cue finishes, the autofollow will automatically send a Go command to the following cue without you having to click Go
a second time.
22 SFX User’s Guide

Wait is similar to Autofollow except it starts to execute as soon as the preceding cue begins to play; it doesn’t wait for the cue
to finish.

As cues are executing, you can watch their status in a column in the Cues view:

To see the Status column:

1. Make the Cues view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES | STATUS COLUMN

The default format for the Status column is Time Remaining.

To change the format for the Status Column:

1. Make the Cues view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES | STATUS FORMAT and a popup menu will appear
3. Select either TIME REMAINING, TIME ELAPSED, or PERCENTAGE COMPLETED.

Click on the first cue again and click on the Go button. In the Cues view you can watch the seconds tick down in the Status
column for that cue.

Now click on a cue preceding a Wait cue. When you click the Go button, you will notice that both the cue and the following
Wait begin executing at the same time. After the Wait reaches zero, it will automatically playing the following cue. Using
Waits and Autofollows you can add reliable automation to your effect playback. For example:

Q1.00 <5:23> Steady Rain

<0:08> Wait 8.000
Q2.00 <0:04> Thunder - Loud
Autofollow
Q3.00 <0:08> Thunder - Low rumble
Autofollow
<0:23> Wait 23.000
Q4.00 <0:08> Thunder - Loud

When you click Go for the first cue it will start to play over five minutes of rain. Eight seconds after the Go, “Thunder - Load”
will be triggered. When that finishes, “Thunder - Low Rumble” will be played. Next notice the Autofollow/Wait sequence
immediately after Q3.00. This means that as soon as Q3.00 has completed, the Wait 23.00 will begin to execute, and when 23
seconds are up, Q4.00 will be triggered. All this will happen with only one click on the Go button.

Play Desktop
You should still be in the Edit Desktop. The name of the desktop is listed in brackets in SFX’s main caption bar. In this
desktop you are able to modify your shows by changing the Effects and Cues lists as well as the properties of the effects
listed there. But before we begin making changes, you should be aware of the other desktop, the Play Desktop. The Play
Desktop is essentially identical to the Edit Desktop except that it will not allow you to make changes to your files. Typically,
you would use the Play Desktop when you are in production, where you would want to make sure that none of your files get
purposefully or accidentally modified. Also, you can place your windows differently on each desktop, so, for example, the
Cues view in the Edit Desktop can be a different size and place on the Play Desktop.

To switch to the other desktop:

1. Select from the main menu VIEW | SWITCH DESKTOP.

In each desktop you also have the option of “locking” the views so that they can not be moved, sized, or closed. You may
want to do this in the Play desktop for a performance to avoid any accidental view closing or movements.

To lock the views:

1. Select from the main menu VIEWS | LOCK VIEWS.
 Chapter 2 Getting Started 23

-- or --
1. Click the Lock Views toolbar button.

When the views are locked, you will see a message in the caption bar and a check mark will appear before the LOCK views
menu item.

Go back to the Edit Desktop for the next topic.

Inserting Cues
Before inserting cues into the Cues view, make sure you are in the Edit Desktop (See Desktops page 17). There are a number
of ways to insert Cues into a Cues view (See Inserting page 34), and for this example, we will drag-and-drop from Windows
Explorer.

To insert a cue from Windows Explorer:

1. Open Windows Explorer by
selecting from SFX’s main menu
Tools | Windows Explorer (or by
opening Windows Explorer
through Windows Start menu).
Resize and move the Windows
Explorer window so that you can
see SFX’s cue list.
2. Navigate to a folder that contains
Wave files.
3. Click on a Wave file and hold the
mouse button down as you drag
the mouse over your Cues view
in SFX.
4. Release the mouse button over
the cue you want to insert this
new cue before.

There are other ways to insert cues. For example, you can drag effects from the Effects view and drop them into the Cues view
or you can drag effects from the Effects Tool Box (see page 19).

In the Effects view you may use the mouse in conjunction with the CTRL and ALT keys to select more than one effect for
insertion. You may only select one cue at a time in the Cues view, though.

After you have inserted an effect, it will be selected. You can type in text in the Notes window or you may click the
PROPERTIES button in the Cues view to change the cue’s description or other attributes. The cue’s description can be no
longer than 256 characters.

Executing Cues
To execute your show, click on the first cue in the Cues view. It will then
become highlighted indicating that it is the next cue to execute. Then, click on
the GO button. You should see a green dot appear before the cue as well as
hearing the cue execute. Also notice that the selection bar immediately
dropped down to the following cue. When you are ready for that cue to
execute, click the GO button. If you click the GO button before a prior playing
cue is finished executing, you will notice that the cues both play at the same
time and overlap. With SFX Standard, you can overlap as many as four effects,
and ProAudio is only limited by computer power and memory.
24 SFX User’s Guide

Conclusion
By completing the previous topics you now should have a basic understanding of how SFX works. At this point, you should
experiment with adding effects and building shows in the Cues view. Parts II and III are designed to be used as a reference, so
when you get stuck on something you can look it up in those pages. You may also want to visit the Stage Research Web
page at http://www.StageResearch.com. On the Web page you can find a Show Case section that features examples of actual
shows that have used SFX.
 Part II Reference 25

Part II Reference
 Chapter 3 Working with Effects 27

3 Working with Effects

Effects view
Inserting
INSERT Button
Drag-and-drop: Effects Tool Box
Drag-and-drop: Explorer, Folder
Deleting
Properties
Playing Sample
Sorting
Fonts and Size
Columns
Integrity Check
Locating Files
Patch
Printing

Effects View

The Effects view is the window that displays the information from an Effects file (*.sou file). You can use these views to
organize your sound effects (or other effects such as MIDI Commands) to give your effects descriptive names, instead of just
28 SFX User’s Guide

cryptic file names. The Effects view is not intended to have effects played back from it; that’s what the Cues view is for.
Think of the Effects view as a “library” of your effects. When you are creating a Cue List (through a Cues View) you can draw
upon the effects found in the Effects views.

It isn’t necessary to utilize the Effects views, as you can just

as easily create cues directly into your Cues views. The
Effects view is just a method to organize effects within SFX.

The Effects view can be sized and placed anywhere on the

desktop. Multiple Effects views can be opened on the
desktop at the same time. Immediately below the caption bar
of this view is a toolbar. The buttons in the toolbar are also
available as items in the menu when this view is made active
by clicking on the view’s caption bar.

When this view is active, the menu will appear like this:

The Effects view is disabled in the Play Desktop, and you may not make any modification to it there.

To create a new Effects file:

1. From the main menu select FILE | NEW and a “New” dialog box will appear.
2. Click on “Effects.”
3. Click on OK.

To open an existing Effects file:

1. From the main menu select FILE | OPEN an
“Open” dialog box will appear.
2. In the “File Types” combo box select “Effects
(*.sou)”.
3. Select the Effects file.
4. Click “Open”.

Inserting
You have a number of ways to insert effects into the Effects view:

? Click on the INSERT button in the view’s toolbar

? With the view active, select from the menu EFFECTS | INSERT
? Drag-and-drop effects from the Effects Tool Box
? Drag-and-drop or paste effects from other Effects views or Cues views
? Drag-and-drop effects from Windows Explorer or open folders

INSERT Button

Click on the INSERT button in the Effects view’s toolbar. A menu will be displayed under the button of the type of effects
that you may insert into the list. Click on the type of effect you want to add, and follow the instructions in the following
dialogs.
 Chapter 3 Working with Effects 29

If you do not supply a Description for the files you add, SFX will provide you with a default description.

Drag-and-drop: Effects Tool Box

The Effects Tool Box (see Effects Tool Box page 19) is the control panel floating on the desktop. The Tool
Box contains the effect types that you can use in SFX. Some effect types (such as Autofollows and
Waits) have no meaning in the Effects view and therefore will not be added to the list.

To add an effect from the Tool Box to an Effects view:

1. Click and hold down on the button of the effect in the Effects Tool Box.
2. Drag the mouse to the location in the Effects view you want to add this effect and release the
mouse button.

Drag-and-drop: Explorer, Folder

You may insert more then one sound effect at a time through drag-and-drop. To do so, open Windows
Explorer and open the folder containing your sound effect files. Use the mouse to select multiple files (by
using the CTRL or SHIFT keys will clicking the left mouse button). Once you have one or more files
selected, use the mouse to click and hold down on one of the selected files, drag the mouse pointer into the Effects view’s list,
and then release the mouse button. Effects added this way have default Description names of their file names, but you may
change the description by clicking on the PROPERTIES toolbar button.

You can also drag-and-drop from other Effects views or Cues views by using the procedure discussed above. If you want to
drag an effect (copy) in the same view, you must hold down the SHIFT key. You can move an effect by holding down the
ALT key during the drag and drop operation.

Deleting
To delete one or more effects in an Effects window, select those effects and click on the DELETE button in the Effects view’s
toolbar. You can also select from the menu EDIT | CUT or EDIT | DELETE when the Effects view is active.

Properties
The properties of an effect can include the effect’s name, the file
name, the cue number, volume, group assignments, triggers, and
others.

To access an effect’s properties:

1. Click on the effect you wish to the properties of.
2. Click on the PROPERTIES button and the “Effect
Property” dialog box will be displayed.

Playing Sample
To play an effect, click on the PLAY SAMPLE button in the Effects view’s toolbar. While the effect is playing, the button will
change to STOP SAMPLE, and by clicking on it, SFX will halt playback.
30 SFX User’s Guide

Sorting
You can sort the effects in the Effects view in two ways: by Description and by Type. Sorting is done alphabetically by
examining either the Description field or the Type field.

To sort the effects in the Effects view:

1. Click on the SORT button in the Effects view and a popup menu will appear.
2. Select either DESCRIPTION or TYPE from the menu and the effects will be sorted.

Font and Size

You may change the font and size of the text in the Effects view:
1. Select from the main menu TOOLS | OPTIONS and an “Options” dialog box will appear.
2. Click on the DESKTOP tab.
3. In the section titled “Fonts” click on the EFFECTS button and a “Font” dialog will appear.
4. Make a font selection.
5. Click OK in the “Fonts” dialog.
6. Click OK in the “Options” dialog.

Columns
The Effects view displays two columns of information. The first column lists the effect’s type, and the second column shows
its description.

To change the color of the columns:

1. Select from the main menu TOOLS | OPTIONS and an “Options” dialog box will appear.
2. Click on the DESKTOP tab.
3. In the section titled “Column Colors” click on the EFFECTS button.
4. An “Effects Column Colors” dialog box will appear.
5. Use the combo boxes to make your color selections.

Integrity Check
An integrity check will examine the Effects file to make sure that all the effects listed there are still valid. The chief reason an
integrity check will fail is if there are effects listed in the Effects view that are no longer on the hard drive, or have been moved
to another area on the hard drive.

To do an integrity check:
1. Make the Effects view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu EFFECTS | CHECK EFFECT INTEGRITY.

You will be notified the results of the integrity check. If the integrity check does not pass, a message stating the problem will
appear and the offending effects will have black X’s placed before their types in the Effects view. You should then check the
Properties of the effects that have not passed to determine the exact nature of failure.

Locating Files
If you’ve moved files on your hard drive and would like to automatically update them in your Effects view, you can have SFX
automatically update your Effects file.
 Chapter 3 Working with Effects 31

To locate missing files:

1. Make the Effects view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu EFFECTS | LOCATE FILES.

SFX will then examine each effect and its location on the hard disk. If it encounters effects that it can not locate, it will prompt
you to search for those files.

You have two options when locating files:

? Display all matches and prompt you to select the correct match for each effect, or
? Automatically select the first match found for each effect.

Patch
The patch for an Effects file affects the output of Play Sample for this view.

To change the patch of an Effects list:

1. Make the Effects view active by clicking
on it.
2. Select from the main menu EFFECTS |
PATCH and a “Patch” dialog box will
appear.
3. Click on the WAVE PATCH or MIDI
PATCH tab.
4. Use the combo boxes to select output
devices for all, some, or none of the
“Groups”.
5. If you want only one sound effect to play
on a Group, punch-in the PREEMPT
button by clicking on it. When a cue
begins to play on a preempted Group that
already has a cue playing, the currently
playing cue will be halted so that the new
cue can begin to play.

Changes made in this patch dialog will only affect the associated Effect List. To change the patch of other Effects Lists, you
must make them active and repeat the above directions. Changes to the Patch here do NOT affect the Default Patch, and,
likewise, changes to the Default Patch do not affect the patch in already created Effects Lists.

Printing
To print an Effects file, make the Effects view active and select from the menu FILE | PRINT. You can further select which
properties of the effects to print. To change which properties will appear on the printout, click on the OPTIONS button in the
PRINT dialog.
 Chapter 4 Working with Cues 33

4 Working with Cues

Cues View
Font, Size and Color
Inserting
INSERT Button
Drag-and-drop: Effects Tool Box
Drag-and-drop: Explore, Folder
Inserting Special Effects
Replace
Deleting
Properties
Playing Cues
Panic
Patch
Show Control & Triggers
Go To Cue
Seek Cue To Time
Renumbering Cues
Clear All Time Code
Learn Time Code
Sort
Integrity Check
34 SFX User’s Guide

Locate Files
PlayList Mode
Columns
Printing

Cues View
The Cues view is the view that displays the
information from a Cues file (*.sfx file). The
Cues view is your cue list. The Cues view is
associated with other views that display other
aspects of the Cues file. These other views
are the Go Button view, the Notes view, the
Cue Status view, and the Array View. Closing
this view will close the Cues file and all
associated Cues file views.

The Cues view can be sized and placed

anywhere on the desktop. Multiple Cues
views can be opened on the desktop at the
same time. Immediately below the caption bar
of this view is two toolbars. The buttons in
the first toolbar are also available as items in
the main menu. The Cues view’s toolbar is disabled in the Play Desktop.

When this view is active, the menu will appear like this:

The second Cues view toolbar is the Go Toolbar, and contains only one button: a Go Button. Clicking on this button, like the
Go Button view, will cause the selected cue to play. This Go Button is similar to the GO Button view. This toolbar is remains
active in both desktops.

SFX supports multiple Cues file. Each opened Cues

file is assigned a letter to differentiate it from the
other opened files. This letter is displayed in curly
brackets in the caption bar of all the associated
views. All views belonging to the same file will have
the same Cue List letter. Therefore, the view titled
“{B} Go” is associated with the view titled “{B}
Notes”, while the view titled “{A} Go” is associated
with a set of views all designated with the letter
“{A}”.

To create a new Cues file:

1. From the main menu select FILE | NEW
and a “New” dialog box will appear.
2. Click on “Cues.”
3. Click on OK.

To open an existing Cues file:

 Chapter 4 Working with Cues 35

1. From the main menu select FILE | OPEN an “Open” dialog box will appear.
2. In the “File Types” combo box select “Cues (*.sfx)”.
3. Select the Cues file.
4. Click “Open”.

Font, Size and Color

You may change the font the text in the Cues view:
1. Select from the main menu TOOLS | OPTIONS and an “Options” dialog box will appear.
2. Click on the DESKTOP tab.
3. In the section titled “Fonts” click on the CUES button and a “Font” dialog will appear.
4. Make a font selection.
5. Click OK in the “Fonts” dialog.
6. Click OK in the “Options” dialog.

To change the color of the columns of text as well as the background color in the Cues view:
1. Select from the main menu TOOLS | OPTIONS and an “Options” dialog box will appear.
2. Click on the DESKTOP tab.
3. In the section titled “Column & Background Colors” click on the CUES button and a “Cues Column Colors”
dialog will appear.
4. Make a color selection.
5. Click OK in the “Cues Column Colors” dialog.
6. Click OK in the “Options” dialog.

Inserting
You have a number of ways to insert cues into the Cues view:

? Click on the INSERT button in the view’s toolbar

? With the view active, select from the menu CUES | INSERT
? Drag-and-drop effects from the Effects Tool Box.
? Drag-and-drop or paste effects from other Cues views or Effects views
? Drag-and-drop effects from Explorer or open folders

To insert CD Tracks, MIDI Commands, or MIDI Show Control effects, you must first create these effects in an Effects view
and then, using one of the above methods, insert them into a Cues view. Or, you can also insert those effects directly from the
Effects Tool Box (see below).

INSERT Button

To insert an effect by using the INSERT button:

1. In the Cues View, select the cue you wish to have follow your new cue.
2. In the Effects view(s), select the effect(s) to insert.
3. Click on the INSERT button in the Cues view and a popup menu will appear listing all Effects views and the
effects selected within each one.
4. Select the menu item corresponding to the effect you wish to insert.

Drag-and-drop: Effects Tool Box

The Effects Tool Box (See Effects Tool Box page 19) is the control panel floating on the desktop. The Tool Box contains the
effect types that you can use in SFX.
36 SFX User’s Guide

To add an effect from the Tool Box to a Cues view:

1. Click and hold down on the button of the effect in the Effects Tool Box.
2. Drag the mouse to the location in the Cues view you want to add this effect and release the mouse button.

Drag-and-drop: Explorer, Folder

You may insert more then one cue at a time through drag-and-drop. To do so, open Windows Explorer and open the folder
containing your sound effect files. Use the mouse to select multiple files (by using the CTRL or SHIFT keys will clicking the
left mouse button). Once you have one or more effects selected, use the mouse to click and hold down on one of the selected
effects, drag the mouse pointer into the Cues view’s list, and then release the mouse button. SFX will use the file names as
their descriptions, but you may change them to whatever you desire through the PROPERTIES button.

You can also drag-and-drop from other Cues views or Effects views by using the procedure discussed above. If you want to
drag an effect (copy) in the same view, you must hold down the SHIFT key. You can move an effect by holding down the
ALT key during the drag and drop operation.

Inserting Special Effects

Along with sound effects that you can add from the Effects window or directly from Windows Explorer, you can add certain
special effects to enhance playback of your show. To insert a special cue, click on the INSERT SPECIAL button in the Cues
view toolbar, or drag-and-drop it from the Effects Tool Box. Following is a list of effects and their usage (for further
information about each effect type see Chapter 9 - Effect Types page 59):

Special Cue Action

Autofollow When the preceding cue completes, send a GO to the following cue.
Wait Wait n seconds after the previous cue begins playing before
sending a GO to the following cue.
Restart Select a user-defined cue and wait n seconds before sending a GO.
Available in the Standard and above editions.
Command Activate a cue in this or another cue list. Command can be play,
pause, stop, go to, etc.. Available in the Standard and above
editions. Command cues can also control SFX’s time code clock.
Fade Fade the volume (up or down) of a user-defined cue over n seconds.
Stop Stop playback of a user-defined cue or cues.
Memo An empty cue used only to display text.

If you want to add MIDI Show Control, MIDI Command, and MCI Command effects, you may create them in an Effects view
and then insert them in the Cues view just like you were adding a Wave file, or you can drag-and-drop them from the Effects
Tool Box. MIDI Show Control and MCI is part of the Show Control edition, while MIDI commands are part of Standard.

Note that you may not put some special effects in some sequences. For example, you may not put two Autofollows in a row,
or you may not start a show with an Autofollow or a Wait.

Replace
To replace a cue:
1. In the Cues View, select the cue you wish to replace.
1. In the Effects view(s), select the effect(s) to insert.
2. Click on the REPLACE button in the Cues view and popup menu will appear listing each of the Effects views and
the effects selected within each one.
3. Select the menu item corresponding to the effect you wish to insert and a dialog box will prompt you to continue.
4. Click YES if you want to replace the cue.
 Chapter 4 Working with Cues 37

Deleting
To delete a cue in a Cues window, select the cue and click on the DELETE button in the Cues view’s toolbar. You can also
select from the menu EDIT | CUT or EDIT | DELETE from the menu when the Cues view is active.

Properties
The properties of a cue can include the cue’s name, the file name, the cue number, volume, group assignments, triggers, and
others.

To access a cue’s properties:

1. Click on the cue you wish to the properties of.
2. Click on the PROPERTIES button and the “Effect Property” dialog box will be displayed.

Playing Cues
There are a number of ways to play a cue:
? Go Button view,
? Right mouse button,
? Time Code,
? Trigger cue,
? Keyboard trigger,
? MIDI Command trigger, and
? MIDI Show Control

Go Button View
Clicking on the associated GO Button view will cause the currently selected cue to play, and the selection bar to automatically
drop down to the next effect.

Right mouse button

You may enable the right mouse button to act as GO for the {A} Cues view (See Options - Preferences page 51).

Time Code
Each cue may be triggered by a Time Code value.

Command cue
A special cue added to this or another Cue List that will activate a specific cue or notify the list to GO.

Keyboard trigger
Each cue may be triggered by its own individual keystroke, or by a keystroke that notifies a specific list to GO.

MIDI Command trigger

Each cue may be triggered by its own individual MIDI note, or by a MIDI note that notifies a specific list to GO.

MIDI Show Control

A special MIDI command that notifies a list or cue to play.
38 SFX User’s Guide

Panic
To halt cues from playing, click on the PANIC button in the toolbar (see page 18) or hit the ESC key.

Patch
The patch for a Cues file affects the output of the cues in the
corresponding Cues view, and does not affect the patch in any
other Effects or Cues view.

To change the patch of a Cues view:

1. Make the Cues view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES | PATCH and a
“Patch” dialog box will appear.
3. Click on the WAVE PATCH or MIDI PATCH tab.
4. Use the combo boxes to select output devices for
all, some, or none of the “Groups”.
5. If you want only one sound effect to play on a
Group, punch-in the PREEMPT button by clicking
on it. When a cue begins to play on a preempted
Group that already has a cue playing, the currently
playing cue will be halted so that the new cue can
begin to play.

Changes made in this patch dialog will only affect the associated Cue List. To change the patch of other cue lists, you must
make them active and repeat the above directions. Changes to this Patch will not affect the Default Patch, and, likewise,
changes to the Default Patch do not affect the patch in already created cues lists.

To assign cues to output to these Groups:

1. Select the cue you want to assign to a group(s).
2. Click on the PROPERTIES button and the “Effect Property” dialog box will appear.
3. Select the MIXER tab.
4. Select the group or groups you wish to output to, and adjust the volume levels.
5. Click on OK.

Show Control & Triggers

The Standard edition and the Show Control
edition include various show control features. You
can have a cue list be triggered by external MIDI
Show Control, external MIDI Commands, and
Keyboard triggers.

To change the MIDI Show Control settings, or the

Keyboard and MIDI Command triggers for a Cue
List:
1. Make the Cues view active by
clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES |
SHOW CONTROL & TRIGGERS and
a “Show Control & Triggers” dialog
box will appear.

Settings in this dialog only affect the active Cue

 Chapter 4 Working with Cues 39

List, and if you have multiple Cue Lists, you must set their options separately.

Note: Before receiving MIDI Show Control and MIDI command messages, you must first tell SFX where these MIDI messages
originate. See MIDI Command Messages page 69 and MIDI Show Control page 73.

When the “Enable MIDI Show Control” checkbox is checked, this Cue List will accept MSC messages.

The MIDI Command Triggers are MIDI notes from external sources that affect this Cue List as a whole.

The Keyboard Triggers work similarly to the MIDI Command Triggers.

Go to Cue
To jump directly to a cue enter the cue number(letter) in this dialog box and hit OK.

Seek Cue to Time

To seek to a specific location in the currently selected effect, use the Seek Cue to Time feature by selecting from the main
menu CUES | SEEK CUE TO TIME, and a Seek Cue To Time dialog box will appear. You may seek by using minutes:seconds,
milliseconds, or SMPTE time code.

Renumbering Cues
As you add cues to the end of a Cue List, they are automatically numbered.
You have a choice between numbering cues by Letter or by Number. At
any time, you can renumber your cue list by activating this feature.

To renumber the entire list:

1. Make the Cues view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES | RENUMBER ALL CUES
and a “Renumber Cues” dialog box will appear.
3. Select either “Letter” or “Number” and click OK. Your Cue
List will then be completely renumbered.

You can also select to renumber the cue list from the very first cue, or from
the selected cue. There is also an option to begin numbering cues with a
specific number or letter.

Clear All Time Code

In the Show Control version of SFX, the Clear All Time Code
option is made available to you. By selecting this option, SFX
will clear the Use Time Code flag in all of the cues in the currently
active Cues view. The time code values themselves are not
erased, and you may reactivate a cue by selecting that cue and
clicking on the Properties button.
40 SFX User’s Guide

Learn Time Code

In the Show Control version of SFX, the Learn Time Code option is made available to you. Selecting this option o
automatically time stamp your cues as you play them manually. While this item is checked, and time code is playing, each time
you GO on a cue, that cue will be automatically stamped with the current time code. To turn off the Learn Time Code feature,
select it again from the menu, use its hotkey combination, or hit the ESC key.

Sort
In a different manner then the Effects view, you can sort the cue in your Cues view. You can either sort the effects by Cue
Number or by Time Code.

To sort the cues in the Cues view:

1. Make the Cues view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES | SORT and a popup menu will appear.
3. Select either CUE NUMBER or TIME CODE from the menu and the Cues view will be sorted.

If a cue does not have a cue number or a time code value when sorted by that field, that cue will be sorted along with the cue
preceding it.

Integrity Check
An integrity check will examine the Cues file to make sure that all the cues listed there are still valid. The chief reason an
integrity check will fail is if there are cues listed in the Cues view that are no longer on the hard drive, or have been moved to
another area on the hard drive.

To do an integrity check:
1. Make the Cues view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES | CHECK EFFECT INTEGRITY.

You will be notified the results of the integrity check. If the integrity check does not pass, a message stating the problem will
appear and the offending cues will have black X’s placed before their Cue Numbers. You should then check the Properties of
the cues that have not passed to determine the exact nature of failure.

Locate Files
If you’ve moved files on your hard drive and would like to automatically update them in your Cues view, you can have SFX
automatically update your Cues file.

To locate missing files:

1. Make the Cues view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES | LOCATE FILES.

SFX will then examine each effect and its location on the hard disk. If it encounters effects that it can not locate, it will prompt
you to search for those files.

You have two options when locating files:

? Display all matches and prompt you to select the correct match for each effect, or
? Automatically select the first match found for each effect.

PlayList Mode
 Chapter 4 Working with Cues 41

PlayList Mode is covered in-depth in Chapter 16 (see page 93).

42 SFX User’s Guide

Columns
The Cues View can display up to six columns of information:

Column Description
State A colored circle representing the current state of the cue (see below).
Q# Cue Number
Status* Time Elapsed, Time Remaining, or Percentage Completed
Type* The type of effect.
Time Code* The time code value the cue will be executed.
Description The cue’s description.
Columns with a * can be toggled on or off.

To change which columns are displayed:

1. Make the Cues view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES. Notice the menu items titled: STATUS COLUMN, TYPE COLUMN and TIME
CODE COLUMN. A check mark before the menu item indicates that that column is displayed.
3. To toggle the state of a column, click on its menu item.

The State Column displays a small colored circle to indicate its current state. The meanings of the colors are:

Color Meaning
Yellow - Cued
Green - Playing
Red - Paused
Blue - Seeking
Black X - Error

That Status Column displays the current execution status of the cue in Time Remaining, Time Elapsed, or Percentage
Completed.

To change how the Status Column displays time:

1. Make the Cues view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES | STATUS FORMAT and a popup menu will appear with the following three
menu items: TIME REMAINING, TIME ELAPSED, and PERCENTAGE COMPLETED.
3. Choose one of the three menu items.

Printing
To print a Cues file, make the Cues view active and select from the menu FILE | PRINT. You can further select which
properties of the cues to print. To change which properties will appear on the printout, click on the OPTIONS button in the
PRINT dialog.
 Chapter 5 Working with Notes 43

5 Working with Notes

Notes View
Entering Notes
Script Information Toolbar
Fonts, Color and Size

Notes View
The Notes view is a window associated with Cues
files. The Notes view contains an area where you may
enter in text information about the currently selected
cue. When you select a different cue, the Notes view
will display the information for just that cue.
Contained within the Notes view, is a dockable Script
Information toolbar that you can fill in with the Act,
Scene, and Page number for the selected cue. You do
not have to have a Notes view, and you can close it by
clicking on the Close button in the Notes view’s
caption bar. If you do not have a Notes view on your
desktop, you can create one by making the Cues view active and selecting from the menu VIEW | NOTES. You may only have
one Notes view per Cues file.

Entering Notes
To enter information about a cue into the Notes view, first select the cue in the Cues view, and then click on the text region in
the Notes view. You may only change this information in the Edit Desktop. Information you type is automatically saved with
the cue. You are limited to 10,000 characters per each cue. If you find that you are unable to edit this region, you may be in
the Play Desktop (see page 22).

Script Information Toolbar

The Script Information toolbar is a dockable window containing places for you to list the Act, Scene, and Page number for the
cue. This toolbar is not editable in the Play Desktop.
44 SFX User’s Guide

To toggle the Script Information Toolbar on and off, make the Notes view active and select from the menu NOTES | SCRIPT
INFO TOOLBAR.

Font, Size and Color

You may change the font the text in the Notes view:
7. Select from the main menu TOOLS | OPTIONS and an “Options” dialog box will appear.
8. Click on the DESKTOP tab.
9. In the section titled “Fonts” click on the NOTES button and a “Font” dialog will appear.
10. Make a font selection.
11. Click OK in the “Fonts” dialog.
12. Click OK in the “Options” dialog.

To change the color of the background color in the Notes view:

7. Select from the main menu TOOLS | OPTIONS and an “Options” dialog box will appear.
8. Click on the DESKTOP tab.
9. In the section titled “Column & Background Colors” click on the NOTES button and a “Notes Background
Color” dialog will appear.
10. Make a color selection.
11. Click OK in the “Notes Background Color” dialog.
12. Click OK in the “Options” dialog.
 Chapter 6 Working with Cue Status 45

6 Working with Cue Status

Cue Status View
Adding a Cue Status View
Removing a Cue Status View
Button Toolbar
Status Displays

Cue Status View

The Cue Status view is associated with Cues files. You may have up to
sixteen Cue Status views per Cues file. The Cues Status views display
cue execution information and provide you with a way to Pause, Stop, or
Seek an effect. As cues are cued and played, they will be assigned to an
available Cue Status view (if any are available). When a cue completes, it
will free its Cue Status view so that another cue may use it.

Adding a Cue Status View

To add another Cue Status view, make the Cues view active and select from the menu VIEW | CUE STATUS | NEW CUE
STATUS.

Removing a Cue Status View

To remove a Cue Status view, make that view active and click on the Close button in the upper-right corner of the Cues
Status’s caption bar.
46 SFX User’s Guide

Button Toolbar
The Button toolbar is the small window contained in the Cue Status view with buttons to control playback of the assigned
cue. The button functions are Seek Reverse, Resume, Pause, Stop, and Seek Forward.

Status Displays
The Cue Status views display three different time values: Percentage Completed (along with a progress bar), Time Elapsed,
and Time Remaining.
 Chapter 7 Working with Array 47

7 Working with Array

Array View
Instant Play
Seek Buttons
GO Button
Auto Advance
Status
Integrity Check
Locating Files
Renumbering Cues
Patch
Show Control & Triggers
Printing

Array View
The Array view is very similar to the Cues view, but is an alternate way to display the Cue List. The Array view is available in
the Standard and above editions of SFX.

To display the Array view:

1. Make the Cues view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the menu VIEW | ARRAY or VIEW | BOTH to have the Cues view and the Array view both visible on
your desktop.

Like other views, the Array view is movable and sizable.

48 SFX User’s Guide

The Array view is a tall window containing a list populated with buttons. Each button corresponds to a single cue, and to see
other buttons, use the scroll bar to scroll up and down. To play a cue, select the button and click on the GO button at that
bottom of the screen. The color schemes of the buttons match schemes used by the Cues view:

Color Meaning
Yellow - Cued
Green - Playing
Red - Paused
Blue - Seeking
Black - Error
The button with the thick border is the cue that is currently selected.
The Array view is synchronized with its corresponding Cues view, so changes made in
one view are reflected in the other. There is a key difference when playing cues in an
Array view though: When playing a cue in the Array view, the selection will not drop
down until the Cue has completed. This is different than the Cues view, which selects
the next cue immediately.

Instant Play
With Instant Play, you can setup Array to play a cue when its button is selected, instead
of waiting until the GO button is clicked.

To enable Instant Play:

1. Make the Array view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the menu ARRAY | INSTANT PLAY to toggle Instant Play
on/off.

When Instant Play is enabled, the GO Button displayed at the bottom of the window, will change to a white box with the
lettering, “Instant Play.”

Cues that are played in this manner will not advance automatically to the next cue.

Seek Buttons
You have the option of displaying Seek Reverse and Seek Forward button in the Array view.

To enable the seek buttons:

1. Make the Array view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu ARRAY | SEEK BUTTONS.

When the Seek Buttons are enabled, they will be displayed above the GO Button (if the GO Button is enabled, see below) at
the bottom of the view.

To Seek through a cue, select that cue and click and hold the appropriate seek button. You can change how quickly seeking
occurs.

To change the seek rate:

1. From the main menu select TOOLS | OPTIONS and the “Options” dialog box will appear.
2. Select the PREFERENCES tab.
3. Adjust the “Seek Speed” slider.

GO Button
You have the option of displaying the GO button in the Array view.
 Chapter 7 Working with Array 49

To enable the GO Button:

1. Make the Array view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu ARRAY | GO BUTTON.

When the GO Button is active it will be displayed at the very bottom of the Array view.

Auto Advance
With Auto Advance, when a selected cue ends, Array will automatically select the following cue.

To toggle the Auto Advance feature:

1. Make the Array view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu ARRAY | AUTO ADVANCE.

When Auto Advance is on, a check mark will appear before the above menu item. NOTE: When Instant Play is enabled, Auto
Advance will be ignored.

Status
Below the list of buttons is a progress bar indicating the completion percentage of the currently selected cue. To the right of
the progress bar is a space filled with a number indicating Completion Percentage, Time Elapsed, or Time Remaining.

To change how the Status displays time:

1. Make the Array view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu ARRAY | STATUS FORMAT and a popup menu will appear with the following three
menu items: TIME REMAINING, TIME ELAPSED, and PERCENTAGE COMPLETED.
3. Choose one of the three menu items.

Integrity Check
See Integrity Check (page 40).

Locating Files
See Locating Files (page 30).

Patch
See Patch (page 40).

Show Control & Triggers

See Show Control & Triggers (page 38).

Printing
See Printing (page 42).
 Chapter 8 Options 51

8 Options
Options
Preferences
Desktop
Default Wave Patch
Default MIDI Patch
Default Volume
Tools
MIDI Command Control
MIDI Show Control
Folders
Optimization

Options
The “Options” dialog box contains different settings that control how SFX operates. You can customize these settings to
configure SFX to your liking. Some of the following tabs may not be available depending on the edition of SFX you own.

To activate the “Options” dialog box:

1. Select from the main menu TOOLS | OPTIONS and the “Options” dialog box will appear.
2. Select the appropriate tab for the settings you wish to change (see below).
52 SFX User’s Guide

Preferences

Perform Integrity Check on

file open
If this item is checked SFX will perform
an integrity check on Effects files and
Cues file when they are opened.
During the integrity check, SFX will
confirm that each cue and/or effect is
valid. SFX will make sure those sound
effects files do indeed exist on the hard
drive. If the integrity check fails, SFX
will notify you and it will mark the
failed cues with black ‘x’s.

Backup Cues files every n

minutes
When this option is enabled, SFX will make routine recovery files of your active cues files and save them to
the Autosave directory (See Folders page 56). If you lose power or have some other catastrophe, SFX will recover the files for
you the next time you launch it.

In addition, SFX will save a duplicate your Cues files to a folder named backup located in the same folder of the original file.

Load last used workspace

If this option is enabled SFX will automatically open the last used workspace when you launch SFX.

Automatically save workspace on close or exit

If this option is enabled SFX will automatically save your current workspace when you close it or exit the program.

Right mouse button is GO! for Cues view

You may designate the right mouse button as a GO button for the specified Cue List: the Cue List containing the {letter} in its
caption bar.

Flash Notes caption when new notes appear

If checked, SFX will flash the Notes view when the text within that view changes which occurs when cues are selected. You
can set the view to flash to alert the operator that important information has just been displayed, and that it requires his or her
attention.

Automatically number cues by

When inserting cues into the Cues View, you can have SFX automatically provide those cues with cue numbers or letters. If
this item is checked, cues added to the end of the list will have a number/letter provided for them, but cues inserted in-between
existing cues will be ignored. If you specify to number by Number, you must also specify an increment value.

To renumber your cues you may either select an individual cue and change its Properties (See
Properties page 37), or you may renumber the entire cue list (See Renumbering Cues page 40).

Hide decimal in cue numbers

If this option is checked, cue numbers will only be displayed with the letter or number to the left of the decimal point. For
example, cue numbers will appear as 1, 2, A, etc. Without this option checked, the cue numbers will displayed as 1.00, 2.50,
A.00, etc.
 Chapter 8 Options 53

Cue numbers for Autofollows and Waits

If this option is checked, Autofollows and Waits will display cue numbers. If not checked, the cue numbers for those cues will
be blank.

Cue numbers for cues following Autofollows, and Waits

If this option is checked, cues after Autofollows and Waits will display cue numbers. If not checked, the cue numbers for
those cues will be blank.

Prompt when inserting Waits and Restarts

If this option is checked, SFX will display the Property dialog for Waits and Restarts when you insert them into the Cue List.
Otherwise, SFX will add the cues using their default values.

Default Cue Status views

The number of Cue Status views to create when you New or Open a Cues file. You can set the default to be 0 through 16
views.

Default Wait seconds

The number of seconds to set the Delay Time of a Wait if the user does not specify one.

Default Fade seconds

The number of seconds to set the Delay Time of a Fade if the user does not specify one.

Desktop

Desktop Background
You can specify the background colors
for the Edit and Play desktop. Making
the backgrounds different colors will
help you to easily identify which desktop
you are in.

Background color
The button displays the current color for
the corresponding desktop. To change
the color, click on the button.

Image
Along with a colored background, you
can also specify a Bitmap (*.bmp) image
to display on the desktop. If you select
an image, you can specify Center, Tile, or Fit for that image. Center will center the image vertically and horizontally on the
desktop, Tile will place use your image to cover the desktop as if it were laying floor tiles, and Fit will stretch your image to
cover the entire desktop.

Edit Desktop Password

You can assign a password to the Edit Desktop so that nobody but persons knowing the password can make changes to the
Cues files. To remove a password, enter the Old Password, leave the New Password blank, and click on OK.

Fonts
Each of the views (except the Cues Status view) has fonts that can be user defined. You may change the typeface as well as
the size and color. This way you can select fonts and sizes that are more readable to you.
54 SFX User’s Guide

Column & Background Colors

You can change the column colors for the text in the Effects and Cues view, as well as changing the background color for the
Effects, Cues, and Notes view. Click the appropriate button to make changes.

Snap to Grid
You can setup an invisible grid on your desktop that will help you in aligning your views. When moving views on the
desktop they will snap to the nearest grid intersection. You may want to use this option if you like your views precisely lined
up.

Screen Saver
If this option is checked, the Windows screen saver will not appear when SFX is running.

Default Wave Patch

Group, Preempt, Device

Each Cues file and Effects file has its separate Patch. When a new Cues file or Effects file is created, SFX copies the Default
Patch. Any changes to the Default Patch after a file has been created will not affect that file’s patch. To make changes to a
file’s patch you must select that file’s patch (See Patch page 31 and page 40). The Default Patch is used only as a template for
newly created Effects and Cues files.

Default MIDI Patch

See Default Wave Patch above.

Default Volume

Group, Assign, Gang, Slider

The Default Volume is used a template for newly created Effects.
When an effect is inserted into an Effects list, its volume and
Group assignments are copied from this page. Changes to this
page will not affect volumes and assignments of already created
effects.

Tools
Tools are user-defined links to other applications that are listed in the main menu's TOOLS menu. When you click on a tool
from the menu, SFX will launch that application for you.

Menu contents
The applications that will be displayed in the TOOLS menu. To modify the settings for a tool, click on the name of the tool.
You may then change any of the below settings.
 Chapter 8 Options 55

Add
Prompts you to Browse for the application you wish to add as a tool.

Remove
Deletes the currently selected tool in the Menu contents
window.

Move Up
Swaps the currently selected tool with the tool above it.

Move Down
Swaps the currently selected tool with the tool below it.

Menu Text
The text that will be displayed in the menu. Use the
ampersand character (“&”) before another character to
designate it as a quick-key choice. For instance, “&Wave
Editor” will be displayed in the menu as “Wave Editor”.

Command
The path and file name of the application to launch.

Arguments
This field is optional. Any values that you may add to the command line of the application such as file names, etc. go here.

Initial Directory
This field is optional. The directory that the tool will launch from.

Prompt for arguments

If checked, SFX will prompt you for the Command Line arguments before it launches the corresponding tool.

MIDI Command Control

Incoming MIDI Command Device

The MIDI input device that will receive the MIDI note
messages. The settings in this page will also affect MIDI
capture settings for MIDI command effects.

MIDI channel to accept commands on

The channel SFX will respond to.
56 SFX User’s Guide

MIDI Show Control

Command Formats
SFX will monitor MSC messages direct at the following
formats: 10h - Sound, 17h - Audio Effects Devices, and
7Fh - All Types. You may not change these formats.

Device IDs
You can assign SFX one or more Device IDs. Device ID
7Fh is always assigned.

Incoming Show Control

The MIDI input device that will receive the MIDI Show
Control messages.

Slave Time Code

When enabled, cue will halt playing when time code
halts. If unchecked, cue will continue to execute after
time code stops.

Folders

Autosave files
The folder where SFX will place the
autosaved files.

Cues, Effects, & Workspace files

The folder where SFX will default to when
saving or opening Cues, Effects, and
Workspace files.

Sound Effects folder

The folder where SFX will default to when
looking for sound effects.

Optimization

Samples, Channels, Bits

The default sampling rate, number of channels, and bit depth SFX will playback Wave files.

Allow Emulated Sound Card Drivers

SFX will allow non DirectX/WDM drivers to be displayed. These types of non-DirectX/WDM drivers are not recommended to
be used with SFX.
 Part III Miscellaneous 57

Part III Miscellaneous

 Chapter 9 Effect Types 59

9 Effect Types
Effect Types
Effect Properties
Effects
Attributes
Trigger
Mixer
Output
Wave
MIDI Sequence
MIDI Command
CD Track
MIDI Show Control (MSC)
Media Control Interface (MCI)
Autofollow
Wait
Fade
Stop
Command
Restart
Memo
PlugIns
60 SFX User’s Guide

Effect Types
The basic elements of SFX are its different effect types. An effect type is simply a cue that SFX can playback. Examples
include Wave files, MIDI sequences, Autofollows, etc. For information about inserting effects see page 28, and for inserting
cues see page 34. Described below in detail are the effect types included with SFX. Please note that your version of SFX may
not contain all of the following effect types.

Effect Properties
Each effect (cue) has properties that you can change, such as Cue Number or Description. Some properties are unique to a
specific effect type (such as track number for a CD effect), while some are common to all cues (such as Cue Number).

To access a cue’s properties:

1. Click on the cue you wish to the properties of in the Cues view.
2. Click on the PROPERTIES button and the “Effect Property” dialog box will be displayed.

The Effect Properties dialog box contains one or more tabs that you may select that will give you attributes to view or change.
Below is a list of common tabs found in most if not all of the effect types:

Effects
Certain effect types have an Effects tab with special settings for that cue. See the appropriate effect type for a description of
its effects.

Attributes
The Attributes tab is common with all effect
types, and contains the description and the
cue number for the cue. A default description
is created for you if you do not explicitly
specify one when the cue is created. The
Attributes tab also contains Script
Information, such as Act, Scene, and Page,
and an area for Notes. This information is
simply a duplication of the Notes view.
 Chapter 9 Effect Types 61

Trigger
The Trigger tab is available to most
effect types where triggering of that cue
would make sense. For instance, the
Autofollow is not triggerable, but the
Wave is.

An individual cue can be triggered by

MIDI Time Code, a MIDI Command,
and/or through a keystroke.

MIDI Time Code is only available in the

Show Control edition.

For additional information about triggers,

see the chapters dealing with Keyboard
and MIDI triggers.

Mixer
In the Mixer tab you can assign your cue to
one or more Groups (see Patch page 40) and
adjust the volume for each of those groups.
The Mixer tab is only available to effect types
like the Wave file and the CD Track effect
types.

Standard and Show Control editions allow the

first four Groups, while ProAudio adds Groups
5-8.

Output
The Output tab is used by the MIDI Command, MIDI
Sequence, and MSC effect types to assign an output or
outputs to transfer data through. Click on the MIDI
device to output this effect to. To change the outputs
listed in this window, go to the Patch dialog box (see
Patch page 40).
62 SFX User’s Guide

Wave
The Wave effect plays a Wave file (.wav). You supply the file name and the description of the Wave file when you create it.

New to version 5.6, Wave files in ProAudio

can be composed of up to eight parts, with
each part assigned to a Group. Because of the
multiple parts, you can playback wave files in
a multi-channel way where each of the parts
are perfectly synchronized with each other. If
you want to play the same wave file to
multiple groups, just copy its path name to
each of the parts under the Wave tab.

Also in the ProAudio version of SFX, you

have the ability to loop sections of the wave
file. These settings are found under the
Effects tab. To loop an effect infinitely,
specify "999" in the Total Loops edit box.

Use the Mixer tab (see above) to assign

outputs for the effect. For Standard and Show Control, where there is only one file listed in the Wave tab, that one file will be
assigned to all of the outputs you select in the Mixer tab. For ProAudio, each file in the Wave file corresponds directly to its
matching Group. If you want to play one wave file through multiple groups under ProAudio, copy the file name from one part
to each of the other parts that you wish to output to.

MIDI Sequence
The MIDI Sequence effect plays .mid files, which are typically song files. Use the Output tab (see above) to assign the
sequence to an output. Typically, the output of a MIDI Sequence is the sound card's MIDI synthesizer.

MIDI Command
The MIDI Command effect type is
generally used to transmit one or more
individual MIDI notes to external MIDI
gear. For instance, you may use MIDI
commands to change scenes on a MIDI
light console or a MIDI mixer.

In the MIDI Command Effect Properties

dialog, you can "capture" the MIDI
information from another external, MIDI
device. The MIDI input port and channel
are listed at the bottom of the Properties
dialog box, and to change them, see
Options:MIDI Command Control page 55.

The MIDI Command tab has two different

views: Builder View and Data View. In
Builder View, you have an interface that will guide you in construction MIDI commands, and will display the information in
both decimal and hexadecimal. Switch to Data View to work with the raw MIDI data, or to capture SysEx messages.

Use the Output tab to select the proper MIDI output device to transfer that data to.
 Chapter 9 Effect Types 63

CD Track
The CD Track effect gives you the ability to
playback whole audio CDs, single tracks, or
portions of tracks from an audio CD located in
your CD-ROM drive. CD output will be
routed to your Default Playback Device as
specified by Windows, and the SFX Mixer will
be ineffective.

If you have more than one CD-ROM drive,

you can select the drive to play from in the
"CD Drive" combo box.

You can specify the track number to play,

along with a beginning start time and/or an
end time. If you leave the Duration time to all
zeros, the cue will play from the start time to
the end of track.

MIDI Show Control (MSC)

MIDI Show Control cues are used to control external devices that understand this superset of MIDI and is only available in
the Show Control edition. For detailed information about the MIDI Show Control effect type and how to use MSC, please see
the entire chapter devoted to it on page 73.

Media Control Interface (MCI)

The MCI command effect takes specific information about the device to be controlled and is only available in the Show
Control edition.. Please see the manufacturer's documentation for the MCI command format expected.

Autofollow
The Autofollow effect is a cue that links two cues
together, so that when the previous cue finishes, the
following cue is automatically executed. You would use
an Autofollow cue if you wanted to link two or more
cues together without having to hit multiple GOs.

Wait
The Wait effect is similar to the Autofollow effect, except in two
important cases: a Wait is not contingent on the previous cue
completing, and with a Wait, you must supply a time value. Also,
a Wait cue begins automatically executing at the same time as the
previous cue. Because of this, you can overlap the playing of
cues.
64 SFX User’s Guide

Fade
The Fade effect modifies the volume of a targeted
cue, and can adjust the volume in either a greater or
lesser level giving you the ability to Fade up or
down any sound effect cue (Wave, MIDI
Sequence, or CD Track).

With a Fade, you must select the effect to Fade,

input the seconds the Fade will occur over, and
whether the Fade should occur as Linear or
Logarithmic. Experimenting with the different
curves may be necessary to find the proper effect.

Use the Mixer tab (see above Mixer) to set the final
volume level.

It is suggested that if you use a Fade to fade a cue

out, and will not be bringing the volume back up, that you follow the Fade cue with an Autofollow and a Stop (see Stop
below) to halt playing of the silent cue. This will save CPU resources.

Fading over multiple groups: If you want to Fade from one Group to another, the targeted effect must be playing on all
channels that will be involved with the Fade. For example, if you want to Fade an effect from Group 1 to Group 2, the original
effect must by assigned to both Group 1 and Group 2, and the volume of Group 2 should be set to no volume (-100 dB).

Fade in: Creating a Fade-in is just like a Fade-out, except you set the volume faders differently. To perform a Fade-in of a cue,
start with the Wave file you want to fade in. Select its Properties and in its Mixer tab, drag the faders down and thus setting it
for no volume. Next, create your Fade cue in the cue list somewhere after the cue to be faded. Finally, in the Fade’s Properties
dialog box, select that file to fade, the time, the curve, and in the Mixer tab, drag the sliders to the level you wish the cue to
have when the Fade completes.

Stop
The Stop effect is used to halt playback of one or more targeted cues. Just click each cue that you want stopped when this
cue is executed.

Command
The Command effect is a multifaceted effect type that is composed of many different commands. Command cues are used to
activate other cues, cue lists, or the time code clock. The graphic at right displays the Properties dialog box for the Trigger
effect.

The available Commands of a Command effect are: Cue Effect, Play Effect, Pause Effect, Stop Effect, Go To Effect, Cue List, Go
List, Pause List, Stop List, Panic List, Panic All, Set Clock, Start Clock, Stop Clock.
 Chapter 9 Effect Types 65

For example, you can use the Command effect to start playback of a cue in the current Cues view, or of another Cues view.
You can also use it to send Go commands to another Cues view. Command cues can be used to manage the SFX's MIDI Time
Code clock, too. The many different commands allow you to do varying things to any of your Cues views.

Example: You have a cue list on your desktop that contains several Wave files, which are sound effects played during your
production. In a second cue list, you have only MIDI Commands that trigger your light board. To manage them, you create a
third cue list and drag-in Command cues that Go List to the appropriate other cue list. This leaves your operator with a simple,
single cue list that is actually activating the other lists.

Restart
The Restart effect will Go To a selected cue and, after waiting a user defined number of seconds, execute it. You would mainly
use a Restart cue in a Cue list that automatically plays over and over again.

Memo
The Memo effect is nothing more than a one-line description that you can add to your Cue list. You may want to use Memo
cues to provide visual breaks between cues, or to start off cue sequences with descriptive names. For example, you may
precede a sequence with a Memo cue of "Thunderstorm" followed by a Wait 0.0, and then numerous other linked cues.

Plug-Ins
SFX supports future plug-in effects. Please see our Web page for available plug-ins.
 Chapter 10 Keyboard Triggers 67

10 Keyboard Triggers
Keyboard Triggers

Keyboard Triggers
In the Standard and above editions of SFX, you can assign keystrokes in SFX that will trigger some of its functions such as
GO, STOP, PANIC, etc, or you can assign keystroke combinations to play specific cues. Note: some key combinations are
already assigned to menu function in SFX. You should avoid them when choosing your own key combinations.

To assign a keystroke to an individual cue:

1. Select the cue in the Cues view.
2. Click on the PROPERTIES button in the
Cues view and a “Properties” dialog box
will appear.
3. If the cue is a triggerable cue, select the
TRIGGER tab.
4. Check the “Triggered by Keyboard” check
box.
5. Click in the edit box.
6. Click any keystroke combination on the
keyboard and you will see the keys you’ve
pressed in the edit box.
7. Select “On Press” or “On Release.” On Press will play the cue when you press the keys while On Release will
wait until you’ve pressed and then released the keys.

To assign a keystroke to a cue list:

1. Make the Cues view active by
clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES |
SHOW CONTROL & TRIGGERS
and a “Show Control & Triggers”
dialog box will appear.
3. Check the “Trigger by Keyboard
commands” checkbox.
4. Click the edit box of the command
you wish to add a keyboard
trigger.
5. Type the trigger and you will see
it appear in the box.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for each command you wish to add keyboard triggers to.
68 SFX User’s Guide

To temporarily disable triggers:

1. Select from the main menu VIEW | ENABLE TRIGGERS. When this option is checked, triggers are enabled.
-- or --
1. Click on the ENABLE TRIGGERS toolbar button.
 Chapter 11 MIDI Command Messages 69

11 MIDI Com m and

Messages
MIDI Command Messages
MIDI Command Effects
Triggering SFX with MIDI

MIDI Command Message

In the Standard and above edition of SFX, you can send and receive MIDI command messages. MIDI command messages are
really just MIDI notes such as Note On, Note Off, Control Change, etc.. Each MIDI note contains a number of data bytes that
define the exact function of the MIDI note.

MIDI Command Effects

To create a MIDI command effect to send
MIDI commands to external devices (use one
of the two following methods):
1. Click and hold on the MIDI
Command effect in the Effect
Tool Box and drag it into the
Cues view. Release the mouse
button over the cue you wish to
insert before. An “Effect
Property” dialog box will
appear.
2. Create the MIDI Command
message in this dialog.
3. Patch the effect. See below.

Before patching the effect to an Output, you

must have an Output that is patched to a MIDI output device:
1. Make the Effects view (or the Cues view if the MIDI command is there) active by clicking on it.
70 SFX User’s Guide

2. Select from the main menu EFFECTS (or CUES) | PATCH and a “Patch” dialog box will appear.
3. Select the MIDI PATCH tab.
4. Assign one of the Groups a MIDI device that is outputting externally (i.e. don’t select a MIDI synthesizer on the
sound card).

Finally, assign the effect to a Group:

In the MIDI Command Properties dialog box (click on the MIDI Command in your list and then click the Properties button),
select the Output tab and click on the MIDI output to the appropriate device.

For more information about using a MIDI Command, see MIDI Command page 62.

Triggering SFX with MIDI

To receive MIDI messages from external devices to trigger SFX you first must select a MIDI input device and channel. If you
have not assigned a MIDI input device and channel in SFX, please do the following:

To select a MIDI input device and channel:

1. Select from the main menu TOOLS | OPTIONS and the “Options” dialog box will appear.
2. Select the MIDI COMMAND CONTROL tab.
3. In the “Incoming MIDI Command Device” combo box, select the appropriate MIDI input device.
4. In the “MIDI channel… ” combo box, select the channel that the MIDI commands will be received on.

There are two ways you can have SFX triggered by MIDI commands. You can have the MIDI commands target the Cue Lists
or you can have the MIDI commands target individual cues – or both.

To assign a MIDI command to an individual cue:

1. Select the cue in the Cues view.
2. Click on the PROPERTIES button in
the Cues view and a “Properties”
dialog box will appear.
3. If the cue is a triggerable cue, select
the TRIGGER tab.
4. Check the “Triggered by MIDI
Command” check box.
5. Select the MIDI note in the
“Command’ combo box and type in a
value in the “Value” edit box.
6. Click on OK.

To assign MIDI commands to trigger a cue list:

1. Make the Cues view active by
clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES |
SHOW CONTROL & TRIGGERS
and a “Show Control & Triggers”
dialog box will appear.
3. Check the “Trigger by MIDI
commands” checkbox.
4. Select the MIDI note in the combo box of the command you wish to add a trigger. Also, type in a value.
5. Repeat step 4 for each command you wish to add keyboard triggers to.
6. Click OK.

To temporarily disable triggers:

1. Select from the main menu VIEW | ENABLE TRIGGERS. When this option is checked, triggers are enabled.
-- or --
1. Click on the ENABLE TRIGGERS toolbar button.
 Chapter 12 MIDI Time Code 71

12 MIDI Tim e Code

MIDI Time Code
Format
Input
Output
Learn
Freeze
Set

MIDI Time Code

SFX Show Control edition contains MIDI Time Code features. MIDI Time Code is a
protocol that divides time between hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. Time code is
commonly used to synchronize separate devices. SFX can generate or chase MIDI time
code.

To access SFX’s MIDI Time Code:

1. Select from the main menu VIEW | TIME CODE and the Time Code toolbar
will be displayed under the menu.

To display the Time Code values for each cue in the Cues view:
1. Make the Cues view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES to display the Cues view menu.
3. Click the TIME CODE COLUMN menu item to toggle it. If there is a check before the menu item, the Time Code
column is already displayed.

To assign a cue time code:

1. Use the LEARN button (described below).
-- or --
72 SFX User’s Guide

1. Select the cue in the Cues view.

2. Click on the PROPERTIES button and the “Effect Property” dialog box will appear.
3. If the effect is triggerable, click on the TRIGGER tab.
4. Check the “Trigger by MIDI Time Code… ” check box.
5. Assign time code values in the “Hours”, “Minutes”, “Seconds”, and "Frames” edit boxes.
6. Click OI.

Format
Time code is generated in a number of different formats. The formats typically differ by the number of frames. SFX supports
frame rates of 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 30-drop fps, and the computer clock. To change the format of the time code, drop-down
the combo box in the time code dialog bar and select a time code format.

Input
To chase MIDI time code from an external source, click on the OUTPUT button and select the MIDI device from which the
time code is to be received from.

Output
To output MIDI time code to an external source, click on the OUTPUT and select the MIDI device to send time code.

Freeze
While time code is running you can click on the freeze button to stop the display from changing. While in “freeze” time code
is still running, but the display in the time code dialog bar is not changing. This is especially helpful if you are trying to
determine the time code of an event while it is playing.

Learn
To automatically time stamp your cues as you play them manually, see page 40.

Set
To manually set the time code to a value, click on the SET button. A dialog box will prompt you to insert the time code value.
 Chapter 13 MIDI Show Control 73

13 MIDI Show Control

MIDI Show Control
SFX as a Controller
Controlling SFX
Commands

MIDI Show Control

MIDI Show Control is included with the Show Control edition of SFX. MIDI Show Control (MSC) is an industry standardized
MIDI messaging protocol used by various manufactures. MSC is used to interface various pieces of entertainment equipment
and machinery together with the purpose of centrally controlling them. You may find controlling devices or controlling SFX
through MSC much easier than through standard MIDI.

SFX can serve both as a controlling device and a controlled device. A controlling device sends MSC messages to other
devices, while a controlled device only receives messages. You can use SFX to control other MSC pieces of equipment, or
you can have MSC capable gear control SFX.

SFX as a Controller
To create a MIDI Show Control effect to send MSC
messages to external devices (follow one of these
two methods):
1. Click and hold on the MSC effect in
the Effect Tool Box and drag it into the
Cues view. Release the mouse button
over the cue you wish to insert before.
An “Effect Property” dialog box will
appear.
2. Create the MSC message in this dialog.
Consult the manufacturer’s
documentation for the specifics on how to trigger their device.
3. Patch the effect. See below.

Before patching the effect to a Group, you must have a Group that is patched to a MIDI output device:
74 SFX User’s Guide

1. Make the Effects view (or the Cues view if the MSC command is there) active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu EFFECTS (or CUES) | PATCH and a “Patch” dialog box will appear..
3. Select the MIDI PATCH tab.
4. Assign one of the Groups a MIDI device that is outputting externally (i.e. don’t select a MIDI synthesizer on the
sound card).

Finally, to assign the effect or cue to a Group:

In the MSC Properties dialog box (click on the MSC cue in your list and then click the Properties button), select the Output tab
and click on the MIDI output to the appropriate device.

Controlling SFX
All MIDI Show Control devices fall into one or more “command” categories (e.g. Lighting, Sound, etc.) which are assigned a
hexadecimal number between 00h and 7Fh. A MSC message is directed at one or all of these categories. SFX recognizes
messages addressed to the command formats of 10h General Sound, 17h Audio Effects Devices, and 7Fh All Types. These
categories are hard-coded in SFX and can not be changed. Within these categories, each individual device is assigned a
unique ID(s) number to further differentiate it from other devices.

In order for SFX to recognize MSC messages, you must assign SFX with a device ID or IDs. You can assign SFX with more
than one device ID. You might do this if you want to send messages to a Group of devices. In addition, SFX will always
recognize the ID of 7Fh (All Types).

To accept MSC message and assign device IDs:

1. Select from the main menu TOOLS | OPTIONS and the “Options” dialog will appear.
2. Select the MIDI SHOW CONTROL tab.
3. In the “Incoming Show Control” combo box, select the appropriate MIDI input device where the MSC commands
will originate from.
4. Select one or more device IDs in the “Device IDs” list box.

Each cue list can be individually enabled to recognize MSC messages.

To enable a cue list to recognize MSC messages:

1. Make the Cues view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES | SHOW CONTROL & TRIGGERS and the “Show Control & Triggers” dialog
box will appear.
3. Check the “Use MIDI Show Control” checkbox.

MSC messages are actually MIDI System Exclusive messages with the following format:

F0 7F <device_ID> 02 <command_format> <command> <data> F7

<device_ID> is a number specifying the intended receiver of the message. Device IDs range from 00h - 7Fh with 7Fh being
the All Call ID and is representative of all devices.

<command_format>is a number specifying the type of equipment or machinery addressed. Command Formats range from
00h - 7Fh with 7Fh being All Types and addressing all command format. Many command formats are already specified by the
MSC standard. For example, the command formats that address SFX are 10h General Sound, 17h Audio Effects Devices, and
7Fh All Types.

<command> is the action for the MSC message. Typical commands are GO, RESET, ALL_OFF, etc.

<data> is specific information that will vary with each command. Data can include time code numbers and cue numbers as
well as other information. You must refer to each command to determine the exact format of the data.

Example:
F0 7F 09 02 01 01 34 33 2E 35 00 31 32 2E 31 00 35 F7
 Chapter 13 MIDI Show Control 75

This MSC messages tells Lighting, Device ID #09h to GO on cue number 43.5 in list 12.1 path 5.

SFX provides you with a GUI when creating MSC commands (see above SFX as a Controller page 73).

Commands
SFX understands a subset of the entire MIDI Show Control 1.0 standard and the details of those commands are listed below.

The format for each command is:

[command] [hex value]

[data] - what the command expects. Some fields maybe optional and will be marked so. The format for the data can be:
<cue number>- the number of a cue (e.g. 14.5)
<cue list> - the number of the Cue List where {A} is 1, {B} is 2, {C} is 3, and so on.
<time code> - time code value
All other fields will be ignored.

[description] - a description of the command and how it will react with the <data>.
[example] - shows you a example message with explanation

SFX understands the following MSC messages:

GO
STOP
RESUME
TIMED_GO
LOAD
ALL_OFF
RESTORE
RESET
STANDBY_+
STANDBY_-
START_CLOCK
STOP_CLOCK
ZERO_CLOCK
SET_CLOCK

SFX MSC Command List

GO (01h)

<cue number> (optional)

<cue list> (optional)

? If <cue number> and <cue list> are specified, SFX will play the cue in the <cue list> with the cue number of <cue
number>.
? If <cue list> only is specified, SFX will play the next cue in that cue list that contains a cue number.
? If <cue number> only is specified, SFX will play all cues, in all lists, with the cue number of <cue number>.
? If nothing is specified, SFX will play the next cue in {A} list that contains a cue number and all cues in the other
lists with the same cue number as the cue in {A}.

Examples:
76 SFX User’s Guide

Audio Effects Devices, Device 02, GO Q#3.5 List 2:

F0 7F 02 02 17 01 33 2E 35 00 32 00 F7

All-types, Device 7F, GO (all cue lists using the next cue number in {A}):
F0 7F 7F 02 7F 01 00 00 F7

STOP (02h)

<cue number> (optional)

<cue list> (optional)

? If <cue number> and <cue list> are specified, SFX will pause the cue in the <cue list> with the cue number of
<cue number>.
? If <cue list> only is specified, SFX will pause all cues in <cue list>.
? If <cue number> only is specified, SFX will pause all cues, in all lists, with the cue number of <cue number>.
? If nothing is specified, SFX will pause all cues in all lists.

Example:
Audio Effects Devices, Device 0E, STOP Q#3 (in all lists):
F0 7F 0E 02 17 02 33 00 00 F7

RESUME (03h)

<cue number> (optional)

<cue list> (optional)

? If <cue number> and <cue list> are specified, SFX will resume playing the paused cue in the <cue list> with the
cue number of <cue number>.
? If <cue list> only is specified, SFX will resume playing all paused cues in <cue list>.
? If <cue number> only is specified, SFX will resume all paused cues, in all lists, with the cue number of <cue
number>.
? If nothing is specified, SFX will resume all paused cues in all lists.

Example:
Sound (General), Device 05, RESUME, (all cues in) List 1:
F0 7F 05 02 10 03 00 31 00 F7

TIMED_GO (04h)

<cue number> (optional)

<cue list> (optional)
<time code> (ignored)

See above GO (00). The <time code> is ignored.

Example:
Audio Effects Devices, Device 0D, TIMED_GO Q#5 (in all lists):
F0 7F 0D 02 17 04 00 00 00 00 00 35 00 00 F7

LOAD (05h)

<cue number>
<cue list> (optional)
 Chapter 13 MIDI Show Control 77

? If <cue number> and <cue list> are specified, SFX will cue the cue in the <cue list> with the cue number of <cue
number>.
? If <cue number> only is specified, SFX will cue all cues, in all lists, with the cue number of <cue number>.

Example:
Sound (General), Device 08, LOAD Q#10.75, List 2:
F0 7F 08 02 10 05 31 30 2E 37 35 00 32 00 F7

ALL_OFF (08h)

Pauses all cues in all lists.

Example:
Audio Effects Devices, Device 02, ALL_OFF:
F0 7F 02 02 17 08 F7

RESTORE (09h)

Resumes all paused cues in all lists.

Example:
Audio Effects Devices, Device 4B, RESTORE:
F0 7F 4B 02 17 09 F7

RESET (0Ah)

Halts playback of all cues in all lists and sets the current selection to the first cue in all lists.

Example:
Audio Effects Devices, Device 60, RESET:
F0 7F 60 02 17 0A F7

STANDBY_+ (11h)

<cue list> (optional)

? If <cue list> is specified, selects and cues the next cue in <cue list>.
? If nothing is specified, selects and cues the next cue in {A} that contains a cue number, cues it, and selects and
cues in the other lists all cues with the same cue number as the cue in {A}.

Example:
Sound (General), Device 06, STANDBY_+ (next cue in) List 1:
F0 7F 06 02 10 11 31 F7

STANDBY_- (12h)

<cue list> (optional)

? If <cue list> is specified, selects and cues the previous cue in <cue list>.
? If nothing is specified, selects and cues the previous cue in {A} that contains a cue number, cues it, and selects
and cues in the other lists all cues with the same cue number as the cue in {A}.

Example:
78 SFX User’s Guide

Sound (General), Device 23, STANDBY_- (cues in all lists with the cue number of the next cue in the {A}
cues list):
F0 7F 23 02 10 12 F7

START_CLOCK (15h)

<cue list> (optional) (ignored)

Starts MIDI Time Code.

Example:
Audio Effects Devices, Device 65, START_CLOCK:
F0 7F 65 02 17 15 F7

STOP_CLOCK (16h)

<cue list> (optional) (ignored)

Halts MIDI Time Code.

Example:
Sound (General), Device 7B, STOP_CLOCK:
F0 7F 7B 02 10 16 F7

ZERO_CLOCK (17h)

<cue list> (ignored)

Sets the MIDI Time Code clock to 00:00:00.00.

Example:
Sound (General), Device 03, ZERO_CLOCK:
F0 7F 03 02 10 17 F7

SET_CLOCK (18h)

<cue list> (ignored)

<time code>

Sets the MIDI Time Code clock to <time code>.

Example:
Audio Effects Devices, Device 51, SET_CLOCK to 01:00:00.00.00:
F0 7F 51 02 17 18 01 00 00 00 00 F7
 Chapter 14 Command Interface 79

14 Command Interface
Command Interface
Commands

Command Interface

The Command Interface is a special tool that gives you an alternate method of controlling SFX. With the Command Interface
dialog box, you can type in SFX commands, such as GO or SET DESCRIPTION "Door Slam". You can also change volumes,
cue numbers, select cues, etc..

To enable the Command Interface:

1. Select from the main menu, Tools | Command Interface, and the Command Interface dialog box will appear.
2. Move and size the Command Interface anywhere on your desktop.

Commands
Commands are not case sensitive. Each command can have zero or more parameters following it.

<cue number>- the number of a cue preceded by the letter Q(e.g. Q14.5).
<cue list> - the letter of the Cue List where {A} is A, {B} is B, {C} is C, and so on.
<title> - the title of the Cue/Effect list as displayed in the caption bar (e.g. "My Cues").
WORKSPACE - a word in all capitals with no brackets is literal.

Parameters shown in square brackets [] are optional.

SFX Command Interface commands fall into a three categories:

1. Administrative Commands - commands that handle opening and closing files and workspaces as well as other
environment tasks.
2. Control Commands - commands that handle selecting, playing, and other manipulation of cues.
3. Property Commands - commands that change the properties of cues such as cue number, description, and
volume.
80 SFX User’s Guide

Administrative Commands

The Administrative Commands are:

CLOSE
COLUMN
EXIT
HELP
LEARN
LIST
NEW
OPEN
OPTIONS
PRINT
QUIT
SAVE
SAVEALL
SAVEAS
SWITCH
TIMECODE

CLOSE

Parameters:
[WORKSPACE or <cue list> or <title> or <>]

Closes a workspace or Effects/Cues file.

? If WORKSPACE is specified, the workspace will be closed
? <cue list> or <title> will close the matching file
? If nothing is specified, the active file will be closed.

Examples:
CLOSE
CLOSE WORKSPACE
CLOSE A
CLOSE "My Cues"

COLUMN

Parameters:
TIMECODE or TYPE or STATUS [ELAPSE or PERCENT or REMAIN]
[ON | OFF]
[<cue list>]

Displays or hides a column (TIMECODE, TYPE, or STATUS) in a Cues view.

? If TIMECODE or TYPE or STATUS only is specified, that column will be toggled shown or hidden.
? If ON or OFF is specified, the column will be shown for ON and hidden for OFF.
? With STATUS you can also then specify the format: ELAPSE or PERCENT or REMAIN which will change the
STATUS column to that format.
? If you do not include a <cue list>, SFX will assume the active Cues view.

Examples:
To show the Time Code column: COLUMN TIMECODE ON
To toggle the Status column: COLUMN STATUS
To display Time Remaining in the Status column: COLUMN STATUS REMAIN
To toggle Time Code column in the {B} Cues view: COLUMN TIMECODE B
 Chapter 14 Command Interface 81

EXIT

Exits SFX.

HELP

Launches SFX Help.

LEARN

Parameters:
[<cue list>]

Toggles the Learn Time Code feature (see page 40) of the specified cue list.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
LEARN
LEARN B

LIST

Parameters:
<cue list> or <title>

Makes the specified Effects/Cues view active.

Examples:
LIST "My Cues"
LIST B

NEW

Parameters:
[CUES or EFFECTS or WORKSPACE or <>]

Creates a new Cues file, or Effects file, or Workspace.

? If nothing is specified, SFX will prompt you to create a new Cues or Effects file.

Examples:
NEW
NEW EFFECTS

OPEN

Parameters:
[WORKSPACE] [<filename>]

Opens a Workspace or Cues/Effects file.

? If nothing is specified, SFX will prompt you to open a Cues/Effects file.
? If WORKSPACE only is specified, SFX will prompt you to open a workspace.
? If WORKSPACE and <filename> is specified, SFX will open the workspace with the file of <filename>.

Examples:
OPEN
82 SFX User’s Guide

OPEN WORKSPACE
OPEN "My Cues"
OPEN WORKSPACE "Main Show"

OPTIONS

Displays the Options dialog box.

PRINT

Parameters:
<cue list> or <title> or <>

Prints the Cues or Effects file.

Examples:
PRINT
PRINT "My Cues"
PRINT C

QUIT

Exits SFX. (Same as EXIT).

SAVE

Parameters:
[WORKSPACE or <cue list> or <title> or <>]

Saves a workspace or Effects/Cues file.

? If WORKSPACE is specified, the workspace will be saved.
? <cue list> or <title> will save the matching file
? If nothing is specified, the active file will be save.

Examples:
SAVE
SAVE WORKSPACE
SAVE C
SAVE "My Cues"

SAVEALL

Saves all Cues and Effects files.

SAVEAS

Parameters:
[WORKSPACE or <cue list> or <title> or <>]

Saves a workspace or Effects/Cues file as a different name. Prompts you for the name to save the file as.
? If WORKSPACE is specified, the workspace will be saved.
? <cue list> or <title> will save the matching file
? If nothing is specified, the active file will be save.

Examples:
 Chapter 14 Command Interface 83

SAVEAS
SAVEAS WORKSPACE
SAVEAS A
SAVEAS "My Cues"

SWITCH

Parameters:
[EDIT or PLAY]

Switches the desktop.

? If nothing is specified, the desktop will be switched to the other desktop.

Examples:
SWITCH
SWITCH EDIT
SWITCH PLAY

TIMECODE

Parameters:
[<timecode> or <timecode format> or PLAY or STOP or RESET or ON or OFF or SLAVE ON or SLAVE OFF INPUT #
or OUTPUT #]

Manipulates the SFX MIDI Time Code tool bar (see page 71).
? If nothing is specified the SFX Time Code tool bar will be toggled shown or hidden.
? <timecode> is in the form of hr:mn:sc.fm (e.g.) 1:00:00.00 or in the form of a relative value: +2:01:02.00
? <timecode format> can be 24, 25, 30, 30D, or CLOCK
? SLAVE ON/OFF toggles the Slave To Time check box located in the Options dialog box
? INPUT # is the number of the MIDI entry to select from the Input list
? OUTPUT # is the number of the MIDI entry to select from the Output list

Examples:
To show the Time Code tool bar: TIMECODE ON
To set a time code value: TIMECODE 1:58:00.00
To set the time code format to EBU25: TIMECODE 25
To start the time code clock: TIMECODE PLAY

Control Commands

The Control Commands are:

COPY
DELETE
GO
GOTO
NEXT
PANIC
PAUSE
PLAY
PREVIOUS
PROPERTIES
STOP
TRIGGER
84 SFX User’s Guide

COPY

Parameters:
<cue#> TO <cue#> [<cue list>]

Copies one cue to another location.

? <cue#> in the form of a letter or number with a preceding "Q" (e.g. Q5.5).
? The cue will be copied to the location where the destination <cue#> would be. For instance, copying a cue to
Q4.5 would place it after Q4.0.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is used.

Examples:
COPY Q1 TO Q5.4
COPY QA to QC.5 B

DELETE

Parameters:
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Deletes the cue specified.

? If no <cue#> is specified, the selected cue is deleted.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is used.

Examples:
DELETE
DELETE Q4.5
DELETE Q4.5 C

GO

Parameters:
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Sends a GO to the specified cue.

? If a <cue#> is specified, the <cue#> is selected and then sent a GO command.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
GO
GO Q5.75
GO Q4.5 A

GOTO

Parameters:
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Select the specified cue.

? If no <cue#> is specified, the first cue is selected.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
GOTO Q10.3
GOTO Q5.75 C
 Chapter 14 Command Interface 85

NEXT

Parameters:
[<cue list>]

Select the next cue in the specified cue list.

? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
NEXT
NEXT D

PANIC

Parameters:
[<cue list>]

Panics the specified cue list.

? If no <cue list> is specified all lists are sent a panic.

Examples:
PANIC
PANIC D

PAUSE

Parameters:
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Pauses the specified playing cue.

? If no <cue#> is specified, the current cue is paused.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
PAUSE
PAUSE Q6.0
PAUSE Q7.5 E

PLAY

Parameters:
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Plays the specified playing cue. Will also resume a paused cue.
? If no <cue#> is specified, the current cue is played.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
PLAY
PLAY Q6.0
PLAY Q7.5 E

PREVIOUS

Parameters:
[<cue list>]
86 SFX User’s Guide

Select the previous cue in the specified cue list.

? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
PREVIOUS
PREVIOUS A

PROPERTIES

Parameters:
[WORKSPACE] or [<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Displays the properties of the workspace or the specified cue.

? If WORKSPACE is specified, the properties of the workspace will be displayed.
? If nothing is specified, the properties of the selected effect in the active view will be displayed.

Examples:
PROPERTIES
PROPERTIES WORKSPACE
PROPERTIES Q4.5

STOP

Parameters:
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Stops the specified playing cue.

? If no <cue#> is specified, the current cue is stopped.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
STOP
STOP Q6.0
STOP Q7.5 E

TRIGGER

Parameters:
{<trigger> [<cue list>]) or ON or OFF

If the parameters are ON or OFF, the MIDI/Keyboard Triggers will be enabled or disabled, respectively. See
Keyboard Triggers on page 67 and MIDI Triggers on page 70.

If the parameters are <trigger>, assigns a GO trigger to the specified cue list.
? <trigger> is in the form of a key such as [SPACEBAR][Ctrl+][Alt+][Shift+](<ASCII>|F1-F12|<controlkey>) or a
MIDI Note in the form of <hex>,<hex>[,<hex>]. For example, CTRL+T, SHIFT+F7, or 90,45,125.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
TRIGGER F5 A
TRIGGER ON
TRIGGER OFF

Property Commands
 Chapter 14 Command Interface 87

The Property Commands are:

SET ASSIGN
SET CUE#
SET DESCRIPTION
SET TIME
SET TIMECODE
SET TRIGGER
SET UNASSIGN
SET VOLUME

SET ASSIGN

Parameters:
<group>
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Assigns the specified cue to a group or groups.

? <group> is in the form of one or more digits separated by commas (e.g. 1 or 2,3,4).
? If no <cue#> is specified, the current cue is assumed.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
SET ASSIGN 3
SET ASSIGN 3,6,9
SET ASSIGN 4,5 Q5.5

SET CUE#

Parameters:
<cue#>
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Sets the specified cue to the cue number.

? The <cue#> is in the form of a letter or number preceded by the letter Q (e.g. Q5.4).
? If no <cue#> is specified, the current cue is assumed.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
SET CUE# Q6.9
SET CUE# Q7 Q8.5 A

SET DESCRIPTION

Parameters:
<description>
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Sets the specified cue to the description.

? The description is the text found between to double quotes (e.g. "Door Slam").
? If no <cue#> is specified, the current cue is assumed.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
SET DESCRIPTION "Glass Breaking"
SET DESCRIPTION "Preshow Music" Q25
88 SFX User’s Guide

SET TIME

Parameters:
<time>
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Sets the specified cue's delay or wait time to <time>. This is only valid for cues that have time values such as Waits
and Fades.
? The <time> can be absolute or relative (e.g. 4.5 or +1 or -0.5).
? If no <cue#> is specified, the current cue is assumed.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
SET TIME 4.5
SET TIME -2 Q5 A
SET TIME +1.5 B

SET TIMECODE

Parameters:
<timecode>
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Sets the specified cue to the timecode.

? The <timecode> can be absolute or relative (e.g. 3:40:23.12 or +0:0:20.0).
? If no <cue#> is specified, the current cue is assumed.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
SET TIMECODE 1:01:02.03
SET TIMECODE -0:30:0.0 Q22.4

SET TRIGGER

Parameters:
<trigger>
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Sets the specified cue's trigger to <trigger>.

? <trigger> is in the form of a key such as [Ctrl+][Alt+][Shift+](<ASCII>|F1-F12|<controlkey>) or a MIDI Note in
the form of <hex>,<hex>[,<hex>]. For example, CTRL+T, SHIFT+F7, or 90,45,125.
? If no <cue#> is specified, the current cue is assumed.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
SET TRIGGER F9
SET TRIGGER 81,45 Q18 A

SET UNASSIGN

Parameters:
<group>
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Unassigns the group(s) from the specified cue.

? <group> is in the form of one or more digits separated by commas (e.g. 1 or 2,3,4).
 Chapter 14 Command Interface 89

? If no <cue#> is specified, the current cue is assumed.

? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
SET UNASSIGN 3
SET UNASSIGN 3,6,9
SET UNASSIGN 4,5 Q5.5

SET VOLUME

Parameters:
<volume>
[<cue#>] [<cue list>]

Set the volume of the specified cue.

? <volume> is in the form of a group=volume[group=volume] and can be absolute or relative (see below examples).
? If no <cue#> is specified, the current cue is assumed.
? If no <cue list> is specified, the active Cues view is assumed.

Examples:
SET VOLUME 3=30 Sets Group 3's volume to -30 dB
for both channels
SET VOLUME 0 Sets Group 1's volume to -0 dB for
both channels (full volume).
SET VOLUME 2=15,20,6=25 Sets Group 2's volume to -15 dB,
Group 3's volume to -20 dB, and
Group 6's volume to -25 db. If you
do not specify the group number,
SFX will assume its the next
group.
SET VOLUME 10:0 Sets Group 1's volume to -10 dB
left channel and -0 dB right
channel.
SET VOLUME 4=+10:+5 Raises Group 4's volume by 10 dB
on the left channel and 5 dB on
the right channel.
 Chapter 15 Startup Parameters 91

15 Startup Parameters
Startup Parameters

Startup Parameters
Startup parameters are information passed to SFX when it is launched.
You can specify, on the Target line, which workspace SFX should
load, and which cues list it should immediately start executing. To
access the Target line, right click on the SFX icon and select
PROPERTIES and then click on the SHORTCUT tab. You should
append the arguments here.

[[-e] [<WorkspacePath>] [-g<CuesTitle>]* [-h<hrs>] [-

m<min>] [-s<sec>] [-f<frms>] [-play] [-
<25|24|30|30d|clock>]

-e :: editor mode (see below)

WorkspacePath :: full path name of workspace to load
-g<CuesTitle> :: send GO to cues window with title of
<CuesTitle>
-h<hrs> :: number of hours to initially set time code to
-m<min> :: number of minutes to initially set time code to
-s<sec> :: number of seconds to initially set time code to
-f<frms> :: number of frames to initially set time code to
-play :: start playing time code
-t<format> :: time code format = 24 | 25 | 30 | 30d | clock

Editor Mode
Editor Mode allows you to run SFX without a hardware key, but you will not hear any output. Editor Mode is useful when
you want to do offline editing of your Cues and Effects files. For instance, you may want to use the Editor Mode when you
are modifying a show on a computer other than the playback computer. In this mode, SFX is not concerned with the location
of your sound files. If a sound file is not found, SFX will "fake" playing it. This is helpful when you are modifying a show on
a different computer that does not contain any of the sound files of the playback system.

If you run Editor Mode with a hardware key installed, all output will be routed through the first sound card.
92 SFX User’s Guide

Examples
SFX.exe "c:\Program Files\SFX\Documents\Alpha"
- launches SFX and loads the Alpha.worksfx workspace

SFX.exe "c:\Program Files\SFX\Documents\Beta" -gBackground -g"Main Show"

- launches SFX, loads Beta workspace and sends a GO command to both the Cues
files Background.sfx and Main Show.sfx

SFX.exe "C:\Program Files\SFX\Documents\Gamma" -h1 -m15 -t30d -play

-launches SFX, loads the workspace Gamma, sets time code to 01:15:00:00, 30 Drop,
and begins running time code
 Chapter 16 PlayList Mode 93

16 PlayList Mode
Overview
System Setup
Creating a Workspace
Creating an Effect List
Creating a Cue List
Patching a Cues view
Selecting an Effects view to Play
Playing the Cues
Selecting Alternate cues

Overview
SFX ProAudio can be setup to run like a multi-zone Jukebox that can draw from multiple "play lists." Different play lists are
stored as Effects files, and when a Cues view is put in PlayList mode it can select an entire Effects list to playback. A typical
SFX Jukebox setup would include one or more Effects lists each containing a list of Wave files to playback. In addition, there
would be a Cues view for each "output zone" where the user can select (from a dropdown list) what Effects lists to output to
that zone. While in PlayList mode, cue playback is automatic, and when a cue finishes, the next cue automatically begins
playing.

System Setup
Organize your Wave (.wav) files in separate folders on your hard drive. Have each folder represent a different category. For
example, create a folder called "Hip Hop" and place all of your Hip Hop wave files there. Create another folder for your Oldies
and place the Oldies wave files there. Do this for each different category.

To have SFX automatically title your wave files when it imports them, create a text (.txt) file in the same folder, and with the
same name (except use the .txt extension) of the wave file. The text file contains two lines: The first line, when imported by
SFX, will be placed first in the description, and the second line will be placed in brackets following it. For example, for the file
C:\Songs\Rock\Voodoo.wav, create a file C:\Songs\Rock\Voodoo.txt that contains these two lines:
Voodoo Chile
94 SFX User’s Guide

Hendrix, Jimmi
When SFX imports that file it will appear like this: "Voodoo Chile [Hendrix, Jimmi]".

Creating a Workspace
1) Launch SFX and select from the main menu, File | New Workspace, and a File New dialog box will appear.

2) Type in a name for this workspace, such as "MyJukebox" and click the Save button. You are now left with a blank
workspace.

Creating an Effect List

1) Select from the main menu File | New and the New dialog box will appear.

2) Select "Effects" and click the OK button. An Effects view will be created on your desktop.

3) From the main menu, select Effects | Import Folder and the Browse for Folder dialog box will appear.

4) Navigate to one of the folders you created above (e.g. Hip Hop) and click OK. The Effects view will be populated with all
the .wav files in that folder. If SFX finds matching .txt files, it will have read them using the text found there as
descriptions.
You can arrange the order of the effects in this view, but holding down the Alt key, and then dragging and dropping one
or more effects around the list. The order that the files are listed in this view, will be the order they are played when
copied to a Cues view later.
5) Save your Effects file, by selecting from the main menu File | Save and the Save dialog box will appear. Enter a name that
represents this category (e.g. Hip Hop or Classic Rock).
Repeat these 5 steps until you have created an Effects file for each of the categories you created on disk. You will be left with
one or more Effects views on your screen.

Creating a Cue List

1) Select from the main menu File | New and the New dialog box will appear.

2) Select Cues and click OK. A Cues view and other minimized views will appear on the screen.

3) Close all the minimized views (GO Button, Notes, Cue Status) except any Effects views.

4) To turn this Cues view into a PlayList, select the caption bar of the Cues view to make it active, and then select from the
main menu Cues | PlayList Mode. The caption bar of the Cues view will now say "PlayList Mode."
"PlayList Mode" means that when one cue has finished playing, the next cue will automatically start, as if there had been
an Autofollow cue between them. Also, only one cue will play at a time. If you try to start a second cue up while another
cue is already playing, the first cue will be faded out and stopped while the second cue begins to play.
5) Select from the main menu Cues | PlayList Toolbar to display the PlayList toolbar in the Cues view window.

Patching the Cues view

1) You must now select the output(s) for this Cues view. Click on the "Patch" button in the Cues view's PlayList toolbar and
the Patch dialog box will appear.

2) In the Wave Patch tab assign the Groups to sound card outputs.

3) In the Default Volume tab, punch in the group(s) where you wish to have the wave files in this Cues view to play through.
 Chapter 16 PlayList Mode 95

You can also adjust the volume here.

4) Click the OK button.

Repeat the above 4 steps for each zone so that you are left with one or more Cues views, along with all the Effects views from
the previous steps.

Selecting an Effects view to Play

In each Cues view you must select which of the Effects views you wish to play to that zone.
1) Click on the combo box in the PlayList toolbar, and it will drop down displaying the title of each of the open Effects views.

2) Click on the Effects view you wish to copy to this Cues view.

3) SFX will prompt you to "Replace all cues in this list?" Click Yes, and the cues view will be filled with all of the effects in
the corresponding effects view.

4) Save the Cues view by selecting File | Save, and enter in a name that represents what zone this cue list outputs to.
Repeat these 4 steps for each Cues view.

Playing the Cues

Click on the Go Button toolbar button to start playback. The select cue in the Cues view will begin playing. When it finishes,
the next cue will automatically begin playing, and when the list reaches the end, it will automatically start over.
Click the Go Button in the other Cues views to start them up.
If you click Go again, the next cue will begin playing, and the already playing cue will fade out and stop.
To stop playback you can either click on the Panic button in the PlayList toolbar, which will abruptly halt playback in that
Cues view, or you may click on the Stop button in the PlayList toolbar, which will fade out the currently playing effect and
stop it.

Selecting Alternate Cues

To play a different cue in the Cues View:
1) Click on the Alternate button in the PlayList toolbar and the Alternate dialog box will appear. The Alternate dialog box is
an alphabetically sorted list of all the effects found in all the open Effects views.

2) Select an Effect and click Play Now! to have the effect immediately start playing (fading out and stop the already playing
cue) or Play Next to insert the effect as the cue to be played after the current playing cue is finished.
Once an Alternate cue has finished playing, it will automatically remove itself from the list.
 Chapter 17 Troubleshooting 97

17 Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting
This chapter contains information on how to solve various problems you may encounter. If you do not find an answer here,
see Product Support page 12.

SFX does not recognize hardware key. -- or - SFX reads "SFX Demo v5.x - " in the top caption bar instead of "SFX V5.x -
".
Putting CD in drive causes it to automatically play.
Black ‘x’ in front of cue.
Cue is not audible.
Echo Sound Card not seen by SFX.
Audio glitches.
CD cue is not audible.
Maximum of four playing cues.
Only one cue playing back at a time.
Views will not move or close.
Can’t find a feature in the main menu.
Can’t Fade across Groups.
Can’t add effects or cues.
Can’t change Properties.
Can’t drag-and-drop effects or files.
MIDI Commands do not trigger external device.
Can’t do a MIDI capture.
MIDI Show Control cues do not trigger external device.
MIDI messages are not triggering SFX.
Keyboard triggers are not triggering SFX.
MIDI Show Control messages are not triggering SFX.
Error/crash when launching SFX.
SFX crashes when opening a cue list.

SFX does not recognize hardware key. -- or -- SFX reads "SFX Demo v5.x - " in the top caption bar instead of "SFX V5.x
- ".

? The hardware key is not connected:

1. Exit SFX.
2. Connect the hardware key to the parallel port or USB port of your computer.
98 SFX User’s Guide

3. Launch SFX again. If SFX still says "Demonstration" try running the SentMed.exe program found in the
HardwareKey folder under SFX.
? For a parallel port key: The communication settings in the BIOS are not set up to properly read the card. Reboot
your computer and enter the BIOS settings. Change the "Parallel Port Mode" in the BIOS from "Bi-directional -
EPP" to "SPP," "ECP," or "Normal." The BIOS port should also be set to 378h.
? If this does not solve your problem, please see the Knowledge Base on the Stage Research web site:
http://www.StageResearch.com.

Putting CD in drive causes it to automatically play.

To disable the autoplay feature on your CD-ROM:
1. Select START | SETTINGS | CONTROL PANEL and the Control Panel dialog box will appear.
2. Select from the Control Panel menu VIEW | OPTIONS and the OPTIONS dialog box will appear.
3. Select the FILE TYPES tab.
4. Select from the “Registered file types” list box “AudioCD.”
5. Click the EDIT button and the “Edit File Type” dialog box will appear.
6. In the “Actions” list box, click on “Play” and the click on the REMOVE button.

Black ‘x’ in front of cue.

Cause:

? File is not found.

? File is incorrect format.

? Patch is not setup.

? Incompatible sound card.

Solution:

First, select from the main menu Cues | Patch and the Patch dialog box will appear. Select Wave Patch and verify that the
appropriate Groups are assigned to the correct sound card outputs. If no options exist in the dropdown boxes, it is
because you either do not have a sound card, or the sound card you have is incompatible with SFX (i.e. is has no DirectX
or WDM drivers). See your sound card manufacturer's web site.

If the patch is correct, click on the cue in the cue list and then click the Properties button. Once the Properties dialog box
appears, click on the Wave tab. Verify that the file is located in the folder specified. If the full path is not displayed, SFX
uses the path defined in the Tools | Options | Folders settings.

Select the Mixer tab and verify that the cue is assigned to the desired Groups.

Cue is not audible.

The possible problems and solutions are:
? Volume is zero:
1. Select the cue.
2. Click on the PROPERTIES button and the “Effect Property” dialog box will appear.
3. Click on the MIXER tab.
4. The volume slider may be at zero.

? The cue is not assigned to a Group (see Patch, Groups, and Volumes page 14):
1. Select the cue.
2. Click on the PROPERTIES button and the “Effect Property” dialog box will appear.
3. Click on the MIXER tab.
4. The effect should have at least one of the Group buttons punched in. If not, select a Group and click
OK.
 Chapter 17 Troubleshooting 99

5. Also, verify that the Group is patched to a sound card. Make the Cues view (or Effects view) active by
clicking on it.
6. Select from the main menu CUES (or EFFECTS) | PATCH and the “Patch” dialog box will appear. The
Group(s) you assigned your cue to should list a sound card output. If it does not, select one.

Echo Sound Card not seen by SFX.

Causes

? Breakout box is not powered on.

? DirectX is not enabled for the Echo sound card.

Solution

Make sure that the breakout box for the sound card is plugged in and turned on.

Download and install the latest drivers from the Echo (http://www.EchoAudio.com) web site.

Click the Windows Start button | Settings | Control Panel | System | Device Manager | Video, Sound, and Game Controllers
and click on the Echo driver. Click Properties and the Properties dialog box will appear. Select the DirectX/GSIF tab. Check
Enable DirectX. Click OK to all boxes and then reboot.

Audio glitches.
The buss that your hard drive is attached to determines the speed in which audio will flow off the hard drive, into
SFX, then finally into the sound card. It is HIGHLY recommended that DMA is enabled for the IDE channel that your
hard drive is attached. Most IDE controller cards support DMA however you may need to download the latest IDE
driver from the manufacturer of your motherboard.
Windows 2000

1. From ControlPanel->System, find "Device Manger..." and click the button.

2. Find the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers folder and open it.

3. Find the Primary IDE Channel and double click it (or right click and select Properties...)

4. Verify that the transfer mode is set to: "DMA if available"

It is important that the transfer mode is selected to "DMA if available" and that the Current Transfer Mode shows:
"Ultra DMA Mode" If the Current Transfer Mode shows: "PIO Mode" then the data transfer will not keep up while
streaming audio in SFX and you may hear glitches.

CD cue is not audible.

Audio CD drives have the ability to output Audio tracks directly to the sound card. Typically this is done by
physically connecting the audio output on the CD to the CD audio input on the sound card. There are a number of
sound cards that do not have the physical connector and although it is possibly to use the headphone jack on the
CD directly into your mixer, with Win2K and WinXP and a compatible CD player, you may enable Digital Audio and
have the CD route sound through the buss directly to the sound card.
Processing digital CD audio will require more horse power from your computer as the data is read then converted into
a format that that sound card can use prior to output. It is also important to understand that the only way to route the
output is to assign your preferred audio device in Sounds and Multimedia.

1. From the control panel find and click on "Sounds and Multimedia".

2. Click on the "Hardware" tab and find your CD drive in the list. Select it and click the "Properties" button.

3. Click on the Properties tab and look for the option "Digital CD Playback". By clicking this button, CD audio
will be routed digitally for this CD player. Click the OK button.
100 SFX User’s Guide

4. Verify that you have selected the correct Preferred Sound Playback device as the CD audio will route only to
this device.

Maximum of four playing cues.

You are running the SFX Standard or the SFX Show Control edition. This is by design. In order to playback more
than four cues at one time, you can upgrade to the SFX ProAudio or the SFX ProAudio/Show Control editions
through the Stage Research web site.

Only one cue playing back at a time.

Cause:

Preempt for the cue's assigned Group is ON. In the Patch dialog box, you can specify that one or more groups are in
Preempt, which means that only one cue will play on that Group at a time.

Solution:

Click on the caption bar of the Cues list. The, select from the main menu, Cues | Patch | Wave Patch. Make sure that
the Preempt buttons are off (the should be "punched" out).

Views will not move or close.

The desktop is locked (see Play Desktop page 22). To unlock the desktop, select from the main menu VIEWS | LOCK
VIEWS.

Can’t find a feature in the main menu.

The appropriate view is not selected (see Menu and the Active View page 18). SFX’s main menu changes depending
on that view that is currently active. For example, when you click on the Cues view, the menu will change to include a
menu item titled CUES.

Can’t Fade across Groups. Can’t Fade from on Group to another.

The cue is not assigned to the Groups in question. For instance, if you want to Fade a cue from Group 1 to Group 2,
you must assign the cue to both groups initially. Just set Group 2’s volume to 0.

Can’t add effects or cues.

The possible problems and solutions are:
? If SFX’s caption bar has the word “[play]” in it, then you are in the Play Desktop (see Play Desktop page 22):
1. Select from the main menu VIEWS | SWITCH DESKTOP and the caption will change to “[edit]”.

? You may not put certain special effects next to each other; such as two Autofollows two Waits, or a Wait
followed by an Autofollow.

Can’t change Properties.

See “Can’t add effect or cues” above.

Can’t drag-and-drop effects or files.

See “Can’t add effect or cues” above.

Can’t do a MIDI capture.

To do a MIDI capture you must tell SFX what MIDI instrument and channel to capture messages from. See MIDI
Command Control page 55.

To select a MIDI input device and channel:

1. Select from the main menu TOOLS | OPTIONS and the “Options” dialog box will appear.
2. Select the MIDI COMMAND CONTROL tab.
3. In the “Incoming MIDI Command Device” combo box, select the appropriate MIDI input device.
4. In the “MIDI channel… ” combo box, select the channel that the MIDI commands will be received on.
 Chapter 17 Troubleshooting 101

MIDI Commands do not trigger external device.

The possible problems and solutions are:
? The MIDI Command is not assigned to a Group (see Patch, Groups, and Volumes page 14):
1. Select the cue.
2. Click on the PROPERTIES button and the “Effect Property” dialog box will appear.
3. Click on the OUTPUT tab.
4. The appropriate output should be selected (it will be highlighted). See MIDI Command Effects page 69.
5. The Group(s) you assigned your cue to should list a MIDI output device. If it does not, select one. Do
not select the MIDI synthesize on the sound card; you must select the device that corresponds with
the output jack on your sound card.

? The MIDI Command is sending on the wrong MIDI channel. When you send MIDI notes (Note On, Note Off,
Control Change, etc.) the low-byte represents the channel. For example, following is a list of Note On values you
would use to send to each of the sixteen channels:
Channel Note On value
1 80
2 81
3 82
4 83
5 84
6 84
7 86
8 87
9 88
10 89
11 8A
12 8B
13 8C
14 8D
15 8E
16 8F

MIDI Show Control cues do not trigger external device.

The possible problems and solutions are:
? The MSC message is not assigned to a Group (see Patch, Groups, and Volumes page 14):
1. Select the cue.
2. Click on the PROPERTIES button and the “Effect Property” dialog box will appear.
3. Click on the OUTPUT tab.
4. The appropriate output should be selected (it will be highlighted). (see MIDI Show Control page 73).
5. The Group(s) you assigned your cue to should list a MIDI output device. If it does not, select one. Do
not select the MIDI synthesize on the sound card; you must select the device that corresponds with
the output jack on your sound card.

MIDI messages are not triggering SFX.

The possible problems and solutions are:
? The Enable Keyboard/MIDI triggers setting is off:
1. There should be a check mark next to the main menu item VIEW | ENABLE TRIGGERS.
? The MIDI input device and channel are not selected, or are incorrectly selected (see Triggering SFX with MIDI
page 70):
1. Select from the main menu TOOLS | OPTIONS and the “Options” dialog box will appear.
2. Select the MIDI COMMAND CONTROL tab.
3. In the “Incoming MIDI Command Device” combo box, select the appropriate MIDI input device.
4. In the “MIDI channel… ” combo box, select the channel that the MIDI commands will be received on.
102 SFX User’s Guide

Keyboard triggers are not triggering SFX.

The possible problems and solutions are:
? The Enable Keyboard/MIDI triggers setting is off:
1. There should be a check mark next to the main menu item VIEW | ENABLE TRIGGERS.

MIDI Show Control messages are not triggering SFX.

The possible problems and solutions are:
? The sending device’s command format is not one of the formats that pertains to SFX ((see Controlling SFX
page 74).
? The MSC input device is not selected, or is incorrectly selected (see Controlling SFX page 74):
1. Select from the main menu TOOLS | OPTIONS and the “Options” dialog will appear.
2. Select the MIDI SHOW CONTROL tab.
3. In the “Incoming Show Control” combo box, select the appropriate MIDI input device where the MSC
commands will originate. Select one or more device IDs in the “Device IDs” list box.
? The cues list’s has MSC disabled:
1. Make the Cues view active by clicking on it.
2. Select from the main menu CUES | SHOW CONTROL & TRIGGERS and the “Show Control & Triggers”
dialog box will appear.
3. Check the “Use MIDI Show Control” checkbox.

Error/crash when launching SFX.

If you receive an error or crash on starting SFX, the possible cause is that the PlugInAudioBox.plg file is installed on your
machine and you do not have an AudioBox connected to your computer.
1. Close SFX.

2. Open My Computer and navigate to the folder where SFX is installed (typically C:\Program Files\SFX).

3. Delete the file: PlugInAudioBox.plg

SFX crashes when opening a cue list.

No sound card is recognized by SFX. In SFX, select from the main menu Tools | Options | Default Wave Patch. If no devices
are available, you must install WDM or DirectX drivers for your sound card.
 Index 103

Index
A
Active View......................................................................................................................................................................18
Add....................................................................................................................................................................................55
Adding Cue Status .........................................................................................................................................................45
Administrative Commands ...........................................................................................................................................80
Allow Emulated Sound Card Drivers ...........................................................................................................................56
Arguments ...................................................................................................................................................................... 55
Array
Auto Advance ..............................................................................................................................................................49
Go Button.....................................................................................................................................................................48
Instant Play .................................................................................................................................................................48
Integrity Check..........................................................................................................................................................49
Locating Files.............................................................................................................................................................49
MIDI Show Control ....................................................................................................................................................49
Patch.............................................................................................................................................................................49
Printing .......................................................................................................................................................................49
Seek Buttons ..............................................................................................................................................................48
Show Control ..............................................................................................................................................................49
Status ...........................................................................................................................................................................49
Triggers ......................................................................................................................................................................49
View..............................................................................................................................................................................47
assign ...............................................................................................................................................................................61
Attributes.........................................................................................................................................................................60
Auto Advance...................................................................................................................................................................49
Autofollow...........................................................................................................................................................20, 36, 63
Cue................................................................................................................................................................................53
Autosave ..........................................................................................................................................................................52
Files..............................................................................................................................................................................56
B
Background
Color ............................................................................................................................................................................53
Image........................................................................................................................................................................... 53
Background color............................................................................................................................................................54
Background Color.....................................................................................................................................................35, 44
Basic.................................................................................................................................................................................10
Bits ....................................................................................................................................................................................56
Button Toolbar................................................................................................................................................................46
C
Capture
MIDI .............................................................................................................................................................................55
MIDI Commands.........................................................................................................................................................55
CD Track...............................................................................................................................................................20, 35, 63
Channels...........................................................................................................................................................................56
Clear All Time Code......................................................................................................................................................39
Color
Background .................................................................................................................................................................54
Column
Cue Number.................................................................................................................................................................41
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................41
Description ..................................................................................................................................................................41
104 SFX User’s Guide

Effects...........................................................................................................................................................................30
State..............................................................................................................................................................................41
Status............................................................................................................................................................................41
Time Code....................................................................................................................................................................41
Type..............................................................................................................................................................................41
Columns
Color .............................................................................................................................................................................54
Command .........................................................................................................................................................................64
Command effect ..............................................................................................................................................................64
Command Formats....................................................................................................................................................... 56
Command Interface........................................................................................................................................................79
Commands...................................................................................................................................................................79
Command Interface Commands ....................................................................................................................................79
CLOSE ..........................................................................................................................................................................80
COLUMN.....................................................................................................................................................................80
COPY ............................................................................................................................................................................83
DELETE........................................................................................................................................................................84
EXIT..............................................................................................................................................................................80
GO .................................................................................................................................................................................84
GOTO............................................................................................................................................................................84
HELP.............................................................................................................................................................................81
LEARN .........................................................................................................................................................................81
LIST ..............................................................................................................................................................................81
NEW .............................................................................................................................................................................81
NEXT............................................................................................................................................................................84
OPEN ............................................................................................................................................................................81
OPTIONS .....................................................................................................................................................................82
PANIC ..........................................................................................................................................................................85
PAUSE..........................................................................................................................................................................85
PLAY ............................................................................................................................................................................85
PREVIOUS ...................................................................................................................................................................85
PRINT...........................................................................................................................................................................82
PROPERTIES...............................................................................................................................................................85
QUIT.............................................................................................................................................................................82
SAVE ............................................................................................................................................................................82
SAVEALL ....................................................................................................................................................................82
SAVEAS.......................................................................................................................................................................82
SET ASSIGN................................................................................................................................................................87
SET CUE# ....................................................................................................................................................................87
SET DESCRIPTION....................................................................................................................................................87
SET TIME ....................................................................................................................................................................87
SET TIMECODE .........................................................................................................................................................88
SET TRIGGER..............................................................................................................................................................88
SET UNASSIGN..........................................................................................................................................................88
SET VOLUME .............................................................................................................................................................88
STOP.............................................................................................................................................................................86
SWITCH.......................................................................................................................................................................83
TIMECODE..................................................................................................................................................................83
TRIGGER......................................................................................................................................................................86
Command, Tools........................................................................................................................................................... 55
Commands
Command Interface....................................................................................................................................................79
Control Commands ........................................................................................................................................................83
Conventions.....................................................................................................................................................................12
copy ............................................................................................................................................................................29, 36
Cue
Autofollow.............................................................................................................................................................20, 63
 Index 105

CD Track ................................................................................................................................................................20, 63
Command ...............................................................................................................................................................20, 64
Fade ........................................................................................................................................................................20, 64
MCI Command ......................................................................................................................................................20, 63
Memo......................................................................................................................................................................20, 65
MIDI Command.....................................................................................................................................................20, 62
MIDI Sequence.....................................................................................................................................................20, 62
MIDI Show Control..............................................................................................................................................20, 63
Plug-Ins .......................................................................................................................................................................65
Restart ....................................................................................................................................................................20, 65
Stop.........................................................................................................................................................................20, 64
Wait ........................................................................................................................................................................20, 63
Wave file................................................................................................................................................................19, 62
cue number.......................................................................................................................................................................60
Cue Numbers ...................................................................................................................................................................52
Cue Status
Adding..........................................................................................................................................................................45
Button Toolbar............................................................................................................................................................46
Default number ..........................................................................................................................................................53
Removing.....................................................................................................................................................................45
Status Displays...........................................................................................................................................................46
View..............................................................................................................................................................................45
Cues..................................................................................................................................................................................33
Clear All Time Code..................................................................................................................................................39
Columns.......................................................................................................................................................................41
copy..............................................................................................................................................................................36
Deleting .......................................................................................................................................................................37
File................................................................................................................................................................................16
Go to Cue .....................................................................................................................................................................39
Inserting ......................................................................................................................................................................35
Inserting Special........................................................................................................................................................36
Integrity Check..........................................................................................................................................................40
Learn Time Code........................................................................................................................................................39
Locate Files.................................................................................................................................................................40
MIDI Show Control....................................................................................................................................................38
move .............................................................................................................................................................................36
New...............................................................................................................................................................................34
Numbering ..................................................................................................................................................................52
Open .............................................................................................................................................................................34
Panic.............................................................................................................................................................................37
Patch.............................................................................................................................................................................38
Playing .........................................................................................................................................................................37
Printing .......................................................................................................................................................................41
Properties..............................................................................................................................................................37, 60
Renumbering..............................................................................................................................................................39
Replace.........................................................................................................................................................................36
Seek Cue To Time .....................................................................................................................................................39
Show Control ..............................................................................................................................................................38
Sorting .........................................................................................................................................................................40
Triggers ......................................................................................................................................................................38
View..............................................................................................................................................................................34
Cues List..........................................................................................................................................................................16
D
Default
MIDI Patch ..................................................................................................................................................................54
Patch.............................................................................................................................................................................15
106 SFX User’s Guide

Volume...................................................................................................................................................................15, 54
Wave Patch..................................................................................................................................................................54
Delete
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................37
Effects...........................................................................................................................................................................29
Desktop ............................................................................................................................................................................53
Edit................................................................................................................................................................................17
Password .....................................................................................................................................................................53
Play...............................................................................................................................................................................17
Switch.....................................................................................................................................................................17, 22
Device IDs....................................................................................................................................................................... 56
Digital Sound ..................................................................................................................................................................11
E
Edition...............................................................................................................................................................................10
Editor Mode.....................................................................................................................................................................91
Effect
Autofollow.............................................................................................................................................................20, 63
CD Track ................................................................................................................................................................20, 63
Command.....................................................................................................................................................................64
Fade ........................................................................................................................................................................20, 64
MCI Command ......................................................................................................................................................20, 63
Memo......................................................................................................................................................................20, 65
MIDI Command.....................................................................................................................................................20, 62
MIDI Sequence.....................................................................................................................................................20, 62
MIDI Show Control..............................................................................................................................................20, 63
Plug-Ins .......................................................................................................................................................................65
Restart ....................................................................................................................................................................20, 65
Stop.........................................................................................................................................................................20, 64
Wait ........................................................................................................................................................................20, 63
Wave file......................................................................................................................................................................19
Wave File.....................................................................................................................................................................62
Effect Types ...............................................................................................................................................................19, 59
Effects...............................................................................................................................................................................60
Columns .......................................................................................................................................................................30
copy..............................................................................................................................................................................29
Deleting .......................................................................................................................................................................29
File................................................................................................................................................................................16
Font...............................................................................................................................................................................30
Inserting......................................................................................................................................................................28
Integrity Check..........................................................................................................................................................30
Locating Files.............................................................................................................................................................30
move .............................................................................................................................................................................29
New...............................................................................................................................................................................28
Open .............................................................................................................................................................................28
Patch.............................................................................................................................................................................31
Play Sample.................................................................................................................................................................29
Printing .......................................................................................................................................................................31
Properties...............................................................................................................................................................29, 60
Sorting .........................................................................................................................................................................29
types..............................................................................................................................................................................60
View..............................................................................................................................................................................27
Effects Tool Box..............................................................................................................................................................19
Enable Triggers ...............................................................................................................................................................67
Example ............................................................................................................................................................................20
 Index 107

F
Fade.......................................................................................................................................................................20, 36, 64
Default delay ..............................................................................................................................................................53
Fade in ..............................................................................................................................................................................64
Fading over multiple groups .........................................................................................................................................64
File
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................16
Effects...........................................................................................................................................................................16
Files
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................56
Effects ..........................................................................................................................................................................56
Workspace ..................................................................................................................................................................56
Fit ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 53
Flash Notes .....................................................................................................................................................................52
Folder
Sound Effects..............................................................................................................................................................56
Folders..............................................................................................................................................................................56
Font
Color .......................................................................................................................................................................35, 44
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................35
Effects...........................................................................................................................................................................30
Notes ............................................................................................................................................................................44
Fonts................................................................................................................................................................................ 53
Format
MIDI Time Code .........................................................................................................................................................72
Freeze
MIDI Time Code .........................................................................................................................................................72
G
gang ..................................................................................................................................................................................61
Gang ................................................................................................................................................................................ 54
Getting Started ...............................................................................................................................................................13
GO
Right-mouse button...................................................................................................................................................52
Go Button.........................................................................................................................................................................48
Array............................................................................................................................................................................48
View..............................................................................................................................................................................37
Go to Cue..........................................................................................................................................................................39
group.................................................................................................................................................................................61
Group......................................................................................................................................................................... 14, 54
H
hardware key....................................................................................................................................................................14
I
Image ..........................................................................................................................................See Background Image
Incoming MIDI Command Device.............................................................................................................................55
Incoming Show Control ...............................................................................................................................................56
Initial Directory ............................................................................................................................................................ 55
Input
MIDI Time Code .........................................................................................................................................................72
Insert
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................35
Effects...........................................................................................................................................................................28
Special Effect ..............................................................................................................................................................36
Installation.......................................................................................................................................................................14
108 SFX User’s Guide

Instant Play......................................................................................................................................................................48
Integrity Check
Array............................................................................................................................................................................49
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................40
Effects...........................................................................................................................................................................30
K
key.....................................................................................................................................................................................14
Keyboard Trigger...........................................................................................................................................................37
Keyboard Triggers..........................................................................................................................................................67
L
Learn ................................................................................................................................................................................72
Learn Time Code............................................................................................................................................................39
License................................................................................................................................................................................3
Locate Files
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................40
Locating Files
Array............................................................................................................................................................................49
Effects...........................................................................................................................................................................30
Lock Views.......................................................................................................................................................................22
loop ...................................................................................................................................................................................62
M
Main Menu.......................................................................................................................................................................18
MCI...................................................................................................................................................................................63
MCI Command.................................................................................................................................................................20
Media Control Interface................................................................................................................................................63
Memo....................................................................................................................................................................20, 36, 65
Menu.........................................................................................................................................................See Main Menu
Menu contents ............................................................................................................................................................... 54
Menu Text ...................................................................................................................................................................... 55
MIDI
Capture.........................................................................................................................................................................55
channel ........................................................................................................................................................................55
Command Control.......................................................................................................................................................55
Command Message....................................................................................................................................................69
Command trigger.......................................................................................................................................................37
Commands .......................................................................................................................................................20, 35, 69
Output ..........................................................................................................................................................................61
Show Control.............................................................................................................................................35, 37, 56, 73
Time Code....................................................................................................................................................................71
Triggering SFX .........................................................................................................................................................70
MIDI Command...............................................................................................................................................................62
MIDI Sequence .........................................................................................................................................................20, 62
MIDI Show Control ............................................................................................................................................20, 63, 73
MIDI Show Control Commands....................................................................................................................................75
ALL_OFF.....................................................................................................................................................................77
GO .................................................................................................................................................................................75
LOAD ...........................................................................................................................................................................76
RESET...........................................................................................................................................................................77
RESTORE.....................................................................................................................................................................77
RESUME ......................................................................................................................................................................76
SET_CLOCK................................................................................................................................................................78
STANDBY_-................................................................................................................................................................77
STANDBY_+...............................................................................................................................................................77
START_CLOCK .........................................................................................................................................................77
 Index 109

STOP.............................................................................................................................................................................76
STOP_CLOCK.............................................................................................................................................................78
TIMED_GO..................................................................................................................................................................76
ZERO_CLOCK ............................................................................................................................................................78
MIDI Time Code..............................................................................................................................................................71
Format..........................................................................................................................................................................72
Freeze...........................................................................................................................................................................72
Input..............................................................................................................................................................................72
Learn............................................................................................................................................................................72
Output ..........................................................................................................................................................................72
Set.................................................................................................................................................................................72
Mixer ...........................................................................................................................................................................38, 61
move............................................................................................................................................................................29, 36
Move Down .................................................................................................................................................................... 55
Move Up.......................................................................................................................................................................... 55
MSC............................................................................................................................................................................63, 73
N
Notes
Entering.......................................................................................................................................................................43
Flash ............................................................................................................................................................................52
Script Information Toolbar ......................................................................................................................................43
View..............................................................................................................................................................................43
O
Optimization....................................................................................................................................................................56
Options.............................................................................................................................................................................51
Default MIDI Patch....................................................................................................................................................54
Default Volume...........................................................................................................................................................54
Default Wave Patch ...................................................................................................................................................54
Desktop........................................................................................................................................................................53
Folders .........................................................................................................................................................................56
MIDI Command Control ............................................................................................................................................55
MIDI Show Control....................................................................................................................................................56
Optimization ...............................................................................................................................................................56
Preferences.................................................................................................................................................................52
Tools.............................................................................................................................................................................54
Organized ..........................................................................................................................................................................9
Output...............................................................................................................................................................................61
MIDI Time Code .........................................................................................................................................................72
P
Panic .................................................................................................................................................................................37
Password..........................................................................................................................................................................53
Patch.....................................................................................................................................................................14, 15, 49
Array............................................................................................................................................................................49
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................38
Effects...........................................................................................................................................................................31
Preempt...................................................................................................................................................................31, 38
Playing Cues...................................................................................................................................................................37
Playing Sample...............................................................................................................................................................29
Playlist Mode...................................................................................................................................................................40
PlayList Mode .................................................................................................................................................................93
Plug-Ins............................................................................................................................................................................65
Preempt.......................................................................................................................................................... 15, 31, 38, 54
Preferences.....................................................................................................................................................................52
Printing
110 SFX User’s Guide

Array............................................................................................................................................................................49
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................41
Effects...........................................................................................................................................................................31
ProAudio..........................................................................................................................................................................10
Product Line....................................................................................................................................................................10
Product Overview ...........................................................................................................................................................10
Product Support..............................................................................................................................................................12
Prompt for arguments.................................................................................................................................................. 55
Properties .........................................................................................................................................................................60
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................37
Effects...........................................................................................................................................................................29
Property Commands ......................................................................................................................................................86
R
Remove............................................................................................................................................................................ 55
Removing Cue Status ....................................................................................................................................................45
Renumbering Cues........................................................................................................................................................39
Replace.............................................................................................................................................................................36
Requirements..................................................................................................................................................................10
Restart...................................................................................................................................................................20, 36, 65
Prompt .........................................................................................................................................................................53
Right mouse button........................................................................................................................................................37
Right-mouse button
GO.................................................................................................................................................................................52
S
Samples.............................................................................................................................................................................56
Screen Saver................................................................................................................................................................... 54
Disable........................................................................................................................................................................ 54
Script Information Toolbar...........................................................................................................................................43
Seek Buttons...................................................................................................................................................................48
Seek Cue To Time..........................................................................................................................................................39
Set
MIDI Time Code .........................................................................................................................................................72
Show Control.......................................................................................................................................................10, 38, 49
Show Integrity ................................................................................................................................................................52
Slave Time Code ............................................................................................................................................................56
Snap to Grid................................................................................................................................................................... 54
Software License...............................................................................................................................................................3
Sorting
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................40
Effects...........................................................................................................................................................................29
Sound Cards....................................................................................................................................................................12
Sound Effects Folder ....................................................................................................................................................56
Special Effects
Autofollow..............................................................................................................................................................36, 63
Command.....................................................................................................................................................................64
Fade.........................................................................................................................................................................36, 64
Memo......................................................................................................................................................................36, 65
Plug-Ins .......................................................................................................................................................................65
Restart ...................................................................................................................................................................36, 65
Stop.........................................................................................................................................................................36, 64
Trigger ........................................................................................................................................................................36
Wait........................................................................................................................................................................36, 63
Stage Research...............................................................................................................................................................12
Standard...........................................................................................................................................................................10
Startup Parameters .......................................................................................................................................................91
 Index 111

Status................................................................................................................................................................................49
Status Column .................................................................................................................................................................41
Status Displays...............................................................................................................................................................46
Stop.......................................................................................................................................................................20, 36, 64
Switch Desktop .........................................................................................................................................................17, 22
T
Technical Support..........................................................................................................................................................12
Time code
Clear All Time Code..................................................................................................................................................39
Learn Time Code........................................................................................................................................................39
Time Code..................................................................................................................................................................37, 71
Format..........................................................................................................................................................................72
Freeze...........................................................................................................................................................................72
Input..............................................................................................................................................................................72
Learn............................................................................................................................................................................72
Output ..........................................................................................................................................................................72
Set.................................................................................................................................................................................72
Slave.............................................................................................................................................................................56
Tool Box ...........................................................................................................................................................................19
Toolbar .............................................................................................................................................................................18
Tools .................................................................................................................................................................................54
Trigger ........................................................................................................................................................................36, 61
Trigger cue .....................................................................................................................................................................37
Triggers.....................................................................................................................................................................38, 49
Disable..........................................................................................................................................................................67
Troubleshooting .............................................................................................................................................................97
U
Updates .............................................................................................................................................................................14
V
View
Array............................................................................................................................................................................47
Cue Status...................................................................................................................................................................45
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................34
Effects...........................................................................................................................................................................27
Go Button.....................................................................................................................................................................37
Lock ..............................................................................................................................................................................22
Notes.............................................................................................................................................................................43
Views ................................................................................................................................................................................18
Volume .......................................................................................................................................................................14, 15
W
Wait.......................................................................................................................................................................20, 36, 63
Cue Numbers ..............................................................................................................................................................53
Default delay ..............................................................................................................................................................53
Prompt .........................................................................................................................................................................53
Wave .................................................................................................................................................................................62
Wave file ..........................................................................................................................................................................19
What's New In Version 5.6 ..........................................................................................................................................11
Working with
Array............................................................................................................................................................................47
Cue Status...................................................................................................................................................................45
Cues..............................................................................................................................................................................33
Notes.............................................................................................................................................................................43
Workspace ......................................................................................................................................................................16
112 SFX User’s Guide

Automatically save....................................................................................................................................................52
Load last used ............................................................................................................................................................52