Shows and Cues

Shows and cues are the organizational base of FXCanvas. With them you manage your work and recall a complete visual state during a live performance. A show holds your project settings and all of its cues. A cue holds a snapshot of your visual state, and you can trigger it at once.

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What are Shows?

A show in FXCanvas is a project container. It holds all settings and content for one production, event, or performance. It is similar to a project file in other creative software.

Each show holds its own:

• Render resolution: the master canvas size for your visuals
• Associated DMX rig: the rig that loads with the show
• Output preset: the saved output settings that the show uses
• BPM and composition settings: tempo, hue shift, saturation, mirror and symmetry
• Cues: all saved visual states of the show
• Cue pages: playlists of the cues, and their Cruise Control settings
• Live look: the source, effects, palette and composition that were on screen when you left

Shows keep your work organized, and a change from one project or event to another is fast. You can keep separate shows for different venues, clients, or performance types.

A show holds no presets. Each cue carries a full snapshot of the values, so a show plays without your preset library. Export Show packages the referenced presets when you move a show to another machine.

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What are Cues?

A cue is a complete snapshot of your current visual state. When you trigger a cue, FXCanvas recalls these items at once:

• Source: the active source type and all of its parameter values
• Palette: the colors that were active, and not only a reference to a palette
• Effects chain: all effects in order, with their parameter values
• Composition settings: hue shift, saturation, mirror and symmetry
• Live settings: master dimmer, global speed and direction, and color mode
• Tempo: the BPM at the capture of the cue
• DMX map: the map that becomes active when the cue fires

A cue recalls only what its recall scope allows. A "palette only" cue changes the colors and leaves the source in operation.

Cues exist for live performance. You prepare the cues before the show and trigger them during the show, instead of many parameter adjustments by hand. The transition between two completely different looks is immediate and reliable.

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Understanding Show Files

What Gets Saved in a Show

FXCanvas stores two items for each show:

• show.json: the name and the timestamps of the show, plus a session block. The session block holds the requested render resolution, the name of the associated rig, and the output preset reference. It also holds the BPM, the composition settings, the last cue that you fired, and a snapshot of the live look.
• Cues/: one file for each cue, with a Thumbnails/ subfolder for the generated tile images
• pages.json: the cue pages of the show. FXCanvas writes it when you first edit a page. A show without this file has no pages, only All Cues.

FXCanvas stores the requested render resolution apart from the resolution that renders now. On a Free-tier machine, a 4K show clamps the live canvas to 720p, and the file keeps the 4K value. The show is then intact after you license the machine.

FXCanvas reports every reference that the session cannot resolve, for example a rig that is not installed, or a palette that you deleted. FXCanvas keeps that reference in the file and never erases it silently.

Show File Location

FXCanvas stores the shows in your Documents folder:

• Windows — Documents\FXCanvas\Shows\{ShowName}\
• macOS — ~/Documents/FXCanvas/Shows/{ShowName}/

Each show has its own folder with show.json and its subfolders.

A show folder has this structure:

{ShowName}/
  - show.json (main show configuration)
  - pages.json (cue pages, after the first page edit)
  - Cues/ (cue files and their thumbnails)

Cues are full snapshots, so the show folder holds no preset copies of its own.

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Creating and Managing Shows

Creating a New Show

To create a new show:

1. Open File → New Show... from the menu bar
2. Enter a name for your show
3. Set the render resolution with a preset (720p, 1080p, 4K) or with custom values
4. Click Create

The New Show dialog holds these fields:

Field	Description
Show Name	A descriptive name for your project (required)
Render Resolution	The width and the height of the master canvas
Preset buttons	Quick selection of 720p (1280×720), 1080p (1920×1080), or 4K (3840×2160)

note

A show name cannot hold the special characters \/:*?"<>|. Each show name must be unique among your existing shows.

Free tier: up to 1280×720

Without a license the render canvas stops at 720p. FXCanvas clamps the 1080p and 4K presets when you create the show. See What requires a license.

Opening Existing Shows

To open a show that exists:

1. Open File → Open Show... from the menu bar
2. Select a show in the list
3. Click Open, or double-click the show name

The Open Show dialog shows these columns:

Column	Description
Name	The name that you gave the show when you created it
Last Modified	The time of the last save

The list sorts the shows by the last change, with the newest show at the top.

Saving Shows

There is no Save Show command, because shows save themselves. FXCanvas watches the show state and writes it to disk about two seconds after your last edit. FXCanvas writes it again when you close the show or quit. The writes are atomic and keep one generation of backup, so an interrupted save cannot leave half a show.json.

Ctrl+S is still available as an immediate write, for example before you remove a drive. You never have to press it.

Autosave covers the show, and the show includes the live look. Autosave does not write your live changes into a cue: Update Cue stays the explicit commit. Autosave guarantees only that your uncommitted changes survive a crash or a restart.

Reopening a Show

A show opens in the state that you left. FXCanvas restores the items in this order: render resolution, DMX rig, output preset, palette, composition, BPM, and then the live look. The source that ran returns with its parameters. FXCanvas rebuilds the effects chain, and the palette returns with its colors.

Closing Shows

To close the current show, use File → Close Show. FXCanvas writes any pending autosave first, for the show and for its rig.

Recent Shows

FXCanvas tracks the shows that you opened recently. They are in File → Recent Shows. Select a show name to open it again, or use Clear Recent to empty the list.

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Moving a Show to Another Machine

A show folder alone is not portable. Cues are complete snapshots, so they play on any machine. The preset ids, the media ids, and the DMX map names in them have a meaning only on the machine that wrote them. Export Show packages the show together with everything that its cues reference.

Exporting a Show

1. Open File → Export Show...
2. Read the summary of the content
3. Select whether to include the media files and the DMX rig, and whether to produce a single file
4. Select a destination folder
5. Click Export

The summary updates with each option that you change, so it always matches the result.

Option	Description
Include media files	Copies the video and image files that your cues play. These files can be large, so the size stands next to the checkbox.
Include DMX rig	Copies the rig folder of the show, which holds the DMX maps that your cues reference.
Export as a single .fxshow file	Produces one .fxshow archive instead of a folder. It is easier to send, and the content is identical.

FXCanvas lists every reference that it cannot find under Not included, in amber, before the export. A missing preset does not stop the export and does not change the playback, because the cue carries its own snapshot. You lose only the ability to edit that reference on the other machine.

FXCanvas never copies the built-in presets. They ship with FXCanvas, so the machine that you send the show to has them already.

Importing a Show

1. Open File → Import Show...
2. Select an exported folder or a .fxshow file
3. Read the list of the content
4. Click Import

An import never overwrites your own content:

Situation	What happens
A show of that name already exists	FXCanvas installs the imported show as "Name (2)"
A packaged preset is already in your library	FXCanvas keeps your copy and skips the packaged one
A rig of that name already exists	FXCanvas keeps your rig and does not install the packaged rig

FXCanvas copies the imported media into your media folder, and it relinks the cues that use the media.

Open the imported show from File → Open Show.

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Working with Cues

The Cues Panel

In the Cues panel you read and manage all cues of the current show. The panel has two views. You can switch between List View and Thumbnail View for your workflow.

A row of tabs under the action bar holds All Cues and your cue pages. All Cues shows every cue of the show. A page shows only its own cues, in its own order.

The Cues panel is in your workspace. If it is not visible, open it from the View → Panels menu.

With no show loaded, the panel shows a message that asks you to open a show. Cues exist only inside a show, and there are no global cues.

Action Bar

The action bar at the top of the Cues panel holds the main controls:

Control	Icon	Description
Save Cue	plus	Save the current visual state as a new cue. On a page, the new cue is also added to that page.
Previous	chevron-left	Load the previous cue in the sequence
Next	chevron-right	Load the next cue in the sequence
Current cue chip	none	The cue that is loaded. Read Current Cue Status
Thumbnail View	grip	Change to Thumbnail View (a visual grid)
List View	list	Change to List View (a table)
Tile zoom	sliders	Set the tile width, from 72 to 180 pixels. Thumbnail View only: the slider is not shown in List View

The Previous and Next buttons step through a setlist during a performance. Their order depends on the active page:

• On a page: they follow the page order, and they wrap. Next on the last cue of the page fires the first cue of the page.
• In All Cues: they follow the cue numbers, and they do not wrap. On the last cue, Next is disabled.

The OSC, MIDI, and REST cue steps use the same rules. A remote surface and the panel buttons always agree about your position.

Cue Properties

Each cue has the following properties:

Property	Description
Cue Number	A decimal number for the order, for example 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0. Use decimals to insert a cue between two existing cues without a renumber.
Name	A descriptive name for the cue
Description	An optional field for notes and context
Source	The source type and all parameter values
Palette	The colors themselves, plus the name of the palette that they came from
Effects chain	Every effect in the chain, with all parameters
Composition	Hue shift, saturation, mirror and symmetry
Live settings	Master dimmer, global speed and direction overrides, color mode
BPM	The tempo at the capture time
DMX Map	The map that becomes active when the cue fires, bound by name
Recall scope	Which of the items above a recall can touch

tip

The snapshot keeps a cue stable. A later change, rename, or delete of the original preset or palette does not affect the cue.

Recall is instant

A recall loads the full state immediately. There is no crossfade between two cues. Cue files still carry a transition time for a future fade engine. No code reads that value, and the Cue Editor does not show it as a field.

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View Modes

Thumbnail View is the default. A cue is a look, and the grid is what you recognize at showtime.

List View

List View shows the cues in a table with columns that you select. This view is best for a large number of cues, and for fast edits of the cue details.

Available Columns:

Column	Description
#	The cue number, which sets the order
Name	The cue name (with an asterisk when the cue is dirty)
Description	The optional notes
Source	The name or the type of the source preset
Palette	The name of the palette that the cue uses
Effects	The number of effects in the cue

Configuring Columns:

Right-click a column header to show or hide a column. Every column except Description is visible by default.

Only the # column has a fixed width. The font sets that width, and the column holds a cue number and no more. All other columns share the remaining width equally. A wider panel makes all of them wider, and a narrower panel makes all of them narrower.

Inline Editing:

Click or double-click an editable cell to change it in the list:

Field	Trigger	Description
Cue Number	Click	Change the position of the cue in the sequence
Cue Name	Double-click	Rename the cue
Description	Double-click	Add or edit the notes

To accept your edit, press Enter or click outside the edit field. To cancel, press Escape.

Effects Column:

The Effects column shows the number of effects in the cue, for example "2 effects".

Hover Preview:

Hover over the # column of a row to see the same rich preview as the thumbnail grid. The preview holds the image of the cue, plus its name, number, description, source, palette and effect names.

The # column is the only part of the row that opens the preview. The other columns stay clear, because you read and edit them. The preview does not cover the table while you work in it.

The list preview and the thumbnail preview have separate switches in Settings → Interface, under the master hover-preview toggle. You can keep the preview in the grid and disable it in the list.

Thumbnail View

Thumbnail View shows the cues as a responsive grid of visual previews. This view is best during a live performance, because you find a cue by its look.

The lead image at the top of this page shows Thumbnail view.

Features:

Feature	Description
16:9 Aspect Ratio	The tiles carry the same aspect as the canvas, and they stay in step with the content of the cue
Cue Number Overlay	Each thumbnail shows the cue number in the bottom-left corner
Responsive Grid	The number of columns follows the panel width and the tile zoom
Tile Zoom	The slider in the action bar sets the tile width, from 72 to 180 pixels
Hover Preview	Hover over a tile for a live preview and the cue details

Renaming Cues:

In Thumbnail View, right-click a cue and select Rename to open a rename dialog. Enter the new name. Then click OK.

Thumbnail Generation:

The thumbnails are a derived cache, and you do not maintain them. FXCanvas renders a tile when you save a cue. For a shader cue, FXCanvas renders the tile again offscreen after each change of the cue content, so the tile always shows the current content. A file-source cue keeps the tile that FXCanvas saved with it, because FXCanvas cannot render a video or an image again through the shader preview. There is no "Regenerate Thumbnail" command any more, because nothing is left to do by hand. FXCanvas stores the thumbnails in the Cues/Thumbnails/ directory of the show.

A show from an earlier version holds square thumbnail files. Those tiles look slightly stretched until FXCanvas captures each cue again.

When the source of a cue is not installed on this machine, the tile shows a placeholder and a warning instead of the saved image. An old picture of a look that FXCanvas cannot recall is worse than no picture.

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Visual State Indicators

Active Cue

Both views mark the cue that is loaded:

• List View — a blue tint highlights the active row
• Thumbnail View — the active thumbnail has a blue border

Only one cue has the blue mark: the cue that is on the output. You cannot select a cue row, and a single click does not move the blue mark. To make a different cue active, double-click it, use the context menu, or use the Previous and Next buttons.

Dirty State

When the live look no longer matches the saved cue, the cue is "dirty". FXCanvas marks this state:

• List View: an asterisk (*) appears after the cue name, for example "Intro *"
• Thumbnail View: the thumbnail border changes to an orange glowing border
• Panel tab: the tab of the Cues panel shows an orange overline

What Makes a Cue Dirty:

Everything that changes the look. About once each second, FXCanvas captures the live state and compares it with the current cue, inside the recall scope of that cue. The comparison sees every change: a new source, an effect that you add or remove, a slider, or a knob. It also sees an effect that you bypass and a palette color that you retune.

The state is a comparison and not a list of events, so an undo of your change clears the asterisk again.

Only the items in the recall scope of the cue count. A palette-only cue does not go dirty after a source change, because a fire of that cue does not restore the source.

The dirty mark tells you that Update Cue did not yet commit your work. Live changes never write themselves into a cue. They are still crash-safe, because the show session autosaves them.

Warning Statuses

FXCanvas marks a cue that it cannot recall completely on this machine, before you fire it. A warning triangle appears on the row in List View, and on the tile corner in Thumbnail View. The tooltip names each item that FXCanvas cannot resolve:

Status	Meaning
Missing source	The source type of the cue is not installed here, often an ISF shader that lives on another machine
Effect type unavailable	One or more effects in the chain are not available in this build
Missing media file	A file-based cue points at media that is no longer in the library
Missing DMX map	The bound map name does not exist in the loaded rig
No rig loaded	The cue needs a map, but no rig is loaded to resolve it against

If the source of a cue is missing, FXCanvas refuses to fire the cue and gives a notification. FXCanvas does not apply the palette and the effects over the running look. Open the Cue Editor to see the same statuses in context, and to repair what you can repair.

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Creating Cues

Saving Your Current State as a Cue

To create a new cue from your current visual state:

1. Set your source, effects, and composition to the look that you want
2. Click the Save Cue button (plus icon) in the action bar
3. Enter a name for the cue in the dialog
4. Click Save

The dialog suggests the name "Cue X", where X is the next number in the sequence. You can use any descriptive name.

You Do Not Have to Save Presets First

Nothing stops you before you save a cue. A cue stores the parameter values themselves. The preset library adds nothing to the playback, so you do not have to open it first.

If a look inside a cue deserves a place in your library, open the cue in the Cue Editor. Then use Save as Preset beside the source or the effect that you want.

Cue Naming

Good cue names help you to remember each look during a live performance. Use a name that describes one of these:

Category	Examples
Visual style	"Warm Ambient", "High Energy Pulse", "Cool Sweep"
Song section	"Intro", "Verse", "Chorus", "Bridge", "Drop"
Moment	"Opening Look", "Build Up", "Impact", "Cooldown"

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Triggering Cues

Loading a Cue

There are several ways to trigger a cue:

• Double-click: double-click a cue in the list or in the grid to load it at once
• Context menu: right-click a cue and select Load Cue
• Previous / Next: step through the cues in number order
• Remotely: over OSC, with a MIDI or keyboard mapping, or with the REST API

In Settings → Interface you can change the panel gesture from double-click to single-click, for both views at once.

When a cue loads, FXCanvas applies everything inside its recall scope. The scope holds the source and its parameters, the captured palette colors, and the effects chain. It also holds the composition, the live settings, the tempo, and the bound DMX map. FXCanvas leaves every item outside the scope exactly as it is.

A remote trigger runs a real recall, and does not only highlight a row. OSC, the mapping actions, and the REST endpoints all run the same recall as the panel.

Current Cue Status

A chip in the action bar, beside the Previous and Next buttons, names the cue that is loaded:

• The chip always shows the cue number, for example #6.0
• When the cue has a name, the name follows the number after a thin rule
• An unnamed cue shows the number alone. FXCanvas never writes a placeholder name

When no cue is loaded, the chip disappears. On a narrow panel the chip drops the name first. If the space is still too small, the whole chip disappears, and the view toggles stay reachable.

Unsaved changes do not appear on the chip. They tint the overline of the Cues panel tab orange. That overline stays visible when the panel is docked behind another one.

Cue Tooltips

In Thumbnail View, hover over a tile. In List View, hover over the # column of a row. The tooltip shows these details:

• The cue name and number
• The description, when the cue has one
• The source type
• The palette name
• The effect count and the effect names

The effect names are the names that the Effects panel shows, not the stored identifiers. A long chain of effects is cut to the number of names that fit on the screen. A final line then counts the names that are not shown.

Leaving a Modified Cue

A new cue over unsaved changes destroys that work. FXCanvas never lets that happen silently.

If you fire a cue from the Cues panel and the cue that you leave is dirty, a dialog gives three answers:

Answer	Result
Update "<name>"	Commits your changes to the cue that you leave, then fires the new cue
Discard & Continue	Fires the new cue and deletes the changes
Cancel	Keeps you on the current cue

Tick Don't ask again to stop the dialog. You can enable it again in Settings → Interface, under "Confirm before leaving a modified cue".

A safety net behind the dialog is always active. Before a cue replaces a modified cue, FXCanvas stashes the look that you leave. A toast appears instead of the dialog in two cases. The first case is a disabled dialog. The second case is a trigger over OSC, a mapping, or REST, where FXCanvas cannot ask you.

"Drop" changes discarded Update "Drop" to keep them, or dismiss.

The Update "<name>" button on that toast writes the stashed look, and not the look on screen now. The button is still correct after the next cue is already up. The toast lasts about six seconds, and it pauses while you hover over it.

A second fire of the cue that you are already on is the revert gesture. FXCanvas never guards it and never stashes for it.

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The Cue Editor

Right-click a cue and select Edit Cue... to open the editor. The editor is one non-modal window. Open it, and leave it open while you work through your cues.

The left side shows what the cue is. A live animated preview renders the snapshot of the cue offscreen, so you see the look and the output does not change. A file-source cue shows its saved thumbnail instead, under the caption "Video preview unavailable - showing the saved thumbnail." Fire Cue recalls the cue for real when you want it live. Below the preview, Identity holds the name, the cue number and your notes (click a note to edit it), and DMX Map holds the map binding.

The right side is Contents. One row shows each category and lists what the cue captured. The recall switch of that category is on its own header row.

Category	What the switch controls
Source	The captured source and its parameters, with Save as Preset
Effects	The numbered effect chain, each with Save as Preset
Palette	The captured colors
Composition	Hue, saturation, mirror and symmetry
Globals	The dimmer, speed, direction and color mode, editable in place
Tempo	The BPM that the cue holds, editable in place
DMX Map	The bound map, in its own card on the left

A switched-off category greys its values, and does not hide them. The cue keeps those values. The switch only controls whether a fire installs them. Save as Preset stays available in a switched-off category, because you can add a captured source to your preset library at any time. Recall does not apply.

The editor shows each unresolvable item in the warning state, with the same words as the Cues panel. The editor is the place to diagnose a flagged cue, and not a second opinion about it.

You edit the parameters where the parameters live. The loop is Fire Cue, then your changes in the normal panels, then Update Cue. The editor owns the metadata, the recall scope, the globals and the map binding of the cue.

Recall Scope

A cue does not have to hold a whole look. The recall scope is a set of switches. Six categories carry their switch on their own header row in Contents. The seventh, DMX Map, carries its switch on the DMX Map card. A fire of the cue touches only the categories that are switched on:

Scope	When on
Source	Installs the captured source and its parameters
Effects	Rebuilds the effects chain from this cue
Palette	Applies the captured colors
Composition	Applies the hue, saturation, mirror and symmetry
Globals	Applies the captured dimmer, speed, direction and color mode
DMX Map	Activates the bound map
Tempo	Sets the beat clock to the captured tempo

Every switch is enabled by default, so a cue without a scope change behaves in the normal way. Disable the switches to build console-style tracking. A palette-only cue recolors the show and leaves the source in operation. A map-only cue changes the lighting behavior and leaves the visuals alone.

The scope also decides what counts as dirty. A cue is dirty only about the items that it recalls.

Binding a DMX Map

The DMX Map section binds a map to the cue by name. The cue travels with the show, and it resolves against the rig that is loaded.

If the bound name does not exist in the loaded rig, the section states this. It offers Create map '<name>', which creates an empty map under that name, so the cue resolves. Add the layers to it in DMX Manager → Mapping, which the Go to Maps link opens directly. With no rig loaded at all, the editor states that instead, because there is nowhere to create the map yet.

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Organizing Cues

Cue List Order

All Cues sorts the cues by cue number, in ascending order. A page has its own order, which you set by dragging. Use the cue numbers to control the order of All Cues:

Cue Number	Name
1.0	Opening
2.0	Build
2.5	Transition
3.0	Drop
4.0	Break

tip

Use decimal cue numbers such as 1.5 and 2.5 to insert a cue between two existing cues. A renumber of the whole list is not necessary.

Updating Cues

To update an existing cue with your current visual state:

1. Right-click the cue that you want to update
2. Select Update Cue
3. FXCanvas replaces the cue with your current source, effects, palette, composition, live settings, and tempo

Update Cue keeps the items that identify the cue, and not the items that describe the look. The number, the name, the description, the creation time, the DMX map binding, and the recall scope all stay. FXCanvas renders the thumbnail again to match.

Deleting Cues

To delete a cue:

1. Right-click the cue in the list
2. Select Delete
3. Accept the deletion in the dialog

The dialog names every page that holds the cue. Deleting the cue removes it from those pages too. To take a cue off one page only, use Remove from this page instead.

warning

Delete a cue only when you are sure, and never in a hurry before a performance. FXCanvas deletes the cue from the disk, and you cannot recover it.

Context Menu Options

Right-click any cue to access these options:

Option	Description
Load Cue	Fires this cue at once
Edit Cue...	Opens the Cue Editor on this cue
Update Cue	Replaces the cue content with the current visual state
Rename	Changes the cue name
Add to page	Adds the cue to a page, or to a new page. A page that holds the cue already is checked.
Duration on this page	How long Cruise Control plays the cue on this page. Only on a page.
Remove from this page	Takes the cue off this page. The cue stays in the show. Only on a page.
Delete	Deletes the cue permanently

The menu is identical in both views. Load and Edit sit together, because they are the pair that you use most. Fire the cue to see it, and open the cue to understand it.

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Cue pages

A page is a playlist of cues. Use pages to split a show into sets, for example "Warmup" and "Drops", or one page for each band on a festival day.

All Cues and pages

All Cues is the master list. It is the first tab, and it always shows every cue of the show in cue-number order. You cannot delete it or rename it. You can cruise it.

A page holds references to cues, not copies. One cue can be on many pages. An edit to the cue changes it on every page. Each page has its own order, its own color, and its own Cruise Control settings.

A new show starts with All Cues only. It has no pages until you add one. FXCanvas never adds a page or puts a cue on a page for you. While a show has no pages, the tab strip shows "Add a page to group cues" next to All Cues.

Creating and editing pages

To add a page:

1. Click the New page button (plus) at the end of the tab strip
2. Type a name for the page
3. Press Enter

Right-click a tab for the page commands:

Command	Description
Cruise Control...	Opens the page and its Cruise Control menu
Rename	Renames the page. You can also double-click the tab.
Color	Sets the color mark on the tab. Pick a swatch, or set a custom color.
Duplicate	Makes a copy of the page, with the same cues and settings
Hide page	Removes the tab. See Hiding pages.
Delete	Deletes the page after you confirm. The cues stay in the show.

Drag a tab to move the page in the tab strip. When there are more tabs than space, scroll the strip with the mouse wheel.

Adding cues to a page

You can add a cue to a page in three ways:

• Drag a cue row or a cue tile onto the tab of the page
• Right-click a cue, then select Add to page and the page
• Open the page and click Save Cue. The new cue goes on that page.

A cue can be on a page only once.

To change the order of a page, drag the cues inside the page. The # column always shows the cue number, not the position on the page. You cannot reorder All Cues by dragging, because cue numbers set its order.

To take a cue off a page, right-click the cue and select Remove from this page. The cue stays in the show and on its other pages.

Hiding pages

Hide a page to remove its tab without deleting the page. For example, hide the pages of the acts that already played.

• Right-click a tab and select Hide page
• Or open the pages menu (the arrow at the end of the tab strip) and clear the checkbox of the page

The pages menu lists every page, hidden or not. Click a hidden page in the menu to show it again and open it. Show all pages shows every hidden page.

A hidden page still works. OSC, MIDI, REST, and the Stream Deck plugin can still reach it, and Cruise Control can still continue on it. Next page and previous page skip hidden pages. A page keeps its position number when you hide another page, so controller mappings do not move.

The active page

The tab on screen and the page that plays can be different. You can edit one page while another page plays.

• The page on screen is the tab that you selected. Selecting a tab never fires a cue.
• The active page is the page of the last cue that you fired. An accent dot on its tab marks it. Next and Previous follow the active page.

The active page changes when you fire a cue from a page, or when you go to a page from a remote surface. When you fire a cue from All Cues, Next and Previous use cue-number order again.

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Cruise Control

Cruise Control plays a page on its own. It fires the cues of the page one after another, and it holds each cue for the duration that you set. Use it to keep the visuals moving while you do something else, or for a long set without an operator.

Cruise Control also plays All Cues. Then it plays every cue of the show in cue-number order.

Cruise Control is free. It needs no license.

The Cruise Control button

The Cruise Control button (a gauge) is at the right end of the tab strip, next to the New page button. It works on the tab on screen: a page, or All Cues.

The color of the button shows the state of the page on screen:

Color	State
Gray	Stopped or paused
Accent	Running
Orange	Held, because the live cue has unsaved changes

While the page on screen cruises, the time left shows next to the button: bar 7 / 16, 4.2 s, Paused, or Held. When the panel is narrow, this text goes first.

A tab that cruises shows a play mark in place of the dot. The mark is the accent color while the cruise runs, and orange while it holds. A paused cruise shows a pause mark.

The Cruise Control menu

Click the Cruise Control button to open its menu. A right-click opens the same menu. You can also right-click a tab and select Cruise Control.... Changes save at once.

Control	Description
Start / Pause / Resume	Starts Cruise Control on this page, or pauses and resumes it. While another page cruises, it moves Cruise Control to this page.
Skip	Fires the next cue now
Stop	Stops Cruise Control
Status	The time left (4.2 s), or the bar (bar 3 / 16). It also shows "Paused", or "Held: unsaved changes".
Duration	How long each cue plays, in Seconds or Bars. When you change the unit, the number stays the same.
Quick picks	4, 8, 16, or 32 bars. In seconds: 5, 10, 30, or 60.
Order	In order, Shuffle, or Random
At end	Loop, Stop, or Continue to page
Continue to	The page that plays next, or All Cues. Only for Continue to page.

Skip and Stop are disabled when this page does not cruise. Hover over a disabled control to see why.

All Cues has its own Cruise Control settings. A new show uses 16 bars, in order, with Loop.

Starting and stopping

To cruise a page:

1. Open the page
2. Click the Cruise Control button
3. Click Start (the play button)

If the live cue is on the page, Cruise Control starts its timer from that cue. If not, the first cue of the page fires.

Click Pause to freeze the countdown. Click Resume to continue with the time that was left. Click Stop to end Cruise Control. The live cue stays on the output when Cruise Control pauses or stops.

Order

Order	Description
In order	The page order, top to bottom
Shuffle	Every cue once in random order, then a new random order. A new round never starts with the cue that ended the last round.
Random	A random cue each time, but never the same cue twice in a row

Seconds and bars

Each page counts in seconds or in bars. A new page counts 16 bars.

Bars follow the tempo of the show, in 4/4 time. A bar is four beats, so 16 bars at 120 BPM is 32 seconds. A cue change in bars always lands on a downbeat. If the tempo stops, or no tempo is available, Cruise Control counts bars at 120 BPM. Hover over the status to see when this happens.

Duration for one cue

A cue can have its own duration on a page. Right-click the cue on the page, then select Duration on this page. Select a quick pick, or type a custom value. Page default removes the duration of the cue.

All Cues has no duration for one cue. Every cue on All Cues plays the duration of All Cues. To give a cue its own duration, put it on a page.

The duration uses the unit of the page. The same cue can play 8 bars on one page and 32 bars on another page.

End of the page

At end	Description
Loop	Starts again at the top of the page
Stop	Stops Cruise Control. The last cue stays on the output.
Continue to page	Starts Cruise Control on another page, or on All Cues, from its first cue. Select it in Continue to. "Next page" is the next visible page. From All Cues, "Next page" is the first visible page.

When Cruise Control continues on another page, the tab follows it if you were looking at the page that ended.

If the next page has no cues, Cruise Control stops and tells you why.

Cruising All Cues

When All Cues cruises, the list stays live:

• A cue that you save joins the cruise at its cue number.
• A cue that you delete leaves the cruise.
• When you change a cue number, the cue moves to its new place in the order.

Firing a cue by hand

You can fire any cue while Cruise Control runs. Cruise Control keeps running, and it starts the timer again from the cue that you fired. If that cue is on the page, the cruise continues from its position on the page.

When the live cue has unsaved changes

Cruise Control never discards your work without a question. When a cue change is due and the live cue has unsaved changes, Cruise Control holds. The live cue stays on the output, and a dialog asks what to do:

Answer	Result
Save and continue	Updates the live cue with your changes, then fires the next cue
Discard and continue	Fires the next cue. Your changes are lost.
Keep holding	Closes the dialog. Cruise Control stays on hold.

Tick Do not show this again to make your answer the default. You can change it again in Settings → Interface, under Cruise Control with unsaved changes:

Setting	Description
Ask	Shows the dialog (the default)
Always hold	Holds without a dialog
Always save and continue	Updates the cue, then continues
Always discard and continue	Discards the changes, then continues

While Cruise Control holds, the status reads "Held: unsaved changes". Click Skip in the Cruise Control menu to see the dialog again. Fire a cue by hand, or update the cue, to end the hold.

The dialog is part of the Cues panel. If the Cues panel is closed, a warning tells you that Cruise Control holds. Open the Cues panel to answer.

The countdown

The live cue shows the time left as a thin accent bar along its bottom edge, in both views. The bar fills as the time runs out.

Cruise Control and the show

FXCanvas saves Cruise Control with the show session. When you open the show again, Cruise Control comes back paused on the same page and the same cue. It never starts on its own. Click Resume in the Cruise Control menu to continue.

Remote surfaces can control Cruise Control too. See OSC API, MIDI Mapping, REST API, and Stream Deck Plugin.

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Live Performance Workflow

Setting Up Cues Before a Performance

A typical pre-show setup workflow:

1. Open or create a show for the event
2. Build your first look with sources, effects, and palettes
3. Save the look as a cue with a descriptive name
4. Build your next look and save it as another cue
5. Repeat until you have all of the looks that you need
6. Test each cue. Load them in sequence.
7. Adjust and update the cues

Using the Live Panel

The Live panel works together with the Cues panel during a performance. It holds everything that you touch mid-show, in four sections:

Section	Controls
Canvas Controls	Dimmer, Saturation, and Hue Shift knobs. Mirror X/Y and Symmetry H/V toggles. Blackout and reset icons in the heading.
Source Globals	Direction and Speed knobs that override the active source, with a reset icon
Tempo	TAP and RESYNC, BPM slider and input, Modifier and Quick Set rows. Tempo source and Link broadcast in the gear menu.
Color	Transition Speed and Animation Speed knobs. Color mode in the gear menu.

The blackout icon (power symbol) in the Canvas Controls heading cuts the output to black. A second click restores the previous dimmer level.

These controls apply on top of the active cue, so you can adjust the look in real time.

Quick Switching During Performance

During a performance you can change the look at once in three ways:

• Double-click the next cue in the Cues panel
• Use the Previous and Next buttons to step through the cues in order
• Use the context menu to load a specific cue
• Let Cruise Control play a page for you

note

The transition is immediate, because there is no crossfade between two cues. For a smooth transition, use similar source types in adjacent cues. You can also lower the master dimmer before the change and raise it after.

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Tips and Best Practices

Cue Organization Strategies

Strategy	Description	Best For
By Song Section	Name cues after song parts (Intro, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Outro)	Fixed setlists
By Energy Level	Name cues by intensity (Ambient 1, Medium Build, High Energy, Peak)	Flexible sets
By Visual Style	Name cues by their look (Warm Sweep, Cool Pulse, Rainbow Flow)	Live cueing to music
Numbered Sequences	Use cue numbers to hold a specific order	Complex shows

Naming Conventions

Use one naming pattern for the whole show:

• Use the same capitalization everywhere
• Include the source type when it helps ("Plasma - Warm", "Sweep - Blue")
• Keep the names short enough to read during a performance
• Do not use special characters

Pre-Show Preparation Checklist

Before a performance:

• Open the correct show file
• Look at the cue list for warning triangles, and clear them before doors
• Test each cue to make sure that it loads correctly
• Make sure that the output resolution is correct for the venue
• Make sure that the NDI outputs are enabled and named correctly
• Test the blackout icon in the Canvas Controls heading of the Live panel
• Set the master dimmer to your start level
• Load your first cue

Backup Recommendations

Protect your show files:

• The show folder is in Documents/FXCanvas/Shows/
• A copy of the folder saves the show and its cues, but not the presets, the media or the rig that they reference. Use File → Export Show... for a backup that is complete on its own.
• Keep backups on external storage for important performances
• Test a backup. Import it on another machine and open the show.

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Related Topics

• Sources — The available source types and their parameters
• Video Playback — Trigger video and image files from cues
• Effects — The effects chain
• Palettes — Create and manage color palettes
• BPM Sync — Sync parameters to the beat
• Outputs — Configure the NDI outputs for your show
• DMX Output & Mapping — Bind DMX maps to cues to drive lighting per scene