QLabAnnouncing QLab 4.3
QLab 4.3 has many new features, but we're particularly excited about the long-requested Timeline View for Group cues, and the many additions and improvements to QLab's lighting tools.
Timeline View
QLab now has a way to organize cues on a visual timeline! Timeline View works within Group cues and offers a new way to create and edit sequences of cues with precision. It supports:
- Dragging cues to set their timing
- Snapping to start, end, and slice times while dragging
- Viewing waveform and playback position of each cue
- Trimming the start and end times of Audio and Video cues
- More!
Lighting
We've added AppleScript support and enhanced MIDI controls for the Light Dashboard, and you can now create multiple light instruments and groups at the same time. Other additions include:
- A new "used" filter for the Light Dashboard, to show only the commands that are currently used in a cue or entered directly into the dashboard
- A new parking function in the Light Dashboard - once parked, QLab freezes the output for the selected instrument parameters
- Many, many new instrument definitions
More
QLab 4.3 includes a lot of smaller changes that we hope will make your shows even easier to program. Some highlights include:
- Batch-editing audio levels and audio trim in the Mic Cue inspector
- Keyboard shortcuts for zooming in and out in Waveform View
- AppleScript commands for undo and redo
A Friendly Reminder
In case you missed it last time, QLab Remote is now free to download and use in "Read-Only Mode", which includes the ability to flag cues and edit cue notes. In-App Purchases allow you to unlock editing and new light tools!
QLab 4.3 Release Notes
★ Stars denote major new features.
Workflow Changes
Timeline view! You can now view and edit “start all” group cues as a visual timeline. The timeline view lets you:
- drag cues to set their timing
- snap to start, end, and slice times while dragging
- view audio waveform and playback position of each cue
- trim the start and end times of Audio and Video cues
- option-drag to "slip" the start and end times of a cue in place
- adjust cues in the timeline view to custom heights
- read all about it: https://qlab.app/docs/v4/general/group-cues/#the-timeline-tab
In the audio waveform view you can now zoom out with ⌘-, and zoom in with ⌘= and ⌘+
Workspaces now respond to the new AppleScript commands undo and redo.
The delay to expand Group cues while dragging in the cue list has been increased to 2 seconds.
By default, new workspaces will now listen for control messages on any MIDI channel.
When pasting levels onto a Fade cue, QLab now correctly overwrites all levels previously in the Fade cue.
An issue with displaying elapsed times in the active cues view.
The AppleScript application properties "overrides" and "preferences" can now be assigned to variables in a script.
Other small bugs.
Audio Changes
You can now batch-edit audio levels and audio trim in the Mic cue inspector.
Video Changes
A regression in 4.2 that could cause very short video fades to “miss” the final fade value.
The cue inspector now hides the "Time & Loops" panel for Video cues targeting still images.
Lighting Changes
A new "used" filter for the Light Dashboard, to show only those commands currently used in a cue or entered directly into the dashboard.
A new parking function to the Light Dashboard: In slider mode, select one or more lights in the dashboard and use the "Park Selected Lights" or "Unpark Selected Lights" commands from the Tools menu. QLab will freeze the output for the selected instrument parameters while they are parked.
New MIDI Controls for the Light Dashboard:
- assign MIDI controls to any instrument parameter, not just the default parameter
- assign MIDI controls to "selected" instruments & groups, allowing you to dynamically adjust selected parameters
- batch edit MIDI controls
- filter the list of all light commands when editing MIDI controls, for easier editing
The Light Patch "New Instrument" function now supports:
- create multiple instruments at once
- custom "increment by" option for new instrument names
- optional custom prefix for new instrument names
AppleScript support for the Light Dashboard.
The Light Dashboard now clarifies the distinction between groups and instruments, and organizes tiles in a more useful way.
The Light Patch "New Group" function now supports more options, including the ability to add multiple groups at once, and adding selected patch items to the new group(s).
The Light Dashboard sliders now show an arrow to indicate the direction of the most recent change for each parameter.
Instrument definitions for the following American DJ fixtures: 5P Hex, 12P Hex, 18P Hex, 7PZ IP, Chameleon QBar Pro, COB Cannon Wash, COB Cannon Wash DW, Dotz Par 100, Entourage, Entour Venue, Flat Par QA5XS, Flat Par TRI7XS, Flat Par TRI18XS, Flat Par TW5, Flat Par TW12, Fog Fury Jett, Fog Fury Jett Pro, Lightning COB Cannon, Mega 75 Profile Plus, Mega TriPar Profile Plus, Mega Flash DMX, Mega HEX Par, MOD HEX100, MOD QA60, MODQW100, MOD TW100, Par Z100 3k, Par Z100 5k, Par ZP100 3k, Pocket Pro, Ultra Hex Par 3, UV 72IP, UV COB Cannon, and Vizi CMY300.
Instrument definitions for the Chauvet Ovation F-145WW, FD-105WW, and FD-205WW.
Instrument definitions for the following CLF Lighting fixtures: Aorun, Ares, Ares XS, Beam 6, Color PAR 12, Conan, Dynamic White PAR, EF Smoke 1500, EF Smoke 3100, Haze I, Haze II, Hercules, Juno, LED Wash CW-WW, LED Wash RGBW, LEDWash XL, Quadcolor Mini PAR, Tricolor Mini PAR, Xena, and Yara.
Instrument definition for the GLP Impression FR1.
Instrument definitions for the following Martin fixtures: MAC 250/250+, MAC 250 Krypton/Entour, MAC 250 Wash, MAC 301 Wash, MAC 350 Entour, MAC 500, MAC 575 Krypton, MAC 600, MAC 600 NT, MAC 700 Profile, MAC 700 Wash, MAC 1200, MAC 2000 Performance/Performance II, MAC 2000 Wash XB, RUSH PAR 3 RGB, and RUSH PAR 4 UV.
Instrument definitions for the following Robe instruments: ParFect 100, ParFect 100 DL, ParFect 100 SW, ParFect 150, ParFect 150 FW, ParFect 150 RGBA, and Strobe IP.
Instrument definitions for the following SGM fixtures: G-1 Beam, G-1 Wash, G-4 Wash, G-4 Wash Motorized Barndoors, G-4 Washbeam, G-4 Wash White, G-4 Washbeam White, G-Profile, G-Profile Turbo, G-Spot, G-Spot Turbo, and G-Wash.
Instrument definitions for the Showtec Sunstrip Active.
MIDI controls for lighting now affect only the Light Dashboard, and no longer affect the Light Cue Inspector. In addition, the Light Dashboard listens for incoming MIDI messages at all times — even when the Light Dashboard does not have focus or is not visible.
Controlling the Light Dashboard via MIDI is now a bit more accurate; the light commands generated by the incoming MIDI messages are no longer rounded to the nearest integer for percentage parameters.
Pressing the left or right arrow key when text is selected in a slider or tile text field will now move the insertion point normally, rather than moving focus to the next or previous text field.
Duplicate light instrument parameter names have been removed from light command autocompletion suggestions.
Improved Light Dashboard performance.
Improved MIDI feedback behavior.