Cue Stacks & Execute Grid

A cue stack is an ordered list of cues that plays through automatically or with manual control. Cue stacks are the backbone of automated lighting - from simple color chases to full theatrical cue-to-cue sequences.

Two Modes: Chase vs. Stack

Creating a Cue Stack

There are three ways to create a cue stack:

Method 1: Record from Active Cues

1. Activate one or more cues by pulling their faders up
2. Press R (Record) - DMXDesktop detects you have active cues and automatically routes to the Cue Stacks tab
3. Click an empty cue stack slot
4. The active cues become the first step(s) of the new stack

Method 2: Use the Merge Wizard

1. Click Merge → select Merge Wizard
2. Check the cues you want as steps (in order)
3. Set the target to New Cue Stack
4. Enter a name and click Merge
5. Each checked cue becomes a step in the new stack

(See Section 18 for full Merge Wizard details.)

Method 3: Edit an Existing Stack

1. Double-click any cue stack label in the fader panel
2. The Cue Stack Editor opens - add, remove, or reorder steps

The Cue Stack Editor

Double-click a cue stack label to open the full editor modal.

General Settings

Chase Mode Settings

Beat Sync locks the chase timing to your music's beat - from audio detection, Ableton Link, or manual tap. Beat divisions work the same as color effect speed:

Stack Mode Settings - Per-Step Timing

In stack mode, each step can have its own timing:

How follow time works: If Follow Time is blank, the stack waits at that step until you press Go. If you enter a value (e.g., 3000), the stack waits 3 seconds then automatically advances. This lets you build sequences that are partially manual, partially automatic.

Release Time

When you stop a cue stack (fader to 0), the release time determines how quickly it fades away:

• 0ms - Instant blackout when stopped
• 2000ms - 2-second graceful fade-out

Step Management

Playing Cue Stacks

Starting a Stack

• Drag the cue stack fader up - the stack starts playing at that intensity
• Or click Go (if a stack is selected) - starts at full intensity

Playback Controls

When you select a cue stack (click its label), playback controls appear:

Step Display

Each cue stack shows a scrollable list of steps with the current step highlighted. This lets you see where you are in the sequence at a glance.

Crossfade Behavior Between Steps

When transitioning between steps:

• Intensity values crossfade smoothly over the specified duration
• Color values crossfade smoothly (RGB/CMY interpolation)
• Position values interpolate smoothly to new pan/tilt targets
• Effects from the new step replace effects from the previous step (no blending)
• Beam attributes (gobo, prism, etc.) snap to the new step's values

Walkthrough: Building a 4-Step Color Chase

1. Record 4 color cues:
   • Select all LED pars → set to Red → Record as Cue 1
   • Set to Green → Record as Cue 2
   • Set to Blue → Record as Cue 3
   • Set to White → Record as Cue 4
2. Create the stack:
   • Pull up Cue 1's fader so it's active
   • Press R - you're routed to Cue Stacks
   • Click Stack slot 1
3. Edit the stack:
   • Double-click the "Stack 1" label → Editor opens
   • Switch mode to Chase
   • Set BPM to 120 (one step every half second at 120 BPM)
   • Set Crossfade to 500ms for smooth color transitions
   • Set Direction to Forward
   • Add Cues 2, 3, and 4 as additional steps via the Merge Wizard or by repeating the record process
4. Play it:
   • Drag the Stack 1 fader up
   • Watch the colors cycle: Red → Green → Blue → White → Red → ...

Walkthrough: Building a Theater Cue Sequence

1. Record scene cues:
   • Cue 10: "Preset" - warm wash at 60% before the show
   • Cue 11: "Opening" - bright full wash, movers center stage
   • Cue 12: "Monologue" - tight spot center, rest at 20%
   • Cue 13: "Blackout" - everything off
2. Create the stack:
   • Use the Merge Wizard: check Cues 10, 11, 12, 13 → target: New Cue Stack "Act 1"
3. Edit per-step timing:
   • Double-click "Act 1" → Editor opens
   • Switch to Stack mode
   • Cue 10 (Preset): Fade In 0ms, Follow Time blank (manual Go)
   • Cue 11 (Opening): Fade In 3000ms (3-second dramatic fade-in), Follow Time blank
   • Cue 12 (Monologue): Fade In 2000ms, Fade Out 1000ms, Follow Time blank
   • Cue 13 (Blackout): Fade In 0ms (instant)
   • Set Release Time to 0ms (you want the blackout to be instant)
4. Run the show:
   • Pull Stack 1 fader up - Cue 10 (Preset) plays
   • Press Go - 3-second fade into Cue 11 (Opening)
   • Press Go - 2-second transition into Cue 12 (Monologue)
   • Press Go - instant Cue 13 (Blackout)

The execute grid is a 10×10 matrix of trigger buttons - 100 slots for instant-access lighting looks during live performance.

How Execute Functions Differ from Cues

Assigning Functions

1. Program a lighting look in the programmer
2. Press R (Record mode)
3. Navigate to the Functions tab in the fader panel
4. Click an empty cell in the 10×10 grid
5. Enter a function name
6. The function is saved to that cell

Triggering Functions

Click an assigned button - it activates at full intensity (255). Click again - it deactivates (0). No fader, no crossfade - just instant on/off.

Linked Functions (Radio Button Behavior)

This is one of the most powerful features of the execute grid. Functions placed in adjacent cells (horizontally or vertically touching) are automatically linked:

• Activating one linked function deactivates all others in its group
• Only one function per linked group can be active at a time
• This creates radio-button behavior - perfect for mutually exclusive scenes

Use case: Place verse, chorus, and bridge looks in adjacent cells. Clicking "Chorus" automatically deactivates "Verse" - no need to manually turn things off.

Repositioning Functions

Drag any function button to an empty cell to move it. The assignment updates automatically.

Managing Functions

All standard modes work on execute grid cells:

Walkthrough: Setting Up Song Section Buttons

1. Program your verse look (dim blue wash, movers at stage edges)
2. Press R → click cell (1,1) in the grid → name it "Verse"
3. Program your chorus look (bright colors, movers center)
4. Press R → click cell (1,2) → name it "Chorus"
5. Program your bridge look (purple wash, slow position effect)
6. Press R → click cell (1,3) → name it "Bridge"
7. Now during the song: click "Verse" → click "Chorus" (verse turns off automatically) → click "Bridge" (chorus turns off)

Cue stacks and the execute grid both run without you watching them, so the screen has to be able to tell you what is actually on. This section covers what the step list, the stack fader and the executor buttons are reporting.

What the Step List Shows

While a stack runs, each step in its scrollable list carries a state, and the list scrolls to keep the step you care about in view:

The Next Preview

Alongside the highlight, the stack shows what is coming and when, in the form Next: Step 3 - Monologue (2.0s). What the time means depends on the mode:

• Chase mode shows the crossfade into the next step
• Stack mode shows the follow time, or Wait for Go where the step has none and is waiting on you

The preview wraps at the end of the list, so the last step of a running stack previews the first.

Stacks That Use the Same Cue Twice

Nothing stops a cue appearing in a stack more than once, and a stack built as Cue 1, Cue 2, Cue 3, Cue 2, Cue 3, Cue 1 is a perfectly ordinary six-step chase. Steps are tracked by their position in the list rather than by which cue they hold, so the highlight, the scroll position and the Next preview all follow the step that is actually playing, wherever its twins sit in the list.

What the Stack Fader Does

A cue stack fader scales what each step recorded rather than replacing it. Record a step with the band at full and the drummer at 40 percent, run the stack at half, and you get half of full and half of 40 percent: the balance you programmed survives. Colour and position are not scaled, and snap to the values recorded in the step. This is the same intensity scaling chain the cue faders use, described in Section 11.

Executor Buttons and Where They Were Pressed

An executor can be fired from the grid itself, from a MIDI controller, over OSC, or from the mobile remote. Whichever it was, the button in the grid shows what is actually running rather than what was last pressed on that screen, so the grid, the controller and the phone always agree on which looks are up.