Glossary
Operator-facing definitions for the terms you will encounter across CueSync screens, documentation, and error messages.
action — The command a cue sends when it fires. A single cue can carry multiple actions, each targeting a different output (lighting console, video system, audio playback, etc.). You define actions in the Cue Editor.
Auto Pilot — The DJ-edition engine that fires cues automatically, tied to the music's phrase and energy structure. Auto Pilot plans its moves from the track's structure when a track is loaded (its fire plan). You configure it in Auto Pilot.
circuit breaker — The on-screen name for CueSync's automatic connection recovery. When an output fails repeatedly, CueSync pauses sending to it (the breaker "opens") rather than flooding the network with failing commands, and recovers on its own. A warning chip appears in the EdgeBar whenever a breaker is open. See troubleshooting and Diagnostics.
Connect — The button on the notice that opens with a show saved on another computer. It turns on every output the show held back. Closing the notice leaves them off, and each can still be switched on from Network. See held outputs.
cue — The core unit of show automation. A cue pairs a trigger (when it fires) with one or more actions (what it does). Cues live in the cue stack. Edit them in the Cues screen.
capture slot — A Show Editor toolbar chip bound to a bare number key (1–0). Pressing the key while the audio preview plays punches a new cue with the slot's label and colour at the live playhead. Configure slots via the gear on the capture toolbar; they are saved with the show.
control cue — A theatre cue that, in addition to its own actions, drives the show when it fires: Goto jumps the playhead to a target cue (once per pass, loop-safe), Group fires a set of target cues together, and Load pre-arms a target so a later GO is instant. Authored in the Show Editor inspector's Control section.
cue stack — The ordered list of cues in your show. Most sequential triggers evaluate only the next cue in the stack; the Hot Cue trigger can fire any matching cue regardless of position. Reset the stack to return to the top. The full sequential/look-ahead breakdown is in the Trigger Reference.
Drive anyway — The button on the notice that says a grandMA3 timecode slot row is held because it would drive the same console CueSync is following. Pressing it lets that row drive for the rest of the session; use it when the timecode you follow comes from another program or another slot. See Timecode.
edition — The feature tier your license grants: DJ, Theatre, or CueSync Production. Edition gates workflows and screen access, not output protocols — every edition can connect to any of the supported protocol types. New installs start in Read-Only mode until a license is activated. See Settings.
fire plan — The plan Auto Pilot builds from a track's structure when the track loads: which cues fire at which beat. A fire plan that is out of date (for example after you edit a cue) is rebuilt automatically the next time the track is armed.
Follow / Auto — Theatre trigger modes that chain cues: a Follow cue fires a set time after the previous cue in its lane of the same Part fires; an Auto (autocontinue) cue fires together with it. Chains cancel on Stop or a seek; Pause freezes them and they carry on at resume. See Show Editor.
freewheel — What CueSync's timecode does for a short window after the active source drops out: the clock carries on from the last good frame at the last rate, for the Freewheel Duration in Settings → Timecode (5 seconds by default), and timecode cues keep firing on it. When the window runs out, CueSync switches to the next live source in the priority list; with none left, the clock stops and a red Timecode lost alarm says so. Art-Net is the exception: with Silence means stopped on, which is the default for Art-Net, a quiet stream holds the clock instead of freewheeling.
held outputs — The network outputs of a show that another computer saved, or that CueSync cannot confirm was saved on this one. They stay off when the show opens, sACN multicast included, and a notice lists each with the address it would dial. MIDI outputs are not held. Press Connect, or switch each output on from Network, once the addresses are the rig's. See Troubleshooting.
hot cue — A cue point (labelled A–H) stored on a Pioneer CDJ or XDJ. Hitting a hot cue on the hardware sends a signal CueSync can use as a trigger. Unlike sequential triggers, Hot Cue triggers can fire cues that are not currently "next" in the stack.
Import now — The button on a sticky notice that appears when a CueSync Studio link is opened while a show, set, deck or Performance mode is playing. Nothing is applied until you press it. Closing the notice drops the link; open the link again to bring it back. See Studio.
intent — A protocol-neutral instruction — Blackout, Set Intensity, Strobe Burst, Set Console Look, Set Visual — that CueSync turns into concrete actions at the moment it fires, using the outputs that are connected and the active venue profile, so the same cue does the right thing in every room. Show Themes, Auto Pilot moments, Theatre cues and venue mappings all work in intents. See Intents and Actions.
LAST / NEXT — The two markers in Run Mode's running order. NEXT is the cue GO fires next. LAST is the cue that just went; it stays above NEXT, with how long ago it fired. See Run Mode.
Look — A named stage state your show fires: a console cue, a media clip, a QLab cue, a laser cue, a pixel-wall look, or — as a Bundle — several of them at once, across any mix of systems. Build it once in the Palette, fire it from any number of cues, pads and AutoPilot moments, and point it at something else mid-show without editing a single cue. grandMA3 looks are Looks like any other. Not to be confused with a console look number ("Set Console Look #3"), which recalls look 3 on whichever desk the intent routes to.
LUFS — Loudness Units relative to Full Scale, the broadcast-standard loudness measure. CueSync shows each track's integrated LUFS in Track Prep, can match playback loudness to a LUFS target (Production edition), and can fire cues when the live loudness enters a LUFS band (the Loudness Transition trigger).
pre-wait — A hold on a Follow or Auto theatre cue, applied after its trigger condition is met and before its actions dispatch (a Timecode or Manual cue has none) — the same concept as a pre-wait on a theatre desk or in QLab. Set per cue in the Show Editor inspector.
Palette — The screen that holds your Looks, for every protocol, and the pixel wall's designer: Edit to prepare, Perform to fire (View ▸ Palette, ⌥⌘L). In CueSync the word names that screen only. On ETC Eos, Avolites Titan and ChamSys MagicQ a palette is an attribute preset (a colour, a position) on the console; CueSync does not send or edit those. Not to be confused with the Command Palette (⌘K), the search box for every command.
phrase — A structural section of a track identified by rekordbox analysis. CueSync recognises eleven types: Intro, Up, Down, Chorus, Outro, Verse, Bridge, Build, Drop, Fill, Cool Down. Phrase data drives Auto Pilot and can be used as a cue trigger (fire at the start of every Drop, for example). You can correct the analysis by hand in Track Prep.
Read-Only — The license state before activation. You can view the interface, load shows, and inspect configurations, but cue firing and output connections are disabled. Activate a license in Settings → Account & License to unlock your edition.
Re-point — The button on the notice that says a saved output's console is announcing a different address. Pressing it moves the output to the new address; closing the notice keeps the saved address. A console that comes back at its saved address reconnects without asking.
RESUME AP — The Performance panic toolbar's button that gives Auto Pilot back. It also ends a Manual override, and it never lifts a standing Blackout or Freeze (Resume All does that).
Scene — In the Show Editor, the middle level of Act.Scene.Cue — the dramatic scene a stage manager calls from. On Cue Pads, a scene is a row of pads fired together. A Cue Pads scene is not a look.
sequence part — In multi-part theatre shows where each track carries its own audio, a part is one such track. The Sequence Parts dialog lines parts up end-to-end (with a configurable gap), moving each part's cues with its audio. See Show Editor.
Session Sync — The preview workflow that moves a Theatre cue list between CueSync and a grandMA3 console: diff-aware push, read-only bridge read-back, USB macro export, and console pull. See GrandMA3 Session Sync.
Silence means stopped — A Settings → Timecode switch, one each for MTC, LTC and Art-Net. When a source its switch covers goes quiet, CueSync holds the clock and fires nothing instead of freewheeling. It is on for Art-Net by default, because a paused grandMA3 slot sends nothing at all; a pulled cable reads the same as a pause, so switch it off to ride through dropouts.
trigger — The condition that causes a cue to fire. Trigger types include Beat (a specific beat number), Phrase (a structural section boundary), BPM Range (when tempo enters a range), Hot Cue (a CDJ cue point hit), MIDI (an incoming MIDI message), Timecode (a SMPTE position), Energy Level, and more. Set the trigger in the Cue Editor.
Use venue — The button on the notice a show raises when its venue was installed from a tour pack but not switched on. Pressing it switches that venue on. Until then the show runs on the venue this computer already has.
venue profile — A saved snapshot of your output connections and routing for a specific venue or rig. Load a profile to restore all output addresses and settings in one step. The number of profiles you can save depends on your edition. Manage profiles in Settings → Venues.
Related
- Cues — the cue stack screen
- Auto Pilot — music-reactive automation
- Network Outputs — output configuration
- Settings — license and edition details
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