Making a pile on cue

Here's a fairly dodgy work-around, though it does assume you've got more empty subs than you have cues.

[cue] [x] [thru] [copy to] [sub] [y] [enter]
[sub] [y] [thru] [@] [full] [enter]

x = your first cue
y= the first sub you want to use

Of course, use a sub number higher than the last one you use - as this will create a sub for each cue you have.

If you have point cues, it assigns cues thus: cues 1, 1.5, 2 become subs 1, 2, 3.

Hope that helps.

Sorry you misunderstood, that's not what I am trying to do!! please read above post again!!

To clarify we are looking to find which channels haven't been used....!

To clarify we are looking to find which channels haven't been used....!

Apologies - I didn't misunderstand; perhaps my explanation wasn't too clear! I'll explain my logic a bit better. There is no quick or easy method that I can find to do precisely what you want, as [Query] {isn't in} [cue] [1] [thru] [enter] will select channels that never have a value - so zero channels are unselected and are as good as a channel that goes to full.

So, you are trying to "create a pile on cue, so that we can see in one cue what in the show has been used and what hasn't". The accidental zero value becomes a big problem here, as you point out.

I was primarily addressing this part: "the display would have all the channels and the highest level they were in the show".

If you turn on all the subs, as in my method, it displays exactly what you want. Anything unused will remain null - anything with a value above zero will display the highest used in the show.

You could also record the sum output of the subs into a cue (or group), then use queries to select relevant channels.

I've tried this a few times in the OLE and it does work! It might not be *exactly* what you want (nor the neatest method), but you will get the information you described in your original post. It depends on what you want to do with that information, however, as to what you do with my bodge method!

Anyhow, that is an easy way to create a pile-on cue. There are probably other ways - I'll let you know if I come up with another one!

Ah right I get you, no this was more about looking for a simple way as it was once on strand, you make a cue with no tracking information and then record a second cue (at the end of the list) with cue 0.5 thru 400 @ on then that would have brought up all channels at highest level.... 

the much easier way is just to use the spreadsheet view in blind for the example of what you were suggesting... and unfortunately how often do you get a show with less than 100 channels???  :)  

Indeed! At least flexi-view can group sequential channels, so you don't have to count 1, 2, 3, 4, ... 115, 116, 117 - er, no, not 116... eyes aching...

I've just opened an old file, and used a couple of different things. [query] [cue] 0.5 [thru] [enter] selects all used channels - nice and easy to see. All available channels are selected.

[query] [isn't in] [cue] 0.5 [thru] [enter] selects nothing - as there's nothing unused. When I created a channel in patch, this command selected just that channel.

So, I suppose there are a few methods that get only some of the information you want. Perhaps a pile-on function could be put on the list for Eos version 2? (If not already!)

Perhaps you could explain what it is exactly you want to know?  I'm not sure what the point of having this cue is.  If you just want to know what channels aren't being used, use flexi...

But that doesn't giv you an accurate answer, if things are recorded with a 0 level then they are still classed as 'used' by the desk, and when you have  a large rig with a large amount of cues it becomes very tedious, the reason I was asking as I have just programmed for a show going out on tour, and were trying to find an easy way for the desk to tell us what units aren't being used, and thus what they can get rid of on tour.... just used to be very easy on the strand!

OllieBrown said:

But that doesn't giv you an accurate answer, if things are recorded with a 0 level then they are still classed as 'used' by the desk, and when you have  a large rig with a large amount of cues it becomes very tedious, the reason I was asking as I have just programmed for a show going out on tour, and were trying to find an easy way for the desk to tell us what units aren't being used, and thus what they can get rid of on tour.... just used to be very easy on the strand!

Sounds like you want to write a query that is effectively "find all channels where parameter X is greater than Y in this set of cues" where in this case X "intensity" and Y is "0".  I'm not up on the query portion of the console, so I can't tell if this is possible.  Being able to do >, >=, =, <=, and < queries could be very useful.

Steve

Perhaps you could try the Print to PDF File option Show Channels, which includes "Channels Used in Cues that Never Move above Zero" ?  Is ths what you are after? 

Ann

Thanks I thought of that, it is the closest, however it still only gets halfway there... what I am ideally looking for is Channels patched that never move above zero...... seems like an easy thing to add into the next update..?? please?? :) 

If you have channels that are patched but not recorded in cues, then by definition they are never recorded at a value.  There is a difference between "patched channels that never have a value" and "patched channels that are only ever at 0".

It looks like you want to find the channels that are patched but never used, even if some of them happen to be recorded at 0 in cues, right?

If you record a dummy cue with all patched channels at 0 and then use the print to PDF that Ann mentioned, would that get you the information you need?

I think the phrase "pile-on cue" in this context is unfamiliar to some of us in the US.  I think of a pile-on cue as one that adds lights to an existing lighting state, usually by running another cue list or fader pair (i.e. on an Expression line console).

-Todd

what you are looking for is described in this post:

http://community.etcconnect.com/forums/p/7752/30989.aspx#30989

*as discussed before, people sometimes want to get rid of "0" values for

channels that never have values greater than 0. Most commonly these 0's

end up in the cues because of "not sneaking manual 0's......... you can use

Query to do .... . " 

So to elaborate on Corey's post above...this works...and tidies at the same time...

In live with a Flexi All/Patched view.

Query   {is in}   Cue   x (first cue)   Thru   - (minus)   - (minus again)   Cue   x (first cue)   Thru   Enter.

Blind (with Flexi All/Patched view)

Cue   x (first cue)  Thru  Enter

Select Last   @  Enter.

This will tidy all the Blue Zeros from your show.

Now back to Live.

Query  Isn't In  Cue  x (first cue)  Thru  Enter.

Flexi Selected view and you will have a view of all channels not used in the show currently.

And obviously Flexi Show...will show you all channels that ARE used.

Does that help?

Warren.

[group] needs to be added before the second [cue].

[query] {is in} [cue] [x] [thru] [-] [-] [group] [cue] [x] [thru] [enter]
*blind mode*
[cue] [x] [thru] [enter]
{select last} [@] [enter]
*live*
[query] {isn't in cue} [x] [thru] [enter]

My bad forgot to type that bit! ...cheers for the spot David!

Hi...

At the risk of it sounding like I'm making a blatant self-plug, if you're doing this kind of 'data mining' on your showfiles a lot, you might want to take a look at FocusTrack: http://www.focustrack.co.uk.

Once it reads in the data exported from your Eos showfile, one of the things it will tell you straight away is channels never used in the show - they appear in red in the channel listing. It can do much more than that, of course - show you palettes/presets used (ie. which gobos or colours have actually been used in the show - ie. set to that palette with the light on), and list all of the focuses used in the show.

You can try a demo version for free to see if it gives you the kind of information that might be useful to you.

Blatant plug over.

Thanks!

Rob.