Newbie Question

[Chris Vallillo]

Hi Folks, 

I am an independent Musician/performer who is using Q lab to control images and audio  cues in a theatrical performance I am giving.  I hired a theater tech to write up Q lab programs for my show.  He recently edited two show programs to use for an up coming showcase situation.  One of these works fine.  The other indicates that there are broken cues everywhere.  I have tried to re-do the surface assignment to the computer screen for the program with the broken cues, but it will not accept it.  Any ideas??

[Chris Ashworth]

Hi there Chris,

If you haven’t already I’d recommend emailing us directly at sup...@figure53.com and the support team can help you walk through troubleshooting steps.

The first place to start with broken cues is to check what QLab is telling you is broken about them. You can do this by holding your mouse over the red X to view a tooltip, or opening the “Broken Cues and Warnings” window to view all of them listed at once.

Usually the message QLab shows you here will tell you what to do next to fix them. But the support team can help you further if those steps don’t provide an answer.

Best,

Chris

[Fatima Black]

I'm wondering if they are broken cues because you don't have the files on your computer. You may have to move them over if he sent you the files from his computer. The red x would at the broken cues would let you know if they don't have the file location. 

Fatima Imani Smith 

Email | YouTube | LinkedIn

On Mon, May 26, 2025, 7:31 PM Chris Vallillo <ginr...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Folks, 

I am an independent Musician/performer who is using Q lab to control images and audio  cues in a theatrical performance I am giving.  I hired a theater tech to write up Q lab programs for my show.  He recently edited two show programs to use for an up coming showcase situation.  One of these works fine.  The other indicates that there are broken cues everywhere.  I have tried to re-do the surface assignment to the computer screen for the program with the broken cues, but it will not accept it.  Any ideas??

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[Chris Vallillo]

Hi Folks,

i did reach out to Q lab support, but being the holiday weekend, no one was able to answer.  I think I’ve had one reply from them so far today.

I consulted with several folks including the tech director who originally programmed this show. Even though we were not able to get the program to change the target location by going into the settings, we were able to manually go in and rep-set the target locations for every single image in the production. I then had to manually drag each image into it’s appropriate cue point.  We also had to go in a manually remove a setting that stopped the program after each segment.

This did seem to solve the problems though it took several hours and not a few rude words!  I did finally hear back from Q lab once yesterday and they mentioned that Q lab 4.7, which is what this was created in, is NOT compatible with Mac OS Sequoia (news to me!) as I had been working with the older version.  I had downloaded 5.4.8 as part of renting a license, but have been working it with the program in 4.7. I am hesitant to try version 5 because I need to take this with me and share the program with each venue using their in house set up and when I tried t open this project up in 5, it indicated that it would modify the project and it would no longer work with 4.7.  I am concerned that I may be at a venue not running version 5 and I will not be able to make this function by showtime.  Anyone have any thoughts as to how I can avoid those issues?  Do I need to know  what ver4sion Qlab a venue is running?

I have a performance this Thursday where I will need to use this program I just modified. I am hoping that these issues will not “travel”with me!  

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Chris

Chris Vallillo
Gin Ridge Music
PO Box 144
Macomb, IL  61455
309-224-8210
vall...@macomb.com
www.chrisvallillo.com

[Chris Vallillo]

I did have the files on the computer, but apparently the program couldn’t find them anymore. Once I manually re-connected them, it cleared up that issue. 

I am beginning to suspect that a recent OS upgrade to the computer may be at fault.  while 4.7 may not be compatible w/ Sequoia, it worked fine until this recent update.

Chris Vallillo
Gin Ridge Music
PO Box 144
Macomb, IL  61455
309-224-8210
vall...@macomb.com
www.chrisvallillo.com

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[Sam Kusnetz]

Hi Chris

I am hesitant to try version 5 because I need to take this with me and share the program with each venue using their in house set up and when I tried t open this project up in 5, it indicated that it would modify the project and it would no longer work with 4.7.  I am concerned that I may be at a venue not running version 5 and I will not be able to make this function by showtime.  Anyone have any thoughts as to how I can avoid those issues?

Are you traveling with your own computer running QLab, or are you planning to copy your QLab workspace to the house computer at each venue?

If you’re using your own computer, it doesn’t matter what version of QLab each venue has, or even whether or not they have QLab at all!

If you’re traveling with QLab, by far the best way to ensure reliability is to bring your own Mac with you.

I am beginning to suspect that a recent OS upgrade to the computer may be at fault.  while 4.7 may not be compatible w/ Sequoia, it worked fine until this recent update.

QLab 4 is not compatible with any version of Sequoia. Even if things seem to work properly, it cannot be trusted to work under any circumstances. If your Mac is running macOS Sequoia, then your only choices are to use QLab 5 or downgrade your Mac to macOS Sonoma.

The chances that your problem was caused by a system update from one release of Sequoia to another are very slim. What’s most likely was that the problem was present all along, but coincidentally only became visible after the update.

Best

Sam

—

Sam Kusnetz (he/him) | Figure 53

s...@figure53.com

[Chris Vallillo]

For this upcoming show, I plan on doing both things (bring the program and associated images etc on a thumb drive, but also to travel with my computer in case they need to use it) until I can get a handle on just what’s happening.   

If I go to version 5 and it modifies the program, am I correct in assuming it will remain backwards compatible with and older in house system?

Thanks,

Chris

Chris Vallillo
Gin Ridge Music
PO Box 144
Macomb, IL  61455
309-224-8210
vall...@macomb.com
www.chrisvallillo.com

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[Sam Kusnetz]

On May 27, 2025 at 1:46:37 PM, Chris Vallillo <ginr...@gmail.com> wrote:

For this upcoming show, I plan on doing both things (bring the program and associated images etc on a thumb drive, but also to travel with my computer in case they need to use it) until I can get a handle on just what’s happening.

I enthusiastically recommend using your own computer wherever and whenever possible. Transferring your show on a thumb drive to each venue’s Mac may mean having to go through setup steps every time that you otherwise would have to do only once.

If I go to version 5 and it modifies the program, am I correct in assuming it will remain backwards compatible with and older in house system?

No. QLab workspaces are not backwards compatible. A QLab 5 workspace cannot be used in QLab 4.

[mark...@gmail.com]

If you want to keep the 4.7 version intact, I would create a copy locally outside of QLab and open the copy.  That way I have the original 4.7 version as well as a newly "converted" version that opens in the updated QLab 5.

As a side note, if the show is traveling from venue to venue, the video routing in QLab 5 could make it easier to go from venue to venue when connecting to different projectors which might have different output resolutions or things like that. I have found the new video routing settings in QLab 5 extremely helpful in that regard. If the venue doesn't have a license for version 5, they could rent one for the day or just use the one you are bringing. 

I attended a QClass (I think the very first one) a while back just before QLab 5 was released, and Sam and Chris did an excellent job at explaining everything.  They have videos online if you are unable to attend an in-person session. It is a time investment, but if you are just starting out with QLab, they might prove to be invaluable in the future.  (https://qlab.app/qclass/) 

[Chris Vallillo]

OK, now I am thoroughly confused!

I was told by previous techs that a 4.7 program would run on V5.  So if I need to travel with this program and I come to a venue running an older version of Q lab, will I need to have a show program built to that specific version?  I’m guessing if they run V5 they could use a V 4.7 program, but If I convert to 5, it sounds like that show program would NOT work in a venue running 4.7 or lower.

Am I right in understanding things this way? How do you suggest dealing with this?

Best,

Chris

Chris Vallillo
Gin Ridge Music
PO Box 144
Macomb, IL  61455
309-224-8210
vall...@macomb.com
www.chrisvallillo.com

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[Sam Kusnetz]

On May 27, 2025 at 2:24:20 PM, Chris Vallillo <ginr...@gmail.com> wrote:

OK, now I am thoroughly confused!

I’m so sorry! Let’s try to clear it up.

I was told by previous techs that a 4.7 program would run on V5.

That is true: a workspace made in QLab 4 can be used in QLab 5.

So if I need to travel with this program and I come to a venue running an older version of Q lab, will I need to have a show program built to that specific version?  I’m guessing if they run V5 they could use a V 4.7 program, but If I convert to 5, it sounds like that show program would NOT work in a venue running 4.7 or lower.

That’s correct as well. Once a workspace is edited in QLab 5 and saved, it cannot be opened in QLab 4 anymore.

Am I right in understanding things this way? How do you suggest dealing with this?

 

This is one of many reasons that I suggested traveling with your own computer.

As an alternative, you can travel with two copies of your workspace, one saved in QLab 4 and one saved in QLab 5.

[Chris Vallillo]

Thanks Sam, very well explained.  I will travel with both the program on a thumb drive, and whenever possible, bring my computer.  If I were bucks up, I’d simply buy a used Mac to dedicate to that purpose, but right now, that’s not in the picture.

Best,

Chris

Chris Vallillo
Gin Ridge Music
PO Box 144
Macomb, IL  61455
309-224-8210
vall...@macomb.com
www.chrisvallillo.com

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[Sam Kusnetz]

On May 27, 2025 at 2:57:12 PM, Chris Vallillo <ginr...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks Sam, very well explained.  I will travel with both the program on a thumb drive, and whenever possible, bring my computer.  If I were bucks up, I’d simply buy a used Mac to dedicate to that purpose, but right now, that’s not in the picture.

Glad I could help!

Totally understood on the budget… money is tight!

For later, though, it’s worth noting that the base model Mac Mini, which costs $600 new, is suitable for most QLab projects.

[Chris Vallillo]

Good to know, Sam.  Thanks!

CV

Chris Vallillo
Gin Ridge Music
PO Box 144
Macomb, IL  61455
309-224-8210
vall...@macomb.com
www.chrisvallillo.com

FYI  Here’s how I am using it: 

 Forgottonia sizzle reel

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[Chris Vallillo]

Wow, I just took a quick look at several Mac Mii reviews… impressive.  I dropped over 6K on my last Macbook. I’ll have to add that to my list of things I need!

CV

Chris Vallillo
Gin Ridge Music
PO Box 144
Macomb, IL  61455
309-224-8210
vall...@macomb.com
www.chrisvallillo.com

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