[In 11.3.0] Exclusive Cue Override

[StasUshomirsky]

Mike,

I would like to propose an enhancement to the behavior of the "Exclusive Cue" flag:

While running the show, holding down CTRL+SHIFT should temporarily "OVERRIDE" the Exclusive flag of any currently playing cue, and allow the user to perform whatever operation he is attempting.
In other words, if the user holds down CTRL+SHIFT, then SCS should ALLOW clicking the GO button, or pressing the keyboard shortcut for GO, or navigating the cue list.

To explain why this would be helpful:
Sometimes things go wrong during a live show -- usually because an actor missed his cue, or jumped a line, or forgot some dance steps. In those instances, I must jump into the next cue or skip to a different place in the cue list. But if an Exclusive flag happens to be set on the currently playing cue, I am stuck! I can't jump to another point in the cue list! I can't trigger the next cue early! So, if I could hold down CTRL+SHIFT to temporarily override the "exclusivity", that would allow flexibility in dealing with the unexpected. I think such functionality would still be very safe, because an operator is highly unlikely to accidentally hold down CTRL+SHIFT. Maybe the key modifiers could be set under Options and Settings > Shortcuts. That way users could choose which modifiers they prefer -- maybe somebody would prefer "Alt" to be the modifier, or "CTRL", or "ALT+CTRL+SHIFT" -- whatever level of security they require.

Thank you for considering it!

[Willarki]

+ 1 for this suggestion

[StasUshomirsky]

Mike,

I just wanted to check in and see what your thoughts were regarding the suggestion above.

Thank you!

[Mike Daniell]

Thanks for the reminder! I'll try to include this in the next release.

[StasUshomirsky]

Thanks Mike!

What do you think is better, having a fixed modifier, or making it configurable along with all the other keyboard shortcuts? Maybe somebody would prefer "ALT" to be the modifier, or "ALT+CTRL+SHIFT" -- whatever level of safety they require?

[Mike Daniell]

A fixed modifier would be much easier (= more likely to be implemented soon). In the Shortcuts options screen SCS uses a 'shortcut' control but this only accepts a valid key combination, eg Ctrl/Alt/X, not something like just Ctrl/Alt. That means I cannot use this particular control to capture the required key combination to be monitored when trying to press 'Go' etc.

However, if SCS just has a fixed key combination, such as Ctrl/Alt then this can be monitored in the procedure that checks for an exclusive cue being played.

I'm not sure if Alt is acceptable - I'll have to run some tests on this. Alt has special significance in Windows as it is used for Windows shortcuts, such as Alt/S looks for a control such as a button that has S as the shortcut, eg "Save".

[newlifedrama]

I have a hot key (q) defined to quickly fade out and terminate the current cue. So in cases like this I can hit it and smoothly stop the exclusive cue, assuming it is currently active. But the override feature also sounds great.

[Buyaicia]

I have a hot key (q) defined to quickly fade out and terminate the current cue. So in cases like this I can hit it and smoothly stop the exclusive cue, assuming it is currently active.

This is a great idea!!!!
I use to play shows of dance schools and they use to ignore when the dance will finish. I usually add a fade cue after each audio track. But a fade out cue with hotkey is easier.

Thanks

[Mike Daniell]

In SCS 11.3.0, under Options and Settings - Shortcuts there is now an option to allow you to override an exclusive cue locking out the 'Go' button, by holding down Ctrl while clicking the 'Go' button or using a keyboard or mouse equivalent.

[StasUshomirsky]

Mike,

Just wanted to say a huge Thank You for implementing the "Exclusive Cue Override". This new feature completely saved a recent show! During a particularly cue heavy scene, with a lot of technical complexity, an actor jumped a page of script. He skipped a whole series of cue lines, and of course he did this while an exclusive cue was playing. But now, I was able to hold down Ctrl, and gracefully transition through 3 different cues, out of normal order, and do it in a way that the audience did not notice. We recovered nicely!

When it comes to live theater, it's always a delicate balance of safety (making a cue exclusive) and flexibility (overriding when things go wrong).

Thank you Mike -- I just wanted to express how much I appreciate that you take user requests and add features such as this. I am sure the entire SCS community feels this way -- we are really grateful for the work you are doing. SCS rocks!

[Mike Daniell]

Thanks for your comments, Stas. Having actors skip whole sections of the script is a challenge for everyone - especially the other actors on stage who need to cover for the omission without the audience realizing anything's wrong!

Glad you remembered about the exclusive cue override for when you needed it.