FrenschConnection Visit the shop

Knowledge & practice

Preparing a QLab show computer: our checklist

· · 3 min read

Most QLab mishaps don’t happen inside QLab. A notification slides over the window, macOS wants to install an update, the screen goes to sleep, or someone rests a hand on the space bar. Good preparation takes care of all of that. This is our checklist for a show computer.

macOS: keep the machine quiet

  • Do Not Disturb on for the whole show day, notification sounds off.
  • Sleep and screen saver off. Depending on your macOS version you’ll find these under Lock Screen, Energy or Battery. Keep the power adapter connected during the show.
  • Automatic updates off. Nothing gets updated on show day, QLab included.
  • AirDrop set to “No One”.
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off if you don’t need them. If you need a network for OSC, use a cable.
  • Quit apps that sync or download in the background. During the show, only what the show needs is running.

Sound designer Gareth Fry has put together a detailed list of settings in his QLab setup guide.

QLab: safety nets that are already built in

QLab has several protections of its own. Many people don’t know them because they’re off by default.

  • Double-GO protection: In Workspace Settings you set a time during which no further GO is accepted after a GO. QLab shows this with a red border around the GO button. According to the QLab documentation, it covers mouse clicks, the keyboard and GO commands sent via MIDI, MSC and OSC.
  • Key up before the next GO: With “Require a key up before re-arming GO”, a space bar held down doesn’t fire a second GO.
  • Panic: Escape is always panic in QLab, and pressing Escape twice stops everything immediately. You set the panic duration, how long everything takes to fade out, in Workspace Settings.
  • Show mode: In show mode the workspace can’t be edited by accident.
  • Bundle the workspace: “Bundle Workspace” copies the workspace and all its media into one folder. Copy that folder to the backup machine and to a USB stick.

GO doesn’t belong on the keyboard

The keyboard depends on window focus. Keystrokes always go to the app that’s currently in front. A GO sent via MIDI or OSC reaches QLab no matter which window is in front.

A plug-and-play controller that shows up as a standard MIDI device is all you need. A controller with mechanical keys also has a clear actuation point, so you know you pressed without looking. On our show controller you can lock STOP and PAUSE individually in the web interface if only GO should be allowed, and a key combination locks all keys during a changeover.

Before every show

  • Restart the computer and open only QLab.
  • Fire the first few cues and test panic once.
  • Put the playhead back at the top.
  • Check that the backup machine is on the same version. We’ve described how we run main and backup in parallel separately.