<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  The Light-O-Rama Software Package > Sequencer > Sequence Tab > Selecting Cells

A cell, or a range of cells, can be selected in the sequencing grid, allowing you to apply various tools to it (such as specifying what lighting effects should be placed in that cell).  You can recognize the currently selected cell (or cells) by a thick dashed yellow border.  For example, in the following sequence, a cell on the first row is selected between 3.00 seconds and 3.50 seconds:

 

 

In the sequencing grid, you can select an area using the:

 

•mouse

•keyboard shortcuts

•right-click context menu

 

When using the mouse, the area that gets selected depends on the Selection Mode.

 

 

Selection Modes

 

There are 4 selection modes: cells, effects, rows, and freeform. The selection mode determines the area of the sequence grid that gets selected when you use your mouse. The selection mode is always "cells" when using the keyboard.

 

You can designate one of the 4 modes as the Primary Selection Mode and another mode as the Secondary Selection Mode:

 

•The primary selection mode is invoked when selecting with the mouse and the Ctrl key is not pressed.

•The secondary selection mode is invoked when selecting with the mouse and the Ctrl key is pressed.

 

Thus, you have 2 selection modes that are quickly accessible: chosen by whether or not you hold the Ctrl key down while selecting with the mouse.

 

You can set the primary and secondary selection modes by clicking on the small down arrow to the right of the Select Tool on the toolbar. Use the first 4 options on the menu to choose the primary selection mode. Use the 4 options under the "With CTRL key" sub-menu to select the secondary mode.

 

The "Save as defaults" menu option saves the current primary and secondary modes as defaults. These will be used as the initial settings whenever you open a sequence.

 

 

Select Cells

 

When the selection mode is set to "Cells", the grid selection always starts and stops on a timing mark. In the following picture, the sequence has a fixed timing grid with timings every half second. No matter where you click between 1.0 and 1.5 seconds, the selection will start at 1 second and stop at 1.5 seconds - on the timing marks.

 

 

Click and drag the mouse to select a larger area:

 

 

Select Effects

 

When the selection mode is set to "Effects" and you click on an effect, the entire effect is selected - the selection is not constrained by the timing marks. In the following example, a chase runs across 8 rows and clicking on any part of an effect will select the entire effect.

 

You can also expand the current selection to encompass the entire effect (or effects) by using the "E" shortcut key or choosing Select > Effect from the sequence grid's right-click context menu.

 

 

 

 

Note that the logic for "Select Effect" only selects the first effect in each row of the initial selection. So if the initial selection is this:

 

 

Then the "Select Effect" logic will only select the first effect:

 

 

Select Rows

 

When the selection mode is set to "Rows", clicking anywhere on a row will select the entire row. In the following example, clicking on a single cell of the "01.02-Roof B" channel results in the entire row being selected. This mode can be especially useful when copying and pasting the sequencing from one channel to another.

 

You can also expand the current selection to encompass the entire row (or rows) by using the "R" shortcut key or choosing Select > Row from the sequence grid's right-click context menu.

 

 

 

Freeform Selection

 

When the selection mode is set to "Freeform", your selection is not constrained by the timing marks - the selection starts where you pressed the left mouse button and stops where you released it. In the following example, the mouse button was pressed at 0.3 seconds and released at 1.3 seconds.

 

 

 

Grid Selection Using The Mouse

 

Click On The Grid

 

 

 

Click And Drag

 

Select multiple cells by clicking on a cell and then dragging the mouse across the range.

 

 

 

Expanding the Selection

 

 

 

Double-Click Selection And Edit

 

 

 

Keyboard Selection

 

The keys listed here are part of the default mapping. You can change the key mapping by selecting Tools > Keyboard Preferences.

 

 

 

Right-Click Context Menu, Select sub-menu

 

Right-clicking in the sequencing grid provides many options, including grid selection. From the Select sub-menu, you can expand the current selection to encompass:

 

•any partially selected effects

•the entire row or rows

•the entire column or columns

•the entire sequence grid