Archived Props

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What Are Archived Props?

 

Archived props are an inactive part of the sequence. They contain effects and can be displayed on the sequence grid (they are shown with an "@" symbol as a prefix). Each archived prop has its own prop definition that is not part of the preview. Archived props are not shown in the playback window when the sequence is played and they cannot control real lights.

 

Archived props are a benefit because the sequencing on old props is preserved, allowing you to decide what action to take and when.

 

4 archived props

4 archived props

 

 

How Are They Created?

 

If an existing sequence is opened and contains information for props that are no longer part of the preview, those props and their associated sequence are automatically converted to archive props. You cannot create an archive prop manually. Scenarios where this might occur:

 

You are upgrading sequences for S4 and you created your preview by importing a Visualizer file. However, there are some old channels in your sequence that you don't use any and were not in the Visualizer file - and thus won't be in your S5 preview either. Those old channels in the sequence will get archived because they are not in the preview.

You created an S5 sequence with a last year's preview (e.g. 2017 Christmas) and now you have created a new preview for this year (e.g. 2018 Christmas). Your display has changed from last year and you have retired a few props. If you assign the new 2018 Christmas preview to your 2017 sequences, then the sequencing for the retired props will be archived because they are no longer in the preview.

You were working on this year's sequence (e.g. Sequence-A), which is currently closed. You edit the preview and remove a prop because you decide you are not going to use it this year. When you next open Sequence-A, the sequencing for the prop you removed from the preview will be archived.

 

If you delete a group from the preview and your sequence had motion effects on that group, then the group will be archived.

 

 

What Can You Do With Them?

 

You can do several things with archive props:

 

You can copy sequencing from the archive prop to other areas of your sequence using copy/paste.

If the sequence for the archived prop is no longer needed, you can delete it by right-clicking on the prop’s name and selecting "Delete Archived Prop".

Delete an archived prop directly from the sequence grid

Delete an archived prop directly from the sequence grid

 

From the Manage Archived Props dialog you can perform bulk deletions, convert archived props to beat channels, or add them to your preview (making them a full-fledged members of your sequence, capable of controlling lights).