Show Files

#Saving and opening

File ▸ Save (⌘S) saves the current show.
File ▸ Save As (⇧⌘S) saves a copy under a new name.
Double-click a .cuestudio file in Finder to open it.

#Show bundle format

A .cuestudio show is a directory bundle (like a Keynote file). It contains:

The show document (cues, settings, routing).
A Media/ folder with copies of every audio, video, and image file used in the show. Because media is embedded, the entire show travels in one item: move the .cuestudio bundle and everything comes with it.

#Media import

When you drag a file onto the cue list or use the file picker in a cue, CueStudio 2 copies it into the show's Media folder automatically. The original file on disk can be moved or renamed without breaking the show.

#Autosave & recovery

CueStudio 2 autosaves in the background. If the app quits unexpectedly, it offers to restore unsaved work the next time you open it.

#Show backups (File ▸ Browse Backups…)

Every time you save over an existing show, the previous version is kept in a rotating backup folder beside the show file (up to 10 per show). File ▸ Browse Backups… lists them with dates and sizes; press Restore to bring one back: the current state is backed up first, so a restore is never one-way. The Keep Backups toggle in that window turns the feature off; Show in Finder reveals the backup folder itself.

#Legacy shows

Shows saved in older versions of CueStudio 2 (single-file .cuestudio) can still be opened. On first save you will be offered the option to convert to the bundle format, which embeds media. You can decline and keep the flat format.

#Export cue sheet

File ▸ Export Cue Sheet (⇧⌘E) exports a PDF listing every cue (including cues inside groups and sub-groups, indented to show nesting) useful as a paper backup, stage manager's copy, or reference document. Multi-list shows export each list as its own section. Pages are landscape: the columns before Notes are fixed width, so the extra page width all goes to the Notes column; the one an operator writes in.

File ▸ Export Show Zip… zips the saved show (the .cuestudio bundle and its entire Media folder) into one .cuestudio.zip file you can email, AirDrop, or put on a drive or cloud share. The show is saved first so the zip matches what's on screen; a never-saved show asks you to save it before exporting. Large shows zip in the background with a progress bar showing how much has been packed: leave CueStudio 2 open until it finishes. A confirmation appears (with "Reveal in Finder") when it's done. To open a shared zip, use File ▸ Import Show Zip…: the same progress sheet appears while it unpacks. CueStudio 2 puts the show next to the zip (adding "(2)" if a show with that name is already there) and opens it. Double-clicking the zip in Finder also works: macOS expands it to the .cuestudio bundle, which you then open normally.

#Manage Media

File ▸ Manage Media… audits the show bundle's Media folder. The sheet has two sections:

ORPHANED FILES: files in Media/ that no cue references (e.g. left behind when you deleted a cue). To clean up everything at once, click "Delete Unused Media" at the bottom left: the button shows how many files it will delete and how much space that frees, and asks you to confirm first. To remove only some of them, tick those rows and click "Remove Selected"; that confirms too. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone, and nothing happens without an explicit click.
MISSING FILES: cue references whose file isn't on disk. "Auto-Relink From Bundle" scans the Media folder for a name match (case-insensitive) and fixes references in place. "Replace…" on a row lets you choose a replacement file manually and rewrites every cue pointing at the old name. The bottom of the sheet has "Reveal Media Folder" to open the bundle's Media/ directory in Finder. CueStudio 2 does not auto-delete orphans on save: you decide when to clean up.

#Multiple cue lists

A show can contain several independent cue lists, each on its own tab. They share the same show settings, audio output routing, and media library. Each tab shows its list number and name; an amber dot means the list has unsaved changes and a green dot means it has a cue playing.

#Importing a workspace

File ▸ Import Workspace (⇧⌘I) reads a workspace created in other cue-playback software (.qlab4 and .qlab5 workspace bundles). If the workspace has more than one cue list, every list is imported by default — CueStudio 2 creates a matching cue list for each, named after the original list. Untick "Import all cue lists" to bring in just one list instead. Group cues import with their full structure, including nested groups and their subcues.

#What comes across

Cue names. When a cue was never given a name in the original workspace, CueStudio 2 names it after its media file, so audio/video cues import named after their file rather than blank.
Triggers. Continue settings are translated to CueStudio 2 triggers: a cue set to auto-follow the one before it imports as a Follow, auto-continue imports as a Time trigger, and everything else stays a manual GO. Follow/continue chains keep working.
Audio levels. Each cue's master level is imported as its volume.
Fade cues. Fade time and target level come across.

#Audio routing after import

The original workspace routes audio through a per-cue output matrix that doesn't map directly onto CueStudio 2's output channels, so each sounding cue is given a single stereo send to your first output channel: stereo files stay stereo. Re-point any cue that needs a different output in the Routing tab.