The Stage Window

The Stage window shows your displays and the content on them in 2D or 3D. Use it to position and arrange cues and displays in the space where they render. It switches between camera modes and edit modes to match the task, from flat 2D positioning to 3D projector calibration.

Camera Modes

Three camera modes are selectable from the Stage menu or the Camera Mode submenu in the right-click menu:

  • Default — the flat 2D editing view, used for most show work. The title bar shows the scale ratio (for example, "1:2").
  • First Person — a 3D view with free camera movement, to preview content from any angle. A focus-point sphere marks the zoom and orbit target, and a move gizmo (X red, Y green, Z blue) drags cues and displays along an axis or plane.
  • Projector — looks through a selected 3D projector to show its exact output, used for calibration. It needs at least one 3D projector in the show. A dropdown switches projectors. PageUp / PageDown cycle them, and Escape exits the mode.

In Default mode, scale presets are on Ctrl+1 (1:16), Ctrl+2 (1:8), Ctrl+3 (1:4), Ctrl+4 (1:2), and Ctrl+5 (1:1, actual pixels). For the 3D camera-navigation keys, see Stage Navigation.

Projector mode is not available while editing a composition. The Stage leaves it when you enter composition editing.

Edit Modes

Click the top-bar icon to switch edit mode:

  • Cue Edit Mode (clock-edit icon, default) — select, move, resize, and arrange cues.
  • Display Edit Mode (monitor-edit icon, purple top bar) — select, move, and resize displays.

What you can select follows the mode: cues in Cue Edit Mode, displays in Display Edit Mode.

Toolbar and Navigation

The toolbar adapts to the camera mode: Pan (all modes), Scale (Default only), and Zoom / Orbit with a Velocity slider (0.1 to 2.0) in First Person and Projector.

  • Pan — the Pan button, or hold Ctrl+Alt and drag.
  • Zoom — the mouse wheel (or the Scale / Zoom toolbar control).
  • Frame All Displays (Ctrl+Shift+D), Frame Selected Displays, and Scroll to Origin (Ctrl+Shift+O) fit or recenter the view.

Selecting, Moving, and Nudging

Click to select. Shift+Click adds, Ctrl+Click toggles, and a marquee drag selects a region (hold Ctrl to toggle or Shift to add). Drag selected items to move them.

In Default mode, Ctrl+Arrow nudges 1 pixel and Ctrl+Shift+Arrow nudges 10 pixels.

Drag an asset from the Assets window onto the Stage to create a cue: a normal drop adds cues in sequence on the active timeline, and Ctrl+drop stacks them on separate layers. Dropping an MPCDI file creates displays from its projection-mapping data.

Background and Tiers

Set the Stage background from the Stage Properties panel (select the Stage with nothing else selected): a checkerboard Pattern in three sizes to reveal transparent areas, or a solid color (default black).

When the show uses stage tiers, the same panel lists per-tier visibility toggles (eye icons) to hide a tier's cues in the Stage view, plus add, rename, and delete. Edge blending between overlapping displays is a display setting, not a tier behavior — see Edge Blending.

Display Labels and Composition View

In Display Edit Mode, each display shows its name as an overlaid label that scales with zoom. Labels are hidden in Projector mode.

While editing a composition, the Stage shows the composition's own area with a border and a composition icon in the title bar. It forces Cue Edit Mode and leaves Projector mode. In a blind edit, the border color changes.

Context Menu

Right-click the Stage for actions that vary with the cursor and selection:

  • add a display, virtual display, or 3D projector at the clicked position
  • Create Display Grid, Arrange as Grid, and Pack Inside Display
  • the view commands, the Camera Mode submenu, and the Effect submenu for selected cues

Projector Calibration

In Projector mode the toolbar adds calibration controls: place paired virtual and reality points (3D), Snap to geometry, Link the projector view to the camera, then Calibrate and read the Accuracy percentage. 2D refinement needs at least six virtual points. For the full calibration workflow, see Display Calibration.

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