Blind Edit Mode

Blind edit lets you change a timeline or composition without affecting live playback. Edits go into a copy. They reach the live show only when you Apply them, so the current scene keeps playing while you work.

How blind edit works

When you start a blind edit, WATCHOUT opens a new Timeline window. The window contains a full copy of the cue sequence: same cues, layers, and duration. You edit this copy freely. The original is untouched until you Apply.

Two actions end a blind edit:

• Apply writes the copy back into the original and closes the blind-edit window.
• Discard throws the copy away. The original is unchanged.

Entering blind edit

There are two ways to start a blind edit:

• From a Timeline window: click the Blind Edit button (eye-off icon in the timeline toolbar). The same button works on an open composition window to start a blind edit on that composition.
• From the Cue List: right-click a cue and choose Blind Edit Timeline.

Double-clicking a composition cue from inside an existing blind edit is a different action. It does not start a new blind edit — it opens a private copy of that composition inside the current blind edit. See Opening a composition from inside a blind edit below.

If a blind edit for that timeline or composition already exists, clicking the button brings you to the existing window. It does not create a second one.

The Blind Edit button is disabled inside private copies you opened from a blind edit. Starting a new top-level blind edit from there is not allowed. That window already lives inside another blind edit.

The blind-edit toolbar

The blind-edit window shows two extra buttons in its toolbar. Private copy windows opened by double-clicking a composition cue do not have these — see Opening a composition from inside a blind edit.

Apply

The checkmark button applies all staged changes to the original. After applying, the blind-edit window closes. Any private composition copies you opened from inside it close too. The original now holds the new content.

The Apply button is disabled when the original timeline is locked.

Follow

The link button syncs the blind edit's playback to the original timeline's live playhead:

• If the original is running, the blind edit jumps to its current time and starts running in sync.
• If the original is paused, the blind edit pauses at the original's current time.
• If the original is stopped, the blind edit stops.

Use Follow to preview your edits at the show's current point in time.

Follow is disabled when the blind edit is on a composition. Compositions do not have top-level playback state to follow.

Editing inside a blind edit

The blind-edit window behaves like a normal Timeline window. Nothing you do reaches the live show until you Apply.

Opening a composition from inside a blind edit

While editing a blind edit, you can double-click a composition cue to open and edit that composition. WATCHOUT opens a private copy of the composition. The copy lives only inside this blind edit, so your edits do not affect the real composition while you work.

What this means in practice:

• The window looks like the real composition, but it is a private copy.
• Your edits stay inside the blind edit. The real composition is unchanged.
• Opening the same composition twice from inside the blind edit reuses the same private copy. You do not get two separate copies.
• The private copy window has no Apply or Follow button of its own. To commit changes, Apply from the parent blind-edit window — that promotes the private copies along with the blind edit.

When you Apply the blind edit:

• Each private copy is written back into the real composition it replaces.
• The private copies are then removed along with the blind edit.

When you Discard, the private copies are thrown away with the blind edit.

Multiple blind edits at the same time

You can have more than one blind edit open at the same time. Each one must target a different timeline or composition. The rule is one blind edit per original. Starting a blind edit on something that already has one brings you to the existing window. You cannot start a blind edit on a blind-edit window itself.

This lets you, for example, start a blind edit on a timeline and then open a composition cue from inside it. Opening the cue creates a private copy. The system does not block you.

Discarding a blind edit

To throw away all changes and exit blind edit mode, close the blind-edit Timeline window. WATCHOUT removes the copy along with any private composition copies it owns. The original timeline or composition is unchanged.

You can also leave the window open and switch to a different window. The blind edit stays open in the background. To return to it later, click the Blind Edit button on the original.

Visual indicators

Several cues tell you when blind edit is active:

• Window title appends (Edit) to the timeline or composition name.
• Title bar color changes to a bright green highlight. This is distinct from the active, locked, and hands-off window colors.
• Stage switches to composition mode (gantt chart icon in the top bar). The stage border uses the blind-edit highlight color.
• Cue List marks the cues inside a blind-edit copy with a green eye-off icon and a row highlight. The original timeline's rows stay unmarked.

Use cases

Live performance fixes. Mid-show, a cue's position or timing for the next scene needs adjusting. Start a blind edit, make the fix, check it with Follow, and Apply before the scene starts.

Preparing the next look. While the current timeline plays, start a blind edit on the next one. Apply before it is needed.

Fixing a problem without stopping. Notice a bad cue mid-playback. Edit it in a blind edit while the audience keeps seeing the current content uninterrupted.

Reusing a composition with a one-off change. From inside a blind edit, open a composition cue and change the private copy. Apply the parent blind edit to promote the change. Other timelines that use the same composition keep seeing the original until then.

Safe experimentation. Try a change in a blind edit. If you do not like it, Discard. The original is untouched.

Related

• Compositions — what compositions are and how they are normally edited
• Cue List Window — where the Blind Edit Timeline right-click menu lives