Timeline and Cue Issues

Most timeline and cue problems trace to a lock state, a targeting or addressing mismatch, or an expression that does not evaluate the way you expect. Find the section that matches the cue type or behavior. For the concepts behind each, follow the links into Timeline and Cues.

Timeline Playback

Problem	Cause	Fix
Timeline will not play or pause	Timeline is in Hands Off lock state	Click the lock icon to cycle back to Unlocked.
Cues cannot be edited or moved	Timeline is Locked or Hands Off	Unlock the timeline via the lock icon in the Timelines panel.
Content not visible on displays	Timeline is in Stop state, or the layer is disabled	Check the playback state in the Timelines panel. Check layer visibility in the Timeline window.
Wrong content appears in front	Timeline stacking order is incorrect	Reorder timelines in the Timelines panel, or set the overlay timeline to Always on Top. See Stacking Order.
Playhead jumps to unexpected position	A control cue with a jump target is firing	Check for control cues that reference named markers or cues. See Control Cues.
Timeline starts playing on show load unexpectedly	Auto Run is enabled	Disable Auto Run in the timeline properties.
Zoom level resets when switching timelines	Zoom is per-timeline, not global	Expected. Each timeline remembers its own zoom level.
Cannot drag cues to a different layer	Target layer is locked	Unlock the target layer before moving cues.

Control Cues

See Control Cues.

Problem	Cause	Fix
Control cue does not fire	Cue has a conditional trigger expression that evaluates to false	Check the condition in Cue Properties. Verify the referenced variable value. See Conditional Cues.
Target timeline does not respond	Target is set to Enclosing but the intended target is a different timeline	Switch to List mode and select the correct timeline.
To Cue jump does nothing	No cue with the specified name exists on the target timeline	Verify the Target Cue matches exactly. Ensure the target is a named Control Cue or named Marker Cue.
Backwards to Cue jump fails	No matching cue exists before the current playhead position, and backward search does not wrap	Place the named target cue earlier on the timeline, or use To Cue, which falls back to the last match.
Multiple control cues conflict	Several cues fire at the same time with different states	The highest-priority state wins (Stop > Pause > Play). Stagger the cues with start delays or adjust targeting.
Control cue affects unintended timelines	All mode is active without proper exclusions	Add timelines or folders to the exclude lists, or switch to List mode with explicit targets.
Control cue inside a blind edit triggers real timelines	Unexpected — control cues should be skipped during blind edit	Confirm the playing window is the blind-edit copy, not the original. Isolation only applies to control cues that play from inside an active blind edit.
Jump creates an infinite loop	Two or more control cues jump to each other's positions	Break the cycle by removing one jump, or use a conditional trigger to gate one of the cues.

Output Cues

See Output Cues.

Problem	Cause	Fix
Output cue does not fire	Playhead jumped past the cue instead of playing through it	Ensure playback runs through the cue position. Output cues do not fire on scrub or jump.
Target device does not respond	Incorrect IP address or port	Verify the address and port match the target device's listening configuration.
TCP connection refused	Target device is not listening, or a firewall is blocking the port	Confirm the target service is running and the port is open on both host and network firewalls.
UDP message never arrives	Packet loss on the network, or target is not listening	Verify the target is listening on the correct port. Consider switching to TCP for reliable delivery.
HTTP request returns an error status	Wrong path, method, or content type for the target API	Check the path, HTTP method, and content type against the API documentation of the target system.
Cue fires but payload is malformed	Data field contains invalid JSON or XML for the selected content type	Validate the data string format independently before entering it in the cue.
Output byte missing from payload	The character has code point U+0100 or higher and was dropped	Use only characters below U+0100, or encode bytes with `\xNN`.
High latency on TCP output cues	Keep Connection Alive is off, causing a new connection per cue	Turn on Keep Connection Alive to reuse the TCP connection.

Variables and Variable Cues

See Variables and Variable Cues.

Problem	Cause	Fix
Variable does not respond to external input	Key field is empty or incorrect	Use Learn mode to capture the correct key from the external source.
Variable value jumps instead of transitioning smoothly	Interpolation type set to None	Change interpolation type to Linear or Circular.
Cannot delete a variable	Variable is protected or in use	Delete referencing expressions and variable cues first.
Cannot rename a variable	Variable is referenced by an expression, variable cue, or audio route	Remove references before renaming.
Expression rejected as "Unknown input"	A name in the expression does not match any variable	Check spelling and case.
Variable cue cannot be added inside a composition	Variable cues are not supported in compositions	Move the variable cue to a regular timeline.
Reserved name error when creating a variable	Name conflicts with `tweenValue` or `cueVolume` (case-insensitive)	Choose a different name. These names are reserved.
Art-Net variable receives raw 0–255 values	Key is missing the `.normalize()` suffix	Append `.normalize()` to the Art-Net key to map DMX values to the variable's min/max range.

Art-Net Fixture Cues

See Art-Net Fixture Cues.

Problem	Cause	Fix
Fixture cue has no effect on stage	Universe or start channel does not match the physical fixture's patch	Verify addressing in the cue's Properties panel against the fixture's DMX patch sheet.
Fixture cue ignored during playback	Cue is placed inside a composition timeline	Move the fixture cue to the main timeline. Fixture cues inside compositions are not supported.
Channels controlling the wrong parameters	Mode does not match the fixture's operating mode	Change the Mode in cue properties to match the fixture's current DMX mode.
Unexpected values on adjacent universes	Fixture's channels wrap past address 511	Adjust the channel so all channels fit within one universe, or account for the wrap in your addressing plan.
Recording plays at wrong intensity	Tween values are not at maximum	Set tween channel values to 255 (full) to pass recorded values through unscaled.
Sudden jumps in channel output	Missing tween keyframes between cue regions	Add intermediate keyframes with easing curves to smooth transitions.
No Art-Net packets on network	Network configuration or routing issue	Verify the node's network adapter and subnet match your Art-Net network. Check firewall rules.
Channel values appear scaled down	Channel relation set to Multiply with a leader channel below full	Check channel relations and verify the leader channel's tween value.

Triggers and Expressions

See Timeline Triggers and Expressions.

Problem	Cause	Fix
Trigger never fires	Expression references a variable name that does not exist. Unknown variables resolve to 0.	Check the variable name spelling. Use validation during editing.
Trigger fires unexpectedly	Expression changes to a non-zero value at an unexpected variable value	Inspect current variable values in the Variables window. Add explicit comparison operators.
Timeline starts but immediately stops	A play trigger and a stop trigger both change to true on the same input change	Ensure the stop trigger is false when the play trigger is true. Use mutually exclusive variable ranges.
Expression validation rejects a valid-looking expression	Referenced variable was renamed or deleted from the show	Re-add the variable, or update the expression to reference the current variable name.
Cannot find trigger settings	Looking at a composition instead of a timeline	Triggers are timeline-only. Open the parent timeline's properties instead. See Compositions.
Timeline does not auto-start on show load	Auto Run is not enabled. Trigger expressions only evaluate during runtime.	Enable the Auto Run property in timeline properties if the timeline should start at show load.
Expression works in one trigger but not another	The wrong trigger field was populated	Verify the expression is entered in the correct field (play, pause, or stop).

Understanding the Timeline — timeline states, locks, and layers.
Control Cues and Output Cues — the two cue types that act outward.
Variables and Variable Cues — show variables and how external input drives them.
Getting Help — gather diagnostics and contact Dataton support.

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