Timeline Editor: Basics
The IgorBox timeline editor is modeled on the video editors most people already know — Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut. If you've used any of them, the muscle memory carries over.
This page covers the basics: what's on the screen, how to navigate, how to add and move clips. Subsequent pages go deeper on lighting, audio, and deploying.
Editor screenshots coming soon.
What you see
When you open a show, you see:
- Metadata bar (top) — show name, duration, target controllers and groups, ambient badge if applicable, Triggers and Logic Rules buttons
- Status bar (just below) — Ready / Saving / Buffering / Waiting for audio
- Transport (top right) — Play, Stop, scrub, zoom, follow-playhead toggle, Live Preview, Deploy
- Ruler — time scale (in seconds and frames)
- Track headers (left) — one per channel, plus audio tracks; collapsible by controller or group
- Track content (center, scrollable) — where clips live
Tracks
A track is a row in the editor. Each track corresponds to one channel of one of your controllers.
Track types:
- Relay — for relay outputs (like the Output 8 MKII). Clips are simple ON pulses.
- Lighting — for dimmable channels. Clips are envelopes you draw with control points.
- Servo — for servo outputs. Same as lighting, but the value is an angle.
- Audio — for audio clips. Per-clip volume, slip editing, waveform display.
The editor only shows tracks for channels the targeted controllers actually have. If a show targets a controller without any servos, you won't see any servo tracks.
Tools
The toolbar in the transport gives you four tools:
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Select (default) | Click clips to select. Drag to move or resize. |
| Draw | Click-drag on a track to create a clip; on a lighting track, click anywhere to place a control point. |
| Split | Click on a clip to cut it in two. |
| Delete | Click a clip to delete it. |
Adding clips
Relay
Switch to Draw mode. Click and drag in the track. You've created an ON pulse from your start drag to your release. Switch back to Select; drag the clip to move it, drag its edges to resize.
Lighting / Servo
In Draw mode on a lighting track, click anywhere in the track area to place a control point. The horizontal position becomes the time; the vertical position becomes the value. Click-and-hold to drag the control point you just placed. Hit Escape to bail out.
In Select mode, drag any control point to move it. See Lighting for the full picture.
Audio
Click the + button on an audio track header. The Media Browser opens. Pick a file or upload a new one. The clip lands at the playhead.
You can also double-click on empty space in an audio track to do the same thing.
Moving and editing clips
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Move | Drag the body of the clip horizontally |
| Resize right | Drag the right edge |
| Resize left | Drag the left edge |
| Slip (audio only) | Alt-drag the body of an audio clip — moves the audio content within the clip without changing its position or duration |
| Split | Split tool, click on the clip |
| Delete | Select + Delete/Backspace, or Delete tool + click |
Clips on the same track can't overlap. Drag a clip into another and it snaps to the gap after.
Snap
Clips snap to a grid. The snap interval is set in the transport (default: 1 second; options for half-second, frame-precise, no snap).
Undo / redo
Standard Cmd+Z / Cmd+Shift+Z (or Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z on Windows).
Drag operations count as a single step — drag a clip across the timeline, that's one undo, not many.
Auto-save
The show saves to the cloud automatically as you work. The status bar shows Saving… while a save is in flight, then Ready when it's done.
You don't need to hit Save. There is no Save button.
Where to next
- Lighting — control points and envelopes
- Audio Clips — slip editing, per-clip volume, waveforms
- Live Preview — testing shows on real hardware
- Deploys and Versions — going from draft to live
- Keyboard Shortcuts — speed-run the editor