Triggers

A Trigger ties a controller input straight to a show: "when this input turns on, play this show." It's the simplest way to make something happen: wire an input to a show and you're done. No Logic Rule, no wiring diagram, no code.

For "button plays scene," a Trigger is all you need. When a scene depends on combinations or timing (several inputs together, a delay, a counter, a puzzle sequence), that's what Logic Rules are for.

The input and the show don't have to be on the same box

You can wire any input on any controller to fire any show on any other controller. A button on one box can launch a show on another. They just need to be on the same local network. The list of available inputs includes every input across your account.

Setting one up

Every show has a Triggers button in its metadata bar (right next to the show name and duration). Click it to open the Triggers editor.

Inside, you see a simple input-to-show editor:

• Available inputs on the left: every input on every controller in your account
• The show on the right: the show you're editing
• Drag and drop to wire an input to the show

That's the whole thing. When you save, Studio sends the trigger to your controllers, and once it's there, it keeps working whether or not the cloud is connected.

A show also has a Logic Rules button next to Triggers. It lists every rule (including ones on other controllers) that fires this show, so you have one place to see everything that can play it.

On, off, or both

For each wired input, you choose when it fires the show:

• On: when the input turns on (button pressed, sensor activated). The usual choice.
• Off: when the input turns off (button released, sensor clears).
• Both: either change fires it.

Trigger actions

A trigger's action is what happens when the input fires. You can pick:

• Play: play the show.
• Stop: stop the show; the controller returns to its ambient routine if one is set.
• Soft Lock: lock the target controller. stops the running show and blocks new ones until it's unlocked. (The same lock as the front button's Safety Lock mode.)
• Hard Lock: a stronger Hard Lock that stops everything and keeps the controller locked until it's rebooted.

Play and Stop target a show; the two locks target one or more controllers you choose. Because triggers reach across your whole Studio, you can wire one input to lock a different controller. Perfect for a single "stop everything" or emergency-stop button.

Where a trigger runs

A show's trigger runs on a specific controller. By default, it's the first controller in the show's targets. You can change which one in the Triggers editor under Settings.

Normally closed inputs and cooldown

On controllers with firmware 2.2.2, the input's Normally closed setting makes an opening sensor contact count as activation. Cooldown prevents repeated activations for a time you choose. Both settings live in the controller's Configuration tab and affect every trigger and rule listening to that input. See Input Settings for setup and examples.

Cooldown fires the first activation immediately, then ignores further activations during the window. The sensor's indicator still changes, releases are not delayed, and ignored activations never fire later. This is separate from the Retrigger setting below, which decides what happens when a show is already playing.

Test an input with Direct Trigger

Direct Trigger lets you test the shows and rules connected to an input without walking to the sensor or starting Manual Control. It needs firmware 2.2.2. The idea is that you can tell the controller the sensor fired from the overview page and it will work as if it saw the real input happen. This is useful for when an admin wants to test or force sensor actions while developing or operating their attraction. You can expose this same functionality via Trigger Boards for your actors or game masters.

1. Open the controller where the input is connected and select Overview.
2. Leave Manual Control and Live Preview off, and expand Direct Trigger.
3. Click the button with the input's name and play icon.
4. Check the result in Studio and watch the receiving controllers.

The test briefly changes the input and returns it, so actions on either change can run. It exercises connected shows and deployed Logic Rules on this controller and other controllers watching that input. Make sure everyone around the effects is ready before clicking.

Inputs appear here when they are connected to a show or a deployed Logic Rule. Inputs used for Soft Lock or Hard Lock are excluded. You need the same controller-control permission as Manual Control: editor, admin, or owner.

Studio explains when a test is unavailable: the controller may be offline, locked, in Manual Control, applying input changes, or running firmware without support. An input in cooldown must finish cooling down first; an input already being tested must finish that test. A rejected test will not run later.

Trigger fired means the input was tested successfully. A receiving show can still be skipped by its Retrigger setting, a lock, or a protected show. If Studio reports No trigger response, the result is unknown; check the controller before trying again. See Troubleshooting Triggers.

You can also watch the sensor's live state on Overview without taking Manual Control. Use Direct Trigger to run its connected actions, and Manual Control to work with outputs by hand.

For an actor who needs a few named buttons, use a Trigger Board. Boards can fire connected inputs, play deployed shows, or activate a Virtual Input in a deployed Logic Rule.

Triggering a show that's already playing

Sometimes a trigger fires while the show is still running. A guest steps on the same trip plate twice, or two sensors point at the same scene. You decide what happens next with the trigger's Retrigger setting:

Setting	What happens
Restart	The show stops where it is and starts over from the beginning. Good for a scare that should always begin fresh.
Skip if Playing	The new trigger is skipped until the show finishes on its own. Good for a scene you never want to interrupt.
Toggle	The first trigger starts the show; the next one stops it. Handy for a button or lever that turns a scene on and off.
Take Over	Stops whatever is currently playing and immediately plays this show. Useful when this scene should always take over.

The ambient show doesn't count as "playing"

An ambient routine running in the background never counts as a playing show for these settings. Skip if Playing fires normally while the ambient is looping, and Toggle starts your show on the first press rather than stopping the ambient. Controllers on firmware older than 2.2.0 had a bug that treated the ambient as playing, which made Skip if Playing never fire and Toggle restart the ambient on a controller with an ambient set.

A show that must never be cut short

These settings belong to the trigger that's firing. If the show that's already playing must always finish, whatever fires next, turn on Prevent triggers from interrupting this show for that show instead. While it plays, its controller ignores Play and Stop triggers and Logic Rules; only lock actions get through. See Protecting a Show from Interruption.

Pick whichever matches how the scene should feel to your guests. If you want a show to keep cycling on its own rather than respond to repeat triggers, see Looping & Chaining.

Reliability across controllers

Firmware 2.2.2 helps controllers respond more reliably when the local network briefly drops a trigger. It cannot make a disconnected network work or recover every missed press. If a scene keeps missing cues, check the connections using Troubleshooting Triggers.

With both the sensor’s controller and the controllers running its shows updated, leaving Manual Control no longer starts shows just because an input changed during the session. The update also prevents an already-active input from unexpectedly starting a show when a controller starts up or its trigger settings change.

Update the receiving controllers too

A receiving controller on firmware older than 2.2.2 can still fire a show when the source leaves Manual Control after an input changed. Updating only the source does not fix that older receiver's behavior. Keep effects clear while testing a site with mixed firmware versions.

When you need more

Triggers are deliberately simple: one input triggers a show. While you can trigger a show on multiple controllers with the trigger, you are limited to the same show per controller tied to that trigger. When a scene depends on combinations or timing (all four switches flipped, every fifth guest, a 30-second delay, a Morse-code puzzle), step up to Logic Rules. A rule can still fire shows (and can even use an input from another controller as a condition); it just adds the logic in between.