Robert Scovill
Whether you’re new to the VENUE system or a seasoned pro, there are a number of keystrokes, Global Modifier presses, encoder presses, or combinations of these actions that you use in order to really up your game while operating an actual system or using the VENUE stand alone software. So I thought I would just take a few minutes to outline a number of these little “pearls of goodness” in order to make your experience with VENUE products lightning-fast and anxiety-free. Who knows, you might even become a true VENUE Jedi Knight!

For the sake of organization, I’ve broken up these commands into different categories based on a keystroke or mouse click. You may see some redundancies as some operations can be accomplished in more than one way. And while it looks like a lot to remember, you’ll see many similarities with how everyday Mac and PC computers operate; most of these command strings and what they can do for you will have a ring of familiarity.

In an effort to keep this document somewhat manageable, I’ll only provide graphic examples where needed to emphasize a result or specific style of command.

Global Modifier Switches and their Keyboard Equivalents

Figure 1: Note the keyboard equvilent Global Modifier buttons

All VENUE control surfaces and side cars offer a set of Global Modifer switches, but beginning with the VENUE Profile surface, we began silk screening the keyboard equivalents for these switches right onto the surface (Figure 1). These switches are the source of great power as you get more acquainted with your VENUE system.

Multi-Select
This button is the equivalent of the Shift key on a QWERTY keyboard. This can be used to great effect by simply pressing it and clicking channels or snapshots etc. in order to prepare them for a global adjustment. For example, you could simply press and hold Multi-Select as you select all the inputs that you want to route to the left right bus. Once all channels are selected, one press of the LR assignment on the last selected channel results in all selected channels being instantly routed to the LR bus. Best of all, you can use the same process to deselect them from the LR bus as well.

Default
In my opinion, the default button is the hidden super star of the Global Modifier buttons. It can be used to accomplish targeted resets on the console that will help you be quick and nimble during operation. For example, by pressing this button and then pressing the Select button on a channel, it will move that input or output channel’s fader to 0dB. By pressing Default and pressing the Pan encoder, it will center the pan. By pressing Default and pressing down on an EQ encoder, it will set that particular EQ parameter back to its default setting. You can even press and hold this button while pressing the EQ, Gate or Dynamics IN button to reset the given function. Given that this button’s keyboard equivalent is the Alt key, you can even use it in conjunction with mouse clicks on parameters in the software screen to reset parameters there.

Editor’s tip: Use Multi-Select to select a number of channels, then press Default and click on a fader, press an encoder or click on a parameter in the software screen and it will reset that control for all the selected channels. Nice!

Fine
This button is the equivalent of the Control key on a keyboard and there are numerous uses for it as you’ll see in the coming examples, but the most important use of this button in my opinion is as a way of putting the console’s controls (short of the faders) into a high resolution mode. This allows for much finer adjustments of EQ, Dynamics, and Delay parameters etc. Simply hold down the button while making a “fine” adjustment or give the Fine button a quick double tap to engage it into Fine mode and leave it there. A single tap will remove the console from Fine mode.

Editor’s tip: When setting up the console I’m rarely in Fine mode, but I’m almost always in Fine mode during a performance.

User
I hate be all hush hush on this button, but this little guy is reserved for future coolness and world domination.

Shift+Click or Multi-Select+Click or Multi-Select + Channel Select Button
You can use any of these combinations to select multiple, non-contiguous inputs or outputs. This is a very fast way to select numerous, non-sequential channels for a common manipulation such as bus assignment, mutes, or aux and fader level adjustments, just to name a few. (Figure 2)


Figure 2: Pressing the Shift key or the Multi-Select button, then clicking on the strip or using a channel’s Select button allows selection of more than one input or output channels. The ACS will reflect the most recently selected channel.

Shift+Click or Multi-Select+Click
While at first glance this would appear to be identical to the commands above, it differs once we move to selecting anything other than input or output channels. As you’ll see in the example below, the Shift key or Multi-Select button plus a pair of clicks will select a range of targets. Here are some common uses for this command string.

• Select multiple contiguous Snapshots (Figure 3)
  
• Select multiple contiguous Plug-ins (from the plug-ins list in the Snapshots window)
  
• Select multiple contiguous Events in the Events list

Figure 3: Press the Shift key or the Multi-Select button plus a mouse click on Snapshot 3 and Snapshot 7 to select the entire range of snapshots. Note the red indicating the currently loaded snapshot.

Editor’s Tip: Use Control + A to select all snapshots in the list

Alt+Click or Default+Click or Alt+Press Encoder or Default+Press Encoder
Using the Alt key or the Default Global Modifier button is a very powerful for resetting parameters back to their default settings. As I mentioned above in the Global Modifier discussion, resetting a fader to zero can be done by simply pressing the Default button and pressing the Channel Select button. You can also do this by pressing the Alt key on the keyboard and clicking on the fader in the software. This paradigm exists all throughout the software for numerous parameters and is extremely powerful when used in conjunction with a multi-selection. Here are a few more examples of what can be done with the Alt key or Default Global Modifier button.

• Reset input or output channel fader position
  
• Reset a Pan to center
  
• Reset individual controls or the entire section of an EQ, gate or compressor
  
• Reset Delay, HPF and GEQ Filters to their default settings
  
• Reset Aux levels to zero

Control+Click or Fine+Click
Above I described in the Global Modifier discussion that the primary use for the Fine button is to allow for higher resolution adjustment of controls. However, since its keyboard equivalent is the Control key, there are quite a few other uses for it as well. Check some of these out.

• Select noncontiguous Snapshots
  
• Select noncontiguous Events
  
• Select noncontiguous Plug-ins (from the plug-ins list in the Snapshots window) (Figure 4)

Figure 4: Press Control or the Fine Global Modifier button plus a mouse click to make a noncontiguous selection

Mouse Clicks
Rather than even attempting to cover every single mouse click that can be used in a VENUE system, I’m simply going to highlight some of the single and double click commands that often get overlooked. Check out some of these really super features using only a single or double click of the mouse.

Single Click

• Select a single bank of 8 input or output faders by simply clicking once in the grey area surrounding the channel range designators. (Figure 5)
  
• In preset folders, single clicking a preset will audition it. Click Cancel to go back to the originally loaded preset
  
• Move directly from the INPUT or OUTPUT window to the PATCHBAY and reveal the chosen channel and its patch (Figure 6)

	Figure 6: A single click on "Ch 8: Stage 8 " will take you directly to this input in the PATCHBAY
Figure 5: A single click on or around the "9-16" will select all the channels in the 9-16 block

Double Click

• Double clicking in the grey area around the channel range designators will select all input or output faders (Figure 7). Click on the dialog box will present you an option to exit the massive selection

Caution! With all inputs or outputs selected any adjustment on a channel will be reflected in all the selected channels. Use this with caution!

• In preset folders, double clicking a preset will load it and exit the library, thereby overwriting the currently loaded preset
  
• You can toggle between SHOW mode and CONFIG mode by double clicking on the word SHOW (lower right hand corner of Figure 7) or CONFIG
  
• To rename an input, output, Plug In rack, GPI Switch, Snapshot, or Event, simply double-click the name and then type in the desired name.

Figure 7: Double-click in the grey area surrounding the channel range designators to select all input or output channels. Shift+click or Multi-Select+select any input or output to deselect it.

Right Click
Right clicking specific areas of the software can reveal a host of options for the section or selection in which you are right clicking. For example if you select a channel and right click over that channel strip, you’ll be given the option to perform numerous functions for it (Figure 8). When using the console, if you right click on the fader itself, you’ll be given the option to simply reset the fader to 0dB. A similar paradigm exists in other areas of the software such as EQ and Dynamics and other controls. For example right clicking on a single control in the EQ section or Dynamics section allows you to reset only that parameter. Whereas if you were to right click anywhere around that single control, but still in the EQ or Dynamics section, you could reset the entire EQ or Dynamics processor. Here is a list of some more right click functions.

• Reset Channel, EQ, Dynamics, GEQ, or individual controls
  
• Copy and paste Channel, EQ, Dynamics settings, or an entire channel
  
• Move Selected Channel(s)
  
• Insert blank strips
  
• Make Selected Mono Strips Stereo
  
• For a preset in a library, right click to rename, duplicate, delete, or overwrite it
  
• For a Snapshot, right click on the snapshot and rename, duplicate, delete, or select all snapshots
  
• For a Show File, right click on the Show File to rename, duplicate, delete, or overwrite the file
  
• In the Options/Devices tab, right clicking the Racks or Control Surface allows you to choose what devices are to be used in device for your setup
  
• Right click on an individual plug-in while in the Plug-ins window to display the latency contribution of the plug-in (Figure 9)
  
• Right click anywhere in the Inserts section on the Inputs or Outputs pages to display the total processing delay (latency) of the insert processing chain (Figure 10)

Figure 8: Right clicking on a channel presents
the option to reset, copy, paste, or move the
channel along with inserting blank strips as
the selected location or making any pair of
selected mono strips stereo

	Figure 10: Right click within the Inserts section to reveal the process delay (latency) of the entire chain of processing
Figure 9: Right click on a plug-in to reveal individual plug-in latency

Tab

Figure 11: Labeling inputs in the PATCHBAY will allow you to create a custom label and then simply Tab to the next field

Sometimes it’s the little things that make us happy. I can’t tell you how many folks have had their day brightened by discovering the power of the Tab key. Here’s a sampling.

• When labeling inputs from PATCHBAY, after your first name is complete, instead of pressing enter, press the Tab key to advance to the next channel name and begin typing. (Figure 11) Use Shift+Tab to go to the previous channel.
  
• After editing a snapshot name, Tab to the next snapshot and begin typing. Use Shift+Tab to go to the previous snapshot.

Alt+Tab

• When using the D-Show standalone software, this combination allows you to toggle between the standalone application and other applications running on your computer.
  
• When using multiple VNC clients on a single computer, this combination can allow you to toggle between remote control of the VENUE system and another computer such as Pro Tools® workstation or a computer running system analysis software and control etc.

Use these keystrokes and their Global Modifier equivalents and you will soon be sailing around the console at warp speed. You might even here a voice strangely similar to Obi Wan whispering in your ear, “Luke…Use the Alt key, Luke.”