The Operator Console
The three modes
Three whole-screen arrangements, mutually exclusive, on F1 F2 F3.
Split — F1
Editor on the left, an exact replica of the presenter's screen on the right. This is where a show is operated.
Focus — F2
Everything except the script and the transport goes away. For the last rehearsal, or for a presenter who wants to read from the operator's machine.
Desk — F3
The script becomes a rundown: every block with its word count, duration and on-air status, and a timeline across the top. An arrow beside each block jumps the reading straight to it.
The panels
Four panels toggle on top of whichever mode you are in, on F5 through F8.
| Key | Panel |
|---|---|
F5 | Assets — chapters and the block's cards, on the left |
F6 | Cards drawer, at the bottom |
F7 | Settings, on the right |
F8 | Moves the transport between the top bar and the footer ruler |
The transport
The big green button plays and pauses; so does Space.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Elapsed / Remaining | Two clocks. Remaining counts down to the end of the script. |
| WPM ruler | The pace, in words per minute. The mouse wheel changes it anywhere in the app. |
| ↑ ↓ | Jump back and forward by a few words |
| ↺ | Back to the start |
| ∞ + seconds | Loop: at the end, wait n seconds and start again |
| Target | Under the speed ruler: the duration the script takes right now. Click it, type another, and the pace changes to meet it. |
| Go To | Jumps the reading line to wherever the text cursor is |
| CATCH | Keeps the editor scrolled to the reading position while it runs |
| FOLLOW | The opposite of Go To: the editor's caret trails the reading, and a mark shows the line being read. CATCH and FOLLOW are mutually exclusive. |
| Marker | Drops a marker at the current position — red ticks on the progress line |
The editor
An editor for working text, not for looking pretty. Chapters are amber, stage directions blue. The keys are grouped by what they act on, with a rule between each family.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| H | Insert a chapter mark — the same as typing ## |
| [ ] | Wrap the paragraph as a stage direction — the same as typing [brackets] |
| Tx | Strip formatting — from the selection, or from the whole script |
| B I U | Bold, italic, underline on the selected passage — see Marks and Search |
| Swatches | Color the selected passage, from the same picker the presenters use |
| Person | Make the selected name a presenter — see Presenters |
| AA | ALL CAPS in the editor only — display, not content |
| Magnifier | Find, replace and paint — Ctrl+F |
| ↶ ↷ | Undo and redo, infinite, and kept across sessions |
The marks reach the presenter's screen and the network page, and never move a word while you paint them. Marks and Search has the detail.
The footer of the editor holds its own type size, its typeface — one of ten that travel inside the app — and the paper it is typed on. None of the three touches the presenter's screen; see Themes and Appearance.
Settings
Three tabs on the right.
Text — family, size, weight, line height, letter spacing, ALL CAPS, alignment, colors, presets, invert, a row of reading-contrast swatches for a quick check against studio lighting, and the presenter chips.
Reading — words per line, uniform speed, margin, the horizontal position of the text block, the reading line, the edge dimming, and the pacing mode.
Output — mirror on either axis, rotation, and what the presenter's screen shows around the text.
Save as default at the bottom stores the current look as how a new tab is born.
Dim the edges
The script fades away from the line being read, so the presenter's eye has one place to land. Two controls work together:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Reading mark | Where on the screen the line being read sits, from 10% to 70% of the height |
| Dim the edges | Turns the fade on. Off, the whole screen is at full strength |
| Dim amount | How much of the screen stays legible. Low is a wide clear window; high closes it to a band about one line tall |
The clear window follows the reading mark — move the mark to 70% and it goes with it. Dimming pauses while a card covers the screen.
Pacing modes
| Mode | The clock says |
|---|---|
| Formula | Duration computed from the words and the WPM |
| Stopwatch | Real time since you pressed play |
| Free | Runs without a target |
In Formula and Stopwatch the reading auto-pauses when it reaches the end of the script instead of scrolling into empty space.
Tabs
Up to ten scripts open at once, each with its own appearance, markers and history. Only the active tab goes to air and to the network page.
Right-click a tab for duplicate, rename and close. Duplicating gives you the same script under a new name, with its appearance and its markers, and the copy opens with its name selected. The copy is a fresh script with no export path of its own, so Ctrl+S on it asks where to write instead of overwriting the original's file.
Double-click a tab to rename it. Drag a tab to reorder it — reordering never changes which tab is on air. Ctrl+D duplicates the active tab, and Ctrl+1 … Ctrl+0 jump straight to one.
Three ways to reach a command
Four small keys sit together at the right of the header.
| Key | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Keyboard | Ctrl+, — the full list, searchable, with a column for keyboard, mouse and MIDI |
| Map | Ctrl+Shift+K — lights up every mappable control on the screen itself, with its key printed on it |
| Magnifier | Ctrl+K — the command palette, for anything that has no button anywhere |
| Palette | Ctrl+Shift+P — the app's own colors; see Themes and Appearance |
The map is the one to try first: it answers "what is this button's key" while you are looking at the button.
A MIDI pad can be pressed instead of a key, in the same gesture. Full details in Keyboard Shortcuts.
Quick help
The box at the foot of the left column explains whatever the mouse is pointing at — what the key or slider is for, and its shortcut. Point at something else and the box changes.
The footer
Three zones, and no controls: the footer is read, not operated.
| Zone | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Left | A lamp: green while your work is being written to disk, amber the moment it cannot be. Then markers and undo depth. |
| Center | Split · Focus · Desk. Only the chosen one stands in relief. |
| Right | Ctrl+K, which is also a key — click it and the palette opens. |
Interface scale
Ctrl+Alt+= and Ctrl+Alt+- scale the whole console, for a 4K screen or for tired eyes. Ctrl+Alt+0 goes back to 100%. It is a preference of this machine and never travels inside a project.
The same is true of the theme, the background behind the chrome and the paper the editor is typed on — twenty palettes, ten of them light. All of it is on Themes and Appearance.