Stepper

Last updated 20 August 2026

Runs a show as an ordered list of steps. Each step plays one or more sequences and then waits — for an operator, for a timer, or for the sequence to reach the end of a loop. Opened from View > Stepper.

Steppers are entities in their own right: the window lists every stepper in the project, and a stepper can also be created and owned by a node in the node editor.

Stepper list

Control	Description	Values / Range
All	Filter across every stepper in the project, or pick a single one.	Dropdown
+ Add Stepper	Creates a stepper.	Button
Stepper Options → Delete	Removes the stepper.	Context menu
`[node]` marker	The stepper is owned by a node in the node editor. It cannot be deleted here — the tooltip reads Hosted by a node – delete the node instead.	Indicator

With none in the project the window reads No steppers – use "+ Add Stepper" to create one.

Transport

Control	Description	Values / Range
Play / Pause / Stop	Runs, holds, or stops and resets the stepper.	Buttons
Previous step / Next step	Moves one step. When the current step is waiting for a loop to finish, the tooltip reads Next step (advancing at loop end).	Buttons
Restart	Returns to the first step.	Button
Status readout	While running: step number, step name and elapsed time. While stopped: the step count.	`Step n / n \| name \| n.n s` or `Stopped \| n steps`

Step list

Two layouts, chosen in the Inspector. Rows lists steps vertically; Matrix puts sequences on one axis and steps on the other, which suits a show where the same sequences recur across many steps.

Column	Description	Values / Range
Step	Step number. Click to jump to it; drag to reorder.	—
Name	Free-text label for the step. With Show step sequences on, the Rows layout also draws the step's sequences here; a sequence's tooltip names it and how it starts — continue where it stopped or start from the beginning.	Text
Sequences	Which sequences this step plays, and how each one starts — see Sequence trigger below. Add Sequence adds one; the picker has a Filter… box. A sequence that no longer exists shows as `(missing)`.	One or more
Transition	How this step's content replaces the previous step's.	Per-step override of the default
End	What happens when the step's sequences finish — the End action.	`Next` / `Stop` / `JumpTo`
Wait	Whether the step advances on its own, and when.	See below

Waiting and advancing

Setting	Description	Values / Range
Await finish	The step advances only once the sequence reaches the end of a loop. The button is disabled without a looping sequence — the tooltip then reads Await finish (needs a looping sequence).	Toggle
Advance instantly	The step advances immediately, without waiting for the loop.	Toggle
Advancing at next loop end	Shown while a step is waiting out its current loop.	Status
next	The step that follows. Steps need not run in list order.	Step reference

Editing

Action	Description	Condition
Add Step / Add step	Appends a step. Disabled until at least one sequence exists — Add a sequence first.	Needs a sequence
Remove step	Deletes the step.	Context menu
Add Sequence	Adds a sequence to the stepper. Create a sequencer first, to add it when none exist; All sequencers already added when every one is in use.	—
Remove sequence	Takes a sequence out of the stepper.	Context menu
Drag a step	Reorders it — the tooltip reads Step n – click to jump, drag to reorder.	Drag

Inspector

Setting	Description	Values / Range
Label	Name of the stepper.	Text
Loop	Return to the first step after the last one.	Checkbox
Rows / Matrix	Layout of the step list. This is a per-user preference, not a property of the stepper — the tooltip reads Applies to every stepper, and the choice is not undoable.	Radio
Default transition	Transition used by steps that do not override it.	Dropdown
Fade ms	Duration of that transition.	Milliseconds
Step end mode	Default end action for new steps.	Dropdown
Max displayed steps	How many steps the window shows at once — display only, it does not limit the stepper.	Integer
Show step sequences	Lists each step's sequences in the free space of the Name column, one fixed slot per sequence so the same sequence lines up across the steps. Only as many as fit are shown. Rows layout only.	Checkbox

Presenter locks

These restrict what an operator can do from a Web Console page bound to this stepper. They do not restrict the Backstage window.

Setting	Description	Values / Range
Lock transport	Blocks play, pause, stop and step changes.	Checkbox
Lock programming	Blocks adding, removing and editing steps and sequences.	Checkbox
Lock layout	Blocks reordering.	Checkbox

Values

Step end mode

Decides when a step counts as finished if it plays more than one sequence.

Value	Description
Shortest	The step ends when its first sequence finishes.
Longest	The step ends when its last sequence finishes.

End action

Value	Description
Next	The following step starts.
Stop	The stepper stops at the end of this step.
JumpTo	The step named in the jump target starts.

Sequence trigger

Each sequence in a step carries its own trigger mode. Click the glyph to cycle it — in the Matrix
layout on the grid cell, in the Rows layout in the step's sequence dropdown.

Value	Description
Off	The sequence is not part of this step.
Start from the beginning	The sequence restarts from its start whenever the step is entered. Saved and reported as `Normal`.
Continue if already playing	A sequence that is already running keeps playing from where it is. One that is not running starts from the beginning, through the step's transition. Saved and reported as `Resume`.

A sequence carried over on continue keeps only the time it has left: one that ends will end the
new step shortly after the transition, rather than playing another pass. Use start from the
beginning for a fresh pass.

Transition

Used by Default transition, and by a step that overrides it.

Value	Description
Hard	No transition — the next step's content replaces the previous immediately.
FadeIn	Fades the incoming content up.
FadeOut	Fades the outgoing content down.
FadeOutIn	Fades out, then fades in — the screen passes through black.
XFade	Crossfades between them.

Orchestrate Multiple Sequences with Stepper — building a show with one

Remote Control: Steppers — driving it from a control system, over the step domain

Build and Serve Web Pages with the Web Console — the operator-facing page the locks apply to

Create a Sequence and Add Content — the sequences a step plays