Open File

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To access show file operations, tap or click the Options button in the lower left corner of the main display and the following menu will appear:

Open File

Opens an existing show file from several formats and loads it into the active database (ACTIVE SHOW.FDB) as the current show. A prompt to save the previous current show is provided if changed and not previously saved. Show files may be loaded from any online source such as USB memory sticks or network drives. Below is an example of the Open dialog:

NEO Notes & Tips: The rotary encoders can be used to navigate the sections of the “Open File” and “Save” dialogs. Encoder 1 selects File Type (left pane), Encoder 2 selects Source (middle pane), Encoder 3 selects File/Folder (right pane). Encoder 3’s button is used to open folders and select files.

In addition to the standard .NEO format, other forms of saved shows may be loaded by choosing the appropriate tab on the left side of the dialog window.

New Show

This tab allows you to create a new blank show or load a template. A blank show may be created with nothing patched or with a one-to-one patch depending on the state of the option “Start new shows with nothing patched” found under the Intermediate tab of System Settings.

Open Show

This tab is selected by default when Open File is chosen from the Options menu. A list of available show files from the selected source is shown. Click on the desired file to select it, then click on the Open button to load it. Normally, only the latest version of each show file is shown. However, if you wish to load a saved prior version of a show file, set the switch at the bottom to Revision Files Showing to see the files with “_REVn” listed (See Save option below for more information on revision files).

Import Show

Use this option to load elements from another show file and merge them into the current show. Once opened, NEO will read all the information about the show and allow you to select what elements you want to import. You can select to import Channel Groups, Cue Lists, Effects, Palettes, Macros and Patch information.

To select the elements of the show you want to import, click on a tab on the left (Cue Lists, for example as shown above) and use the check boxes on the right of each line. There are 6 tabs on the left that separate out the different parts of a NEO show.

If a name conflict is detected when importing any part of the show, the imported element will be renamed as “Copy of <previous name>”.

Once you have selected the elements you want to import, click on the Import button to proceed.

Open Packed Show

Packed shows have the extension “.NPS”. After selecting and opening a packed show file, the following dialog appears:

This dialog allows you to choose what features contained in the packed file will be loaded. The default state of the options is shown.

Import ASCII

The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) developed a specification titled “ASCII Text Representation for Lighting Console Data” which outlines a format for transferring the information contained in a show file from one lighting console to another. The specification defines standard keywords and record types but allows for considerable flexibility in defining manufacturer-specific features.

This option in NEO is geared primarily around importing show files from Electronic Theater Controls (ETC) consoles, although files from other suppliers may work also. The files may have several file types, such as “.ALQ”, “.ASC”, “.CSV”, “.TXT”, etc.

When the file to be imported is selected, a warning dialog will be displayed before proceeding. Click No if you wish to save the current show before proceeding with the import.

Restore Backup

Backups are in the form of compressed zip files stored in a folder called “\show backups\” (or other user-designated folder). The number of backup files kept is a settable option, the default being 10. The naming convention for backup files is “{show name}_{date}_{time}.zip”.

Example: Demo_2021-07-15_11-02-42.zip.

Revision Files switch – Default: Hidden. See description of the “Save” option below. If set to Showing, the files ending “_REVn” will be listed.

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