The main screen layout.

Most functionality in ShowSim can be accessed via two tool bars that appear at the top and bottom of the screen. The bottom tool bar is used to control the simulator, with a standard VCR type player controls and a position slider. The top tool bar is divided into three functional sections: 1) accessing system functions, 2) setting time format and 3) creating shows. The show buttons will only appear when a show has been loaded from the Show Manager.

A standard menu bar is also located at the top of the screen, which can also be used to access all the functionality in ShowSim. Tools that are not used very often are only available from the menu bar, such as the Effect Library Manager under the View menu.

System Tools
The system buttons on the tool bar are always visible, since they deal with functions that are not tied to a specific show. The table below shows the icon for each button and what it does. Clicking on the text links will direct you to more detailed information about each subject.

	Create New Show	The show setup window is a form containing all the paramaters needed to create a new show. These same parameters can also be changed later from the show settings window.
	Show Manager	The show manager is where you will access all your shows. Information about each show can be quickly accessed, and show data can be imorted, exported, deleted or cloned from this screen as well.
	Effect Browser	The effect browser is a crucial tool that allows rapid show creation by making effects easy to find, visually test and insert into your shows. The inventory, clipboard and all effect editors are accessed from this tool.
	Inventory Manager	The inventory manager allows you to manage multiple inventory databases, deduct show materials from stock, look at statistics and more.
	Inventory Editor	The inventory editor is where actual details about each stock item are entered into the database.
	Inventory Alerts	The inventory alert tool allows you to easily examine your inventory for shortages, re-order triggers and missing data accross multiple databases.
	Mortar Inventory	The mortar inventory form allows you to specify how many racks you have in stock, as well as how many guns are in each rack. This information is used to generate rack counts in the show reports
	Arrange Open Windows	Clicking this button will auto-arrange the open windows on your screen so that they tile to fill the entire screen area.

Time Format
The time format selection box is used to specify one of five common time formats used when displaying times. The format specified here will be used for all cue times in the cue editor, printed reports, time clock display and when dragging cues on the time line. The time format can be changed at any time without affecting the accuracy of recorded cue times, since all internal time formats are stored in the highest resolution format to eliminate rounding errors.

HH:MM:SS.xx	This is the highest resolution time setting, which is also the internal resolution that ShowSim uses for all times regardless of the output time format Time values are accurate to within .01 seconds.
HH:MM:SS.x	This common time format, also called "Standard" in some systems, is accurate to within .1 seconds.
SMPTE 24	The fractional seconds of this time format are represented by frame numbers ranging from 0 to 23. Thus the accuracy of this format is 1/24th of second ( .0417 seconds ). The first frame begins with zero, while the 24th frame appears as 23. For example, a time of exactly 5.96 seconds would be represented as 00:00:05.23.
SMPTE 25	The fractional seconds of this time format are represented by frame numbers ranging from 0 to 24. Thus the accuracy of this format is 1/25th of second ( .04 seconds ). The first frame begins with zero, while the 25th frame appears as 24. For example, a time of exactly 5.96 seconds would be represented as 00:00:05.24.
SMPTE 30	The fractional seconds of this time format are represented by frame numbers ranging from 0 to 29. Thus the accuracy of this format is 1/30th of second ( .033 seconds ). The first frame begins with zero, while the 30th frame appears as 29. For example, a time of exactly 5.96 seconds would be represented as 00:00:05.29.

Cost Tracker
The cost tracker keeps a running total on the selling price of all items used in your show as you build it. When you first create a new show, it will be zero dollars. Each time you add one or more effects to your show, the cost is updated to reflect the changes. This continuous price feedback helps you to regulate product density in order to prevent the show cost from exceeding a fixed budget.

Show Tools
The show tool buttons will become visible after you have opened a show for editing using the Show Manager. These are used to launch all the major tool panels you will need when building a show.

	Set Firing Positions	Places the main screen in fire position edit mode. In this mode, firing positions can be created, reloacated and deleted at any time.
	Open Cue Editor	The cue editor is the tabular list of cues where most of the show creation process takes place. This window is most often used in conjunction with the Effect Browser and Time Line tools while creating a show.
	Manual Firing Panel	The firing panel is a 3D simulation of a typical manual firing panel that can be used to fire the show by flipping switches. This tool is typically used to practice fire manual shows, but it can also be used to record fire times to the database.
	Time Line Tool	The time line tool is one of the most important tools for easily placing cues to music. The scrolling display shows both music data and time data, with adjustable cue markers overlayed onto the graph. New cues are easily added by double-clicking directly on the graph at the desired location.
	Show Settings	This form displays all the settings for the currently active show. This is where the background image, music soundtrack, default prefire times, cues per module and other settings can be changed at any time.
	Export Show	This option is used to output your show data into one of the many firing system formats available. This is also how you can make a complete .sho file containing your show data for the purposes of sending the show to someone else or backing it up. Note that the Backup feature on the File menu is the preferred method of creating backups for all your data in one operation, while the export option is good for saving shows one at a time.
	Print Reports	This utility allows you to preview and print five different kinds of reports, including show summary statistics, setup reports, chain fusing list, product list and firing script.

Playback Control



The simulator control bar at the bottom of the screen is used to start, stop, pause and scroll the play position of your shows. There are also sound control buttons to make the design process a little quieter when testing.

	Rewind Player	Stops the currently playing show and rewinds play position back to the beginning.
	Stop Player	Stops the currently playing show, or any other long running effect test such as a cake or gerb.
	Pause Player	Pauses the currently playing show and freezes the current simulation graphics into a still frame. The Play button must be used to resume from a Pause.
	Start Player	Starts playing the simulation from the current play position.
	Video Mode	This button begins playing the show from the beginning in video mode, which is useful when you are using an external DVD recorder to burn a copy of your simulated show. Video mode begins the simulation in full-screen mode with a title screen showing the show title and your company name. When the show is complete, the scripting interface will not automatically return until you click on the screen, giving you time to stop your DVD recorder for a clean finish to the video.
	Effect Sound Toggle	Used to toggle sound effects on and off.
	Music Sound Toggle	Used to toggle music on and off.
	Volume Control	Used to open the volume control panel.