The first step to getting familiar with the ShowSim environment is to play with some of the demo shows that are installed with the product.  This will also let you know if ShowSim works well with your hardware configuration, since slow performance can be a problem in older systems or low-cost systems with stripped down video cards.


The Show Manager panel.

Using the Show Manager:
All shows are accessed via the Show Manager panel, rather than loaded directly from disk.  Because all ShowSim data is stored in a centralized database server that runs as a separate process on your computer, there is no need to work with data files on your hard drive.  The Show Manager, seen above, allows you to quickly browse all of your shows without parsing through file directories trying to find the right show.  Clicking on any show in the list will give you a quick summary of show data as well, complete with shell count, cue count and duration.

Playing a Show
To play a show, you must first open it by selecting it in the listing of shows and clicking the Open button below the list.  You can also double-click directly on the show name in the list to open it.  To read more about playing the show once it is open, proceed to the next page.

Creating a Show
Selecting the New button will open the setup panel for creating a new show.  This is the same as selecting File/New from the menu bar or clicking the New button on the button bar.  For more information about setting up a new show, refer to the next section.

Importing a Show
The Import button will bring up the show import utility, which can be used to import a variety of external choreography software formats in addition to the native .sho file format.  Imported data is converted into new show that is stored in the database and made available in the Show Manager.  For more information about importing shows, refer to the Show Import section.

Exporting a Show
The Export button will bring up the show export utility, which can be used to output your show in a variety of formats that can be loaded into commercial firing systems or other choreography software programs.  Shows should also be periodically exported in the native .sho format as a way of externally backing up your shows to disk.  This is especially important when installing a new version of ShowSim, since uninstalling ShowSim will clear any show data from the database server.  Exported .sho files can be Imported back into a new installation of ShowSim, thus providing a means of backing up your work to CD or other media.  For more information about exporting shows, refer to the Show Export section.

Cloning a Show
The Clone button will make an exact copy of whatever show is selected in the show list.  This is useful if you want to make a slightly altered version of an existing show, perhaps to show several proposed designs to a client.  Clone can also come in handy as a way of viewing the same show from a different perspective or distance.  Simply change the background image and firing position locations on the cloned show and you can create different views of the same show.  However, once a show is cloned it is completely separate from the original show, thus changes in the parent show will not be carried over to the clone.

Deleting a Show
The Delete button will permanently remove the show from the database.  This operation can not be undone, so it is extremely important that you are sure you want to remove the show.  A warning message will give you a chance to back out of this operation if you accidentally click Delete.  It is recommended that you export any show you wish to delete into a .sho file before removing it, that way if you change your mind later you can restore the show by importing it.