Creating a new project
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Choose Project › New, or press
Ctrl+N. -
Contours starts an empty project called Project. The first time you save it (Project › Save, or
Ctrl+S), choose a folder and a file name; the project takes its name from the file. -
Add your axes on the Axes tab. You need at least one axis before you can do anything else useful.
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Connect your motors and link each motor to an axis, either in the Connections panel (see chapter 5) or by choosing it in the Motor list on the axis's General tab (see chapter 6).
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Create a show on the Shows tab and start recording or importing motion.
Opening, saving, and backing up
|
Command |
Shortcut |
What it does |
|---|---|---|
|
Open |
|
Opens an existing project file. You can also double-click a |
|
Save |
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Saves the current project to its existing file. A project that has never been saved goes through Save As. |
|
Save As |
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Saves the project under a new name and continues working in the new file. |
|
Save Backup |
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Writes a backup copy without changing the file you are currently editing. The copy goes in the project's folder, named after the project with the date and time added, for example |
Tip. Use Save Backup before a big edit or before a show runs in front of an audience. It's the fastest way to create a known-good checkpoint you can fall back to.
Note. Projects saved by early versions of Contours open with every profile's position shown on the chart. A profile that played an imported Fixed Interval series opens with that series as its take, exactly as it played, so you can edit it, stream it and load it into its motor like any other take. A series that a profile never played is left out. Save the project to keep it this way.
Recent projects
The Project › Recent Projects submenu lists the last four projects you opened or saved, newest first. Selecting one opens it immediately, skipping the file picker. The list is kept when you close Contours and when you install a newer version.
Unsaved changes
Before New, Open, or a recent project replaces a project with unsaved changes, and before Contours closes, Contours asks whether to save them: Save, Don't save, or Cancel to go back to your project. If you close Contours while the Record screen holds a take you haven't saved, it asks about that take instead, and Save keeps the take and saves the project.