Hey Bo, updates should not change the appearance of your custom sims. If the update is the culprit, then this is a bug.   Please send me a show file with just a few broken effects on the timeline. We call this a ‘Minimal Test Case’, MTC for short. Please also let me know the build ID for the release you’re running now in which the effects look bad, and the build ID for the release you were running previously in which the effects looked good. The build ID is in the filename for each installer and can be found in Finale 3D by going to ‘File > View account details’. If you’re not sure what build you were running previously, install previous full releases until you find one in which the effects look good.   As soon as I can reproduce the problem, we’ll get to work.

Hey gang,  I have a slew of custom sims created in late 2022 and early 2023 who’s launch heights aren’t translating at all with new changes to the backend.  I don’t recall this being an issue with the release I was on this spring.  The Effects Editor seems to have undergone an overhaul since this time as well.

HI Drew!   Was good seeing you @ Sky Wars.  I’ve been using Rack Type for a while, in this situation it’s becoming tedious as I’m using a lot of different product part numbers that are used in both a straight up and angled.  The show is evolving and product use cases change so I’m going thru iterations of addressing and racking (mostly to make sure I don’t hose myself with needed vs. available gear, I tend to over-kill some times and this process saves me from mad scramble borrowing)  forcing me to go back and re-assign rack types to a lot of product.    If this isn’t available, it would be a nice “feature request” to have racking blueprints at some point or I’m just a a weird corner case and no one else would use this! 🙂

Hi NEC,   You can match effects with racks using “Rack Type”. For example, if you have some single shots that require rack ABC, and other single shots that require rack XYZ, go to the effects window and enter ABC in the ‘Rack Type Default’ column for the ABC rack, and XYZ in the ‘Rack Type Default’ column for the XYZ racks. Next, for the events in your script, enter either ABC or XYZ as needed in the ‘Rack Type’ column. Then, when you do ‘Racks > Add racks for show’, Finale 3D will automatically add the appropriate number of each rack. Finally, when you do Address Show, Finale 3D will only load your single shots into racks of the matching ‘Rack Type’. This functionality is available in Hobbyist and Pro.   Check out this example of Using ‘Rack Type’ to pair fanned shells or fanned chains with fan racks. Although this example is for shells, not single shots, the principle is the same. In other words, when you have items, like single shots, that could otherwise go in any single shot rack, you can pair them with a specific kind of rack using ‘Rack Type’.

Hello … My name is Fred. I’m a novice pyro hobbyist living in South Dakota (US) shooting mostly 1.4 pro (with some 1.4 and 1.3 mixed in).  I’ve been using CSC to create 1-2 backyard shows per year.  As each year passes, I become more frustrated by the difference between what I “see” in my mind when designing a show, and what the show actually looks like when shot.  Hence … at 69 years old, I’ve finally decided to tackle Finale 3D. I’m looking forward to creating shows just for fun as well as dazzling friends and family next summer!

Assigning racks with multiple conditions, is it possible without manually adding racks and drag-n-drop?   EX: 50MM single shot (any) at zero degrees to one rack type, 50MM single shot at <> zero degrees to a different rack type   TIA   J

Hey i was just thinking wouldn’t it be nice if there was an option to do a monthly subscription for the hobbyist and pro version not just a yearly one? just a thought

See this forum topic: https://finale3d.com/groups/english/forum/topic/how-do-i-put-a-position-in-a-3d-model/