Hey FMP Sean, here’s some example VDL for a 1/4 peony shell:   5″ Red Peony Quarter1 w/ Blue Peony Quarter2 w/ Yellow Peony Quarter3 w/ Green Peony Quarter4

The PyroJam 2026 design competition is LIVE!   NEW for 2026: To join this year’s competition, you will need to register. For complete details, see finale3d.com/pyrojam.   Don’t wait to get started, the deadline to submit your show is April 1, 2026.     Have a question? Need some help? Post it here!   Registration FAQ: 1) How do I join the competition? Go to finale3d.com/pyrojam and follow the steps in the ‘How to Join’ section. Also be sure to fully review the competition rules.   2) Do I need to register to join the PyroJam Competition? Yes, all competitors must register to participate in the competition.   3) I paid the PyroJam registration fee, but I have not received an email with the show design template, what should I do? There is no automatic confirmation email; registrations are processed manually. Please allow 24 hours from the time you register to receive an email. If you don’t see the email in your inbox, please check your Spam or Junk folder. If you still don’t see the email, please contact support@finale3d.com for assistance.   Show Design FAQ:   1) When I import my MP3 soundtrack into Finale 3D, I hear audio artifacts like, static, crackling, popping, or clicking, how can I fix this problem? To resolve this issue, convert your soundtrack to WAV before importing it into Finale 3D. If you need a tool for audio editing, Audacity is a great free option. When creating a WAV file, use a sample rate of 44.1 kHz (44,100 Hz) and bit depth of 16-bit. WAV files with other sample rates and bit depths may not work properly in Finale 3D.   2) Do I need to include silence or a pre-roll at the beginning of my soundtrack? You may include silence at the beginning of your soundtrack but is not required.   3) Can my soundtrack include songs that are edited? Yes, you may edit, cut, trim, and mix songs any way you like. Use your creativity and all the tools at your disposal to make the best possible soundtrack.   4) Can I use copyrighted music in my soundtrack? Yes, you may use any music of your choice. Music selections should be appropriate for an international public audience and respectful of the host location and cultural setting.   5) Can my soundtrack include a voice introduction? Yes, you may include a recorded voice introduction, but it is not required. If you include a voiceover, please make sure that it does not identify you as the designer to maintain the impartiality of the judging process.   6) What are the requirements for show duration? Your show must be between 9 and 10 minutes. Show duration is calculated from the first cue marker to the last cue marker on the timeline. For details, see Show Duration in the PyroJam competition rules.   7) Can more firing positions be added to the PyroJam layout? You may use as many or as few firing positions as you like, but modifying the position layout is not permitted.   8) Can I angle and rotate cakes? No, cakes cannot be angled (tilted) in this year’s competition. However, cakes can be rotated 180° to reverse their firing pattern.   9) Can I do “lettering shooting” or “matrix letters” in my show? No, matrix letter shooting isn’t allowed in this year’s competition. Effects my only be angled left or right, not toward or away from the audience.   11) How do I refresh the PyroJam Competition catalog to get the latest updates? Each time you login to Finale 3D in online mode, the latest version of the catalog will be downloaded automatically. You can refresh the catalog without restarting Finale 3D by going to File > Sync with Network.   12) How do I update the effects in my show to reflect updates that have been made to the PyroJam Competition catalog? Select the PyroJam Competition catalog in the Finale 3D effects window. Then, go to the Effects menu on the main menu bar and select Update Per-show effects.   Show Submission FAQ:   1) When I submit my show (.fin) file, do I also need to submit my soundtrack? No, the only file you need to submit is your Finale 3D show (.fin) file. This file contains 100% the digital assets that have been added to the show. This includes the effects, images, models, and music.   2) I’m having trouble with the show submission form, what should I do. Please contact support@finale3d.com for assistance.   3) How do I know if my competition entry was received? After completing the submission form, you should receive a confirmation email. If you don’t see the email in your inbox, please check your Spam or Junk folder. If you still don’t see the email, please contact support@finale3d.com for assistance.     P.S. If you’re new to the forum, don’t forget to head over to your My Profile and customize your Display Name and Profile Picture!      

I have seen 1/4 Peonies on some suppliers list, but I can’t find a simulation that meets our needs. Can you indicate how to make a four colour 1/4(Quad) peony?

I spent some time building some cakes last night and started manually adjusting inventories.  When I was done, I decided to back my changes up up with a network sync (File > Sync with Network).  The sync has errored out after multiple attempts with an error code of “Response not successful: Received status code 504”.  Is there something that I did that caused this issue that I need to undo?   EDIT – all good now.  Not sure what happened.

You can submit sims for products that are already listed on Finale DB now, and your sims go live instantly. 😀   If you have sims for products that are already listed on Finale DB, go ahead and submit those, especially if those products don’t already have sims! If you have sims for products that aren’t currently listed on Finale DB, you can submit those too, though they won’t go live instantly (and that requires also adding some information about the product), but rest assured we’re working on making that process as fast and easy as it can be, too!

I would like to have the ability to open as many effect windows as needed with different catalogs in each. The speed and ease at which I could design would be dramatically improved with this.

I think it would be great if Finale had the concept of Markers. Just timeline markers that you can snap effects to. A “Markers” window would be needed as well to manage markers and to bulk import them. Currently, I import tempo markers from my DAW in the form of empty cues. Essentially a tempo grid. However, when using empty cues and adding an effect, that “marker” is now gone, replaced by the effect. Deleting that effect means the “marker” point is lost. You can also not toggle empty cues on and off to make the timeline cleaner when it gets hectic, so a Toggle Marker Visibility option makes sense. Being able to lock markers so they aren’t moveable is a good idea here as well.

There is a “Count” value in the design window. This counts every event in the show, including empty events and DMX. Can we get just a “cues” counter that just shows the total pyro cues used in a show? Perhaps a User Setting to “Show cue counts in design window”. Perhaps take a step further with “Show module counts in design window”, “Show DMX event counts in design window”, etc…

I’m looking for a report to get the total count of quick splits / breakout boards needed for a show and also how many cues needed for each one?   The wiring report gives you this but requires you to have to manually count / process the data which is a time killer for larger shows.   I would ideally like a custom report that shows me the below data.   Total count of QS / BB with 2-4 cues needed   Total count of QS / BB with 5-6 cues needed   Total count of QS / BB with 7+ cues needed   How can this be done, if at all?   Thanks  

This is awesome. I find this a much easier way to add existing inventory to My Effects than searching through all of the various catalogs. When will users be able to add their own VDLs and sims?  The real value proposition here is the enablement of crowd sourcing.