Hi Enzo – Vision Show, welcome to the Finale 3D forum!   At the moment, creating a five-pointed star requires making a custom 2D break pattern using the effect editor. To create the shell, you start with another effect, such as a peony, and then you draw the break pattern, as shown in the screenshot below.   Here is the custom simulation text for a 5″ Red Five-Pointed Star Pattern shell for you. To bring this into Finale 3D, copy the long string of text below including the curly braces at the ends {}, then go to Effects > Create effect and use Ctrl+V on your keyboard to paste the text into the Visual description (full VDL) field and click Enter to create the effect. Once you’ve created the effect, you can edit by right clicking on it and selecting Edit in effect editor…   {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}    

Is there any simple way to make a shell in the shape of a 5-point star?

thank you!

Hey Pyro_344290000, girandolas and other “moving effects” are a somewhat clunky and handled in a special way compared to other effects.   Moving effects are animated using parameters that are stored in the “Effect Data” column in the script widow. The effects window doesn’t include this column, which is why the girandola breaks when you try to add it from your script to your My Effects collection. The workaround for saving a girandola is to create an effect “macro”. The macro works by storing the girandola animation information as a sort of payload, which the maco can then inject into the script as needed. To create a girandola macro, go to Effects > Effect macros > Create girandola macro…   As you noted, the other issue with girandolas is that each “driver” is represented as a different line of script. Whereas, the drivers on a girandola in real life are typically fused together, thus making it possible to ignite the entire girandola with a single e-match. The solution in Finale 3D is to mirror the real life girandola by fusing the drivers together. To do this, select the lines of script representing a single girandola, then go to Script > Chains > Combine as chain.

Hi Walker Pyrotechnics, I feel your pain! Unfortunately, there’s currently no way to control the sort order of the effect collections/catalogs in the effects window drop-down list. However, I’ve added it to our roadmap as a future improvement. Thanks for posting!

You can use a “break” node in the effect editor to create this kind of motion when the stars transition from one phase to another. Here’s a screenshot of the tree structure in the effect editor:       Below is the custom simulation. To use the effect, copy the text including the curly braces { } at each end. Then, in Finale 3D, go to Effects > Create effect, and use Ctrl+V to paste the text into the Visual descritpion (full VDL) field.   {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}

Here you go –> https://www.loom.com/share/91eb53b171504debb5e04a421fb891ab?sid=4cdaaee2-3845-42cc-9953-66116f9fa9d6    

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uuvBL0fChUSIVwvXijUeP-mNgQJ6LOPT/view?usp=sharing Does any motion type resemble this one? It turns around in a straight way

I’ve added some products to an already addressed show. Is there an easy way to mark my new products to just print labels for them?

I think this is interesting. In addition to standardizing the behavior (with a pattern that is familiar), I think the reduction in the number of effects to scroll through is a win (everything adds up). I wouldn’t expect the range of values to be wide (not sure my flame machines would run for 10 seconds 😀), but I can definitely see the benefit of being able to adjust end timing more precisely when trying to line up with the music. What default time are you thinking?