ALLEN & HEATH SQ · SCENE*.DAT

The SQ show, zipped for the trip and unzipped for the desk.

Import a real SQ show folder, build the plot, and export a patched copy — with a clear line between what load·in authors and what it just carries.

Open load·in See what it won't touch

01 — The format

A folder, not a single file

An SQ show is a folder — SHOW.DAT, NVDATA.DAT, and one SCENE*.DAT per scene, normally on a USB stick under the console's show library or synced through SQ-MixPad. Since a browser can't hand you a folder, load·in packages the export as a .zip — unzip it onto the USB drive as a folder before the SQ will see it as a show.

File Structure

SCENE*.DAT

Plus SHOW.DAT and NVDATA.DAT, one folder per show

Export Package

.zip

Unzip onto the USB stick as a folder

Input Channels

SQ-5, SQ-6, SQ-7

02 — What load·in reads

Everything the scene carries, per channel

Import a scene and load·in reads channel names, colors, and the full raw channel strip — SQ has no meaningful control protocol for HPF/EQ/gate/comp (Allen & Heath's own MIDI spec exposes mute, level, pan, assign, and scene/softkey recall, nothing more), so load·in reads and writes SQ against the native scene file, never against MIDI.

03 — What load·in writes

A short, precise list — with a real line drawn

✓Channel names, colors, phantom power, fader level — authored writes, verified against a real SQ-MixPad scene

✓DCA group membership — a single-byte mask patch verified against a founder-authored show scene

≈Mute, pan, HPF, EQ, gate, comp — carried as part of each channel's raw strip data. If it's already set on the desk, it survives edits and channel reorders in load·in; load·in does not author new values into these fields.

04 — What load·in leaves alone

Reorder a channel — the strip travels with it

Move a channel in your plot and re-export, and the whole raw strip — mute, pan, whatever processing you already dialed in — moves with it. load·in doesn't need to understand every byte in that strip to keep it intact; it just has to not touch what it doesn't own.

05 — What load·in won't claim

The honest edges

—No aux send on/off or level writeback.

—Mute, pan, HPF, EQ, gate, and comp are preserved, not authored — load·in can't set a new HPF frequency or flip gate on for you on this format.

—Writeback runs against the native scene file only — MIDI control has no field-level surface for any of this, and load·in never uses it as a write path.

06 — Before the show

Verify it before it's the desk's problem

Unzip the exported archive onto a FAT32 USB drive as a folder — the SQ needs the folder structure, not the zip itself.
Load the show into a spare slot and confirm names, colors, and phantom state on the surface.
Check DCA membership against your plot.
Spot-check mute, pan, and processing on a few channels — they should read back exactly as they were on the source show.

Other supported workflows: Allen & Heath dLive · Avid VENUE S6L · the full list is on the console support page.

Names, colors, phantom, and DCA — written straight.

Import your SQ show. Build the plot. Export a patched copy.

Try load·in free →

No signup required to plan. Console-file import, export and account features need a connection.