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

✓48V — authored where you set it in the app, proven against a founder-authored show scene. Check 48V at the desk before you connect a mic or a DI.

!Aux send on/off and level — newly supported. load·in rebuilds Allen & Heath's own send files exactly, in both directions, on SQ-5; SQ-6 and SQ-7 are not covered. Nobody has loaded one of these on a physical SQ yet, so ring your wedges before the doors.

✓Channel names and colors — authored writes, verified against a real SQ-MixPad scene

✓DCA group membership — a small on/off patch verified against a founder-authored show scene

✓HPF, EQ, gate, and comp — the on/off switches — authored writes on both the fresh-plot and imported-scene paths, proven against a founder-authored show scene.

!Fader level, and the values behind the processing — HPF corner, EQ band gain/frequency/width, comp threshold, ratio and output gain, gate threshold and depth are written at the desk's own resolution. These have not been checked on a physical SQ yet, so the app lists them as needing a look at the desk — put the file up and confirm before a show that matters. EQ bandwidth passes through untouched where you haven't moved it.

≈Mute and pan — carried as part of each channel's raw strip data. If they're already set on the desk, they survive edits and channel reorders in load·in; load·in does not author new values into either one.

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 everything 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

—Aux sends are written on SQ-5 only, and no physical SQ has accepted one yet — check the sends at the desk.

—Fader level and the processing values are written, but no physical SQ has accepted them yet. The app says the same thing at export time — treat them as needing a check at the desk, not as settled.

—The gate's envelope controls have no proven home in the file yet — whatever moves with them is carried straight through rather than guessed at, so a gate hold or attack you dial in the app does not travel.

—Mute and pan are preserved, not authored — a mute or a pan that arrived by import survives, but load·in never sets a new value into either one.

—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, DCA, and processing on/off — written straight.

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

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