MA Lighting has announced this week there will be a new software release a few weeks after the PLASA show.

New features of grandMA Version 5.7x include:

• Playback on Screen: Fader, Executor & Buttons are able to playback virtually onscreen.
• Bitmaps Effects can now be linked to cues like normal effects.
• “DMX” keyword is now functional. It allows direct access to unpatched DMX addresses like “DMX 100 at 50 Enter.”
• Copying and moving a block of cues will keep the relative cue numbering (whenever possible).
• New commands (and Quikeys) Block and Unblock. They work on cues and complete sequences. The simple command Block Enter would for example block the current cue of the default executor.
• New command has been added for switching to next or previous page with “link”-commands in cues.
• New keyword IfActive can be used as selection in all kind of commands. IfActive Enter will simply select all fixtures that have active (red) values in the programmer.
• User Profiles have a world filter.
• Cue number Limit is expanded to 3999 in one cuelist.
• NSP Workload is now shown in Desk Status and NSP configuration window.
• A new DMX-network-Protocol will be introduced, implementing the brand new MA 2Port Node.
• Networking dialogs have been rearranged for a better overview.
• Midi Show Control (MSC) has improved. Access any executor by an MSC command instead of only the selected sequence. For this there are now three modes for Input and Output Executor Handling.