Shows, files and projects

This page describes the File menu (creating, opening, saving a show, exporting or importing a complete project) and explains where DreamShow stores your venues, your shows, your media and your settings.

To open it: File menu. Shortcut: Ctrl+S to save.

Show, venue, project: what are we talking about?

• A show is your performance: the sequence of scenes, their timelines and their final states. It is a <name>.show.json file.
• A venue describes the place and the equipment: fixtures, addresses, positions, groups, screens, DMX connections. It is a <name>.venue.json file. A venue can serve several shows.
• A show is linked to its venue by the venue's name. When you open a show, DreamShow automatically switches to its venue (if it exists).
• The project is the whole DreamShow data folder: all the venues, all the shows, the media, the effects, the palettes, the trajectories and the settings.

The File menu

New show…

Creates an empty show on the active venue.

1. If the current show has unsaved changes, DreamShow asks Save the changes to the show?.
2. A small New show window asks for Show name:. Type the name then OK. Closing this window without a name cancels.
3. If a show of that name already exists: “A show “…” already exists. Overwrite it?”. No cancels.
4. The show is created with a single scene, “Scene 1”, saved straight away and opened.

The file is created in the same folder as the current show.

Open a show…

Opens a *.show.json file (file picker, filter “Show DreamShow” (DreamShow show)), starting from the current show's folder. DreamShow first offers to save the current show if it has been modified.

On opening:

• if the show was prepared for a venue other than the active one, DreamShow switches to that venue; if it cannot be found, it keeps the current venue and writes this in the Log (“The show references venue “…”, not found — current venue kept (…)”);
• the first scene is selected and playback is reset to zero;
• the show is added at the top of the Recent shows.

Recent shows

The last 10 shows opened, most recent first, numbered (“1 name.show.json”, “2 …”): type the number to open it from the keyboard while the submenu is open. The open show is in bold. The tooltip gives the full path. (none) is displayed when the list is empty.

A file that no longer exists is removed from the list with the message “File not found: …”.

Save (Ctrl+S)

Saves the current show. A message “✓ show saved (HH:mm:ss)” is displayed for a few seconds next to the show's title, and the asterisk * that flagged changes disappears.

At each save, DreamShow:

• first writes a temporary file, then replaces the old one: a power cut during the save cannot destroy the previous version;
• keeps a copy of the previous version in the autosave subfolder (see below);
• notes in the show the name of the active venue (this is the one that will be reopened with this show).

Save as…

Saves the show under another name (filter “Show DreamShow”, extension .show.json added if needed), then carries on working on this new file.

Each show has its own media folder: DreamShow copies the old show's media into the media folder of the new name (only the files that are not already there). A message says “… media copied to …”. The show saved under another name is thus complete and independent of the original.

Remote (GO keys)…

Assign the keys of a 2.4 GHz remote to the cue window's GO / Previous step / Blackout actions. See The remote (GO keys).

Open the show's media folder

Opens in Windows Explorer the media folder of the current show (data\medias\<show name>), creating it if it does not exist. This is where the sounds, videos and DMX streams used by the show go. Media are called by name only, never by a full path: a project moves from one PC to another without breaking anything.

To add media, preferably use the Import media… button of the media panel, which copies them into this folder. See Sound and video on the timeline.

Export the whole project (zip)…

Venue patch, fixtures, shows, effects and media — to transfer to another PC.

1. If the current show has changes, it is saved first, without asking.
2. Choose where to save the zip file (suggested name: <venue name>-dreamshow.zip, spaces replaced by hyphens).
3. DreamShow puts in the zip the whole data folder, subfolders included, except the copies in the autosave folder and the screen layout (dreamshow.ui.json).
4. A message gives the zip's size and location: “Project exported (… MB): …”.

Import a project (zip)…

Loads a project exported from another PC (or a backup).

1. Choose the zip file (filter “Projet DreamShow” (DreamShow project)).
2. Confirm: “The import replaces the files of the current project that have the same name (venue, shows, effects, media). Continue?”
3. The zip's files are copied into the data folder, replacing those with the same name. Files that are not in the zip stay in place.
4. “Project imported — the application will restart to load it.”: DreamShow restarts by itself.

Create a show with an AI…

See Creating a show with an AI.

DMX stream by an AI…

Request to paste into an AI chat (venue, fixtures, music), then checked import of the stream it returns. See DMX stream by an AI.

Export for a standalone player…

DMX stream (.DmxStreaming) replayed without a PC by an ESP32, a Raspberry Pi or a mini-PC. See The standalone player.

Import a ppshow show…

For users of the ppshow software: rebuilds a DreamShow show from a ppshow show folder (the dmx.ini file and the sounds), matching the fixtures by DMX address to the current venue. The active venue must therefore reflect the ppshow rig exactly.

1. Choose the ppshow show folder (picker title: “ppshow show folder (containing dmx.ini)”). Without dmx.ini: “This folder has no dmx.ini (it is not a ppshow show).”
2. Give the DreamShow show name: (the folder name is suggested). If that show already exists, DreamShow asks whether to overwrite it.
3. The sounds are copied into the new show's media folder.
4. A summary is displayed: number of ppshow steps and scenes created (steps in automatic sequence may be merged), fixture and moving-head states matched, channel states (dimmers), named steps, extra commands, sounds and sound level changes. ppshow fixtures with no DreamShow fixture at the same address are ignored and counted.

Where files are stored

Everything is in the data folder, next to DreamShow.exe (in a normal installation: C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Local\Programs\DreamShow\data). The simplest way to get there: File > Open the show's media folder, then go up two levels.

The autosave folder: previous versions

Each time a show, a venue or the palettes are saved, DreamShow first copies the version that is about to be replaced into data\autosave, with the date and time in the name. For example, saving concert.show.json on 5 October 2026 at 14:32:10 keeps the old version as concert.show-20261005-143210.json.

DreamShow does not save the show by itself at regular intervals: remember Ctrl+S. The autosave folder is never emptied automatically.

Step by step

Starting from an existing show for a new performance

1. Open the starting show (File > Open a show…).
2. File > Save as…, type the new name.
3. You are now working on the copy, with its own copy of the media. The original is not modified.

Transferring a project to the show control PC

1. On the preparation PC: File > Export the whole project (zip)…, save the zip on a USB stick.
2. On the show control PC (DreamShow installed): File > Import a project (zip)…, choose the zip, confirm.
3. DreamShow restarts. Open the show with File > Open a show… if it is not the one that opens.
4. Check Venue > DMX connections…: the show control PC's interfaces may be different.

Going back to a previous version of a show

1. In DreamShow, open another show (or quit DreamShow), so as not to work on the file you are about to replace.
2. In Explorer, open the data folder. To keep the current version, rename for example concert.show.json to concert-actuel.show.json.
3. Open the autosave subfolder and find the copy with the right date and time, for example concert.show-20261005-143210.json.
4. Copy it into the data folder and rename it exactly like the original show: concert.show.json. It thus finds its media folder medias\concert again.
5. In DreamShow, File > Open a show… and choose concert.show.json.

Good to know

• The asterisk * after the show's title flags unsaved changes. DreamShow asks to save before opening another show, creating one, launching an assistant and when quitting.
• When quitting, DreamShow asks “Quit DreamShow?” (or “A show is RUNNING. Quit DreamShow anyway?” if the cue window is open).
• A show's media folder depends on its file name. If you rename a .show.json file in Explorer, also rename its folder in medias, or rather use Save as….
• A show is linked to its venue by the venue's name. Rename a venue with Venue > Rename the venue…, which updates the shows that reference it: see Switching, renaming, duplicating a venue.
• The project export contains the whole data folder, including the fixture library and your settings (language, keys, MIDI, OSC…). The import therefore also replaces the settings of the PC that receives it.
• Save your show before importing a project: at the restart that follows the import, DreamShow offers to save the current show, and answering Yes would overwrite this show on top of a file of the same name that the import has just brought in.
• Before updating DreamShow, export the project: see Installation, languages and updates.

See also

• Recovering after a crash or power cut
• Switching, renaming, duplicating a venue
• Sound and video on the timeline
• Libraries
• Installation, languages and updates