How to import a macro into grandMA3

• A grandMA3 console, or grandMA3 onPC on a computer
• The macro as an XML file
• A USB stick

Macros made by CueSetter come as a ZIP file with the folders already in place.

1. 1Put the XML file on the USB stick in the folder grandMA3/gma3_library/datapools/macros. With a ZIP from CueSetter, unzip it to the root of the stick: the grandMA3 folder goes at the top.
2. 2Insert the stick in the console, or in the computer running onPC.
3. 3Open Show Creator from the menu (on grandMA3 1.9 it is the Import/Export menu). Choose Macros, and the USB stick as the source.
4. 4Select the macro and import it into a free slot in the Macros pool.
5. 5Run the macro by tapping it in the Macros pool.

A macro is a list of command lines, so the same result can be had by typing or pasting them into the command line. These are the commands a CueSetter macro uses, verified on grandMA3 onPC 2.5.1:

Store Sequence 101 Cue 1
Label Sequence 101 Cue 1 "Doors open"
Set Sequence 101 Cue 1 Property "Note" "Start 18:30, Duration 30"
Store Sequence 101 Cue 2
Label Sequence 101 Cue 2 "Welcome by the host"
Label Sequence 101 "Spring concert"

Several commands can go on one line, separated by semicolons. CueSetter shows the whole line ready to copy on the export step.

A grandMA3 macro file is XML with one MacroLine per command. DataVersion tells the console which software version the file was made for:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<GMA3 DataVersion="2.5.1.0">
  <Macro Name="Spring concert">
    <MacroLine Command="Store Sequence 101 Cue 1"/>
    <MacroLine Command="Label Sequence 101 Cue 1 &quot;Doors open&quot;"/>
    <MacroLine Command="Label Sequence 101 &quot;Spring concert&quot;"/>
  </Macro>
</GMA3>

Quotes inside a command are written as ", and the file must be saved as UTF-8.

Writing a macro for a long run sheet by hand takes as long as typing the run sheet into the console. CueSetter reads the run sheet – PDF, Word or Excel – and makes the macro for you, with one named cue per item and cue numbers that follow the run sheet.

Naming cues by hand instead? See how to label cues in grandMA3.