Setlist variants

Setlist variants let you maintain multiple independent versions of a setlist within a single project file. Each variant has its own song order and songs. Switching between them is instant, without opening a different project.

When to use variants

• Main show vs. B-show — keep a shortened set for unexpected schedule changes ready to go without building a separate project
• Rehearsal vs. final — track changes between a dress rehearsal setlist and the approved final order without duplicating the project
• Multi-act shows — one variant per act, all within the same project file
• Alternate intros — test different song orderings before committing

Managing variant tabs

The variant tabs appear at the top of the Setlist panel. The default variant is named Main. Each tab shows the running time of its list — skipped songs don't count (see Skipping songs). Hover the time to see how many songs it holds.

• Switch — click a tab, or press Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab for the next / previous list
• Reorder — drag a tab left or right; a thin line shows where it will land
• Add — click the + button in the variant tab bar, type a name, and an empty variant is created and opened. If a song is playing, LTCast asks first, because the empty list does not contain that song and opening it stops playback
• Rename — right-click a tab and choose Rename
• Colour — right-click a tab and pick a colour; the active tab is filled with it, the others are tinted
• Duplicate — right-click a tab and choose Duplicate; every song in the new list is linked to the original
• Delete — right-click a tab and choose Delete, then confirm; at least one variant must always remain in the project, so Delete is greyed out on the last one

To bring songs from one list into another, see Copy, cut & paste songs.

Switching during playback

If the song that's playing is also in the list you switch to — a linked copy or the same audio file — it keeps playing without a break, and the show carries on from that song in the new list.

If it isn't in that list, LTCast asks first: switching would stop playback, because the new list has no cues for that song.

Adding a list switches to it, and deleting the list you are on switches to its neighbour; the song that is playing is not in that list, so both stop playback. Adding a list asks first when a song is playing. Deleting the list you are on only asks whether to delete it and then stops the song, so do that between songs. Deleting a list you are not on does not touch playback.

What variants share

Adding, removing, reordering or skipping songs in one variant has no effect on the others. A song that appears in several variants can be linked — then its cues, lyrics, offset and triggers are shared, while skip, after-finish, transitions, pre-roll and fades stay per list. Unlinked copies are fully independent.

Project file

All variants are stored in the same .ltcast project file. You do not need to manage multiple files to maintain multiple setlists for the same show.