Opening a File
Now that you’ve downloaded a file and placed it into the proper folder, it’s time to access the ETC EOS File Menu … but it’s not where you would expect it to be. Typically this menu would be in the top left corner of your screen or of your window. Because the EOS software was built for a physical light board that may or may not have a mouse and keyboard, the software thinks in terms of touch screens and interactions; therefor, you’ll first need open the CIA (Central Information Area) by clicking on the small triangle in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
This will open the EOS system menu structure; containing the EXIT button (which is how you would properly close the application), Setup information, and the part we need … the File Menu.
Opening the File menu will allow you to navigate to the ShowArchive folder where you’ll find the file you just downloaded. If you had this menu open before you copied the file, simply collapse and expand the folder to refresh the files list. To open a file, double click on the one you want to open – here that would be “Lighting Design Worksheet 0.esf3d”
Before opening, EOS will need to close the current show, so will warn you before moving forward. First, it may ask if you want to save your current file. This is a great reminder to save your changes before going to the next show. But for us, we haven’t done anything yet, so we can just press the [Continue Without Saving] button. Or more likely, since you haven’t done anything yet, you won’t see this prompt.
Next, it will ask you which parts of the show you want to open – everything is selected by default, which is what you usually want, so just press [OK].
Finally, once you hit OK, a window will popup as EOS loads all the information … and you’re done!