What does "Set First Cue" do

Set First Cue aligns the script to your video at the exact moment you press the button. The easiest fix for any sync issue.

Set First Cue is the one-button fix for scripts that do not line up with your video. You press the button (or the C key) at the first moment of action on screen, and ToyControl shifts the whole script to match. That is the whole feature.

This article explains why it works, when to use it, and how it differs from the fine-tune slider.

Why scripts go out of sync

A script is timed to a specific copy of a video. If your copy has a longer intro, a different cut, or a higher frame rate, the script will be a little ahead of or behind the action you see.

Set First Cue solves this by letting you tell ToyControl "here is the moment the script's first action should land." Everything else shifts by the same amount.

How to use it

Load your video and the script.
Hit play.
Watch the screen.
The instant you see the first action (the first thrust, the first contact, the first moment of motion), press C on your keyboard.

The script jumps to align. From this point on, the rest of the script lines up too.

If you missed the moment, hit Reset and try again.

C vs the button

You can also click the Set First Cue button in the Script Player tab. The keyboard shortcut C does the same thing without taking your eyes off the screen, which is why most users prefer it.

The key works whether the ToyControl window is in focus, in the background, or even minimised. You only need to be on the same computer.

Set First Cue vs the fine-tune slider

Two tools, two jobs.

Set First Cue is for big offsets. The script is 2 or 3 seconds off the action. One keystroke fixes it.
Fine-tune slider (±500 ms) is for small offsets. The script is 100 milliseconds off. You drag the slider.

Use Set First Cue first. After that, if the script still feels a touch early or late, drag the slider in small steps.

Both settings are saved for that script, so you only do this once per scene.

Resetting

Next to Set First Cue is a Reset button. Click it to clear the offset and put the script back to its original timing.

If you reset and try again, ToyControl forgets the previous First Cue. This is fine; you can adjust whenever you want.

When neither tool helps

If after Set First Cue and the fine-tune slider the script still drifts (it starts aligned and goes off over time), the script was made for a different frame rate or a different cut of the video. There is no fix on the player side. You need a different copy of the script or the video.

This is rare for current scripts, but common for old scripts of well-known scenes.