Hello everyone, this is my first contribution to the DJ community on how to automate the adding of the first cue point to your music/video files using a mouse/keyboard program and best of all...ITS FREE and works with ITCH and Serato DJ.

The product is called Mouse Recorder Pro 2, current version is 2.0.7.4 and can be found by google search.

General Description:

Mouse Recorder Pro 2 is a recording application which will record your computer Keyboard and Mouse movements. This allows the user to repeat an operation easily and fast. You can play what you have been recording whenever you like easier and faster. You will be able to edit what you have been recording for further development.

Usage:

I have been using it for over eight months with ITCH and now with Serato DJ with no issues, however, disclaimer though......I own no rights\ownership to Mouse Recorder 2. My sole purpose for providing this info is to assist other DJs in developing a way to automate cue point setting. Thus, in using Mouse Recorder 2 you agree that Johnny 5 (that's ME) is not liable for anything that the software does/does not do.

Now, we know that current versions of ITCH/Serato DJ don't automatically add cue points, however, with the assistance of Mouse Recorder Pro 2, we can automate the adding of the first cue point by telling Serato "via recorded keyboard commands" that it should load a song, set the first cue point (if it isn't set) and then continue to load the next song, etc.

Thus, in order for the process to work effectively there are a few minor requirements:

(1) The songs/videos must first be analyzed and beat gridded using ITCH or Serato DJ.

(2) Create/use crates to determine number of songs that you will be adding cue point. (This is needed to determine how many times you will run the automated script)
Open/go to ITCH/Serato DJ and open/create a crate. For newly created crates add the music files you want to run the script against. (This can your entire library, however, it is recommended that you perform this task in several smaller iterations to avoid database issues with Serato and/or computer processing. For example, if you have 10K songs to set cue points, place about 2-3K in a crate and run Mouse Recorder. Once this group is done perform the task again until all files have been completed ) For new and/or existing crates, open the crate and sort the crate so that you can review how many songs exists in the crate. Jot down the value found in the # column and enter this value later in the "Times to play script" found in the Advanced button setting.

(3) Create a text file named SetFirstCuePoint.m2s and enter the script values provided below as these already contain the recorded values required by Mouse Recorder Pro 2 to interact effectively with Serato to add the first cue point to songs which don't have the first cue point set. (Place the file in My Documents or somewhere that it can easily be found)

**Script version 2.0.2.0**
5 1000
3 1
5 90
4 1
5 90
3 {Alt}
5 10
3 {Alt}
5 90
3 {Alt}
5 90
3 {Alt}
5 90
3 {Alt}
5 90
3 {Alt}
5 90
3 w
5 90
4 w
5 140
4 {Alt}
5 2138

(4) Open the Mouse Recorder Pro 2 program and select LOAD to load the SetFirstCuePoint.m2s file.

(5) Click on the Advanced button and set the value for "Times to play script" (determined by how many songs you want to run script against as described above in step 2 ) and set the value for "Script playing speed" to process script either slower or faster. I recommend you run the script speed at 0% until you can determine if your computer is fast enough to process script changes at a faster speed. Click OK to accept changes

(6) In ITCH/Serato DJ, load the first song from the desired crate but don't play the song and return to opening Mouse Recorder Pro 2. Review your settings and loaded script file to ensure proper settings. Once verified, select PLAY to begin the cue set. (You should notice that the Mouse Recorder program window becomes minimized and that Serato will begin processing the script. Files that already have the first cue point set will be ignored, however, those with incorrect cue point set will require manual adjustment. The script will run based on the value entered in "Times to play script" found in the Advanced button setting.) Once the script begins you won't be able to use your computer for other tasks since it relies on recorded keyboard commands to effectively add cue point. Therefore, I suggest you run Mouse Recorder when the computer will be least needed. To Stop the script in case of errors or to change settings, go to the Windows task bar and open the Mouse Recorder, Select STOP by clicking once.

About Johnny Cinco:
DJ for more than 20 years (still have my Technic 1200 from 1985)
Using Serato Scratch LIVE/ITCH for 4 plus years
Work in the IT field in Chicagoland area as systems engineer for 20 plus years

HOPE THIS HELPS!!!