Beta guide

Getting started

A file browser for image sequences. A numbered frame range (shot.0001.exr … shot.0480.exr) is treated as one item: rename, renumber, re-pad, duplicate, copy, move or delete it and the action applies across every frame at once.

Alpha · macOS · Apple Silicon (M-series) only

Install

Open the .dmg and drag seq_manip into Applications.
The build is unsigned, so macOS quarantines it. Clear that in Terminal:
```
xattr -cr /Applications/seq_manip.app
```
Open it normally.

If you see “seq_manip is damaged and can’t be opened”, that’s the quarantine — step 2 fixes it. Right-click → Open will not. Alpha builds carry a ~90-day soft expiry; grab a fresh one if it stops launching.

Two modes — read this first

The mode switch (top right) decides when edits hit disk. It’s the one thing to understand before you touch anything.

Stage

Default. Every edit queues in a tray at the bottom — nothing on disk changes until you press Commit. Review, revert per-item, or Discard freely. Conflicts are flagged inline before you commit.

Instant

Every edit is written immediately, no commit step. Deletes go to the Trash.

In Stage mode a modified sequence shows a badge and its projected new name in the list; staged deletes render ghosted; a duplicate or copy appears as a new row until you commit.

Operations

Each verb applies to the whole selection at once.

Verb	What it does
Rename	Change the prefix / delimiter of the run.
Offset	Renumber — shift every frame by ±N.
Re-pad	Change the frame-number digit width (and merge padding splits).
Duplicate	Copy in place under a `_copy` name.
Copy	Copy the run into another folder.
Move	Move the run — drag onto a folder, or pick a destination.
Delete	Remove the run (to the Trash).

Reach them from the toolbar, the right-click menu, or the keyboard.

Navigating & selecting

Open a folder: type/paste a path in the bar (Tab completes, ~ expands), use the folder tree on the left, or a starred favourite.
Enter a folder: single-click. Open a sequence/movie: double-click.
Select: click; Shift-click for a range; ⌘-click to add/remove. Type letters to jump to a name (Finder-style).
Move by drag: drag a selection onto any folder in the list, the tree, or the ↑ parent button.
Search: the filter box filters the current folder as you type. Press Enter to search recursively; Enter on an empty box lists every sequence and movie beneath the folder. Esc leaves search.
Favourites: star (☆) the current folder to pin it to the sidebar.

Previews

Thumbnails render for sequences and image/movie files. Formats that can’t be decoded (e.g. DPX) keep a generic glyph.
Hover-scrub: sweep the cursor across a sequence or movie thumbnail to skim frames.
Player: double-click, or ▶ Play. Space = play/pause, ←/→ = step, drag the scrubber, pick fps (12/24/25/30), loop, Esc closes.
Color (EXR): the Color menu sets the input space (Linear Rec.709/sRGB or ACEScg) and view transform (ACES filmic / sRGB / Raw). Movies use a bundled ffmpeg.

The Bin

A session-long working set. Collect sequences and files from any folder into the Bin to keep them together across navigation. It’s separate from staged edits — a pick list, not pending file operations.

Views & filters

List / grid: toggle in the toolbar; the grid has a size slider.
Filters: choose which types show (sequences, movies, images, other files, folders), toggle hidden files, and edit which extensions count as image vs movie.
Sort: by name, size, date or owner.
Inspector: ⌘I shows resolution/format/channels for a single selection.

Keyboard

`⌘A`	Select all
`⌘F`	Focus search
`⌘I`	Toggle inspector
`F2`	Rename
`⌫` / `Delete`	Delete selection
`Esc`	Close form / clear selection
`a–z` `0–9`	Type-ahead jump

Known limitations (alpha)

macOS Apple Silicon only; unsigned (needs the xattr step); ~90-day expiry.
Deleting a folder isn’t supported yet — deletes are for sequences and files. Moving a folder works.
Copy/move across separate volumes may fail; keep source and destination on the same disk for now.
Very large EXR/DPX previews decode on demand and can lag on first hover.

Feedback

Please report anything that breaks or feels wrong. Useful to include:

your macOS version,
what you did (the verb, the mode, single vs multi-select),
the folder or sequence that triggered it (a name/pattern is enough),
whether you were in Stage or Instant mode.