While the other scene is inactive, it can be pre-set for the next scene, which is generally done from a sheet of paper with the appropriate levels written on it. Most boards also allow some form of soft patching , meaning assigning more than one individual dimmer channel to a board channel. This is advantageous because each dimmer channel is rated for a maximum power handling capability. Soft patching allows more instruments to be controlled as a logical unit than a single dimmer channel allows. Older lighting boards use a matrix of diode pins to electrically connect board channels to dimmer channels.
Modern boards tend to accomplish the same task through the use of software.
Advanced lighting boards usually provide all of the same features as an X-Y board, but add the ability to store scenes, record a sequence of scenes in a cue stack , and record light chases . Scene storage is an especially handy feature because it becomes increasingly difficult to set an entire scene when the number of channels on a board is high. With a standard X-Y board, every fader in a scene has to be set to a level recorded on a piece of paper. Scene storage boards remove this hassle by allowing the operator to record a scene and assign it to a single fader. More advanced boards allow these recorded scenes to be strung together into what is commonly known as a cue stack.