Pool Mode Help

What Is Pool Mode?

Pool Mode is an advanced Headshot Tools feature that converts your job’s Dashboard interface from the standard “Queue” to a “Pool” of shoots. You can think of it like a growing list of participants instead of a shrinking line of people.

Unlike the standard Queue functionality, Pool Mode will sync double-click and restore activity across each open instance of the Dashboard so all photographers using this Dashboard see the same information (Who has/has not been double-clicked and who is in the Pool).

Warning for Apple Users -

If using pool mode with multiple Apple devices on the same iCloud account, you must disable Universal Clipboard/Hand Off. This feature syncs the clipboard across all iCloud devices. Disabling it prevents one device from copying over the clipboard contents of another.

To disable Hand Off:

  • On Mac: Go to System Preferences > General > Uncheck Allow HandOff
  • On Current iPhones/iPads: Go to Settings > General > Airplay & Continuity > Uncheck HandOff
  • On Older Versions of iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Handoff > Uncheck HandOff



When Should You Use Pool Mode?

Pool Mode is excellent for many use cases. Here are just a few examples of where Pool Mode would be useful:

  • You’re shooting a job with multiple stations and want to have all your participants under one single job. We typically recommend you shoot one station per job, but with Pool Mode enabled and some additional simple but very important setup (see below), you can now shoot into one single job with multiple stations!
  • You’re shooting a job with multiple stations where you want the participant to visit each station and only have to sign up one single time.
  • You’re shooting a job where participants will come back multiple times for outfit changes, different backgrounds, shot setups, etc. Using Pool Mode, you’ll always be a quick search away from double-clicking a participant’s name again. No need to go to their shoot detail or the normal queue's recent tab!


What’s Different In Pool Mode?

There are a few notable differences between Pool Mode and the standard Queue functionality:

  • Upon double-clicking a participant, their name will no longer move into the “Recent” tab. There is no “Recent” tab in Pool Mode.
  • All the standard behavior of double-clicking remains the same. However, the pool will show you which participants were double-clicked by marking them with a green check. This is excellent for seeing if a participant is trying to receive more sessions than they are allowed.
  • In Pool Mode, no operations exist that would remove a participant from the Pool or shift the list around as you click. This prevents you from accidently clicking the wrong person. As a result, there is no longer an “X” icon for deleting shoots within the Pool. When using Pool Mode, we only recommend deleting shoots after the entire job is complete.
  • Similar to restoring a participant out of the “Recent” tab, you can undo a double-click by clicking the 3 dots icon to the right of the participant's name then "Undo Double-click".
  • You no longer rely on the order of the list for who you shoot next. You will typically be typing into the search box for the next participant you need to shoot.


Hiding Shoots In Pool Mode

The "Hide Shoot" button that you’re familiar with from the standard Shooting Dashboard is also available within Pool Mode but its behavior is slightly different from what you might expect.

Hiding or unhiding a shoot in Pool Mode will not transmit or sync the hiding/showing action to the other open shooting dashboards. This is done so the list of names will never shift and cause a misclick. Instead, we save the hidden status to the system and any Dashboards that would like to sync this status can simply refresh their Dashboard.

For example, if Dashboard A were to hide a shoot, Dashboard B will see no change on their screen until they refresh their page. The same goes with unhiding and double-clicking a hidden shoot. You can think of a hidden shoot as being “disabled from syncing” in Pool Mode.

As a result, we generally recommend that you don’t utilize Shoot Hiding in a multi-station job type situation but you can if you like and understand how it works. This functionality is generally for photographers using pool mode as their primary single station job shooting interface.



How To Set Up Pool Mode

Step 1 - Enable Pool Mode
To enable pool mode for your job:
  1. Navigate to the jobs list and click your job’s name.
  2. Click the three vertical dots icon in the “Job” panel.
  3. Click  “ Advanced Settings”.
  4. Change the “Pool Mode” dropdown to “Enabled”
  5. Save your changes by clicking "Save Advanced Job Settings" at the bottom of the page.
NOTE: If you have any Dashboards open for this job while you do this, each will pause and force the operator to refresh.


Step 2 - Update Each Station's File Name Settings
If you will be using multiple stations for this job this step is critical!

You will need to modify your file name settings for each station to ensure that no file name collisions occur or images get overwritten. You can now update your tethering software with the below settings, identifying each station's files:

Capture One Multi-Station Settings
In your Capture One session, navigate to the Tether tab’s “Next Capture Naming” section and click the […] button. Change your “Naming Format” as such for EACH station:

Station A:   Clipboard ContentsA-4 Digit Counter
Station B:   Clipboard ContentsB-4 Digit Counter
Station C:   Clipboard ContentsC-4 Digit Counter
(and so on…)


Smart Shooter Multi-Station Settings
In Smart Shooter, open the Preferences/Options menu. Switch to the “Name Policy” tab. Change your “Filename Expression” textbox as such for EACH station:

Station A:   [U]A-[S4]
Station B:   [U]B-[S4]
Station C:   [U]C-[S4]
(and so on…)


When set up correctly, your tethered filenames will now look like the below, where the capital letter in the middle is the station identifier:

Smith_John_123-A-0055.RAW

Example: Smith_John_123-A-0055.RAW

Format: File PrefixStation IDCounterFile Extension
Ensuring that each station produces files with their Station identifier (A, B, C, etc.) will make sure that no files for participants ever overlap. This is very important! If you fail to perform this step, you may overwrite images for participants rather than add new images to their galleries. Please be safe and utilize these instructions!



Common Issues / Questions


  • Can I switch back to normal queue mode?
    You can toggle between queue and pool mode at any point without issue. Just be aware that every time you do this, all photographers with open Dashboard windows will be forced to refresh their screens.
  • Do I need to "undo" a double-click to double-click again?
    You do not need to “undo” a double-click to double-click a participant again. Simply double-click the participant and you’re all set!
  • The delete shoot "X" icon is missing!
    In pool mode, no operations that would shift the list of names around for other dashboards are allowed. As a result, the delete shoot button is not available in pool mode.


Other Questions?

If you have any other questions, please contact Support@HeadshotTools.com