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How to · VirtualDJ

Set cue points in VirtualDJ.

VirtualDJ stores cue points as POIs, points of interest, alongside saved loops and other markers. Here is how to set hot cues on the deck, use the CUE button in a mix, and manage everything properly in the POI editor.

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Vibes waveform analysis with intro, drop, and breakdown markers on a track

Cues placed at the moments that matter make every transition easier.

Set cue points in VirtualDJ, step by step.

In VirtualDJ, cue points are one type of POI, the umbrella system that also covers saved loops, beatgrid anchors, and automix points. You set hot cues from the deck's pads and manage everything in the POI editor.

01

Load the track and open the cue pads

Load the track onto a deck and make sure its pads are showing the HotCue page. Each deck has its own set of pads: pick the HotCue page from the pad page menu, or on a controller press the pad page button that is assigned to Hot Cues.

02

Set hot cues at the key moments

Play or scrub to the moment you want to mark and press an empty cue pad to set a hot cue there. A common scheme is cue 1 at the first beat, cue 2 at the end of the intro, then the drop, the breakdown, and the start of the outro, in the same slots on every track so muscle memory transfers.

03

Use the CUE button to jump back and preview

The deck's CUE button is the everyday way to work with a cue during a mix. With the deck paused, press CUE to set a temporary cue at the current position, and hold CUE to hear from it until you let go. While the track plays, press CUE to jump back to that point and stop (the standard cue mode). VirtualDJ treats that cue as temporary, so use the hot cue pads for the cues you want stored with the track.

04

Open the POI editor to refine

Right-click the track in the browser and choose POI Editor, or in the Pro layout click the deck's cover art and pick POIs Editor. It lists every POI on the track with its position, type, name, and color. Drag a POI to move it, with Snap on it lands on the closest beat, and delete accidental ones.

05

Name and color your cues

In the POI editor, give cues short names such as INTRO, DROP, or OUTRO and assign consistent colors per role. Colors show on the position markers of the default skin and on the pads. Pads show the cue number by default; switch the pad display mode to Cue Name to read the names there, which is what makes a track readable at a glance two hours into a set.

The catch

Cue placement is manual per track. Marking the intro, drop, breakdown, and outro across a few thousand tracks is real work, and VirtualDJ does not place structural cues for you.

bass
mids
highs
lead
intro
verse
buildup
drop
breakdown
outro

Where Vibes fits

Know the structure before you set a single cue

Vibes does not export to VirtualDJ, so its auto-detected cue points cannot land in your VirtualDJ database; cue export works for Rekordbox and Engine DJ. For a VirtualDJ user the value is the analysis itself: Vibes detects intro, buildup, drop, breakdown, and outro on every track and shows them on a section-colored waveform, so when you do open the POI editor you already know exactly where each cue belongs.

See how it works
Auto-detects intro, buildup, drop, breakdown, and outro on every track during local analysis
Section-colored waveform view shows track structure at a glance, so cue placement decisions are made before you open VirtualDJ
Energy curve per track reveals where the intensity actually peaks, not just where the arrangement changes
If you also run Rekordbox or Engine DJ, the detected cue points export straight into those libraries

Organize in Vibes, export to VirtualDJ.

Your playlists, tags, ratings, and cue points travel back to the gear you play on, so nothing you do in Vibes is locked away.

Track 001 by Artist A

Track 001

Artist A

128
3A
Track 002 by Artist B

Track 002

Artist B

124
5B
Track 003 by Artist C

Track 003

Artist C

132
8A
Vibes App
Playlists
Vibes
Mood
Aggressive
Euphoric
Melancholic
Mysterious
Peaceful
Playful
Tense
Function
Arrangement
Sets
Club Night 12/28
NYE Closing Set
Rooftop 01/04

Frequently asked questions

The honest answers, including the trade-offs.

No. Vibes exports cue points into Rekordbox and Engine DJ, but it has no VirtualDJ integration, so cues in VirtualDJ must be set by hand in the POI system. Vibes still shortens that work by showing you each track's detected sections up front, so placement is a decision you have already made.
POI stands for point of interest, VirtualDJ's umbrella term for markers saved on a track. Hot cues are the most common type, but POIs also cover saved loops, beatgrid anchors, load points, remix points, action points, and automix points. The POI editor is where you view, rename, recolor, and fine-tune all of them in one list.
Yes. Keeping the same meaning in the same slot, for example cue 1 always the first beat and cue 3 always the drop, means you never have to think about what a pad does mid-set. Consistent colors per role reinforce it, since you read the color on the waveform faster than any label.
Cue means two different things in VirtualDJ, and headphone previewing is the mixer one, not a cue point on the deck. First choose SPEAKER+HEADPHONE in Audio Setup, with your controller's sound card or a stereo to mono splitter cable as the hardware. Then press the PFL button on that deck's mixer channel and turn the headphones MIX knob toward the PFL side so you hear that deck against the master. The cue points on the deck stay untouched.

From a Vibes customer

The import worked perfectly. Have created several sets now and my life is so much easier
Danny

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Last reviewed September 2026.

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