Visualizer Playback Behavior

SYQEL moves through visuals on its own by default. You choose how in Settings › Playback. Changes apply straight away.

The Playback settings: Cycle Mode, Visual Duration, Transition Duration and Target FPS

Cycle Mode

Automatic (Time) (the default): a new visual every Visual Duration seconds.
Automatic (BPM): a new visual every so many measures of your music.
Manual: the visual changes only when you press Next or pick one.

Visual Duration: how long each visual plays in Automatic (Time), from 2 to 120 seconds. The default is 12. You can also type it in the Duration field of the Now Playing panel.
Transition Duration: how long one Milkdrop preset crossfades into the next, from 0 to 10 seconds. The default is 2. It has no effect on the other feeds. The Transition field in the Now Playing panel sets the same thing.
Target FPS: the output frame rate: 30, 60 or 120. The default is 120.

Choosing Automatic (BPM) adds a Beat card:

At 120 BPM, advancing every 8 measures changes the visual every 16 seconds.

Windows: SYQEL detects the BPM from your music and uses it. It uses the BPM you set until it locks on.
Mac: automatic beat detection isn’t available yet, so the BPM you set drives the cycle.

These work in every mode, from the buttons under the Now Playing panel, the keyboard, or a MIDI pad:

Next (Space, or ›) moves to the next visual in what you’re playing from, and restarts the timer.
Previous (Backspace, or ‹) goes back to the visual you were actually watching before, even if you jumped there from somewhere else.
Lock (Enter, or the padlock) holds the current visual. Auto-advance stops, and Next and Previous are disabled until you release it. Clicking a visual in the strip or the Library, or a key or pad bound to a visual or playlist, still works while locked. The lock releases on its own when you switch to a visual from a different feed.

Two more things to know:

Auto-advance pauses while Settings › Library is open, so browsing never changes the show.
What plays is set by Playing from in the performance bar. See Visual Feeds.

You can change these keys, or map them to a controller, in Settings › Hotkeys & MIDI. See Keyboard Shortcuts and Connecting to MIDI.