Use the Routing view to compare the route reported by a controlled system with the route Buttons has requested. This page continues the ATEM example from Take a physical route: Input 2 has been taken to ME 1 Program.
Source filters: choose which sources appear, by tag, virtual resources, connection or workflow.
Destination filters: the same for destinations.
View controls: Bundles, Ports or Expanded, the level filter, which label to show, which state counts as Active, and Options. See Customize what you see.
Sources: every source that passes the filters.
Where each source is routed: a tag for each destination the source currently feeds.
What feeds each destination: a tag for the source currently routed to each destination.
Destinations: every destination that passes the filters.
Take and other actions: Take, Release, Routing Preset, Paths, and lock, unlock and clear.
Filter Sources and Destinations to the ATEM connection.
Set Active to Live.
Find ME 1 Program under Destinations.
The destination's Source column shows the source that the ATEM currently reports as active, as a tag marked S. After the example route, it should show Input 2.
The corresponding source row shows its active destinations in the Destinations column, as tags marked D. This is source contribution: it answers where that source is currently being used. It's on by default. If the column gets noisy, turn off Options → Show Destination Contribution, and the source rows then show only staged changes. To keep long lists of tags on one line instead of spilling over several rows, turn on Options → Single-row linked ports. See Customize what you see for every option.
Note
A source feeding more than 100 destinations shows only the first 100 in this column, with no indicator that the list was cut short. This protects the view from a source that legitimately feeds thousands of destinations at once (common at startup on a large matrix), but means the column can't be trusted as a complete list once a source is that widely used. Check the destination side (its Source column) to confirm whether a specific destination not shown is still fed by that source.
Live state and requested state answer different questions#
Live shows the active source received from the routing system. It answers: “What is routed now?”
When Requests is available, it shows the source represented by an active route request. It answers: “What routing result is Buttons maintaining or expecting for this request?” A request may include more than the immediate physical crosspoint, such as a path through managed routing resources.
The requested source and live source can differ while a route is executing, when part of a request has failed, or when the controlled system changes independently. Do not treat the requested view as proof that the physical destination reached that state.
Requests only shows something for routes that Buttons keeps as a persisted route request. Tieline routes are always persisted. Other routes are only persisted when Persist all routes is turned on in Routing settings, which is off by default. For a route that isn't persisted, Requests shows nothing, and Live is the only view that matters.
When a destination does have a persisted route request, you can compare the two:
Set Active to Requests and note the source shown for the destination.
Set Active back to Live and compare the source reported by the controlled system.
If they differ after execution has finished, inspect the routing report or route request before retrying the route.
A destination normally has one active source for each physical port. Reading the destination row tells you which source currently feeds it.
A source can feed several destinations. Reading its Destinations column shows its contribution across the visible routing resources. For example, Input 2 may feed both ME 1 Program and an auxiliary output.
At bundle level, the columns summarize links for the ports inside the bundle. Expand the bundle or switch to Ports when you need to identify which video, audio, or data port contributes to each destination.
Selecting a new source and destination stages a proposed mapping in the Routing view. The active columns can show both the current link and the pending replacement so you can see what Take would change.
A staged mapping is not live state. Until you select Take and the controlled system reports the result, use Active: Live as the current route. If Options → Show Overwritten Entries is on, the view also retains the active mapping that the staged route would replace.
Clear the selection to discard staged mappings without changing the controlled system.
A lock icon on a destination or bundle means that at least one destination port is locked:
An orange lock represents a user lock managed through routing controls.
A red lock with an X represents a hard lock or a lock reported by the device.
A lock does not change the active-source reading. It restricts whether a new route can replace the current one. At bundle level, expand the bundle to find which destination port is locked before taking another route.
Buttons shows lock and unlock controls when the selected destinations support the operation. Device-managed locks may need to be changed on the connected router, depending on the integration.
When the status does not match the expected route#
Use this order to narrow the issue:
Set Active to Live and check the destination's Source column.
Switch to Ports and inspect each destination port rather than relying on the bundle summary.
If the destination has a persisted route request, compare the Requests source with the live source.
Check the destination for user or device lock indicators.
Open the routing report from the execution result or inspect the relevant route request before making another change.
