Virtual DJ Hot Cues: How to Set, Change and Delete Them

In Virtual DJ, you set a hot cue by clicking an empty hot cue pad at the point you want in the track. Click that pad again and the track jumps straight back to it. To delete a hot cue, right-click the pad (or hold Shift and press it on a controller), and to change one, open the POI Editor from the pad menu.

This guide covers everything you need to manage Virtual DJ hot cues: setting them, moving them, deleting them, renaming and coloring them, and where to put them. If you set a cue by accident and just want it gone, skip straight to the delete section.

Hot Cues in Virtual DJ: The Basics

A hot cue is a saved spot in a track that you can jump to instantly, without stopping the music. Tap the pad and the playhead moves to that spot on the next beat you hear. If you're new to the idea, the concept is covered in full here: Hot Cues Complete Guide.

How many slots you get. The default hot cue pad page shows 8 slots. Virtual DJ can store an unlimited number of hot cues per track, but cues past 8 need a custom skin, custom buttons, or keyboard or MIDI shortcuts to trigger. With a 16-pad controller connected, Virtual DJ shows a 16-pad view, and you can also switch to it on screen from the view options in the FX panel.

Where they're saved. Your cues load back every time you open the track. Virtual DJ stores them in its own database, not inside the audio file, which matters if you ever move your music (more on that in the FAQ).

Performance pad mode. Your pads switch between pages like Hot Cues, Loop Roll, Sampler, and Stems. Pick the Hot Cues page on screen, or press the Hot Cue mode button on your controller, and each pad becomes one cue slot. Unlit pads are empty and lit pads have a cue saved.

Hot cues run in one of two modes, which you can change under Options in Virtual DJ's Settings (look for hotcueMode):

• Play: the track jumps to the cue and keeps playing from there. This is the default.
• Stutter: the track only plays while you hold the pad, like a traditional cue button.

New to the software overall? Start with the basics of how to use Virtual DJ.

How to Set Hot Cues in Virtual DJ

You can set a hot cue with the track paused, for precision, or on the fly while it plays.

Setting a hot cue while paused (most accurate)

1. Load your track onto a deck and pause it.
2. Switch the pads to the Hot Cues page using the pad page selector above the pads.
3. Move the playhead to the exact spot you want. Drag the waveform or use your jog wheel, and zoom in on the waveform for fine placement.
4. Click an empty pad. It lights up, and a marker appears on the waveform.

Setting a hot cue on the fly

With the track playing, click any empty hot cue pad. The cue is saved at that exact moment. On a controller, press an unlit pad while in Hot Cue mode.

Turn on quantize for cleaner cues

Cues set by ear on the fly often land a hair off the beat. Open the pad menu (the menu button beside the hot cue pads) and turn on Quantize on Set. Every new hot cue then snaps to the nearest beat.

The same menu has a Smart Cue toggle, which keeps cue jumps in time with the beat.

One quirk to know: if you set a hot cue while a loop is active, Virtual DJ saves it as a Saved Loop on that pad, not a plain cue. The pad shows a loop icon so you can tell the difference.

How to Delete or Get Rid of Hot Cues in Virtual DJ

This is where most people get stuck, usually because they set a cue by accident. Here's how to delete hot cues in Virtual DJ, one at a time or all at once.

Delete a single hot cue

• With a mouse: right-click the hot cue pad. The cue is deleted and the pad goes dark.
• With a controller: hold Shift and press the pad.

If right-clicking does nothing, check your skin. Right-click deletes on the default Virtual DJ skin, but some third-party skins map right-click to something else. Switch back to the default skin, or use the POI Editor method below.

Delete a hot cue in the POI Editor

The POI Editor lists every cue on a track, including cues 9 and up that never show on the pads.

1. Open the pad menu and choose Edit CUEs and POIs... You can also right-click the track in the browser to open the POI Editor.
2. Click the cue you want to remove in the list on the left.
3. Click the delete button (the trash can icon).

The change saves immediately.

Clear all hot cues on a track

Virtual DJ has no single "clear all cues" button in the default interface. You have two practical options:

• Delete them one by one. Right-click each lit pad. With 8 cues, this takes a few seconds.
• Make a clear-all button. Map a custom button or keyboard key to this script: delete_cue 1 & delete_cue 2 & delete_cue 3 & delete_cue 4 & delete_cue 5 & delete_cue 6 & delete_cue 7 & delete_cue 8. One press wipes all 8 cues on the loaded track.

Don't delete your database file to get rid of cues. It also wipes your BPM analysis, keys, and other track data.

Stop deleting cues by accident

Open the pad menu and turn on Read-only (Lock). This locks the pads so a stray right-click or Shift press can't delete your hot cues mid-set. Turn it off when you want to edit again.

How to Change or Move a Hot Cue

Virtual DJ lets you move a hot cue without deleting it. If you're wondering how to change hot cues on Virtual DJ, use whichever of these two methods feels faster.

Move a cue in the POI Editor

1. Open the POI Editor from the pad menu (Edit CUEs and POIs...).
2. Select the cue in the list on the left.
3. Move the playhead to the new position.
4. Click Snap to Position. The cue jumps to the playhead.

Tick the Snap box first and the cue lands on the nearest beat. Use the play buttons in the editor to check the new spot before you close it.

Delete and reset

For a quick fix, move the playhead to the new spot, right-click the pad to delete the old cue, then click the empty pad to set it again. This is the fastest way to replace a cue mid-prep.

For advanced users, there's an Option called updateHotCueFromOnCombo. With it on, pressing a hot cue while holding the deck's CUE button updates that hot cue to the current cue position, rather than jumping to it.

How to Rename and Recolor Hot Cues

Both happen in the POI Editor. There's no right-click shortcut on the pads for either.

Rename a hot cue

1. Open the POI Editor and select the cue.
2. Type a new name in the Name field, like "Drop" or "Vocal in".
3. Close the editor. The name saves automatically.

By default, pads show cue numbers, not names. To see names, open the pad menu, go to Display mode, and pick Cue Name. You can also show time position, time left, or beats left.

Recolor a hot cue

1. Open the POI Editor and select the cue.
2. Make sure its type is set to Hot Cue.
3. Pick a color from the Color dropdown.

The color shows on the pads, the waveform markers, and on RGB controller pads.

If you're coming from Rekordbox or djay Pro, note that Virtual DJ has no right-click color menu on the pads. For cues you haven't colored yourself, the nonColoredPoi option under Options sets the default: Per Deck (every cue matches the deck color), Per Cue (each slot gets its own preset color), or a fixed White, Red, Green, or Blue.

Why a color scheme helps: when every drop is red and every mix-in is green across your whole library, you can read a deck in one glance. Pick one scheme and stick to it for every track.

Using Hot Cues to Perform

Once your cues are in place, they do real work in a set:

• Skip long intros. Hit your first-beat cue to start a track right where the groove kicks in.
• Restart a phrase. Jump back to the start of a chorus or build to extend it for the crowd.
• Cue-based transitions. Jump the incoming track to its mix-in cue, then bring it in on the downbeat of the outgoing track's phrase.
• Stutter edits. In Stutter mode, tap a cue in rhythm for quick repeat effects.

For the full transition technique, see how to mix as a DJ.

Where to Place Your Hot Cues

Hot cues are only useful if you know what each pad does without looking. Use the same layout on every track:

1. Intro / first beat: where the track actually starts.
2. Mix-in point: where you'd bring the track in during a blend.
3. First drop: the main energy point.
4. Breakdown: where the track strips back.
5. Second drop.
6. Outro / mix-out: where you'd start the next transition.

Keep pads 7 and 8 free for vocal hooks or track-specific moments. The full placement system, with color-coding, is here: DJ Cue Points.

FAQ

How many hot cues can you set in Virtual DJ?

The default pad page shows 8 hot cues, which covers most DJs. Virtual DJ can store an unlimited number per track, but cues past 8 need a custom skin, custom buttons, or keyboard or MIDI mapping to trigger. A 16-pad controller also gives you 16 pads on screen.

How do I delete a hot cue in Virtual DJ?

Right-click the hot cue pad with your mouse, or hold Shift and press the pad on a controller. You can also open the POI Editor, select the cue, and click the delete button. That's also the way to remove cues 9 and up.

Do Virtual DJ hot cues save with the track?

Yes, but they're saved in Virtual DJ's database, not in the audio file itself. Every hot cue Virtual DJ saves is matched to the track by its file name and location. If you rename or move files outside Virtual DJ, it can lose track of your cues.

Why are my hot cues not working in Virtual DJ?

The usual cause is that the file was moved or renamed outside Virtual DJ, so the database can't match it anymore. Also check that your pads are on the Hot Cues page, not another pad page. If right-click won't delete a cue, your skin may use right-click for something else; the POI Editor works on any skin.

Can you set hot cues automatically in Virtual DJ?

No. Virtual DJ doesn't create hot cues for you; you set each one yourself. When it analyzes a track, it does add hidden Remix Points where the audio changes, such as the start or end of a break. You can trigger those from the Remix Points pad page.

Conclusion

Working with Virtual DJ hot cues comes down to three moves. Set a cue by clicking an empty pad, delete it with a right-click (or Shift and pad), and change it in the POI Editor with Snap to Position. Turn on Quantize on Set for cleaner cues and Read-only (Lock) to stop accidental deletes.

Next, build a consistent layout with DJ Cue Points, then put your Virtual DJ hot cues to work with how to mix as a DJ.

If you also prep a Rekordbox or Serato library, there's a faster way to cue those: KimiCue sets hot cues on the drop automatically. See the KimiCue for Rekordbox guide or the KimiCue for Serato page.