How to pause at a layer in Qidi Studio to change filament

In Qidi Studio, slice, drag the layer slider in Preview to the first layer of the new color, right-click the + handle, choose Add Pause, and slice again. The Q1 Pro turns its hotend off while paused, so reheat before swapping.

Used with: Qidi Q1 Pro, Q2, Plus4 and X-Max 3. Checked against Qidi Studio 2.07 (September 2026).

Add the pause in Qidi Studio

  1. 1

    Slice and open the preview

    Click Slice plate. The Preview tab opens with a vertical layer slider on the right.

  2. 2

    Find the first layer of the new color

    Drag the slider up until the preview shows the first layer that prints only the new color, for example the first layer of raised letters above the base. The label shows the layer number and its height in mm.

  3. 3

    Add the pause

    Right-click the slider handle (the one with the + in it) and choose Add Pause. A marker appears at that layer. The printer stops just before printing it.

  4. 4

    Slice again, then print

    Adding a pause marks the slice out of date. Click Slice plate again, then send or export the file as usual.

Not sure which layer? Pick the first layer of the new color. How to find it.

The pause command

Qidi's profiles already have the pause command:

Q1 ProM0 (runs the printer's PAUSE)
Q2PAUSE

Swap the filament at the printer

Start the print with the first color loaded. When it reaches the pause:

  1. 5

    Wait for the pause

    The Q1 Pro retracts, lifts, parks at the front, and turns the hotend off.

  2. 6

    Reheat and swap

    Heat the nozzle from the screen before pulling the filament; cold filament won't come out. Unload, load the new color, and purge until it's clean.

  3. 7

    Resume

    Remove the purged strand without touching the print, then tap Resume. The printer reheats and primes before carrying on.

Remove a pause

Move the slider to the layer with the pause and click the × next to the handle, or right-click the handle and choose Delete Pause. Then slice again.

Tips and common problems

  • The Q1 Pro has no M600 macro, so filament-change scripts from other slicers (like Cura's Filament Change) won't work. Use Add Pause.
  • Add Pause is greyed out when the print sequence is By object. Set it to By layer in the process settings.
  • Avoid pausing in the first two or three layers: the print can cool and lift off the bed while it waits.

Common questions

Why is the nozzle cold when my Qidi Q1 Pro pauses?
Qidi's PAUSE macro turns the hotend off to stop oozing. Heat it from the screen before unloading, and Resume reheats it to printing temperature.