Shuffle & Sequence Settings
Understanding the Settings
Section titled “Understanding the Settings”What are the “Shuffle” and “Sequence” settings?
Section titled “What are the “Shuffle” and “Sequence” settings?”They are two checkboxes in the scheduling program that control the order in which valves/sprinklers run during an irrigation cycle:
- Sequence — controls whether sprinklers are grouped before running.
- Shuffle — controls whether the running order within those groups (or across all valves) is randomised each time.
What are “groupings”?
Section titled “What are “groupings”?”Groupings organise sprinklers/valves by physical proximity so that no two adjacent sprinklers share the same group. The purpose is to prevent two side-by-side sprinklers from running back-to-back, which can cause waterlogging or ponding in the soil between them.
What does “Sequence” (checked/ticked) mean?
Section titled “What does “Sequence” (checked/ticked) mean?”When Sequence is ticked, the system ignores groupings and runs valves strictly in their numerical order number. When unticked (the default), groupings are respected.
What does “Order Number” refer to?
Section titled “What does “Order Number” refer to?”Each valve has an order number, which is determined automatically upon creation of the valve. Order Number under 99% of scenarios will follow valve naming, for example Valves A1 and A2 will almost always have Order Numbers 1 and 2 etc. When running in sequential mode, the system uses this order number — not the valve name — to determine the running sequence, from lowest to highest.
The Four Scenarios
Section titled “The Four Scenarios”| Shuffle | Sequence | Groupings | Valve Order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off | Off | Respected | Ascending order number within each group |
| On | Off | Respected | Randomised within each group |
| On | On | Ignored | Fully randomised across all valves |
| Off | On | Ignored | Strict ascending order number |
Both Shuffle and Sequence unticked (default)
Section titled “Both Shuffle and Sequence unticked (default)”Valves are first grouped. Within each group, they run in ascending order number. The smallest group runs first and the largest runs last. This means valves do not necessarily run as 1, 2, 3, 4… in strict numerical order.
Shuffle ticked, Sequence unticked
Section titled “Shuffle ticked, Sequence unticked”The system still groups valves and still runs the smallest group first through to the largest. However, within each group the valve order is randomised on each run. The order number field is no longer applied within the group. This provides some randomness in timing while still respecting the groupings.
Both Shuffle and Sequence ticked
Section titled “Both Shuffle and Sequence ticked”Groupings are ignored entirely, and all valves in the zone are shuffled and run in a completely random order each time the program runs.
Shuffle unticked, Sequence ticked
Section titled “Shuffle unticked, Sequence ticked”Groupings are ignored, and all valves run in strict ascending order number — 1, 2, 3… through to the last valve. This is a straightforward sequential run with no grouping and no randomisation.
Choosing the Right Settings
Section titled “Choosing the Right Settings”Programs set up in 2025 or later
Section titled “Programs set up in 2025 or later”Since most newer programs do not have groupings configured, the Sequence setting has little practical effect — there is only one group, so the grouping logic makes no difference. You can safely tick or untick it. Shuffle will still function as expected, randomising valve order across the whole zone when enabled.
Older programs (pre-2025)
Section titled “Older programs (pre-2025)”Older programs (set up in 2024 and earlier) are more likely to have groupings configured. In that case, leaving Sequence unticked (default) means groupings will be respected. Whether you add Shuffle depends on whether you want to randomise the order within those groups.
Why enable Shuffle?
Section titled “Why enable Shuffle?”Shuffling means that each time the irrigation program runs, valves fire in a different order. This randomises the times at which water is applied to different parts of the field, which can be beneficial for:
- Improving soil absorption
- Reducing predictable wear patterns
What if groupings are not configured?
Section titled “What if groupings are not configured?”Sequence has no practical effect — since there is effectively only one group, grouping or ignoring it produces the same result. Shuffle will still work as intended regardless.