Fixture Compact sheet.
Contents
The fixture sheet is used for viewing fixtures, attributes and their value. This is the main window:
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The window consists of three different sections. In the top of the window there is a bar with different information and buttons. The round yellow buttons gives you access to the “Fixture Sheet Options”. Read about it in the section called “Fixture Sheet Options”. Read about the rest of the top bar in the section bellow called “Top bar”.
The middle is the actual Fixture Compact Sheet, where the fixtures, attributes and there values are displayed. Here you can select single fixtures by clicking them or you can select multiple Fixtures by using drag-and-drop method. In the example above you can se that some of the fixtures got two different IDs, separated by colon. If there’s 2 different numbers (1:101) the first number is the fixture number; the second number is the channel number. If those two numbers are the same the sheet only displays it once. If a fixture has a fixture number but no channel number the second number is replaced by a – (200:-).
In the Name field there might be a little white box (only when the fixture is a moving head). Depending on the position the moving head can reach the same area with different values in Pan and Tilt. This box can have up to three different positions (top, middle or bottom) which correspond to the three different positions of head. When you move the fixture head the box may move as well. Next to the name you can have different color bars (read about it in the Colors in the Sheet section).
You can also edit values in the sheet (read about this in the Editing the values section).
At the bottom of the window you have the option see the Layer Control, Preset Control, Filter or Multi Control.
Colors in the sheet.
In a fixture sheet there are many different colors .
For the Fixture name and number(s) the colors are:
Gray: The fixture is not selected.
Yellow: The fixture is selected and a value can be assigned by the programmer.
Dark yellow: The fixture is part of a lager selected group but it is not the one you are controlling at the moment.
For the values the colors are:
Blue: The attribute got a new value. The value comes from the “selected” sequence(s).
Red: The attribute is stored with the same value as in the previous cue. The value comes from the “selected” sequence(s).
Pink: The channel is not stored in the current cue, and the value is tracking. The value comes from the “selected” sequence(s).
Yellow: The attribute gets a value from a sequence that’s not the “selected” sequence(s).
White: The attribute value is in the programmer.
For the backgrounds the colors are:
Dark blue background: This background indicates that this fixture doesn’t have this attribute.
Blue background: This is the standard background.
Light blue background: The fixture is not affected by the “Master” (read more in the Fixture Options below ).
Turquoise background: The attribute value is from a preset.
Dark red background: The attribute value is in the programmer and will be stored if you save or update.
Light red background: The attribute value is in the programmer and will be stored if you save or update.
Dark green background: You are displaying “Executor ID” or “Sequence ID” layer. The value is originating from an earlier executed cue of the select executor(s) -aka tracking (read more about “Executor ID” and “Sequence ID” in the Layer Control).
Green background: You are displaying “Executor ID” or “Sequence ID” layer. The value is originating from the current cue of the select executor(s) (read more about “Executor ID” and “Sequence ID” in the Layer Control).
Light green background: You are displaying “Executor ID” or “Sequence ID” layer. The value is originating from a not yet executed cue of the select executor(s) -aka MIB(read more about “Executor ID” and “Sequence ID” in the Layer Control).
Yellow background: You are displaying the “Executor ID” or “Sequence ID” layer. The attribute gets a new value from a different executor than the select executor(s) (read more about “Executor ID” and “Sequence ID” in the Layer Control).
Dark yellow background: You are displaying the “Executor ID” or “Sequence ID” layer. The attribute gets a tracked value from a different executor than the select executor(s) (read more about “Executor ID” and “Sequence ID” in the Layer Control).
For the attribute name background the colors are:
White background: This is the standard background for the attribute name.
Blue background: This attribute is selected and assigned to an encoder.
Light blue background: This attribute is assigned to an encoder.
For the different bars the colors are (Name field and Value field):
Read bar: This indicates that one or more of the fixtures attributes have values in the programmer.
Blue bar: The fixture is parked.
Pink bar: The attribute is assigned to an effect.
Fixture Sheet Options.
You can access the options by pressing the round yellow button in the upper left corner.
Display Layer:
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Here you select what information you want displayed. See Layer Control for explanations.
You also have the option to turn On or Off the “Layer Control” and the “Preset Control”.
Read more about presets in the Preset Control section.
Sorting & Readout:
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Here you have the option to choose how your Fixture Compact sheet looks.
“Sort by” determents how your fixtures are sorted.
Numbers: The sheet is sorted by the fixture number.
Names: The sheet is sorted by the fixture name.
Selected: The sheet is sorted with the selected fixture first (also read about Top bar).
Active: With this option the active fixtures are displayed first.
Values: This options sorts the fixtures by the dimmer value assigned to them.
With “Sort Direction” you select if you want the fixtures with the lowest “Sort by”-value first (not the value assigned to an attribute) or the highest.
The “Readout” determents how the values are display.
Percent +: Displays the percentages and as much as 3 little dots next to the number. Because the total range of one DMX channel is 256 steps and the percentage only displays 100 steps; the dots shows you more precisely where in the 256 steps the value are.
Percent: Displays the value in percentage (100 steps).
Decimal: Shows you the actual step in the DMX range (256 steps).
Hex: This shows you in value in hexadecimal (two decimals).
With the three different font sizes you choose how big your numbers and text is displayed.
Settings:
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These settings also determine how your fixture sheet displays values and colors.
Physical Values: This options displays the physical values (defined by the fixture settings) next to the value.
Programmer Only: If you turn this on, the sheet only displays what’s currently in your programmer.
Display Wheels: Displays a little picture of the color and gobo next to the respective value.
Display Color Mix: Displays the color next to the CMY/RGB colors (CM1, CM2, CM3 and CM4).
Orientation: Here you have two options “Left – Right” displays the channels from the left to the right in rows. The “Top – Bottom” displays the channels from the top to the bottom in columns.
Wrap Around: The ”Wrap Around” feature (could also be named ”auto column”) allows you to have e.g. 4 columns in your fixture compact sheet, but instead of sizing the columns automatically, you can drag the column with the mouse and alter column with that way. This leaves fixtures outside the window, and horizontal scrolling might be needed to see these.
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Example of 4 columns "wrapped" and "unwrapped" |
Name Field: If you turn this option on the name of the channel is displayed between the channel number and the value.
Show Cue Colors: If you turn this off then the only color the values have is yellow and white (see Colors in the sheet for details about colors).
Columns: This number sets how many columns the sheet displays.
Attribute Mask:
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The “Attribute Mask” allow you to select what attributes you want to see. By moving attributes from the Included group to the Excluded group (simply by clicking on them), you select which you want to be affected by the “Mask” button (also read the “Top bar” section).
Attribute Sort:
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With the “Attribute Sort” you can change the order of the attributes. When you select an attribute you can use the Up and Down buttons to change the position.
Display Filter:
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The “Display Filter” can remove some fixtures from the sheet, based on your selections here.
None: This filter doesn’t remove any fixtures.
Programmer Only: This filter makes the sheet display only what’s currently in your programmer (Basically the same as “Programmer Only” in the “Settings”).
Parked Only: With this option the sheet only displays fixtures and attributes that are “Parked”.
Selected Sequence: If this is selected the sheet displays all fixtures and attributes that is stored in the selected sequence. It also displays the content of the “Programmer”.
Sel. Sequ. No Def. Values: This is almost the same as “Selected Sequence”, but this option also removes fixtures and attributes that only got there default value stored in the sequence. It also displays the content of the “Programmer”.
If the “Filter” option is On you get buttons in the bottom of the window with the same display filters as mentioned under “Display Filter” above. You also have the option to display the “Multi Control”. It’s “Layer Control”, “Preset Control” and “Filter” combined. If you turn this on it automatically turns off the three other bars. The Multi Control looks like this:
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Pressing the “up” arrows gives you all the options provided by “Layer Control”, “Preset Control” and “Filter” (read above).
Delete Window:
This deletes the entire Fixture Sheet Window.
Top bar.
At the top is the window there is a bar with information and buttons.
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The info in the blue field tells you that it’s a sheet displaying fixtures and the Layer (in the example above it’s “Preset & Values”) and how the sheet is sorted (in the example above it is sorted by “Numbers”). The + (plus) tells you that it sorts “upwards”. It displays a – (minus) if it’s “downwards” (also read Fixture Sheet Options).
The following is an explanation of the buttons.
Mask:
In the “Fixture Sheet Options” you can select an "Attribute Mask" (see "Fixture Sheet Options”). When this button is activated the mask is active.
Sort:
This button updates the selected sorting.
Auto Sort:
When this button is activated, the attributes you select are moved to the first columns after the name column. It follows the Layer Control in the sheets. E.g. not only do you get the selected fixtures you also get the selected attribute to those fixtures.
Layer Control.
At the bottom you might see the Layer Control. With this you select what sort of information the sheet shows you.
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Presets & Values:
If an attribute gets its value from a preset, the sheet shows the name of the preset. If there is no preset, the sheet just displays the value.
Fade:
This displays the fade time for attributes.
Delay:
With this option you can see the delay times.
Modulator Table:
This display (if any) what modulator table the attribute is assigned e.g.: sin, cos, lin+, lin-, etc.
Modulator Size:
This display (if any) what modulator size the attribute is assigned.
Modulator Speed:
This display (if any) what modulator speed the attribute is assigned.
Modulator Phase:
This display (if any) what modulator phase the attribute is assigned.
Auto:
The auto option changes between the first 3 options (Presets & Values, Fade and Delay), when you press the “TIME” button.
Values Only:
With this option you are always shown the values. I.e.: if an attribute gets a value from a preset. The colors are still showing as a preset, but instead of the name of the preset you can see what value it’s assigned.
Output:
Displays the actual output of the attribute.
Executor ID.:
This option shows you what from which executor an attribute gets its value (e.g.: 1.1). The first number is the executor page and the second number is the executor number (read Colors in the sheet for details about the background colors).
Sequence ID:
This option shows you what from which sequence an attribute get its value (e.g.: 1:3). The first number is the sequence and the second number is the cue number (read Colors in the sheet for details about the background colors).
Programmer Only:
Once again you have the option to only see the fixtures and attributes active in the Programmer. This button can be activated along with other layer buttons.
Preset Control.
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With the “Preset Control” you can select what type of attributes you what moved before the others (Auto Sort need to be activated). The buttons change color to green if the selected fixtures got attributes in this category. When you select a preset your Encoders change accordingly. If the little black box is red, it means you got values in this attribute in your programmer. All Presets Controls are linked across all types of sheets.
Notice: You may not see all the buttons shown in the example above. The desk only shows you the buttons with the attributes available to you (based on your fixtures).
Fixture Options.
If you right-click on a fixture name and/or number you access the Fixture Option.
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Here you can change the name of the fixture. You can see the type, ID, Layer (number and layer name) and the patch.
You have the option to change your Pan and Tilt from “Normal” to “Inverted”. This option only effect the DMX output not the 3D visualizer or the “Stage window”. With the “No Swap” and “Swapped” you have the option to change “Pan” to “Tilt” and vise versa. This option only effect the DMX output not the 3D visualizer or the “Stage window”. You also have the two options “With Master” or “No master”. When “No Master” is selected the channel doesn’t react to any master (incl. Grand Master).
The “<<<” and “>>>” steps back and forward in the channels.
Editing the values.
If you right-click on a value you get the calculator. With this you can assign a new value to the attribute. Here’s an example on how the calculator could look:
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If you middle-click and hold on a value you can change it by moving the mouse up and down.