The Lighting Controller

This is something myself and some other LD's have been requesting for a couple years now. It would be a huge breakthrough for the software if this could be made possible. Traveling with a tour package and coming into a new room with some house lighting makes programming tedious and time consuming. If we could 'clone' a light with all programming to a new address, and then edit that fixture to match with the house lights, we'd be making huge strides in programming time with this software.

It seems such a basic function. We have 3 theatres that would require the same show to tour there but at the moment it’s just not an option as the time reprogram all the shows is unrealistic. I wonder if anyone knows of a DMX repatch program? Something that could take the final DMX output from the software and allow it to be repatched to different channels. I’d be happy to take a little bit of latency in return.

support wrote:Yes, this is unfortunately not possible to do that.

Are you shure? A couple of weeks ago i imported a old show, i got than the question to what fixture the scene belongs, because of the wrong name of the old fixture, maybey that the way to duplicate the scene to another fixture with programming
So first copie the scene you want to duplicated, and save it
Make the new fixture with another name
Then change in the text file fixtures the the name of the fixtures,
Then open the lightning controller, open the scene, if i. Correct then u get a popup with the question to what fixture the scene belongs

Is it posibel to create a button that lets u manually let you open this popup? And change the fixtiure/scene combination

I’m going to try this workaround. If it works...boom...

Tried this workaround, unfortunately programming does not copy over to the imported fixture.

To be honest I know extremely little about computer programming, but, maybe this could work: I opened up a .scex file in notepad to look at the 'under the hood' contents, and it would be amazing if some sort of copy/paste script was written so that when you clone a fixture (might require a pop up dialogue asking to clone selected fixture?), it inserts the new fixture ID into every scene that the original is associated with and just copy/paste the information from the original fixture. The user steps would look something like this:

-Right Click a fixture in the patch
-Hit "clone"
-Pop-up opens asking for number of fixtures and starting address. Apply.
-The new fixture is named the same, but with a .clone (or whatever) at the end.

Then, SX does something like this:

-Receives command
-Locates every .scex file in the folder that includes the Original Fixture
-Copies data from Original Fixture to new .Clone

So:

<Scene>
<Fixtures>
<Fixture id="1540205650" name="Original Fixture" model="Original Fixture"/>
</Fixtures>
<Steps>
<Step length="500">
<Fixture id="1540205650">
<Channel index="0" name="dimmer" value="255"/>
</Fixture>
</Step>
</Steps>
</Scene>

-to-

<Scene>
<Fixtures>
<Fixture id="1540205650" name="Original Fixture" model="Original Fixture"/>
<Fixture id="1540205651" name="Original Fixture.clone" model="Original Fixture.clone"/>
</Fixtures>
<Steps>
<Step length="500">
<Fixture id="1540205650">
<Channel index="0" name="dimmer" value="255"/>
</Fixture>
<Fixture id="1540205651">
<Channel index="0" name="dimmer" value="255"/>
</Fixture>
</Step>
</Steps>
</Scene>

What you end up with is an exact copy of a fixture in your program, ready to go. From there you would right click and edit the channels and steps to match a new fixture type, or, if you're just adding additional fixtures of the same type. Update your palettes and anything like that, and you've cut four hours of program updating to half an hour. I hope this made sense!

I'm requesting this feature out of complete necessity, I got hired to run a pretty big EDM show out of town tomorrow and I'm using my master showfile that I've used all year which consists of Intimidator 350's, 140SR Hybrids, R1 Washes, etc. At this gig I am being supplied with lighting rather than bringing my companies gear and they have VL3000's, Sharpies, R2 washes, Nexus Panels, etc. So currently I'm trying to convert all my fixture profiles to match these new lights in a copy of my master showfile. Also, I have to add an additional 2 of each type of fixture to my current patch (before I had 6 of each, now I need 8), so, after I have things converted I'll have half a working showfile and another half of the fixtures with no programming on them. This is pretty much what I have to go through every time I do a hired gig. Cloning needs to happen for those who use this program in a more professional environment; else be looking for a more adaptable software to use.

samwise309 wrote:I'm requesting this feature out of complete necessity, I got hired to run a pretty big EDM show out of town tomorrow and I'm using my master showfile that I've used all year which consists of Intimidator 350's, 140SR Hybrids, R1 Washes, etc. At this gig I am being supplied with lighting rather than bringing my companies gear and they have VL3000's, Sharpies, R2 washes, Nexus Panels, etc. So currently I'm trying to convert all my fixture profiles to match these new lights in a copy of my master showfile. Also, I have to add an additional 2 of each type of fixture to my current patch (before I had 6 of each, now I need 8), so, after I have things converted I'll have half a working showfile and another half of the fixtures with no programming on them. This is pretty much what I have to go through every time I do a hired gig. Cloning needs to happen for those who use this program in a more professional environment; else be looking for a more adaptable software to use.

+1! I'm doing a touring show early next year and this feature would be a lifesaver

Another vote for this. Can we not even have a new “patch” option like in freestyler DMX? It’s such a simple forwarding of the DMX address to another. Surely if a freeware program with one developer can achieve this, then this software should have the resourses. We’ve all invested by buying the dongles and programming within the software so it’s not as easy for designers to just up and leave.