Controller settings

You can reach the window via:
DMXControl_SettingsClick on "..."

This is possible with the DMX mixer and the DMX Device Editor

FaderSettings_Dimmer
Here you can set the DMX channel assignment and the other settings (appearance) of a controller.
This is possible in the DMX Miixer or the DMX Device Editor. In the DMX Device Editor, fixed functions of a lamp type can also be defined for a controller.

In the mixer panel
Select the controls
select control
import controllers

The Controller Settings
Assign DMX channels
Controller Name
Functionality of the controller

DMX-Controller types
Continous Control: Dimmer, FreeDimmer
Discreet Control: Free Fader (ColorWheel, GoboWheel)
Switch
Color mixing: RGB - Element
Motion control: Pan-Tilt motion element

Contoller Settings
Create lists and set conditions
Labels
Blockades

Special features in the DMX Device Editor
Fixed functions when defining a lamp type
Use the controller as dimmer replacement
Deactivate the controller for functions
Deactivate the controller
Deactivate the controller for precalculation


Button_OK Saves the changes
Button_Cancel Discards changes
ResizeFrame Change the window size

Note: Unfortunately, many lamp manufacturers are used to overload the lamps with functions and to equip individual DMX channels of their lamps with different functionalities.
The good news is that with this program you can also get such complex lamps under control.
The bad news is that this complexity makes the simple assignment of lamp functions to controllers also complex.

In the Mixer Panel

Select the controls

A lamp usually has different characteristics (e.g., dimmers, RGB, extra color, stroboscope, etc.). For each of these properties, controls must be added to the mixer. Some of these properties are continuously controllable, e.g. the dimmers, some properties have discrete values, e.g. a color wheel.
In order to determine all the characteristics of a lamp, 5 controller types are generally sufficient:
  • Controller for continuous features (dimmers, additional adjustable colors, ..) (dimmer, FreeDimmer)
    Whereby the Dimmer regulator corresponds to the actual light / dark regulator of a lamp and the FreeDimmer can be used for e.g. extra colors)
  • Controllers for discrete properties (Farbräeder, Gobos, Spezial-Effects, ..) (FreeFader)
  • Controller as switch (Freeswitch)
  • Controller for color mixtures (RGB-CMY)
  • Controller for movements (PanTilt) 
These controllers are explained in more detail below.


To add a controller to the mixer, click the controller type, and then click .
Adds a controller to the mixer


Select controller

To select a controller, click the blue name of the slider.
A marked controller is displayed with a blue frame, the following can be done with a selected controller:
Deletes the selected controller
Moves the selected controller one position to the left in the mixer
Moves the selected controller one position to the right in the mixer

Import controllers

If you want to import the controllers from a different lamp type, because many of the controllers are the same or similar, you can do so by clicking on   .
Imports all controllers of a lamp type.
The file selection window opens in which you can select a lamp type.

The Controller Settings

The following can be set after clicking on the button (...) of a controller.

Assign DMX (lamp) channels

Controllers can be connected to several lamp channels (DMX channels). When operate the controller, all connected channels are affected.

If you have selected a controller as described above, you can assign one or more channels to one or more lamps to the controller. Likewise, they can also disconnect connected channels.

Please note: With the DMX Device Editor, you will only see one lamp, since this is the settings for a lamp type.

In the lower part of the window you will see a tree view of all the lamps with their channels, as mentioned at the lamp editor you will only see one lamp.
To make a connection to the controller, simply click on the check box in front of the corresponding channel:

Lamps can have one DMX channel or two DMX channels for a property (dimming, color wheel etc.). If a property of the lamp occupies two DMX channels, you may also need two hardware controllers for a hardware mixer.
In the liveShow software you can assign both channels to a controller.

 All controllers in the liveShow software have a resolution of 2 bytes, they can be assigned two DMX channels (one for the high byte and one for the low byte).
To do this, you can select whether the DMX channel is the most significant byte (HighByte, sometimes also MSB for most significant byte) of the controller or the low-order byte (LowByte, in the lamp instructions, sometimes LSB is also for lowersignificant byte ) of the controller.

FaderSettings/FaderSettings_FreeDimmer_HighLowByte

  If a property of your lamp has a resolution of only one byte, ie a value range of 0-255, assign only the high-order byte (HighByte) in the channel assignment.

FaderSettings_Channels
To disconnect, simply remove the hook.

Controller Name

Here you can enter a name (dimmer, strobe etc.) for the controller. This name is displayed in the mixer above the knob.

Functionality of the controller

A controller is required to control one or more DMX channels of a lamp. Each of these lamp channels will change a particular property / function of the lamp.
This functionality must be assigned to the controllers in the lamp definition for the lamp editor or the DMX mixer.
These assignments are used by the program to find the same functionalities for different lamps. This is e.g. important when replacing a lamp.
There are controllers whose functionality is fixed, e.g. the dimmer control, PanTilt control or the RGB control. However, there are also free controllers, to which you can assign functionality from a list.
For this purpose, there are a selection list for controller settings in which the predefined functionalities / types are listed:

FaderTypes


If the function of the controller is not unique or is a mixed form of different functions, simply assign 'undefined'.

The whole thing is a bit difficult to explain, so I'll try again in other words:
Let us consider two lamps, lamp1 and lamp2, and both lamps have, for example, the stroboscope function.
A DMX control can be used to change a specific function of a lamp (dimmer or stroboscope or color wheel, ..).
Let's assume that with the lamp1 the stroboscopic function is on channel 1, but with the lamp2 the stroboscopic function is on the channel 6.
In order to allow the software to change the stroboscopic function of both lamps, the software must know which DMX channels (DMX controls) need to be changed, this being done by assigning the functionality to a DMX controller. Now the software is aware that it has to change the channel 1 for the lamp 1 and the channel 6 for the lamp 2, if the stroboscopic function is to be changed.
With a controller that changes various functions (shutter on, lamp reset, lamp calibration, ..), it makes no sense to assign a function. With a dimmer, however, it makes perfect sense to assign a function (dimmer function), since many other lamps certainly have an identical or at least similar function.

The main mixer also uses the functionality of the controller to decide whether to change the values ​​of a controller by the main dimmer or not.
The following functions are influenced by the main mixer:

    * Dimmer
    * Subdimmer
    * RGB
    * extra color amber (amber), white or UV

If a lamp does not have a main dimmer (for example, LED bars) you must click 'Use as dimmer' for each RGB component and for each extra color of the lamp. In the case of the extra color, the controller must also be assigned the extra color (amber, white or UV) as a function. Now these DMX controls / channels will also be dimmed down accordingly when the main dimmer is shut down.


DMX-controller types

Continuous control: Dimmer, FreeDimmer

These controls are designed for the characteristics of a lamp that allow continuous changes (0-100%).
Dimmers are intended for lamps that have a main dimmer, sometimes it can also be the shutter channel.
FreeDimmers are designed for lamps with additional continuously dimmable channels, e.g. an extra color.
DMXControl_DimmerFaderSettings_Dimmer_Top FaderSettings_FreeDimmer_Top

The set value is displayed in gray tones of black (value 0 Status_Dimmer_0) to White (value 65535 Status_Dimmer_2555) .

With free dimmers, you can still set the color for the status display, the values are then displayed in hues from black to the set color.

Above you can specify the name of the controller (usually a name that describes the functionality of the controller).

You can also assign a functionality / type to the controller.

By clicking on the status display (square above the controller), a quick selection list opens in which certain values can be selected on the quick.
List_Dimmer
This list and the boxes directly in front of the control knob correspond and can be changed - see Controller-Settings.

Discreet controls: FreeFader (for functions like ColorWheel, GoboWheel, .....)

Free faders are designed for lamp channels that have special discrete features (music control, stroboscope, lamp on / off, etc.) or combinations.

DMXControl_FreeFader FaderSettings_Freefader_Top 
In contrast to dimmers, the status (set value) is expressed in discrete images, e.g. Status_freeFader_X.
By clicking on the status display (square above the controller), a quick selection list opens in which certain values can be selected on the quick  - see Controller-Settings..

Switch: FreeSwitch (for functions like power supply, fog on / off, ...)

This controller knows only two states, either 0% or 100%, and switches it exactly in the middle of the control setting.
In some theaters, lamps with a direct DMX input are connected to a DMX dimmer pack, which acts as an on / off switch. Thus the power supply of these lamps can be switched on or off via the software. The FreeSwitches are designed for controlling such dimmer packs. Another possibility would be for a fogger to turn the fog on and off, unless you want to do this via a FreeFader.

 DMXControl_FreeSwitch  FaderSettings_FreeSwitch_Top
By clicking on the status display (square above the controller), a quick selection list opens in which certain values can be selected on the quick  - see Controller-Settings..
Of course, here only list elements for 0% and 100% make sense.

 Color mixing: RGB / CMY element

The RGB / CMY element is intended for lamps which have an RGB color mixture or a CMY color mixture.

DMXControl_RGB DMXControl_CMY   FaderSettngs_RGB_Top
RGB / CMY elements have six controls, one for the red color, one for the blue color, one for the green color, one for cyan, one for magenta and one for yellow, .
However, only three controls are displayed, ror-green-blue for the RGB display and cyan-magenta-yellow for the CMY display. Use RGB_CMY to toggle between the displays.

ATTENTION: The element has six controllers, but only three controllers are required for one lamp type. For RGB lamps, use only RGB controllers in the channel assignment, and CMY lamps only use the CMY controls when assigning channels.
The positions of the three controllers (not shown) are always automatically calculated and adjusted.
For the definition of the fixed functions (see below), it is also sufficient to specify the colors for the appropriate controllers (eg the "Red color" function, the red, green and blue values) and the "Cyan" function Regulator Cyan, Magenta and Yellow)!
   
To change the channel assignments or to change the controller settings, you must first select a Red, Green or Blue controller in RGB lamps, and a Cyan, Magenta or Yellow control for CMY lamps. All changes then only affect this controller!

The status (the adjusted RGB / CMY values) is displayed as the corresponding color Status_RGB_Orange
Clicking on the status display opens the color selection window.
Status_RGB_Selection

Motion controller: Pan-Tilt motion element

The Pan / Tilt element is intended for lamps that can change the position of the light cone, e.g. scanners or movingheads.

DMXControl_PanTilt FaderSettings_PanTilt_Top
Pan / Tilt elements have no slider but a knob DMXControl_PanTilt_Knob5 within a rectangle, they have two dimensions, one for horizontal deflection (Pan) and for vertical deflection (tilt).
For the Pan dimension and the Tilt dimension, DMX channels must be assigned.
For the channel assignment you must first select the dimension (Pan or Tilt) and then HighByte or LowByte.
If your lamp supports the high resolution, you have to set the channel assignment for 2 DMX channels for Pan and Tilt (one assignment for HighByte and one assignment for LowByte).
If your lamp has a low resolution, it will have only one DMX channel for Pan and Tilt. In this case, it is sufficient to specify the channel assignments only for HighBytes.

Die Statusanzeige/Schnellauswahl hat hier momentan keine Funktion.
The status display Status_Dimmer_2555 has no function at this time.

In addition, the PanTilt element has three additional adjustment buttons:
DMXControl_PanTilt_PanSwitch Reverses the direction of Pan
Caution: This only reverses the direction of the knob DMXControl_PanTilt_Knob5. To adjust the lamps you must use the lamp calibration - see DMX Stage view, Device Settings
DMXControl_PanTilt_TiltSwitch5 Reverses the direction of Tilt
Caution: This only reverses the direction of the knob DMXControl_PanTilt_Knob5. To adjust the lamps you must use the lamp calibration - see DMX Stage view, Device Settings
DMXControl_PanTilt_ViewSwitch Toggles between the normal view and the calibrated view.
DMXControl_PanTilt_ViewCalibrated
The calibrated view only works when the Pan / Tilt element is connected to lamps which are also calibrated - see DMX Stage view PanTilt calibration.
In the calibrated view, you can e.g. always move all the connected lamps to the same point (FollowSpot).



Controller settings

Each controller controls a lamp's functionality. To avoid having to use a manual for each lamp, a list (labels) can be defined which makes this functionality visible in the display of the controller. These labels may have a text and / or an image or a color as the content.

For example, use a FreeFader as a controller for a color wheel and add a label (with the corresponding color as content) to the list for each color of the color wheel. For the controller, these labels are displayed as small square boxes. This list is also displayed as a quick selection when you click on the larger box above the slider.

FaderSettings_ColorWheel

Unfortunately, some of the lamp manufacturers have doubled certain DMX channels in some of their lamps. And this depends on the position of a completely different DMX channel. This means that you may have to define two or more lists for a DMX channel / controller and must indicate when which list is displayed!

Here is the overview for setting a controller:
FaderSettings_FaderSettings

On the left, you can create lists and enter the conditions when the list is displayed.
On the right, you can add elements (eg colors of a color wheel) to a selected list.

Create lists and enter conditions

You can add lists for a slider on the left-hand side of the controller settings.
A default list is created automatically.
If the lamp has a controller that has several properties depending on another controller, you must create additional lists and specify a condition for each list when the list is to be displayed.
A condition consists of the value range of another controller.

Add / select a list

FaderSettings_ListAdd

Note:
If the controller does not have a multiple list assignment, you do not have to do anything here!
FaderSettings_ListAddSelection Here you can select a list
Name of the list Enter a name for the selected list
Button_ListAdd Adds a new list.
Button_ListDelete Deletes a selected list.

Enter conditions
If the controller has several lists which are dependent on the position of other controllers, you can enter the conditions / controller settings here. This means that the selected list is displayed when the other control is set to the specified range. This also means that you should enter the conditions for each of these lists.

FaderSettings_ListCondition

You must create a new condition or select an existing one to enter the value ranges:
Button_ListAdd Adds a new condition.
Button_ListDelete Deletes the selected condition
FaderSettings_ListCondition_Control In the selection box, you can specify the other controller to which the selected list is dependent.
Whenever this other slider is moved to the range specified below, the selected list is displayed.
FaderSettings_ListCondition_Values Enter the value range here
In the upper line the higher value
In the bottom line the low value
Since all controllers have a resolution of 2 bytes, the values are always displayed as percentage, total value, high byte (high byte) and low byte (low byte):
Menu_Labels_Values
You can change the percentage value, the total value, or the individual byte values (HighByte or LowByte). The contents of the other text fields are automatically calculated. Press the Return key to accept the value.


Labels

Controllers have little boxes (labels) in the form of text, color boxes or small images in front of their knobs. These labels are also displayed in the quick selection.

List_Dimmer
These boxes (labels) correspond to certain values of a lamp property, e.g. the red color of a color wheel.

FaderSettings_FaderSettings_Labels

You can add, modify, and delete labels to a selected list.

Button_ListAdd Adds a new label.
This tries to calculate the values from the last label entered.
Since often the values are arranged in equal distances, this can save a lot of typing work with long lists.
However, the values should be checked in any case.
Button_ListDelete Deletes a selected label

By clicking a label in the list, you can select the label and edit it.

There are three rows for the values:
1) First line: here the high of the value range is entered
2) Second line: here the value is entered which is set when the label is clicked
3) Third line: here the lower value of the value range is entered

If you have the following entries for a color wheel controller in your operating manual:
value function
0 - 10 White
11 - 20 Red
21 - 30 Green

and you want to enter a label for the color red, then click on Button_ListAdd and enter H 20 in the first value line. In the third value line at H enter the value 11.
The middle row is then automatically filled (mean of 11 and 20 = 15). In the line (abc) enter a name for the label, here 'Red'. To create a label for the color green, click on Button_ListAdd and then enter the corresponding values from the table.
For controllers that are only linked with one DMX channel, always enter the value at H (high byte), leave the L value as it is.
For controllers that are linked to two DMX channels (controller high byte with one and controller low byte with the other channel), you must enter values for H (high byte) and L (low byte) accordingly.
Menu_Labels_Values
1. line
Maximal value		 Maximal value of the label
2. line
standard value		 Default value of the label
This value will be set later, by selecting in the quick selection or by clicking on the label in front of the control knob
3. line
minimal value		 Minimum value of the label
abc Name of the label


The contents of the box in front of the slider and the entry in the quick selection list are defined by:
Button_Image Opens a window where you can select an image. The image is scaled automatically.
Button_Color Opens a color selection window where you can select a color
Button_Text The name is displayed instead of a color or image
Button_LabelInvisible Switches the box in front of the slider to visible or invisible.
This can be helpful if the values of the different expressions are too close together and the boxes overlap.
However, all entries remain visible in the quick selection list.

blockades

In addition, it is possible to set blockades for controllers. The sliding knob of a controller can then not be pushed out over this area.
Only when the mouse is clicked in another area or via the quick selection list a different value is set can the push button leave the blockade area.
This technique is suitable e.g. in gobo channels that change not only gobos, but also have a goborotation. Here one could set a blockade for each gobo value range. This prevents a different gobo from being set by mistake when changing the gobo position.

FaderSettings_FaderSettings_Blocks Control_Block
 
Button_ListAdd Adds a new blockade.
Button_ListDelete Deletes a selected blockade

If you click on a blockade entry in the list, it will be highlighted and you can edit it:

In the text fields, you can set the following values from top to bottom and accept them by pressing the return key.
Maximum value Maximum value of the blockade
Default value Default value of the blockade
This value is set later by clicking on the blockade in front of the control knob
Minimum value Minimum value of the blockade
abc Name of the  blockade

The values are always displayed as a percentage, total value, high byte (high byte) and low byte (low byte):
Menu_Labels_Values
You can change the percentage value, the total value, or the individual byte values (HighByte or LowByte). The contents of the other text fields are automatically calculated. Press the return key to accept the value

You determine the appearance of the blockade by:
Button_Image Opens a window where you can select an image. The image is scaled automatically.
Button_Color Opens a color selection window where you can select a color
Button_Text The name is displayed instead of a color or image
Button_LabelInvisible Switches the display of the blockade in front of the slider to visible or invisible.

Special features in the DMX Device Editor

As mentioned above, many DMX lamps are overloaded with functions. Some DMX lamps also have unexpected behaviors; they light up at certain control settings even though the dimmer has been down.
These behaviors are usually not in the manuals of the lamp and must be tested.
Some functions of a lamp (for example lighting up the lamp etc.) should only be set before the start of the show and should not be recalled during the show. Some controller settings must be maintained so that the lamp is lit at all (some lamps have a strobe or shutter controller set to a certain value, etc.) and this value should not be changed during the program run.
Some lamps do not have a main dimmer, the liveShow software must however sometimes decide on a lamp on or off and in this case needs a dimmer replacement.
There are a few special settings for controllers.
Some of these settings can be overridden in the light objects - see Object Settings.

Fixed functions when defining a lamp type

There is the possibility to define fixed functions for a lamp type with the lamp editor. Many scanners or movingheads have the possibility to switch their lamps on or off. For each scanner type, however, these properties are located on different channels and have different values. Also colors are different for the different lamp types on different channels with different values. In order to be able to set certain settings such as "lamp on" or "color red" for all lamps at the same time, the required controller settings must be defined for each of these options / functions when defining the lamp type.
Thus, you can set all lamps to "red", regardless of whether "red" is set by an RGB mix or by a color wheel.

There are currently the fixed functions in the program:
Lamp on, lamp off, shutter open and the ground colors red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, yellow, white and black.

In the DMX Device Editor, the controller setting is extended by the range for fixed functions:
FaderSettings_Functions

In the stage view, the fixed functions are displayed as clickable images:

StageView_Functions

Fixed Functions

The fixed functions are defined by the program and are defined for each controller of a lamp type that is required for setting the desired property.
If you want to define the fixed function "Color Red" in the case of an LED lamp (RGB), you must enter the value 255 (100%) for the red knob, 0 for the controller green, and 0 for the blue knob . If the lamp also has LEDs for a further color (for example Amber for RGBA), you must also specify the value 0 for this controller.
If you want to define the fixed function "Lamp on" for a scanner or moving head, you must add a function for the involved controller, set the corresponding value for "Lamp on" and select the LampOn_Small Lamp On function type.

In other words, a fixed function consists of certain values of different controllers.


Menu_Labels_Values
 The value for the selected function can be set here.
Either the percentage value, the total value, or the individual byte values for the higher and lower-order byte.
Pressing the Return key takes over the value.
Function_Type The function type for the selected function can be set here.
Button_ListAdd Adds a new function.
Button_ListDelete Deletes a selected function.


Use the controller as a dimmer replacement

When you add a dimmer control, the program automatically uses it to determine whether a lamp is on or off. However, if your lamp does not have an explicit dimmer, you can define one or more controllers as a dimmer replacement.


IMPORTANT: The dimmer has a special feature.
If a lamp is set to the dimmer value 0 in the running timeline, ie the lamp is off, the timeline will pre-calculate all other channels of the lamp, as they must be set for the next use. The Timeline sets these values within approx. 10s after the lamp has been fadet out!
This is necessary e.g. in order to move the mirror of a scanner into the correct position so that no unwanted scanner movement takes place when the dimmer is fadet in.

If a lamp does not have a main dimmer, 'Use as dimmer' must be selected for all controllers that turn a lamp on (make it light up). For a fog machine, for example, the on/off control (FreeSwitch) can be defined as a dimmer replacement. For a LED bar with three RGB elements that does not have a main dimmer, each of the RGB controls should be used as a dimmer replacement. If the LED-Bar has extra colors, its controls should be used as dimmer replacement. 

The dimmer therefore decides whether the lamp is off or on and whether a precalculation of the remaining channels can take place or not !!
If no dimmer and no dimmer replacement is defined for a lamp, the software cannot decide whether the lamp is off or on, so for the software it is always off and the timeline will never turn the lamp on!

Deactivate the controller for functions



In the liveShow software for DMX lamps a few fixed functions, such as The colors red, green, etc. can be defined. They serve to set a value for several or all lamps at the same time - see above.
There are also functions like:
 All these functions can affect other controllers.
If a controller should maintain its value, even if one of the above functions is called, you can deactivate the fixed functions for this controller.

For example, if you are using a power outlet and have set the On / Off control as a dimmer replacement, this knob would be set to 0 when you set another lamp to solo. To prevent this, you must set a check mark in front of 'Deactivate controller for functions'.

Deactivate the controller

FadeDescription_Disabled Certain controllers should not be adjusted during the project process (by the timeline or by jingles). An example would be e.g. The controller for movingheads, which turns the lamp on or off.
If you set the checkbox to disabled, the controller is deactivated and in the timeline, these values are then not taken into account.

This behavior can be overridden in the light objects.
If you remove the deactivation in a lighting object, the timeline will send the values to the lamp for the duration of this object. Since these values are not taken into account in the further course of the timeline, they remain at the value which was obtained at the end of this light object. Thus you could program a lamp start in the timeline, although the channel for the lamp start by lamp definition was deactivated - see object settings.

If you disable a slider for a DMXJingle object, this slider is not taken into account when the jingle is played and is still controlled by the Timeline !!

Disable controller for pre-calculation


DisabledAdjustment
(nur in der Timeline, nicht bei Jingles)		 When playing the Timeline, all lamps that are not used (dimmer value = 0) are set the way they are used the next time.
If, for example, the dimmer is set to 0 for a lamp, and if this lamp is reused in one of the next light objects, the Timeline pre-sets all the values except for the dimmer value as defined in the next light object. When the object is reached, only the dimmer control moves, all other values are already set.

By 'deactivating the precalculation', you switch off this functionality. This means that this value is not pre-set, but is also fade  in when the next light object is reached in which the dimmer value is> 0.

This is e.g. Is important for controllers that force a lamp to light, even though the dimmer has been set to 0.
(For example, some Eurolite LED lamps light up when the music control is activated - regardless of the dimmer value).

The deactivation of the precalculation can be overwritten in the light objects.

 Special case: If you deactivate the dimmer in one light object, all other controllers are precalculated (assuming the dimmer value is in the light ambience > 0).
You can use this property to set an extra light object into the timeline, which delays the precalculation of this controller.