The Project Administration is the central location in DMXControl 3, where, as the name suggests, all projects for DMXControl 3 are managed. This includes not only the simple loading and saving of a project but also handling older (intermediate) versions of the project—whether manually saved or created via time-based automatic backups.
Overview
Organizing and managing files independently requires a certain level of discipline and should ideally follow a system. This is especially important when working with multiple intermediate versions. Often, this is overlooked in the heat of the moment, and in the end, a specific file may be hard to find. In the context of DMXControl 3, this quickly means that the lights will stay off if the corresponding project file for a specific setup can no longer be found.
This is where the Project Administration in DMXControl 3 helps. With this, all projects for DMXControl 3 are organized and managed centrally, so there is no need to search for a project in different locations on the PC. Additionally, you can access older versions of the project. This ensures that a functional project can still be used, even if an error of any kind occurs. You can always open an older version of a project, which was either manually saved or even automatically backed up.
All of this is designed so that you almost don’t need to use Windows Explorer. This concept becomes crucial when the kernel doesn’t run on the same PC, and access to it is limited.
Key Features
With the integrated project management, DMXControl 3 takes over the entire organization of files in the working directory. This includes both the naming of the project files stored there and the associated directories. Manual intervention is not required here and can even be counterproductive.
The Project Administration works in the background, as DMXControl 3 can operate as a distributed system, as described in the article on the Network Concept. Therefore, it only shows the projects stored on the PC where the Kernel is running. As a result, the content may differ if you are working entirely locally on a PC or connecting to another PC via the GUI (User Interface) over the network, where the kernel is running.
Usage
Working with Projects
Searching for Projects
The project administration has an extensive search function integrated. It searches all data that can be associated with a project in the metadata:
- Name or (short) description of the project
- Author or creator of the project
- Keywords (tags)
- Additional notes about the project
Using the search function, a project can be found very quickly, so you don’t need to scroll through the entire list of projects.
Opening a Project
Projects are always displayed in a compact version in the overview. This is the case when you search for a project. To ultimately open a project, select the desired project. This will show the detailed overview and the button to [Load]. If nothing else has been changed, clicking on Load will open the last saved version of the project.
Creating a New Blank Project
A new project can be created directly after opening the project administration. To do this, click on the [New Project] button at the top. An input mask will appear, where, in addition to the name of the project, further information can be entered as metadata. This information can be accessed by the search function, making it easier to find the project again. After entering all the information, the mask is closed with [Save]. A prompt will then ask whether the project should be loaded directly. If you answer yes, the new project will be available after a short moment. The project administration will close automatically.
Duplicate an Existing Project
Import an Existing Project
Export Projects
Delete Project Versions or Entire Projects
Deleting Individual Versions
Completely Deleting a Project
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A version of a project that is locked cannot be deleted. To delete this version, the lock must be removed first. |