With Device Groups, programming in DMXControl 3 is significantly simplified. Each device can be added to one or more groups. Different types of devices can also be grouped together.
Basics
Key Features
General Information
- Different devices and device types can be grouped together in one device group, for example, LED spotlights with moving heads and scanners.
- A device can be included in multiple device groups.
- The order of devices within the group directly impacts the Scenes (Cues) that reference the group.
- It is recommended to work with groups as much as possible because in case of changes (adding or removing devices from the group), all scenes will automatically update. However, changes will only take effect if the associated Cuelist is stopped.
Advantages of Using Device Groups
When programming in projects with Device Groups, devices can be added, replaced, or deleted from the group afterwards, as well as temporarily disabled or enabled. These devices don't need to be identical with the same DMX address or the same functions. In fact, any type of device can be added to or replaced within the device groups, so for example, a device group containing various LED spotlights can later have moving heads added, and vice versa.
When Scenes or Presets are called, which are referenced in a device group, DMXControl 3 recalculates the Effects or properties every time based on the current number of devices.
In the following example, the device group contains a total of 16 devices. A Fanning effect with the values 100 > 0 was applied to the dimmer. In the first case, twelve of the 16 devices are disabled.
|
| Figure 1: Device group with 16 devices, of which only four devices are active. |
In the second step, two additional devices are activated, and the selection of devices can be arbitrary. However, it is clear that the distribution of the fanning still starts at the device that is first activated in the series and ends at the device that is last activated on the right.
|
| Figure 2: Device group with 16 devices, of which two more devices in any selection are now active. |
Now, ten more devices are activated in the device group. It is noticeable that the fanning is recalculated and now applies to dimmers 1 to 16. Accordingly, the fanning 100 > 0 now spans all 16 brightness levels.
|
| Figure 3: Device group with 16 devices, where all are active with the same dimmer values. |
Usage
Creating a Device Group
A Device Group can be created in three different ways:
- Add Device: In the Add Device dialog, a new device group can be created when adding devices to the project, or additional devices can be added to an already existing device group.
- Stage View: In the Stage View, selected devices can be added to a new device group via the context menu under « Create group from selection ».
- Project Explorer: In the Project Explorer, device groups can be created in the "Device Groups" folder, and devices can be added to the device group via Drag & Drop.
Organizing Device Groups
|
The order of devices in a device group determines how Effects and particularly Fanning are calculated and applied. |
In Device Groups, the order and number of devices determine two things when a Fanning or an Effect is applied to the device group:
- How is the Fanning applied to the Device Group? Is a linear fanning applied from left to right or from right to left?
- How finely is the Fanning resolved? How many intermediate steps does DMXControl 3 automatically calculate for the assigned devices? See figures 1 to 3.
When modifying an existing device group, the following must be kept in mind:
- Any changes to device groups will only take effect when all Cuelists that reference the device group in their Scenes are stopped.
- DMXControl 3 cannot interpret additional information into already existing Scenes. This means that if a scene only stores the dimmer, and a moving head with an additional shutter is added later, such scenes need to be manually adjusted, or the additional information must be stored in a separate scene list.
Adjusting the Order
This order is also displayed in the Project Explorer. Therefore, the order of devices in the group can easily be changed by adjusting the order in the project explorer. Several options are available:
- The order of devices can be changed using Drag & Drop.
- The order can be adjusted using the arrow keys in the project explorer's menu bar.
- The devices can be sorted using various options in the context menu.
Reordering devices in the Stage View has no effect, as the device arrangement in the current light setup takes precedence in the stage view.
Changing Assignments
The assignment of Devices to Device Groups can be changed at any time. This is also done via Drag & Drop. In the Project Explorer, you can either drag the devices from the Devices branch into a device group, or you can add a device from an already existing device group into another one.
Deleting Device Groups
Device Groups can only be permanently removed from the project in the Project Explorer. To do this, select the relevant device group and either press the Del key or delete the device group via the corresponding menu entry. Once the confirmation prompt is confirmed, the device group is permanently removed from the project.
|
| Figure 4: Confirmation prompt when deleting a device group |
If different scenes within scene lists or presets are using the device group to be deleted, a window titled Reference error will appear after confirming the safety prompt. In this window, you can decide whether:
- only the affected device group should be removed from the scene or preset, or
- the entire scene / preset should be cleared.
These options can be set for each individual scene and preset that contains (i.e., references) the device group to be deleted. Once this prompt is confirmed as well, the device group will be permanently deleted.
|
| Figure 5: Reference error when deleting a device group |
|
Deleting Device Groups cannot be undone. If this was a mistake, the project must be reloaded, or all previously existing light moods must be recreated. Any unsaved changes will be lost when reloading the project. |
Properties
To access the properties of the Device Group, they can be opened via the context menu in either the Stage View or the Project Explorer.
| Setting | Possible Parameters | Default value | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English GUI | ||||
| GUI Properties | ||||
| Stage View | ||||
| Display type | "Image" "Preview" "Custom" |
"Preview" | "Image": shows the device image. "Preview": shows the current output. "Custom": | |
| Position | X-Coordinate Y-Coordinate |
variable | Specifies the position of the icon in the Stage View. | |
| Size | 32; 32 |
Specifies the icon size for the Stage View. | ||
| Kernel Properties | ||||
| Name | Name of the device group. | |||
| Device Number | Internal number of the device group. | |||
| Group Master | "True" or "False" | "True" | "True": activates the Group Master for this group. "False": deactivates the Group Master for this group. | |
| Image | Here you can set the image for the device group. | |||
Links and References
Video Tutorials
On our YouTube-Kanal, you can find the following videos on this topic: