The Stage View is the central control interface for the Devices present in the project. It is essential for creating new Cues and Effects. Additionally, it displays what the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) intends to output. However, the Stage View is not a visualizer.
|
| Figure 1: Example of a stage view with multiple devices and device groups. |
Overview
The Stage View provides a rough layout of your lighting setup and is always used to create or modify lighting scenes.
By default, the Stage View displays the preview of the device's status as DMXControl 3 would output it, considering any adjustments made by the HAL. A Device Group is represented by an image symbolizing the assigned devices.
In addition to device icons, additional information (attributes) can be displayed, such as the (short) device names or the current selection order, which is crucial for implementing Fanning.
Key Features
Newly added Devices and Device Groups are automatically placed in the first created Stage View if you use the [Add Device] button in the Project Explorer. The « Add Device » option in the context menu also adds new devices to the currently open Stage View. The arrangement can be modified later as desired. Existing devices can be dragged from the Project Explorer to the Stage View via Drag & Drop. The Project Explorer also indicates which devices are already in a Stage View.
|
To control a device, it must be included in at least one Stage View. New scenes or Presets cannot be created directly from the Project Explorer. |
|
If only the dimmer and/or shutter of a device is opened, all selected devices will output the color white by default. There is no distinction between a simple LED spotlight or a moving head. If you want to use the color white in a scene, it must be explicitly selected either in the Device Control or the color wheel (Color Picker) of the Color Control Panel to ensure it is stored in the Programmer. |
Visual Limitations of the Stage View
The Stage View should not be interpreted as a visualizer. It shows what the HAL intends to output. Therefore, note the following:
- If the assignment of colors or gobos does not match reality, the DDF of the affected device must be checked.
- Color representations may differ from the color wheel or Device Control due to adjustments made by the HAL.
- The Stage View does not recognize the construction type (e.g., moving head or scanner), so a circular movement generated in DMXControl 3 may appear as an eight in reality.
- The strobe visualization in the Stage View is informational only, indicating that a strobe effect is active. It is likely that the strobe's speed and timing in the Stage View will not match the real output.
Controls
Menu Bar
| Icon | Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| English GUI | |||
 |
Copy values | Copies the current properties of a device or group to the clipboard. | |
 |
Paste values | Applies the properties from the clipboard to another device or group. | |
 |
Select all | Toggles the selection of all devices or device groups in the Stage View. To clear the selection, click on an empty area or select another device. | |
 |
Reset view | Resets the Stage View to its original position and restores the zoom to the default factor of 1:1. | |
 |
Camera controls | Toggles the visibility of the camera control elements for the Stage View. | |
 |
Create visual copy | Creates a 1:1 copy of the selected device, which behaves identically to the original. | |
 |
Delete visual copy | Deletes the 1:1 copy of the original device. | |
 |
Create group from selection | Creates a new device group from the current selection in the Stage View. | |
 |
Show / hide | Allows toggling of additional information about device icons. | |
Context Menus
The context menu in the Stage View depends on the current selection.
Without Selection
| Icon | Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| English GUI | |||
 |
Add device | Adds more devices to the project and places icons in the current Stage View. | |
 |
Edit background | Selects or changes the background image. | |
 |
Lock icon position | Locks the current position of all icons. | |
|
Show / hide | Toggles additional information for icons. | |
 |
Properties | Opens the settings for the current Stage View. | |
Device / Device Group
The following menu entries are only available when a device and/or a device group is selected in the stage view.
| Icon | Name | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English GUI | ||||
| Group 1: Transfer Device Control Parameters | ||||
|
Copy values | Copies the currently set device control parameters to the clipboard. | ||
|
Paste values | Inserts the parameters from the clipboard into a new device or device group. | ||
| Group 2: View Control | ||||
|
Reset view | Moves the stage view back to its origin and resets the zoom to the standard factor of 1:1. | ||
|
Camera controls | Toggles the display of the control elements for managing the stage view. | ||
| Group 3: Selection | ||||
|
Select all | Alternately selects all devices or all device groups in the stage view. | ||
 |
Sort selection | Provides various options for sorting manually selected devices. | ||
| Group 4: Visual Copy | ||||
|
Create visual copy | Creates a 1:1 copy of the selected device, which will behave identically to the original. | ||
|
Delete visual copy | Deletes the 1:1 copy of the original device. | ||
| Group 5: Device Groups | ||||
|
Create group from selection | Creates a new device group based on the current selection in the stage view. | ||
| Group 6: Procedures | ||||
 |
Procedures | Executes one of the procedures stored in the device, such as a full reset. | ||
| Group 7: Settings | ||||
|
Show properties | Opens the settings of the selected device or device group. | ||
Mouse Control
The stage view can be operated as follows using the mouse:
| Mouse Button | Program Function | Note |
|---|---|---|
| View Control | ||
| Scroll wheel | Zoom in or out | |
| Hold middle mouse button | Move view | |
Keyboard Commands
There are several keys useful for operating the stage view. These keys facilitate the alignment and movement of devices:
| Key Combination | Program Function | Note |
|---|---|---|
| View Control | ||
| Up | Move view up | |
| Left | Move view left | |
| Right | Move view right | |
| Down | Move view down | |
| + | Zoom in | |
| - | Zoom out | |
| , | Rotate view counterclockwise | |
| . | Rotate view clockwise | |
| F7 | Reset view | Resets the view to the origin point and the zoom to the standard value. |
| F10 | Show camera controls | |
| Icon Selection | ||
| Ctrl | Select multiple devices | Useful for positioning multiple devices simultaneously. |
| Ctrl + Shift | Select all devices of a type | Click on any device while holding the key combination to select all devices of the same type in the stage view, such as all Type A moving heads or Type C LED PARs. |
| Icon Arrangement | ||
| Shift + M | Arrange devices in a matrix | Select devices and press the key while dragging with the mouse. Hold the Shift key to ignore icon descriptions. |
| Shift + F | Arrange devices in a line (Fanning) | Select devices and press the key while dragging with the mouse to align them linearly. Hold the Shift key to ignore icon descriptions. |
| Shift + C | Arrange devices in a circle | Select devices and press the key while dragging with the mouse. Hold the Shift key to ignore icon descriptions. |
| Additional Information | ||
| F3 | Show debug information | Displays the refresh rate at which the stage view is recalculated. |
Usage
The Stage View distinguishes between icons for individual devices and icons for device groups (group icon). When you select a group icon, all subsequent actions will be applied to each member of the device group.
|
| Figure 2: Selecting multiple devices using the selection frame |
Organization and Feedback
Additional Information for Devices and Device Groups
Using the [Show / hide] button, you can specify which attributes should be displayed on the icons. Currently, the following additional information is available:
- Device number / Group number
- Selection number
- Device name
- Intensity
- Grid
- Menu strip
Additional information can also be obtained through the device properties:
- Device enabled or disabled
Multiple Stage Views
It is possible to create multiple Stage Views within a project. The different views are managed as separate Stage Views in the Project Explorer. This allows you to create a dedicated Stage View for each venue or to divide devices into different views of a venue.
To add devices or device groups to a Stage View, you can drag and drop devices from the Project Explorer into the corresponding Stage View.
Background Image
It is sometimes helpful to load a background image to better position the lighting fixtures. This can be added or changed via the « Edit Background » option in the context menu of the respective Stage View. In the window that appears, you can select the desired background image and choose how the image should be displayed using the layout dropdown menu.
| Name | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| None | The selected image is displayed at its original size and aligned with the origin point of the Stage View. | 
|
| Tile | ||
| Center | The image is displayed at its original size, with the center of the image aligned to the center of the current view of the Stage View. | 
|
| Stretch | Both the width and height of the selected image are adjusted to fit the Stage View window, which may distort the image. | 
|
| Zoom | The background image is scaled to fill the window without distortion. Depending on the aspect ratio, some parts of the image may not be visible. | 
|
|
|
When positioning devices in combination with a background image to replicate the real setup as accurately as possible, it is recommended to use the "None" option. This prevents the background image from being distorted or scaled when resizing the Stage View window, ensuring that devices remain correctly positioned during zooming in and out. |
You can use additional custom background images by placing them in the directory "[APPDATA]\DMXControl Projects e.V\DMXControl\Kernel\Pictures". If this directory does not exist, you can manually create it and add images. Both *.jpg and *.png formats are supported, including (semi-)transparent areas.
Working with the Stage View
Copy & Paste
In the Stage View, you can easily transfer values from fixtures or groups using Copy & Paste. This function is available once you have configured a device or a device group as desired, or have loaded an existing scene into the Programmer. The « Copy Values » command is available via the context menu of the device or group.
When pasting values using the « Paste Values » command on a new device or group, any conflicts (e.g., if the target device lacks certain properties like position) will be handled automatically. This allows you to easily transfer settings if, for example, you forgot to add a fixture or want to apply a specific lighting look to additional fixtures.
|
|
Pasting settings only works as long as the values remain in the Programmer. If the Programmer content is cleared in the meantime, you will need to reconfigure the properties or reload the source scene into the Programmer. |
Links and References
Video Tutorials
On our YouTube-Kanal channel, you can find the following videos on this topic: