Show Manager - Fixtures/Channels before Steps?
Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 11:11 pm
I've been trying to figure out how to use the show manager for the past few hours and getting more and more frustrated with it. I think I've finally figured out what's wrong though. I'm hoping it's just a bug that can get fixed. If it's working as intended, consider this feedback that it's HORRIBLE for someone trying to figure out and use the software.
Here's what I've been experiencing. In show manager, I add a new scene (track?) and then create a sequence. I add a step to that sequence, and then add some fixtures. I select some channels and set values. I then create a second step, and adjust the channels to different values.
What I expect: when I select step 1, the values I previously set will be there.
What happens: when I select step 1, the values I set for step 2 are there.
If I fix the values back to what I wanted for step 1, and advance to step 2, step 2 now has my values for step 1! It's an endless loop of steps not working! Even more frustrating was that for some scenes it seemed to work, and others it didn't.
After much banging of my head against the wall, I think I've found the problem. In order to work properly, you need to create the scene, create a sequence, select all the fixtures you will ever use at any point in that sequence, select all the channels you'll ever use in that sequence, and THEN add your first step.
Is this correct? The editor allows you to work in a non-linear fashion - I can go back to the general tab and add a new fixture to the sequence at any point without any hint that it won't actually work. That's great because if I'm designing something, I may well change my mind and decide I want to use another fixture I hadn't planned on originally, and just go add it in... or decide I want to use another color once I'm on step 3, and add it and set the values for my previous steps to 0... but the program then starts behaving all unpredictably.
If you aren't allowed to add additional fixtures or channels part way though, I'd suggest you disable the buttons and check boxes once the first step has been created, so that it isn't temping to go back and add something more.
Here's what I've been experiencing. In show manager, I add a new scene (track?) and then create a sequence. I add a step to that sequence, and then add some fixtures. I select some channels and set values. I then create a second step, and adjust the channels to different values.
What I expect: when I select step 1, the values I previously set will be there.
What happens: when I select step 1, the values I set for step 2 are there.
If I fix the values back to what I wanted for step 1, and advance to step 2, step 2 now has my values for step 1! It's an endless loop of steps not working! Even more frustrating was that for some scenes it seemed to work, and others it didn't.
After much banging of my head against the wall, I think I've found the problem. In order to work properly, you need to create the scene, create a sequence, select all the fixtures you will ever use at any point in that sequence, select all the channels you'll ever use in that sequence, and THEN add your first step.
Is this correct? The editor allows you to work in a non-linear fashion - I can go back to the general tab and add a new fixture to the sequence at any point without any hint that it won't actually work. That's great because if I'm designing something, I may well change my mind and decide I want to use another fixture I hadn't planned on originally, and just go add it in... or decide I want to use another color once I'm on step 3, and add it and set the values for my previous steps to 0... but the program then starts behaving all unpredictably.
If you aren't allowed to add additional fixtures or channels part way though, I'd suggest you disable the buttons and check boxes once the first step has been created, so that it isn't temping to go back and add something more.