Creating a New Fixture

New fixtures are created from the fixture editor. You can either create a new fixture, or copy an existing fixture to edit. See Copying a Fixture

To create a new fixture, press {New}. A new fixture will be added to the fixture list.

Naming a New Fixture

Once the new fixture appears in the list, it is recommended that you name the fixture you are about to create.

To name a fixture in the creator list:

  1. Use the [Page] keys, mouse, or touchscreen to select the new fixture.
  2. Press [Label] or tap on the new fixture. You can press [Label] twice to clear the name. The virtual keyboard will open in the CIA.
  3. Enter the desired name for the new fixture on the virtual (or attached alphanumeric) keyboard.
  4. Press [Enter]. The name will appear in the “Type” column of the fixture list.

Adding Parameters

After naming the fixture, you can specify which parameters the new fixture contains.

Note:  For 16b parameters, LDMX or “low-DMX” is the DMX address for the second half of any 16-bit channel. If used in Coarse/ Fine determination, the DMX channel defines the “Coarse” adjustment and the LDMX defines the “Fine” adjustment. Do not count 16-bit parameters as two parameters, this will be done in a later step.

To add parameters to a new fixture:

  1. Use the [Page] keys, mouse, or touchscreen to select the new fixture.
  2. Select the parameter list by clicking on it or touching it.

  3. Determine the total number of parameters that your fixture has. Do not count 16-bit parameters as two parameters, this will be done in a later step.
  4. Press {New} or {+} to add parameter slots. Repeat this step until you have as many slots as are required by the number determined in step 3.

    Note:  When {New} or {+} is pressed, the parameter slot will appear in the list with a default name in the “Parameter” column. You may disregard these default parameters as you will redefine the designations in a later step.

  5. Use the [Page] keys, mouse, or touchscreen to navigate to any parameter slots that you wish to alter the default parameter designations for.
  6. Click on the slot to open a dropdown list of available parameters.

  7. Click on a category to open the dropdown list to see the parameters, or use the search box to find the parameter.

  8. Press the desired parameter to assign it or press [Enter] when the parameter is selected.
  9. Repeat steps 5 through 8 until you have entered all of the required parameters for the new fixture.

If you are missing a parameter slot: At any point you can use the [Page] keys and {Insert}, to insert a parameter slot above the selected one.

If you want to remove a parameter: you can use the [Page] keys and {Delete}, to remove a parameter from the list.

Locked Value

A parameter can be assigned as a locked value. When used, the output address and value will be locked at the profile level. This option is available under Control in the parameter dropdown list.

Define Parameters

Once you have added and specified all of the parameters for the new fixture, you can now define the address requirements, size, and ranges for each of them.

To define the size (8-bit or 16-bit), DMX address, and LDMX address of any parameter:

You can alter the default DMX address assigned to any parameter in the list. This is not the actual address that will be used when patched, but rather it is the order of address for the parameter relative to the other parameters in the fixture.

LDMX or “low-DMX” is the DMX address for the second half of any 16-bit channel. If used in Coarse/ Fine determination, the DMX channel defines the “Coarse” adjustment and the LDMX defines the “Fine” adjustment.

  1. Use the [Page] keys to navigate to any parameter that you wish to alter the size of. The system defaults to 8-bit for any new parameter.
  2. When selected, click Size to choose between 8-bit or 16-bit. If 16-bit is selected, the system automatically displays a LDMX option. This value can be altered.
  3. Enter the desired address for the DMX and/ or LDMX addresses using the keypad.

To alter the Home settings for any parameter:

You can define the value for any parameter’s “home” value.

  1. Click on the “Home” column of the desired parameter.
  2. Enter the desired home value (0 through 255 for 8-bit, and 0 through 65535 for 16-bit) using the keypad.

To enable the Snap setting for parameters:

You can enable snap for parameters to exempt them from cue timing, so they snap to their new value. For more information about snap, see Snap Parameters

  1. Use the [Page] keys to navigate to the “Snap” column of the desired parameter.
  2. Click in the ‘Snap” column for the selected parameter to enable.