If you select several fixtures and patch them, Hog 4 OS will allocate them to a continuous range of DMX addresses, assigning each fixture's patch address so that it follows on from the last.

For example, to patch 5 Studio Colors, starting at DMX address 1:

Studio Colors 1 to 5 will now have the incremental patch addresses of 1:1, 1:17, 1:33, 1:49, and 1:65. Note that the fixtures selected do not have to be from a contiguous range, and they can be of different types.

	Tip
	When you patch a range of fixtures, Hog 4 OS takes the selection order into account, so that Fixture 1 Thru 10 @ 1 patches the fixtures starting with Fixture 1 and going up in numerical order, while Fixture 10 Thru 1 @ 1 patches the fixtures starting with Fixture 10 and going down in reverse numerical order.

You can patch one fixture to multiple different DMX addresses; this can be useful with desk channels, where you want one desk channel to control several dimmer channels. This is sometimes known as ‘soft patching’.

To patch a fixture to a second DMX address, select the fixture again and patch it as before. Alternatively, using the command line:

Similarly, you can patch a fixture multiple times so as to fill a specified range of DMX addresses. This can be useful if you want to soft patch a desk channel to a continuous series of dimmer DMX addresses.

	Tip
	You don't have to patch fixtures before you start programming. Once the fixtures have been added they can be programmed. However, without a patch you will not be able to output DMX.

To specify a dmx channel gap when patching press the @ key a second time when the “fixture patch” window is open. This will put the word “Gap” on the command line. Input a numerical value after the word Gap and press enter.

Example:

[1<3 @ 1 Gap 5] will result in the following patch if the fixtures being patched are 3 channels each:

Fixture 1 occupies Dmx channels 1 < 3 (then a five channel gap: 4,5,6,7,8)

Fixture 2 occupies Dmx channels 9 < 11 (then a five channel gap: 12,13,14,15,16)

Fixture 3 occupies Dmx channels 17 < 19

To specify an offset to be used between the start addresses of fixtures when patching press the @ key a third time when the “fixture patch” window is open. This will put the word “Offset” on the command line. Input a numerical value after the word Offset and press enter.

Example:

[1<3 @ 1 Offset 5] will result in the following patch if the fixtures being patched are 3 channels each:

Fixture 1 occupies Dmx channels 1 < 3

Fixture 2 occupies Dmx channels 6 < 8

Fixture 3 occupies Dmx channel 11 < 13

Figure 5.2. The Universe View of the Fixture window

To see an overview of all patched fixtures in the Fixture window enable Universe View button at the top of the fixture window; see Figure 5.2, “The Universe View of the Fixture window”. Universe View shows a spreadsheet with start address, fixture type and user number for each universe. Additional rows show where there is an available space in the allocated addresses. This is useful for finding free address ranges when patching additional fixtures to established universes. To show this view:

Press the Fixture View button to return the Fixture window to its normal view.

Universes must be mapped to processors in order to achieve DMX, Art-Net, or SACN output. To map universes to a processor:

To remove a processor from a show file:

Some fixture types consist of several separate elements that work together, each with their own DMX address. An example is a par-can with a scroller, which operationally you want to treat as a single fixture (‘a light that can change brightness and colour’) but that physically consists of a dimmer-controlled lamp and a colour scroller that have separate and often non-sequential patch points. Similarly, some moving fixtures such as the Vari*Lite VL5 consist of the moving head with its own control electronics, fed by an external dimmer.

Figure 5.3. Examples of Fixtures requiring Multiple Patch Points

With such fixtures, there are two or more DMX start addresses, which may not be numerically adjacent, and indeed may be on different universes and processors. Hog 4 OS handles this by giving these fixtures multiple ’Patch Points‘, which you address separately in the Fixture Patch window.

For example, to patch the fixture with a scroller (of fixture type ‘Scroller Dimmer’) shown in Figure 5.3, “Examples of Fixtures requiring Multiple Patch Points”:

In the Fixture window, these types of fixture will span more than one row - one for each Patch point; see Figure 5.4, “A Fixture with Multiple Patch Points”.

Figure 5.4. A Fixture with Multiple Patch Points

Cloning a Universe will copies all of the fixture patch points and associated with the selected universe to another universe.

To clone the patching of one universe to another:

Figure 5.5. The Clone Universe window

If cloning will overwrite patch information in the destination, you will be asked for confirmation. The console will only unpatch previous fixtures that are in the way of new ones; the rest of the destination universe will be untouched.

	Tip
	You can also move patching from one universe to another by cloning the patch to the new universe, and then unpatching the old universe; see Unpatching Fixtures from DMX Channels.

You can unpatch a fixture in order to re-patch it with a different start address, or to stop output being sent to it. Unpatching does not erase any programming for the fixture in groups, palettes, cues and so on.

There are two ways to unpatch. Unpatching by fixture removes all patching information for that fixture, even if it has been patched to several start addresses or has multiple patch points. Unpatching by start address only unpatch a specific start address, leaving other start addresses associated with the fixture intact.

To unpatch all patch information associated with a fixture:

To unpatch a specific DMX start address change the Fixture window to Universe View.

When Universe View is selected, the Unpatch @ button is available on the top toolbar of the Fixture window. To unpatch start address 200 in the currently selected DMX universe (highlighted in blue):

To unpatch several start addresses:

To unpatch a range of start addresses:

To unpatch an entire universe: