Clarify use of user interface colors in fixture sheets

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  • I find some of the docs relatively confusing or imprecise.

    A couple of questions to this part for example:

    1. In both screenshots, does the little red bar at the top of the upper value box indicate, the value comes from the programmer?

    2. In the top screenshot, does the mauve background indicate, it's a relative value? I thought it's indicated by the minus in front of the number. Or is it both?

    3. In the bottom screenshot, why is the background in the upper value box green but black in the lower value box?

    Finally:

    Would it be precise to state that: A colored background in any value box in the fixture sheet indicates: a) The value is *active*, meaning it's subject to store and update actions. b) The color corresponds to the feature layer. If it's red, it corresponds to the absolute value of the feature.

    Thanks for being patient with me! :)

  • The little chips (I don't remember what they are called) at the top of Encoders, Fixture sheet values and Presets and Groups represent the layer that the object that holds values.

    The actual colours form from the lines above the encoder layers:

    However, Some Caveats:

    • If only Absolute (Red) value is stored it does not show a chip in pool items, but it does in the fixture sheet.
    • Phase (Purple) does not show up in pool items but it does in the fixture sheet (I honestly hadn't noticed this until now)

    Now on the fixture sheet, there are a number of additions

    • The Chips above denote what values are in the programmer ( with the addition of Cyan and Dark Cyan at the end, not sure what they are but I'm sure it's in the manual if I were to look)
    • The background denotes if that value is active or not, its colour depends on what layer you are looking at. If you are in Auto this shows what layer you have selected on the encoder bar.

    Here I'm on the Absolute Layer

    Now the Delay Layer:

    Now the same after pressing clear twice (removing it from being active) the value is still red since it's still in the programmer:


    If I store some cues the colour of the text denotes what layer that data is coming from, with the exception of Dimmer which adds two more colours,

    • Green if the dimmer value went down from the previous cue
    • Cyan if it went up

    In the above image, we are looking at Cue 2. In Cue 1 Fixture 1 @ 100, Fixture 2 @ 0

    I'm sure there is a ton I'm missing but that is the gist of it.

  • I would strongly recommend getting some local training from your Distributor or at least signing up to Free Online MA University.

    There are a lot of posts here in a short time covering fundamentals of the software and some basic training will help with these a lot.

  • I would strongly recommend getting some local training from your Distributor or at least signing up to Free Online MA University.

    There are a lot of posts here in a short time covering fundamentals of the software and some basic training will help with these a lot.

    I did do the complete MA Lighting University online trainings AND the Act Basic and Intermediary trainings. My follow-up questions relate to the ambiguity that content leaves behind.

  • I just went back a read that part of the manual and it seems very clear to me.

    The paragraph right before the one you quoted laid out the rules:

    While it's almost impossible for manuals to be perfect, I honestly think the documentation team has done a great job, and for the most part, it's very clear.

    If you have done the training then the best thing you can do is practice in small chunks until you get a handle on each concept one at a time. While it's always good to work towards a project when you are starting out repetition is king.

  • While it's almost impossible for manuals to be perfect, I honestly think the documentation team has done a great job, and for the most part, it's very clear.

    In case, that something is wrong or not clear, please reach out to your local distributor. They can forward it to the manual team, which is always trying to improve the manual. They are also looking forward to getting feedback from the users and will add your feedback, too.

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