Channel Commands
When the value of any parameter of a channel or fixture is set using the following commands it is said to be under channel control which (usually) overrides any other control that may be applied (cue, submaster, etc.).
Channel commands take the following format:
[{channel list}] [{attribute}] [(@ [(dmx | rem dim)]{ value} [(time | fade){value}] | @@ | on | off | solo | full | up | down | hilight | lolight | home)
Channel List
A single channel or a range of channels may be specified with the following syntax:
[(+ | -)] {chan} [(, | + | - | / | thru | thru on) {chan} …]
Single channels are separated by either a comma (,) or plus (+). A range of channels can be entered using the word “thru” or the forward slash (/) symbol between two values. Channels can be removed from a selection using the minus (-) key. “thru on” is a special keyword that applies changes only to those channels in a range that are already active (i.e. have an intensity level above 0).
If you enter a channel list only, the software will select the channels in the channel view. If the channel view is not visible it will be opened and brought to the front of your screen. If you are selecting channels by not entering the “@ {value}” on the end of the command, then you can add a + or a – to the front of the text to add or subtract from the currently selected channels.
With the addition of defining subsections within a fixture profile (Sub Fixtures), the subsections may be addressed with the following syntax:
[(+ | -)] {chan.subchan} [(, | + | - | / | thru) {chan.subchan}…]
Examples:
1,2,3,7,19/33 <ENTER> - Select channels 1, 2, 3, 7 & 19 through 33.
1+2+3+7+19/33-21 <ENTER> - Select channels 1, 2, 3, 7 & 19 through 33 with the exception of 21.
45.4/45.6 <ENTER> - Select sub channels 4 through 6 of Fixture 45.
-3/10 <ENTER> - Deselect channels 3 through 10.
1 thru on 20 <ENTER> - Select the active channels between 1 and 20.
6 thru <ENTER> - Select all sequential channels/fixtures of the same type starting with channel 6.
Attribute
By default, the software will operate on the intensity as it is assumed that all fixtures have this function. However, for intelligent fixtures, other attributes may be selected by using the keywords: pan, tilt, color, gobo, gobo r, control, effect, zoom, diff, iris, edge, focus, strobe, coloridx, goboidx.
Some of these attributes can accept a number following the keyword to access features where more than one of an attribute exists. E.g. some intelligent fixtures have more than one color wheel. If a command is entered with the word color, then color wheel 1 is selected by default. To select color wheel 2, the attribute would be entered as “color2”.
When fixture attributes are used in the command line, the value entered is a real-world value that is logical to the attribute selected. The gobo command, for example, will take a number corresponding to the gobo index you want to select. Another example is the zoom attribute that takes beam angle (degrees) as its value. To address the dmx values, enter the word “dmx” after the “@”.
Examples:
37 pan @ 50 <ENTER> - Set fixture 37’s pan attribute to 50°
24/30 gobo2 @ dmx 235 <ENTER> - Set gobo wheel 2’s control to a DMX value of 235 for fixtures 24 through 30
Value
(@ [(dmx | rem dim)] { value} [(time | fade) {value}] | @@ | on | off | solo | full | up | down)
The single “@” is used to set the value to follow. The value can be a number from 0 to 100 or a reference to a value stored in a cue, group or palette. The value will be applied to the intensity attribute of the selected channel(s) unless the command is modified by specifying one of the attributes described in the previous section. The “*” and “`” characters can be used in place of “@” as well. If the value is preceded with “dmx”, it will be interpreted as a direct dmx value in the range of 0-255. If preceded by “rem dim”, only the currently selected channel(s) will be set to the value and all others will be set to 0.
Normally, when the command is executed, the value is applied using the “Master Fade Time”. This can be modified by adding the keyword “time” or “fade” followed by a value in seconds to apply the value over the specified time.
“on” will set the intensity of the listed channel(s) to the “on” value specified in System Properties. “off” sets the intensity to 0 and “full” or “@@” to 100%. “up” and “down” will increase or decrease the value of the listed channel(s) by an amount set in System Properties. “solo” will set the selected channels to the “on” value while setting all others to 0.
When the options “@@”, “on”, “off” & “solo” are entered by themselves with no other leading text, they will autocomplete, that is they don’t wait for the <ENTER> key to be pressed.
Examples:
1/6 <ENTER> - Select channels 1 through 6
@ 50 <ENTER> - Set the previously selected channels’ intensity to 50%
@ lavender <ENTER> - Set the previously selected channels to the attribute(s) stored in the generic palette “lavender”.
off – Set the previously selected channels to 0%. *Note this command executes as soon as typed, i.e. does not wait for nor need <ENTER> to be typed.
3 solo time 10 <ENTER> - Set channel 3 to the “on” level over 10 seconds and set all other channels to 0
Using Groups (Specific Palettes) & (Generic) Palettes in Channel Commands
When using the command line interface to set channels, you can reference groups (specific palettes) by name on both sides of the “@” symbol. You can also reference palettes by name on the right-hand side of the “@” symbol. A group name entered on the left side will select the channels in the group. Depending on the setting of the option “Only show palettes containing selected fixtures”, a group name entered on the right side will apply the group’s values to any channels that are selected and also included in the group or to any selected channels (virtual palettes).
As soon as you start typing the name of the group or palette on either side of the “@” symbol, a small window will appear suggesting matches to what has already been entered. This is designed to help with selecting groups and palettes without having to type the whole name. To select an item listed in the helper window, use the up and down arrow keys to move between the values and then press the <ENTER> key to select.
Examples:
LX Bridge 2 @ 25 <ENTER> - Sets the channels in group “LX Bridge 2” to 25%.
LX Wash @ Sky Blue <ENTER> - Set the channels in group “LX Wash” to the values of the attributes recorded in (generic) palette “Sky Blue”.
Referencing Groups & Palettes by Number
In addition to referencing groups and palettes by name, they can be referenced by number. Each group or palette type is assigned a number when it is created. The numbers are shown in the “Groups” and “Palettes” windows that are displayed when those buttons are clicked on the Channel Display.
To reference a group by number, use the keyword “group” (can be shortened to “grp”) followed by the desired number. Likewise, use the keyword “palette” followed by the desired number for generic palettes. For specific palettes, the syntax is “{palette type} {number}”.
Examples:
grp 11 @ 50 <ENTER> - Applies the values stored in Group 11 at 50% to the channels in the group.
6/9 @ palette 2 <ENTER> - Applies the attributes stored in (generic) Palette 2 to channels 6 through 9.
37 @ position 5 <ENTER> - Applies the values stored in Position Palette 5 for Fixture 37.
Selecting & Referencing Channel Values in Cues
The values stored in cues can be applied directly to channels without running the cue. The syntax of the command is:
[{channel list}] @ cue {number}
Examples:
1, 3, 5 <ENTER> - Select channels 1, 3 & 5.
@ cue 4 <ENTER> - Apply the values stored in Cue 4 to the selected channels.
2, 4, 6 @ cue 10 <ENTER> - Apply the values stored in Cue 10 to channels 2, 4 & 6.
