Help with Custom Lights

[CharlesD]

So I've always been a basic VW user. I learned just enough to scrape together a functional light plot. Now I'm trying to spruce things up and learn more about VW.

The first part of that process is creating custom lighting symbols. But it's giving me a few bits of trouble. I can't figure out how to create "default" information for each of my lights. Wattages, Instrument Type, Beam/Field Angles, Weight, Color Frame Size, etc. I tried editing this on the Light Info Record, but now I take that to be a general record that applies to EVERY light I add to my plot. I can't seem to find out the way in which the "stock" lights store this information, but they all come in with this info!

Any help would be appreciated. I'll be updating this thread with additional questions as they arise.

[michaelk]

It's important to know if you are using 2011 or something older...

But the basic idea is this:

Start with a blank document.... From a stock library import the following: Default Instrument Texture, Light Record Info, Light Record Info M, Parts, and the 3D C-clamp.

Create the 2D and 3D portions of the instrument. Give all the 3D portions the Default Instrument Texture.

If you are using 2011:

......1. Make sure all the geometry in the 2D part is on the screen plane.

......2. Give all the 3D geometry the Default Instrument Texture.

......3. Use groups or solid additions to make sure there are only 4 objects in the 3D part of the symbol:

_______1. Clamp

_______2. Yolk

_______3. Body

_______4. 3D Locus

If you are not using 2011, feel free to have as many objects in the 3D part as you wish. (just found out yesterday: 2011 does NOT like NURBS curves or 3D polygons in the 3D part of a spotlight instrument symbol - stick with regular 3D geometry)

The center of the clamp should be at 0,0,0. The 3D locus should be in the center of the body. (When rendering the light will originate at the 3D locus).

In 2011 make sure the instrument is pointed straight down. In all other vintages you can tilt the body to whatever angle you like.

In 2011 attach the record format "Parts" to the clamp, yolk, and body in the 3D part of the symbol. Select the clamp, click the data tab on the OIP and change the Clamp field to True. Repeat for yolk and clamp. For other vintages of VW skip this step.

Go to the 2D part of the Symbol. Deselect everything. Attach the Light Info Record. In the Data tab of the OIP enter all the info.

Exit the symbol.

Good luck!

mk

[CharlesD]

Much thanks for the help here. Doesn't it always happen that after you post a thread for help, you figure it out on your own?

My current conundrum:

Is there any way such that if (and only if) there is data present in the Gobo field a "T" will be placed on the instrument? I tried doing this with the label legend by making a container for the Gobo field that was just a "T" and then hiding the gobo field text behind the "container"... I thought I was being sneaky, until I forgot containers always display on legend regardless of wether or not there is any data in that field!

Any ideas here with this problem?

[michaelk]

One way is to place a gobo holder accessory on the instrument and exclude the gobo 1 field from the LL.

[CharlesD]

Hmm... That's not the type of solution I was looking for. I'm not too familiar with "accessories" in VW, and how it plays with LW...

Any help here is appreciated...

Here's another question...

Label Legends...

Can I really not re-name them, or is there something I'm missing?

[michaelk]

You can still put a gobo in the instrument's record and it will export to LW. The stock accessory 2D part is just a "T" with a circle.

You can rename them. In the Resource Browser > Symbol Folders > Label Legend Folders you will see all the Label Legends. Right click on one of them and choose rename.

hth

mk

[CharlesD]

Right Michaelk, good call on the Resource Browser... look at me being dumb, I was only in the Label Legend Manager.

As for the accessory. I don't see any advantage to it over just drafting the letter "T" onto something, I'm unfamiliar with how accessories insert, does it become linked to the light it's inserted to? Does this info play nice in LW?

Regardless, my idea of the workflow is that I'd draft this all out, then go into LW, add the gobo data, and with data exchange, I'd come back to VW, refresh, and see Ts on all of my template units.

[michaelk]

Yes, accessories become linked to their host instruments. They will move with the instrument. It also allows VW to count gobo holders if that's something you want to do.

To get your desired workflow, I think you could use User Field 1...6. Map it to a field in LW. Enter a T or leave it blank, or just a space. Put the user field in the LLM.

I find it much easier (and a smoother workflow) to enter the data in a worksheet inside VW rather than export and import. For example,the VW worksheets allow you to look at an instrument in the hook up, click on it, and the drawing zooms to that instrument. (Great for finding instruments that are accidentally "stacked" or not attached to their position, on an unexpected layer, etc.) What you type into the worksheet shows up on the label legend live in the drawing as you are typing. It's not perfect - There are things about the worksheets that drive me crazy, but I find it preferable to exporting and importing.

hth

mk

[CharlesD]

I think I haven't answered this question yet, I'm on 2011.

So here's another issue. My symbols originally had some text entry fields on them before I edited them for use with Spotlight features.

However, I have some ghost points showing up when I select the object... Where the text entry fields used to be... I went in to edit the symbol again, and I checked, the only thing I have in there is a group. The group has my little horizontal line in the middle, and the polygon of the outline of the leko. I can't seem to find any reason why those ghost points should still be displaying...

Another issue:

When trying to select a light, even a stock light, my selection area has to be extremely outside the boundary of any lighting symbol, we're talking 2-3' in scale. Is this a known 2011 bug, or just a "feature"?