Accessory Problem

[FlorianB]

Hi all,

I have the following problem in VW21 latest SP2.1, when I attach a new accessory e.g. barndoor or Scroller ( I know don't get me started 😉 ) it will populate the unit number put not the CH of the fixture it is attached to. Not really an issue if one only draws a plan, but with Data-exchange to LW this is a real pain. Strange thing is so, it did work with the same drawing yesterday and now it doesn't any more.

Any ideas?

 

Thank you....

 

Florian Baeumler

[klinzey]

LW should only require the unit number and position for a static accessory. The channel number is not needed for a static accessory e.g. barndoor.

For an accessory e.g. scroller you should manually enter a channel number in the accessory as it should be a different channel than the light.

 

[FlorianB]

1 hour ago, klinzey said:

LW should only require the unit number and position for a static accessory. The channel number is not needed for a static accessory e.g. barndoor.

For an accessory e.g. scroller you should manually enter a channel number in the accessory as it should be a different channel than the light.

 

Klinzey, thank you for your reply.

I do agree with your point of view about barndoors, but with scrollers I do disagree. My scrollers always have the same Ch number as the fixture they are attached to. So par can Ch 1 will have a scoller attaced to it and that has Ch 1 as well, the same way the this would be patched in any LX desk ( think multi-part patch fixture). And yes I can add the Ch number in Lw, but that seems rather backwards. IMHO a "intelligent" accessory like a scroller should by default take the Ch of the parent lighting device.

 

 

Florian Baeumler

Edited March 4, 2021 by FlorianB

[...]

On 3/4/2021 at 9:43 AM, klinzey said:

LW should only require the unit number and position for a static accessory. The channel number is not needed for a static accessory e.g. barndoor.

For an accessory e.g. scroller you should manually enter a channel number in the accessory as it should be a different channel than the light.

 

Hi I'd like to jump on this as well, the fact that the accessory tool can't allow at least an option for scrollers, rotators, DMX irises, icues, Autoyokes, Right-arms, etc. to automatically pick up the channel of their parent lighting device is really unfortunate. For over a decade it has been industry standard for lighting paperwork / lighting desks to patch those accessories as another part of the same channel. Sorry, but it's disappointing that Vectorworks employees aren't aware of this.

[klinzey]

Vectorworks supports 2 types of accessories. Static Accessories and Accessories.

Static Accessories are things like top hats and barn doors and are seen by Lightwright as Accessories.

Vectorworks Accessories are things like color scrollers and are seen by Lightwright as Devices and will be shown as a separate entry (line) in Lightwright.

It's important to use them appropriately in order to get the data to move between Vectorworks and Lightwright.

If you set a scroller to a Static Accessory in Vectorworks, Lightwright will not be able to assign it a DMX address.

If you set a top hat up as an Accessory in Vectorworks, Lightwright will see it as a separate device and it will not show up the Accessory list for the light.

 

Lightwright doesn't support any data for Static Accessories, they just become a list in the accessory field in Lightwright.

If the data is not necessary you can leave the fields empty in Vectorworks.

 

Vectorworks uses internal data to know which accessories are attached to which light,  Lightwright uses the position name and unit number of determine the association. So both applications have to make some assumptions in order to link an accessory with a light when we are exchanging data.

[...]

1 hour ago, klinzey said:

Vectorworks supports 2 types of accessories. Static Accessories and Accessories.

Static Accessories are things like top hats and barn doors and are seen by Lightwright as Accessories.

Vectorworks Accessories are things like color scrollers and are seen by Lightwright as Devices and will be shown as a separate entry (line) in Lightwright.

It's important to use them appropriately in order to get the data to move between Vectorworks and Lightwright.

If you set a scroller to a Static Accessory in Vectorworks, Lightwright will not be able to assign it a DMX address.

If you set a top hat up as an Accessory in Vectorworks, Lightwright will see it as a separate device and it will not show up the Accessory list for the light.

 

Lightwright doesn't support any data for Static Accessories, they just become a list in the accessory field in Lightwright.

If the data is not necessary you can leave the fields empty in Vectorworks.

 

Vectorworks uses internal data to know which accessories are attached to which light,  Lightwright uses the position name and unit number of determine the association. So both applications have to make some assumptions in order to link an accessory with a light when we are exchanging data.

 

All of that is understood, the point still stands that non-static accessories (scrollers, icues, etc.) and their parent lighting instrument should be able to share the same channel. To be clear they should show up in Lightwright as separate line items, with the same channel, and separate addresses. 

 

Again, I understand why you wouldn't always want that to happen, but it should be an option you can enable / disable. It would save lots of time manually entering the info.

[Sam Jones]

I will try to implement this in AutoPlot, but VW needs to seriously consider implementing Accessories (Devices) acquiring the channel of the attached fixture.  Multi part patch of channels is common in lighting desks and is implemented in Lightwright.