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Patching and Assigning an ID to Fixtures in BTWYG

BTWYSIWYG for BlackTrax  »  Preparing the BTWYG file  »  Patching and Assigning an ID to Fixtures in BTWYG

Patching Fixtures to BTWYG Introduction

When a new BTWYG project is created from BlackTrax, DMX universes are automatically created and patched 1:1 by default.

When tracking occurs, BlackTrax uses the DMX values generated by the console, but overrides the pan and tilt channels with new values. These new values direct the fixture to aim and follow a Trackable. If a fixture was edited to have a constant beam size, the zoom and iris values will also change. The patching must be the same so that BlackTrax can override the correct DMX universe and channels.

In BTWYG, you can create and patch a DMX universe using the spreadsheet in DATA mode or Quick Tools.

To create a DMX universe

  1. In BTWYG DATA mode, click the Patch layout tab at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Right-click on the patch shortcut area on the right of the screen.
  3. On the menu that appears click New Patch.
    • Result: The Enter new Patch Universe name dialog box appears, prompting for the type of universe that you want to create and the name of the new universe.
  4. Type the name of the patch universe.
  5. Under Patch Universe Type, select DMX.
  6. Click OK.
    • Result: The patch shortcut appears in the Patch tab.

Fixture Universe No Patch DATA Mode with one DMX universe created

Assigning Spot ID Numbers to Fixtures

An individual Spot ID number must be assigned to every single fixture in the project in BTWYG. This Spot ID number will map to a fixture ID on a connected lighting console. The Spot ID is used by the BTSystem to differentiate between fixtures in the project.

Fixture Patching Methods

There are multiple ways to patch fixtures in BTWYG. The following section will guide you through some of the simplest methods. For more information about patching, see the WYSIWYG Reference Guide’s chapter on Data mode.

To patch fixtures and assign spot IDs using quick tools

Use Quick Tools and click on the fixtures in Wireframe view to patch and assign spot IDs. The first fixture clicked will be assigned the patch and ID as configured in Quick Tools. The next fixture clicked will be assigned the next available channel in the patch and the next fixture ID in the sequence until you are finished using Quick Tools.

  1. In BTWYG CAD mode Wireframe view, from the Tools menu, choose Quick Tools and then choose Quick Tools. Alternately click the Quick Tools icon in the Tools toolbar.
    • Result: The Quick Fixture Tool window appears.
  2. In the Control Data section, select the Patch checkbox.
  3. In the Patch field, enter the universe and channel the first fixture will patch to, separated by a period. Example: “A.1” would patch to universe A, address 1.
  4. Select the Spot checkbox.
  5. In the Spot field, enter a number which will be the first fixture ID used in the sequence.
  6. Click Ok.
    • Result: When a fixture is selected, it will be assigned a Universe and channel to operate on. The first fixture selected will be assigned the to the channel number entered in Quick Tools. Subsequent fixtures selected will be assigned the next sequential channel and Spot ID number.
  7. Click on a fixture to patch it to a universe and channel. Click on each fixture that you want to be patched and assigned a spot ID.
  8. To stop patching fixtures, right-click.
  9. On the menu that appears, click Finish Quick Tools.

Quick Tools Quick Tools

To patch fixtures and assign spot IDs using the data spreadsheet

The Spreadsheet view In DATA mode displays information on all fixtures created in the BTWYG project. You can edit the patch information and Spot ID directly in the spreadsheet table.

  1. In BTWYG DATA mode, click on the Spreadsheet tab.
  2. In the Columns section on the left side of the window, click All Data (Sortable).
    • Result: All fixture data are displayed in the spreadsheet.
  3. In the Patch column, enter the appropriate patch information for each fixture.
  4. In the Spot column, enter a unique Spot ID for each fixture.
    • Tip: It is possible to assign sequential values to fixtures quickly by selected all fields for the fixtures you wish to edit (for example all spot ID fields for all fixtures) and type the spot ID of the starting fixture and a '+' and hitting enter.  For example, 101+ will set the first fixture to spot 101, and every fixture after that will increase by 1. If this method is used to assign values, it is recommended that fixtures are first sorted so fixtures are organized. Fixtures can be sorted in order of position, or Unit # along a pipe/truss. This can also be used for patching fixtures as well.

Spreadsheet Patched DATA>Spreadsheet with fixtures patched for BlackTrax 

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