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As described under Quick Start Guide, you can start with a default set of configuration values and then come back to change or update the details before testing your lights physical output. Or you can chose to not define any network information at the beginning until you wish to test from within xLights.
The Controller Panel is divided into two parts. The list on left displays all the controllers defined by the user. The right grid displays the setting for the currently highlighted controller.
Each controller should be defined as single line in controller list. These controllers are then used to determine the start channels for the models in the layout tab. The start channels can be automatically set by xLights or manually setup by the user.
Clicking on Save will save the current configuration to the "xlights_networks.xml" file in the current show directory. After any changes are made to the Controller tab the Save button will turn red to identify there are unsaved changes.
To add a controller, click the add button for the desired controller type.
This will automatically find ZCPP and DDP controllers already attached to the local network.
The controller setting grid displays the settings for the currently selected controller. If no controller is selected , the settings grid will display global settings that affect all the controllers. The controllers settings vary based on the controller type and the settings selection.
The controller name needs to be unique for each controller. This name is used by xLights to map the models to the controllers.
The description field can be added by the user to add more details about the controller.
For Artnet and E1.31 controllers, The ID field is used for the Universe ID's for the controller to receive data on. For other controller types the ID Filed can be see to an unique ID for use with start channel addressing.
The "Active" drop-down determines if a controller is used when "Output to lights" is turned on. When "Active" xLights will output channel data to the controller. If "xLights Only" is selected, data will only be sent from xLights. If using xSchedule or when Uploading to FPP this controller will be set inactive. This is intended for FPP type controllers being used in Master/Slave mode. If set to "Inactive", no data output occurs. For example, if you have a controller not plugged in (testing a different controller) disabling that controller would not attempt to send anything to that specific controller. Trying to send data to a controller that is not connected and in some cases cause delays and lags on the output. When an controller is deactivated the row will be "grayed out" to show that it is not enabled.
The Vendor, Controller, and Variant fields are used to setup which hardware controller will be used. xLights will use this information to determine what protocols are supported and the max number of universe and/or channels allowed. Not all controller types require the variant field to be populated. If the controller being used is not listed, leave the fields blank.
When "Auto Size" is enabled, xLights will automatically adjust the controllers channel size based on the controller connections. This option only works when "Auto Layout Models" is enabled. It will not work with absolute or universe addressing.
When "Auto Layout Models" is enabled, xLights will automatically change the models start channels based on the controller connections.
When enabled, xLights will automatically upload the controller configuration when output to lights is turned on. This only works with FPP based controllers.
When "Full xLights Control" is enabled, xLights will erase all the current controller settings when preforming the upload process.
By default, data will be sent every output frame, If this option is enabled, xLights will only output data if the data is different from the previous frame. This is useful for slow controllers to prevent lag. Most E1.31 and DDP controllers should not enable this option.
This is needed when a FPP device is being used as proxy or bridge between your home network and show network, where the controller are attached. This is typically the WIFI IP of a FPP instance that bridges the wifi and Ethernet networks. The FPP Proxy IP/Host option is used in conjunction with FPP 2.8+ Controller Proxy.
USB Controller type is used to define a DMX, Pixelnet-Open, LOR dongle, LOR optimized, D-Light, Renard, or OpenDMX controller. The USB type can be used to for physical serial ports on the PC or "virtual" serial ports using a USB FTDI adapter.
Ethernet Controller type is used to define a E1.31, Artnet, DDP or ZCPP controller. The controller will be attached to the PC thought the ethernet or Wifi interface.
NULL controller type is used to generate channel blocks with no physical hardware or controller. This type of controller is used in setups, where the sequence output will not be used by xLights as a show player, but output data to be used for playback on a standalone controller.
The Visualise buttons allows the user to visually arrange which models are connected to each controller.
Upload Input will copy all the E1.31 universe inputs defined to the selected controller. This requires a valid IP address, and that multicast is not being used. The E1.31 Input Definition's will only be preformed for the controller selected.
Input Upload is only required for E1.31 or ArtNET controllers. i.e FPP, Falcon, and SanDevices. Output Upload is required for all supported controllers types.
Upload Output uses the parameters from models controller connections in the Layout tab/Visualise and uploads these settings to the controller. This feature is available for the following boards : Falcon, Pixlite/Pixcon, SanDevices, J1SYS, AlphaPix, HinksPix, Espixelstick, and most FPP caps and capes. This feature is compatible with both universe/channel addressing and absolute addressing.
The Visualise, Upload Inputs/Output functions will not work if the controller is displaying unmanaged mode. Unmanaged mode is set automatically by xLights when two controller outputs have the same IP address. While valid, this is highly not recommended and will disable these xLights functionality.
Open the currently selected controller in the default web browser.
This will delete the selected controller.
The green indicator identifies if the controller is connected and responding to ping requests. For serial ports this will indicate if the Com port can be opened. If red the controller is not responding.
Type
Description
USB
DMX, Pixelnet, LOR dongle, LOR optimized, D-Light, Renard, or OpenDMX Controllers
Ethernet
Artnet, E1.31, DDP, or ZCPP Controllers
Null
"Empty" Controllers
USB Controller type is used to define a DMX, Pixelnet-Open, LOR dongle, LOR optimized, D-Light, Renard, or OpenDMX setup. The USB type can be used to for physical serial ports on the PC or "virtual" serial ports using a USB FTDI adapter.
Click the Add USB button to add a new USB controller. Select a row to highlight the controller and change the settings.
Sets the serial port used for the the serial device. The dropdown will populate with all the connected devices. Select "Not Connected" if the device is not currently attached.
Sets the speed of the serial device, normally listed as baud-rate or bit-rate.
Number of channels of the serial device. For most DMX devices this needs to be 512.
LOR Optimized is much closer to true LOR protocol and utilizes some of the more advanced commands.
First, set an ID of the output, this is not the LOR unit ID of a controller box, it is a unique ID that xLights will use to direct the channel data to this output. The port is the COM port of the dongle in use, Baud Rate is adjustable. NOTE: Older black or white LOR dongles do not support speeds over 115200, Only the red LOR dongle will support higher speeds. Description is user defined value to identify the controller. The Devices setting sets the number of LOR Controller. Based on the Devices number, the settings grid will add setting for each LOR controller.
The settings grid will list the LOR controller. Each controller will be listed by controller type, Unit ID, Channels, and Address Mode. Note: xLights cannot set the unit ID to the controller, this must be done via the LOR software or from the DIP switches on the controller board if applicable.
Select the LOR controller type, the available choices are: AC Controller, RGB controller, CCR, CCB, and the 3 Pixie Controllers (4 ,8, 16 output boards). Then select the number of channels for this controller board. Next is the unit ID. This can be very confusing as LOR uses a hexadecimal system for numbering their UNIT ID's. Units 1 to 16 are 0x01-0x0F and units 17-32 are 0x11-0x1F. Make sure the hex number in bold matches the LOR unit ID in their software. Set the addressing mode as normal, legacy, and split. A description for each controller can be provided.
The xLights Show Directory is where all the required xLights sequences, pictures, and user configuration files used to run the sequences are kept. When a sequence (.xsq) is saved and a binary file (.fseq) rendered, both files are created in the show directory. This is the same location where xLights configuration files can be found and the default location where the program will first prompt for, or look for files pertaining to several functions of xLights.
Specifying or changing the location of the Show directories can be done by clicking on the Change button found on the Controller tab screen.
It is useful to have separate show directories for each major event i.e. one for Halloween, one for Christmas or one for the next year. Start a new year directory by copying sequences from the Show Directory of the previous year.
Keep the folder name, containing the 'xlights_rgbeffects.xml' file the same when creating a new show folder. Create the new folders in the lower level directory and xlights will automatic adjust file paths. As an example, use "2018/Christmas" then "2019/Christmas" (the last sub folder folder is the same) instead of "Christmas/2018" and "Christmas/2019".
Images used for pictures and faces use an absolute location reference. If you are not using the suggested structure, then the location won’t be found if you change your show directory.
In some cases if you copy your show directory to another location or drive xLights may still be able to successfully locate image files despite the absolute reference (in the case where the the last sub folder of the location has the same name).
If you have a show folder c:\show and you move it to e:\xxx\yyy\show it will seamlessly work as long as all the files your sequence needs are in the show folder or one of its subdirectories. Anything located elsewhere will not be seamlessly moved but if they are still there they will be used.
This is useful if you are moving your setup to a USB drive or Dropbox. If however you move it to c:\show_old and try to set that as the show directory, then the files won't be referenced.
The "Change Permanently" button will allow the user to specify the location of the their primary show directory on disk. This show directory location will be remembered when xLights is closed and reopened.
The "Change Temporarily" button will allow the user to temporary switch show directories. The show directory path name will turn the color yellow to signify a temporary show directory is being used. When xLights is closed and reopened, this "temporary" show directory will be forgotten and xLights will resume use of the "Permanent" Show directory. The "Restore to Permanent" button will also switch back to the "Permanent" Show directory. The "temporary" show directory should be used when importing a sequence.
Protocol
Description
DMX
Compatible with Entec Pro, Lynx DMX, DIYC RPM, DMXking.com, and DIYblinky.com dongles. Universes are exactly 512 bytes, except for DIYblinky, where they can be up to 3036 bytes.
LOR
LOR controllers attached to any LOR dongle. Max of 8 channels at 9600 baud. Max of 48 channels at 57600 baud. Max of 96 channels at 115200 baud.
LOR Optimised
LOR controllers attached to any LOR dongle. LOR Optimised is designed to use some of the more advanced commands to reduce the amount of bytes sent out the LOR network. Setup all the controllers that are on this LOR network so that xLights will know which Unit ID's to utilize for each controller.
OpenDMX
Compatible with Entec Open DMX, LOR dongle, D-Light dongle, and any other FTDI-based USB to RS-485 converter.
Pixelnet -Open
Pixelnet controllers attached to a generic USB to RS485 dongle with FTDI chipset.
Renard
Renard controllers connected to a serial port or a USB dongle. 2 stop bits are set automatically. Max of 42 channels at 9600 baud. Max of 260 channels at 57600 baud
D-Light
D-Light controllers attached to a D-Light dongle. Max of 8 channels at 9600 baud. Max of 48 channels at 57600 baud. Max of 96 channels at 115200 baud.
Generic Serial
Generic Serial type sends raw channel data to the serial port. This is intended for Arduino type controllers. Eight data bits, no parity bit, and one stop bit (8N1) is the only support configuration.
The Controller Visualizer allows the user to drag and drop models onto the controller ports. All model setting are update and saved in real time. If the "Auto Layout Models" option is disabled for the controller, this dialog will only allow the user view the model port connections set in the layout tab.
Hover over a model to display its current settings.
The Box Size and Font Size sliders will change the size of the drag and drop boxes and font size.
The Status Message Box will display errors that are found in the current controller configuration. If an error is displayed, xLights will not upload the controller configuration.
To add a model, Drag a model from the right model list to the desired controller port on the left.
If adding a model to a controller port and the wrong number of ports are used, adjust the model string count in the Layout Tab.
To remove a model, drag a it from the controller port list on the right to the model list on the left.
Prints the controller model layout of the Visualizer Screen.
Saves controller model layout to a CSV file for editing.
Removal all the models from all the controller ports.
Change the physical number of strings i.e controller ports a model consumes. When used, xLights will attempt to adjust the Nodes Per String and Stands per String to preserve the original total pixel count of the model. Only works with Tree/Matrix/Custom Models.
Set the Smart Receiver ID for Falcon/Kulp/FPP/HinksPix Controllers. None is used for "Dumb" or normal receivers.
Set the Type of Smart Receiver. V1 "White" Receivers are "falconv1", "Blue" or "Black" Receivers are "falconv2" or "fppv2".
When enable, this will change the string order to proceed down the daisy chained receivers on the current "chain" of remotes. This is needed for controllers that don't support 'Virtual Strings' like the HinksPix Pro.
This allow multi-string models to use multiple smart receivers daisy chained together. When Cascade Remotes is set to 4, xLights will assign strings to 4 smart receivers chained together.
Smart Receivers will display as different colors if set. Green is 'A', Purple is 'B', Orange is 'C', and Light Blue is 'D'. The colors will repeat after 'D', Green is 'E', etc.
Set the Model Brightness.
Clear the Model Brightness.
Set the Controller Port Protocol.
Removal all the models from the selected controller port.
Move all models from the currently selected port to another port.
NULL controller type is used to generate channel blocks with no physical hardware or controller. This type of controller is used in setups, where the sequence output will not be used by xLights as a show player, but output data to be used for playback on a standalone controller.
There could be large matrices to be implemented via P10 or P5 panels running off a BeagleBone Black controller. A null output can reserve a huge number of channels, but not actually output anything if the Output to Lights function is on. A model can still be sequenced as normal and viewed on all the windows just as any other output.
Number of channels of the null controller. It defaults to 512 channels but can be changed to a larger number.
Click on Add Null and specify the number of channels to be reserved.
Ethernet Controller type is used to define a E1.31, Artnet, DDP or ZCPP controller. The controller will be attached to the PC thought the ethernet or Wifi interface.
Click the Add Ethernet button to add a new Ethernet controller. Select a row to highlight the controller and change the settings.
(ArtNet/E1.31) When enabled, Multicast will send Ethernet data to all subscribed Ethernet controller on the network. IP address is not needed when enabled.
Sets the IP Address of the Ethernet controller. The host name can also be entered in this field.
(ZCPP/E1.31) Priority is supported by some controllers and is used to determine which data packet to use is multiple packets are received controlling the same channels.
(ArtNet/E1.31) This sets what is the first universe for the controller to listen for data on. Can be any value from 1 to 63999. It is recommend to not overlap universe between controllers.
(ArtNet/E1.31) The number of universe sets the number of channels allocated for the controller. This is multiplied by the universe size to get the total channels. If using Auto Size this will be grayed out and set automatically.
(ArtNet/E1.31) The number of channels in each universe will be resizes to match the number of channel in each string of a model. This will align the Model's string channels with the universes. This is needed for controllers that don't support 'virtual strings' and require data in a fixed structure. The option is only available when 'Auto Layout' is enabled. It is needed for the HinksPix Controllers.
(ArtNet/E1.31) This sets the number of channel per universe. Universe can be any size up to 512 channels. Some controllers require a size of 510 or 512. 510 is recommended.
(ArtNet/E1.31) When Enabled, this allows the user to manually set each universe size independent of each other. Not recommended.
(DDP) The number of channels sent in each packet, this should be left to the default of 1440.
(DDP) If checked absolute channel numbers will be sent, this sends the channel numbers to the controller. If unchecked the first channel sent to the DDP controller will be channel 1. Enabled is recommended.
(ZCPP/DDP) Channels is the total number of channels that the controller is using. If using Auto Size this will be grayed out and set automatically.
Protocol
Description
ArtNet
ArtNet is a protocol for sending DMX512 data over Ethernet or Wifi. Similar to E1.31, ArtNet group channels into Universes. ArtNet is upported by most ethernet based controllers.
DDP
Distributed Display Protocol is a high efficiency data protocol. It is more efficiency than ArtNET or E.131. Currently, this protocol is not supported by all Ethernet based controllers. Supported on FPP/Kulp, HinksPix, Falcon v3/v4/v5, WLED, Genius, and Minleon.
E1.31
E1.31 (also called Streaming ACN or sACN) is a protocol for sending DMX512 data over Ethernet or Wifi. Channels of are grouped into blocks of channels called, Universes. Universes are can be any size up to 512 channels. Universe Size of 510 or 512 are supported by most devices. E1.31 is an industry standard and supported by most ethernet controllers.
OPC
Open Pixel Control is a protocol for controlling DIY Pixel Controllers. Used by some DIY Arduino/Raspberry controllers.
ZCPP
Zero Configuration Pixel Protocol is a high efficiency specific data protocol with build in configuration data for the controller outputs. It was designed to automatically configure the controller outputs in real time. It is more efficiency than ArtNET or E.131. Currently, this protocol is only supported by Falcons based controllers.
