The view menu enables you to zoom in or out on the sequencer view, define and use Perspectives and nominate which windows you want to have open.
Selecting this option while on the sequencer tab will zoom in on the details on the sequencer grid. Use this for fine tuning timing marks or effects.
Zooming in can be performed by:
Selecting View/Zoom In from the Menu Bar
Using the + (plus) key on the keyboard
Selecting this option while on the sequencer tab will zoom out of the details on the sequencer grid. Use this for seeing more of the sequence.
Zooming in can be performed by:
Selecting View/Zoom Out from the Menu Bar
Using the - (minus) key on the keyboard
The Reset Toolbar option, when selected, will reset the Toolbars to the default locations the next time xLights is started. A restart of xLights is required for it to take effect.
The AC Lights Toolbar allows you to add On, Off, Shimmer, Twinkle, and Ramp effect in bulk, similar to LOR.
Select an Effect, using the On effect in this example, then click and drag on the desired rows to populated.
The Effects will be places in the selected area.
Show Start and End Intensity for effects, similar to LOR.
Perspectives saves the location and size of the "windows" you use.
Particularly for dual monitor setups, it lets you move and size the Preview and Color windows away, giving you a bigger program area. Going to View / Perspectives / Save Current will store your settings to the currently selected perspective.
You can have multiple perspective saved and easily recall them by selecting the perspective desired from the Perspectives window.
Clicking on the Zoom In Icon on the Tool Bar
Clicking on the Zoom Out Icon on the Tool Bar
There are a number of windows that enable simultaneous display of different views in xLights. When xLights first loads, a default set of windows are displayed. Which windows are open can be controlled via the Windows menu by selecting View, Windows and then clicking on the required window to open it. The window is dropped by default on the left side of the screen, however each window can be moved and docked to alternate locations on the same screen or moved to an alternate display screen if connected to your PC/ MAC.
The Display Elements window enables views, Timings as well as models to be defined and updated. Functionality for these functions is described in the Views, Timings and Models section of this document.
The Model Preview window displays the effects on a model as the sequence is playing. With the window open, right click on the model name when on the sequencer tab and select Play model. It can also be opened/closed by clicking on the icon on the toolbar.
The House Preview window displays the effects of your entire display where the model or model group has been assigned to the currently selected Preview window. Refer to explanations of multiple Preview windows in the Layout section. It can also be opened/closed by clicking on the icon on the toolbar.
The Effect Settings window displays the current or last effect that is being worked with. If an effect on the grid is selected or a new effect dragged to the grid, then this window gets updated with the ‘current’ effect.
Use the window to modify the attributes of the effect as required. The results of the change are displayed in the model window when selected and in the House Preview window when the sequence is played.
The Value Curves functionality in this window has been covered under a separate topic entitled Value Curves.
It is possible to select a group of the same effects and change the settings of all of them all at once. For example you wish to increase 5 instances of the Circle effect to have the Number of Circles = 10. Select multiple instances of the effect by holding down control when you click on them. Change the Number of Circles setting to 10 , then click on the Update (F5) button in the Effect Settings window. The window can also be opened/closed by clicking on the icon in the toolbar.
The Effect Colors window enables the user to change the colors of the current effect that is being worked with. If an effect on the grid is selected or a new effect dragged to the grid, then this window uses the ‘current’ color.
Use the window to modify the colors of the effect as required. The results of the change are displayed in the model window when selected and in the House Preview window when the sequence is played.
The Value Curves functionality in this window has been covered under a separate topic entitled Value Curves
It is possible to select a group of the same effect type and change the color of all of them all at once. For example 5, spiral effects that are all on different models and need to be changed to the same color. Select multiple effects by holding down control when you click on them. Change the color palette then hit the Update button beside the colors. The window can also be opened/closed by clicking on the icon in the toolbar.
By clicking on one of the colors, the color box will appear allowing you to choose or create any color you desire. To create a custom color, click on the Define Custom Colors >> button.
The first option of Morph is used with two or more layers. If selected, effect #1 will morph/blend/fade into Effect #2 midway through the timing interval in which the effects are placed.
The Layer Settings menu has two tabs. The first tab (Buffer) defines how the effect will be adjusted during the render process in the buffer for the Model or Model Group. The second tab (Roto-Zoom) is used to apply the Roto-Zoom functionality to the model effect.
The Effects Dropper window displays all the supported effects and enables you to select a required effect and drag it to the sequence grid.
The same functionality can also be obtained using the effects from the effects toolbar as below:
The size on the icons on the Effects Toolbar can be adjusted by going to Settings/Tool Icon Size. There are 4 different sized icons are available for use.
The Value Curves Dialog allows the user to drag and drop their saved values curves onto the desired effect setting.
The Color Dropper Dialog allows the user to drag and drop their saved colors/color curves onto the color palette.
The Effect Assist Window is an additional window that helps you determine how an effects is being drawn via a panel view.
For example, if you open this window against a morph effect, the windows will display a grid corresponding to the x,y coordinates. If you then grab a slider for the morph effect and move it, the Effect Assist window shows exactly where the coordinate is being moved to, making it easier to determine what is being done to the effect.
You can also grab a corner of the image in the Effect Assist window and move it and have the slider values update in real time.
If you want single line morphs instead of area morphs then it's easier to just click with the left mouse button to establish the start points and click with the right mouse button to establish the endpoints. For areas you can either click and drag with either button or drag the handles.
The Select Effects Window allows the user to select effects based on type, model, and time. Based on the these selection, multiple effects can be selected and then bulk edit can be used to adjust the settings. This allows the user to, for example, select all the pinwheel effects on there mini trees and change the number of arms with bulk edit.
The "Effect Type" allows the user to select which effect type to select. The Model List allows the user to select which models to filter selection on. Only highlighted model names, will have their effects selected. The Time Fields allows the user to effect filter selection by time. The Effects by Time List displays all the effects found based on the other options and will select the highlighted items.
The Video Preview Window allows the user to preview the video file, they are using while sequencing it as the audio track.
The Jukebox Window allows the user to "link" an effect or multiple effects to one of it's 50 buttons. These buttons can then be used for realtime playback i.e in a DJ or theater environment. This mapping can also be used by xFade.
The Perspectives Window enables you to save your current window positions and retrieve and use them later.
The Reset Toolbar option, when selected will reset the Windows and Toolbars to the default locations.This option should be used if you are missing an window or toolbar from the sequence window.
The Perspectives Window enables you to save your current window positions and retrieve and use them later. So you can have a set of windows open for a single monitor , a different set when you have two monitors etc.
You can specify a name for each Perspective (Single Window Perspective, Dual Monitor Perspective etc). In order to do so, with the windows arranged as required, Click on Save as New. You will be prompted to specify a name. Click on Save to save it.
The solid circle to the left of the Perspective name indicates which Perspective you are using. To overwrite it, click on Save Current. You will be prompted to confirm that you wish to override the current perspective. Click on Save to save the Perspective.
Select a saved perspective and double click to load the required windows.
To load and use a different perspective or change/remove one, click on Edit/Load. Select the perspective and use the ‘-’ button to delete it or Click on Rename to Rename it.
Double Click to load and use the perspective. You can also do this by selecting the perspective directly by clicking on its name in the previous window. To revert to the default perspective, click on Default Perspective in the previous window.
There are a number of windows on the left of the Sequencer Canvas (Model Preview, House Preview, Effect Assist, Effect Settings) and on the top of the Canvas (Effects, Color, Layer Blending and Layer Settings). This is currently the Default Perspective.
If you have a single monitor, you can close the windows that you may not use straight away or if you have multiple displays , then you can drag and rearrange them.
The next image shows the common windows kept open, moved to the left, and the less common ones have been closed.
You can however arrange the windows in any fashion.
The rearranged windows must be saved as the default perspective so that it is loaded in that fashion whenever you open xLights.
Click on View, Perspective and then Save Current.
To Open and select Windows, click on View, Windows and select the Window(s) that you wish to have open.
