Patch

Draft documentation: This document was created with the help of AI and has not yet been fully reviewed by a human.

Patch defines the fixtures in your show and their DMX routing. Open Patch from the Command Palette.

Add or change fixtures

Use the add-fixture wizard to select a library definition and mode, set quantity, first fixture ID, and label, choose a console universe and start address, and review the result before Finish. Assign Console DMX can be disabled when you only need a virtual fixture. A mode's channel footprint must match the physical light's mode. For how universes, addresses, and fixture IDs relate, see Patching fixtures with DMX.

The Fixtures tab lists IDs, labels, make/model, mode, channel width, and 3D placement. Edit labels and placement cells here. Fixture IDs identify lights in commands; DMX addresses are separate. Multi-element fixtures can expose several controllable cells under one fixture ID.

Route DMX

The DMX Routes tab lists every DMX route. Group by fixture or universe to inspect them, and check Source, Target, Priority, and Clone values. Resolve highlighted conflicts before outputting to hardware; overlapping addresses can make one command affect the wrong light.

A console address alone does not select a network destination or USB device. Configure output targets in I/O Transports, then add DMX routes from console channels to those targets. Use Console DMX to inspect console universe values, or the wire frames each transport sends.

Output is sent only where a DMX route sends it: a fixture or console range with no output route sends nothing. To stop output, remove the route, for example rm patch fix 12 @ artnet:1. Only inputs can be patched to disabled, which ignores incoming DMX that matches the source.

Some GDTF modes split their channels across several DMX breaks, such as a lamp with an accessory scroller that has its own start address. A fixture's route covers break 1. Give each additional break its own route to an output target, for example patch fix 12 break 2 @ artnet:2.1. The Fixture Library's Mode Parameters list shows which break each channel belongs to.

Changing fixture mode changes how channels represent attributes. Review the wizard's version/mode warnings and confirm your routing after a change. Save the showfile when the patch is correct.