Sean Meighan
Welcome => Do You Need Help? Post it here => Topic started by: RobertB on October 22, 2015, 03:31:56 PM
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I use one to sequence, one to run the show. What is the best way to share files? What files do I need to share between the two?
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A cloud account with sync capabilities
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I have a 16gb thumb drive that I consider my master. Whenever I change anything, I copy that file back to the thumbdrive which just happens to be a Santa. And I use 4 computers depending on where I am at the time. I do not like cloud drives except for long term backup or if I need something when I am not going to be home for an extended period. I have seen too many shaky and slow internet connections to depend on that for access all the time.
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I would go cloud. The files are relatively small in size. You have a ton of choices, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Dropbox being a few examples.
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If you have access to a server...heck run one on your computer....then you can use owncloud
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Ok guys,
I use Dropbox and thumb drives. ;-)
WHAT do copy between one computer and the other? Just the file of the sequence itself? Or do I need any other files?
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I use Dropbox XL/NC to edit on multiple computers. Of course, Dropbox syncs everything but if you wanted to just copy the essentials on a thumb drive, you would need your sequence xmls, all the xlight_* xmls, plus your songs. In addition, you'll need any images and videos your sequences use.
One caveat with using Dropbox on multiple computers: XL/NC uses an absolute path to images, videos, and maybe other stuff. If your user path is different on your machines, XL/NC won't find them. For example, my home machine has C:\Users\PL\Documents\My Dropbox\House\Christmas Lights\xlights v4 as its path, and laptop has C:\Users\plaberge\Documents\My Dropbox\House\Christmas Lights\xlights v4. I still edit files with images on my laptop but typically don't touch the parts of the sequence that refer to images. If I really need to changes these, I edit the xml files with Notepad++ to change the paths from one to the other.
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I use Dropbox XL/NC to edit on multiple computers. Of course, Dropbox syncs everything but if you wanted to just copy the essentials on a thumb drive, you would need your sequence xmls, all the xlight_* xmls, plus your songs. In addition, you'll need any images and videos your sequences use.
One caveat with using Dropbox on multiple computers: XL/NC uses an absolute path to images, videos, and maybe other stuff. If your user path is different on your machines, XL/NC won't find them. For example, my home machine has C:\Users\PL\Documents\My Dropbox\House\Christmas Lights\xlights v4 as its path, and laptop has C:\Users\plaberge\Documents\My Dropbox\House\Christmas Lights\xlights v4. I still edit files with images on my laptop but typically don't touch the parts of the sequence that refer to images. If I really need to changes these, I edit the xml files with Notepad++ to change the paths from one to the other.
Right,
And this is pretty much what I have done in the past with LOR. I know too I have change my show directory to point to that dropbox folder if I am going to use it. Since I have not done that before, just need to know specific files. Want to be live with the show (still building and sequencing...so far behind) next week. So with what little I have done, specific files is what I need.
For instance with LOR all I needed was the .lms file, the audio or video file I ran with the show. That is it. Do I just need the .fseq and the audio/video file....or is there something else? Know I am making this harder than it should be. Just a newbie and don't have time for mistakes at this point :-)
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Ok guys,
I use Dropbox and thumb drives. ;-)
WHAT do copy between one computer and the other? Just the file of the sequence itself? Or do I need any other files?
You'll want to copy the rgbeffects.xml, network.xml, keybindings.xml, your sequence xml files and any media you will need. You don't need the fseq files as you can recreate those files by rendering the sequences again. Why not just copy your entire show folder over, as that should have everything in it already.
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Why not just copy your entire show folder over, as that should have everything in it already.
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Because I have a TON of other stuff in that folder I do not need.
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Why not just copy your entire show folder over, as that should have everything in it already.
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Because I have a TON of other stuff in that folder I do not need.
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If you are using a good sync program it will only copy all that other stuff once and then it only copies things that are changed. I use SyncBack from 2BrightSparks.com There is a free version, but I use the SyncBackSe version ($35 for 4 computers) because it will copy to a named drive and I do not have to worry about what the drive letter is when I plug the USB flash drive in.
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Probably will change my Christmas stuff over to Dropbox. My Halloween stuff I will thumb it over. Just didn't know how many files to move.
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All xml files, all audio files and all fseq files.
"Because I have a TON of other stuff in that folder I do not need."
Bob, looks like you are your own worst enemy. LOL
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Jim's reply addresses the question of what do you need to move from the sequence computer to the show computer., which I think was the original question.
If instead , you wanted to have a backup and/or are sequencing on different computers, then you need the images used as well as any iseq files (if you have imported as a data layer).
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Jim's reply addresses the question of what do you need to move from the sequence computer to the show computer., which I think was the original question.
If instead , you wanted to have a backup and/or are sequencing on different computers, then you need the images used as well as any iseq files (if you have imported as a data layer).
Honestly Gerry I probably would like to just have a complete backup on the other computer as well.
So probably should change that original question to just what do I need to transfer over to have an entire backup. *I DO* have backups from doing F10. However that is kind of for a restore on the original computer...right? Or would those, could those act like a .zip on the other computer?
Otherwise the list grows;
All audio files associated with the sequences
All .xml files in the Nutcracker directory
All iseq files with data layers (which I am having a time of right now...for another thread ;-)
The backup folder itself (will that work in just a copy and paste on the show computer?)
What else?
Sorry. The teacher in me asks lots of questions. The impatience student in me knows I better hurry and get something flashing and blinking in that front yard before the rain gets to GA for 4 solid days! Now let's go put up the pixel tree, controllers for pixel trees and pixel ghosts, water proof everything, and test!!!
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Hi Robert,
At this stage , you best option (which is what I do) is to zip up your entire show directory (I have the same for directory for the media as well) , and then unzip on the other computer .
You can worry later about cleaning up the redundant stuff.
If at all you have anything outside the show directory e.g. any inputs (such as LOR / LSP sequences, purchased sequences , iseq files , images, faces etc) - then back those up as well.
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DropBox. So easy, just logon to the account you create on one PC, then download dropbox to the other computer and logon. All files will be synced when you change them.
I have my music in a folder and my sequences in another. Just set your show directory and your music direy from xLights and you're good to go.
Alan
PS> I actually use this on 3 Desktop computers (all Windows 10) and 2 laptops (one Windows 10 and one OSX Yosemite)
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When i copy to a new machine
1) all xml
2) all sound files
3) all image files
4) all video files
5) any imported sequence sources (lms,vix,etc)
I do not need iseq or fseq as those get created. By reimporting or saving.
If i want fast version, i just zip up show directory and audio directory.
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I'm running into this issue now as well. My folders don't match up between the two systems. SO when I open a sequence on computer B, it throws me the can't find your media error. I guess I'll just have to update the media location every time I open it.
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Last year xLights forced you to have every file in the same show directory and folks complained about it. So now we let you have it in different directories and therefore path names get involved. Only way I know to fix this might be we don't write the path out unless the file isn't in the show directory or the media folder.
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BTW I only had one issue with DropBox and multiple computers. Be sure that all have the same user name, so the directory that has the files is the same. IE: C:\Users\Bob\Dropbox\xxxx WHere Bob is the same on all computers.
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If you are using images in a picture effect or face mappings etc , the same issue would occur.
I think that this is where Dan's suggestion of a script to do bulk changes across xml files in a directory would be useful.
I would end up having the same issue. My work computer has the username as part of the directory structure, which the home computer obviously does not have. Small price to pay though...
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couple of thoughts on this:
Move your sync directory up out of the user directory to the root c:\
use a symlink on linux to duplicate the path name for the other machines so it "exists" on your linux machine too.
I am pretty sure windows 7+ in the professional editions can also have "virtual" folders so you could possibly do the same symlink type of process that that the one path exists on all three and points to where the files really are on all three machines.
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The problem I'm having on my other machine right now, the one I didn't create the sequence on...is it's complaining about the .iseq file....I can't see where that's linked to in my sequence settings. Every time I save it throws up an error twice that it can't find it.
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Open up the sequence XML file and search for "iseq" then you will see the path and can fix it right there.
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Got it...maybe relative paths might be better with forcing the user to place music files within the XLights folder would fix this? That way no matter where the XLights folder was it would work. Minus data layer imports maybe...
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We could go back to last year's method where we just made you keep all the files in the same directory. You're running into this because of the complaints for us to change it so that things could exist in other directories.
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Is there a way to choose...I'm sure others had reason...but I can't be the only one working from multiple computers.
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You're stuck with how it is for this year. We aren't going to make those kind of risky changes this close to December.
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I can work around it...just ignore the data layer I imported ...
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