How to use last year's sequences

[danj]

...before I goof up any of my files, figured I would ask...   I want to use last year's sequences this year, but I will be making a lot of changes to my setup compared to last year.   I will be adding two megatrees, a matrix, six arches, and will be converting all my AC minitrees to RGB minitrees.   To do this, should I pull the files into the show directory I am using for 2016 then map channels as if I were importing someone else's sequences?   I looked around here on the website and searched the manual but I wasn't able to find any direction on this topic.   THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

[gerry]

Hi,
Suggest the following - which is what I did.
Assuming u use one folder for show and media...
Create a new show folder '\2016sequences'.
Duplicate ie copy everything from the 2015 folder to the 2016 folder.
I kept the same path ie D:\user\whatever\2015sequences\ and now D:\user\whatever\2016sequences\

(If not copying all then at a minimum you need the xlights_* files from your 2015 show directory , the media files , the xml sequence files , images and any iseq files.

Open xlights and change show directory to D:\user\whatever\2016sequences\
and now start working on your 2016 stuff ie u can open a sequence which is now in your new show directory , save it and play it to make sure all is okay.
you need to do one other thing. Open your seq xml files with say notepad++ and do a global 2015 to 2016 find and replace and save it (if the path is similar, otherwise replace the path of the 2015 locations with the 2016 locations) . This is because image locations and some other odds and ends have the location path specified in the xml.

I did all the sequences in one go and it  with this approach it took me just a few minutes.

[keithsw1111]

If you can keep the directory name the same but bury it in another folder so 2015 becomes 2016/2015 then you can skip the notepad step. It should auto fix everything.

[jnealand]

http://nutcracker123.com/forum/index.php?topic=1820.0

[Gilrock]

I don't know why you need notepad at all.  I copied my Star Wars sequence to a different show folder and it just worked images and all.  My images were all in a subdirectory that I copied over with the sequence.  Keith added code that will fix up all those paths automatically.

[gerry]

I thinks Keith's changes work if u either have the same structure and change the drive id (eg move to USB or drop box) or your new structure is a sub directory of the old structure.

In the example that I gave where I have renamed the directory (2015 to 2016) I believe that it wont work.
In my case , I don't mind , cause last year I had scaled the images to fit a smaller and diff (more vertical looking) P10 layout and this year , the P10 is larger and horizontal and the auto scale option has been added   so I will rework on the images anyway.

[danj]

I tried Gil's suggestion; I opened last year's sequence and saved it into this year's show directory folder.   That worked fine with one exception and I am sure I'm missing something here...    My imported LOR effects work fine when I look at the file using the last 2015 version of xlights (as if I totally in last year, old setup and all, as Jim suggested).  But, when I pull the files into my 2016 folder/directory structure and render/save, I am not seeing the LOR effects anymore.   Does it matter that the LOR effects were applied to AC models in last year's sequence and I am trying to apply the LOR effects (all on/off/fade of course...) to RGB models in this year's sequence??
thanks for all the suggestions!!!!!

[Gilrock]

In my case I was copying the sequence from c:\xLights\2016\Christmas to c:\xLights\2016\Ironwood so it wasn't just a drive letter change.

[danj]

I think I am pretty close to what you are saying here, Gil.   I am copying last year's xml files from my 2015 Christmas show directory folder to my 2016 Christmas show directory folder...

[Gilrock]

I tried Gil's suggestion; I opened last year's sequence and saved it into this year's show directory folder.   That worked fine with one exception and I am sure I'm missing something here...    My imported LOR effects work fine when I look at the file using the last 2015 version of xlights (as if I totally in last year, old setup and all, as Jim suggested).  But, when I pull the files into my 2016 folder/directory structure and render/save, I am not seeing the LOR effects anymore.   Does it matter that the LOR effects were applied to AC models in last year's sequence and I am trying to apply the LOR effects (all on/off/fade of course...) to RGB models in this year's sequence??
thanks for all the suggestions!!!!!

Unless you imported the LOR effects as a data layer you should be fine.  We really need to know what form the effects are in to suggest help.

[gerry]

I tried Gil's suggestion; I opened last year's sequence and saved it into this year's show directory folder.   That worked fine with one exception and I am sure I'm missing something here...    My imported LOR effects work fine when I look at the file using the last 2015 version of xlights (as if I totally in last year, old setup and all, as Jim suggested).  But, when I pull the files into my 2016 folder/directory structure and render/save, I am not seeing the LOR effects anymore.   Does it matter that the LOR effects were applied to AC models in last year's sequence and I am trying to apply the LOR effects (all on/off/fade of course...) to RGB models in this year's sequence??
thanks for all the suggestions!!!!!

To add to Gil's post , are the model definitions the same between last year and this year or are they different ? Did you use import effects or import as a data layer got the LOR stuff ? If imported as a data layer , check that the data layer is still there defined in your current sequence.
 

[danj]

I imported my LOR effects as data layers and the models are different now--I changed all my minitrees from AC to RGB--these are the models that don't seem to have the LOR effects "on" them anymore.   Early last year, I imported my LOR effects in a manner where I could "see" the effects and manipulate them in xlights; I don't remember what that was called though....

[Gilrock]

Imported data layers are no good if you change the models.  It's raw data and now you're rearranging the channels out from underneath it.  At some point as you're show grows you gotta ditch the old stuff.  That's what I did I threw away a lot of hours of work because you get to the point where it's costing you more time to baby along the old data than to just re-sequence something new.

[danj]

Thanks Gil.   ...what I figured....   But well worth it, as I am making a tremendous leap forward from the AC minitrees to the RGB minitrees--so much more capability within the context of the overall display!!  I am willing to put some time into this!!

[Gilrock]

You need to import as effects and move or promote them to the model level if you want to change the models.