unused model

[THurrle]

I have a 48 channel model that I am not going to be using in my show. Do I need to delete it or just not populate the channels when I convert a sequence to x-lights. Will x-lights just treat these like unused or blank channels an bypass them?
Thanks
Terry

[JonB256]

Personally, I'd delete it just to reduce the clutter in the Model list.

But, if you never choose it as a model in a Nutcracker sequence, it gets ignored (especially if you don't have a check in the "Part of My Display" box for that model).

[THurrle]

Thanks Jon. I unchecked part of my display. I will use it next season. Just running out of time this yr.
Terry

[danj]

JonB--maybe I misunderstood--I thought if you deleted a model from a specific xseq file it was then deleted from other xseq files?   Is that not true?  So let's say you had 20 models total.  Let's also say you used only the first 10 models on sequence #1 and only the second 10 models on sequence #2.  Could you then delete models 11-20 on sequence 1 and models 1-10 on sequence 2 but still keep all 20 models in XL/NC??

Thanks.

[jnealand]

Do not confuse models that are built in a nutcracker library with models as they are used in a sequence.  Models are used to assign channel values in a sequence and have no meaning in a sequence output, only in defining what the channel output will contain and how your preview will look.  That's probably clear as mud.  Next time you watch a tutorial look at all the models that Sean has in his library, because everyone sends him things to look at.  But if they are not used in generating a sequence they are just like a book that sits on a shelf until you pick it up to use.

[danj]

Thanks Jim.  That's the way I had pictured the models.   I like the books on a bookshelf analogy!

[danj]

Ok.  Now I think I have goofed up my models.   Several days ago I tried out some of the xml files saved in my xlights directory and I think I did something wrong because now I seem to have a different "set" of models.  I am going to go see if I can find a video but figured I would post too in case someone could walk me through this....  thanks in advance!

Edit--A few days ago, I moved my xlights files & directories from "my documents" into the "x86" folder where the exe is kept when I download the recent updates.  Maybe I goofed up there somehow???

[sean]

you kind of goofed up

when xlights installs. it puts the readme files and the exe files into C:\Program Files (x86)\xLights
Do not mess with these files, dont move them, dont delete any.
Next time you update, the appropriate files will be updated.

The second directory that xlights needs is here are your sequences, movie files and sound files kept.
This is called your show directory. This can by anyplace

All of these would be valid
C:\Users\sean\Documents\Light-O-Rama\Sequences
C:\Users\sean\Documents\Light-O-Rama\xlights
C:\xmas2013
D:\xlights_data\2014
C:\Users\sean\Documents\xmas2014

In my case, i am using the last one.

You can easily move these around, just copy the entire directory to a new location
I would not suggest putting them on top of your install directory. It would work, just messy

Wherever directory you pick you set it by doing a "File, Select Show Folder" command.
You can have many.
Point at 2013, review
point back at 2014, develop

[danj]

Ok.  Got it.  I over-thought this one..   I had these files in my "my documents" folder and thought I was messing up NOT having them in the x86 folder..   Thanks very much Sean.

[sean]

to finish this thread, let me explain how to clean the stuff out of the install directory.

first , go and copy all of these
*.xml files. Get all of them
*.mp3, *.wav. Get all audio files you had
*.png, *.gif,*.jpg . Get all image files

You do NOT need to copy xseq files but you can.

Put all the above files into your new show directory
If you did not copy the xseq files, here is how to recreate them
1) Choose 3rd option, "New Musical Sequence". Click on the "Xlights XML"
2) Give an audio file
3) Give the xml file that goes along with the audio
4) Click Save.

Now for the munged up install directory
1) uninstall xlights from your machine
2) download and install the latest version

All clean and shiny

[danj]

Thanks again, Sean.   World's longest post here...

After tonight's tutorial, I dug around on my C drive to see if I could find my XML files from 2013.  I couldn't.  But....  I did a good thing last year and kept a Christmas lights backup file on my USB-based hard drive.  All my 2013 XSEQ files & XML files are there and the XSEQ files run properly when I open them in XL/NC.  These are the files in which I setup my 2013 arches' RGB effects that I then exported into LOR so I could run my display from LOR last year.

I will see if I can find a "models" video, but while I look around for a video I figured I would ask--how should I save these 2013 files and add my 2014 megatree effects to them?  I setup two models last year--arches135, assigning channels 1-180, 361-540, & 721-900 to them and arches246, assigning channels 181-360, 541-720, & 701-1080 to them.   I was planning to reset my channel assignments this year to those Sean recommended--block channels 1-200 for LOR channels (I only have 16 but figured that would give me room for future AC channels), then megatree from 201 thru 5600, then arches 01 thru 06 (six separate models) in channels 5601 thru 6680.

Should I open up both sets of XML files (2013 & 2014) in Notepad ++ then copy/paste them as one new XML file?  I want to be careful that I don't lose my 2013 arch work or my 2014 megatree work!!  I don't think the models would work if I did that??  Or should I reset my 2014 channel assignments so they line up with my 2013 channel assignments, then merge XMLs??

Thanks!

[sean]

you can just copy model lines from your old xlights_rgbeffects.xml and past them into your current xlights_rgbeffects.xml

rename the model if there is a conflict

you can also edit the model line after pasting

Example:
<model name="MTREE" DisplayAs="Tree 180" StringType="RGB Nodes" parm1="24" parm2="120" parm3="1" StartChannel="6000" StartSide="B" Dir="L" Antialias="0" ModelBrightness="0" offsetXpct="-0.3511" offsetYpct="0.0906" PreviewScale="0.6800" PreviewRotation="0" MyDisplay="0"/>
   

parm1 is Strings
parm2 is Nodes
parm3 is Strands

but just paste the lines and then launch xlights and do the editing/changing ehere
   

[danj]

Thanks again, Sean.  I'll have to play around with this tomorrow night.

[JonB256]

Not sure if I made much sense last night when I talked about bringing LOR/LMS into xLights. There was a terrible lag and echo that made me stop repeatedly.

My old but still used LOR sequences, one of them dating back 8 years, were conveniently all within a DMX range of <512 channels. I did a 100% conversion from LOR protocol 5 years ago and it made everything xLights/Nutcracker/Falcon Pi so much easier.

Since all my existing LOR data was in DMX Universe #1, I just put EVERYTHING new starting at 513 and up. Once LOR S3 Advanced began using E1.31 output instead of USB dongles, spreading my display over thousands of channels meant I did not have to be concerned about keeping channels "compact" like I had to do with LOR protocols and board device numbers and multiple USB dongles. I led a strong push on the LOR S3 Beta team to get the DLA Etherdongle supported as an E1.31 device.

I setup everything (LOR S3, xLights and Falcon Pi) for 64 DMX universes. I don't use them all (yet), but it gives me a consistent footprint and there is no performance hit, especially since I don't use LOR S3 to drive my display any more.

[danj]

JonB===makes sense to me.  And I think it also just makes sense to kind of "block out" the first part of the channel config, too.  One thing I should have asked Thursday night but didn't think about until later--if you have the xseq file but not the xml file (which Sean basically said is pretty likely unless you backup a LOT!!) I am not getting how the xseq file still "works"....  Is it that once the xseq file is developed, the (data stream?) data output is a "done deal" even without the xml files???  I need to do some reading to come to some understanding of the relationship between xml & xseq....