Software Issues? Or operator problems?

[swnpr]

New to Xlights (used LOR some in the past).  Downloaded the latest software (version 2018.1 64bit) a couple days ago and have been trying to do some basic (at least in my mind) things to try some things out in the software that I've watched videos about.  I realize the software was just updated a week or so ago, so not sure if these are bugs, or I'm doing something wrong.

First, all I'm trying to do is test working with Faces.  I imported an .xls Tree Face and am trying to simulate just 7 channels in ac type on/off light strings.  I created the model and assigned the different phonemes as shown in some videos.  I then went to create a new musical sequence...the audio imported fine, but when trying to work with the Face model and the Timing track I've run into several roadblocks...

1. First thing I would note is that the "undo" function (either selecting edit/undo, or clicking ctrl-z) does not work for me.  More than once I tried to undo something with no luck.  I inadvertently deleted the timing track, and was unable to "undo" that to get it back...and I did not find any way to "add" it back.  How would you get a timing track back?  Is there an issue with the "undo" function?

2. On the sequence tab, in the effects settings, I've selected 'Faces' from the select list, and I can select the name of the Tree Face model I created...but I cannot select the "timing" track (yes, this was BEFORE I deleted it  ).  Why was the timing track not listed in the select list under "mouth movements"?

3. When trying to add a label in the timing mark, I double click to see the label entry popup, then hit ctrl-v to paste.  I do not see the words, but the track has an empty orange box that goes way past my timing marks.  I also cannot delete this (nor "undo" it) and the only way to get rid of it is to delete the timing track (see...that's how THAT happened).  I did see that if I just typed in the words to the label popup, it displayed them properly.  On a side note to this, in a video I watched I'm sure that when the phrase timing was moved, the word timing moved too...the main row and sub-row were 'tied' together at the timing marks.  When I try to move one or the other they do not stay in sync...which caused a problem and split the individual words into another timing mark.

As I said, I wanted to try to create some faces this year...and based on some older videos I saw (from 2015) I was going to use Papagayo and Audacity...which I see now are supposed to be incorporated into xLights.  The videos I watched seemed straight forward using a version of the software for several months ago (still had the papagayo tab)...but I am having issues to replicate what I saw in the videos.

Thanks in advance.

[Gilrock]

There is not an Undo function for everything you can do in the program.  For the most part the Undo works with actions you do to the effects on the sequencer grid and things you do to the models in the Layout tab.

Deleting a timing track pops up a dialog to confirm the action.  There is almost never an Undo for any of the actions where a dialog is used to say do you really want to do this...

If the Faces effect does not have a timing track available in the dropdown then that means you did not create a proper Papagayo timing track.  The timing track must have 3 layers.  First layer is the Phrases, second is the words, and third is the Phonemes.  Right click the row, word, or phrase to see the Breakdown options.  If you watched a video that didn't teach this it wasn't a good video.

No idea what you mean about the timing label you need to show a screenshot on that one.

[swnpr]

Thanks Gilrock.

I've attached 4 screen shots.

Screen1 - Shows I do have the 3 layers (down to the phonemes), and nothing in the Timing Track List
Screen2 - While the Undo may only work in certain situations, I also had issue with 'right-click' then selecting delete.  Screen 2 shows I was trying to delete the label on the top row of the timing track...I had to select 'delete' several times (maybe there was quite a lag...but thought it should be almost instant) before it deleted.
Screen3 - Pasting a phrase into a label that I had copied from a .txt file.
Screen4 - Result of that paste as I had described in original message.  (Typing the phrase in works fine, as well as doing a paste AFTER you already have at least one phrase in the timing track - from my observation)

Most interested in why I can't select the Timing Track for the Face.

Thanks again.

[keithsw1111]

Some times clicking off and then back onto the faces effect can trigger the timing track population of the drop down box.

[Gilrock]

It wasn't deleting because the timing effect was not selected.  The lines need to be purple to show it's selected and then right-click to delete.

No idea why the paste blew it up.  I just tried pasting text and it worked fine.  Maybe you had special characters in the copy buffer.  If you hit save after you get in that state we could inspect what is in the effect by viewing the xml file.

Not sure what you have going wrong for everything else.  I just created a lyric track and dropped a Face effect and the timing was there.  Maybe capture a video of everything your doing.

You are starting with one of the most difficult things as your first thing to learn in the program.

[swnpr]

I thought too that maybe there was some kind of carriage or line feed char in the copy/paste...however it only gave me the result the first timing phrase I pasted...after that the paste (from the same txt file) worked fine.

Faces are most difficult?  Seemed pretty straightforward based on the videos (plus I had worked with LOR a few years ago)...make a face model, add vocal track, then get the vocals to line up, then add the Face effect. 

Here is some additional behaviors I don't understand why the Face effect is not working as I thought it would based on the videos I watched (which by the way are "xLights Webinar on Papagayo Effects" and "XLights 4 Webinar series: Singing faces").

FaceModel1 - I made the tree to have 7 channels as I am trying to do a basic on/off with something like incandescent or led single color strings.  I assigned "labels" to the nodes to be easier to use.

FaceModel2 - I created the Face Definition and assigned the nodes as shown in the screenshot.

FaceModel3 - Several items here.  I have the "outline" box checked, but there is is no outline.  The screenshot shows Eyes "Open" but that node is not on (I have also set to auto with no difference).

FaceModel4 - The results when Playing taken before the "voices" start.  Only "top lip" is displaying...no outline, no eyes.

Any thoughts/ideas are appreciated.  If there is something else I should learn first with xLights that would help me better understand what I am doing wrong, please let me know.

Thanks

[Gilrock]

Well if you think Faces are easy great.  I think the effect is finicky about the colors selected matching the string type so can you uncheck the color red and make sure only the white box is selected and try again?

[keithsw1111]

Try checking force custom colours.

[swnpr]

Neither of those suggestions made any difference.

The main difference between what I want to do vs. the videos is that the model used in the videos uses RGB for string properties.  So I went back and created another model, this time leaving it as "RGB Nodes" (FaceModel5.png) vs what I had done setting it to "Single Color" (FaceModel6.png)...to get 7 channels vs the 21 you get with "RGB Nodes".

And...that works just fine (FaceModel7.png)...just as I would expect to see...the outline, the eyes open (and even a random blink in the first couple seconds), and the mouth at rest.

So now I guess it comes down to why won't the software work as "Single Color" the same way it does with "RGB Nodes"?

Thoughts?

[Gilrock]

Ok I'm done guessing.  You can do a Tools -> Package Sequence and give us the zip file.  We solve things a hundred times faster when you put them in our hands.

[swnpr]

OK, here you go.

Thanks.

[swnpr]

Checking to see if there are any updates to this?

Thanks

[keithsw1111]

This works

[swnpr]

Thanks, but I have no idea what you did.  I cannot open this up as I discarded the original models.  I was not necessarily looking for something that "works" now...more to understand why a 7 channel non-rgb model would not work when a 21 channel rgb model does.

Can you explain what you did to get the 7 channel model to work?

[keithsw1111]

I set the 7 channel model so it didn’t overlap and I pointed the face effect at the right face definition. It’s all in the files I sent back.