v1.2

Version 1.2 includes new features and bug fixes. There have been a lot of internal changes as the development system used to build Moving Light Assistant has moved from RealStudio to Xojo. The Mac OSX version of the application is now built against Apple’s Cocoa framework as opposed to previously the Carbon framework.

New features and improvements include:

• Improvements to Preset Documentation view.
• Support for up to four channel photos.
• Ability to list only used presets in ‘Add Preset’ dialog.
• Ability to add only the used channels by a preset in the ‘Add Preset’ dialog.
• Ability to assign a priority to a Preset.
• Reconciliation with Console Data.
• Improved sorting and filtering.
• Improvements to Rig Data view.
• Added ability to increment, decrement and offset values in some columns. Added ability to count items in the Rig Data view.
• Application Scripting support. See the Scripts Menu.
• Communication with grandMA 2 console over a network connection using Telnet see the chapter on the grandMA 2.
• Communication with the ETC EOS Family of consoles over a network connection.
• Communication with consoles using OSC (Open Sound Control). See the chapter on Configuring the OSC Network.
• PRG’s Vx76 Console XML Import.
• Ability to import data from another MLA show document.

*Version 1.2 documents are in a new format, so existing show documents will be updated when used in this version. Version 1.2 documents may well open and appear fine in prior versions, but they should not be edited then saved.

!In this version on Mac OSX, Quicktime is no longer an option in the ‘Camera Setup’ dialog and has been replaced by a few framework, AV Foundation.

General Changes

• The application can now support up to 100 parameters of imported Cue and Preset console data.
• Document Preferences has been updated to include a Preset Documentation tab.
• Document Preferences Intensity rounding preference is now taken notice of in console data cue views.
• Document Preferences has a new preference ‘Lowest On Intensity’ which is not currently implemented.
• The ‘Manage Positions’ dialog on Mac OSX no longer uses a drawer to display the additional trims. The dialog now expands to show the additional trims.
• Fixed issue where the Import Log was not saved into the show document.
• Beta versions will display a dialog warning when there are less than seven days to it expiring.
• Registration dialog will now show if a serial number is too long or too short.
• The status bar along the bottom of the document will show if you are connected to an EOS or grandMA2 console.
• The ‘CameraDownloads’ folder will now be created in the user’s ‘Pictures’ folder as ‘CameraDownloads_MLA’ instead of within the Moving Light Assistant application folder.

*Remember, these images are only used to transfer the image into the show document, and after the photo is taken and it appears in Moving Light Assistant, the files are no longer required, but may be useful as a backup.

• Added ability to test a test photo.
• Camera preview window is now resizable and can be maximised.
• Using latest Canon camera driver, v2.15.
• Additional Canon DSLR Cameras are now supported. See Camera Compatibility for latest list.

Preset Documentation View

• It is now possible to assign a priority to a preset.
• A new ‘Reconcile With Console Data’ button in the Preset Documentation toolbar allows for easier reconciliation between the console preset data and the preset documentation data.
• Improvements to the sorting and filtering of the presets in the Preset List.
• It is now possible to order the presets into the order you prefer.
• It is possible to save the current order of the Preset List as a user sort.
• Add Presets dialog now has a checkbox ‘Only List Used Presets’.
• Add Presets dialog now has ‘Add only used Channels’ checkbox.
• A channel can now have up to four channel photos.
• Because of the support for multiple channel photos, it is longer possible to delete a photo for more than one selected channel.
• Channel Image column will now show how many channel photos are stored for a channel.
• If you try to set the first used cue and have not defined the main Cue List, a dialog will pop up to inform you that the main Cue List has not been set.
• Preset Photos no longer have a border drawn around them in the actual photo.


PRG Vx76 Console XML Import and Export

• In this version it is possible to import the XML files generated by PRG’s Vx76 Consoles. Currently Vx76 software version 4.1 has the XML export feature that is compatible with MLA v1.2. Prior to Vx76 software version 4.1 there is no XML export feature. Vx76 software version 4.1 beta versions prior to B23 are likely to causes errors.
• Exporting from the Vx76 Console. To export the XML data for the current show file, choose the ‘Export XML…’ from the File menu of the Vx76 application.
• Importing the Vx76 XML file into Moving Light Assistant. To import the Vx76 console data into Moving Light Assistant, you may wish to start with a new show file. From the File menu, choose Import Console Data -> Vx76 XML….

MLA Show Document Import

• It is now possible to import data from another Moving Light Assistant show document. Individual data types can be imported separately.

EOS Console

• The limit of channel numbers up to 10,000 has been increased to 99,999.
• When importing palettes, you will probably see ‘Unexpected LEVEL_REFERENCE_TYPE’ in the import log. This is nothing to worry about.
• Show Control Events that are cue trigger events will have their timecode value assigned to the relevant cue in the Cue List view. The timecode value will be found in the ‘Timecode’ column.

grandMA2 Console

• Improved removing of invalid ASCII characters in an imported MA2 XML file.
• Added a fix for an issue where the fixture mode is not exported in an MA2 XML file.
• Improved handling of custom preset types in the Preset Data view.
• Timecode XML files are now partially processed to fix issue where it would stop sequence files from being imported.

Reports

Universe Report

• A new Universe Report has been implemented that allows you to print/pdf how the DMX channels in a universe are patched. Currently the report will display 64 DMX channels per page.

Fixture Options DIP Switch

• It is now possible to include a DIP switch image of the fixture options in a Rig Data report. The field to include in the report template is [OptionsDIPImage].

Prepare Wheel and DIP images not longer displayed

• As part of the transition to Mac OSX Cocoa framework, when generating Wheel Load or Rig Data reports that contain images (such a wheel image or a DIP switch image), a dialog will no longer appear showing the image to prepare it for placing in the report. These images are now prepared off screen. Look at the template CueList_EOS_CueFont.lhf for an example of how it can be used (their is also an CueList_MA2_CueFont.lhf template).

Cue List Report

• Added option in the dialog to choose which sequence and cues to report to ignore part cues. When the option is checked, only part 0 will be listed in the Cue List report.
• Added Macro, Snapshot and Timecode fields.
• It is now possible to make follow and part cues have their own formatting/styling. Create text elements with the name FontPartCue or FontFollowCue. Apply the formatting i.e. Italic to the text. The elements added will not appear in a generated report.

Generic Report

• There are two new layouts to demonstrate how a generic report can be used.

Generic_Example_Landscape – Shows preset parameter data (limited number of parameters).
Generic_Groups – Shows a groups sheet for the groups in the console data.

• A new placeholder field [Group_Channel_List] has been added to the Generic report to get a formatted list of channels/fixtures in a group.

Fixture Profiles

Change to Effect Wheels

Previously it was only possible to have two effect wheels and an animation wheel. To support multiple animation wheels, the effect wheels can now be up to three wheels which have the option to be an animation wheel. Existing profiles with an animation wheel will be copied to effect wheel 3.

Increase of DMX Modes, Front Lens, Internal Lens and Lamp options

The number of DMX Modes, Front and Internal Lens and Lamp options has been increased from 10 to 20. As a result, the controls in the Fixture Profile editor have been changed to list boxes. To edit a field, double click on the text (or empty field) to edit.

Fixture Profile Updates

GLP

• Impression X4 – Added profile.
• Impression X4S – Added profile.

Martin

• MAC 500E – Updated profile.
• MAC Viper Wash DX – Added profile.

Vari-Lite

• VL4000 Spot – Added profile.
• VL4000 Beam Wash – Added profile.
• VL3000 Spot – Updated profile.
• VL3500 Spot – Updated profile.

Clay Paky

• Mythos – Added profile.
• SuperSharpy – Added profile.
• Stormy – Added profile.
• Stormy CC – Added profile.

ETC

• Desire D40 Range – Added profiles.
• Updates and additions to ETC Source 4 Profiles and PAR.

Highend Systems

• Cyberlight v2.0 – Added profile.
• Cyberlight Turbo – Added profile.

Robe

• Robin BMFL Spot – Added profile.
• Robin BMFL Blade – Added profile.
• Robin MMX Spot – Added profile.
• Robin MMX BeamWash – Added profile.
• Robin MMX Blade – Added profile.