Original LXSeries Forum

I thought I've seen this in the forum, but can no longer find it:

I'm trying to draw torm/ladders using 2 dimensional Position lines that are 15' tall and trim 11'-6" off the deck. When an fixture is drawn, its location data in the Instrument schedule only shows the measurement from Start, End, or Center of the Position...

Is there a way to offset the Start of the Position, so that the Location in the Instrument Schedule would reference the height of the lamp off the deck?

3D offset does not seem to change the Location value at all like I had hoped.

Thank you!!

There is no way for the location to show the height + the distance from the start/end of the position line.

You can use the mapping functions in the Inspector's position tab so that the lights display at the correct height in section.

Assuming you are using a 15' long position line to represent your torm, and the start is the top and the end is the bottom, then the following will work to map the line into section:

(Definition: start is where you first clicked to draw the line. End is where you released the mouse. If you need to flip these, use Format->Transform->Reverse Path. You can see the ruler coordinates of the start and end to help you identify which is which by looking in the Inspector's measurements tab.)

First, in the Inspector's beams tab, set the beam plane to 11'-6".

Select the position line.

From the popup in the Inspector's Position tab, select "Map to Vertical at Next Click"

Click on the drawing at the spot on the plan view where the vertical pipe is located 11'-6" off the floor.

Verify that the position is plotted as you expect in both front and side section.

The 3D offset values refer to the distance away from the location derived by the intersection of the light and the position line. Normally, this is a negative z value representing that the light is hanging below the pipe.

In the case of lights hanging on a vertical pipe, there are different ways that the light could actually be clamped. If there is no sidearm, but the light is clamped sticking out towards the stage, then the "Z offset" should be 0'-0" and the "X offset" should be +/- the distance between the lens and the c-clamp. If it is some other arrangement, then you'd have to set the offsets accordingly.

Thanks, but I'm not really concerned about the height or the Section.

It's more about the Distance of the Position as noted in the Location column I'm using in my Instrument Schedule.

Most of the pipes are overhead and the measurements from Center work really well. But because that column is displayed globally in the Instrument Schedule, I end up with really funny measurements when doing ladders or box booms, pipes that don't touch the ground (so Start, End, nor Center get any useful value).

At times I've drawn the ladder as a long position with Stroke deselected (or a layer with a white box masking it), and then just draw a line on top of it to draw a faux "position", beginning at the distance from the Start [of the invisible Position] equal to the distance the ladder is above the deck. The Location measurement then reads fine, but it's a little clunky as there is a long invisible Position that lights can get latched to.

I guess I'm asking for a Layout Offset in Positions, so you could Layout from Start +5'-0" or Layout at Center -0'-6" (if your pipe was slightly longer SL you could correct to the center of the space). Eh, maybe someday...

Thanks though!!

There is an offset for positions that is there to be used for exactly what you describe. It is hidden by default.

If you choose Setup->Data Fields... you will see a sheet with three tabs. Choose the "Position" tab. The 6th field down is labeled "Offset Layout".

Using the popup in the Category column, change the category to "Position" and click OK.

Then, when you select a position, the Offset Layout field will appear in the Inspector's info table. This field allows you to adjust the positions spacing +/- for the designated reference point (center/start/end).

And, actually, this carries into the distance shown in the Light's location column in a report.

Yes, this is what I was looking for!

It works perfectly.

Eventually this might be nice to add to the Position Inspector, although, it's always a balance to keep the UI minimalist and simple, so I'd understand keeping some stuff hidden.

Thanks for everything Claude!